This was hailed as the Big Bash, but ended up being the Big Dash – for shelter, as heavy rain and hailstones washed out the first match of Australia’s Twenty20 competition, between Queensland and Tasmania early in the visitors’ reply.A fiery burst from opener Ben Hilfenhaus, who bagged 3 for 17 from his 4 overs, helped to restrict Queensland to a modest 7 for 136. The home side were grateful for opener Jimmy Maher’s 59, and for the efforts of Steve Paulsen, too, whose 45 lifted them out of a slump at 4 for 23.They had captured the early wicket of Michael di Venuto for 5 when heavy rain halted play after just 3.1 overs of Queensland’s reply. The match was abandoned an hour later.There was more success over in the west, though, particularly for Victoria who completed a two-run win against Western Australia. After a woeful collapse to 3 for 20, Victoria recovered to post 163 thanks largely to Liam Buchanan’s silky 47 and Cameron White’s blistering 45. Ben Edmondson was the pick of WA’s attack, with 3 for 16, and he also ran out Adam Crosthwaite off his own bowling.WA’s reply got off to a slow start, although they picked up the pace and Adam Voges gave them hope with a quickfire 51 from 41 balls. But it was not enough – wickets tumbled thick and fast and they came up two runs short as Shane Harwood held his nerve in the last over: just four runs came off him.

It never rains but it pours. South Africa’s injury crisis has worsened with the news that Charl Langeveldt will miss their opening VB Series match, against Australia at Brisbane, with a groin strain. He has been hampered by the injury since the end of the Test series but, it had been hoped he would have been able to shake it off ahead of the one-day matches.Langeveldt’s unavailability means South Africa’s pace bowling resources are being stretched to breaking point. Andre Nel has been ruled out of the tournament with a stress fracture of his foot, while Makhaya Ntini is currently back in South Africa receiving treatment for a knee injury. There has been talk of Ntini rejoining the tour however, the selectors are loathed to risk one of their premier strike bowlers with the return Test series against Australia starting in March.This spate of injuries leaves the attack in the hands of Shaun Pollock, with back up from the inexperienced duo of Monde Zondeki and Garnett Kruger, plus Andrew Hall’s brisk medium pace. One boost for South Africa is that Justin Kemp is expected to be able to play, but only as a batsman – putting further pressure on the remaining bowlers.Meanwhile, the Australians are weighing up their options following the 116-run thrashing of Sri Lanka in the opening match in Melbourne. Brett Dorey has a chance of making his international debut, on the ground where he claimed a career-best 7 for 87, for Western Australia against Queensland, in the Pura Cup. However, following the near faultless performance at the Telstra Dome he may find it difficult to force his way in.Australia (probable) Adam Gilchrist (wk), Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath. Supersub Brett DoreySouth Africa (probable) Graeme Smith (capt), Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Garnett Kruger, Monde Zondeki. Supersub Johan Botha

James Anderson has been chosen in England A’s tour to West Indies which starts in February. Anderson missed out on the full England trip to India, but gets the chance to impress again when he heads to the Caribbean with a 15-man party which will be captained by Worcestershire’s Vikram Solanki.Ian Blackwell is in the squad, too, but he could yet head to India if Ashley Giles doesn’t recover from hip surgery in time. Giles underwent an operation in December, but is taking longer to rehabilitate than had been expected. So Blackwell will be on standby for Giles, after he missed out on the third spinner’s place to Monty Panesar.Also in the frame was Alex Loudon, who has the consolation of a West Indies trip, as does fellow Pakistan tourist, Kabir Ali. Alex Wharf, who has a handful of England caps, has been given another chance, too, while the rest of the party come from the Academy.England A squad Vikram Solanki (capt), Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Blackwell, Rikki Clarke, Alastair Cook, Jamie Dalrymple, Ed Joyce, Alex Loudon, Sajid Mahmood, Chris Read, Owais Shah, Alex Wharf, Michael Yardy

