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West Indies women captain, Merissa Aguilleira, and leading batsman Stafanie Taylor have welcomed the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) decision to offer central retainer contracts to six players in the their side.”When I first heard the WICB was offering retainers to members of our team I said to the others ‘wow, this is great news for us’,” said Taylor, who has been in top form in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge in South Africa. “I am truly very happy not just for myself but for the other members of my team. We are all playing our hearts out for West Indies cricket and we are truly delighted that the WICB is taking notice and looking out for us. “Our coach always urges us to play with heart and one day we will get the recognition. With the contracts, we can now concentrate fully on our cricket and we know we will have income to sustain ourselves.”Taylor, 19, is one of the rising stars in the women’s game, and on Wednesday became the youngest woman to reach 1000 ODI runs, when she made 72 against Ireland. Her captain Aguilleira led the side to the semi-finals in the 2010 World Twenty20 and West Indies have also made steady improvement and moved up the ODI rankings.”This news could not have come at a better time,” Aguilleira said. “This is a good incentive for the girls to continue the hard work we have been putting in over the last few years since we started to make strides up the international ladder. I have been speaking to the girls and they are over the moon to hear we will be offered retainer contracts. We will continue to work hard to improve and get better at doing what we love.”

ScorecardPhil Mustard led Durham’s fightback and put them on opening at Chester-le-Street•PA Photos

Durham skipper Phil Mustard underlined that his team will not hand over the County Championship title to Nottinghamshire without a fight. The fourth Championship century of his career was his first at Chester-le-Street and he shared an unbroken stand of 159 with Scott Borthwick to take his side to 347 for 6 at the close of the first day.Mustard was 117 not out, his highest score since making 130 in the first match of the 2006 season at Canterbury. Nottinghamshire went into the game 16 points clear with three matches left, giving them a game in hand on their only realistic challengers, Somerset and Yorkshire.The visitors reduced Durham to 76 for 4, but half-centuries from Mark Stoneman and Ian Blackwell began the recovery before Mustard took command. The second 50 in his 131-ball century came off only 34 balls and included 10 fours as he and Borthwick swept into overdrive against the new ball.On 82 Mustard hit three successive fours off Luke Fletcher, then in the next over he cut Ryan Sidebottom to the boundary and turned him to long leg for the four which brought up his century. Sidebottom, who will leave after Wednesday’s play to join the England Twenty20 squad, grew increasingly exasperated when failing to add to the prize scalp of Michael Di Venuto, which he claimed in the first over.In the last over before tea he looked aghast when a huge appeal for caught behind was turned down with Mustard on 22. Then off the final ball before the break Borthwick, who had yet to score, edged towards first slip. Chris Read dived across and tipped the ball towards third man for two runs.Borthwick, like his captain a left-handed batsman from the Sunderland area, equalled his best of 54, made at Basingstoke last month. He would have been run out on 26 had the shy from mid-on hit the stumps, but played some high-class strokes, notably an on drive and wristy flick through square leg, in his 89-ball half century.Nottinghamshire left out Darren Pattinson and nominated him as Sidebottom’s replacement to give Fletcher a game. He swung the ball away to have Gordon Muchall caught at gully and Durham’s early struggles made Mustard’s decision to bat look questionable.Andre Adams had Dale Benkenstein caught behind in his first over and surprised both Stoneman and Blackwell with his skiddy pace. Full-length balls had Stoneman lbw for 67 and bowled Blackwell for 59, both playing across the line.The other wicket went to Paul Franks, Ben Harmison being caught behind for 2 after replacing Ben Stokes, who has a foot injury.

