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Brendan Taylor , the former Zimbabwe captain who abandoned an international career to play county cricket, caused consternation by falling asleep in an unlocked car after his celebrations of Nottinghamshire’s progress to the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup went haywire.Taylor had to be woken by police after a Nottingham man opened his unlocked Chevrolet Matiz to find him sleeping off a long night.The described how Michael Whitaker, a business development manager from West Bridgford, close to Nottinghamshire’s Trent Bridge ground, had stumbled across Taylor upon leaving his home to go to work.Taylor had taken refuge in the car after becoming disorientated several hours after Nottinghamshire’s quarter-final victory against Durham.The police were called before an amicable solution was reached. “I did not know what to do,” Mr Whitaker told the newspaper. “Someone I didn’t know had fallen asleep in our car. An officer tried to wake him up and when he came round, he was dazed. It was the most bizarre situation I think I have ever been in.”I don’t think he knew where he was but he was very apologetic and it quickly became clear that it was very innocent. Realising who it was made it even funnier because how often do you find an international cricket star asleep in your car?”Nottinghamshire have yet to make a statement on the incident.

Melbourne – Another day, another city, another collapse, anotherhumbling defeat.In what captain Jimmy Adams acknowledged is now a habit, the WestIndies succumbed to a below-strength Victoria team by an innings and63 runs with more than a day remaining at the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG) yesterday.Their all-out second innings 114 was their lowest total againstVictoria (known in domestic competition as the Bushrangers) on their12 tours of this vast country and their first loss to the state sincethe inaugural trip in 70 years ago, in 1930-31.It followed defeat in the opening first-class match against WesternAustralia and came three days before the first Test at Brisbane thatlooms with under-standable foreboding.A minimum of 157 overs and maximum ten-and-a-quarter hours remained inthe match when Victoria declared with a lead of 177 just before lunch.The sun shone from a cloudless sky, the pitch had shed most of itsdemons of the first day, the outfield became faster by the over andthe opportunity existed for the West Indies batsmen to spend meaningful preparation time in the middle.None did.It was all over in three hours and 46.3 overs, leaving another 18.3 onthe day and 90 on the morrow unused.The embarrassing reality is that it would have been even shorter butfor off-spinner Colin Miller’s missed return catch off Ridley Jacobsbefore he had got off the mark on his way to the topscore of 25.The ball did deviate occasionally off the seam and the probingVictorian bowlers were supported by flawless catching and by umpiringthat brought an end to proceedings by giving Merv Dillon and Jacobscaught at gully and slip off the boot.DebaclesBut it was another in the continuing succession of West Indies battingdebacles. Only Jacobs stayed longer than an hour as wickets tumbled tothe varied bowling through a combination of un-warranted strokes andno strokes at all.The senior batsmen – Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Adams – all batted for more than three-quarters of an hourbut none for more than an hour.More distressingly, Daren Ganga and Ram-naresh Sarwan were des-patchedwithout scoring, Sarwan’s second duck of the match.Their deportment revealed that both prom-ising young batsmen had beenshorn of their self-belief in the two weeks since they joined the teamfrom a stint with the Australian Academy in Adelaide.Ganga got through two anxious overs before lunch, following thedeclaration, but had not scored from 18 balls when, bat well away frombody, he sliced a square-drive off the left-arm fast bowler MatthewInness high to gully.Sarwan arrived at 58 for three after Campbell had edged DamienFleming’s outswinger to wicket-keeper Darren Berry and Lara had pulledan innocuous short ball from medium-pacer Ben Oliver straight to widemid-on.The young Guyanese was a first-ball victim in the first innings andapproached the five balls he faced as if they were terrorist bombsguaran-teed to explode on impact.As he withdrew his bat out of the line of one on off-stump fromOliver, the ball deflected off the back of the bat and flew into thesafe hands of second slip.When Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s loose drive off Miller found cover’swaiting clutches, the West Indies were 72 for five and depending oncaptain Adams, Jacobs and the fast bowlers to at least mount a fight.They never came close.

One-day cricket may be a different ball game but today’s Australia v England contest was bound to give the two teams a fair idea of what to expect in the Ashes Series.

