'Watson was one of the guys I lost' - Arthur

Mickey Arthur, who was sacked as Australia's coach just a fortnight before the Ashes began, has spoken out on how he "lost" Shane Watson and tried to mould the younger players who came with "big egos".

The cracks in his relationship with Watson, Arthur said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, first appeared on Australia's tour of India in February this year, which the visitors lost 0-4. The side's on-field problems were exacerbated when Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja were suspended for the third Test of the series for not completing a team-building assignment.

That incident, Arthur said, was a tipping point. "My relationships were outstanding, except with Watson. He was one of the guys I lost. India was where it started going wrong, when we suspended those players.

"If I sit back and think, 'Would I do it [suspend the players] again?' … well, I probably would. Because I believed so much in what we were trying to do."

Arthur said he was disappointed how "people backtracked" after the players were suspended.

"I met with all our staff before I did it and our staff were adamant that was the right way to go. I ended up making those decisions and then ended up bearing the brunt of them," he said. "I just get annoyed because I put everything into it and I put my head on the line with a lot of big decisions and a lot of the people who were very keen for us to make those decisions then backtracked.''

He was forced to take a tough stance, he said, because the team lacked direction and leadership. "I understood that I drive the ship, but the ship needed conscious changes - it needed value changes. We put together this whole values document for all the young players coming into the Australian side. They got a booklet and we told them exactly what the expectations were, because the young guys coming in didn't know.

"They're good players, they're not great players. They're earning obscene amounts of money and they've got big egos, but they don't know the best way to go about it. So we put in these definite guidelines because we had no leaders there."

Despite the sour note on which his tenure ended, and his subsequent severance battle with Cricket Australia - which finished in an out-of-court settlement - Arthur said he was disappointed to see the team being thumped in the Ashes. "I couldn't imagine waking up and being 0-3 down in the Ashes now. But I don't get any pleasure out of watching them struggle."

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Aslam, Gohar secure trophy for Pakistan

Pakistan Under-19s 343 for 6 (Aslam 110, Jahangir 85) beat England Under-19s 151 (Higgins 70*, Gohar 4-25) by 192 runs
Scorecard

A century from opener Sami Aslam, followed by an incisive spell of 4 for 25 from left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, helped Pakistan Under-19s lift the tri-nation tourmanent trophy with a comprehensive 192-run win over England Under-19s in the final at Trent Bridge.

Aslam, the Man of the Match, struck 10 fours during his 121-ball 110, and put up a mammoth 163 runs for the third wicket with Shayan Jahangir, who scored 85 off 70 balls. The pair were dismissed in consecutive overs towards the end of the innings, but Kamran Ghulam smashed eight fours and two sixes during his unbeaten 32-ball 61 to take the visitors to 343 for 6 in 50 overs. The English bowlers were all expensive, Will Rhodes, the best of them, picking up 2 for 64.

England, chasing nearly seven-an-over, stumbled to 31 for 2 after the first 10 as openers Jonathan Tattersall and Harry Finch fell to left-arm seamer Mohammad Aftab. Ryan Higgins, with an unbeaten 70 was the only batsman to offer resistance as Pakistan kept up the pressure.

A 42-run stand between Higgins and Will Rhodes sought to restore the chase but Gohar snuck through the latter's defences to wrest the advantage back. He also accounted for Lewis McManus and Miles Hammond in the 26th over as England slipped to 116 for 6. Hussain Talat, with 3 for 18, was an able deputy, polishing off the lower order as he and Gohar set up a comfortable win that gave Pakistan the trophy.

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Pandey stymies South Africa A

South Africa A 312 for 9 (Duminy 84, Pandey 4-40) trail India A 582 for 9 dec by 270 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Timely wickets were the order of the day in Rustenburg, as every time South Africa A assumed a position of strength, India A's bowlers, particularly medium-pacer Ishwar Pandey, delivered a blow to regain the advantage. Pandey picked up four wickets, and broke all three of South Africa's half-century partnerships, to leave them at 312 for 9, and 70 runs short of the follow-on target at stumps.

