For Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s perceived answer to Roman Abramovich, the start of the new season could hardly have been more traumatic. Unlike Abramovich, Bransgrove’s philanthropy is not limitless and two early-season events made him reconsider his commitment to the club.Having already announced a loss of £750,000 – which was bad enough in a cup-winning year – the real loss can now be revealed as a staggering £900,000. Then, some powerful retaliation when the ECB refused to give the Rose Bowl Test status. Cardiff did get a Test and Bransgrove talked darkly of a silent but powerful W in ECB.All of this put the chairman’s long-term plans in doubt. He has invested £3.5m and retirement to Spain suddenly seemed on the cards sooner than anticipated.”What I never wanted to become to this ground was a liability,” admits Bransgrove. “But at the moment there is no question of me leaving soon.”

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Midlands/Wales/West

Justin Langer is taking to Twenty20 cricket like a duck to water, but his latest impressive knock – 97 against Northamptonshire at Taunton – was not enough for the current champions, Somerset, who are now watching the title slip from their grasp. Langer’s innings pushed Somerset to 188 for 6, but David Sales responded with 62 not out from 42 balls as Northants crossed the line with three balls to spare.Glamorgan and Warwickshire had to make do with a point each when rain washed out their match at Cardiff after just three overs. Preparations were made to have a six-over-a-side thrash but another deluge put paid to those ambitions. The match was finally abandoned at 9pm.

North

No change at the top as Nottinghamshire maintained their winning ways, beating Yorkshire by seven wickets in the final over at Headingley. In truth, the result was hardly in doubt with Stephen Fleming and Graeme Swann at the helm, giving them a decent start. Yorkshire were then in trouble at 22 for 3 – and had reached only 50 for 3 by the ten-over mark – but some powerful hitting lifted them to 160. Yet it wasn’t enough.Leicestershire dispatched Derbyshire for the second time in a fortnight to give themselves a chance of making the quarter-finals. HD Ackerman’s 41-ball fifty boosted Leicestershire to a par 161 for 6, and then some tight bowling at the death helped them to an 18-run victory at Leicester. Steve Stubbings gave Derbyshire their best chance with a fifty but when he holed out to long-on the momentum seeped away from the innings and Leicestershire grabbed the points.

The ECB have announced that Dr Guy Jackson has been appointed as the manager of the ECB Academy at Loughborough. He succeeds Nigel Laughton who has left to take up the post of Operations Director at Bath rugby club after five years at the Academy,Jackson joins the ECB from the post of director of sports development & marketing at Loughborough University, where he has been involved in the development of the campus. He has also worked as the university’s director of cricket, during which time he established the Loughborough UCCE and secured first class status for the university.Jackson will report to, and work closely with the Academy director, Peter Moores in managing facitlies and the various programmes at Loughborough. John Carr, the ECB director of England cricket, said: “We are delighted to have recruited Guy for this important role. He is exceptionally well qualified for the job, having played a major part in the creation of the NCC at Loughborough, having managed the Loughborough [UCCE] programme and the British Universities representative side.”Jackson said: “This is an exciting opportunity and I look forward to working with Peter Moores at the National Cricket Centre. I’m a passionate believer in the Academy system and look forward to the challenge of playing a role in the evolving National Academy programme. I look forward to being part of the team.”

