Ireland fold for 332 after Anderson ton

Ireland 332 (Anderson 127, Mooney 63, Doram 5-82) v Netherlands
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Opening batsman John Anderson's maiden first-class century gave Ireland an ideal opening on the first day of their ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands in Deventer, but a five-wicket haul on debut by 15-year-old spinner Daniel Doram helped the home team wrap up Ireland's innings on 332.

Ireland, after electing to bat, made slow progress in the first session in which 40 overs were bowled, going past 100 for the loss of two wickets. They lost their third wicket, Andrew White, at the start of the second session, but Anderson and Kevin O'Brien scored 89 runs for the fourth wicket to take Ireland into a position of strength. O'Brien, however, missed out on his half-century, after he was caught Peter Borren off Doram.

Although Ireland lost Stuart Poynter soon after, Anderson found an able ally in John Mooney, and the two added 67 runs for the sixth wicket. Anderson got past the three-figure mark during the course of the partnership, his 100 coming off 246 deliveries. But Anderson's dismissal in the 100th over of the day exposed the tail and Doram dismissed three of the remaining four batsmen to pick up his first five-wicket haul. Mooney was the last batsman to be dismissed after he scored a valuable 63

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Edwards, Gunn secure big win

England 227 for 7 (Edwards 83, Brindle 55) beat Pakistan 116 (Gunn 5-22) by 111 runs
Scorecard

England overwhelmed Pakistan in the first of two ODIs, with Jenny Gunn's career-best 5 for 22 backing up half-centuries from Charlotte Edwards and Arran Brindle in a 111-run win. Edwards and Brindle put on a century opening stand and although England's total wasn't intimidating, Pakistan slid from a promising 101 for 2 to 116 all out in ten painful overs.

The key wicket was that of Javeria Khan, whose composed 39 had anchored Pakistan's chase. Javeria and Nahida Khan opened with a 58-run partnership and she added another 37 for the third wicket with Bismah Maroof before becoming the first of Gunn's victims. Wicketless in her opening spell, Gunn returned to take 5 for 4 in 21 balls and torpedo Pakistan's chances.

"I was really pleased today, I think we set the tone and personally it felt good to bowl," Gunn said. "We were confident of defending our total but knew we had to bowl to our plans and we broke through at the right time to slow them down."

There were wickets for four other bowlers, including the debutante Natalie Sciver, as eight of Pakistan's batsmen failed to get into double figures.

England's innings also tailed away slightly, after Edwards' departure with the score on 140 for 1. Lydia Greenway hustled an unbeaten 38 from 29 balls to lift England to a solid 227 for 7, while Sadia Yousef was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers, picking up 3 for 33.

England take a 1-0 lead, with the second match to be played on Wednesday. They will be without Georgia Elwiss, who will also miss the two T20s scheduled for this week. Elwiss has sustained a back injury and was replaced in the squad on Monday morning by the uncapped Essex seam bowler Beth Langston.

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BCB elections date likely in a month - Hassan

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan is confident of declaring a date for the board elections within a month after the ICC confirms they have assessed the BCB constitution amendment. Hassan has been occupied with concerns over the World Twenty20 venues and the impending ACSU report on corruption in the BPL of late, but his inability to hold elections within 90 days of taking office, as the ad-hoc committee had promised, has also been a long-running issue.

BCB's amended constitution has been held up after the High Court in Bangladesh deemed the process of amending the draft as "illegal". Hassan had warned last month that the ICC would cancel Bangladesh's membership if they did not hold elections soon, but the meeting with the ICC has given him hope.

"The ICC hasn't given any timeframe for the elections, but I feel that we will declare the elections in one month's time," Hassan said. "We have discussed the two constitutions with the ICC. The one on which the 2008 elections were held, is no longer approved by the ICC. They don't have a problem with the 2012 NSC-approved constitution. We will get an official letter from the ICC with their comments very soon."

Hassan also refuted claims made by former president Saber Hossain Chowdhury that the BCB is dawdling on the elections. Chowdhury had said in a TV interview recently that the delay in the Premier Division Cricket League was linked to the elections because each of the Super League teams (those who make it to the second phase of the competition) from the previous season's league had demanded two councillorship positions (effectively voters) per club. This was approved by the National Sports Council, the regulatory body of sports in Bangladesh. Another former BCB director, Mobasher Hossain, has sent an e-mail to ICC CEO Dave Richardson complaining of the delay.

