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Ricky Ponting has warned administrators to remember the failed experiment of day-night first-class matches before trying the same thing in Tests. Cricket Australia is looking at the idea and wants to trial it within the next decade, but Ponting and Daniel Vettori hope the traditional format remains.Night matches were played in the Sheffield Shield from 1994-95 to 1998-99 and the struggle for runs under lights concerned Ponting. “It sounded great at the time, but everyone I’ve spoken to who played in those games found that they were pretty hard work, especially the batsmen,” Ponting said. “There’s colour of balls and all that sort of stuff that they have to get on top before they start entertaining the idea of day-night Test matches. The ball one would be one of the biggest issues I imagine.”James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, is investigating the change in an effort to get a bigger television audience. Matches could be played from 3pm-10pm instead of the current schedule of 11am-6pm.Ponting said world captains have all been concerned about playing Tests under lights when the natural light starts to fade. “If they come up with appropriate measures to cope with a lot of things,” he said, “we will start entertaining the idea a bit more.”Vettori said he had trouble picking up the red ball at times during last month’s series in South Africa. “We had the lights put on about 4 o’clock and it made it hard,” he said. “Unless they change the colour of the ball I think it will be difficult.”Ian Chappell, who played in the day-night Supertests of World Series Cricket 30 years ago, said it was a good idea with one major handicap. “That’s the ball,” he said. “Until you fix that up, and can play 80 to 85 overs with it, you really can’t play. If the ball’s not right the integrity of the game becomes a bit of a problem.”Yellow ones were used in the Sheffield Shield competition for the first two seasons and were switched to orange when the players complained they lost them in the background of stadium seats. However, both types scuffed too easily and “behaved differently” to the red balls. The concept was introduced to attract more spectators but was dumped when the crowds were similar.

There has been no application by the British Virgin Islands for Affiliate membership of the ICC, despite some reports to that effect.”At its own expense, BVI atteneded the recent ICC Americas forum in Grand Cayman in order to find out more about the ICC Development Program and its member countries’ activities,” an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo.”BVI has indicated to ICC regional staff that it may possibly be interested in applying for individual membership of the ICC and has asked about the process if it did decide to take this path.”ICC regional staff have referred BVI back to the West Indies Cricket Board and advised that, like Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey before (which had ECB alignments), to become an individual member of ICC, BVI would need to cut all formal ties with WICB / its affiliates and any such application would need the support of WI as the region’s Full Member.”If BVI wanted to be considered for membership of the ICC at 2009 Annual Conference, it would need to apply by 31 December 2008.”A spokesman for the WICB said that while an informal question had been put to the board, nothing more than that had happened at this stage. “BVI is part of Leewards,” he said. “We can’t change that without acceptance at an AGM and changes to our articles.”

Derbyshire are bracing themselves for the loss of Wavell Hinds after he took his place in the latest Indian Cricket League event.Hinds was signed as a Kolpak player, but because he has played first-class cricket in another country within the last 12 months and is a new recruit by Derbyshire the club believe they are going to encounter problems over his registration. Hinds hit a half century in his first ICL outing on Sunday.”We think we may have trouble keeping Wavell,” Tom Sears, the chief executive, told . “We are waiting for clarification from the ECB, but because he played in West Indies it could be a stumbling block.”Other Kolpak signings around the county circuit, such as Murray Goodwin at Sussex and Dale Benkenstein at Durham, are not expected to have a problem because they were with their respective counties before the ICL began.However, Derbyshire haven’t given up on still having the services of Mahela Jayawardene even though he is part of the Indian Premier League and Sri Lanka have a full international calendar. Jayawardene was due to arrive after Sri Lanka’s tour of West Indies, but there is now the prospect of the Asia Cup.”We are waiting to hear Mahela’s commitments,” said Sears. “There’s talk of the Asia Cup but we aren’t sure when. We are still keen to have him here and Mahela is keen to play for us. It all depends whether it’s worthwhile for both parties.”Unlike some counties, though, who face a last-minute scramble to find overseas cover Derbyshire are well placed in that department with Chris Rogers, the Australian opener, on their staff for the whole season. He was due to replace Jayawardene later in the season, but could now slot in at an earlier stage.”We have planned ahead for this situation,” Sears added, “so we have good cover for whatever happens.”

