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The Auckland Cricket Association Premier and First Grade club competitions begin tomorrow with the first round of matches in the Crown Relocations Cup and Crown Relocations Rosebowl respectively.The separate limited overs format competitions will be played out to the end of the seven round robin matches before the teams begin their two-day competitions for the Crown Relocations Trophy (Premier Grade) and Crown Relocations Plate (First Grade) on November 17.The competition is expected to be strong in both grades with all clubs having been training for around eight weeks and each boasting a qualified coach (subsidised by Auckland Cricket in a programme to improve the standard of club play and the training of team coaches) to assist their preparation for the 2001/02 season.Clubs with State Auckland Aces players have been delighted to learn that, due to NZC scheduling the bulk of the National Provincial Competitions on mid-week dates, their star players will be available to them for all but a few of the nearly 30 days of club play this summer.Premier Club details are:Birkenhead City:Promoted from First Grade at the end of last season, Birkenhead will provide stern opposition for most Premier Grade sides this season. Key players are opening batsman and player/coach Michael Clark, NZ test representative Chris Drum, State Auckland Aces all-rounder Terry Crabb, perennial new ball bowler Grant MacPherson and English professional player Ashley Wright.Cornwall:Looking for back-to-back success in the limited overs format and for an improved showing in the two-day version of the game, Cornwall are again expected to present a tough challenge for any opposition this summer. A blend of youth (Rob Nicol [this years New Zealand player to Lords], Avinash Sharma, Rob Lynch, Chris Knight) and experience (Aaron Barnes, Dave Storer, Heath Davis, Richard Morgan, Richard Thompson) will be the foundation on which this club looks to build its season. The depth of the squad will be assisted by the clubs’ 2nd XI competing in the First Grade competition in the coming season.East Coast Bays:An underachiever in 2000/01 but have prepared well over the 2001 winter and should be ready for action from day one. State Auckland Aces players Mark Haslam and Llorne Howell will join forces with Auckland ‘A’ rep Michael Hendry and talented youngsters Mark Badland, Matt Mimmack and David Nash. Former Northern Districts all-rounder Aaron Bradley returns to the club after a one season absence.Grafton United:Probably favourites in both competitions before a ball is bowled, the Victoria Park based/Richard Irving coached and captained side will be very hard to stop, especially if State Auckland Aces players Lou Vincent, Andre Adams and Matt Horne (returning to his home club after five seasons with Otago) are not required by the New Zealand selectors.Top order batsman Blair Bulloch returns to the club after a season in Wellington. These four will be joined by State Aces squad members Richard Pudney (transferred from Waitakere), Tane Topia and top performing club players Guy Coleman, Aron Fuller and Nick Jury. There is no reason to believe they cannot defend their two day title or improve on their runner-up position in the limited overs championship.Howick Pakuranga:A disappointing finish to 2000/01 will have the eastern suburbs club hungry for better performances from its key players.Last season’s captain Rowan Armour was critical of his leading players’ inability to have an impact on the crucial matches played last summer – best documented by the heavy defeat to Grafton in the final match of the season which, if the result had been reversed, would have seen them take the two-day title.New State Aces skipper and NZ player Brooke Walker will join fellow NZ and State Aces team members Kyle Mills and Dion Nash in attempting to set the club back on track toward championship success. Other key players are Richard King, 2000/01 ACA most improved club player Brad Nielsen, NZC Academy player Sam Whiteman, and Sanjeewa Silva, who returns to the club after two seasons with Central Districts. 2000/01 State Aces players John Aiken, Blair Pocock and club stalwart (and current State Aces selector) Armour have retired.North Shore:A tough season is predicted for the Devonport-based club. They are rebuilding a side which has, in previous seasons, performed well thanks to its’ stalwart players. Many of these are expected to be missing this summer and it is now up to the new guard to represent and protect the proud traditions of this long established club.Auckland and New Zealand Under-19 representative Gene Andrews, Chris and David McGuigan and wicket-keeper batsman Michael Hart will be key players at the top of the order and solidity will be provided to the middle order by Jamie Stuart. All rounders Brad Leonard and Hayden Smith will be relied upon for their skills with both bat and ball. Smith will captain the side after the retirement, at the end of last season, of Steve Sharp. Sharp’s wicket taking abilities will be sorely missed this summer unless young opening bowler Peter Lawson, from Minor Counties side Cumberland, produces the goods in his first season with the club. An Englishman will also coach the side, with the club having recently appointed Surrey County Cricket Club’s David Corrod as their coaching director.Parnell:A tremendous performance from this club last year saw them finish as runners-up in their first season back in the top flight. To repeat or improve on this performance, they will look to the bats of State Aces squad members Tim McIntosh and Nick Horsley, Auckland Under 19 captain Akshay Reddy and his Under 19 team-mate Willy Barton.Bowling duties are expected to be shared by the very successful (in 2000/01) Simon Dykes and Roger Henderson, and the wily off-spin of captain Wayne Wheeler. Ex-State Auckland Aces all-rounder Hamish Barton returns to Auckland and will join his brother here after leaving Auckland and the University club for a three year stint in Christchurch where he played some representative cricket for Canterbury. A new home venue for the side, at Shore Road, may be introduced part way through the season.Suburbs New Lynn:The only western suburbs club in the Premier Grade again this summer, Suburbs New Lynn will look to improve on a disappointing 2000/01 season. A nail biting end to that season saw them keep Takapuna out of seventh place by just 1.55 points and consign the North Harbour-based club to First Grade for the coming season.Good performances from State Auckland Aces all-rounder Tama Canning and wicket-keeper/batsman Reece Young (presently resident at the NZC Academy in Christchurch) will be essential if the club is to improve on its lower than expected finish last season.Skipper John Vujnovich and last season’s captain Chris Fawkner, perhaps the toughest player in the entire competition, will provide steel and inspiration to his team who include exciting young quick bowlers Michael Bates (last season’s ACA “Rookie of the Year”) and Dunu Eliaba among their ranks. They will hope that Chris Lee’s departure overseas will be more than covered by the arrival of Dean Blackwood and Russell Hewage from University.First Grade Club details are:Auckland University:After two disappointing seasons this club are injecting some names from the past into their ranks for the coming season in order to turn things around. The addition of Tim Lythe as coach/captain of the side, the return of brother Ben and the introduction of former Eden Roskill players Nick Thompson and Geoff Waterhouse will provide strength to a side which retains all rounder Nick Smeeton and spinner Mathew Lindenburg but will sorely miss the wicket taking ability of former State Auckland Aces player and club stalwart Johnathan Lintott who has retired. Left arm medium pacer Dean Blackwood and middle order batsman Russell Hewage have moved to Suburbs New Lynn and wicket-keeper Scott McNaughton is overseas.Eden Roskill:An improving side which should show the benefits of the dedicated work put in by club administration as well as the coaching and playing personnel over the last two seasons. Key players will be opening bowler Dean Bruce, middle order batsman Sami Lala and wicket-keeper/batsman Izzy Isaia. A top four finish would be a good return for this side.Ellerslie:Bottom half of the league finishes in each of the previous three seasons will have this club hungry for better performances from its’ top side. Skipper Grant Wilcox will look to batsmen Mark Cribbens and Brad Barlow, all rounder Kris Baker and Campbell Marr’s bowling to provide something for Ellerslie supporters and members to cheer about this summer.Papatoetoe:A strong showing last season saw this club go close to promotion to the Premier Grade. Stalwart Neil Ronaldson and new skipper Shane Singe will look to themselves and the performances of returning club professional, Englishman Chris Borroughs, batsmen Nick Edwards and Ashley Clarke as well as their State Auckland Aces squad member – young fast bowler Gareth Shaw – to carry the bulk of the responsibility for the side this summer.Takapuna:A wake up call for this club last year as their top team was relegated from the Premier Grade after a poor season. The way that their key players react to that result will determine their fate this season. Skipper Peter Escott, wicket-keeper batsman Martin Barrell and bowlers Luke Armstrong, Stuart Jensen and Rhys Henderson will need to produce more consistent performances if they are to bounce straight back up into the Premier Grade at the end of the season.Waitakere City:A rapidly improving side which went close to promotion last season and will be very hard to keep away from the top end of the table throughout the summer. Well coached by Randall Todd and well supported by a solid club administration setup, this side will look to key players from last season to reproduce the same sort of form again. Brothers Corey and Keeley Todd, Blair White and the return of Worcestershire professional Matthew Rawnsley will provide the foundation from which the side will look to launch into the top flight for the 2002/03 season.Cornwall and Howick Pakuranga (2nd XI’s):Both are new to the competition this year by virtue of the increase in the size of the league (from six to eight teams). Will very much rely on consistent performances from players on the verge of their respective Premier teams but may struggle to compete on some occasions due to the lack of previous exposure at this level. Will be assisted by the strong administrative and coaching structures in place at their clubs.

