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Devon Malcolm has signed a new one-year contract for Leicestershire, and is now set to open their bowling attack next summer at the age of 40.The former England fast bowler has been at Grace Road for two years and last season was again the leading wicket taker for them in Championship games with 60 victims.He also reached a career total of 1000 first class wickets when he dismissed Yorkshire’s Vic Craven in the game at Grace Road.Leicestershire general manager Kevin Hill said: “We are thrilled that Devon has signed a one-year contract. For the last two years Devon has performed to a very high standard.”We believe his determination for further individudal and team succss will help the club, supporters and sponsors enjoy a good season in 2003.”

The crowds have been disappointing so far in the ICC Champions Trophy but on Friday afternoon even the streets outside Premadasa International Stadium will be overflowing. Match tickets are already exchanging hands for five times their face value. No one wants to miss the Sri Lanka-Australia semi-final. In a country that adores one-day cricket, this is the biggest game since the Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup final.Sri Lanka felt an equal weight of expectation on their shoulders in thetournament curtain raiser against Pakistan, when defeat would have forced upon them the humiliation of an early exit. Instead of wilting under the pressure they drew inspiration from the occasion and skipper Sanath Jayasuriya hopes that his players will react similarly in tomorrow’s game."This is the biggest game we have had for a long time," says Jayasuriya, dripping with sweat after the team’s final practice session. "The whole of Sri Lanka is following this match, hoping that we will win. But we must not put ourselves under too much pressure – we have to treat it like any other game."Jayasuriya is under no illusions as to the enormity of the challenge posed by Australia, even if Sri Lanka has the advantage of home conditions. Ricky Ponting’s side have emerged from a winter’s break in scintillating form, brushing aside their opponents with contemptuous ease."We are playing the best team in the world tomorrow – it is going to be very tough," admits Jayasuriya. "The boys know that it’s not going to be easy but they are looking forward to the game. We are not going to roll over just because this is Australia – we are going to give them a hard time."He wants the players to concentrate on the basics: "We have to carry ondoing the things that we have been doing well and stick to the basics. But to win against such a good side as Australia we are going to have to perform in all three departments."But the key will be the front-end of both innings: "We have to keep ourwickets intact during the first 15 overs. They have three of the best fast bowlers in the world and we have to be more cautious. But if there is anything loose then we must play our natural game."Jayasuriya comes into the game still suffering considerable pain from adislocated shoulder – an injury that may now require surgery – with aformidable run of form having scored 36, 102*, 71, 46, 97, 49 and 36 in his last seven games. He is the single most important reason for the turnaround in Sri Lankan fortunes and there may be concerns that he is due a failure.He just wants to prepare in the same manner, focusing on the present rather than the past: "I am not putting myself under unnecessary pressure to perform again. The important thing is to prepare for the game as I have been before."Coach Dav Whatmore admits the captain’s contribution has been immense but believes that the other batsmen will stand up to be counted when heeventually fails. "His performances have been wonderful recently and the knock-on effect is self-evident," says Whatmore. "But there have been others that have also contributed and we are prepared for the eventuality of Sanath not getting runs. We feel confident enough with the batsmen that we have to do a repair job if he fails."But Whatmore is concerned about the Australian batting, particularly the openers: "If you look at the other end both openers are capable of scoring big hundreds. They have been the catalyst for recent victories."Thus, restraining Australia’s powerful batting line-up has become the focus of Sri Lanka’s strategic planning. The selectors and management are yet to agree on the best course of action but it is clear that they have identified spin as their trump card on the slow, turning Premadasa pitch – the only question is how many do they play.Sri Lanka last played Australia at the same venue during the AIWA Cupstraight after the 1999 World Cup. During the final of that tournament Sri Lanka played just two fast bowlers, opening the bowling with the part-time off-breaks of Russel Arnold and bowling 35 overs of spin in all. Australia were bowled out for 202 and the hosts cruised to a comfortable eight wicket win.And once again the management are considering dropping a fast bowler toprovide the luxury of three specialist spinners. With Australia having four left-handers in their top six and a perceived weakness against off-spin, Kumar Dharmasena is certain to play alongside Muttiah Muralitharan.The dilemma is then whether to play leg-spinner Upul Chandana as well. If they do then either Dilhara Fernando or Pulasthi Gunaratne must step down. The fact that Fernando, despite being Sri Lanka’s most penetrative pace bowler, struggles with the new ball means that he is the most likely to be discarded.The case is more compelling when one considers extra depth provided byhaving both Dharmasena and Chandana in the lower middle order. With Chaminda Vaas they would bat down to number nine.Sri Lanka:Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de Silva, Russel Arnold, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Hasantha Fernando, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pulasthi Gunaratne.

