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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.

SYDNEY – Quarantine officials were “knocked for six” this week when theyfoiled two unlucky Sydneysiders’ attempts to import fresh turf and soilfrom London’s historic Lord’s cricket ground.Two packages, complete with certificates of authenticity, arrived atSydney’s international mail centre late on Tuesday night, marked as”sporting (cricket) goods”.The cricket-loving mail inspectors were forced to put personaltemptation aside and confiscate the prized earth.”They [quarantine officials] were quite surprised, ‘knocked for six’ wasthe expression one of them used. They were very surprised to findsomething of that nature,” Australian Quarantine and InspectionService’s (AQIS) NSW international mail manager Craig Hall told AAP.”They can understand the interest of it and how it is an unusual itembut from a quarantine perspective it unfortunately can’t be allowed inthe country.”According to the Lord’s official website, cricket fans were given theopportunity to buy some of the landmark’s turf, which has been removedthis month to make way for an improved and faster-draining outfield.Hall said the sheer size of the turf surprised the AQIS officers.”It is very unusual to get something of this nature, that is for sure,especially as large as this.”The turf itself is in lots of 40cm by 40cm so they are quitesubstantial pieces.”We come across a whole raft of products, everything from differenttypes of exotic foods, fruit, occasionally we get live animals. Everyday is a smorgasbord out here but we rarely come across sportingmemorabilia.”The two separate addressees have been given the chance to re-export thematerial, which will otherwise be destroyed, Hall said.”We have given them the option to send these items back overseas if theywish, at their own expense, or we will hold them for a period of timeand then destroy them.”In the wake of the foot and mouth outbreak in Europe last year, AQISstaff screen 100 per cent of all international mail entering Australiausing X-ray machines and quarantine detector dogs.

The lengthening shadows of September brought down the curtain on another first class cricket season at the County Ground, and for followers of the Cidermen there is nothing left other than to reflect on the season past and look forward to better things ahead in 2003.The club may have been relegated in both the County Championship and the NUL, but there was a breathtaking victory over Kent in the semi final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy when against all odds Somerset won themselves a place in the Lord’s final, where despite disappointment in defeat was hard not to enjoy the occasion.There were also some memorable performances. Ian Blackwell’s hundred in the only championship victory of the season when he bludgeoned a Yorkshire attack which included several England bowlers is one that comes to mind. Incidentally, that was the last time that Marcus Trescothick played a four day game for the county.England boss Duncan Fletcher’s presence at the Yorkshire match probably played a major part in `Blackies’ selection for the ICC Trophy where he made a considerable impact to earn a call up for the one day squad to play in Australia, as well as a place in the Academy `Down Under’this winter, and everybody is delighted for him. The only down side for supporters is that if he becomes an England regular we will see less of him at the County Ground.Matthew Wood has come of age and those who were fortunate to watch him fall tantalisingly close to a double century against Kent, only missing out to the finger tips of David Masters will know that he is a talent that we will be watching for many years to come.Paceman Simon Francis has also developed considerably during the season after being thrown in at the deep end early on through injury to the established bowlers. Indeed it was the former Hampshire man who turned the semi final match against Kent with a superb run out that will be talked about for many years to come.Keith Parsons played a vital part in the C and G run, and was quite rightly named `Man of the Match’ in the quarter final against Worcestershire when he played a superb innings and took vital wickets.Matt Bulbeck happily returned to the first class scene and played a full season for the first time for several years, and showed that he was back to his old form taking a career best in the final game against Lancashire.Sadly the side has suffered more than it’s fair share of injury in 2002, compared to last year when the whole season was virtually injury free, and this has resulted in key players being missing at vital times.Away from the first team Somerset Under 19’s won the ECB Two Day competition when they beat Hampshire in one day, and Neil Edwards has been selected to go to Australia this winter with England Under 19’s, all of which has to be good for the future of the club.No it wasn’t all bad this summer, and when the 2003 season gets underway in 193 days time there will no doubt have been some changes, but the same fanes who witnessed the relegations in 2002 will all be back at the County Ground to follow the fortunes of their beloved Somerset and looking forward to getting involved in promotion battles.

