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A timid batting display and another early spray-gun bowling performancecondemned Zimbabwe to another defeat at the hands of South Africa, giving the tourists a clean sweep of the three-match one-day series. This timeit was by six wickets, although it might have been much worse were it notfor two controversial umpiring decisions.Same weather, same type of pitch, same Zimbabwean team, but the Zimbabweans wentinto this match hoping it would not be the same cricket. They have playedwell below their best throughout this tour, especially in the bowlingdepartment, and only in the Bulawayo Test were able as a team to cause theSouth Africans any trouble.Two-nil down and in this ‘dead match’ of theone-day series, they had a last chance to give the tourists something toremember them by.Remarkably, Zimbabwe made no changes to their losing team when they couldwell have given some youngsters experience or gambled on the pace of HenryOlonga, bowling well in the nets, or brought in a specialist spinner on awearing pitch.South Africa did take that opportunity, bringing in BoetaDippenaar, Justin Ontong and Justin Kemp in place of Gary Kirsten, Andre Neland Makhaya Ntini.Zimbabwe won the toss for the first time and decided to bat, which couldv haveproven to be an advantage on a slow pitch that was wearing the day before.Whether they would be able to take advantage of it was another matter.Alistair Campbell went in with his third opening partner in as many matches,Hamilton Masakadza, who is still struggling in one-day cricket. He made 5before being trapped lbw by Justin Kemp, who opened the bowling with ShaunPollock.Campbell and Stuart Carlisle then became bogged down against good bowlingand superb fielding, and after 13 overs the score was only 25, with Pollockconceding just nine runs off six overs.Then the arrival of thesecond-string bowlers enabled the batsmen to score a little more freely.The fifty came up in the 20th over, and Campbell was finally beginning toopen up when Claude Henderson bowled him through the gate for 40 off 77balls in the 24th over; Zimbabwe 92 for three.Andy Flower, under pressure to score quickly, scored only 4 before he triedto hit Henderson over the top and was well caught overhead by the leapingHerschelle Gibbs at midwicket.Carlisle finally reached his fifty off 96balls, but then holed out to long-off off Ontong for 51. Zimbabwewere now a mere 118 for four in the 38th over.Dion Ebrahim and Grant Flower tried to make up for lost time, but with mixedresults and many swings and misses. Ebrahim was eventually run out for 41attempting a desperate second, with the score 172 for five in the 48th over.The fielder was Dippenaar, who had a fine day on the boundary andfinished it by catching Grant Flower off the final ball of the innings for27. The total was only 184 for six wickets.Zimbabwe’s bowling opened in a way sadly appropriate to the way they hadperformed throughout the tour: two leg-side wides by Travis Friend, followedby five more runs in the opening over, and 17 runs in his second over asDippenaar and Gibbs enjoyed themselves.By way of contrast, Gary Brent at the other end found line and length fromthe start, but Mluleki Nkala was little better than Friend at first,conceding 15 runs in his first over as the batsmen happily plunderedeverything astray. The fifty came up in the sixth over, but then Nkalasettled down and the batsmen had to work harder.Then came two controversial lbw decisions by umpire Mumtiaz Esat. Gibbsfell controversially for 39, well down the pitch, while the tall Kemp(1) was given his marching orders when struck by a rising ball above theroll of the pad, both to Nkala. Then Dippenaar (22) was also given out lbw,this time to Brent and adjudged by Graeme Evans, but the television appearedto confirm this decision as probably correct.Neil McKenzie and Justin Ontong dug in grimly, while Brent finished anexcellent ten overs on the trot with one for 22. Ontong found his fluencyfirst and hit Whittall for a huge six over the sightscreen, but on 32 hit areturn catch to Grant Flower. McKenzie passed 50 and hit 13 in the 41stover, bowled by Strang, to win the match and complete a clean sweep forSouth Africa in the series. He finished with 69 and Mark Boucher with 15.