South Africa would have had high hopes for Dean Elgar's prolific run - 361 runs in his last two first-class matches - to continue, but Mohammed Shami trapped him in front of his stumps in the third over of the morning. A counterattacking Rilee Rossouw and a solid Simon Harmer recovered lost momentum for South Africa, going from 22 or 2 to 94 for 2.

Rossouw, with 44 off 46 balls, had just doubled Harmer's score when Pandey got his first wicket, having the latter caught behind. Suresh Raina replaced Pandey in the 33rd over and found immediate success, getting rid of Rossouw for 57, with eight fours and two sixes. Temba Bavuma followed two overs later as South Africa went to lunch at 119 for 5.

The hosts found stability again as JP Duminy, eyeing a comeback into the Test side, displayed great patience, collecting his first four off his 114th ball. He put on 75 runs with Justin Ontong for the sixth wicket, who was drawing comfort from his time at the crease, striking Raina for three fours in the 52nd over. But Pandey, only an over into his second spell, had Ontong edging behind to Wriddhiman Saha for 47.

Duminy, though, reached his fifty, and the team's 250, in the 81st over in the company of wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile. The duo recorded 84 runs but yet again, Pandey, recalled into the attack in the 91st over, dismissed Tsolekile and Wayne Parnell in successive deliveries, as South Africa A slumped to 280 for 8. They sustained another telling blow when Raina had Duminy caught behind for 84 off 222 balls to give Saha his fourth catch of the innings and signal the end of the day's play.

Rossouw regretted the batsmen's failure to build on their starts. "If you look at the way India batted, most of their batsmen went on to score big which helped them to their total," he said. "We would have wanted to get close but we haven't managed to do that.

"It [the pitch] was a bit difficult to play on, to be honest i didn't really know what to expect," he added. "As a team we said we wanted to look to play as straight as possible and if it was short and wide we would attack."

India A coach Lalchand Rajput enjoyed feelings from the opposite end of the spectrum. "It's pleasing that we got them to nine wickets down today. It would be even better if they were all out today but Duminy played an excellent innings," he said. "Pandey made his debut for India A in this match and has bowled exceptionally well. Unadkat and Shami gave him good support. When you come to South Africa you always expect bouncy wickets. It was helpful on the first two days but we expected it to play this way on the third day."

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Ryder banned for six months after failed drug test

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, has been banned for six months after failing a drug test in March. He will be available to play again after October 19, once the retrospective sentence ends.

Ryder, who played domestic cricket for Wellington last season, underwent a routine drug test during a Ford Trophy match in March, for which he returned a positive test. Ryder was informed of the result on April 12 and attended a hearing in front of the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand earlier this month, where the ban was handed down. The batsman will not contest the decision of the tribunal.

In a statement released by the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association, Ryder said: "I'm devastated by this situation. I've never taken drugs and to be in this situation distresses me greatly. I simply took the supplement alongside a training programme I was completing to help me lose weight. I have attended anti-doping education seminars during my time in cricket and am a strong supporter of Drug Free Sport New Zealand. I'm aware of the precautions you need to take; I did take steps to check the supplement but ultimately it was my responsibility and I accept that.Whilst everyone is aware of my well-documented battles with alcohol, it's important for me to state that I abhor drug use of any kind, both recreational and performance-enhancing in sport.''

More to follow...

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Streak sad but not surprised by Jarvis' decision

Heath Streak, the former Zimbabwe captain, said that pacer Kyle Jarvis' retirement from international cricket was a big loss to the team, but stated he was not surprised by the bowler's decision.

Jarvis, who played eight Tests and 24 ODIs for Zimbabwe, quit international cricket on Sunday to take up an offer from an English county and said that he would not return to play cricket in Zimbabwe.

"I think it's a big loss for Zimbabwean cricket. We invested a lot in some of these players and its sad to see them just walk away," Streak told the website Cricketworld.com. "Again it's not surprising especially with the way these players have been treated. They are not valued as professionals, if you look at the late payments issues."

