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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.

Laurent Koscielny scored with eight minutes remaining to snatch a deserved point for Arsenal in an entertaining encounter with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

The Frenchman’s equaliser maintained the Gunners’ unbeaten start to the season and left Roberto Mancini frustrated after City drew for the third time in five games despite taking the lead through Joleon Lescott.

Arsene Wenger will be the happier of the two managers as his side turned in an accomplished display to come from behind and earn a share of the spoils against the Premier League champions.

City, on the other hand, appeared deflated after their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in midweek and should have been behind as the visitors, powered by the excellent Santi Cazorla, clicked straight into gear. The Spaniard twice tested Joe Hart with strikes from distance, while Gervinho shot into the side netting before the home side finally sparked into life.

Sergio Aguero brought a save out of Vito Mannone with a low effort before a tactical reshuffle from Mancini, that involved switching Scott Sinclair to the right wing, turned the tide in City’s favour as they took the lead with five minutes left of the half courtesy of Lescott’s header from David Silva’s corner.

Edin Dzeko then came close to doubling the advantage just before the break but saw Mannone tip his effort over the crossbar before Arsenal sprang back into life after the restart. Cazorla drew a breathtaking save from Hart as the away side had to wait until the 82nd minute to level proceedings, Koscielny lashing home from close range after City failed to deal with a corner.

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Vincent Kompany and Aguero went close to restoring the hosts’ lead soon after with Gervinho wasting a glorious chance to take maximum points back to North London in the closing stages.

Jason Gillespie is eager to start his Glamorgan career after being granted clearance to play by the ECB following his time in the Indian Cricket League.Gillespie retired from Australian state cricket and took a contract with the ICL, which put his Glamorgan place under threat until he was one of a group of players cleared last week.”It was a great relief to me when I heard that I had got the go-ahead from the ECB to play for Glamorgan this season. I can’t wait to get started,” he told the . “I had spoken to a lot of people like Matt Elliott, Mike Kasprowicz and Jimmy Maher, as well as my former state coach Jeff Hammond [also a former Glamorgan coach] and they all said it’s a great place to come and play cricket.”Gillespie said the chance to join the Ahmedabad Rockets was too good to refuse and he found his spell in India an enjoyable experience. “The opportunity came to play in the ICL and it was something I couldn’t turn down,” he said. “I bowled pretty well but unfortunately the team I played for didn’t get very far in the tournament.”The sponsors were over the moon with the ratings, so I think there is a place for both the IPL and ICL in world cricket,” he said. “We are all cricket people and I’m sure compromises can be made with regards their places in the fixture list.”Gillespie will make his Glamorgan debut against Middlesex at Lord’s, a match that will also see Jamie Dalrymple taking on his former county following his winter move.

Dates for the second Ol Pejeta “Cricket in the Wild” tournament in Kenya have been confirmed – the competition will begin on Friday September 28.The three-day event is designed to raise funds to support the Ol Pejeta Conservancy – a 90,000 acre wildlife park at the foothills of Mount Kenya – which, it is hoped, will help with the development of schools and other local facilities.Each of the eight teams, split into two leagues, is required to raise a minimum of KSh200,000 (USD 2900) – usually by sponsorship – to secure their place in the tournament. The cricket itself will be 10:10 (10 overs per side) with eight-ball overs.The winner receives a trophy, and there will be a special prize for the most humorous sledge, at the umpire’s discretion.

Neil Williams in full flow © The Cricketer

Neil Williams, the medium-fast bowler who played one Test for England in 1990, has died in hospital after short battle against pneumonia. He was 43. He suffered a stroke at his St Vincent home three weeks ago from which he never recovered.Williams’ one cap came when he was drafted into the England side for the final Test against India at The Oval in 1990 when Chris Lewis withdrew with a migraine. India amassed 606 for 9 and Williams took 2 for 148 – but the victims were Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin. Sent in as a nightwatchman on the second evening, he made 38 in a second-wicket stand of 74 with Graham Gooch, an achievement he rated higher than his two wickets. He was not considered for that winter’s Ashes series, and when not even summoned when injuries hit, it was clear that at 28 his chance had come and gone.Williams was born in St Vincent and was a quietly spoken player who was happy to let others grab the headlines. He emigrated to Britain when he was 13 and joined Middlesex after a season-and-a-half as an MCC Young Professional during which time he had been playing for Hornsey. A deeply religious man, when he first arrived at Lord’s he refused to play on Sundays.