In the most exciting match of the NatWest Series in Bristol, Australia bettered England in a nail-biting finish. Chasing 269 runs, Australia just got there for the loss of five wickets but with only three balls spare. It was the type of contest that makes modern cricket nerve wracking, for not many nails were left unbitten. While England’s Nick Knight (84) and Marcus Trescothick (69) had raised their team to a commanding position, for Australia, Ricky Ponting with his fabulous century, lead the way to a glorious victory.Earlier, England started steadily, losing Ally Brown (12) and scoring only 25 runs in the first 10 overs. The highly projected pace attack of Glenn McGrath and Bret Lee was accurate but not deadly.After grafting themselves in, Marcus Trescothick and Nick Knight opened up to hit a flurry of fours and sixes, hoisting the 50 in the 14th over and continuing briskly.

The way Trescothick (45) and Knight (40) brought up the 100 in 20 overs through a volley of fours and sixes, made Australia’s bowling look ordinary. After completing their individual half-centuries both the batsmen continued with their aggressive style to add quick runs.England lost their second wicket on 137 through a mix up between the two players resulting in Trescothick getting run out after scoring a flawless 69. After 30 overs England was 147 for 2.Australia got the third break at 189, when Shane Warne at mid-wicket smartly caught Nick Knight off Brett Lee after a marvellous innings of84. With this great innings Knight also completed his 2000 runs in one-day cricket. His partner Alec Stewart (25) followed him quickly bringing England down to 198 for 4.Assuming better control of the game, Australia managed to restrict scoring to such an extent that England’s 200 came in the 43rd over; puzzling given that they still had the major chunk of their batting intact.

Some fire works, however, thrilled the crowd, in the final stage of the innings. A 70-run partnership between Ben Hollioake (37*) and newcomerOwais Shah (28*) in 45 balls took England’s total to a fighting 268 forfour. Brett Lee captured two wickets while McGrath could pinch only one.Scoring only 16 runs in the first seven overs, and losing Adam Gilchrist’s wicket on 12, Australia did not take a brilliant start. The arrival of Ricky Ponting brought some thrill to the game when the next four overs yielded 28 runs. Both Ponting and Mark Waugh delighted the crowd by hitting a six each off Alan Mullally and hoisting 50 of the innings in the 13th over.Australia registered their 100 in the 23rd over, but lost the important wicket of Mark Waugh who was bowled by Dominic Cork for a useful 46. In the meantime Ricky Ponting had completed his 50.Ponting and Damien Martyn were in complete command of the game. Though the required run rate was above six, they were constantly maintaining it, getting closer and closer to the target. They raised the total to 171 in 35 overs.The game changed all of a sudden when Martyn, having made a useful 46 was bowled by Mullally at 198. The man who had built up Australia’s innings, Ricky Ponting, was then run out after scoring a glorious 102.England was now almost back in the game.Australia lost the fifth wicket on 230 when Gough bowled Andrew Symondsfor a quickfire 23. Needing 29 runs to win in 29 balls, the match was evenly poised. The crowd was excited and chewing their nails away. The onus of victory rested with skipper Steve Waugh and Ian Harvey, fighting the battle against a fired up England side.In conditions packed with tension and excitement the batsmen were stealing the runs required per over. Australia hit the crucial blow when Harvey hit Hollioake for a towering six on the last ball of the 49th over. By scoring 272 for 5 with 3 balls to spare, Australia defeated England in a photo finish. Darren Gough clinched two wickets while Cork and Mullally shared one each.

