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The International Cricket Council is considering a proposal to allow teams to appeal against three umpiring decisions per innings, giving captains the right to refer the decisions to the third umpire. The plan is likely to be discussed at the meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee next year.A similar system is already in place in the American National Football League, with teams allowed to `challenge’ two refereeing decisions per half. If it is approved, the proposal would probably go the same way as the ICC’s other recent innovations – the wiring up, via earpieces, of umpires to the stump microphone, and the adjudicating of no-balls by the third umpire – and be trialled in one-dayers. The Evening Standard, a London newspaper, quoted an unnamed source as saying the appeals proposal was “recognised as a serious option”.But some umpires are concerned that the increasing use of technology in making decisions will demote their role in the game. Simon Taufel, the ICC’s Umpire of the Year, told BBC Sport: “I wouldn’t say I’m anti-technology, but I’m cautious about it. Technology is all about replacing the skills of the umpire and I’d like to think I’ve worked my way up this far to employ those skills.”Why de-skill that part of the game just for the sake of an extra two or three correct decisions per game?” he added. “There are undoubtedly pluses, but we need to sit down and stack them against the minuses.”

As West Indies try to rebuild their fragile confidence and regroup for the last two Tests against England, starting with the third match in Barbados tomorrow, they will be hoping that a new manager, Tony Howard, means a new start. Two down after two, and with most of the islanders finding 101 reasons not to be cheerful about the state of their national game, they desperately need a change in fortune … somehow.One thing in West Indies’ favour is the return of Fidel Edwards in place of the disappointing Adam Sanford, meaning the attack will be a Bajan barrage of Edwards, Tino Best, Corey Collymore and Pedro Collins. Prior to the first Test, that bowling attack was supposed to be the weak area of the team, but all of a sudden it reads fairly well on paper, and performs pretty well on the pitch. The batting, on the other hand, has been a never-ending horror story.A bit of grit has been added to the squad with the return of Daren Ganga, who scored two Test centuries against Australia last year but was dropped after West Indies’ forgettable tour of South Africa. He is likely to replace the injured Devon Smith at the top of the order, and his studious approach could be just what his side needs to get them back towards the top of the class.Much more, however, depends on Brian Lara, who has admitted that his batting so far hasn’t been good enough. If ever he was due a big score, this Test is it, and he remains firmly at the top of England’s hit list. Ramnaresh Sarwan, meanwhile, needs to come to the party – on the pitch that is – and Shivnarine Chanderpaul must build on that brief glimpse of form he showed in Trinidad if West Indies are going to stop England from securing their first series win in the Caribbean for 36 years.West Indies’ preparations haven’t been helped by recent comments from Gus Logie, the coach, and Tony Cozier, the veteran broadcaster. Logie openly questioned his team’s mental strength and discipline to succeed in Test cricket, while Cozier slammed their poor fitness and lazy preparation. Howard – who played one Test himself, back in 1971-72 – certainly has a big job on his hands.England, by comparison, are sitting pretty – although there will be no resting on laurels just yet, even though a draw would ensure that Michael Vaughan becomes only the third captain to lead England to a series victory in the Caribbean. They have again named an unchanged side, albeit one with a few chinks in the armour which West Indies could exploit.Marcus Trescothick is the primary cause for concern. He has managed just 18 runs in four Test innings, and a scratchy 50 against a Carib Beer XI last week didn’t instil a lot of confidence either. Meanwhile Ashley Giles’s unthreatening and uneconomical overs continue to keep Gareth Batty interested – and he took 5 for 53 in that Carib Beer match. Another Englishman (or is it a Welshman?) waiting in the wings is Geraint Jones. He also impressed in the last warm-up game with 66, and Chris Read knows he needs to contribute with the bat at No. 7 to keep Jones on the sidelines for much longer.England are sure to have masses of support at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, with several platoons of the Barmy Army sweeping in to what was once known as West Indies’ fortress. England famously pulled off a stunning comeback in 1994, from a similarly desperate situation to the one West Indies now find themselves in. It remains to be seen whether Lara can keep the English at bay this time.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Daren Ganga, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Tino Best, 9 Pedro Collins, 10 Corey Collymore, 11 Fidel Edwards.England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Simon Jones, 11 Stephen Harmison.

Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushanta Joseph Chaminda Vaas. Phew. Just pronouncing his name right can reduce a grown man to tears. But ask batsmen who have been at the receiving end of his late inswingers and they would dismiss the task as piffling in comparison. On Friday, it was the turn of Bangladesh to receive the Vaas treatment, the Sri Lankan left-arm quick blasting out the first three wickets with the first three balls of the game. A hat-trick to kick things off, followed by two more wickets brought the Bangladesh side to their knees, bundling them out for just 124. In a natural progression, the Sri Lankan batsmen wasted no time or energy in sprinting to 125 in 21.1 overs and sealing an emphatic 10-wicket win.When they won the toss and put Bangladesh in, Sri Lanka would have hoped to give Prabath Nissanka, who replaced Pulasthi Gunaratne, a good shot at the Bangladesh batsmen. Vaas, sending down the first over, however, had other ideas.The first ball, a late in-dipper, was too good for Hannan Sarkar and the timber was disturbed. The second delivery, pitching just short of a length and getting too big on Mohammad Ashraful saw a simple return catch being popped up. The field then closed in, no doubt offering newcomer Ehsanul Haq some kind words of advice as he faced up to take the hat-trick ball. More nervous than a schoolgirl on prom night, Haq stuck his bat out tentatively as a well pitched up Vaas delivery kissed the outside edge and sped into the waiting hands of Mahela Jayawardene in the slip cordon.Vaas was unstoppable as he began his celebratory run, arms spread wide like an eagle soaring high on an eddy.And what a high it must have been for the good Christian from Mattumagala, who once admitted a childhood desire to become a catholic priest. Well, the church’s loss ended up being cricket’s gain as Vaas became the first ever cricketer to take three wickets off the first three deliveries of a one-day international. Vaas’ hat-trick was the third in World Cup history, after Chetan Sharma’s effort against the Kiwis in ’87 and Saqlain Mushtaq against Zimbabwe in 1999. He also becomes the third person in one-day history to take two hat-tricks joining Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq.Not sated, Vaas trapped Sanwar Hossain in front of the stumps off the fifth ball of the first over at the end of which the Bangla tigers were 5/4. From that position, they simply did not have it in them to effect a recovery.Despite the honest, lusty hitting of Alok Kapali, who made 32 from 37 balls (2 fours and a six), skipper Khaled Mashud’s battling knock of 20 from 67 balls and Mashrafe Mortaza’s late flurry of 28 off 23 balls, the minnows could only manage 124 all out from 31.1 overs.Of course, even this would not have been possible if Prabath Nissanka and Dilhara Fernando had been more disciplined in their length early on.Where the inexperienced seamers failed, the wily old fox Muttiah Muralitharan (10-3-25-3) cleaned up, kicking in with sharp off breaks and cunning floaters that completely bamboozled the Bangladeshis.None compared to Vaas, however, who returned 9.1-2-25-6.A start like that needed a clinical finish to hammer home the advantage in convincing fashion. There’s no man in world cricket who can dominate a bowling line-up more emphatically than Sanath Jayasuriya. From the time the first ball was bowled, there was an air of arrogance to the Sri Lankan captain and his opening partner, Marvan Atapattu.Jayasuriya’s trademark on-the-rise drives easily raced off his favoured Kookaburra blade and flew over the infield. Meanwhile, Atapattu, for his part, reminded the world of his batting skills with cover drives that were a classicist’s delight.Shortly after an incongruous break from the action for lunch, Atapattu resumed where he left off, pinging the onside with a ferocious pull off mediumpacer Mashrafe Mortaza. Sanwar Hossain then suffered the same fate as he dropped the ball short and saw it disappear to the mid-wicket fence.Not to be left out, Jayasuriya too picked up the pace, sweeping Sanwar Hossain effortlessly to the fence just behind square on the leg side. Soon after he clattered his first six, pulling Alok Kapali with immense power to bring up his half-century.In the 22nd over, Bangladesh’s misery was eventually cut short. The Sri Lankans completed a handsome 10-wicket win. Unusually, Atapattu with 69 outscored Jayasuriya who had 54 to his name.As much as Sri Lanka are emerging as the team to watch in this 2003 World Cup, Bangladesh look to be the team to avoid. After being dismissed by a Canadian team comprised largely of amateurs – Austin Codrington, who snared five wickets, earns his bread working as a plumber ­ – Bangladesh have yet again put in a performance that will make their coach fear for his job.But don’t dwell too long on Bangladesh today. They will hopefully get their due in time. Today, though, was the day of Chaminda Vaas. And no one who was at the City Oval will ever forget that. Just to make doubly sure, the authorities have given Vaas the privilege of planting a tree on the banks of this pretty ground, an honour given to batsmen scoring centuries and bowlers taking five wickets. "No, I’ve never planted a tree in my life before," said Vaas at the end of the game. But yes, he has bowled Sri Lanka to glory before, and you can be sure he will do so again.