ScorecardFile photo: Rahil Shah ended with match figures of 9 for 81•Sivaraman Kitta

With the ball ripping and spitting from a length on a Chennai minefield, any target in the fourth innings was going to be a difficult task. Baroda’s left-arm spinner Bharghav Bhatt’s match haul of 10 wickets had helped his team edge ahead at stumps on the second day, but it was Rahil Shah’s nine wickets which tipped a see-sawing thriller Tamil Nadu’s way. Seconds after the No.11 Sagar Mangalorkar was snaffled by Rahil, the spinner was mobbed by his team-mates in a raucous celebration.

Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund on…

The rank turner and the last-gasp finish
“It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat. Even though there was a partnership of 10-13 runs, we knew it would be hard for a new batsman. We always knew it was a matter of just one wicket. We got a lucky strike, hitting the gloves of Dinesh and carrying to Bharath [slip]. Pinal Shah – that was an important wicket. The bowlers kept believing.”
The key moment of the match
“Yusuf Pathan’s wicket was the turning point. His 41 in the first innings gave them momentum and he also started rotating the strike, which was more dangerous on wickets like this. There was a big plan. It was important we learned from the mistakes in the first innings. We put our best fielders there [deep midwicket and long-on]. Instinctively, I thought the batsman would predetermine his shot to mid-wicket. I wanted to prevent that as that was his only option. I removed silly point and it worked.”
Playing his 100th first-class game
“Not a memorable [milestone] for me personally as I got a pair, but an excellent one for the team and I’m happy. I thought we bowled brilliantly and fielded really well”

While Rahil punched the early holes and wrapped up the innings, Malolan Rangarajan and DT Chandrasekar took care of the middle order. Baroda had more than a whiff of a chance when Deepak Hooda and Hardik Pandya took the attack to the hosts in a 33-run partnership, but Tamil Nadu held their nerve to open their Ranji campaign with a victory.Rahil opened the bowling and found success in his second over of the day when he dismissed Hitesh Solanki for 7. Two balls later, he roared again after having Aditya Waghmode caught at slip for nought but it was nipped in the bud, with replays showing that Rahil’s foot was on the line. Waghmode added only six before he was snapped up smartly by Baba Aparajith, who gave the Baroda captain a mini send-off.Malolan followed that strike with the wickets of Kedar Devdhar and Yusuf Pathan, as Baroda were reduced to 50 for 4 in 17.2 overs. There were only about 10 people in the stands at the start of the second session, after the first was washed out by a persistent drizzle, but once Malolan zipped away, the crowd started slowly building up.Tamil Nadu’s captain Abhinav Mukund identified Yusuf’s wicket as the crucial one after the match and also admitted that it was a plan to place a fielder at deep midwicket. Yusuf had slugged two sixes off Malolan in the first innings and had consistently targeted the leg-side gaps. In the second dig, Yusuf swiped at a ball that was not full enough, and holed out to deep midwicket for 5.Deepak Hooda, who had walked in with his side still 72 runs away from the target, began positively with back-to-back fours. The fourth ball he faced was laced inside out over the covers but it was the powerful reverse-sweep over backward point that stood out. He continued to be positive with his score at various points reading: 14 off 4, 24 off 9, and 30 off 14.Hardik Pandya then fed off Hooda’s approach and pinged Chandrasekar for a six down the ground. Chandrasekar, however, held one back in the next over and had Pandya nicking behind for a run-a-ball 17. Four overs later, Chandrasekar, wary of Hooda tripping down the wicket, shortened his length and hoodwinked the batsman.With a close finish looming, Tamil Nadu remained calm, but they also enjoyed some good fortune. Pinal Shah, who was sharp behind the stumps, edged one behind, and the ball ricocheted off Dinesh Karthik’s gloves and settled into the hands of Bharath Shankar. Murtuja Vahora was then given out leg before despite signs of an inside snick.The close-in catchers also showed good composure, as Rahil wiped off the tail with four wickets in two overs, which culminated in a seven-run win.

