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ScorecardChampions Hampshire continued their fine start to defending their Friends Life t20 title with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Surrey at the Rose Bowl.Chasing Surrey’s moderate 140 for seven, Hampshire got home with a over to spare thanks to a crucial third-wicket stand between James Vince and Neil McKenzie. Vince and McKenzie came together with Hampshire 52 for 2 and stayed together until victory was in sight, with a partnership of 83 in 12 overs.Hampshire, who won their opening match against Somerset earlier this week, had no hesitation in fielding first once their captain Dominic Cork had won the toss. Surrey lost opener Stephen Davies to the first ball of the innings, chopping a delivery from Cork into his stumps, and they never fully recovered.Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy accelerated after the early loss of Davies but the turning point came when Roy was run out in a mix-up with Zander de Bruyn. Surrey laboured 11 overs for their second 50 against some tight Hampshire bowling in which spinner Imran Tahir was outstanding with figures of 2 for 15.Surrey only accelerated towards the end, when Chris Schofield twice hit Danny Briggs for six and De Bruyn did the same in an over which cost Hampshire 21 runs. But Surrey’s total never looked like being enough as Hampshire openers James Adams and Michael Lumb put on 42 in five overs.Adams was the first to go, bowled by Tim Linley, but Lumb, dropped in the slips before scoring, struck seven powerful boundaries in his 36 before clipping De Bruyn to Linley. Then came Vince and McKenzie who stayed together until Hampshire needed six to win.McKenzie drove Jade Dernbach, who had been left out of the England squad in the morning, to the covers where Tom Maynard clutched the catch. Vince reached his half-century with the winning hit for four, his fifth in a 39-ball innings. Dernbach finished with 1 for 28 from his four overs and Vince finished undefeated with 51.

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County Championship Division Two leaders Northamptonshire were left frustrated on the third day of their match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road with not a single ball bowled. Rain fell on and off throughout the day meaning that Leicestershire will go into the final day still on 52 without loss, 53 runs ahead of Northants, with their openers Will Jefferson and Matthew Boyce on 15 and 36 respectively.Twice the umpires ordered the covers to come off but on both occasions the heavens opened once more, leading to them being hastily relaid. Eventually, after a further inspection at 3.40pm, the men in the middle decided enough was enough and the two sides will try to force a result tomorrow.

Kuwait consolidated their position at the top of the World Cricket League Division 7 points table, beating Nigeria convincingly by nine wickets with all of 25 overs to spare at the Lobatse Cricket Ground.Being asked to bat, Nigeria’s line-up crumbled against the medium pace of Saad Khalid. The slide was initiated by left-armer Mohammad Murad, who sent back opener Ramit Gill for a duck. From there on, Khalid, with the rest of the bowlers offering solid support, ran through Nigeria, finishing with figures of 5 for 24 in 6.4 overs. The only batsman to show any resistance was Sean Philips, who contributed almost half the total with 75, as Nigeria folded for 153. Kuwait were clinical in the chase, Irfan Bhatti and Saud Qamar putting together an unbroken 128-run stand after an early wicket, to take their side home comfortably.Khalid, who was named Man of the Match said his side will look to continue their winning run. “It is obviously great to make it three wins out of three in the tournament, but we can’t rest on today’s win,” he said. “We face Germany tomorrow [Thursday] and we know they’ll want a good match, especially since they lost to us in the final of Division 8 [Kuwait and Germany finished on top in Division 8, to qualify for the Division 7 tournament].”Hosts Botswana got past Germany by two wickets in a close game at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 1 in Gaborone.Botswana began ideally in the field, after captain Akrum Chand chose to bowl, with Waseem Tajbhay running out Milan Fernando for a duck and Omar Ali castling Andre Leslie for 1, to leave Germany 2 for 2 in the third over. A patient 148-run stand between Asif Khan and Farooq Ahmed got the innings back on track though. The pair was dismissed in quick succession, but Rishi Pillai added another 47, to make sure Germany posted a competitive total. Ali was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3 for 43. Botswana, like Germany, were in trouble early on in their innings, being 8 for 2 and then 28 for 3, before a steadying 87-run stand between Denzil Sequeira and Karabo Modise. Modise, was run out on 65, but the lower-middle order played around Ali – who struck 45 off 40 balls – to help the hosts sneak home with 11 deliveries to spare.Man-of-the-Match Ali said the win was the result of positive cricket. “When I saw Karabo going out there and playing with a positive attitude, I decided that when I went out there [to bat] I would go with the same attitude and it paid off.”Norway registered their first win of the tournament, defeating Japan by 53 runs at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 2, on the back of an excellent all-round performance by Shahbaz Butt.Japan inserted Norway in to bat, and were able to pick up wickets at regular intervals to begin with, leaving Norway 81 for 5 in the 22nd over. That’s when they came up against Butt, who put on 125 runs for the sixth wicket with Iftikhar Suhael. Patrick Giles-Jones, who finished with 4 for 48, took a return catch to get rid of Suhael for 53, but Butt carried on, steering Norway towards sizeable total before falling two short of his century. He continued to trouble Japan during the chase, running through their middle order with his maiden hat-trick. While a few of the Japan batsman got starts, only Ko Irie managed to build an innings of substance, remaining 56 not out as Japan folded for 191 in the 49th over.”I just knew I had to stay in there and make the runs for as long as possible and stay in the game for as long as possible which I did,” Man-of-the-Match Shahbaz said. “I was also really happy with the way I bowled. That’s not to say Japan didn’t challenge us today, they put up a good fight with both bat and ball but ultimately we came out on top.”