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond is to play for Warwickshire in August.Bond, who secured another five-wicket bag today, his second of the two-Test series against the West Indies and the second of his brief Test career, is to replace South African Shaun Pollock while he takes part in an international tri-series for his country.After a four-month lay-off Bond was keen to maintain the momentum he has gained since returning for the West Indies tour to bridge the gap of non-activity New Zealand faces before it plays in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka in September.His contract involves him playing three four-day matches in the County Championship and one one-day match in the Norwich Union League.In his six Test matches since making his debut against Australia in November last year, Bond has taken 26 wickets at 25.19.New Zealand Cricket operations manager John Reid said: “New Zealand Cricket has agreed to allow Shane the opportunity to play some cricket for Warwickshire because we believe it will provide him with excellent preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September.”The TelstraClear Black Caps first match in the ICC Champions Trophy is against Australia in Colombo on September 15.”This is a knock-out tournament. We must win that first match if we are to progress so we want Shane to be in the best possible condition for that match,” said Reid. “After a four month injury lay-off he needs to maintain the momentum he has developed during the current tour of the West Indies.Bond’s manager, Geoff Allott, supported New Zealand Cricket’s decision: “As the West Indies series has progressed Shane has started to find his rhythm again and, in terms of his preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy, he will benefit far more from match-play for Warwickshire than he would back in New Zealand where his preparation would be restricted to indoor net bowling.”Bond will return to New Zealand after the West Indies tour and the New Zealand Cricket medical team will be conducting a thorough assessment of his physical fitness, before confirming his availability for Warwickshire.”Shane’s re-introduction to cricket after his foot injury has been well managed and we want to ensure this continues,” said Reid.Under his contract with Warwickshire, Bond will have a managed workload where he will be restricted to bowling a maximum of 20 overs per day.

The Tasmanian Cricket Association is pleased to announce that young South Australian batsman, Luke Williams, will be joining the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers for season 2002/2003.Williams who has been a prolific run scorer in underage competitions and ACB Cup level is 22 years of age.He toured England with the Australian Under 19’s in 1998 and held the record for the highest individual score for South Australia at Under 17 level, of 225 not out with an aggregate of 530, achieved in the 1996/97 season carnival. This record was his for four seasons until it was eclipsed by Callum Ferguson during last season’s Under 17 competition.Williams made his first-class debut for South Australia in late 2000/2001 but had limited success in the two games he played.Cascade Tasmanian Tigers Coach, Brian McFadyen said, “Luke is a long term investment for Tasmanian cricket taking into consideration his age and his prolific record at underage and ACB Cup level.”He added, “Williams is an ambitious, modern cricketer and we are excited about adding him to the other young players within the squad who we envisage will be the core players for Tasmania in the future.”

Piran Holloway and Richard Johnson rescued a modicum of pride for Somersetbefore they succumbed to an innings defeat by Lancashire at Taunton. Resuming their second innings on 106-6 after the third-day wash-out, the home side still required 68 runs to make Lancashire bat again.This time there was no assistance from the weather. And when Keith Dutch fell lbw to Peter Martin’s loosener without adding to his score of 12 a one-sided opening Championship fixture looked to be heading for a quick finish.But Holloway can be a gritty competitor in such circumstances. The littleleft-hander was soon in obdurate mood and found a willing eighth-wicket partner in Johnson as the pair added 55 in 21 overs. Johnson hit 4 fours in his 37 and can reflect on an encouraging Somerset debut, which saw him take five wickets in the Lancashire innings, despite the disappointing result.Just when it seemed the partnership might spare Somerset the indignity ofdefeat by an innings, Johnson attempted a forcing shot off Andy Flintoff’sfirst ball of the day and edged to wicketkeeper Warren Hegg. Steffan Jones was soon struck on the helmet by a Martin delivery and then played over the top of a fuller length ball to have his stumps shattered for four.The game ended with the opening delivery of Flintoff’s next over as Holloway lost his leg stump, having made 74 off 197 balls, with 6 fours and a five.Somerset had been bowled out for 170 to lose by an innings and four runs.Flintoff’s remodelled action brought his 2-7 from 5.1 overs, while Martin’stwo final day victims left him with 3-55 from 21 overs. Lancashire took 19 points and Somerset four.