Somerset finished the first day at Edgbaston 109 behind Warwickshire with seven wickets in hand, but will have to do without the services of strike bowler Richard Johnson for the rest of the match, after he left the field early on during the morning with a hamstring injury.After winning the toss Warwickshire batted first, and looked like being dismissed cheaply before Graham Wagg ( 42 not out) and Melvyn Betts (23) came to the rescue by putting on 65 for the ninth wicket to enable their team to reach 230 all out.The pick of the Somerset bowlers was Steffan Jones, who on his return to the championship scene ended with 4 for 46 from his 16.1 overs.The Cidermen’s reply got off to the worst possible of starts when Piran Holloway was dismissed without any score on the board, and six runs later his opening partner Matt Wood followed him back into the pavilion.Mike Burns and Peter Bowler then steadied the Somerset innings, sharing a third wicket partnership of 104 before the acting captain was bowled by Duggie Brown for 54.At the close of play Peter Bowler remained unbeaten on 54, with night watchman Steffan Jones yet to score as Somerset had reached 121 for 3 off 35 overs.Afterwards Kevin Shine told me: "It was a good effort from all of the boys today, especially after losing one of our big guns early on. Steffan bowled well today, but I’m pleased with them all, they all knuckled down well after losing Johnno."He continued: "When we batted Mike Burns and Peter Bowler shared an important partnership to put us in a good position, and tomorrow we will be looking to get a lead."

Bradley Hodge, Durham’s overseas signing brought in to replace Martin Love,has broken his thumb during a training session less than a week after hisarrival from Australia.Bradley was bowling in a practice session in the nets the day before the NULgame against Notts when he was hit on the thumb.Brad will see a specialist tomorrow, but is likely to be out of action untilthe end of August.Chairman Bill Midgley said: “The Club is looking at the possibility of areplacement, but at this late stage in the season, the options forreplacements is limited.”

Somerset County Cricket Club have confirmed that Michael Burns will skipper the side next season and that West Indian fast bowler Nixon McLean has signed as their second overseas player for 2003.With regard to the appointment of the former Warwickshire all rounder to the captaincy Peter Anderson the Somerset chief executive told me: “I think the club accepted that probably we didn’t get it right in 2002 and swapping between Jamie Cox, Marcus Trescothick and Mike Burns was unsuccessful.”The Somerset boss continued: “Of course we tried to help Marcus to get captaincy experience because he wants to be the captain of England, which probably wasn’t in the club’s interest, but every cloud has a silver lining and Mike Burns pushed himself to the front when he had his chance. He is now a solid journeyman professional who knows the game inside out and has now been given his opportunity.”Regarding the signing of Nixon McLean, who had two seasons with Hampshire in the late 1990’s Mr Anderson told me: “In the light of our injury stricken season with fast bowlers the club decided that we had to sign a fast bowler as our second overseas player. Nixon McLean had an outstanding season for Natal in 2002 and good judges of players in South Africa tell us that he is now at the top of his game and he is a formidable strike bowler.”The chief continued: “When we first contacted him he said that he was excited at the prospect of filling Joel Garner’s size fifteen boots, even though he only takes size twelve, and asked us me to tell Andy Caddick that he (Nixon) would be bowling with the wind next season!”Mr Anderson expanded on the situation regarding Andy Caddick’s new England contract and looking forward to next season told me: “With Andrew getting a twelve month contract, and following an arduous winter tour to Australia and the 2003 World Cup in South Africa it may well be that he will be available for a large part of the season as England ring the changes.”He concluded: “An attack containing Caddick, McLean and Richard Johnson would be formidable and would strike the hearts of any opening batsman on the circuit.”