ScorecardNorthamptonshire’s promotion hopes were hit by rain which ruined a potentially intriguing final day of the match at Chesterfield. Derbyshire started the fourth morning needing another 322 for victory but a violent electrical storm halted play after only 35 minutes.Torrential rain left mini-lakes across the Queen’s Park outfield and it was three hours before the match could resume. Sterling work by the groundstaff allowed the umpires to take the players back out at 2.30pm but after 25 minutes, another downpour sent the players back to the pavilion for the last time.Umpires Jeff Evans and Richard Illingworth were left with no alternative but to call the game off shortly before 3.30pm with Derbyshire 76 for 0, leaving the home side to take nine points and Northants six.It was a soggy anticlimax to what promised to be an exciting day’s cricket, with both teams fancying their chances of forcing a win. Northants needed the points to stay in touch with the top two in Division Two while bottom-of-the-table Derbyshire were chasing a first victory since late April.It was a tough task for the home side but Derbyshire could take heart from the previous Championship match at Queen’s Park when, despite losing to Surrey by 42 runs, they scored 365 in the fourth innings.Although Northants have five bowlers out injured, there was enough in the pitch to suggest they could take 10 wickets in the day, although they had made their task harder by dropping Chris Rogers the previous evening. The Australian opener was likely to be a key figure in a successful run chase and he and Wayne Madsen had reduced the target by 22 in nine overs without any real alarms when the first storm broke over the tree-ringed ground.The lengthy hold-up meant 36 overs were lost and that almost certainly scuppered Derbyshire’s chances and left Northants needing to break through quickly. The bowlers were encouraged by the sight of one ball from Andrew Hall shooting through low while another from the Northants skipper lifted sharply at Madsen and lobbed to gully, where James Middlebrook spilled the catch running back.In the end, it had no impact on the visitors’ chances because, minutes later, dark clouds rolled back in and condemned the contest to a watery end.

So India and Sri Lanka are playing again? Should the world care? Why, every other match of theirs is against each other. And they have played the other in at least five tournaments since saturation point was hit. Don’t the players get bored?When Yuvraj Singh was picked for this Test series, about two weeks after he had been given a wake-up-call drop from the one-day side, India had just finished facing Sri Lanka in their seventh ODI assignment (three of them bilateral series) in two years. The first remark in the story’s comments section on Cricinfo had nothing to say about the selectors’ choices. “Is it possible for us to play ANY OTHER TEAM OTHER THAN SRI LANKA FOR GOD’S SAKE???????” the reader asked. Soon more readers from both countries joined in, asking for a closure.The Ashes, the oldest rivalry in cricket, was contested in 2009 in England, will be played in 2010-11 in Australia, and then again in 2013 in England, a cycle it has always followed. The cricket seasons in both countries are not the same, else the Ashes would be a biennial event. At any rate, despite the seasonal idiosyncrasies, there are only two Ashes series every four years.India, though, went to Sri Lanka in 2008, hosted them in 2009-10, and are going there again in 2010. Two Test series in two years may be an FTP vagary but three in three, to go with countless ODI series, just shows the ICC is irrelevant, and the two boards are inconsiderate towards the fans.At the end of this tunnel, though, the players involved shine a bright light on at least the coming Test series. When asked if they are not tired of playing Sri Lanka, one of India’s team said, “No. Not this time. This time we have things to correct.” And there are a few things to correct.For starters, how can this Indian team claim to be the undisputed best in the world without having won Test series in Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia? They had their chance in 2008 to cross off Sri Lanka, but they were stopped in a series that should fall closely behind India v Australia 2000-01 and Ashes 2005 for consistently gripping Test cricket in the last decade. One of the main themes of Test cricket is redemption – a chance in the second innings. This will be India’s second innings: the start of a journey, they will hope, from ICC’s No. 1 to the undisputed best.It is also a second innings for arguably the best middle order of our time. None of India’s batting line-ups has perhaps been as devastated by a spin attack as the Fab Four, as it were, was by Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in 2008. The same middle order sans Sourav Ganguly will be facing a team with the same name, but Murali will leave after the Galle Test, and Mendis, who isn’t in the squad for the first Test at least, is not the same bowler anymore. Will the payback, if India do manage it, be just as sweet?Virender Sehwag tore the Sri Lankan attack apart during double-centuries in Galle and Mumbai•AFP