Adam Lyth has taken to Facebook to express his disappointment at his Ashes summer and say that the experience has made him hungrier to succeed.It has been widely assumed in the English media that Lyth’s dropping for England’s series against Pakistan in the UAE is inevitable – and the odds are that they will be proved right.But Lyth has spilled out his belief that he still has a Test future in a perhaps unique Facebook statement: bare-the-soul honesty approaching 900 words in which he thanks England’s selectors for sticking with him in a series in which he made only 115 runs in five Tests at 12.77.”I don’t really pay attention to people talking about who will open in the UAE with Alastair Cook, it’s completely out of my hands who the selectors pick. I know exactly what I have to do and that is score big runs for Yorkshire, it’s as simple as that… It really does mean a hell of a lot that the captain, coach and selectors have stuck with me.Failure in international sport can be a lonely place, especially after the emotional highs and lows of a series like the Ashes, and Lyth makes the point of thanking his Facebook followers for “incredible support”.”I have only played seven Tests at the minute and to have achieved that is fantastic,” he writes. “Hopefully there are many more matches and many more series to come but I know I need to go back to Yorkshire and score lots of runs.”This experience has made me hungrier, you don’t become a bad player overnight and you don’t in five games either.”It could have gone better on a personal note but that’s cricket and that can happen when you’re facing one of the best attacks in the world on testing pitches. Going forwards I have learnt a lot in this series and hopefully I can go back to Yorkshire, score some runs and help them with the County Championship.”I can’t really put my low scores down to one thing. The Aussies have bowled well in testing conditions, I have copped some decent balls but I’ve played some bad shots which I’m disappointed about.”