Kevin Pietersen has claimed that racial quotas forced him into making the biggest decision of his life, to quit his native South Africa and move to England.In an exclusive extract from his new book Crossing The Boundary, being serialised in the Daily Mail, Pietersen said that he was left out the Natal side in 2000 because of the prevalent quota policy and that led to him making up his mind to seek his career in England.”I was dropped because the quota system was brought into South African cricket to positively discriminate in favour of ‘players of colour’ and to fast-track the racial integration of cricket in the country,” he said. “To me, every single person in this world needs to be treated exactly the same and that should have included me, as a promising 20-year-old cricketer. If you do well you should play on merit. That goes for any person of any colour. It was heartbreaking.”Even though it was very hard for me to take in at the time, it turned out it was the best thing that could have happened.”Not that that seemed to be the case when he was told that he was being left out so that Goolam Bodi could play. “I flew into a rage,” he admitted,” flinging a water bottle across the dressing-room and shouting ‘I’m leaving here’.”Pietersen said that he and his father tried to reason with Phil Russell, Natal’s coach, but got nowhere. And as for Goolam? “I’m not aware he’s made much impact … certainly not with the South Africa team.”Pietersen admitted that he had spoken to Nasser Hussain about the possibility of playing cricket in England when he played against the touring side earlier that season, and that by the time he fell out with Natal there was already considerable interest from several counties in England.Some players advised him to go, but the decision finally came after a meeting with Ali Bacher, at the time the key man in South African cricket. “He was rude to me in that meeting and he was rude to my dad. I had never met the man before. As far as I was concerned the least he could do was be polite.” Bacher failed to offer any encouragement that things would improve. “As soon as we left the meeting my dad said to me: ‘You’re going … the quota system will never finish’.”Pietersen immediately rang Clive Rice, the Nottinghamshire coach, and agreed to join them. He had an English passport which enabled him to do that, although he knew he still faced a delay before he could qualify for England. He also knew that he had played his last game for Natal and that his move had to be for good. “I wouldn’t call it an agonising decision,” he added. “It was well thought out. I’ve always been a confident bloke and I was sure I would be successful.”Pietersen also speculated that had he remained in South Africa he might not even be playing cricket now. “I would have been frozen out of the system … I would have gone out and done something else.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Three plucky half-centuries helped India Red seal a spot in the final of the Challenger Series, wrapping up the final league game by a comfortable 39-run margin. For the second time in as many days, the India Green batsmen struggled while chasing a big total under lights and went out of the tournament without making too much of an impact.Sourav Ganguly, the focus of all the attention, failed yet again but it was the lesser names that stole the bulk of the attention. While Gautam Gambhir continued his fine run and Robin Uthappa showed how adept he is at building an innings, it was the audacious Dinesh Karthik who dazzled for most of the first innings. Parthiv Patel battled briefly, and the tailenders swung their bats in the dying moments but, with the pitch helping spin and bounce, VRV Singh and Ramesh Powar sealed the issue.The India Red openers might have set the pace but it was Karthik, brimming with cheek, who stood out. Coming in at No.3, he consolidated a solid start, nudging singles and twos, before launching a thrilling assault. First came the lap shots – reminiscent of Douglas Marillier’s trademark scoop – then the sweeps – both conventional and reverse – and finally, when all one expected was improvisation, he went back the traditional route and punched down the ground. It was in the same venue, his home turf, that he shot into the national limelight two years ago and this innings would surely provide a fillip for his comeback bid. He was also instrumental in making a hash of Lakshmipathy Balaji’s figures, who’d begun accurately but soon had no answers to the unorthodox methods.While it was a sight to see Karthik hurrying between the wickets, despite the sweltering weather, another batsman, not for the first time, struggled with cramps. Uthappa continued his penchant for doing well in the Challenger Series – he shot into the limelight after a blistering hundred in last year’s edition – and, barring the dehydration factor, looked in control. He picked his shots cleverly and chipped away with singles in between meaty boundaries. He launched into Chawla in the 25th over, biffing two massive sixes, allowing India Red to reach an exact 150 at the halfway stage.

The other half-centurion wouldn’t have managed much without large dollops of fortune. Coming off the back of a fine hundred in the tournament opener, Gambhir capitalised on a dropped chance from Patel, the wicketkeeper, and was lucky to survive a perilous appeal for lbw against Piyush Chawla. Yet, he rode his luck, slapping crisp drives when offered width, and occasionally unfurled some emphatic strokeplay.India Green were jolted early. The bowler who caused most problems for them was Sreesanth, who, ironically, has been left out of India’s Champions Trophy squad. He generated disconcerting pace and didn’t hesitate to slip in the odd bouncer, running in with characteristic aggression and hustling the batsmen. He struck a big blow in his second over, nailing Ganguly with an incisive straighter one that kissed the inside edge and rocked leg stump. Unlike Zaheer Khan, who bowled impressively but was unlucky to be taken for runs, Sreesanth kept his economy-rate down and accounted for Wasim Jaffer when he tried to break the shackles.Praveen Kumar, sent in as a pinch-hitter, neither pinched nor hit and it was only because of Patel that India Green stayed on with a faint chance. He was let off on 21, when Sreesanth grassed a simple chance at fine leg, but battled on with an attractive mix of slashes and drives. The spinners, though, have come into their own in this tournament, especially when teams bowl second. Powar, not wearing his snazzy goggles but still looping it deliciously, generated grip and dip while Murali Kartik, not tossing it up that much but wearing his set of shades, frustrated with his control.Chawla and Mithun Manhas blasted 71 for the eighth wicket but by then India Red had decided to try out a few part-timers, allowing their main bowlers to take a rest ahead of tomorrow’s final. Chawla’s half century, with five fours and two blistering sixes, gave them the faintest of hopes but VRV Singh returned, generated pace and bounce, and was rewarded with four wickets at the end of the day.