Glamorgan could have two representatives at the first Test against Pakistan, starting at Lord`s next Thursday – spinner Robert Croft and scorer Byron Denning.Byron Denning has already accepted an invitation to act as England`s scorer in the opening Test of the 2001 series. The long serving Glamorgan scorer will be in the scorer`s box alongside Tony Kingston of Northamptonshire as the two teams take the field, and after the announcement this morning of the England squad, it is not inconceivable that `Dasher` will be recording the efforts of spinner Robert Croft.Croft is one of thirteen names in the England squad, which includes uncapped Surrey batsman Ian Ward and Yorkshire`s Ryan Sidebottom. Croft is the only full time spinner in the squad, with Ashley Giles still recovering from a Achilles tendon strain.Many pundits are suggesting that Ward will get the nod in the final eleven, rather than the Glamorgan off-spinner, but Chairman of Selectors David Graveney has not discounted the fact that Croft could figure in the match. “Everyone seems to think Crofty is simply coming along to make up thenumbers, but with the weather being so unpredictable, we believespin could still play a part in this Test.”

Tamworth:
Bedfordshire 364-5 and 45-0
Staffordshire 192 and 215
Bedfordshire won by 10 wicketsDean Park:
Dorset 339 and 101 (S Rintoul 57, C Shreck 5-60)
Cornwall 300 and 142-2 (B Price 74)
Cornwall won by 8 wicketsSouth Wilts:
Devon 368-8d and 181-6 d
Wiltshire 222-8d and 142 (MAE Richards 6-46)
Devon won by 185 runsLuctonians:
Herefordshire 291-9 and 243-4d (PS Lazenbury 119)
Cheshire 276-8d
Match drawnGrantham:
Lincolnshire 375-7d
Buckinghamshire 165 and 298-8d (AJ Ward 63, AJ Lock 52, PD Atkins 51)
Match drawnWelwyn Garden City:
Cambridgeshire 297 and 201-7d (A Akhtar 62*, PJ O’Reilly 5-34)
Hertfordshire 247-9d and 166 (SG Cordingly 61, PM Such 5-28)
Cambridgeshire won by 85 runsLamphey:
Wales 273 and 199-9d
Berkshire 153-1d (TD Fray 57*, FS Patel 78*) and 16-0
Match drawn

They had clapped in the Premadasa media room after Darren Sammy finished his pre-final press conference on Saturday. They clapped in the Premadasa press box on Sunday after West Indies took the last Sri Lankan wicket to win the World Twenty20 2012. They clapped in the Premadasa media room after Sammy finished his post-final press conference. So rare have such occasions been for West Indies cricket after their decline that Sammy called this victory “the best moment for me”.The West Indies captain sauntered into the media room draped in the maroon West Indies cricket flag. He kept the World Twenty20 trophy proudly in front of him on the table. “My trophy is so big I can’t see you,” he joked with the first questioner.He spoke about treasuring the achievement for the rest of his life. He was asked whether his performance with both bat and ball in the final was an answer to the critics who had questioned his place in the side all along. He said when even Christ was crucified without fault, he himself was nothing. It was a much-criticised, large-hearted man speaking from his heart, and Sammy didn’t hold back tonight.”We will definitely cherish this moment. I will for sure,” Sammy said. “We’re going to relive it every day of our lives. This is the best moment for me in any cricket. This here (the trophy) is for the Caribbean people. West Indies fans all over the world have been craving success. I know they’re partying from Jamaica down to Guyana. And we know how to party. I think they’ll need a lot of bartenders.”Sammy said while the critics had a job to do, he had always believed in playing for the Caribbean people. “The commentators get paid to speak. The media get paid to write stories. I get paid to play cricket,” Sammy said. “Critics will always be there. Someone might find something wrong I did today even though we won. That does not worry me. The most important thing is that the team did well.”And I always say I live my life one way. Christ came to this earth, did nothing wrong and yet was crucified. I’m nowhere close to that man.”Anybody could have an opinion about me. I like it. My shoulders are broad enough. It’s been like that from the time I started cricket. Once I wear this [West Indies] crest (pointing to his shirt), I wear it on my heart. That’s what matters. If I turn up and don’t have a good day, I suck, I’ll come the next day and try and put in a better performance. I don’t play for glory. I play for the Caribbean people.”Sammy was asked what had won the game for West Indies, after they had been 32 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings. He spoke about belief, and he spoke about God. “We have a strong belief in God. He works in mysterious ways. He performs wonders,” Sammy said. “Like I kept saying in every press conference, there’s a belief we had in the team. Yes, we expected them (Sri Lanka) to give us a good fight and they did.”Throughout the last year or so, we’ve been showing that never-say-die attitude, but we’ve not been winning games. In this tournament, we’ve won games. Every man believed that whoever was out there could do the job. Today, it was Marlon Samuels and (Dwayne) Bravo steadying the ship. In the end, every run counts. The bowling discipline was just brilliant, and the fielding. I said we needed our A-plus game, this here is proof of it.”After Marlon Samuels’ 78 had carried them to 137, Sammy said West Indies believed they had a chance. “The coach was saying that if we get the score we got in Pallekele (129 for 5 against Sri Lanka) on this wicket, we’ll win the match,” Sammy said. “The momentum we had from our batting carried through to our bowling. It was Dwayne Bravo’s birthday, so in the huddle, I gave him the chance to say the last words before we went on the field. He said, ‘let’s go out there and give it our all. If we do that and play how we can play, these runs are going to be a fighting total’. Ravi (Rampaul) started it off with his first ball, and we never looked back from there.”We have some of the most experienced Twenty20 players. Once we play the way we can, we’ll always be a force to reckon with. We didn’t brag about it but we believed we could go out there and take it one game at a time. I said hurdle by hurdle, and today was the final one. The coach said we’re climbing to the top of a mountain, and that’s where the prize is. We’ve got to go and take it. Today, we did that. We had different persons coming up with performances in different matches. The team has gelled well in this tournament. Signs of progress have been there, but this is the icing on the cake.”There have been questions raised about the unity of the squad in the past, and the board and the players have had numerous disputes, but Sammy hoped this victory could be the start of something new for West Indies cricket. “This is the moment here,” he said. “Issues done and buried. Twenty20 World Cup, 2012, Sri Lanka – West Indies champion.”And Sammy held the trophy up. And there was another round of applause.