Williams in action for Middlesex © Getty Images

He made his county debut for Middlesex in 1982, one of a number of Caribbean-born players to represent them in the 1980s – Roland Butcher, Wilf Slack and Norman Cowans, who also debuted in 1982, were among the others. Brisk rather than fast, Williams was accurate and had a dangerous late away-swinger, and in a 12-year career with Middlesex made 193 appearances, taking 479 wickets. He was a key part of four Championship-winning sides (1982, 1985, 1990, 1992) and in 1995, following a successful benefit, he moved to Essex where he played until 1998.In the winters he played three seasons for Windward Islands and also enjoyed one season with Tasmania in 1983-84. He was the coach of St Vincent’s Academy for Kids at the time of his death.Mike Brearley, his first captain at Middlesex, said he was a “modest, unassuming person who always did his absolute best for the team,” while Christopher Martin-Jenkins described him as a “courteous, friendly man brought up to believe in the precious traditions of fair play”. Former team-mate Angus Fraser said he was “a very talented bowler who, in another era and had he not picked up so many injuries, may have played for England a few more times.”

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Essex ground Yorkshire into the dirt and then reaped late dividends as they gained complete control at Headingley. Essex’s dominance was highlighted as Darren Gough, sent in as a nightwatchman, came within seven runs of registering a century against his former team. His 93 took 104 balls and contained 11 fours and three sixes and he was the dominated partner in a stand of 140 with Andy Flower. Not that Flower was a slouch, he just went about scoring in his own fashion, and eventually fell to Tim Bresnan after facing 426 balls. The torture didn’t end their for the Yorkshire attack as James Foster piled in with 92 before his dismissal signalled the declaration from Ronnie Irani. Yorkshire’s weary openers – Matthew Wood and Phil Jaques – having chased leather for over five sessions, then fell to Andre Adams in quick succession before Yorkshire could finally retreat to the dressing-room to lick their wounds.
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Jason Brown gave Northants a potentially vital first-innings lead of 52 as he finally got among the wickets after a barren start to the season. Brown, who toured Sri Lanka with England in 2001 and was touted as a contender for a Test spot earlier in his career, had picked up just six wickets this summer until today’s haul. He continually chipped away at the Somerset batting and each time a partnership threatened to develop he struck. His key strike was removing Sanath Jayasuriya, who was dangerously poised on 55 and is starting to find his feet in county cricket. Ian Blackwell’s big-hitting 59 was also nipped in the bud by Brown before he mopped up the tail. However, some lusty blows from Richard Johnson kept the deficit down to manageable proportions. Gareth Andrew’s late removal of Bilal Shafayat means Somerset are not without hope entering the third day.1st day

Leicestershire took the honours on a turgid opening day at Derby as runs came at less than two and a half an over. All the Leicestershire attack was frugal and the wickets were shared around. Michael Di Venuto – normally a very aggressive batsman – took 196 balls over 76, but the flimsy Derbyshire batting would have completely folded without his contribution. After choosing to bat they subsided to 61 for 4 with David Masters claiming a brace. There were useful contributions from the lower order, especially Graeme Welch who made 42, but they could never break the shackles. The situation could have been better for Leicestershire if Paul Nixon hadn’t missed two chances – one off Di Venuto and one off Welch – but neither batsman really cashed in. On a pitch already showing signs of variable bounce Derbyshire took a rare attacking option, late in the day, when they declared to give Leicestershire a couple of overs to face. They survived and Derbyshire’s attack will have to be as thrifty as Leicestershire’s on the second day.