The Indians, however, are not the only ones looking for payback. When Sri Lanka came to India last year they were the No. 2 Test team in the world but the 2-0 defeat in a series, which wasn’t even a patch on the first one, exposed them brutally. Freshly reinforced was the fact that they are yet to win a Test match, leave alone a series, in India, South Africa and Australia.Murali has rarely been beaten into submission by a batsman as he was by Virender Sehwag in Galle and in Mumbai. More than the defeats, it was the hapless nature of it all that would have hurt Sri Lanka. Always dangerous in Sri Lanka, where the hot and humid weather teams up with them, the hosts will have more than just payback on their minds.The best way to alert the cricket world, a small entity really, about unbalanced schedules is to topple the No. 1 side from its perch. One of the three countries Sri Lanka are yet to win a Test in, South Africa, last hosted them in 2002. This year, the No. 4 side in the world, a team used to making at least the semi-finals of major ICC events, was left without an opponent to host in its home season.The BCCI, who played an important role in the cancellation of Sri Lanka’s tour to England last year, has chipped in and converted its team’s one-day tour to a full Test assignment, thus exposing what promised to be a delicious Test rivalry – on the evidence of 2008 – to the same fate as the ODIs between the two teams.Given the thin bowling line-ups (India don’t have Zaheer Khan, and their second spinner is yet to cement his place in the side), this series threatens to revive the not-so-glorious days of the nineties, when one set of these batsmen batted and batted, and the other batted some more. This series is not only a challenge for the bowlers, but also the pitches. The 2000s, with the rise and rise of Murali, gave Sri Lanka the confidence to create result pitches. The contrast was stark: Sri Lanka hosted 20 draws out of 42 before 2000, and only 11 out of 54 since, a result rate behind only that of Australia and South Africa. Will Murali’s retirement affect the groundsmen too?While there is overkill, this is also the contest that has featured the best innings of the last two years – both from Sehwag. Bowling performances from Harbhajan Singh, Mendis, Murali and Sreesanth were among the best in their respective years too. This series will need everything, from weather to bowlers to pitches, to preserve interest in Tests between the two teams. And unlike the limited-over matches, which have perhaps been damaged beyond repair, Tests between India and Sri Lanka still have a lot worth preserving.

Match facts

June 22, 2010
Start time 2.30pm (13.30GMT)

Big Picture

Cameron White scored a century on his last visit to the Rose Bowl•Getty Images

If there is a future for 50-over cricket, then surely it lies in contests such as this: a five-match hors d’oeuvre that is decidedly and unashamedly geared towards more significant encounters in the not-so-distant future. Everything that England and Australia have done in their recent outings – whether it’s thumping Pakistan or labouring past Bangladesh – has been assessed in the context of their Ashes preparations. So here we go then. Here’s a proper Phoney War to be getting on with. May the best team steal the momentum and land the psychological blows.Whatever happens in the coming five games, it is hard to envisage a scoreline as one-sided as last September’s 6-1 drubbing. England have come on in leaps and bounds since that ignominious thrashing – their gameplans have been liberated by key personnel such as Eoin Morgan and Craig Kieswetter – while Australia, regardless of their status as World Cup and Champions Trophy-holders, are in an undeniable period of transition, and beset by a raft of injuries to many of their first-choice seam attack, most notably Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and the fading Brett Lee.But the real reason why this series could and should be a humdinger lies in its timing. Ever since the days of the Texaco Trophy, English teams have invariably performed better when the one-dayers have preceded the Tests. In 2005, England produced some of their best 50-over form of the decade to share the NatWest Series courtesy of a tied final against Australia (before slumping 2-1 in the subsequent NatWest Challenge, but that’s another story), while their achievement in beating South Africa in South Africa back in November gave them vital self-belief ahead of the tough Test series that followed.Whether the public interest will match the expected commitment from the teams is a moot point – although given how woeful both England and Australia have been in the football World Cup to date, many sports fans might quite enjoy the chance to recapture some bragging rights.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

England WWWWW
Australia WLWWW

Watch out for…

Ricky Ponting is back in England and bristling for vengeance once again. His last two visits have not been among the most enjoyable memories of his illustrious career, seeing as he surrendered the Ashes in both 2005 and 2009, but the indignities will only have strengthened his resolve. He’s now the elder statesman of a new-look team, and his talents may not be as razor-edged as they once were, but his presence on a cricket field remains inspirational nonetheless.Paul Collingwood was a part of the England side that thrashed Australia by 100 runs on this very ground in 2005, in the first Twenty20 international between the two teams. While the prospect of once again reducing the Aussies to 31 for 7 may be improbable, Collingwood knows full well how critical it is to attack from the outset, just as they did five years ago. After his break during the Bangladesh series, he’s fit and refreshed, and ready to resume hostilities.