Andover’s unbeaten start is over after a two wicket defeat by Havant – but they remain top of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League by a four-point margin.They were edged out four balls from the end of an absorbing, rain-affected contest in which Havant just got home, chasing a reduced 124 off 39 overs.Former Havant skipper Paul Gover felt Andover were hard done by.”I was a little sorry for them because they fought and battled all the way – and ended up with nothing,” he said.Andover’s 158-9 on a damp, slow London Road surface owed much to third-wicket pair Ian Gardner (43) and Roger Miller (38), who eased the total to 93-2 after 30 overs.But a three-wicket burst by Mackie Hobson (4-16), aided by Richard Hindley’s tidy 3-37, disrupted the middle-order flow and left Andover defending 155-9.The score was arguably 20 runs short of what Andover would have liked, but when Richard Taylor (2-25) nailed Andy Perry and Hindley in successive balls, Havant were rocking at 1-2.The visitors saw their target reduced to 124 off 39 overs, but continued to lose wickets around Gover’s patient 33.Havant tottered at 75-5, but Yorkshireman Bevis Moynhan (32) struck out to lift the reply to 108 before being suicidally run out by skipper Dominic Carson.Havant eventually lost eight wickets before Carson redeemed himself by steering the 2000 league champions home with four balls to spare.Exciting Western Australia prospect Luke Ronchi smashed five sixes clean out of the Bashley Cricket Ground as the New Forest club went on a 301-run romp against Burridge.Ronchi, 21, sent one six into the Bashley football ground, another into a nursery and three more into the road on his way to a blistering 96 scored off 70 deliveries.”Two of the sixes were among the biggest I’d ever seen at Bashley,” confirmed skipper Neil Taylor, whose side rattled up a massive 301-5 off 50 overs.Ironically, both Ronchi and Neil Thurgood (97) missed out on centuries after their second-wicket stand yielded 138 and eased Bashley to 200-2.Thurgood, yet to score a SL century, played the supporting role in a 62-run start with Andy Sexton (41), while Ronchi typically dominated, hitting nine fours, in addition to his five ‘out of ground’ sixes.Richard Knowles weighed in with an unbeaten 43 as Bashley took the game totally out of reach.Neil Cunningham (50) top scored as Burridge replied with 199-9 – Kevin Nash (3-33) and Neil Taylor (3-25) taking the bowling credits for Bashley.Calmore Sports (171-9) held off a determined rally from Liphook & Ripsley (170 all out) to win by one run at Loperwood Park.Tom Pegler (40) prospered at the start for Calmore, who dipped from 55-0 to 82-5 against Matt Eaton (3-35) and spinner Alan Crawford (2-16).James Hibberd (41 not out) and Mark Boston (30) rebuilt the Calmore innings, which subsided later to 171-1, with Graham Tyler taking 3-36.It looked all over bar the shouting when Christof Bothma (2-18) and Matt Metcalfe (3-33) sent Liphook sliding to 68-5, but South African Alistair Gray (60) and skipper Duncan Berry (37) fought back to take the visitors to 136 before the Cape Town all-rounder became Pegler’s fourth victim.Liphook suffered a spate of run outs before Allan Hurst bowled Tim Wheatley two balls from the end, with the visitors at 170.Former Hampshire pair Lee Savident (79) and Matt Keech (77) led Portsmouth to a 45-run victory over South Wilts at Lower Bemerton.The ex-county duo shared a second-wicket stand of 140 – both eventually fell to Paul Draper (3-19) – as Portsmouth built a tidy 211-6.But South Wilts fell to pieces after early blows by the impressive Naqeeb Ali Mohammed (2-30) and Ben Nolan, and were out of the contest at 46-5.Richard Parker (58) launched a late rally as South Wilts closed at 162-9.

With a 3-1 deficit to make up and three matches remaining, the West Indies have rung the changes for the fifth one-day international against South Africa in Bridgetown on Wednesday.Leon Garrick, Nixon McLean and Wavell Hinds have all been cut from the 14-man West Indian squad with opening bat Daren Ganga, leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine and Barbadian Corey Collymore all winning call-ups.If Collymore plays in one of the three remaining games in the series, he will become the first Bajan to have played against the South African in either the Tests or the one-dayers during their 2001 tour, an extraordinary and embarrassing state of affairs for Barbados given the island’s history and contribution to West Indies cricket.In the South African camp, all-rounder Lance Klusener seems certain to miss Wednesday’s match and might well be out of the remainder of the series with a groin strain that forced him off the field during the fourth ODI in Grenada on Sunday.West Indies teamCarl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs, Neil McGarrell, Mervyn Dillon, Corey Collymore, Cameron Cuffy, Dinanath Ramnarine, Kerry Jeremy, Marlon Samuels.