Jarvis' retirement is the latest in a string of problems facing Zimbabwe, including the stand-off between the players and the board over delayed payments. His absence will also weaken the Zimbabwe side as they take on Pakistan in a home series starting next week.

Citing the instance of Zimbabwe-born batsman Gary Ballance, who plays for Yorkshire and has also represented the England Lions, Streak said that cricketers could not be blamed for taking such decisions. He also said that the trend of cricketers opting to go overseas would continue unless they were treated well.

"You can't blame some of these players on the decisions they make. We see people like Gary Ballance decide to play county; you better ask the question 'Why?' The way these guys have been treated is like they are not professionals. That's why Tatenda (Taibu), Dougie (Hondo), Andy (Blignaut), Pommie (Mbangwa), Dougie Marillier have ended their careers prematurely," Streak said. "A lot of these guys could have still been around, they could be still playing but they are not. What's the problem? Until the players are treated as valuable products, this trend will continue."

Streak said the county experience would be beneficial for Jarvis. "I can't doubt that he will make an impact because you are judged according to your performances and you get treatment like you are a professional. Everything is perfect for one as a player," he said.

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Gloucestershire hold nerve to stay on course

Gloucestershire 251 for 8 (Klinger 87, Marshall 55) beat Glamorgan 247 for 7 (Rees 83, Goodwin 49) by two wickets
Scorecard

Michael Klinger once again led from the front as Gloucestershire kept alive their hopes of a place in the Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-finals with a thrilling two-wicket Group C win over Glamorgan at Bristol.

The captain took his run tally in the competition to 662 at an average of 94.57 by scoring 87 to help the hosts to their target of 248 with just one ball to spare. Hamish Marshall contributed 55, while Dean Cosker claimed 2 for 28 from his eight overs.

Gareth Rees had scored 83 off 110 balls to provide the backbone to Glamorgan's 247 for 7 after winning the toss, with Murray Goodwin also making a brisk 49 and Tom Smith returning two for 43.

Rees might have been run out in the opening over of the game as Mark Wallace sent him back attempting a single to backward point. Ian Cockbain's shy at the stumps missed when he could have given wicket-keeper Gareth Roderick time to get to the stumps.

The Glamorgan openers went on to build a half-century stand before Wallace departed for 18, caught at deep square as he pulled a ball from David Payne. Gloucestershire introduced the left-arm spin of Smith for the 16th over and the loan recruit from Middlesex had Chris Cooke caught behind cutting for 19 with the total on 83.

It was 95 for 3 when Marcus North fell cheaply to Smith. Rees reached fifty off 62 balls, with five fours, and survived a stumping chance off Smith when on 63.

After Jim Allenby lifted a catch to deep midwicket off Benny Howell, Goodwin supplied the necessary acceleration with six fours in his 32-ball innings, helping the score to 199 when he gave a catch to backward point.

Graham Wagg hit a straight six in making 19 before being yorked by Craig Miles and Rees took successive boundaries off the penultimate over, bowled by Payne before being caught at mid-off to give Miles a second wicket.

Gloucestershire made a confident start in reply as Klinger and Marshall put together a century opening stand, the latter hitting six fours in his 43-ball innings before offering a return catch to Cosker.

Klinger continued his love affair with the competition, striking nine fours in facing 99 deliveries before getting an inside edge on to his stumps off Simon Jones with 49 runs still needed.

There were nerves in the home dressing room when Alex Gidman followed for 28, but Howell played a key role with a six and a four off Jones in the 38th over, which cost the seamer 17, followed by another six off Wagg.

Wagg responded with two wickets in the same over, but the home side began the final one from Michael Hogan needing only five. He removed Smith caught and bowled, but James Fuller hit the winning boundary.

The result puts Gloucestershire level on points with group leaders Somerset, with the two arch-rivals facing each other at Bristol in the final group match tomorrow week. Glamorgan are two points adrift, but have two games remaining, at home to Leicestershire next Sunday and away to Yorkshire 24 hours later.

