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Yorkshire have confirmed Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistani fast bowler, will be available to play for them in the 2008 season. Naved-ul-Hasan’s participation was in doubt after he signed up for the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL).Meanwhile, another ICL player from Pakistan, Mushtaq Ahmed has been given the go-ahead to appear for Sussex. In Mushtaq’s case, the confirmation was a mere formality, as the Pakistan board had issued a second No Objection Certificate (NOC), which the county had forwarded to the England board.Yorkshire revealed in a statement that the decision on Naved-ul-Hasan had been conveyed to them after protracted negotiations between the England and Pakistan boards. The move means the PCB has issued an NOC for Naved-ul-Hasan to play in England’s county season. It had been thought the PCB would refuse an NOC in view of his ICL links, and even when Mushtaq was granted it last week, it was believed that was not relevant to Naved-ul-Hasan as he had played international cricket more recently.Naved-ul-Hasan’s registration with Yorkshire is subject to his obtaining a valid work permit, which the county believes will not be a hurdle given his previous spells at Sussex. “I have maintained throughout the last few weeks that I would be allowed to play cricket for Yorkshire and that my participation in the Indian Cricket League would not get in the way of that dream,” Naved-ul-Hasan said. “I am not contracted to the PCB and could not see why they should wish to prevent me from playing the game I love in Yorkshire.”Yorkshire have said that they will give the player time and assistance to recover from the shoulder injury he sustained while playing for Sussex at the end of the 2007 season. He has been bowling for the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL, but Yorkshire will take no chances. “We are conscious that he needs time to fully recover from his shoulder injury, which is why we have Morne Morkel for the early weeks of the season, but a fully fit Rana will be a huge boost,” Martyn Moxon, the Yorkshire coach, said. “He has proved in India recently that he can bowl and take wickets but we want to be satisfied that he can also cope with the demands of fielding, especially throwing, before we play him in the first XI.”He is a very determined man and his desire to play for this club and cut through all of the politics involved, has been particularly impressive.”

Shaun Tait is confident he will be available for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September, despite having elbow surgery last week. Tait said he should be fit by August “at the latest”.”I have a decent range of movement already,” Tait told . “The physio is pretty impressed so I might be back quicker than expected.” Tait had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow for a soft-tissue niggle that had troubled him for most of the summer and Australia’s initial expectation was that he would be a 50-50 chance of making the trip to South AfricaTait, who has also had shoulder problems in the past, said there was no possibility he would alter his slinging action in an effort to keep him off the sidelines. “Every time I get injured it comes up but I will just keep snubbing it,” he said. “I won’t be changing the action.”Tait suffered a hamstring injury before Christmas, which hurt his chances of playing in Australia’s early CB Series matches in January. However, he was called up for his ODI debut late in the tournament and also went to the World Cup, where he impressed with 23 wickets at 20.3.

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A five-wicket haul by West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor followed by a merciless assault by Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels helped Jamaica decimate Bermuda by nine wickets in their Stanford 20/20 match in Antigua. The West Indies trio proved too hot to handle for the World Cup qualifiers as Jamaica eased to their target of 75, getting there in only the sixth over.Taylor finished with fantastic figures of 5 for 10, which included a three-wicket burst in the space of four balls in his third over. Jermaine Lawson too kept the batsmen under check at the other end with some incisive seam bowling as Bermuda were tottering at 26 for 4. Oliver Pitcher and Delyone Borden made a recovery of sorts, adding 30 before another burst of wickets let them down. Pitcher top-scored with 19 as his side were bowled out for 74.Bermuda caused some early jitters, as George O’Brien bowled Xavier Marshall for a duck. Samuels earned a reprieve, skying his first delivery to extra cover, only to be dropped by Pitcher. From then on, it was Jamaica all the way with Gayle smashing four sixes in his unbeaten 40 off 22 balls. Samuels smacked five boundaries in his unbeaten 25, as Jamaica booked their place in the quarter finals.
ScorecardTravis Dowlin, the Guyana opener, hit an unbeaten half-century to guide his side to an easy eight-wicket win over Montserrat in their Stanford 20/20 match in Antigua. Dowlin and Narsingh Deonarine (31 not out) reached the target of 116 with 21 balls to spare in front of a capacity crowd which had a large Guyanese contingent.Choosing to bat first, Montserrat struggled to force the pace against the slow bowlers, led by former West Indies spinners Mahendra Nagamootoo and Neil McGarrell. Montserrat had an encouraging start, with their openers Nesta Piper and McPhearson Meade adding 46, picking runs of the seamers. The spinners then came into play, sharing five wickets between them to restrict Montserrat to 115 for 8. Guyana made a steady reply, with Dowlin opting to graft it out instead of going for the big shots.Guyana will now meet Jamaica in the quarter-finals next Friday.