"I haven't heard what he said. If he has said this, it is completely a bogus claim," Hassan said. "There is a specific reason to delay the elections, and I have said it publicly. There is no room for such comments. I am not concerned about who becomes president, it is unimportant to me, but I want to fix cricket in the country."

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Hussey trumps McClenaghan five

Nottinghamshire 159 for 6 (Hussey 52, McClenaghan 5-29) beat Lancashire 155 for 6 (Croft 52) by four wickets
Scorecard

A blistering 52 off 28 balls from captain David Hussey helped Nottinghamshire end their Friends Life t20 hoodoo against Lancashire at Old Trafford. The Outlaws had lost the six previous meetings between the two sides at this venue but they chased down 156 with 14 balls to spare to win by four wickets thanks in the main to their Australian captain.

The 35-year-old is only one of three men to have scored over 5000 Twenty20 runs and he shared a crucial fourth-wicket stand of 78 in just 7.3 overs with opener Alex Hales, who made 49 off 37, to take the visitors within sight of victory.

Nottinghamshire even survived an historic performance from New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan, who claimed Lancashire's first ever five-wicket haul in this format. McClenaghan struck with his first ball on his home debut and later had Hussey and Hales caught with successive legitimate deliveries at the start of the 15th over to give them a glimmer of hope.

But it was too little too late as Nottinghamshire made it two from two in the early stages of their North Division campaign.

Lancashire recovered from the early losses of Stephen Moore and Ashwell Prince as they slipped to 22 for 2 in the fourth over after losing the toss. Moore was run out following a mix-up after just six balls and Prince caught in the deep off Ajmal Shahzad in the fourth over.

Steven Croft and Simon Katich, who added 52 and 48 respectively, then shared 93 in 11.2 overs for the third wicket to get their side back on track and up to 115 for two after 15 overs. But they lost four wickets in the last five overs to halt any momentum gained.

Nottinghamshire fielded superbly with five catches in the deep, the best of which came from diving New Zealander Ian Butler at long-off to get rid of Tom Smith at the end of the 18th over off the excellent Harry Gurney, who finished with 1 for 18.

Lancashire had their noses in front with the visitors at 50 for 3 in the seventh over of their chase but Hussey, in particular, and Hales took the game away from them. Having got Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels early, McClenaghan snared Hussey, Hales and Chris Read. The visitors weathered the storm, though.

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Wright blitz leaves Middx behind

Sussex 202 for 3 (Wright 81, Hamilton-Brown 47, Nash 45) beat Middlesex 178 for 8 (Malan 61, Yardy 3-30) by 31 runs
Scorecard

Luke Wright smashed 81 off 49 balls as Sussex posted an impressive 202 for 3 on their way to a 24-run victory over Middlesex in the Friends Life t20 South Group clash at Lord's.

Dawid Malan hit back with 61 in 43 deliveries but even before he fell, heaving across the line in the 14th over, Middlesex had begun to lose their way. Neil Dexter blasted 27 off just 10 balls but it was too little too late for the hosts who finished on 178 for 8 - which included six penalty runs for Sussex's slow over rate - with Michael Yardy taking 3 for 30.

After winning the toss, Chris Nash got the visitors up and running with a swept six off Tim Murtagh in the third over. Murtagh suffered further punishment a couple of overs later when Wright hit four successive boundaries including a straight six.

Sussex were pegged back briefly when Nash, who made 45 off 30 balls, dragged an attempted drive off Adam Voges on to his stumps to make it 84 for 1 in the 10th. But two overs later Rory Hamilton-Brown brought the hundred up for the Sharks with a sweetly timed four through extra cover off Voges.

Wright then posted a 37-ball half-century in almost identical manner, off the bowling of Dexter, before flat-batting Josh Davey back over his head for six. Wright, whose impressive month had already brought him a first-class best 187 against the same opposition here at Lord's, a YB40 century against Kent and a half-century in a Twenty20 international, was eventually caught at long-on off Murtagh for 81 but Hamilton-Brown, supported by Dwayne Smith, ensured there was no let-up.