New Zealand 213 for 6 (McCullum 77, Sidebottom 3-51) beat England 242 for 7 (Wright 47, Mills 4-36) by 34 runs (Duckworth-Lewis)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Last week, Brendon McCullum was the surprise package in the IPL auctions – today he batted like a cricketer with a million-dollar price tag. His superlative 77 from 43 balls ensured that New Zealand finished their five-match one-day series against England as they had begun it; with a thumpingly impressive victory. Had it not been for a late collapse of 3 for 1 in seven balls, and the even later invention of rain, this result would have been as comprehensive as New Zealand’s first two victories at Wellington and Hamilton. It really was that one-sided.England were off the pace throughout. They batted too slowly, bowled too naïvely, and fielded like a side resigned to defeat – four chances of varying degrees of difficulty were shelled while the game was still live, including a howler by Stuart Broad at third man when McCullum had made 31. New Zealand were led superbly in the field by Kyle Mills, who took 4 for 36 with two wickets in an eight-over burst with the new ball and two more with his offcutters in the death overs, but none of England’s bowlers seemed willing to follow his lead.James Anderson, once again, was especially culpable. He unleashed the Kiwi beast in his third over by serving up another diet of short wide long-hops that McCullum bludgeoned up and over the covers for two fours and a six. When he returned for a second burst at 75 for 0 in the tenth over, with his side in dire need of wickets, he was clobbered for three massive sixes in a row – the first, which was spectacularly caught in the second tier of the grandstand, took him to his fifty from just 27 balls.McCullum’s form in this series has been nothing short of sensational. He finished with 261 runs from 203 balls faced, and only once, at Auckland, did he fail to reach 40 – not surprisingly, that was the only game that New Zealand went on to lose. Once again he compiled a century stand with his new opening partner, Jesse Ryder, but on this occasion Ryder was little more than a bystander. By the time he was lucklessly run out for 24 from 32 balls, his partner had pummelled his way to 72 from 34.It was England’s captain, Paul Collingwood, who eventually ended McCullum’s stay. One ball after dropping a regulation return chance, he knocked back the off stump as McCullum attempted another heave through midwicket. But Jamie How, in the form of his life, responded with two sumptuous drives before the new batsman, Ross Taylor, got off the mark with consecutive edges for four. It was clear that nothing was going to stop New Zealand now.Well, almost nothing. Just as at Napier, England found a second wind at precisely the moment that everyone else had given up on them. Scott Styris was once again the unwitting catalyst, as he wellied an attempted pull to cover off the undeserving Anderson, before Ryan Sidebottom – very much in the zone – removed the debutant Daniel Flynn and the dangerous Jacob Oram with consecutive off-stump legcutters. At 198 for 6, there was a glimmer for England and they were convinced that Vettori had edged Anderson but Billy Bowden disagreed. Then came the mandatory ball change at the end of the 34th over, and the venom went out of their challenge as the rain began to fall.In truth, England scarcely deserved to get so close to victory. Batting first, their innings had been a mishmash of partially formed anchor roles, and all-too-brief cameos. Phil Mustard never got going, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen played themselves in then gave their wickets away in crass fashion – Bell to a lofted drive, a shot he had been playing exquisitely, and Pietersen to a second-ball mow off the spinner, Jeetan Patel.Alastair Cook seemed set to drop anchor for the full 50 overs when he missed a quicker one from Daniel Vettori, who also served up the ball of the innings to have Collingwood stumped for 14. Owais Shah was scratchy in a rare lengthy opportunity, and in the end England owed every ounce of their competitiveness to Luke Wright and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who belted six sixes between them as 81 runs were added in the final eight overs.Unfortunately for England, Wright and Mascarenhas’s ease of strokeplay was the norm for this wicket, not the exception. By the time McCullum was into his stride, there was no doubt about the outcome. England had done well to recover their poise after the humiliations of the opening two games, but the 3-1 series result still flatters them. There is much for Collingwood and his team to work on before the return one-day series in June.