Roger Twose, New Zealand’s transplanted Englishman, will be a little sorryto see the back of Zimbabwe after his adopted country’s 64 run win in thequarter-finals of the ICC KnockOut at the Nairobi Gymkhana Club on Monday.In four one-day innings played against Zimbabwe over the past few weeks,Twose has moved progressively through 70 not out in Harare, 64 and 63 inBulawayo to his 85 in Nairobi. It was an innings that won him theman-of-the-match award and set up New Zealand’s 265 for seven, a total whichproved just too much for Zimbabwe who were bowled out for 201 in 42.2 overs.Afterwards New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming became the second captain insidethree days to suggest that a score of around 300 might be par for thisground with its close boundaries, perfect batting strip and slick outfield.Australia’s Steve Waugh made the claim on Saturday and Fleming echoed hisviews.”We thought 260-odd might not be enough,” said Fleming. “With the size ofthe ground and the boundary, 280-300’s a score that’s going to placepressure.”Interestingly, though, Sri Lanka’s 287 for six against the West Indies hasbeen the highest total posted in six matches in the tournament and is theonly score to go above the 260s.Whatever Fleming’s concerns, though, the target set for Zimbabwe was enough.Despite a second-wicket stand of 64 between Alistair Campbell, who timed theball beautifully for his 47 before he was given out leg before to ChrisHarris – much to his evident disgust – Zimbabwe lost wickets too regularlyto mount an effective chase.New Zealand – Adam Parore, mainly – had taken 19 off Henry Olonga’s lastover of the innings, and Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak picked out two mainreasons for defeat.”I think one thing was the last over,” he said. “I think we should havecontained them to about 250 and we lost wickets consistently.”While Carlisle was there, Zimbabwe just about kept themselves in the match,but his dismissal for 67 at 168 for six put New Zealand in the box seat.Fleming, however, was still not confident of victory.”Captaining the side, I thought it was close all the way through,” he said.”It only takes a cameo of five overs of clean hitting and Heath Streak’sshown he can do it. From that point of view it was always game on until itwas over.”In a tournament that has suited batsmen, off spinner Paul Wiseman picked upthe first four wicket haul. Apart from dismissing Carlisle, he also claimedthe key wickets of the Flower brothers and ended things off when MlulekiNkala tried to hit him all the way to the coast.New Zealand’s reward is a meeting with Pakistan on Wednesday in a repeat oflast year’s World Cup semi-final. On that occasion Pakistan swept NewZealand aside, and Fleming picked Moin Khan’s team as the slickest outfit tohave gone on show so far.We shall see whether New Zealand have learned from last year’s mistakes.

Gloucestershire Gladiators v Somerset SabresThe floodlit West Country National League showdown at Bristol ended in frustration and disappointment for both teams and a 6,000 crowd.An exciting finish looked in prospect when Somerset posted a useful 223 all out off exactly 45 overs after winning the toss.But before Gloucestershire could start their reply the steady drizzle turned into heavier rain and the skies closed in. With the outfield saturated, umpires Barry Dudleston and Trevor Jesty abandoned the match at just after 9pm.The two points for each side were enough to take Somerset to the top of the First Division on run-rate, with Worcestershire and Gloucestershire also locked on 26 points.But both teams wanted victory to boost their title hopes and Worcestershire now have a game in hand in which to regain top spot.Somerset were marginal favourites when the rain came, although an even bigger score looked likely when Marcus Trescothick and Mark Lathwell put on 80 effortless runs in 16 overs for the first wicket.Lathwell was finally trapped lbw by Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne for 37, having shown glimpses of top form.Ian Blackwell’s promotion in the order backfired when he was caught behind off the next ball. But Trescothick displayed the new-found confidence of his England success with a flowing half-century.The powerful left-hander was proving difficult to contain when his wicket was sacrificed in one of three run-outs, which restricted the Somerset total.Calling for a second run to Jeremy Snape running in from the mid-wicket boundary, Trescothick was sent back by skipper Jamie Cox and beaten by a throw to the bowler’s end.When Cox himself was also run-out for 26, attempting a quick leg-bye off Tim Hancock, which was rightly rejected by Peter Bowler, Somerset were 134-4 and had surrendered the initiative.Wickets fell steadily as Alleyne defied a back problem to take 3-36 from his nine overs and it took a patient and sensible innings of 47 from Keith Parsons to ensure a testing target.After a slow start, Parsons blossomed and was aided by an unusually loose finalover from Mike Smith, who was clearly having difficulty in gripping the ball as the drizzle increased.Two no-ball beamers slipped from his grasp, one of which was dispatched for four by Parsons, who then lifted a lower full-toss over mid-wicket for the only six of the innings.He was out to the last ball, caught by Hancock on the square-leg boundary. But by then the over was worth 19 and Somerset had a total they felt confident of defending.Gloucestershire’s fielding was below its normal high standard and two chances went begging, both to the normally safe hands of Martyn Ball, including one off his own bowling.But the pitch was true and easy-paced, indicating that a close contest might have been in prospect had the weather not intervened.