India RedRobin Uthappa retired hurt 81
Gautam Gambhir c Kaif b Chawla 75 (177 for 1)
Rohit Sharma c Manhas b Kumar 26 (254 for 2)
Robin Uthappa c Kaif b Balaji 92 (303 for 3)
Dinesh Karthik c Patel b Balaji 85 (306 for 4)
India GreenSourav Ganguly b Sreesanth 3 (10 for 1)
Wasim Jaffer c Karthik b Sreesanth 23 (53 for 2)
Praveen Kumar c Kartik b VRV Singh 9 (69 for 3)
Mohammad Kaif b Powar 34 (138 for 4)
Suresh Raina c Sharma b Kartik 1 (139 for 5)
Parthiv Patel c Sharma b Powar 69 (169 for 6)
Hemang Badani c Sharma b Powar 18 (178 for 7)
Mithun Manhas c Kartik b VRV Singh 34 (249 for 8)
Lakshmipathy Balaji c Sreesanth b Zaheer 9 (278 for 9)
Ashish Nehra b VRV Singh 0 (278 all out)

Makhaya Ntini has been named one of South Africa’s Five Cricketers of the Year for a record fifth time. Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher are the others rewarded for their efforts over the last 12 months by the SA Cricket Annual.The players collected their awards at the launch of the publication held at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg. 2005-06 wasn’t a season packed with success for South Africa, but Ntini always led the attack in typically wholehearted style. He took 10 wickets in two consecutive Tests, against Australia and New Zealand, the first time a South African has managed the feat.Steyn and Amla are included after promising returns to Test cricket following their stumbling debuts during the 2004-05 season, while Mark Boucher has been consistent with the bat and gloves. He hit the winning runs in one-day international against Australia and a South African record 44-ball century against Zimbabwe.Prince, meanwhile, became South Africa’s first black captain when he led them in the Test series against Sri Lanka following injury to Graeme Smith.

India’s defeat in Durban triggered off the sort of hystericalover-reaction that has become a sad accompaniment to the country’scricket, but Rahul Dravid, who has faced much of the flak – along withGreg Chappell, the pet peeve – was philosophical when asked about theviciousness of some of the criticism. He insisted that his team were doingthe best, and that he couldn’t afford to expend energy thinking of thingsbeyond his control.”My team is not pretty aware of what is happening,” he said. “We’re verymuch focused on our cricket. It’s a country of extreme reactions andextreme emotions. We’re trying to play good cricket. We know we can playbetter and we’re focused on trying to put up a better performance on tour.We’re not aware or worried about what’s happening back home.”We’re always feeling the pressure to win, but that does not change thesituation. We need to win after that loss and we needed to win beforethat. We need to win all the time.”An official of the Indian board had gone on record to say that the playershouldn’t be paid for the Durban match, and the parliament in New Delhihad resonated with voices calling for Chappell’s head on a platter – withor without an apple in his mouth. “Can I be worried about something whichI cannot control?” said Dravid with a shrug, when asked about the flamesbeing fanned back home. “Somebody’s going to make a comment and someone’sgoing to react. We’re all entitled to our opinions, and I’m just asentitled not to react.”He also rubbished suggestions made by an Indian TV channel that he andChappell had a serious altercation prior to the Durban game. “I’m havingto laugh at some of these things,” he said. “There’s absolutely no issuebetween us. It feels funny to even deny such things. Everyone is allowedto say anything they want. You don’t have to prove it [these days].”Asked whether the criticism would act as a spur to his players, Dravidreiterated that it shouldn’t be the case. “I don’t think that should be amotivating factor for anyone,” he said. “It has never been for me. Everytime you walk out to play for India, you should be proud enough to go outthere and compete. You might not always do well and succeed.”There were some similarities to be drawn with 2003, when India followed upa disastrous 2-5 reverse in New Zealand with an embarrassing nine-wicketdefeat against Australia in their first big game of the World Cup. Perhapsstung by the vitriol, the players put together an eight-match winningstreak that only came to an end in the final. “I’d like to think that wefought back because we played good cricket and not because we werecriticised,” said Dravid. “You shouldn’t need anything other than the factthat you’re playing for your country to motivate you. I’m pretty confidentthat my boys have really worked hard, irrespective of the results. They’veshown enthusiasm, energy and a lot of desire to get things better.”