Team news

Cameron White scored a century on this ground when the teams met last September, and he is now the fulcrum of the batting line-up at No. 5. Tim Paine resumes his wicketkeeping duties following the injury to Brad Haddin, while Doug Bollinger leads an inexperienced seam attack, in the absence of Johnson and Hilfenhaus.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Nathan Hauritz, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Doug Bollinger.England eased to victory over Scotland at the weekend, and it’s hard to envisage many changes to the side for that game. Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter gelled as an opening partnership at the first time of asking, while Stuart Broad will be better for his first outing since the World Twenty20 final.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Ajmal Shahzad, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

The Rose Bowl had a reputation as a seamer’s paradise in its early years, but the pitch has settled down considerably since then. With fine weather in prospect, the challenge of batting under lights will be less daunting than it might otherwise have been, although White and Co. weren’t exactly unsettled by the autumnal chill they experienced on their last visit.

Stats and Trivia

• The Rose Bowl match will be the 3000th ODI, and it will feature the same two teams who contested the first, at Melbourne in January 1971.
• Despite defeating Australia in the Ashes and the final of the World Twenty20, England’s recent record in ODIs against them is woeful. They’ve lost eight of their last nine fixtures, dating back to the World Cup in March 2007, and most recently were crushed by nine wickets in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy last October.
• Australia have a 100% record in ODIs at the Rose Bowl, albeit they’ve played just two matches, against England in 2009 and the USA in 2004. England have won two, lost two in four visits.

Quotes

“We all remember that Twenty20 game at Hampshire where we kept nipping them out. You’ve got to go hard at them. We’ve learnt that over the last five or six years.”
“Whenever there is a big series coming up the build-up starts a fair way out – and for the Ashes it’s already started. Pretty much from now until the Ashes are over and done with in the middle of January, everything we do will have some sort of focus on the Ashes series. There will be no excuses for us come late November.”
Ricky Ponting is quite focused, it would appear.

Cricket Kenya has been forced to cancel a short tour to England after a contractual dispute arose between the board and the players on the eve of the trip. The players are refusing to travel unless the board agree to their contract demands, and Kenya’s preparations for the World Cricket League Division One tournament in Netherlands have been thrown into turmoil.The trip to Rochdale, Lancashire was meant to have been a warm-up for the competition in Netherlands, and the players’ decision was only relayed to the board hours before they were due to leave. It is believed that the boycott will leave CK around $50,000 out of pocket.The contracts for the 16-man national squad expired at the end of May and had been expected to be renewed without difficulty, CK offering a 10% pay rise despite continuing poor on-field performances from the team.However, last week a four-man deputation claiming to represent the squad met with CK officials and set out new terms which were deemed unacceptable. They included reverting to a number of old terms and conditions which had been set aside a few years ago after the ICC, African Cricket Association and CK decided they stifled new players.Surprisingly, the deputation did not contain any of the current squad but did include Maurice Odumbe, Steve Tikolo and Kennedy Otieno as well as Isaiah Odhiambo. Various demands were made by these “representatives” involving radical changes to the structure of the contract – including huge increases to players’ remuneration. Various other complaints unrelated to the contract – including a complaint against the behaviour of the chairman of selectors – were deferred. They also refused to allow any board member to approach the team directly.On Wednesday, the quartet appeared on television and launched a vicious attack on the board, demanding among other things that several key officials stand down. CK attempted to broker a solution, offering interim contracts with assurances that the issues would be addressed on the team’s return but this was declined.”It’s the same old story,” an insider said. “They are trying to use a tour as blackmail.” The role of the seemingly self-appointed gang of four was also heavily criticised. “We will not be put against a wall to deal with people like this.”An official statement said: “Cricket Kenya regards this conduct by these ‘players’ representatives’ as outrageous and disgraceful. Having regard to the gratuitously offensive nature of the allegations made and the questionable agenda of the former players involved, the Cricket Kenya Board unanimously resolved not to engage with these ‘player representatives’ any further.”The player representatives concerned had no authority whatsoever to go public in this way. They are neither accredited formally by the players nor are they part of a properly registered players association. Their sole function was to negotiate terms with Cricket Kenya on behalf of the players. The players’ contracts specifically forbid any player from engaging with the press and to criticize the national board. It is plain that their real motive was intended solely to undermine and embarrass Cricket Kenya.”Kenya’s cricketers are already highly paid, with senior players earning around $1500 a month, almost ten times the national average, and juniors around $800.Aside from the considerable loss of goodwill among those in England who have bent over backwards to accommodate the Kenyan tour, there is also concern over preparations for the World Cricket League Division One tournament which starts early next month. The squad has already been submitted to the ICC, although CK is believed to be prepared to send a weakened side if the stand-off continues.”Cricket Kenya stands by its decision and is determined not to be held to ransom by the national team – or by its so-called ‘representatives’- in this way,” the statement concluded.The position of Maurice Ouma as captain also appears untenable. He accompanied the four delegates to the original meeting and by refusing to even allow the board to talk to the team it seems likely he will be replaced.