Dennis Brookes, the former Northamptonshire and England batsman, has died at the age of 90.A right-hand opener, Brookes scored 30,824 first-class runs in a career which spanned the Second World War, including 28,980 for Northamptonshire, more than anyone else. He also holds the record for most appearances for the county (492) and most hundreds (67). After retiring, he continued to serve the county as 2nd XI captain, coach, assistant secretary, and finally president.His one Test appearance came in the Caribbean in 1947-48 when he was part of a weak England side led by Gubby Allen. Brookes appeared in the first Test, scoring 13 and 7.At the time of his death he was the eighth oldest living Test cricketer, and the second oldest from England behind Mandy Mitchell-Innes.

Already down 2-0 in the seven-match series, England need to turn the momentum around quickly, else the second half of the series could be reduced to a time for experiments and trying out new talent. India hold the whip at the moment, but they would do well to remember that one season back they were 2-0 up in an ODI series at home against Pakistan, and then went on to lose four in a row.Though England lost at Delhi and Faridabad, they have by no means been outclassed – in both matches, they held the whip for significant portions, and could have been 2-0 up with better application and some luck. Paul Collingwood said as much in a chat with the media before the game: “We are not down and out yet. There were passages of play when we dominated during the series. Really, we have got to transform that into a win in the game on Monday,” he said. “I think it is probably the mental side of it rather than anything else. We have got the skills and personnel. We have to take that a little bit further and elevate it.”Despite the results, India’s performance, especially their batting, has hardly been convincing – at Delhi they lost their top five for 80, while they slumped from 61 without loss to 92 for 5 at Faridabad. Rahul Dravid, though, sought to play down the batting concerns, and instead chose to concentrate on the superb comeback in the second match. “The top order performed well against Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan. Overall I am happy with the batting in the one-dayers,” Dravid emphasised. “I agree there could have been a few more runs from the top order especially in the last two games where we could have done better. “[But] the last game was won by two batsmen [Suresh Raina, who made an unbeaten 81 and Mahendra Dhoni, who made 38].”A major concern has been the form of Virender Sehwag, who has only managed three fifties from his last 30 ODIs. However, Dravid indicated that the think-tank would keep their faith in the Sehwag-Gautam Gambhir duo at the top of the order. “We have got good starts though we would have liked them to have carried on. But this is a seven-match series and hopefully they would do so in the remaining games.”The pitches at both Delhi and Faridabad made run-scoring a difficult proposition, but Dravid indicated that batsmen will have more reason to look forward to the one at Goa. “It looks a good cricket wicket. It looks firm. It seems to be a better wicket than the one in the last game. I can’t say what will be a good score on this wicket but it probably looks to be a 250-plus score wicket.”What won’t please either side, especially England, is the hot and humid conditions at Goa. “It is a big challenge, the humidity, for both batsmen and bowlers,” Dravid said. “We need to make sure we stay hydrated.” Collingwood echoed those sentiments: “The key is the humidity. It is very hot and I think it is going to be a cauldron out there. We have to be careful about dehydration. We have played in Sri Lanka which is close to these conditions. We have experienced this before and it should not be an issue.”The heartening news for India is that Munaf Patel has recovered from a bruised heel and is available for selection. India might opt to play him in place of Sreesanth, who has gone for 79 in 11.5 overs in the first two games.India (from) Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Venugopala Rao, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel.England (from) Matt Prior, Andrew Strauss, Vikram Solanki, Owais Shah, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff (capt), Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (wk), Ian Blackwell, Liam Plunkett, Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Matthew Hoggard, Gareth Batty, Sajid Mahmood.