He stressed that no board official had been in touch with him since theDurban loss, and added that criticism was par for the course no matter howaccomplished a player you were. “I’ve withstood a lot of criticism as abatsman,” he said. “I’ve been out of the team for a year. I was goingthrough a period in 2001 and 2002 where I attracted a lot of criticism. SoI’ve had my share. It’s not always been smooth sailing as a player. It’sno different [as captain]. It’s not hard to accept as long as you know youare doing your best and trying to get the best out of your players.”You’re going to make mistakes, and things won’t work out as planned. Youhave to accept that some amount of criticism is justified, and some of itis obviously over the top as well. There’s only so much you can do as aplayer or a captain. You have to take some of the criticism with a pinchof salt.”And with the axe being sharpened for the likes of Suresh Raina, Dravidsaid that it was hard to draw a line when it came to success and failure.”If you fail consistently at this level, then the decision will have to betaken by the selectors,” he said. “Some will be better off going back todomestic cricket.”Some of these guys have been through that. It happens constantly. Youcan’t put a number to it, but there does come a time you have to reassessand look at your game. Probably with the exception of Sachin Tendulkar,everyone in this team has gone back to domestic cricket, and come back abetter cricketer for it. And sometimes, they haven’t come back.”If Andrew Flintoff and friends think that they’re having a hard time of itin Brisbane, they have no idea. Along with English football and SouthAfrican rugby, Indian cricket remains sport’s biggest soap opera, withfickle fans and inflated expectations making for an incendiary cocktailthat even Molotov couldn’t have thought up.

Warwickshire have agreed to release Mark Wagh to allow him to sign for Nottinghamshire. He had two years of his existing contract left to run.Wagh had reportedly been unsettled for some time, and the announcement was not a surprise. “It’s been a very hard decision for me as I have spent my whole cricketing career at Warwickshire and I would like to thank them for their understanding,” he said. “I just feel a new start will help me and I’m looking forward to the challenge of proving myself in a new environment.””When Mark approached us with this request we considered the options,” Warwickshire’s chief executive, Colin Povey, added. “[We} concluded that if Mark believes he will have better opportunities at Notts then we should not stand in his way.”Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, was understandably more upbeat. “Mark is an accomplished batsman and I believe he can be the answer for us at No. 3 in the Championship,” he said. “It’s been a problem position for us for the last couple of seasons but Mark has all the attributes to be a success there. I’m confident he’s got plenty of good years ahead of him and along with Jason Gallian and Will Jefferson, I think we now have a high-quality top order.”I think Mark is ready for a fresh start and this move may be just what he needs to get him enjoying playing cricket again. I’ve seen him play well against us on a number of occasions, so I’ve always kept any eye on his progress, and I’m delighted he’s signed.”

Munaf Patel, the Indian fast bowler, has far more serious concerns than a sore ankle with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) openly questioning his integrity. Munaf,who was injured after the second one-dayer in South Africa took no furtherpart in the series until the final Test, where he was obviously well belowpeak fitness, and bowled at less than full capacity.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said that he had summoned JohnGloster, the physiotherapist of the Indian team, to the offices of theboard in Mumbai on Monday for a full debriefing on what exactly happenedwith Munaf, but backed the team management and the physio to the hilt. “Ihad yesterday summoned John Gloster to get a report from him on MunafPatel. According to his report Gloster said they had taken all the fitnesstests necessary and felt that he was totally fit. I think Rahul [Dravid] and theother members of the team management must also have been convinced ofMunaf’s fitness before taking him in the eleven. Certain injuries are suchthat the physio may believe that the player will recover any time. Whetherthe player has that same confidence or not is something else. The playersshould be honest with themselves, there’s no point blaming the physio.”In a more damning statement, Shah, speaking for the BCCI, laid the blamesquarely at Munaf. “Then we were surprised, when Dr Anant Joshiconducted tests, and Munaf complained about pain. Joshi then advised acouple of weeks’ rest,” he said. “Here I am a little concerned about theplayer himself. The player himself should be honest enough about his ownfitness. The last 5% has to come from the player. The doctor cannot sayhow much pain you are experiencing. Many players can play even with a biginjury but some players cannot play even with a small injury. The honestyof the player – at least in the case of Munaf Patel – is in question.”During the series Munaf’s fitness was being monitored and there was thehope from Gloster that Munaf would recover any day,” revealed Shah, who isbelieved to have been in favour of a move to send Munaf home along withIrfan Pathan. “That prolonged his stay and the board went with it. Butafter seeing his performance in the third Test the board is worried.”When asked if there were larger concerns, as Sachin Tendulkar too lookedoff colour in the third Test, and has subsequently pulled out of Mumbai’sfinal Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra, Shah was more careful.”That’s a small thing, the hamstring problem,” Shah said. “He will be fit soon.Tendukar is a responsible player.”Shah did not think it was fair to blame Munaf for the loss in the final Test and consequently the series. “You can’t say that any one player cost the match or the series,” he said, while adding,”even one player not putting in full effort will hamper the team’s chances of winning.”At the same time, Shah dismissed the suggestion that this situation hadarisen as a result of friction between himself and Dilip Vengsarkar, thechairman of selectors. “It was not friction. I said what the board feels,but we don’t interfere in the matter of team selection,” said Shah, whohad earlier said that it was the board’s prerogative to send a player backfrom a tour whenever they felt it appropriate. Vengsarkar had publiclydisagreed, saying a player would only be sent back in case of injury.”That is for Vengsarkar and the team management to decide. Whether to sendsomeone home or not is for the selection committee to decide. [Virender] Sehwag’sfailure was such that maybe he should have been replaced by somebodyelse.”Interestingly, Dr Joshi, the board’s consulting orthopaedic doctor, hasnot spared Munaf either after examining him. “Clinically he has fullrange of ankle motion, good joint stability, and no appreciable swelling.His ankle seems to be normal as compared to the non-injured side,” wroteDr. Joshi in his report to the board. “The X-ray did not reveal anysignificant pathology. Going through his medical record in South Africa Ifind that the treatment given to him has been top class. It appears thatMunaf continues to be apprehensive about the injury, more psychologicalthan physical. He needs to overcome this problem himself. I have suggestedrest and continued physiotherapy over the next 2-3 weeks before he can bere-evaluated and start playing domestic cricket.”Munaf has been ruled out of the first two one-day internationals against West Indies at home starting January 21.