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has delayed its probe into allrounder Marlon Samuels’ alleged bookie connection, which was raised by the police on West Indies’ tour of India in February 2007. Julian Hunte, the WICB president, has said that they cannot investigate the matter until they know the nature of the charge against Samuels.The ICC had asked the WICB to investigate Samuels after receiving a report from its anti-corruption and security unit. The ICC said the report contained allegations that Samuels indulged in “inappropriate activity” and behaved in a manner that was “prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket”, and asked the WICB to submit the results of the investigation by January 31, 2008.”What the WICB has done is to write to the ICC, asking them for a copy of the report, so that we will know what Samuels has been charged with,” Hunte told the . “The WICB will await receipt of the report to enable it to determine how it proceeds to carry out an investigation, if any, in terms of the Samuels affair.”Hunte refused to comment on whether the investigation would hinder Samuels’ chances of selection for the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa later this year.”I honestly do not know … and this is the honest, possible truth. A lot depends on the selectors, a lot depends on when the investigation is started, and they are so many imponderables that it would be wrong for me to speculate,” Hunte said. “What I can promise, whatever we put in place will be fair and transparent, and Samuels should have no fear.”On February 7, the Nagpur police had charged Samuels with sending team information to Mukesh Kochar, an alleged bookie, on the eve of the first one-dayer in Nagpur on January 21. At the time, Samuels defended himself and said he had known the man for many years and he was a family friend. The ICC allowed Samuels to take part in the World Cup and beyond, pending a final assessment.

The Barmy Army is considering cancelling its tour of Australia after members were “treated like schoolchildren” by security staff at the Gabba. The group’s founder Paul Burnham said if things continued in the same vein the tour could be abandoned.”Absolutely. We are waiting to see how it develops before giving advice to people coming over [from England] for the Sydney and Melbourne Tests,” Burnham told . He said he was infuriated that the Barmy Army’s official trumpet player Billy Cooper was escorted from the ground on Thursday, given that Cooper had been given permission to play.”I flew over to Melbourne in May and talked to Cricket Australia about the trumpet,” Burnham said. “We were told he would be able to play at the ground and he was quite good for stopping the Mexican wave. We were getting some pretty positive vibes back and then all of a sudden he’s been ejected.”He played his trumpet in the morning and it was fine. We got our third wicket [in the second session] and suddenly he was asked to leave the ground. Everyone was having a really good time, there was a great atmosphere in the ground, we sat next to the Boony Army guys and there was some great banter. Now the whole thing is ruined.”