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Raina, Rohit cement India A advantage

South Africa A 20 for 1 (Hendricks 10, Unadkat 1-12) trail India A 582 for 9 dec (Raina 135, Rohit 119, Duminy 3-80) by 562 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

More toil awaited the South Africa A bowlers as Rohit Sharma, unbeaten on 70 overnight, scored his 16th first-class century and shared a 106-run stand with Suresh Raina to power India A past 500. India A's lower order then frustrated South Africa A before the visitors declared their innings at 582 for 9. South Africa were further hampered by the loss of Reeza Hendricks two overs before close of play.

The morning session began with Raina and Rohit playing out six consecutive maidens, but things changed rapidly in the 99th over when Rohit pulled Andrew Birch over the boundary line and Raina helped himself to two successive fours on the off side.

Unlike the one set at the start of the day, this scoring trend continued, capping off with Rohit stroking his 12th four, through the covers, to bring up his century. Raina celebrated his fifty soon after with a cut that found the boundary for four.

South Africa gained some respite after lunch, when Duminy had Rohit caught by Temba Bavuma at short leg. Ajinkya Rahane, another contender eyeing a slot in the senior side, struck two fours but became Duminy's second victim on the stroke of drinks. Wriddhiman Saha followed suit, falling to the Bavuma-Duminy combine as India went from 376 for 3 to 418 for 6.

However, Raina held firm, with a brisk Ishwar Pandey, for company and India A racked up 79 runs off 74 balls to reach 500. Raina brought up a vital century, his 12th in first-class cricket, and with the landmark behind him, tore into Duminy, slugging him for 19 runs in the 143rd over.

His wicket, eight balls after tea, ushered two more dismissals as India slipped to 500 for 9. An enterprising 82-run stand between No. 10 and 11, Jaydev Unadkat and Shahbaz Nadeem looked good to push India past 600, but Pujara chose to declare at 582 to have a few overs at the South African openers. The decision proved profitable as Hendricks nicked Unadkat to the keeper in the seventh over, two overs before close of play.

Rohit credited the time he spent in the middle to be more beneficial than his final score. "I'm happy that I played close to 250 balls," he said "Rather than getting 119, I feel facing that amount of balls was important.

"It was a crucial phase of the game when I went in and it was important that I stay in because we didn't want to lose any more wickets. I wanted to prove a point to myself, and nobody else, that I could battle out the situation if needed. In that process I didn't play my natural game, which normally includes a lot of shots."

Duminy conceded the new ball was doing a bit, but was hopeful of his side seeing it off and cashing in with the older ball.

"Conditions become easier to bat the longer you stay in but there is a little bit in it for the new ball," Duminy said. "It's quite an abrasive field so if you get past the new ball phase the ball gets old quite quickly and becomes flat. Hopefully we will be able to cash in on that."

"There is a little bit of help for the spinners," he added. "I think it is obviously because of the rough the seamers have created, which brings the offspinners into play."

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Leicestershire fold after Lineker ton

Unicorns 259 for 5 (Lineker 132) beat Leicestershire 217 (Cobb 53, Park 4-39) by 42 runs
Scorecard

Matt Lineker hit his second century in six days as Unicorns ended their Yorkshire Bank 40 season on a high with a 42-run victory against Leicestershire at Grace Road.

The 28-year-old former Derbyshire batsman scored 132 off 106 balls to steer Unicorns to 259 for 5 after they had been put into bat. It followed the 107 he made against Yorkshire last Tuesday.

And then a feeble batting performance by the Foxes saw them bowled out for 217 in 39 overs, with seamer Garry Park claiming career best one-day figures of 4 for 39, giving Unicorns the only win of the campaign in their final game. The shock defeat ended Leicestershire's slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

It was a lacklustre effort from the home side with both bat and ball, and some loose bowling allowed Lineker and Tom Lancefield to post an opening partnership of 114 in 23 overs. Lineker dominated the stand with some bold attacking shots, reaching 50 off 44 balls with six fours plus a massive six off Michael Thornely. The century partnership was brought up with a cheeky reverse sweep by Lancefield.