Kavesh Kantasingh and Ryan Austin wrested the advantage away from the Windward Islands by cutting a swathe through their top order, before Kantasingh and Carlos Brathwaite completed the job to knock Windward over for 173, and hand Combined Colleges & Campuses an unlikely 83-run first-innings lead at the Three Ws Oval in Bridgetown. CCC extended that lead to 168 for the loss of three wickets, with Romel Currency once again at the forefront with an unbeaten 32 following his 95 in the first innings.The left-arm spin of Kantasingh and the offspin of Austin were introduced early on a pitch that had rewarded the Windward spinners when they bowled, and the move paid off immediately with Kantasingh trapping West Indies opener Devon Smith plumb in front for 6. Austin got into the act shortly after, picking up two quick wickets, and when Kantasingh added two more, Windward were tottering at 54 for 5. Kantasingh’s third wicket was his 100th in first-class cricket, and came when he had Andre Fletcher (31) snapped up at silly point by Shacoya Thomas. A 68-run partnership between the two James, Kevin and Lyndon, added some respectability to the innings, but Brathwaite bowled both men, and Kantasingh snapped up the last two wickets to finish with 5 for 38. Austin picked up 2 for 53, while Brathwaite had figures of 3 for 24.Brendan Nash powered to his maiden first-class double century and Wavell Hinds added an unbeaten hundred of his own as Jamaica amassed 574 for 7 against Trinidad & Tobago at Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine. Nash had already been involved in two century stands when Hinds joined him after Tamar Lambert fell for 41, and the pair made sure there was no respite for the T&T bowlers, adding a further 166 for the fifth wicket. Nash was eventually dismissed by West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard, who had him caught behind for a career best 207 from 349 balls, an innings that included 20 fours and two sixes.Hinds continued the momentum after Nash’s dismissal, getting to his second hundred of the season and ensuring that Jamaica are in pole position to reach the final. Nash and Hinds are now the second and third-highest run scorers in the tournament, with team-mate Marlon Samuels leading the way.

ScorecardVictoria did just enough to pick up a one-run victory and seal a berth in the finals of the Ryobi Cup, but not before Steve O’Keefe had given them a real scare with his aggressive 49. O’Keefe brought the equation down to two required off three balls, but was out caught and bowled by Dirk Nannes to give Victoria the win. O’Keefe’s 49 had come off just 40 balls, and brought NSW back into the game after they were struggling at 207 for 8 in the 37th over in response to Victoria’s 281.O’Keefe added 36 runs for the eighth wicket with No. 9 Scott Coyte, but when Coyte was bowled by 20-year-old fast bowler James Pattinson the equation still favoured Victoria, with NSW needing 38 off 22 balls with two wickets in hand. O’Keefe went on the attack, but just when it looked like he had done enough to secure a comeback victory, he became the last man out.Victoria’s innings had been built around Matthew Wade’s century. They scored quickly in their first 20-over innings, with Aaron Finch getting a brisk 68, and Wade batting through to finish on 45 at the innings break with Victoria on 125 for 2. NSW decided to preserve wickets and got to 104 for 1 in their first 20. Victoria maintained their run-rate after resuming their innings, and Wade carried on to score 101 off 113 balls, Robert Quiney and Evan Gulbis added some quick runs in the middle order to help Victoria reach a strong total.NSW’s second stint at the wicket started with a couple of wickets falling quickly, but Moises Henriques and Simon Katich added 42 in good time to put them on course. Henriques’ wicket sparked a mini-collapse and it took O’Keefe’s efforts at the end to make a match of it. Offspinner Glenn Maxwell was the most economical of Victoria’s bowlers, giving away just 30 runs in his eight overs.