Railways stormed into the final of the coveted Ranji Trophychampionship beating Punjab by 5 wickets at the PCA stadium in Mohalion Monday. This is the second entry of Railways into the title clashand comes after a gap of 13 years.Resuming at six without loss in pursuit of a target of 199, thevisitors began on a cautious note as they scored only 55 runs in thefirst session in which 36 overs were bowled. This was primarily doneto ensure that the Punjab team did not get an early breakthrough andrun through the Railways innings. The overnight batsmen Amit Pagnisand Sanjay Bangar successfully negotiated the opening spell ofGagandeep and Vineet Sharma.Spin was introduced as early as the 11th over to make use of thebowlers’ footmarks. The opening pair took the score to 47 runs beforePagnis, who struck two elegant boundaries of Sandeep Sawal, offered asimple return catch to the left arm spinner Babloo Kumar, as he triedto play the bowler towards midon.Tejinder Pal Singh who joined Pagnis, struck Sandeep Sawal throughcovers to open his account. A spanking straight drive by Tejinder offMunish Sharma was the shot of the day; none of the fielders budged asthe ball raced to the fence. The partnership between Tejinder andSanjay Bangar tilted the match in favour of Railways but with thescore on 110, Tejinder (34, 4×4) offered a simple catch to substituteDinesh Mongia, who was the lone fielder in the slip cordon.Yere Goud, known for his cool temperament proved to be an able ally toBangar as both of them kept the scoreboard moving by taking singlesand twos. They carried the total to 125 when Bangar needlessly chaseda wide delivery from Gagandeep only to be caught by wicket keeperVikram Rathore for an individual contribution of 47. Skipper AbhaySharma scored a boundary and a towering six off Sandeep Sawal.However, the bowler had the last laugh as he had Sharma caught in theslips by Mongia for 17 at the stroke of tea.At the score of 168, umpire S.Banerjee ruled Yere Goud leg before asthe batsman tried to play a full pitched delivery from Reetinder Sodhihalf cock. The usually dependable Goud had contributed 25 runs off 66balls including four hits to the fence. With 31 runs still requiredfor victory, there was a slight flutter in the Railways camp.But Raza Ali had other ideas, striking six boundaries in the course ofan unbeaten 32, with his winning shot coming off Sandeep Sawal.Shreyas Khanolkar remain unbeaten on 12 as Railways clinched the issuejust four balls before the mandatory overs were to begin. For PunjabGagandeep, Sodhi, Vineet Sharma, Babloo Kumar and Sandeep Sawalclaimed one wicket each.