Scorecard
If Nottinghamshire manage to extend their winning streak to five out of five at the top of Division One, they will be grateful that Alex Hales, a batsman with a talent for explosive hitting, chose this moment to demonstrate that he knows how to play with patience and application too.His maiden first-class century, which he extended to 136, provided the batting substance Nottinghamshire were unable to find elsewhere after conceding a 35-run first innings lead, a beacon of a performance in a largely below-par effort from the home side that has left Hampshire to chase a tricky 281 to win on a pitch unlikely to offer them an easy passage.As a 16-year-old, playing in the London County Cricket Club Founder’s Day tournament at Lord’s, Hales astonished onlookers by hitting eight sixes and a four as 55 runs were scored in one over – there were three no-balls – as his W G Grace XI reached the final of a Twenty20 competition. He blasted three more sixes in the next over to finish unbeaten on 114. He had been selected as a fast bowler.Last year, in a further demonstration of the power he can wield with a bat, he hit eight sixes -in an innings, rather than an over – for Nottinghamshire in a Pro40 match against Worcestershire, scoring 150 off a mere 102 balls.He had shown glimpses of his potential in first-class games, with four half-centuries to his name before this match, including 78 against Durham at the Riverside last September. Called up here in a side without Hashim Amla and Mark Wagh from the line-up responsible for their flying start, he did nothing for his confidence by succumbing to a first-innings duck.But if he was uncomfortable, he hid it well, settling any nerves by hitting Dominic Cork for three boundaries after the dismissal of Bilal Shafayat to a return catch snatched up almost as it pitched by James Tomlinson left Nottinghamshire 25 for 1.He found himself under pressure, however, as Nottinghamshire’s brittle top order ran into familiar difficulties. Neil Edwards edged Sean Ervine to the wicketkeeper, Steven Mullaney was trapped by a full, swinging ball from Cork and Samit Patel, trying to avoid a short ball from Ervine, was given out to the faintest of nicks.When Cork made Ally Brown his second victim, Nottinghamshire had lost half their wickets with their lead a paltry 90. Now it was clear that graft was required if Hampshire were not to be left with an easy target but Hales was equal to the task. He played and missed a good few times but never gave a real chance. James Vince made an heroic attempt to catch him on the boundary when he top-edged a mighty pull against Herath but it was never really on and he had to settle for parrying the ball back into the playing area before it landed.Indeed, there were some very handsome shots among his 15 boundaries and a clean hit six over the top against Rangana Herath brought up his 194-ball hundred in the grandest fashion, but what was most impressive was his willingness to take responsibility.It took the best part of five hours for Hampshire to prise him out, Cork claiming the honours with a slower ball, which Hales planted in the hands of Chris Benham at short extra cover. By that time he had done his job in holding together an innings that was threatening to give the bowlers too little to defend.Hales dominated a partnership of 95 for the sixth wicket with his captain, Chris Read, who toiled for almost two hours over a scratchy 27, and added a further 44 with Paul Franks.Franks duelled entertainingly with Cork, who joshed with spectators by mimicking a man on a zimmer frame when the all-rounder became his fourth victim. The veteran former Derbyshire bowler inevitably finds someone in the crowd here eager to wind him up and this was no exception.Nonetheless, the 45 that Franks scored before he edged Cork to the ‘keeper may be valuable runs, enhanced by a lusty 26 from Andre Adams. It took Nottinghamshire’s total to 315, leaving Hampshire with a target they will fancy themselves to get after surviving two overs at the close without loss.Yet, against an attack well used to exploiting conditions here, and with the pitch that has been hazardous throughout unlikely to become easier to play, it may still present a difficult challenge.