Hamilton-Brown scored 47 in 29 deliveries, including a straight six off Gareth Berg, before giving a steepling return catch to Kyle Mills in the final over. Smith, who had swatted the 34-year-old New Zealander over square leg for a maximum, finished with an unbeaten 21 off 12 balls to leave Middlesex needing to better the second-highest total at Lord's in domestic Twenty20 cricket.

Paul Stirling got the hosts off to a decent start by cover driving Chris Liddle for six in the third over of the Panthers' reply and the Irishman was given a life on 28, when he was dropped at extra cover off the bowling of Yardy. Yardy had his revenge when Stirling (33) was caught a wide long-on and Joe Gatting then pulled off a superb one-handed catch, low to his right, off Will Beer to account for Joe Denly.

Malan celebrated a 37-ball fifty by lifting Beer over long-on for a maximum but the pressure of needing to score at 10 an over eventually told and he was bowled by Nash for 61 before Voges reverse-swept Yardy to short third man. Adam Rossington fell to another good catch, this time by Chris Jordan running in from the midwicket boundary, though not before Dexter had lifted Yardy for a maximum.

The Middlesex captain followed it up with two successive sixes off Liddle in the 17th over to leave his side needing an improbable 56 off 18 deliveries. The departure of Dexter, caught in the deep off Jordan, ended the Panthers' hopes.

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Gooch refuses to excuse poor batting

Graham Gooch, the England batting coach, made no excuses for an underwhelming performance by England's top-order in the Ashes warm-up match against Essex at Chelmsford.

None of the England top seven were able to register a half-century as three Essex bowlers with only eight wickets between them this season reduced England to 212 for 7. An eighth-wicket stand of 116 between Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann rescued them but Gooch bluntly asserted that England "had to do better" if they were to win the Ashes.

However, he refuted any suggestion that England might be struggling to adapt to long-form, red-ball cricket after several weeks of limited-overs games or that the low-key nature of this match - albeit played in front of a full-house crowd of 6,500 at Chelmsford - might have contributed to any lack of intensity in the performance.

"Modern-day players have to switch between three formats now," Gooch said. "I wouldn't make excuses for that: it is something you have to handle. Players have to make the adjustments. I don't make any excuses for them and I don't think any of our players would want to use that as an excuse. Our guys got in and they got out. They won't be happy with that and next time they get a chance they have got to do a better job.

"It is an important game. The pre-Test games in Australia last time round served us well. They got us into the right frame of mind and the right attitude to win the Ashes. It's not just another game; it's not just a warm-up game: it's the only game that matters. And tomorrow morning, it will be the only game that matters, too.

"We would have liked the top-order to spend more time at the crease and to capitalise on their starts. You want your main batsmen to get into a bit of rhythm and to get their games in order. We're building to peak next week and we would have liked a bit more from some of those guys.

"You have to bat long. There's no secret to it. Once you get in you have to capitalise on that and, come the Test series, we have to put big totals on the board if we get starts. The job of the batters is to build a platform and create an opportunity for the bowlers to win the match. That's their job and they know that it is their job.

"Today wasn't a disaster, but some of the guys would have wanted to spend more time out there."

Gooch did reserve warm praise for Joe Root, however. Root looks set to open in the first Investec Test of the Ashes series after England omitted Nick Compton and, in the eyes of Gooch, there is no reason why Root should not prove a success.

"Joe is a natural opener," Gooch said. "The selectors want to look at Joe and give themselves an option. Personally I don't see any reason why Joe won't make a success if he bats at the top of the order or in the middle-order. He is a consummate player as a young man already. He has things to work on and he has to improve - like every player - but he started out his career opening the batting and he has had a lot of success there this season with Yorkshire.

"I can't see any reason he won't make a success if he is given the opportunity of opening in the first Test at Trent Bridge. It's not a case of making an adjustment; he's an opener anyway."

If few of the England players will look back at the day with fond memories, it was a much better day for Tom Craddock. The 23-year-old legspinner went into the game without a first-class wicket this season and, in his first spell was confronted by Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen on a surface his captain, Ravi Bopara, described as "the best for a few years" at Chelmsford.

But Craddock, who broke into first-class cricket through the MCCU scheme and the Unicorns programme, responded by dismissing both of them and then adding the wicket of Matt Prior.