Canada 239 for 4 (Patel 75) lead USA 166 by 73 runs
ScorecardCanada ended the first day of their two-day game against USA in Toronto in a commanding position, scoring 273 for 4 in reply to the visitors’ 166 all out. The first innings of both sides was limited to 45 over by arrangement, and so when play resumes USA will be starting their second innings.USA won the toss and stuck the Canadians in, but their bowlers failed to make much impression. Hiral Patel and Khushroo Wadia put on 71 for the first wicket, and then Patel and Rustam Bhatti 67 for the second. Patel was in particularly good form, smacking 75 off 85 deliveries before his innings was ended by a run-out. There was little respite for the USA, however, as Bhatti and Nitish Kumar added 71 for the third wicket.USA lost early wickets and the innings never regained anything like enough momentum. At 24 for 4 they seemed in deep trouble, but Jignesh Desai and Anand Tummala stopped the rot in a fifth-wicket stand of 61 but they were always off the pace and were eventually bowled out with 15 balls of their 45 over remaining.

Phil Simmons will leave his role as Ireland coach to become the new head coach of West Indies following the World Cup. Simmons, from Trinidad, enjoyed success in his eight years with Ireland and leaves them as the leading Associate nation.Simmons, 51, played 26 Tests and 143 ODIs for West Indies between 1987 and 1999. He has signed a three-year deal with West Indies and is tasked with turning their fortunes around after a period of significant disappointment and political wrangling. His first assignment is a home Test series against England next month.”Phil has a proven ability to develop players, while cultivating great team spirit and a winning culture,” WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead said. “We have a number of young, talented players about whom he is excited to be coaching and we believe he is the right fit.”Simmons helped Ireland’s standing in world cricket grow since he took charge in April 2007. His tenure included 224 matches, making him the longest serving coach in international cricket. During that time, Ireland won 11 trophies and qualified for every major ICC event, beating West Indies and England at the last two World Cups.”I’ve had eight wonderful years as Ireland’s head coach, and will always cherish the memories of those great days we’ve shared,” Simmons said. “The wins in the World Cups over Full Members were all special as we showed the world just what Irish cricket is capable of.”It was a very difficult decision to leave, but I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to coach my home team. They’re going through a difficult period at the moment, but I’m confident I can help to improve their fortunes.”Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom added: “Everyone will miss Phil Simmons. His warmth and strength of values endeared him to everyone. Over the last eight years, Phil has overseen our qualification for every major ICC event, identifying our best young talent, developing our players in skill-levels and self-belief, and producing a series of results that means every team in the world takes us seriously.”As Phil has contributed to us, so we are proud to have helped him develop his career to the point that he can now pursue his dream of coaching his home team. He leaves with nothing other than our very best wishes.”