Glamorgan County Cricket Club today confirmed that Steve Watkin has beenappointed as the first Academy Director for the new Welsh Cricket Academy,which will be based at the Club’s headquarters ground at Sophia Gardens,Cardiff. Watkin, 37 on Saturday, will formally retire from playing in orderto take up the new appointment, though the Club will be retaining hisregistration.Chief Executive Mike Fatkin said:”We have somewhat mixed feelings about Steve’s appointment. On the one handhe has been such a fantastically loyal servant to Glamorgan since he madehis debut fifteen years ago, not to mention one of the most consistentbowlers on the circuit throughout his career, but on the other we believe heis admirably suited to this new position. He is the ideal role model foryoung cricketers in Wales.We have been working hard for some time to establish the concept of anAcademy here in Wales and we’re delighted that Steve has accepted theposition. His appointment comes after a year spent putting everything inplace and we’ve been very encouraged by the support we’ve received from boththe Sports Council for Wales – who are investing a significant amount ofmoney into the programme costs, and the England and Wales Cricket Board, whoare licensing the academy as one of the first wave of eight that arestarting up this autumn. The network of county academies will support thenew National Academy set up this year.The intention is to recruit six youngsters in the first year, rising to amaximum of nine subsequently, and provide them with as rounded a programmeof training, coaching and advice that we can to help mould them intoprofessional cricketers of the future. The Cricket Board of Wales has donesterling work in recent years in establishing a structure for junior cricketbut the gap between when they leave the CBW umbrella aged 16 or 17 tojoining Glamorgan as professionals has needed to be filled for some time.We are confident the Academy structure will enable the young talent comingthrough to be fast-tracked through the system and that they can be taughtwhat being a professional or international cricketer is all about beforethey actually reach the ranks of the professional staff at Glamorgan.There are some differences between the Welsh Academy and the others inEngland but we’re delighted to have the Sports Council for Wales on board,with all the expertise and support that they bring, and the appointment ofSteve Watkin as the first Welsh Cricket Academy Director is a significantboost.”Steve Watkin said:”It’ll be a huge wrench giving up playing professional cricket as I havebeen involved with Glamorgan – not to mention with England and England ‘A’ -for some sixteen seasons but this was too good an opportunity to miss. TheClub has said it intends to retain my registration as a player just in caseI might be required to play but having thought about it long and hard Iaccept that it’s an important job, with substantial money being invested inthe scheme by the Sports Council for Wales, and I am really looking forwardto the challenge of helping develop the next generation of professionalcricketers. There’s a lot of talent at junior level in Wales and I’m surethat the new Academy will only add to the development of the best youngplayers.I’d like to thank the Club for giving me this opportunity, but equallyimportantly I’d like to thank all of my team-mates and the players I’veplayed with at Glamorgan throughout my career for giving me so muchenjoyment. There are some obvious highlights, such as winning the SundayLeague in 1993 and the Championship in 1997, not to mention a Lord’s Finaland a promotion last summer and playing and touring for England, but I feelvery lucky to have enjoyed considerable success as a cricketer and I’m nowlooking forward to giving something back to a game that has been nothing butgood to me. Hopefully I can bow out with a few wickets against Surrey!”

During the post-match press conference, Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura giggled every time he was asked about the Mahmudullah run-out fiasco. He didn’t look like someone who was looking forward to discussing the most controversial moment of a match, that his side lost by 61 runs and ended the series on the wrong end of a 3-0 sweep.In the 45th over, Mahmudullah had tapped the ball into the covers searching for a single, but the non-striker Mashrafe Mortaza did not want it. Sikandar Raza exploited the miscommunication by nailing a direct hit and Aleem Dar, the square leg umpire, had seemed convinced that Mahmudullah was out. The problem though was that wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, while rushing in to collect the throw, had disturbed the bails before the ball hit the target.Mahmudullah, who had no idea of what had transpired, was already walking back which gave Chakabva the time he needed to uproot the stumps as well to try and make the run-out legal. But once the square leg umpire had made his decision, right or wrong, the ball was dead and anything that happened thereafter did not count. The third umpire was called in to lay the confusion to rest and as replays indicated the sequence of events, Mahmudullah was called back.”At first we thought he was out,” Chigumbura said at the post-match press conference. “And umpires made their decision. We have to follow their decisions.”But on the field, Chigumbura had protested the reversal and summoned his team in a huddle with the umpires and batsmen Mashrafe and Mahmudullah standing nearby, awaiting the start of the 46th over. After some convincing within the group, the Zimbabweans went back to their positions and the match went on.When asked if he was about to lead the team out of the ground, he offered another laugh and said, “We were discussing about the last few overs.”Mashrafe was seen speaking to Chigumbura twice, and he later said that he was trying to convince his opposite number to play on, which he thought was the right thing to do.”I don’t know what they were talking about but all I was trying to tell him was to play the game with spirit,” Mashrafe said. “I didn’t really understand what they were thinking. The decision was up to them and they did the right thing by returning to the ground and playing.”Chigumbura said Zimbabwe had no option but to continue playing. Mahmudullah went on to add 20 more runs and Bangladesh gave Zimbabwe a target of 277 runs.”We just had to carry on,” Chigumbura said. “We had a job to do, chasing 277. Our batting group didn’t turn up.”