South Africa A 274 for 7 (van Wyk 76, A Peteren 60) beat Zimbabwe A 227 for 6 (Chigumbura 61*) by 47 runs
ScorecardTwo well-executed half centuries by Morne van Wyk and Alviro Petersen guided South Africa A to a 47-run victory over Zimbabwe A in the first one-dayer at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, despite an aggressive unbeaten half-century from Elton Chigumbura.Robin Petersen, South Africa A’s skipper, won the toss and opted for first use of the track. Loots Bosman and van Wyk, opening the batting, put on 62 before Bosman fell to Gary Brent, caught in the gully by Chigumbura for 31.van Wyk was joined by Petersen and the pair added on 116 before Petersen fell trying to loft Prosper Utseya over long-on. His 60 took 81 balls, and in his next over Utseya trapped van Wyk leg-before for 76. The innings continued to wobble when Justin Ontong was deceived by a well-flighted delivery from Sean Williams to be stumped by Brendan Taylor.The last five overs of the South Africa A innings were eventful. Big hitter Justin Kemp had a brief cameo, hoisting Friday Kasteni for two consecutive sixes, the first which went out of the ground and fell on the road and the next which landed on the practice nets. However, a bowling change paid dividends as Anthony Ireland produced a gem of a yorker to uproot Kemp’s middle stump. Two wickets fell in the last over – Vernon Philander was stumped off Brent while Petersen was brilliantly run-out.In their chase, Zimbabwe A were in trouble as early as the first over. Alfonso Thomas opened with a no-ball then a wide before finding the spot to remove Stuart Matsikenyeri’s off stump. Chamu Chibhabha followed when Albie Morkel bowled him for 10.Kasteni looked comfortable but he was run-out by by a direct hit from Philander for 22 after a shambolic mix-up. Williams did not last either, gloving a bouncer from Morkel to wicketkeeper van Wyk for a two-ball duck.Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor brought the home side back into the match, but it was Masakadza’s poor strike rate that cost them in the end. They added 76 for the fifth wicket, but too slowly, and only when the more aggressive Chigumbura joined Masakadza did the run-rate rise.Chigumbura who took the bowling attack head on. Offspinner Thandi Tshabalala was particularly targeted as Chigumbura took four of his sixes off him, all over long-on. Roger Telemachus almost held on to one of them but could only parry the ball over the rope. Masakadza and Chigumbura shared in a 64-run stand for the sixth wicket, broken when Masakadza lost his middle stump to Morkel.Chigumbura, who hammered five sixes in his unbeaten 46-ball 61, gave the scoreline respectability but his onslaught came far too late to ever threaten to swing the game.The turnout was not impressive, but a number of schoolchildren watched and a few adults took time off from their busy schedule. The numbers are expected to grow for the last two games, as they will be played at the weekend. Zimbabwe A’s performance here will hopefully prompt the fans to come out in greater numbers.