Hashan Tillakaratne: retained as captain, despite negative approach © Getty Images

Hashan Tillakaratne has been retained as Sri Lanka’s Test captain for the forthcoming series against Australia, despite widespread criticism of his attritional leadership style during the recent series win against England.Meanwhile Marvan Atapattu, despite an ongoing investigation into the bizarre cash-in-the-bedroom affair, has been told that he will eventually take over the mantle from Tillakaratne. Atapattu was reappointed as the one-day captain for the tour.A Sri Lanka Cricket media statement said: “Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved the appointment of Mr. Hashan Tillakaratne as captain for the Test team and Marvan Atapattu as captain of the ODI team for the forthcoming Australia tour.”Tillakaratne, now 35, was accused of excessive negativity during thethree-match series against England, which was eventually won 1-0, but could conceivably have been won 3-0 as England’s tailenders hung on for tense draws in the first two Tests.Atapattu, who was widely expected to take the leadership of both teams after the resignation of Sanath Jayasuriya in April 2003, has guided Sri Lanka to victory against West Indies and England in his last two ODI series.Aravinda de Silva, now an influential selector, reassured Atapattu that his day would come: “Marvan knows that it is only a matter of time before he is handed over the Sri Lanka Test captaincy. He is aware of it and he has been told that he will be Hashan’s [Tillakaratne] successor.”We want to make the transition as easy as possible for Marvan and the best time to hand the captaincy over to him is when the team is performing well and when the batsmen are in good form. This way there will be no extra pressure on Marvan,” added de Silva.Australia are due to play five one-dayers and three Tests during a six-week tour that starts in mid-February. The last time Australia toured Sri Lanka, in September 1999, they were defeated 1-0 in a rain-hit series.