Daryll Cullinan may come out of retirement at the age of 37 and play for South Africa on their tour of India next month.Ray Jennings, South Africa’s newly appointed coach, has asked the former Test player Cullinan to make himself available for the two-Test series. Jennings has asked the captain Graeme Smith – who Cullinan had criticised for failing to lead South Africa to a Test win against England in 2003 – to speak to the player about a possible return to the national side.Cullinan, a middle-order batsman, said he would relish a comeback on the international stage: “It would be wonderful if it came to pass. I’d do it for nothing, but at this point I think that it would be inappropriate to comment.”He announced his retirement from international cricket in 2001 following an argument with the South African board over his contract. He pulled out of the match against Australia just hours before the game, although he later apologised.Cullinan made his international debut against India in 1992, and has an outstanding record against them. He has scored 688 runs in eight matches at an impressive average of 52.92, which far exceeds his career average of 44.21.

Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, joined an exclusive club today by scoring centuries against all 18 first-class counties.Northamptonshire was the last side on his list, and he ticked them off with his 40th first-class hundred at Hove, as Sussex built a large total in reply to Northants in their Division One match.Adams, 34, began his career with Derbyshire in 1988 and moved to Sussex ten years later. Taking over the captaincy, his ultimate achievement was leading Sussex to their first Championship title last season. Adams joined Mark Ramprakash and Carl Hooper, who both completed their full sets of county centuries last season. Among current players Stuart Law and Graeme Hick have both made centuries against 17 different counties: Hick has never made one against Worcestershire, while Law needs one against his old county Essex, who are not in the same division as his current team, Lancashire.Adams played five Tests and five one-dayers for England between 1998 and 2000, and averages just under 40 in first-class cricket.

After the third day’s play in the match between Manicaland and Matabelelandat Mutare Sports Club, Manicaland found themselves on the back foot afterhaving taken a first-innings lead of 149. A greatly improved second-inningsby Matabeleland left Manicaland with a target of 268, but negative battingsaw them lose three wickets for only 45 runs by the close.The overnight Matabeleland pair of Mark Vermeulen and Gavin Rennie battedwith great responsibility to add 143 altogether. Manicaland hopes wereraised when three wickets fell with the total on 260, two of them to AlecTaylor, but Andre Hoffman, positive as ever, and Mluleki Nkala, playing aresponsible innings, led a recovery that took Matabeleland to a total of416. Gary Brent as usual was the most consistent of the bowlers, whileRichie Sims took three wickets but was expensive.With 26 overs to be bowled until the close, Manicaland decided to play forthe next day, and lived to regret it. This enabled the visitors to controlthe proceedings and snatch three wickets before the close. Manicaland wentinto the final day facing an uphill task.