The day after top scoring with 76 in England’s heavy defeat at the hands of the Aussies at Edgbaston, Marcus Trescothick was back at the County Ground on a wet Monday morning training hard, lapping the ground and sprinting short distances.”I’m really looking forward to playing against Glamorgan on Wednesday. It’s been a long time since I played here last,” he said.When I asked him about the next time he would be available to play for the county he said: “pass.”I asked him what he thought about the two Pakistan players turning out for Somerset against Australia he said, “It will be good for the crowd because everyone wants to see him (Shoaib Akhtar) bowl, he is very quick. It will give us a chance to rest key players, and get a large crowd in for the game, which is important.”

Saurashtra and Maharashtra played out a draw on Friday in a CoochBehar Trophy contest in the West Zone league, with the latter gainingfive points by virtue of their first innings lead.At Rajkot’s Municipal Stadium, Maharashtra won the toss and werebowled out for 273 late on the opening day. The top ten batters allreached double figures, AS Bhosale top scoring with 58. Saurashtra’sskipper Uday Karavadra, a National Cricket Academy graduate, picked up5/73 with his off spinners.Saurashtra fell away to 200 all out, notwithstanding opener and wicketkeeper AK Dawda’s 75. Maharashta’s own offie, Kashinath Khadkikarbested Karavadra’s figures with a haul of 6/69. The visitors showedno inclination to force an outright result, batting out the third dayto finish on 289/7.

Lancashire 96 for 4 v Essex
ScorecardNews that Tom Smith’s back operation promised to be a success lifted a grey Manchester day•Getty Images

As the clans gathered at Cardiff and Yorkshire ran through Warwickshire quicker than stomach trouble on a campsite, one did not have to be a cricketing paranoid to think that the main action was taking place many miles away from Emirates Old Trafford this damp Monday.The only optimistic note of the grey afternoon was struck when it was reported that Tom Smith ‘s back operation had been a success. Smith was appointed Lancashire captain in February but has been able to lead his team in just one championship game this season.Yet the 25.4 overs that were possible on the first day of Lancashire’s Division Two match against Essex were important to players in both teams. By common agreement Lancashire produced their worst championship cricket of the season in last week’s grimy draw against Northamptonshire. Glamorgan, third, may trail by 50 points but they have a couple of games in hand and still have to play Lancashire twice. Ashley Giles will be on the lookout for the least speck of complacency among his players.And as Glamorgan fought their own battle against the weather in the urban pastoral of Queen’s Park, Chesterfield, they may have been heartened to hear of Lancashire’s struggle to a very moderate 96 for 4 against Essex on a day when James Porter added Paul Horton and Karl Brown to the 15 opening batsmen he had already sent packing this season.Porter bowls with a commendably high action and he is not scared to pitch the ball up. Those qualities may have led to him being milked for a few boundaries as the openers added 48 in 8.2 overs on the first morning but they also helped him achieve his successes.The first of these came when Horton pushed forward at a ball which moved enough off the seam to catch the outside edge and fly to the safe hands of Jesse Ryder at first slip; the second arrived just two balls later as Porter’s bounce surprised Karl Brown with the resulting nick being safely cupped by second slip Liam Dawson.If that catch helped Dawson feel that he belonged in the first game of his one-month loan from Hampshire, what happened over the next 15 overs may have turned him into an adopted son of Southend. Summoned into the attack by James Foster in the 16th over of Lancashire’s innings, the slow left-armer’s third ball had Alviro Petersen leg before for 14 when he played back to a delivery to which he might have gone forward.Having lunched on a moderate 92 for 3, the home side’s innings trespassed into outright mediocrity when Ashwell Prince tried to pull the first ball of the afternoon session to the boundary but only bottom-edged it onto his stumps. That gave Dawson his second wicket of a day which was soon to be cut short by the weather. A typically pugnacious clout over mid-on by the new batsman, Alex Davies, was the last scoring shot before a shower sent the players back to the pavilion just before two o’clock.

Auckland officials have asked the ICC for permission to include Colin de Grandhomme as one of their contracted players for the 2007-08 season.de Grandhomme represented Zimbabwe at Under-19 level but left the country and is now based in New Zealand. He played four State Championship matches and two one-dayers for Auckland last season.”He’s making New Zealand his home, has declared he wants to play for New Zealand,” Mark O’Donnell, Auckland’s coach, told the New Zealand Herald. “It’s just a question of how representing Zimbabwe affects him.”If the ICC rules against de Grandhomme he will be ineligible for the contract as he will have to be considered an overseas player and his place will go to someone else.