But having contributed 38 to the stand Lancefield was bowled by a quicker ball from Josh Cobb. Lineker however, continued to punish Leicestershire's wayward attack and Park also chipped in with a six off Alex Wyatt. Another boundary by Lineker - his 14th - took him to his century off 86 balls.

Park, who shared a stand of 81 in 10 overs with Lineker was bowled by Anthony Ireland for 31 and Bharat Tripathi was then beaten by a yorker from Shiv Thakor for 10. When Lineker finally holed out to long leg off Thornely he had hit 17 fours and two sixes. Unicorns scored 91 off the last 10 overs helped by 39 runs coming off two oves from Ireland and Thakor.

Leicestershire made a good start to the chase with Cobb hitting a run-a-ball half century in an opening stand of 89 with Niall O'Brien. But when the two of them were out in the space of five overs the innings disintegrated.

Only Ned Eckersley and Tom Wells offered any resistance, with Park picking up the wickets of Eckersley, Matt Boyce, Ireland and James Sykes to complete a memorable victory for Unicorns.

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Malan century dents Gloucestershire hopes

Middlesex 206 for 5 (Malan 113*) beat Gloucestershire 186 for 9 (Klinger 46, Harris 3-30) by 19 runs D/L
Scorecard

Dawid Malan's unbeaten 113, backed up by an impressive bowling display, earned Middlesex a 19-run Duckworth-Lewis win against Gloucestershire at Lord's which keeps alive their hopes of qualifying for the Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-finals.

Gloucestershire's own chances of making it out of Group C received a heavy blow as they could make only 186 for 9 in reply to Middlesex's 206 for 5.

A short shower, which interrupted the early part of the Middlesex innings, led to the match becoming a 38-over per side affair, with Gloucestershire's target being adjusted to 206 under the Duckworth-Lewis calculations.

Malan underpinned the Middlesex batting effort with his first hundred of a prolific YB40 season, facing 116 balls and hitting two sixes and nine fours in taking his run tally for the competition to 552 at an average of 78.85.

Eoin Morgan, unusually becalmed as he laboured through 48 balls, was Middlesex's next best scorer with 22 and at the halfway stage it seemed as if Gloucestershire, joint top of Group C when the match began with 13 points from their previous nine games, were well in contention. But Steven Finn and James Harris both snatched wickets in their opening overs and by the time they had finished their five-over new balls spells Gloucestershire's batsmen were already struggling to keep up with the required rate.

Finn, given fresh hope of an England Test return next week by news of Tim Bresnan's stress fracture injury, had Hamish Marshall caught at point from the first ball of the innings, and then Harris pulled off a smart return catch to remove Chris Dent for 2. Much depended on Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger, whose 46 took his own YB40 run tally to 575 at 95.83, and for a while he was well supported by Ian Cockbain in a stand of 81 for the third wicket.

But Cockbain then skied to mid-off, charging at Gareth Berg's medium pace, and Klinger - who had also been dropped on 13 and 19 - was stumped as he went down the pitch to try to heave a ball from left-arm spinner Ravi Patel into the Grandstand.

Patel then had Alex Gidman leg before wicket for 19 and Harris returned to bowl James Fuller for just 1. Benny Howell straight drove Toby Roland-Jones for six and swung him for another maximum next ball, but on 39 his bright effort ended with a skied catch to extra cover off the impressive Harris, who finished with 3 for 30.

There were also two wickets for Roland-Jones as Gloucestershire's late order swung with increasing desperation, with Gareth Roderick going for 13 and Ed Young for 12.

Malan was the only Middlesex batsman to get on top of some disciplined but largely unthreatening Gloucestershire bowling, with slow left-armer Young perhaps the pick of the attack with some clever variations of pace.

Paul Stirling fell to the first ball of the second over, inside-edging a drive into his stumps against Craig Miles, but Malan added 51 in just under 10 overs with Joe Denly for the second wicket before Denly was caught at extra cover for 21 from a leading edge as he looked to force medium-pacer Howell straight.