Simon Katich will become Australia’s 384th Test cricketer against England at Headingley, starting Thursday.Katich, 25, was today named to replace injured Steve Waugh, who has a torn calf, in the Australia middle order for the fourth Ashes Test.”I’m ecstatic,” said Katich.”When you first start you have a dream of playing for Australia but you never think it will happen.”It was a nice big surprise to be given the nod.”Katich had a restless night’s sleep, knowing he was heavily favoured to earn selection ahead of fellow West Australian Justin Langer.His parents, sister, girlfriend, manager and university mates are all heading for Leeds to watch him play.Katich was told of his promotion to the XI by Waugh and interim captain Adam Gilchrist at the ground this morning.”I found out just before we had a huddle at the start of practice, Gilly and Tugger called me over and said, ‘good news, you’re in,'” said Katich.”I still consider myself fortunate – if Stephen was right I would not be playing.”Katich will be Australia’s first batting debutant in three years and 37 Tests since Darren Lehmann versus India in March, 1998.He missed out on a certain Test debut when Waugh played against doctor’s orders with a fractured nose against Sri Lanka in September, 1999.The following Australian summer, Katich was struck down by chicken pox, glandular fever and a mystery virus which sidelined for two-and-half months.He became so fatigued that he fell asleep while padded up in the West Australian dressing room during a Pura Cup game had to be woken by team-mates when itwas his turn to bat.”I used my illness as a big positive,” said Katich.”It was disappointing at the time but I learned a lot.”It makes you more determined when you come back.”It’s a positive, it’s a test of character.”Katich has scored 273 runs at an average of 91 on tour.Last summer, he made a century against every State and scored 1,145 runs in the Pura Cup, beating Langer’s WA record by eight runs.Katich handed back his baggy green cap after touring Sri Lanka in 1999 without playing a Test and vowed to use Damien Fleming’s if required to field earlier in the series.He will receive his cap before play on Thursday.AUSTRALIA: Adam Gilchrist (c), Ricky Ponting (vc), Matthew Hayden, Michael Slater, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Shane Warne,Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath (12th man to be confirmed).

Western Australian left handers Adam Gilchrist (109*) and Simon Katich (105*) have scored twin centuries to help avert outright defeat for their team on the final day of the Pura Cup match against Queensland in Perth. Displaying icy-cool temperaments on a warm afternoon, the duo forged a vital, unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 166 against a tiring Bulls attack after they had been joined with their side deep in trouble twenty minutes before lunch.Having been part of a side that had been out-thought, out-batted and out-bowled for the majority of this match, the sterling efforts of Gilchrist and Katich effected quite a transformation. Indeed, in defying the near-inevitable, the pair probably ensured that it will be the Warriors rather than the Bulls who will be leaving the WACA tonight in the happier frame of mind.In short, this was a day which featured some excellent, iron-willed batting from the two highly regarded Western Australians. Katich dropped anchor and was content to act as the mainstay of the innings, displaying an impeccable understanding of which deliveries to play and which to leave. In the way of attractive strokemaking, there was nothing particularly appealing in itself about his ninth first-class century. But the twenty-five year old’s concentration and discipline were without fault. In an unusually dour exhibition, Gilchrist matched his partner – initially at least – for circumspection before exploding into scoring life late in the post-lunch session with a flurry of boundaries.By contrast, it was a lacklustre finish to the match from the Bulls who, strangely enough, not only looked listless but also delayed taking the second new ball for as long as eighty minutes. Before finally electing to do this, they had attempted to prise the Western Australians out with a succession of overs of spin from Matthew Anderson (0/90) and Andrew Symonds (0/38) at the Members End. But, although they were able to almost completely dry up the flow of runs, neither of the two slow bowlers genuinely beat the bat very often.On the lifeless pitch, amid the enervating conditions, and with their energy levels continuing to be sapped by their long unbroken stint in the field, the Bulls’ predicament was exacerbated as Gilchrist slammed the normally miserly Adam Dale (0/65) down the ground for four stunning boundaries in succession twenty-five minutes before tea. To add insult to the havoc wreaked upon the medium pacer’s figures, he then repeated the dose with another three consecutive shots to the fence two Dale overs later. It was a measure of the extent to which the wicketkeeper-batsman had assumed command of the situation – not to mention the differing styles of the two players’ innings – that he ultimately beat Katich to his century despite having conceded more than a three hour long start.In many ways, the two points that were achieved for a first innings win seemed like an inadequate reward for close to three days of sheer domination from the Bulls. Inspired by a pair of centuries of their own from Jimmy Maher (175) and Stuart Law (128), they had been able to establish domination from early on the first day as they racked up 442 with the bat before dismissing the Western Australians for 195 and then reducing them quickly to 3/43 a second time around.From there, though, it has to be said that they uncharacteristically squandered their opportunity – something which they barely even looked like doing at any stage of a record-breaking run last summer. Martin Love’s dropped catch at slip on the stroke of tea yesterday – when he allowed Damien Martyn (then at 25 on his way to 78) to escape a tightening Queensland noose – assumed very expensive proportions. Law’s tactics in frequently setting defensive fields today and resisting the chance to take the new ball immediately also provoked some consternation. Paceman Andy Bichel (4/54) continued to bowl excellently, gaining the only two wickets to fall on the final day, but did not receive quite enough support in conditions that continued to favour batting. In the final analysis, the Queenslanders left themselves the arduous task of snaring five wickets in the final session and, by then, even the presence of some more attacking field settings had the whiff of bolting horses and open stable doors about it.