The Irish 14 man squad for the ICC trophy in Toronto has been announced. It is:

Auckland maintained their topsy-turvy course through the Shell Trophy competition when they raced away to a bizarre four-wicket victory over Central Districts on the Eden Park Outer Oval today – succeeding with the unlikely task of scoring 366 to win on the last day.After losing the first day to rain, Central Districts so dominated the second and third days, scoring 589 runs for the loss of seven wickets, declaring both innings closed, and apparently shutting Auckland out of any chance of victory.In between the two mountains of CD runs, Auckland managed a humble 224 for eight wickets, declared.It was this declaration, obviously made with the agreement of Craig Spearman, the Central captain, that eventually left Auckland so much time today to score so many runs.For most of the day Auckland batted with a certain amount of resolution on a pitch that had flattened out nicely, but seldom showed any conviction they could win.In fact Auckland charted the kind of course that might be devised by a homeward bound sailor with several over the eight on board.Auckland started with its usual ritual suicide, losing John Aiken for nought in the first over.Tim McIntosh and Richard King soberly repaired that early damage, and in the second hour of play actually carried the attack, with some success, to the Central bowlers who had for so long been the kings of the castle.Then, even when their total with 119 for one, Auckland took another step backward when McIntosh was out to the last ball before lunch.King by then was 66 not out, and so full of strokes he suggested he might lead a long, solid charge for victory.But Auckland do not take the easy, or obvious path. Blair Pocock scored runs, while King fell into a hole. Dion Nash tried to improve things while King tried to untangle his technique. But he was only 98 not out – 32 runs in the session – when Auckland rather limped to tea at 198 for three wickets.Auckland had scored only 79 runs between lunch and tea, 168 were still needed from the remaining 31 overs.So Auckland tried to make life really difficult. King was out immediate after tea, 265 minutes over his 98 – and regret at his missing a century was mixed with the feeling he might have been the sheet anchor that slowed the Auckland chase.King went at 200, Nash got weaving with a brisk 40, but he left at 228 for five. The match was really in the balance, tilted slightly toward Central Districts, for even if their bowlers had lost their first innings precision the new-ball might change the course of the last hour or so.By the time of the new ball, and immediately afterward, it was Central Districts cranking out the lifeboats. Andre Adams is a noted hitter of the ball. Kyle Mills is in such a rich vein of runs he looks as good as any all-rounder in the land.Auckland needed 113 runs from 20 overs, five wickets in hand, when the new ball arrived. It left, frequently and quickly, destined for and sometimes over the boundary.Adams was the master of the side-on shots, whisking away fours to midwicket like magic. Mills drove with imperious power, and rare accuracy for a man who seldom has batted in the top half of the innings.By the time they had scored 123 together in 101 minutes the Auckland winning rate had dropped from about seven to two runs an over – Adams hit himself out and left it to Mills to complete the win with a signature straight four that went away like a tracer bullet.Adams’ 62 came from 47 balls, nine fours and two sixes. Mills’ 90 not out took 78 balls, 14 fours and two sixes.So ended a match which showed much of the charm and some of the bizarre trends of this maddening game. And the fitting, last and appropriately off-beat after-the-win comment came from Tony Sail, coach of this curious crew.Sail deliberated for a few seconds, and then said that “when the top order contributes some scores we are a good side.”After winning a match after being outplayed for two of the three days “good” does not seem quite the appropriate adjective for this Jekyll and Hyde collection.

Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has signed for Wellington to play New Zealand domestic cricket between November and January and is hoping to use it as an opportunity to stake his claim for a place on the England tour to the country next year.Woakes was not included in either the Test or the performance squad for the trips to India before Christmas. He featured in a number of one-day squads during the English season although only played two ODIs and one of those, at Cardiff against South Africa, was virtually a washout. In his other appearance, at Trent Bridge, he took 0 for 35 in six overs although did score an unbeaten 33.However, his form for Warwickshire throughout the season was outstanding. In the Championship he took 27 wickets at 25.22 and scored 431 runs at 71.83 as part of the title winning side. He also almost guided the county to the CB40 title at Lord’s but was left stranded on 24 against Hampshire.Woakes is set to play three first-class matches in the Plunket Shield and eight matches in New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 tournament, the HRV Cup. The deal will see him link up with Jeetan Patel, the New Zealand offspinner, who was Warwickshire’s overseas player in 2012.”Joining Wellington as the club’s overseas player is a great opportunity for me, and I’m really looking forward to joining up with Jeets and the rest of the Firebirds squad,” Woakes said. “With James Franklin and Jesse Ryder also in the team I’m sure it’s one that can challenge for honours.”With England starting a full tour of New Zealand in February next year, it’s also a really good chance for me to make a big impression and hopefully the selectors will be following my progress and seeing what I can do in these conditions.”Woakes is the fourth English player to sign for a New Zealand side in recent weeks after James Foster and Steven Croft joined Northern Knights for the HRV Cup. Somerset’s Peter Trego had signed for Central Districts. The country has been a popular destination in the past, too, with Andrew Strauss spending time there when he was dropped by England in 2007 and Steven Finn playing for Otago last year.