Burnham said it was also disappointing that seat allocations meant thousands of England supporters were scattered all around the Gabba, which made them feel “not very welcome at all”. He said “an awful lot” of Barmy Army members had not bothered to attend the second day, instead watching the match from their hotel.Burnham, who came up with the idea of the Barmy Army during the 1994-95 Ashes tour, said Cricket Australia were ruining the spirit of the game. “They believe the Barmy Army will help England win so it just seems everything is geared to try and make sure there is no fun in the game,” he said. “We just want to come over and have a good time … not to be treated like schoolchildren.”We’ve come back to the country where the Barmy Army started 12 years ago. We are a group that has supported the sport over the last three tours, spent millions of pounds and we are treated like this.”

The Asian Cricket Council looks set to take control of organising an international match to raise money for victims of the Asian earthquake.Although the plans are in the embryo stage, Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said: “During a recent conversation with Jagmohan Dalmiya [ACC president], an ACC-sponsored relief match was considered. We agreed to examine possible dates for an international match in the next few days.”The ICC had considered organising a relief match for the Super Series in Sydney, but players from South Africa and New Zealand were unavailable and there wasn’t enough time to organise sponsorship and TV rights.The PCB and the England & Wales Cricket Board recently agreed to dedicate the entire gate receipts of the first ODI between the two countries at Lahore on December 10 to the relief fund.

It was a much-improved performance against Bermuda, but Canada are still the favourites to qualify from our group, after they beat us earlier in the year. In many people’s eyes, USA v Canada is the world’s oldest cricket international, and so we were all well aware of the historical significance of the match. The PA system announced details, and there were books and pamphlets available to the crowd.And it was a good crowd too, perhaps some 2000 people turned out for the second day’s play. Until John Davison’s intervention [he took 17 wickets in the match], it had been an evenly balanced contest, but on the third day the game finished early, so we held a 25-over match to keep the spectators happy.Cricket is slowly catching on in USA, ever since our success in the competition in Sharjah, there has been an increased publicity, and the folks back home are getting interested. Of course, it’s the one-day format that has more chance of success over here, and in Florida especially, there is a tremendous potential. New York and California have high levels of competitors as well, but unfortunately there aren’t many more centres where cricket has caught on.There’s not a huge amount of homegrown talent just yet either. Currently there are two American-born Caucasians in the squad, with the rest of Asian or Caribbean heritage, but the local politicians are very, very keen on developing the game further. In that respect, it was a huge blow that we missed out on hosting a match in the 2007 World Cup. We had all been anticipating a fixture, and though we’re disappointed, it won’t halt the process.And so our preparations have taken us to a training camp in Bermuda, and onto the Americas Cup, where we did pretty well, although unfortunately we lost to Canada again, which is becoming a bit of a habit! But all this is standing us in good stead ahead of the Champions’ Trophy in England in September. Victory is improbable over there, but our aim is simply to expose the level of cricket that we are capable of attaining. It’s not just another fixture for us – we have to be positive, and take away good memories of the tournament.Our Canadian nemesis, Davison, has played first-class cricket in Australia, so he is a bit of a taste of what we can expect against Australia and New Zealand in that tournament! We simply have to learn from his example – his professionalism was apparent in every facet of his game, especially when he won the match for them in Bermuda, despite suffering from a nasty stomach virus.The Pro Cricket 20-over competition has apparently begun reasonably successfully. It’s been decided that USA players cannot take part, which is a shame, but let’s hope the competition gets ICC and USACA recognition, and we can all take it on from there.