When it comes to discussing his injuries Brett Lee can sound like the Black Knight in Monty Python. “It’s just a flesh wound,” the swordsman says as he loses both arms.Over the past year Lee has undergone surgery on his foot and ankle, missed the Ashes due to a side strain and retired from Tests following a severe elbow operation that wiped out his summer. Four IPL games into his comeback he broke his right thumb. Still he fights on.He didn’t quite mutter “just a scratch” when analysing the injury, but the latest setback won’t prevent him from joining his team-mates on their flight to the West Indies on Friday for the World Twenty20. “I’ve played with pain my whole life so a broken thumb won’t worry me,” Lee said after an indoor session at the Gabba.The slightly revised shape of the digit also offers some benefit. “The way that I hold the ball, it’s pretty much the way the thumb is sitting at the moment,” he said. “I’m lucky that I don’t have to get the finger right around the ball. It’s all good.”Lee was a late inclusion at Australia’s pre-tournament camp, which involves eight of the 15-man squad, and was cleared by his doctor two weeks after being hit by Sachin Tendulkar while playing for Kings XI Punjab. It was another untimely break for Lee as he attempts to regain a spot in the Twenty20 side that has evolved since he exited the one-day tour of India in October.So far the comeback has not gone well, but returning senior players find ways to overlook the statistics and focus on feel. Lee didn’t pick up a wicket in 14.3 overs in the IPL and went for 149 runs, 25 of those coming when he was roughed up by Robin Uthappa.”Apart from that one over, I thought I bowled pretty well during the IPL,” he said. “I was a little bit unlucky, but that’s part of cricket. To get back on the field after pretty major elbow surgery, I’m really confident and happy about that. To me it wasn’t about the figures, it would have been nice to get a wicket or two, but I was happy with the way the ball came out.”During Lee’s latest absence Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes became the preferred trio in Twenty20s and the 33-year-old hasn’t yet been able to show that he should regain a starting place. He has the faith of a national contract for 2010-11 based on his decade of elite service.”It’s a matter of me, I don’t have to look over my shoulder,” he said of breaking into the team. “What I can focus on is getting myself right and if I get the opportunity to play I will try to grab the opportunity with both hands, pardon the pun.”If Australia feel indulgent they have the option of playing four extreme speed men in the Caribbean, although that would rob them of batting firepower. The IPL has also shown that the fast men are more prone to give away boundaries even while taking wickets.”Why not?” Lee replied when asked if a pace quartet could work. “It would be pretty handy, four bowlers bowling at 150 clicks. I wouldn’t want to be the batting side.”However, he realises bowlers are having to be more thoughtful in the format and that speed is no guarantee of success. Pitches in the West Indies are usually low and slow, except in Barbados, and Lee has been trying to add some new deliveries to his repertoire.”It’s important for the fast bowler to have a couple of things up his sleeve and be a bit more cagey,” he said. “In Twenty20 cricket we’ve seen all the adaptations that the batsmen have done – stance, lap sweeps – and bowlers have to be a little bit crafty as well. Changing different things, different balls, distracting batsmen in certain ways which are all legal, just trying different stuff.”Australia start their campaign with warm-up matches in St Lucia against Zimbabwe and a Windward XI next week, providing there are no ash-related delays in their travel. Their opening group game is against Pakistan on May 2 followed by the fixture with Bangladesh to determine which sides progress to the second round.