"When Ravi threw me the ball, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell were standing there," he said. "I just wanted to land a few and maybe join a few dots together, but taking three is surreal.

"I've watched Kevin for a long time and I know full well he will happily take down spinners. I thought I'd bowl my areas and, if he took me down a couple of times, I'd put the men back accordingly, but happily enough he gave me a caught-and-bowled chance. It's the best day of my career; no doubts."

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Durham enjoy festive victory

Durham 147 for 6 (Mustard 59, Muchall 44*, Brooks 2-13) beat Yorkshire 178 for 8 (Pringle 2-13) by four wickets
Scorecard

Phil Mustard and Gordon Muchall combined to guide Durham to a penultimate-ball victory over Yorkshire at North Marine Road on a day that had the feel of festival about it. It was a tight game for 38 overs, but the 39th eased Durham's nerves as their recently departed colleague, Liam Plunkett, conceded 16 runs and left them needing just nine off Ryan Sidebottom's over to finish the job. Michael Richardson saw to it with a boundary and a single off the two balls he faced.

There can be few finer ways to spend a summer's afternoon than at the cricket at Scarborough. It is a proper cricket ground, a club ground that is more than fit to host top-flight county games. The eastern terrace is a miniature replica of its elder brother on the western side of Headingley. The backs of the three-storey houses facing Trafalgar Square are somewhat shabby, paint jobs needed, but oddly this adds to rather than detracts from the ground's character.

Similarly, the guest houses on North Marine Road hug the ground and contribute to the sense that we are in a sporting arena that is significant but intimate. The little tea room at the Trafalgar Road End has a black roof and, painted in white, TEA ROOM, just in case anyone were in any doubt.

It's very rare to have a day at Scarborough without at least a breeze blowing in off the North Sea, which is just a good strong arm away from the main gates. Today it was gentle and benignly warm.

This was a day for families and groups of friends: 4,200 good-natured people turned up, at least a fifth of them children. Dads and uncles bowled soft balls to boys and girls on the outfield, and they were able to get up close and watch the players practising before play started. Boundary fielders signed autographs willingly.

The queue for the bar on the eastern side ten minutes before play began was 45 yards. Yet, for all the beer that might have been swilled, there was never a hint of anything other than communal enjoyment of a cracking cricket match. Yorkshire, though, have started their Twenty20 campaign with two straight defeats so their own mood might be tenser than they had hoped.

Yorkshire's innings, after Paul Collingwood put them in, was an odd thing. It started brilliantly, ended impressively, and in between was like a souffle going wrong in the oven. Andrew Gayle and Adam Lyth, the local lad, the only Whitby man to play for the county, raced to 51 off six-and-a-half overs, but young offspinner Ryan Pringle got rid of both of them in short order.

Gary Ballance and Adil Rashid chipped in usefully, then Plunkett scored 30 before being remarkably run out by a direct hit from long on by Richardson. Richardson is a wicketkeeper. Moreover, he was making his T20 debut.

Durham's reply was built on Phil Mustard's 59 off 52 balls. When he was joined by Muchall the game appeared to be going away from Durham, but the 30-year-old Geordie sorted it out. He scored 44 without ever looking in trouble, and won the Man of the Match award.

Plunkett's last over was disastrous. He went for three fours, two of them off leg side full tosses, and after that the game was up for Yorkshire.

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Machan's all-round show leads Scotland to victory

Scotland 242 for 4 (Machan 114, Mommsen 63, Odhiambo 3-48) beat Kenya 230 (Mishra 61, Ouma 57, Wardlaw 4-45, Machan 3-31) by 12 runs
Scorecard

Matt Machan's all-round performance of a hundred and three wickets gave Scotland a narrow 12-run win against Kenya to move to third place in the ICC World Cricket League Championship in Aberdeen. After scoring his maiden ODI ton, Machan took three wickets in seven overs to help wrap-up Kenya for 230.