Left-arm pace bowler Junaid Khan, who replaced the injured fast bowler Sohail Tanvir in Pakistan’s World Cup squad, has said he is not overawed at the prospect of making his international debut on such a big stage.”I’ll treat it as just another game of cricket,” Junaid told . “I’ve represented my country at junior levels and Pakistan A, so I know what the responsibility of playing for your country is like. I don’t think I’ll have any nerves and I’m confident I can handle the situation.”Junaid was selected on the basis of his consistent showing on Pakistan’s domestic circuit. In 35 first-class games, he has picked up 167 wickets at an average of just above 21. He was also the second-highest wicket-taker for Pakistan A in the unofficial ODI series during their recent tour of West Indies where he picked up five wickets in three games.”I’ve been working so hard over the last couple of seasons and I feel that I have consistently improved as a bowler, “Junaid said. “I’ve also been working hard on my batting and I feel that my call-up for the World Cup is warranted as I have done consistently well at all levels for Pakistan.”There have been several high-voltage clashes between India and Pakistan in previous World Cups and Junaid said he was looking forward to another such encounter. “Just getting a chance to play in the World Cup is a dream come true for me,” he told . “But if we get to play against India in the World Cup, it would be a blast to bowl at [Sachin] Tendulkar and get him out. It is an ambition for me.”

Two matches, two close defeats, crucial mistakes in the final stages of both matches. South Africa have to be hurting. Batsmen freezing might just be the lesser of the evils. They pride themselves on their fielding, and tonight they dropped two catches they would normally take nine times out of 10. Zaheer Khan got reprieved on nought, Harbhajan Singh on 12, and the duo carried India home. Something similar happened when they were batting: after recovering well from an average start, they slumped from 198 for 4 in 44.4 overs to 220 all out.Graeme Smith chose to focus on that period – during the end of an innings – that has hurt them the most in this series. “I think 220 gave us a chance. The wicket was very difficult to bat on, had sort of plates on it, and its two-paced nature made strokes very difficult. It also had up and down bounce,” he said. “[But] we were really hoping for 240. I think 240 would have been a really good total there. JP [Duminy] and [debutant] Faff du Plessis played well together to take us to a decent total [rescuing them from 90 for 4]. Our Powerplay was poor again, we lost JP and Faff within two overs, and we only got 19 overs in our last six overs.”I really felt if we got 240 we were in with a real good chance of winning the game. We came real close, we missed two crucial chances at the back end, but I can’t fault the guys’ commitment tonight, their intensity and the effort they gave.”The commitment was of course there, in the way Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn bowled, in the way they caught, Steyn off his own bowling and Morkel at third man. Also pleasing was how – despite an expectedly nervous start – du Plessis made it easier for the selectors to pick him for the World Cup.”Terrific to see a guy like him come in,” Smith said. “He had a good domestic season, and just to carry that on here is good. He has prepared well, I have watched him in training. He will bring a lot to the squad I think. It was great to see him and play that well. Especially under pressure. We were under pressure when he came in. I think he has something special, which is good.”Smith said the key to bouncing back from such close defeats in back-to-back games was to not change what has been working for them. “I think it’s always important to keep doing the right things at training,” he said. “Keep reiterating the same point. The margins have been so small in the last two games, we could easily be 2-1 up or 3-0 up. Just got to keep training hard and keep doing the right things and hopefully the things will kick into place.”The World Cup squad comes out tonight, that will ease a lot of minds and stress on players. Hopefully free up a lot of players, and make them play with sort of freedom in the next few games.”They will need all the freedom because the opposition – an under-strength one at that – is sensing they are under pressure. “Our team is full of confidence right now,” Yusuf Pathan, Man of the Match tonight, said. “South Africa will obviously be under pressure because they have lost two matches, and we have done better in pressure situation. We made a comeback in the previous game, and here too. So the pressure will be there.”

A century by wicketkeeper Naman Ojha took Madhya Pradesh to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals after they beat Andhra by nine wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Andhra had given themselves a chance by setting MP 203 to win in the last innings, after making 313 in their second outing. But Ojha, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and Mohnish Mishra dashed their hopes as they took MP to 204 in just 40.2 overs. Mishra made 75 off 83, while Ojha got to 102 off 114. Jalaj Saxena was the only MP wicket to fall, caught by Satyakumar Verma off the bowling of Duvvarapu Shivkumar. MP had finished second in their group, while Andhra had topped theirs. They will now play Karnataka in the quarter-finals in Indore.Rajasthan will be joining MP in the Super League next year after sealing the first-innings lead against Maharashtra at the Golf Club Ground in Nasik. Rajasthan only needed three more wickets and finished the job within the first 12 overs of the last day. Maharashtra’s Nikhil Paradkar went on the attack, scoring 54 runs in the day to finish with 104 not out. The problem for the hosts was only 15 runs came from the other end. Rajasthan legspinner Vivek Yadav took the last three wickets to finish with 4 for 63. Rajasthan then enjoyed some batting practice and their captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar reached an unbeaten century. Rajasthan will host Mumbai at Jaipur in the quarter-finals.