Jamie Clifford has been appointed as Kent’s new chief executive. He had been in an acting role since Paul Millman’s retirement last year.”Jamie has been a tremendous asset to the club over the last few years and his wealth of knowledge and experience will prove crucial as the redevelopment project starts to take shape,” said George Kennedy, Kent’s chairman. “Not only does he have a detailed understanding of our business but he possesses the necessary drive and determination to bring about further growth.”Clifford, 34, became director of cricket development at Kent in 2002 and later combined the role with that of director of business development. He will have tough job at running a county with severe financial problems, but has been a key figure in the club’s development plans.

Tamim Iqbal rated his blistering 125 from 120 balls in the first ODI against England at Mirpur as “one of his best” performances, but admitted that his personal satisfaction had been tempered by his team’s familiar failure to make the most of their opportunity.After nine overs of the contest, having been asked to bat first, Bangladesh had rattled along to 63 for 0, with Tamim hurtling towards a 32-ball half-century. But a spate of cheap dismissals undermined their momentum, and Naeem Islam’s late 25 was the next highest score as they were eventually restricted to 228 with 4.2 overs unused.”We were going beautifully at the start, but we just kept losing wickets, and the guys who are in form, like Shakib [Al Hasan], Junaid [Siddique] and Mushfiq [Rahim] didn’t make the big scores,” said Tamim. “That was the main turning point. We really trust our team and we have been working really hard. I hope the mistakes we made in this game will not be repeated in the next.”Tamim came into the contest with a reputation to uphold, having starred for Bangladesh in both the Test and ODI arena in recent months. He produced a matchwinning 128 in the second innings at Kingstown in July, to set up a famous maiden overseas victory over West Indies, before shocking India with a blazing 151 in last month’s second Test. But this was arguably his most commanding 50-over performance since his precocious 51 against India in the 2007 World Cup.”I got two ODI hundreds before this one,” he said. “One was against Ireland, the other against Zimbabwe. So to get a century against England, a proper Test nation, really feels good. But I think the best is yet to come. I am enjoying playing international cricket, I feel I have learned a lot of things from this innings, and that will help me for the future.”I’m happy with my performance but it would have been better if we’d won the game,” he added. “We started very well, but we made mistakes at crucial times, so we need to see that that doesn’t happen in the next game. England is a very good side, very strong at batting and bowling, so we have to put our 100% effort and play our best cricket to beat them. I hope in the second or third ODI, we play the better cricket and win.”Although Tamim’s reputation is as a formidable hitter, he has already shown a game-brain that sets him apart from his peers, and that was on display once again in this contest, as he reined himself in as the wickets started to tumble, and set himself to bat for as long as he could. In the end he lasted until the 43rd over of the innings, before walking across his stumps in a bid to beat fine leg, with only Nos. 10 and 11 for company.”Cricket is not about an individual game, it is a team game,” said Tamim. “So I need to follow the team rules also. When two wickets fell in quick succession I needed to put down my own game, and play according to the ball. That’s what the plan is for Bangladesh cricket. We are working really hard on our game, and the way we are going and training, I hope in one or two years we will be a very tough opponent to beat.”That prospect is not entirely out of the question. Tamim himself turns 21 on March 20, and the core of the team is still in its international infancy, including the captain Shakib, who is a few days’ shy of 23. “We are a young side, and an improving side,” said Tamim. “If you count our average age, it is not more than 24. We have lots of cricket left in ourselves, and lots of years to play.The major obstacle to Bangladesh’s progress will be an exhaustion of patience, both domestically and internationally, but Tamim believes they are headed in the right direction. “The crowd always wants us to win, so it’s tough because we always disappoint them,” he said. “We know that, we know that very well, but we trust in our ability that we will achieve that thing that they want.”Alastair Cook, taking charge of England for the first time in a 50-over match, was both relieved and satisfied at the end of a tough contest, his contentment heightened by the fact that he had overcome a spirited challenge to record that all-important first victory.”We know you have to take advantage of those first 10 overs as a batting side,” said Cook. “That was the first time I’ve seen [Tamim] and he struck it really well. We’ll need to have a look at him over the next 24 hours, and come up with plans that are better executed, but you can’t take it away from how he played. We bowled some good balls at him and he hit them well. I was impressed how cleanly he hit them.”