Karnataka batsman Robin Uthappa has said that his team is “inspired” to accomplish an “unprecedented feat” of winning three domestic titles in consecutive seasons ahead of their Irani Cup tie in Bangalore against Rest of India. Karnataka demolished Tamil Nadu in the final to win the Ranji trophy in Mumbai last week, but Uthappa told ESPNcricinfo that the celebrations had been “muted” as the players were focused on continuing their dominance in the domestic circuit.”We know that no team in the world has won three domestic titles back to back and I don’t think any team has done it twice in two years,” he said. “It will be a great feat. We are on course right now for an encore. We just need to win the next one. As a team we do well because we are inspired to play the next level. We want to dominate the scene here with strong performances and that’s what we have done as a team and as individuals as well. In each aspect, in each skill that we’ve performed as batting unit, bowling unit, in different positions, as an allrounder, everyone has done really well for themselves.”Karnataka’s second consecutive Ranji title was their fifth in a row on the domestic circuit, having won the 50-over Vijay Hazare tournament over the last couple of years as well as last season’s Irani Cup. Although the Ranji final was a one-sided affair, Uthappa said defending the title was a “lot more challenging” than winning it last season.”There is a lit bit more pressure but we sensed that as we won all three domestic titles last year and we knew that there would be a lot of naysayers,” he said. “But we took that up as a challenge, we are going to take it one game at a time and we are going to win everything that’s possible. We’ve felt a really good attitude, worked very hard and bearing the fruits of it right now. We played on a lot of green tops this year, it was good for our bowlers, but for the batsmen it was challenging. But we performed really well as a batting unit, we’ve had some stellar performances, so its been a great year.”Uthappa – “Winning the India Test cap is what’s driving me, that’s always driven me. I came back into the game three years ago because I wanted to don the Test cap”•PTI

Uthappa was one of the players to put in “stellar performances”, finishing the season as the highest run-getter with 912 at an average of 50.66 along with two centuries. He credits his success to a strong “work ethic” and having “figured out his game a lot more now.””I am sticking to what works for me, not trying to change anything. I just need to keep monitoring my batting, I just need to know what helps me prepare well, what helps me stay in the right mindset. There are a few areas that I am still working on. This season I had a few rough games, where I had four zeroes and still ended up becoming the top scorer. I want to make sure that those things don’t happen again. I want to make every innings I play count.”Although Uthappa briefly earned a recall to the Indian team for a one-day series in Bangladesh last year, he remains on the fringe of the national set-up. Still, he is convinced that if he “continues in the same way,” a recall is on the cards “sooner or later.””Winning the India Test cap is what’s driving me, that’s always driven me. I came back into the game three years ago because I wanted to don the Test cap,” he says. “I think I am getting closer to that dream, I just need to keep working, stacking up the runs and performing. Just lay out all the options, put it all out there and let the selectors take a call.”Once the Irani Cup is completed, Uthappa will have another chance to press his case for a national call-up with the IPL kicking off on April 8. Uthappa was the leading scorer in the tournament last year, making 660 runs at an average of 44, playing a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ second triumph in three years.”I am looking forward to it,” he said. “We have to defend our title there as well, its going to be a lot of fun. We have the team equipped to do that. Hopefully its going to be a fantastic year.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:32