Catches, they often say, win matches.And after an uninspiring display with a series of misses in the first phase of the day, Barbados atoned in the evening session with four sharp catches that have made them firm favourites to secure first innings honours over Jamaica in their third-round Carib Beer Series match.Another big crowd at the lovely North Stars ground in St Lucy would have been giving the hosts a tongue-lashing when they spilled four chances of varying difficulty.However, they would have been singing their praises after tea when Floyd Reifer, Sherwin Campbell and Ian Bradshaw hauled in fine catches that decisively swung the battle for first innings points.The evening session, in which Jamaica slipped from 186 for three an hour after tea to 224 for nine at the close, also produced further drama when fast bowler Tino Best was pulled out of the attack after sending down two waist-high full-tosses in successive overs.Best was into a lively spell in which he removed Jamaica captain Robert Samuels compliments of Reifer’s wonderful catch at first slip when he was required to dive low to his right.The dismissal of Samuels started the slide in which Jamaica lost six wickets for 38 to knock down the platform that was built in successive partnerships of 73 and 64 that involved solid contributions from Brenton Parchment, Dave Bernard Jr and the lucky Keith Hibbert.Let off on 12, 29 and 35, the Jamaican wicket-keeper fell in the middle of the collapse for a dogged 41 that stretched more than three hours.After he departed, two excellent catches followed to transform the sad faces around the ground to happy ones.Campbell did well to haul in a deflection off wicket-keeper Courtney Browne’s pads to account for Gareth Breese, while Ian Bradshaw tumbled low on his follow-through to catch Mario Ventura, who failed to score in 37 minutes.The drama wasn’t over yet.After Franklyn Rose swung Ryan Hurley over square-leg for six in fading light, he edged Ryan Hinds low to slip where Campbell took a low chance on the second attempt.Rose, however, stood his ground showing his obvious disappointment at the verdict against him.The umpires then offered Jamaica the option to go off at 5:51 p.m. because of the light, but Barbados seem certain to achieve first innings points early this morning with Jamaica still needing another 102 to overhaul Barbados’ 325.Jamaica were probably fancying their chances after half-centuries from Parchment and Bernard, both of whom played at this ground as members of the Jamaica youth team in 1999.After the start was delayed by 50 minutes because of a brief shower at 9:15 a.m., Jamaica suffered an immediate setback when they lost Leon Garrick to the day’s second ball.The little opening batsman seemed dumbfounded when a ball from Sulieman Benn came off his inside edge and onto the stumps.It was the only success of the morning session for the hosts, who should have claimed another wicket on the stroke on lunch, but Browne missed a relatively straightforward chance offered by Parchment off Hinds’ second ball.By then Parchment was growing in confidence and played some authentic strokes on the way to a solid half-century. Among them were sixes in successive overs off Hurley and Benn in the direction of mid-wicket and long-off.The former West Indies youth captain also counted eight fours, including successive boundaries off Bradshaw, but gifted his wicket 15 minutes after lunch by flashing at a short ball from Best.It didn’t deserve a wicket, but Parchment edged it to the ‘keeper after batting impressively for 59 in two-and-a-half hours.After his dismissal, Browne sprang a series of bowling changes in the first 45 minutes after lunch when there were at least five switches.One of those changes should have produced a wicket.When Hurley was switched to the southern end, he induced Hibbert into skying an offering to mid-wicket. Both Best and substitute Randy Thomas were converging on the ball and Best, never settled, spilled the chance.There was a much more difficult opportunity to remove Hibbert after tea, but no one could blame Philo Wallace for not holding on to a sharp chance at gully, and it was a similar situation when Browne missed a leg-side chance off the same batsman.All the while, Bernard, who has been enjoying a good all-round season, moved on to his second half-century of the tournament before Hurley claimed him lbw for 53 that occupied four hours.The fine catches then followed.SCOREBOARDBARBADOS 1st Innings 325JAMAICA 1st Innings (overnight 31-0)L. Garrick b Benn 19B. Parchment c wk Browne b Best 59D. Bernard lbw b Hinds 53+K. Hibbert lbw b Hurley 41*R. Samuels c Reifer b Best 8M. Ventura c and b Bradshaw 0G. Breese c Campbell b Hurley 8N. Perry c and b Bradshaw 5F. Rose c Campbell b Hinds 15D. Powell not out 0R. Cunningham not out 0Extras (b4, lb3, w1, nb8) 16TOTAL (9 wkts – 105.1 overs) 224Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Garrick), 2-102 (Parchment), 3-161 (Bernard), 4-186 (Samuels), 5-189 (Hibbert), 6-202 (Breese), 7-202 (Ventura), 8-211 (Perry), 9-224 (Rose).Bowling: Best 10-3-23-2 (nb2), Bradshaw 26-9-61-2 (w1, nb4), Hurley 26-4-68-2 (nb1), Benn 28-16-41-1, Hinds 6.1-3-5-2, Smith 9-4-19-0 (nb1).Position: Jamaica need another 102 runs for first innings lead with one wicket in hand ahead of today’s final dayUmpires: Clive Duncan (Guyana), Vincent Bullen (Barbados). Stand-by: Mervyn Jones (Barbados)Match referee: Carl Brome

Pakistan’s innings, in the presence of a full house at Lord’s, could be regarded as an anti-climax for the NatWest Series final. The combined pace and spin attack of Australia dismissed them in just 42.3 overs for a modest 152.Pakistan failed to match the flying start they got off to in their previous match when they had 61 on the board without loss. This morning they lost four wickets before reaching that score with Australia striking important early blows. The opening batsmen were both dismissed in the first hour’s play within fifteen overs.Despite choosing to bat first in fine condtions – it was sunny and warm – on a pitch which had a tinge of green on it and offered some pace and bounce, Pakistan batsmen were unable to settle in.Salim Elahi was the first to fall, with the total on 28, getting an outside edge to a ball from Glenn McGrath which appeared to be lifting a little. After the addition of 19 runs, Saeed Anwar played a poor shot, lofting the ball to mid-off and Pakistan were two wickets down for 47.There was further disasters for them when, with the total on 60, two wickets went down. Yousuf Youhana was sent back by Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has never been renowned for his running between the wickets, and Youhana had little chance of getting back as the direct hit came from Ricky Ponting.Four balls later, Brett Lee had Younis Khan caught low at first slip without scoring. Halfway through their knock – 25 overs – Pakistan were 78 for four and battling hard to steady the innings.Abdur Razzaq’s aggressive strokes brought him four quick boundaries but with Pakistan on 92, he mistimed his pull to be caught at short mid-wicket.With Inzamam and Azhar Mahmood going within eight runs of each other, both falling to the leg spin of Shane Warne, Pakistan were 110 for seven and any hopes that they may have held of a recovery were rapidly diminishing.Yet the highest partnership of the innings followed, with a 41-run stand. It ended with Rashid Latif being bowled by Warne for 23 with the total on 151. A run later the last two wickets fell with 7.3 overs still remaining.