Points tables

Southern conference

A silky 92 by Matthew Wood set up a 26-run victory for Somerset against Surrey, their second win in three matches this campaign. Mark Ramprakash’s departure for 56 tipped the balance in Somerset’s favour, as Surrey lost their last six wickets for 41 runs, strangled by Cameron White (2 for 37) and Arul Suppiah (4 for 38). Together they administered a quick and clinical death.While Ramprakash, who was dropped by Wood at midwicket on 18, was cruising along with his usual consummate timing, it looked like he could seal a perfect week, after his 292 sank Gloucestershire in the Championship. But Surrey could find no impetus after he fell, leaving his side still needing 69 from ten overs.There was a strange mood to the innings, one not filled with urgency and one not helped by a calamitous mix-up between Mark Butcher who was let down by a James Benning call after reaching 33 in quick-time. Benning followed soon after, fishing at one – and you’d imagine that compliments were not what he caught when he arrived in the changing room (80 for 3).On a typically flat Oval pitch, Somerset’s 279 looked like a par score after they were asked to bat. There was an easy pace to their innings, the langorous nature reflected by the relaxed Sunday crowd. Wood carved out the bulk of the score, with Suppiah setting up a good day with 63, before Ian Salisbury snapped up a sharp return catch. But it was Somerset who were ultimately sharper.Down at Lord’s, Middlesex finally chalked up a win, breaking Hampshire‘s unbeaten run in the process, with a 13-run victory. Ed Smith battered 88 to lift Middlesex to 254, helped by another cool Ed, Joyce, who made 43. Chad Keegan wrapped up proceedings with 3 for 52 from 9.1 overs.Alastair Cook’s commanding 91 not out took Essex to an emphatic eight-wicket victory against Ireland at the County Ground. After the early loss of Ronnie Irani for a duck, Cook and Grant Flower didn’t look back, adding 163 for the second wicket to do the damage. Ryan ten Doeschate took 4 for 49 from nine overs, including the wicket of dangerman Shahid Afridi for 7, to dent Ireland’s hopes of setting a decent target. Heavy overnight rains failed to make an impression on the match and Essex were left to chase 191, after Andre Botha had boosted Ireland with 69 and Eoin Morgan had added 34.

Northern conference

It’s not often these days that you see Andrew Flintoff in a Lancashire shirt, but he didn’t disappoint those fans who turned up to Northamptonshire to watch him take 3 for 30 and help his county side to an authoritative eight-wicket win. And there was no need for him to bat, either, as Brad Hodge and Stuart Law each made unbeaten fifties to take Lancashire home. On the bowling front, Dominic Cork chipped in with 3 for 23 and there was a solitary wicket for Sajid Mahmood who will be celebrating his England call-up along with his international captain, Flintoff, tonight.Gareth Breese blew through Warwickshire with 4 for 36 to take Durham to a 66-run win at the Riverside. Mick Lewis also left the visitors windswept – his 2 for 26 from five overs started the rot. Fifties from John Lewis and Paul Collingwood had teed up Durham who made a crashing 224 from 36 overs in a reduced match. With such a stiff target, Warwickshire were always going to be up against it, and they froze.Chris Taylor squeezed out victory for Derbyshire with an unbeaten 66 against Leicestershire at the County Ground. After rain reduced the match to 45 overs, Derbyshire were left to chase 190 which they did with eight balls to spare. Leicestershire made 188 for 6 from the 45 overs that were possible in their innings, Jeremy Snape (34 from 35 balls) and Paul Nixon (27 from 24) boosting them late on.Scotland’s Australian import, Corey Richards, clubbed an unbeaten 88 from 70 balls to set his adopted country up for a memorable eight-run victory over Worcestershire at the Grange in Edinburgh. In a match reduced to 25 overs a side, Richards was aided and abetted by another Aussie, his New South Wales team-mate, Ian Moran, who scampered a brisk 42 not out from 28 balls. In reply, Vikram Solanki hit 61 from 56, and Graeme Hick was still there at the end, on 50 not out from 42, but Worcestershire were left with just too much to do.