The Essex fast bowler, Ashley Cowan, has retired from first-class cricket due to a persistent knee injury. Cowan, 31, toured the Caribbean with the England squad in 1997-98, but never played a Test.Born in Hitchin, Cowan appeared in 102 first-class matches following his debut against Derbyshire at Chelmsford in August 1995. After a decade as the spearhead of the Essex attack he made his last first-class appearance in May 2005 against Worcestershire.”I am retiring due to a chronic knee injury,” Cowan told the Essex CCC website. “I would love to continue my first-class playing career but sadly it is just not possible for me to perform anymore.”After a major operation in 2003, Cowan had a year out in rehabilitation and returned to action during the second half of the 2004 season. He struggled, however, in the 2005 season and spent the first half of 2006 attempting to see out his contract.”I have had a fantastic 12 years in the game but now is the time to give the youngsters a chance,” added Cowan. “Unfortunately every cricketer’s career comes to an end but for some it’s earlier than others. I’ve had some fun along the way but my body has told me enough is enough.””It is very disappointing that Ashley has had to announce his retirement,” added Essex’s chief executive, David East. “We all knew that the radical and experimental surgery that he undertook in 2003 was never guaranteed to be a success and despite giving himself every opportunity to make a full recovery it is evident this is not possible.”Cowan was awarded a benefit for this year, and his fundraising chairman, Mike Smith, said: “Ashley’s popularity on and off the pitch has been evident by the support we have seen in his benefit year. I thank all Essex supporters for showing their appreciation to date and encourage anyone still wishing to do so to check the benefit website at www.ashleycowan.org.”

The Bangladesh selectors have included two new faces in a 13-man squad for the first Test against England, which starts on October 21 at Dhaka. Aftab Ahmed, a 19-year-old middle-order batsman, and Enamul Haq, a left-arm spinner, were the only new inclusions as the selectors decided – not surprisingly – to stick to the line-up which performed so impressively on the tour to Pakistan. Both Aftab and Enamul played for the Bangladesh Board President’s team in the tour match against the England XI. Aftab made 45 in the second innings, while Haq took four wickets in England’s first innings, and finished with five in the match.The selectors, however, ignored the claims of Nafis Iqbal, the opener who scored an impressive 118 for the A team against England in the second warm-up match.Squad
Hannan Sarker, Javed Omar, Habibul Bashar, Rajin Saleh, Alok Kapali, Khaled Mashud (wk), Khaled Mahmud (capt), Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafee Bin Murtaza, Tapash Baisya, Mushfiqur Rahman, Aftab Ahmed, Enamul Haq.

Scorecard

Venugopal Rao led South Zone to a remarkable victory on the final day of their Duleep Trophy match against England A at Gurgaon. He scored a sparkling 228 and added 226 with Sridharam Sriram (117), and then put on an unbeaten stand of 212 with Subramaniam Badrinath (100*) as South Zone reached their colossal target of 501 runs with six wickets to spare – the fourth-highest last-innings total to win a first-class match.Rao, who was a member of India’s victorious U-19 World Cup squad in Sri Lanka in 1999-2000, added another 140 runs to his overnight 88. He guided South Zone to their incredible win, made even more remarkable considering they were 1 for 2 on the third day. The highest fourth-innings total was achieved earlier this year, when Central Province amassed 513 for 9 against Southern Province in Sri Lankan domestic cricket.South Zone resumed at 171 for 2, still needing 330 to win, and made steady progress with Sriram, 78 not out overnight, reaching his hundred in a flurry of boundaries. But Sajid Mahmood checked the progress, having Sriram caught behind by Matt Prior for 117 (227 for 3) before Rao and Sridharan Sharath (28) added a breezy 64 for the fourth wicket.Again England A struck – Sharath caught by Kevin Pietersen off Graham Napier – but again South Zone’s victory charge was not stalled as Rao gained momentum in his impressive innings. Badrinath did more than just keep Rao company as he raced to an unbeaten century as the England bowling figures piled up. Worryingly for Duncan Fletcher, Simon Jones, who is to join the full squad in the Caribbean, went for 89 from 13.5 overs, while James Tredwell conceded 122 from 36 overs.Rod Marsh, England A’s coach, was scathing in his criticism after the match. “We had no-one to blame but ourselves,” he told the BBC. “I don’t know whether it’s arrogance or what, but it’s pretty dumb. When you bowl with so little discipline, miss easy opportunities in the field, you don’t expect to win cricket matches at this level.””If they’ve got any pride, some of them will take a lot of heartache away,” he added. “Others will have forgotten about it already. That doesn’t upset me, but it’s going to upset their cricket careers, I think.”