	Bill Brown (right) walks out to bat with Don Bradman © Getty Images

Bill Brown, who was the only remaining link to Australia’s pre-World War Two Test era, has died at the age of 95. Brown was the country’s oldest living Test cricketer and the third oldest in the world, and his death leaves only four surviving members of the 1948 Invincibles squad – Arthur Morris, Sam Loxton, Neil Harvey and Ron Hamence. His health had steadily declined in the past few months and he died peacefully at an RSL home in Brisbane’s northern suburbs on Sunday.Although Brown’s career was often overshadowed by his better-known contemporaries – he played with the likes of Don Bradman, Bill Ponsford, Bill Woodfull and Stan McCabe – he was without doubt a first-rate opening batsman. His 22 Tests brought 1592 runs at 46.82 and he was given the honour of captaining Australia for their first Test after the war.He formed a prolific combination with Jack Fingleton and the pair averaged 63.75 in their opening stands in ten Tests. They were at their most damaging on the 1935-36 tour of South Africa, when they compiled three century partnerships including 233 in Cape Town, which remains a record for the first wicket in Australia-South Africa Tests.Brown’s personal pinnacle came at Lord’s on the 1938 Ashes tour, when he carried his bat for an unbeaten 206 in the first televised Test, a match that was also memorable for Wally Hammond’s 240. He had already scored 133 at Trent Bridge and he had such a successful tour that he was second only to Bradman in Australia’s list of aggregates and averages, and his 512 Test runs at 73.14 earned him a Cricketer of the Year award for 1939.A cautious opener, Brown took seriously the job description, which he later summarised as: “Stay there until lunch-time on the first day. The pace you scored at didn’t matter a darn.” His adherence to the team request might not have pleased all the fans, who were often left waiting for the appearance of Bradman at No. 3, but it did satisfy his team-mates and Australia won 14 of the 22 Tests in which Brown played.His three tours to England were all memorable for different reasons – he made his Test debut in 1934 in Nottingham and scored 73, which was followed by his maiden century in the next match at Lord’s. The 1938 visit earned him the honour, and ten years later he returned and at the age of 35 played two Tests during the Invincibles trip.By then his best days were behind him but he went on to play one more Australian summer as the captain of Queensland, his home state. Although he was born in Toowoomba in 1912, Brown had learned his cricket in New South Wales and made his first-class debut there in 1932-33.That was the season of Bodyline and in the lead-up to the fourth Test Brown got a taste of his international future when he played against the tourists for a New South Wales side. Brown, who was only 20, enjoyed the occasion by making 69 when Bradman, Fingleton and Alan Kippax all failed. “The grass looks greener, it’s a lovely day, the sun’s shining, I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world,” Brown said in later years in the book , recalling how he felt when he discovered England were resting Harold Larwood, Gubby Allen and Bill Voce.”Prior to that I’d been lying in bed at night worrying. I had a fairly heavy bat, you see, and I’d thought, God, I’ll never get this up in time for Larwood, he’ll hit me fair between the eyes and that’ll be the end of me.”During World War II, Brown was an air-force pilot and he spent time serving in Darwin and New Guinea, so his recollections of the conflict were markedly different to those of his team-mate Keith Miller, who flew over Germany. “I class mine as a gentleman’s war,” Brown said. “Never got dirty doing anything.”Brown went on to become a selector for Queensland and Australia during the 1950s, and in later years he was known as a gentleman of Australian cricket and as an entertaining public speaker. He presented Adam Gilchrist and Scott Muller with their baggy-green caps in 1999 and repeated the occasion six years later at the Gabba when Michael Hussey debuted. Brown inherited the mantle as Australia’s oldest living Test cricketer from Bradman and that title has now passed to Hamence, who at 92 is one of the four remaining Invicibles.