ScorecardNiall O’Brien secured a rare Leicestershire Championship win•Getty Images

A fine 87 from Niall O’Brien, and a four-hour feat of concentration from 20-year-old batsman Aadil Ali, helped Leicestershire complete their first county championship victory at Grace Road since 2012.After going into the season without a win for more than two years, they have now pulled off two this season although they remain rooted to the foot of the Second Division.Needing an unlikely 217 more runs to win at the start of the day, with just six wickets remaining, O’Brien and Ali batted through the entire morning session without being parted.Ali, playing just his third first-class match, and the more experienced O’Brien, quickly found the pitch, on which several deliveries had kept markedly low the previous evening, was now playing well, and with time very much on their side, they applied themselves admirably against an attack led by Mark Footitt.Ali did have one escape, when Footitt, generating sharp pace down the hill from the Bennett End, did get one delivery to rise sharply and take the glove. The ball flew high to the right of Harvey Hosein behind the stumps, but the reaching wicketkeeper could only deflect the ball down to the third man boundary.O’Brien, scoring more freely, also had a moment of fortune, slicing a drive at Ben Cotton over gully in the course of going to his second half-century of the match, but he did not give a chance in going to 65 at the break.After taking the partnership on to 118, however, O’Brien was pinned leg before by Footitt, the delivery keeping slightly low. Andrea Agathangelou maintained the momentum before becoming the sixth leg before victim, this time to Tony Palladino, and when Ali’s mammoth effort was ended by Ben Cotton on 42, a well-pitched up delivery clipping the off-stump, with the Foxes still needing 35 to win, nerves around Grace Road were jangling.They were quickly soothed, however, as Ben Raine and Clint McKay saw the Foxes home in some style. There was one piece of nonsense, when the umpires, having delayed tea for the regulation 15 minutes, then took the players off for the break with just five runs needed to win, but Raine hit the first ball after tea for four – albeit through the hands of Cotton at gully – and completed the victory off the next.Leicestershire head coach Andrew MacDonald said he was proud of his players. “They showed great belief, which is something we spoke of throughout the game,” he said.”It’s amazing when you get a couple of partneships how quickly things can change. Niall O’Brien batted outstandingly well, and to have a youngster apply himself in the way Aadil Ali did for 198 deliveries was something he will only grow from. We never lost back to back wickets, and we came away with the points.”Derbyshire director of cricket Graeme Welch, facing up to a jolting loss as a supposed promotion campaign has long turned sour, said Derbyshire were “3 or 4% short” of where they should be.

Zimbabwe Cricket has been left looking rather silly after it emerged that Elton Chigumbura was playing club cricket in England at the same time it was insisting that he was undergoing treatment for an injury in Zimbabwe.Questions were asked when Chigumbura failed to appear for defending champions Northerns in the Faithwear Cup, which started at the end of May. The official reason given was injury, but it subsequently emerged that three days before the competition started, he made his debut for Eppleton CC in the north of England.His absence, and the attempt to hide it, suggests that he did not obtain approval from ZC before leaving the country. Under the central contracts signed by the national players, the board’s permission is required before overseas deals can be signed, and all absences must be agreed in advance.Cricinfo has learned that several players have been refused permission in recent months. Former captain Terry Duffin walked out in April after his request was declined, and Brendan Taylor is reported to have given a deadline of the end of the week for his request to be cleared, otherwise he too might quit.There seems no reason for the board to keep their players in Zimbabwe. The domestic programme has now finished, and the national team has no matches arranged until the end of the year. The hyper inflation inside the country – 160,000% and rising – allied to the deepening civil unrest makes earning and living overseas attractive, certainly in the short term.This, and the risk that by taking a hard line there is a danger of losing even more players, makes it likely that ZC will simply turn a blind eye to those heading to Europe.