O’Brien: McClenaghan the difference in two teams

It came down, in the end, to one stat: Mumbai Indians scored 61 in their last four overs. Their innings till that point had never looked like getting out of third gear, but a late blitz from Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard left Rajasthan Royals chasing 188.At various points, particularly when Sanju Samson was at the crease, Royals looked in control of the chase. But Mumbai’s bowlers, unlike Royals’, found their lengths at the death. Together, Mitchell McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga conceded only 14 runs in the 18th and 19th overs, and picked up three wickets. It left Royals 20 to get from the final over, and even though Vinay Kumar made things interesting with a couple of high full-tosses – one of which was a no-ball that produced both a catch in the deep and a run-out – it was too much of a hurdle to cross. Having made a storming start to the season, Royals went winless for the fifth match in a row.It all came down to that one stat: 61 runs in four overs. In the early part of the season – when Royals won five out of five – Chris Morris and James Faulkner invariably bowled the last four overs. Neither was playing this game; instead, Juan Theron, Shane Watson and Tim Southee sent down a tasty assortment of length balls, short balls and full-tosses that Rayudu and Pollard gobbled up for six fours and three sixes.Royals’ chase got off to a frenetic start. An edgy Ajinkya Rahane played three awful swipes, of which one went to the boundary off the inside-edge, one hit the top edge and fell to the floor via a terrible drop from J Suchith, and the other fell safely into Rayudu’s palms after another miscue. Watson timed and muscled his way to 28 before he was bowled trying to cut a skiddy quicker one from Suchith.The required rate was always daunting but Samson – restored to his No.3 slot after moving from opening to batting in the lower middle order – kept Royals in the hunt with his effortless power and inventiveness. He played cat-and-mouse with Harbhajan Singh, moving around his crease, forcing him to bowl quicker, and using that pace to pick up two deftly dabbed fours through the fine third man region. He jumped in the air and pivoted violently through the hips to muscle a slower bouncer from Vinay into the gap between deep midwicket and long-on. He pulled Malinga over the leg-side boundary and lofted McClenaghan sweetly over long-off, but when he tried to repeat the stroke and failed to get the required elevation, he left Royals 27 to get from 14 balls.That provoked the turnaround. Karun Nair fell next ball, slashing outside off and nicking McClenaghan to the keeper. Deepak Hooda flicked Malinga in the air, into the hands of deep midwicket. In four balls, Royals had lost their three young and exciting domestic talents, and with it the match.For the first 16 overs of Mumbai’s innings, it had seemed as if they would set a target of 165 at the most. Their openers made a bright start on a true pitch, but Parthiv Patel – typically – failed to convert a breezy start, and Unmukt Chand struggled his way to 13 off 14. Still, with Lendl Simmons scoring a 31-ball 38 at the top, Mumbai were going along at over eight an over for the first ten. It was decent going, but their batsmen kept getting out just when they were getting in.Rohit Sharma provided another example of that, moving smoothly to 27 from 20 – with a couple of authoritative pulls in the mix – before picking out short fine leg off Dhawal Kulkarni. When he fell, Mumbai were 120 for 4 in the 15th over, and a tight 16th from Ankit Sharma, who mixed his pace well while not deriving too much turn, left them 126 for 4 after 16.That was when Royals’ new-look death bowling floundered, and in Rayudu and Pollard Mumbai had just the right pair at the crease to take heavy toll. Rayudu hadn’t had the greatest of starts to his season, and hadn’t even played all of Mumbai’s matches, but he looked in top form here, striking the ball cleanly and picking up four fours and three sixes. One of them, not much more than a pick-up shot off Theron, soared high over wide long-on and landed in the second tier.