The ICC has received a copy of the match referee’s report on the Kanpur pitch and is now waiting for a response from the Indian board on the same. But the BCCI played down the issue of what Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, called a “poor cricket wicket”.”It’s a normal process where the match referee submits a pitch report to the ICC at the end of the match, a copy of which is also given to the board,” said Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s chief administrative officer.South Africa beat India by an innings and 90 runs in Ahmedabad on a bouncy track but lost the Kanpur Test by eight wickets after their batting line-up crumbled on an under-prepared surface. Both matches ended in three days.”This is not the first time that a match ended in three days,” Shetty said. “Definitely there were suggestions for some corrective measures but I don’t think it was a notice to the BCCI.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said a letter had been sent to the BCCI seeking an explanation on the pitch.

Jason Gillespie has escaped with only minor injuries after an alleged assault outside a nightclub in the Victorian country town of Traralgon. Gillespie was part of the South Australia team that lost to Victoria in a one-day match in the town on Sunday and police said the incident occurred at about midnight that night.”Jason was on his own walking … it appears a couple of people targeted him,” the South Australia coach Mark Sorell told the . “But it seems like an isolated incident.”The paper reported that Gillespie might have suffered a fractured cheekbone, however the South Australia Cricket Association said he was not expected to miss any matches. Gillespie was treated in Melbourne and must now decide whether to pursue charges after reporting the matter to the police.”I can confirm we had an assault reported to us but we can’t confirm who may or may not be involved,” senior constable Eamon Leahy, of Traralgon Police, said. “The investigation is in its very early stages. At this stage the victim has asked that no information be released.”

Taufeeq Umar will lead the PCB XI in the one-day warm-up match against the South Africans at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground in Lahore on October 16. The match precedes the five-match one-day series between South Africa and Pakistan, starting in Lahore on October 18.Taufeeq also captained Patron’s XI in the three-day tour match against the South Africans before the first Test. Three of the players included – middle-order batsman Naved Latif, legspinner Mansoor Amjad and batsman Shahid Yousuf – have also been picked for the Hong Kong Sixes, starting later this month.Zulqarnain Haider is considered by many to be Pakistan’s second-choice wicketkeeper, hot on the heels of Kamran Akmal, who has been struggling behind the stumps off late. The bowling attack comprises Rao Iftikhar Anjum, who has turned out for Pakistan, and Mohammad Irshad, a promising young fast bowler.PCB XI: Taufeeq Umar (capt), Babar Naeem, Shahid Yousuf, Bazid Khan, Naveed Latif, Ahmed Shahzad, Adnan Raza, Mansoor Amjad, Zulqarnain Haider (wk), Abdur Rauf, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Mohammad Irshad, Umer Amin, Hafiz SaadCoach Aqib Javed, Team doctor Dr. Riaz

Former West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh and renowned American fielding guru Mike Young have signed on to be a part of the coaching staff at the ICC Americas selection combine to be held at Indianapolis World Sports Park in September.”I’m really excited by this opportunity to help identify and work with some of the best talent in the Americas,” Walsh said in an ICC press release. “It’s great that the ICC and the WICB are working together on this initiative that can only help cricket develop in the region.”Applications for players who are eligible to play for countries within the ICC Americas region were due to close on Friday, but the deadline has been extended an additional week through to July 24. Up to 100 players from around the region will be invited to phase one of the combine from September 18, as they compete for spots in a regional squad to participate in the WICB 50-over domestic tournament next January.A select group of players from phase one will then be invited back to phase two from September 24, where they will join pre-selected players based on performances from the ICC Americas championship in May, and the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier currently taking place in Ireland and Scotland. After the conclusion of phase two, a final squad will be chosen and top-performing players may also receive invitations to trial for teams in the 2016 Caribbean Premier League.Walsh is currently a WICB selector and bowling coach for the Jamaica Tallawahs. In 2011, he served as tour manager for the West Indies U-19 team in Florida where they swept the USA U-19 team in a four-match 50-over series. Young, a Chicago native, has been a specialist fielding coach serving on and off with Australia for the last 14 years, including at the 2015 World Cup.