Pakistan produced a near perfect display of one-day cricket to level the tandard Bank One-Day International series with an emphatic 182-run win overSouth Africa at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.Winning the toss on a pitch that was always going to suit them better than the one in Durban, Pakistan made their intentions clear with Shahid Afridi setting the tone of the innings in the first over.The South Africans’ short-lived joy at the early wicket of Afridi for 13 off eight balls, turned into despair as Saleem Elahi and Abdur Razzaq set about the bowling with a record second-wicket partnership of 257 in 40 overs.Things might have been different had Lance Klusener held on to a fairly easycatch at third man when Saleem Elahi was on 34 and the Pakistan score 66, but that did not deter the batsman from taking full advantage of his second chance.In complete contrast to the innings in Durban, he batted magnificently, recordind his third hundred in four innings, surpassing his highest score of108. By the time he was caught at cover for 135 off 129 balls, including 19sparkling boundaries and the highest score by a Pakistan batsman against SouthAfrica, the damage had been done. When asked about his innings all he could say was “Happy”.Abdur Razzaq was a surprise coming in at number three, where he has had limited success, and played a marvellous chanceless career-best innings of 112, his first hundred in this form of cricket. Using 120 balls to score his runs he recorded 13 fours and two sixes.With the remaining batsmen throwing caution to the wind, Inzamam-ul-Haq managed a quick 36 off 22 balls to leave Pakistan on a massive 335/6, the highest score ever by any team against South Africa, and also the highest at St. George’s Park.When the slaughter was complete, the bowling figures were in tatters with none of the South African bowlers able to maintain an economy rate of less than six per over. Makhaya Ntini and Allan Donald had some success with two wickets apiece.South Africa needed to break the record for a team batting second and winning, improving on the 330 scored by Australia at the same ground after South Africa had posted 327.A good start was imperative and Herschelle Gibbs provided it. A 57-run partnership with Graeme Smith ended when Waqar Younis, after having a good LBW decision turned down, replied by clean bowling Gibbs for 40 in the eighth over.The wicket seemed to inspire him and he proceeded to bowl two excellent maidens in a row including the wicket of Smith for 18, who seemed to run out of patience charging down the pitch to drag the ball into the stumps.Neil McKenzie became the Waqar’s third wicket when an in-swinger trapped him right in front for four.Mohammad Sami, picking up three wickets, once again used his pace to cause problems for the South African batsmen. Boje, on the pull, was caught at long leg. Rhodes played outside a ball to be bowled and Kallis chased a wide one to be caught behind.South Africa had in the space of 10.3 overs gone from 57/1 to 100/7 and Pakistan were well on the way to a well-deserved win.Pollock and Klusener resisted for a short period before Afridi, who had Mark Boucher caught behind, bowled Pollock with a wrong ‘un and had Donald caught behind. Bowled out for 153, South Africa had recorded their lowest score against Pakistan in 12 home internationals.The only positive for South Africa was the increased confidence of Lance Klusener. Ending the night undefeated on 29 he seems to returning to the form he showed during the 1999 World Cup.Pakistan must rate this as one of their best performances in recent years, and a total turnaround from the performance in Durban. Their batting was near faultless and once Waqar Younis found his rhythm it filtered through to the rest of the team.It was an emphatic win that should make them favourites for East London on Friday night before they move on to the quicker pitches in Cape Town and Paarl.

Hampshire’s match against Lancashire is intriguingly poised going into the final day at Old Trafford, with the hosts leading by 190 but with only three second-innings wickets in hand. Hampshire were bowled out for 288 in their first dig, with Dominic Cork trapping Michael Brown lbw before Nic Pothas edged him to second slip. Cork later took a fine, diving catch at mid-off to remove Chris Tremlett, but after bowling Hampshire out mid-afternoon, Lancashire’s promise with the ball failed to materialise with the bat. In the blink of an eye, they slipped to 54 for 4, but Francois du Plessis played a dogged hand of 31 to steady Lancashire. On a tricky pitch, a score of around 230 could really test Hampshire, and the fourth day looks to be a fascinating duel.For John Ward’s report of the third day between Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire at Trent Bridge click here.