The BCCI is unlikely to support any stringent action against Zimbabwe at the ICC’s annual meeting in Dubai next week, a top Indian board official has indicated.”We have always supported Zimbabwe cricket and have nothing to do with the political situation there,” a senior BCCI official told Cricinfo. “In fact, we are a bit surprised that the issue has been brought up once again since the ICC board had discussed this last year and decided clearly that politics and cricket can’t be mixed. The BCCI believes that a country’s politics and its cricket don’t go together. There is no reason to change our stand now.”On Monday, Cricket South Africa announced it was suspending its bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe Cricket, citing the worsening “general situation” there. That was quickly followed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) scrapping a proposed tour by Zimbabwe in 2009 after the British government advised them it would support such action.Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, David Morgan, who will take over from Ray Mali as ICC president at the end of the annual meeting next week, welcomed action against Zimbabwe but warned: “It will be a very difficult discussion. India and Zimbabwe are close and India’s position is crucial in all this, for sure.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced the domestic first-class fixture list for the 2003 cricket season. For the first time since 1972, there will be no Benson & Hedges Cup competition, which has been replaced by a new 20-over tournament called the ‘Twenty20 Cup’.The Twenty20 Cup begins on Friday 13 June when five late-afternoon group matches are scheduled. One of these opening games will be broadcast live by Sky Sports.All 45 group matches – the 18 first-class counties are split into three groups of six teams each – will be played over a 12-day period, thus intentionally scheduling the competition around the longest days of the year. This means that matches starting at 5.30pm will finish in daylight at 8.15pm. Essex and Sussex may stage floodlit Twenty20 Cup matches in the group stages, and the timings for any such matches will be confirmed in due course.All counties are guaranteed a minimum of two Twenty20 Cup matches at home next season. The winners of each of the three groups and the best-performing runner-up will progress to a finals day on Saturday 19 July, at which both semi-finals and the final will be played.Extensive media coverage of the competition is guaranteed. Sky Sports will broadcast a minimum of six group matches live as well as the three matches on finals day; Channel 4, meanwhile, will broadcast at least one match live (a Saturday morning slot on 14 June) and the highlights of the Final, plus prominent coverage of the competition in their weekly magazine programme. BBC Radio are planning extensive coverage on their regional and local stations in addition to live ball-by-ball coverage of the Twenty20 Cup Final on Radio Five Live and both Twenty20 Cup semi-finals on Five Live Extra.A new prize money structure will be implemented to encourage both team victories and individual performances. The Twenty20 champions will receive £52,000, the runners-up will get £26,000 and the losing-semi-finalists £15,500 – equal to the prize money on offer for the 2002 Benson & Hedges Cup Final. Incentives will also be made to the best performing individuals with cash prizes of £1,500 going to the best performing batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders (see below for details).Tim Lamb, Chief Executive of the ECB, said, “I have no doubt that the Twenty20 Cup will make a significant impact on our domestic cricket next summer. Thanks to excellent support from our broadcast partners, we can already guarantee a great deal of media coverage for the tournament. And with generous prize money on offer, the players have every incentive to go flat out to achieve success on the pitch. This is one of the most revolutionary and exciting initiatives undertaken by the ECB and the first-class counties for many years.”There are 367 matches, or 799 days of cricket in total, scheduled for first-class counties across four different competitions next season. The Frizzell County Championship season starts on Friday 18 April, the 45 over League competition (sponsor to be confirmed) begins on Sunday 27 April, while the third round of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy takes place on Wednesday 7 May.The women’s domestic season, meanwhile, will include the Super Fours trophy, now in its second year. The 48 best women’s cricketers in the country will be divided into four teams and will compete against each other in six one-day matches ahead of the international season. Super Fours will run each weekend from Saturday 17th May to Sunday 15th June.Yorkshire, meanwhile, will aim to retain their title in the Frizzell Women’s County Championship which will run from Saturday 26th – Wednesday 30th July at University Grounds, Cambridge.

Twenty20 Prize MoneyTeam awardsWinner (1 x £52,000) £52,000Runner-up (1 x £26,000) £26,000Losing Semi-Finalists (2 x £15,500) £31,000Man-of-the-Match awardsGroup Matches (45 x £300) £13,500Semi-finalists (2 x £550) £1,100Final (1 x £1,750) £1,750Series awardsBatsman – most runs (1 x £1,500)Batsman – 2nd most runs (1 x £1,000)Batsman – most 4’s & 6’s (1 x £1,500)Batsman – best strike rate (1 x £1,500)All-rounder – best (1 x £1,500)All-rounder – 2nd best (1 x £1,000)Wicket keeper – best (1 x £1,500)Bowler – most wickets (1 x £1,500)Bowler – 2nd most wickets (1 x £1,000)Bowler – fastest (1 x £1,500)Bowler – best economy rate (1 x £1,500) 15,000Total: £140,350