Chippenham: Wiltshire v Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire 214-7 (DC Atkins 103) bt Wiltshire 138 all out by 76 runsManor Park: Norfolk v Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire 216 all out (EJ Wilson 54) bt Norfolk 110-3 on faster run rateThatcham: Berkshire v Hertfordshire
Berkshire 132 all out lost to Hertfordshire 133-4 (SG Cordingley 50*)by six wicketsWroxeter: Shropshire v Cumberland
Cumberland 179-7 (GD Lloyd*) lost to Shropshire 182-4 (MJ Marvell74) by 6 wicketsCopdock: Suffolk v Bedfordshire
Suffolk 216 all out (AD Mawson 72, PJ Caley 57) bt Bedfordshire 165 all out(AD Patterson 73) by 51 runsPorthill: Staffordshire v Herefordshire
Staffordshire won 4-3 on a bowl outChallow and Childrey: Oxfordshire v Dorset
Dorset won 5-3 on a bowl out

Indian Railways ground home their advantage on the second day of their semi-final clash with New Zealand ‘A’ in the MRF Buchi Babu Tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After dismissing New Zealand ‘A’ for a low 129 and notching up 114/4 at the end of the first day, Indian Railways went on to make 279. The first innings lead was a handy 150 runs. In their second essay, New Zealand ‘A’ are 216/6 off 42 overs. With one day to play, New Zealand ‘A’ are effectively up by 66 runs with 4 second innings wickets to come.For Indian Railways, Yere Goud was the hero, striking 125 (397 mins, 289 balls, 16 fours, 1 six). This is Goud’s second ton in the tournament and a timely one indeed. Remaining unbeaten, Goud batted in the company of several partners, with P Rawat (38) contributing the most.In the New Zealand ‘A’ second innings, it was a familiar story once more as Mark Richardson held fort with an attacking 71 (93 balls, 8 fours). Chris Nevin (6) promoted in the batting order, failed to impress. While skipper Matthew Bell got a start he did not spend a significant amount of time at the wicket and was dismissed for 38. Lou Vincent continued a run of good form and remained unbeaten on 57 off just 50 balls when play was called off for the day. Striking 8 boundaries in his innings thus far, Vincent has shown that a positive approach is crucial for taking on the spinners in the subcontinent.The match remains interestingly poised, and the first session of the final day could be crucial.