Leicestershire’s captain, Paul Nixon, frustrated Northamptonshire with a fighting 73 on the third day at Northampton, but the home side stuck to their task and completed an emphatic eight-wicket win shortly before stumps. Following on, Leicestershire began the day on 8 for 1, and it appeared Northamptonshire were walking to victory when Nicky Boje had Tom new caught for 11 and Jacques du Toit dismissed for just 2. Once Boeta Dippenaar fell for 15, Leicestershire had slipped to 92 for 6, still trailing by 108. But Nixon refused to be so easily beaten, and found excellent support in Tom Smith, the 22-year-old, who lasted 89 minutes for a courageous 31. The pair put on 66 for the eighth wicket and, after passing his fifty from 92 balls, Nixon edged Leicestershire past the 200 mark to ensure Northamptonshire would have to bat again. However, he fell to the impressive David Lucas, top-edging him to fine-leg, as Leicestershire set Northamptonshire a facile 27. Though they lost Niall O’Brien and Stephen Peters, David Sales and Robert White eased them home.Worcestershire romped to a bruising 10-wicket win over Middlesex, inside three days at Lord’s. The hosts trailed by 61 in their second innings, and experimented by opening with Ed Joyce. It failed miserably, as Joyce edged Kabir Ali behind for a third-ball duck. Ali, who bowled beautifully, then removed Nick Compton before deflecting a firmly-struck drive by Owais Shah to run out the unfortunate non-striker, Eoin Morgan. When Shah fell, Middlesex were 24 for 4 but Dawid Malan – their up-and-coming left-hander – cracked 52 while Ben Scott made 58, in a spirited stand of 113 in 25 overs. And then Gareth Batty took over, ripping out five wickets in 34 balls, with a combination of sharp spin and clueless Middlesex batting. Worcestershire were set 105 to win, and Stephen Moore (55 from 56) and Daryl Mitchell (48) powered them home in just 17 overs.Essex are on the brink of a thumping win over Gloucestershire after dismissing the visitors for 184 on the third day at Chelmsford. Gloucestershire, who resumed on 70 for 6, didn’t fold submissively however, as Steve Snell dropped anchor with 53 from 164 balls. There was little of any substance from the lower-order, and Danish Kaneria mopped up the tail to register 5 for 53 from 32.3 probing overs. Gloucestershire had set Essex a facile 181 to win, but the home side lost Varun Chopra and Jason Gallian to set the nerves jangling, before Neil Dexter (60*) and Ravi Bopara (83*) put them back on course with an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 143. With a full day tomorrow and the forecast balmy, Essex only need 31 to record their fourth win of the season and leapfrog Middlesex.

A seat for next summer’s Ashes is, as expected, proving to be the must-have ticket of 2009 with Edgbaston announcing that the second and third days of the third Test were sold out within hours of tickets being put on sale.On Monday night there were still some available for the first day, but these were expected to go on Tuesday. Around 4500 public tickets, priced at £75 for adults and £20 for children, remained for the fourth day. All members seats for the first four days have already sold out.The other four venues – Lord’s, Cardiff, Headingley and The Oval – will not release tickets until November, but Warwickshire took the decision to make seats available to those who had seen a Test at Edgbaston in the last four years. While that is good for regulars, it means that visitors from Australia may have difficulties obtaining tickets, although an ECB spokesman insisted this would not be the case.Those hoping to attend any of the matches will have to have deep pockets. Prices have been announced for Cardiff and Headingley and these go up to £85, while there is speculation that the cost at the London grounds could nudge £100.The news, which is not unexpected, will increase pressure on the ECB, which controversially awarded an Ashes Test to Cardiff despite the fact the ground had never staged a major international and has a capacity of only 15,000. It replaced Old Trafford, which has a capacity of just 3000 more but had a tried and trusted infrastructure.In 2001, an ECB official, referring to The Oval, said: “By the time the match comes round in August we will have received something like 100,000 applications for a ground with a capacity of 18,500. If the capacity had been 60,000, it would still not have been big enough.”