England XI 131 and 325 for 7 (Strauss 104, Bell 104*) drew with NZ Select XI 271 (How 65, Harmison 5-100)
Scorecard

Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell lifted the spirits on a chilly day in Dunedin, recording a century apiece to put a gloss on England’s final preparations ahead of next week’s first Test in Hamilton. By the time the weather closed in before tea to force an abandonment, Strauss had retired after more than four hours at the crease, but Bell was still there, unbeaten on 104 from 149 balls, with England comfortably placed on 325 for 7, a lead of 185.England’s performance was a far cry from their first-day capitulation, when they were bowled out for 131 in little more than a session. Batting was never easy in helpful conditions for seam bowling, against a committed attack featuring three members of the New Zealand Test squad that was announced during the lunch interval. But both batsmen displayed the sort of patience and application that has been lacking from much of England’s five-day cricket in recent months.For Strauss it was a particularly cathartic innings. It was his first century in English colours since the Headingley Test against Pakistan in August 2006, and it was notable for the patient approach that had been his watchword all throughout his prolific first two years in the Test side. He was happy to wait for his scoring opportunities, but latched onto them with 15 emphatic fours all around the wicket. The best of these was a short-arm pull through midwicket off Mark Gillespie, the shot he had mistimed for his first-innings dismissal.Though Strauss retired soon after reaching his landmark, Bell continued in the confident vein he has been displaying all through the tour so far. His one-day series was marked by a series of flying starts but a failure to go onto the big score, but he made no mistake this time in a chanceless innings. His off-side play was especially fluent, with a launched six onto the grass bank at extra cover, and a sweetly timed square drive on one knee to bring up his hundred.England’s batsmen didn’t have it all their own way. Paul Collingwood, struggling with a slight hamstring tear, lasted only four deliveries before chipping a tame catch to short leg off Jeetan Patel, while Tim Ambrose impressed briefly with five fours in a quickfire 33. But having cut and pulled Iain O’Brien off consecutive deliveries, he missed with an attempted drive off his next ball, and was bowled off the inside edge.O’Brien, who was awarded a Test place ahead of his fellow new-ball bowler, Gillespie, then ended Matthew Hoggard’s tortuous 10-ball duck, as Hoggard fenced a low catch to Ross Taylor’s left at slip. Another quick couple of wickets and England might have faced the prospect of seeing off a New Zealand run-chase, but Monty Panesar held firm until the rains rolled in to call a halt to the day’s proceedings.

Dale Steyn and Brett Lee, who won the Man-of-the-Series awards in the recent clean sweeps for South Africa and Australia, have broken into the top five in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers.Steyn dismantled the New Zealand batsmen with 20 wickets in two Tests, and has skyrocketed to third place in the list – he was ranked 28th before the start of the series. Lee is two places behind him in fifth, having finished with 16 wickets in the two Tests Australia played against Sri Lanka.Steyn’s team-mate Jacques Kallis is now one point away from Lee’s compatriot Ricky Ponting at the top of the list for Test batsmen. Kallis followed up his three hundreds in four innings against Pakistan with two more in three innings against New Zealand.The other mover in the top ten Test batsmen is Kumar Sangakkara, who jumped to third place – ahead of Mohammad Yousuf – on the back of his 57 and 192 in the second Test against Australia.