ScorecardJimmy Adams drives during his half-century•Getty Images

There is nothing like county cricket to remind you that, whatever else is going off out there, the big bad world will keep on spinning. As a new working week began with Britain convulsed by the news that a left-wing political party had elected a left-wing politician as leader, the pitch of public discourse seemed ever more shrill. Was the proletariat about to storm Buckingham Palace? Were the workers uniting to overthrow the establishment? By all available evidence at the Ageas Bowl, where Hampshire were entertaining Yorkshire in Division One of the County Championship, the answer was no.It might be a stretch to call it entertaining, actually. But, as Jeremy Corbyn could probably attest, excitement is often over-rated. Even the weather seemed flummoxed by the prevailing state of normalcy. The sun shone from the skies even as it tried to rain and, after play had been called off for the day, there was a brief appearance from a rainbow.None of which tells you much about Hampshire’s attempts to avoid relegation but, since their fate remains about as clear as the blotchy skies that hampered play around the country, that is fitting. This was an honest-to-goodness hard-working day of solid Championship battling, unfashionable down to its bootstraps and not much to write home about but nevertheless worthy of its place in the cosmos. It was also being shown on Sky Sports. Those worried about the revolution being televised only had to change the channel for proof to the contrary.”You can put lipstick on a pig,” goes a saying beloved of US politicians, “but it is still a pig.” Despite the presence of Sky’s cameras, it was hard to dress up a contest featuring one team scrapping at the foot of the table and another who secured their season’s fulfilment last week. Yorkshire can still claim records for points and wins since the advent of two-division cricket but, as the eventual defeat at Lord’s perhaps suggested, their fire appears to have been doused after retaining the Championship for the first time since the 1960s.Hampshire were, understandably, more concerned about not making a pig’s ear of things after being inserted on a wet September morning. They largely succeeded, amid the showers, compiling 219 runs for the loss of four wickets in 78 frill-free overs – well, aside from some late embroidery by Sean Ervine, who punched five boundaries in 26 off 25 balls before a final deluge brought an early close. The forecast suggests this match might end up in a watery grave but Hampshire will be striving to ensure they are not interred with it.There was some logic to their approach, given that the two clubs above them, Sussex and Somerset, are currently duking it out. Hampshire began this round 11 points behind and knowing that there is no likely scenario where both will be out of sight. If there is a result at Hove, a draw against Yorkshire would see them creep closer to the loser; a stalemate would not change the overall picture by much, leaving Hampshire to try and target a win over Nottinghamshire in their final match and hope that either Sussex or Somerset slip up.Such calculations rely on Hampshire not losing here and there would have been trepidation as well as precipitation in the air after Andrew Gale won the toss. In the event, Hampshire’s suitably on-trend lefty opening pair of Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry saw off the new ball with grit, application and a little luck, before a solid fourth-wicket partnership between Will Smith and Liam Dawson took them towards higher ground.This match is the last for which Hampshire’s retiring groundsman, Nigel Gray, will prepare a pitch but although a greenish tinge caught Gale’s eye, the surface played true. Adams passed 50 for the second innings running – having not done so for the previous 18, a run of form that prompted him to hand the captaincy to James Vince – and drove pleasantly through the covers before being tempted by one that Steve Patterson pushed across him invitingly. As the edge landed in Andy Hodd’s gloves, Adams may have been guilty of some unparliamentary language.Yorkshire were true to their attacking selves, stacking four men in the slips at times, but the ball swung only intermittently – most often out of the hand of Matthew Fisher, the 17-year-old whose reward for missing school this week was 16 overs of toil at a thrifty cost of 24 runs. Even the anarchic Jack Brooks, Yorkshire’s “Headband Warrior”, struggled to run amok, although his frown at Peter Hartley’s decision to turn down an appeal for caught behind of Liam Dawson – an edge confirmed by the slenderest of spikes on the Snickometer – told of a desire to reject authority.The Yorkshire players wore black armbands in memory of Brian Close, who doubtless would have attempted to ruffle the opposition by positioning himself to glower at the batsman, in their soft southern helmets, from short leg. But Hampshire just got on with the dirty, everyday business of trying to survive. And Close would certainly have appreciated that.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has questioned why the ICC doesn’t pay for the DRS technology in international cricket and believes they should use one provider across all matches to avoid the inconsistencies in decision-making that have been evident in the Ashes series.Both Australia and England have expressed frustration at several decisions across the series involving Real Time Snicko (RTS) with tensions boiling over during the Adelaide Test.England had a review reinstated by match referee Jeff Crowe on the second morning after BBG Sports, the suppliers of Snicko, conceded operator error had led to an incorrect reprieve for Alex Carey during his opening-day century.Related

• 'Snicko needs to be sacked' – Aussies fume in latest controversy

• England have review reinstated after technology failure on Carey appeal

Another incident occurred on day two that led to Starc being overheard on the stump mic saying “Snicko needs to be sacked” .The ECB and CA plan to lobby the ICC to review its protocols and systems as a result of the error with the issue of the host broadcasters having to pay for the technology set to be a key a discussion point. Starc believes the process needs to be centralised.”I’m sure it’s frustrating for everyone, viewers, officials, broadcasters no doubt,” Starc said. “One thing I will say … I’m only going to speak for myself here, the officials use it, right? So why doesn’t the ICC pay for it? And why is it not just one [provider] across the board? Why don’t we use the same technology in all different series that’s going to perhaps create less confusion, less frustration? So that’s where I’ll leave that.”The ICC has two approved “sound-based edge detection technology” suppliers: RTS, which is used in Australia, and UltraEdge, which is used in the rest of the world. Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, said during the third Test that umpires “can’t trust” RTS and suggested that UltraEdge is superior.Australia captain Pat Cummins was diplomatic, but did note RTS seemed to be different to UltraEdge.”The one here seems a little bit different to sometimes what you get overseas,” Cummins said. “There’s always a few murmurs. You’re hoping that it matches up if you’re the bowling team. Sometimes you kind of just making sure that it’s all okay if you’re batting, even though you feel like you haven’t hit it. It sometimes doesn’t feel super consistent, but you just crack on whatever the umpire says.”Although UltraEdge is used in the BBL, there is no provision to change technology providers mid-series, with RTS set to be used for the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.