Morgan looked completely out of touch on a two-paced pitch, struggling through 45 balls for a mere 15 runs before lofting Miles over long-on for six for what proved to be his only boundary. On 22, and having been very much the junior partner in a stand of 65 with Malan, he tried a big hit at Chris Dent's occasional left-arm spin and skied to Klinger to end a curiously subdued innings from one of cricket's most destructive one-day batsmen.

Neil Dexter did manage to increase the scoring rate with 20 from 21 balls, helping Malan to put on a further 58 in eight overs for the fourth wicket, but he then mishit to point trying to slash away a ball from left-arm seamer David Payne.

Gareth Berg fell cheaply, bowled for three by Fuller, but Malan celebrated reaching his first YB40 century of the season by swinging Payne for six over the long deep midwicket boundary and, in the final over of the innings from Fuller, he added a second six to the same area. With John Simpson also taking a four from Fuller's last over, Middlesex's total was pushed above 200.

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Joyce century keeps Notts waiting

Sussex 293 for 6 (Joyce 123*, Shahzad 3-49) beat Nottinghamshire 290 for 5 (Hales 101, Hatchett 3-65) by four wickets
Scorecard

Nottinghamshire missed the chance to seal their place in the semi-finals of the Yorkshire Bank 40 after Sussex reached a daunting target of 291 to win by four wickets at Hove. They were led to victory by skipper Ed Joyce who carried his bat for an unbeaten 123, the 13th one-day hundred of his career.

Opener Alex Hales made 101 and David Hussey 82 as Nottinghamshire plundered 105 off the last 10 overs to post a formidable total of 290 for 5.

But Luke Wright and Joyce launched the reply with 112 off 13 overs and even when Wright fell for 62, Matt Machan, whose 51 came off just 28 balls, maintained the momentum. Sussex wobbled briefly towards the end of their chase before they got home with nine balls to spare.

Nottinghamshire now need to beat Kent at Canterbury in their final game on August 26 to make sure of their place in the last four. If they lose Northamptonshire, who are a point behind them in Group C, will go through instead if they win their last match against Warwickshire in Birmingham.

Notts made a bad start after winning the toss and batting first. Michael Lumb was lbw to the third ball of the innings from Lewis Hatchett and the same bowler picked up a second wicket in the third over. James Taylor, who played for Sussex last month as a guest against Australia, was superbly caught low down by Chris Jordan at slip to leave Notts 11 for 2.

But that was Sussex's last success for 16 overs as Hales and Samit Patel rebuilt the innings with a stand of 102 before Chris Liddle had Patel caught on the long-leg boundary off a slog-sweep for 43. Hales reached his 50 off 43 balls with his sixth boundary and went to his fourth List A hundred off a further 44 deliveries with 11 fours and a pulled six off Jordan. Two balls after reaching three figures he was superbly caught by Rory Hamilton-Brown running in from the long-on boundary.

Hussey had been dropped on 17 at short cover by Mike Yardy and he made the most of the reprieve, adding 81 in 45 balls with Riki Wessels as he finished undefeated on 82 from 64 balls with seven fours and a six.

A score of 290 should have been defended but Notts bowled poorly from the start and Sussex had 71 on the board at the end of the eight-over Power play. Wright, who made 114 on Tuesday against Netherlands was soon into his stride as he reached 50 from 33 balls and it was a surprise when he fell in the 13th over to a catch on the mid-wicket boundary after making 62 from 49 balls with three sixes and four fours.

He had given Sussex the perfect platform and Machan was soon taking Notts' attack apart, reaching his half-century from just 25 balls. He was caught at short fine-leg off Hussey for 51 but Sussex needed 83 from 17 overs at that stage and Joyce was in no mood to let the advantage slip.

There was a brief wobble when the Sharks lost four wickets for 26 in seven overs and things might have been different had Patel not spilled a straightforward chance at extra cover when Joyce was on 108. But Will Beer joined him to contribute an unbeaten 20 and sealed victory with a six off Jake Ball. Joyce's 123 - his second one-day hundred of the season - came off 109 balls with 16 boundaries.

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