Put in to bat, Scotland were given a stable start by Kyle Coetzer, who scored 37 and was joined by Machan in the 10th over. But Nelson Odhiambo, who had taken the first wicket, dismissed Coetzer and No. 4 Calum MacLeod in successive overs to leave Scotland at 68 for 3 in the 18th over. Machan and Preston Mommsen scored briskly from there, putting together 162 runs in 30.1 overs to take them past 200. Machan, who hit nine fours and three sixes, was dismissed for a 111-ball 114 and Mommsen was unbeaten on 63 when Scotland finished at 242 for 4.

Kenya lost their first wicket in the second over to Iain Wardlaw and Irfan Karim (30) and Morris Ouma (57) took their score to 90 before Karim was caught behind off Machan. They lost two more wickets within the next 13 runs but were revived by a 84-run partnership between Rakep Patel and Tanmay Mishra as both struck fifties. But once Patel was caught behind off Machan's offbreak, the next five batsmen managed only 20 runs together. Mishra kept Kenya in the hunt till the end as they needed 37 from the last five overs but he ran out of partners and was the last wicket to fall in the last over off which they required 13 to win. Wardlaw took three more wickets in the end to finish with 4 for 45 a day after turning 28.

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Further delay in ACSU report

The much talked-about ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit report on BPL corruption has been delayed further. This time the wait could be till the first week of August, according to BCB president Nazmul Hassan. Mohammad Ashraful, the only one interviewed by the ACSU to have publicly confessed of wrongdoings, will remain temporarily suspended.

If the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, the country's domestic one-day competition, begins in July, which is the off-season in Bangladesh, Ashraful will miss the tournament. However, Hassan's anxiety regarding other players' names cropping up in the ACSU report seems to have abated for now.

"They haven't completed the report," Hassan said. "They are yet to complete interviews outside Bangladesh. As a result, they have asked for more time. From what I have understood after talking to them, I think we will most probably get the report in the first week of August.

"Because Ashraful is already temporarily suspended and the report is still not submitted, we don't know what sort of decision we should take against him. He won't play in this tournament, the rest can play."

Hassan also discussed the possibility of further investigation and the formation of a 10-member tribunal, procedures he had ruled out when he first spoke publicly about the BPL corruption investigation.

"They have a few more steps remaining. Firstly, they will present their report. We have to see whether the evidence they have gathered against a certain player is enough, based on which we can take a decision against a player or anyone else.

"We could also have to do further investigation or form a tribunal, which is within the rules. The tribunal will take time, and since this is a lengthy procedure, it is not wise to hasten such a matter. We will start the league very soon."

The league has been delayed three times already. It was first supposed to held in March and has changed dates twice in July.

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Test Championship to replace Champions Trophy

The Champions Trophy is now officially history with the ICC confirming a World Test Championship from 2017 onwards in line with its goal of having one pinnacle tournament for each of the three formats over a four-year period. This also means that the World Twenty20 will he held once every four years starting 2016 instead of the current two-year interval.

In another decision taken to "ensure an optimum balance between the three formats of the game", teams will now have to play a minimum of 16 Tests in each four-year cycle with the ICC board accepting the recommendation of its cricket committee. There have been a number of recent examples of Test series being postponed due to conflicting demands, either from one-day cricket or the proliferation of Twenty20 leagues. Countries might still be able to give preference to limited-overs cricket, though, with the requirement being set as low as 16 Tests.

The success of the recent edition of the Champions Trophy had given rise to talk that the tournament might live on after all but the ICC has stuck to its stated intent of moving on. "The ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales was highly acclaimed and appreciated by all," David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said. "However, the principle of one pinnacle global event for each of the three formats over a four-year cycle is a good one and, as such, the ICC Board has agreed to replace the Champions Trophy with the ICC World Test Championship. Now that the ICC World Test Championship has been confirmed, we'll work on the playing conditions and qualification criteria, and will submit these to the ICC Board for approval in due course."

England and India were announced as venues for the first two editions of the World Test Championship in June-July 2017 and February-March 2021 as also for the 2019 and 2023 World Cups respectively. India will also host the 2016 World Twenty20 with the 2020 one going to Australia.

The Women's World Twenty20 2014 has been expanded to ten teams, with the top three teams from the qualifiers to join the current seven, but going forward, the event has been delinked from the men's tournament. The 2010 and 2012 women's editions were held concurrently with the men's to increase visibility for the former but after 2014, the next Women's World Twenty20 will be separately held in 2018 in the West Indies.

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