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Nathan Hauritz enjoyed his latest taste of Sheffield Shield cricket, finishing with match figures of 7 for 104•Getty Images

Nathan Hauritz has sent a loud and clear message to the Australian selectors by bowling New South Wales to victory on the final day against Western Australia at the WACA. Hauritz collected 5 for 39 from 27 overs to help the Blues to their 199-run triumph, less than a fortnight after being axed from the Test side to make room for Xavier Doherty.Doherty has been retained for this Friday’s second Test in Adelaide but Hauritz has improved his chances of a recall at some point during the series, with excellent final-day work that earned him the Man of the Match prize. Western Australia were chasing 365 but hit trouble when Hauritz ran through the specialist batsmen, removing four of the top five.He began with Michael Swart caught at bat-pad for 39, before adding the opener Wes Robinson, who was caught at slip for a painstaking innings of 39 from 201 deliveries. Hauritz also collected the in-form Shaun Marsh, who was caught behind for 27, and Adam Voges also fell caught behind to Hauritz for 13, to leave the Warriors struggling at 5 for 136.The fast bowler Mark Cameron, who joined the side mid-match when Doug Bollinger was rushed off to Adelaide to bolster the Test squad, picked up 3 for 33 as the local lower order failed to offer much resistance. It was a good couple of days all round for the New South Wales Test hopefuls, after Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith both made half-centuries on the third day.The win has confirmed New South Wales as the competition leaders, with three victories from their five matches. Western Australia have not quite shown the improvement they would have hoped for under their new coach Mickey Arthur and are on the bottom of the table with one win from four games.

MS Dhoni’s doubts about the Umpire Decision Referral System (UDRS) could be eased were he to take up an offer by the head of the Virtual Eye ball-tracker, and understand the technology now in use in international cricket.One of three mandatory requirements for the UDRS, the ball-tracker is the most contentious component, and Ian Taylor, CEO of Virtual Eye – in use for the current Australian season – told ESPNcricinfo last week that he wanted the technology shared with people it would affect. “We need to spend time with umpires and players, captains of teams, so that we can open up the entire Pandora’s box of the technology,” Taylor said. “I think people are right to question the technology, that is how we make it better.”Hawk-Eye and Virtual Eye, cricket’s two main ball-tracker cameras, use slightly different technology. Hawk-Eye uses vector graphics for projectile mapping like the kind used in missile technology. Paul Hawkins, managing director of Hawk-Eye Innovations, has also extended an offer to the Indian team to explain the technology. “I think it is mainly whether the Indian team has confidence in the technology,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “If the Indian players take some time to understand the system fully … those concerns would go away.”Virtual Eye, which was experimented with for the first time during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2008, uses fibre-optic cable leading to cameras producing higher frame rates per second. “This, they tell us, will add to the accuracy of the ball-tracking,” said Brad McNamara, executive producer of cricket at Channel 9, which will be using Virtual Eye for the first time in the upcoming Ashes.During the Ashes, Taylor said, four cameras would track balls at 160 frames a second, providing points of reference available to the third umpire to make a decision. When Virtual Eye ventured into ball-tracking cricket in 2006, the cameras they used operated at 110 frames a second, which at the time were suitable for television. The advent of the DRS and the use of the “predictive path”, Taylor said, meant that, “we have had to find way to up the game.”The DRS has suddenly increased the heat on the game’s graphics providers. “It was fine when we were just delivering for television, but the advent of the DRS and the use of the predictive path has meant we have had to find ways to up the game,” Taylor said. “The computer must now work out, like the umpire, where the ball would have gone had it not hit the pad. The more frames, or points of reference we can give it to do that – the better the prediction.”It takes 40 centimetres of camera track (15 inches or less than half a yard on a cricket pitch), at 100 frames a second to give the computer two points of reference. “The computer is making its best estimate as to where the ball will go after bouncing depending on the information it receives via the frames per second,” Taylor said. Increasing the frames per second thus increases the number of points available and while cameras that can work at 1000 frames a second are available, they are extremely expensive. “We are looking for a cost effective way of lifting the frame rate. That’s where the R&D has to go now.”Taylor shares players concerns, saying, “We may have a little more knowledge from a technical perspective but that is totally balanced out by the players’, and umpires’, practical knowledge of what happens out there on the pitch in real life.”