The coach John Dyson has defended his bowlers after they let Sri Lanka off the hook in the second Test, leaving West Indies needing 253 to level the two-match series. The visitors were struggling at 32 for 4 before recovering through Thilan Samaraweera’s 125 and boosting their chances of a 2-0 cleansweep.The West Indies bowlers gave away too many opportunities to score and struggled to maintain their line and length when Samaraweera and Chaminda Vaas completed a 138-run partnership. “In talking about patience, when I watch Caribbean cricket all round, that’s an aspect that’s not there in any Caribbean cricket,” Dyson said. “So to suddenly take these players and put them in the Test arena against some very good teams and expect them to have that patience is a tall order.”Dyson said the players have talked about the zones they need to hit, but the changes “don’t happen overnight”. “It takes time for people to get confidence in bowling plans,” Dyson said. “Maybe my ideas are different to the people who were there before, but we’re consistently working on the areas we bowl and the patience involved in the whole game.”The guys do work hard in the net sessions we have, I’ve seen consistency with that. In the middle sometimes we bowl some brilliant stuff, at times perhaps too good, where players just can’t nick them. We need to achieve more consistency throughout the whole innings. We tend to bowl some really good spells and then let ourselves down with bowling a bad hour that cost us a lot of runs.”Jerome Taylor was the best of the home attack, picking up 4 for 52, and Dyson was pleased with his progress. “Jerome is a very good cricketer,” Dyson said. “If you look at him as a total package he is a bit like ‘Vassy’. He has the ability to bat and I’ve seen him change his approach in his batting, and his bowling is always very, very good.”The performances of Taylor have also impressed Samaraweera. “The most difficult right through this series has been Jerome Taylor,” Samaraweera said. “He bowled well, lovely line and length, and his balls move both ways.”West Indies have a tough challenge to level the series and Dyson was hopeful of a successful chase. “What I’d like to see,” he said, “is some good sensible batting over the whole day.”

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has decided to bring forward the start of the next domestic season to October to accommodate the Stanford 20/20 tournament. The season could also be extended to make up for the hectic regional and international schedule.According to the WICB’s draft itinerary the Carib Beer Series, West Indies’ first-class competition, will start on October 8 and run simultaneously with the KFC Cup, the limited-overs tournament. The two competitions are expected to close by December and the Stanford 20/20 will be played in January-February 2008. Last season the Carib Beer Series and the KFC Cup were held in January-February.In 2008 West Indies first tour South Africa in January and then play Sri Lanka and Australia at home. Tony Deyal, WICB corporate communications manager, said that the first-class championship was being reviewed as the board was concerned about players not playing enough first-class cricket. “We are looking at options and may have to split the season in two and extend the matches on a home and away basis,” Deyal told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). According to CMC Allen Stanford, the main backer of the Stanford 20/20 tournament, has reportedly offered the WICB up to US$121 million over 10 years for satellite rights for the tournament.