Sanath Jayasuriya has insisted that the president of Sri Lanka played no role in his decision to end his retirement from Test cricket.Jayasuriya, the 36-year-old former Sri Lanka captain, who arrived in England on Saturday, could only watch from beyond the boundary at Lord’s while his erstwhile team-mates followed-on in the first Test after being bowled out for just 192 in reply to England’s first innings 551 for 6 declared.It is less than a month since Jayasuriya said he was quitting Test cricket in order to concentrate on one-day internationals in the build-up to next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean. But he insisted his decision to make himself available again for the five-day game was down to the newly-appointed chairman of selectors Asantha de Mel and not Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s president .”Asantha de Mel is the chairman of selectors and he was the one who contacted me,” Jayasuriya said. “He was the one who changed my mind and after discussions with various people involved in my career I thought if the team and my country need me then my services are available.”Jayasuriya added that Tom Moody, Sri Lanka’s coach, was fully supportive of his change of heart even though Moody appeared to have played little role in his decision. “I had a long discussion with Tom and explained I wanted to return and he was alright” said Jayasuriya, while Moody commented: “Sanath’s obviously had some deep thought about his decision to retire. If he’s fit and back in form, it can’t be a bad thing can it?”He’s a devastating player, he has been for Sri Lanka for many, many years. He’s obviously still a very key component to our one-day campaign and he was due here anyway in two or three weeks’ time for the one-dayers.”Him coming early, the positive is that he’s going to get used to English conditions a little bit earlier for the one-day series if not before then.”Jayasuriya is set to play in Sri Lanka’s next match, a four-day game against Sussex at Hove starting on Thursday. But he was uncertain if he would play in the second Test of the three-match series which is due to get underway at Edgbaston on May 25. “I’m here to play the next tour match and we’ll have to see how it goes from there,” Jayasuriya explained. “I haven’t played the longer version of the game for a few months now and I will need to settle in here because conditions are different.”However, with opener Jehan Mubarak making 0 and 6 at Lord’s, Jayasuriya could be back in Test action sooner than he thought, although he said he would not like to take the place of a younger player.

It’s good to have options. It can also be bad for your scalp. A whole lot of head scratching will take place between the end of this Test and the start of third and final one, beginning next week at Trent Bridge, with Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood the cause. Both put in clinical performances on a good day for England; both had to. If, as expected, Steve Harmison recovers sufficiently from injury for the third Test, this match acts as a shoot-out for the two bowlers.Plunkett, 21, and Mahmood, 24, both impressed on a day when England played sensibly and dominated completely, but still seemed to lack the killer intensity we’d grown accustomed to. Plunkett finished with the better figures – 3 for 43 off 12 compared to Mahmood’s 2 for 25 – and he deserved his success.Plunkett will now be wiser to the fluctuating fortunes of Test cricket after Lord’s and this innings. Plunkett spent most of the first Test in a state of near-despair – his line was good, his length was fine but he left his luck in Durham. Today, he took two wickets in his first over – opener Michael Vandort (think Peter Crouch’s height and Simon Jones’ bulk) and danger-man Mahela Jayawardene.”Taking two wickets in my first over was a pleasure having waited for so long at Lord’s to get going,” said Plunkett. “I felt confident going in today and it all came out right. It was nipping around and swinging, so it was good to lose the toss and get the chance to bowl and pick up a few wickets. Throughout my short career, the plan has been just to kiss the pitch and try to get them to nick it through to the keeper. I think everyone bowled pretty well and we’re more than pleased with the day.”A full length was key to Plunkett’s success, and Mahmood took note. At times it was as if Sri Lanka’s batsmen were trying their best to play England’s fielders back into form, with shots that just weren’t there that would have made coach Tom Moody wince, and possibly kick stuff. Mahmood capitalised. Getting the most out of a slow pitch, he again showed the priceless ability to get batsmen scurrying to the shelter of the non-striker’s end.There is, however, only one slot for the next Test. Do the selectors go for Plunkett’s 80mph-an-hour accuracy, or Mahmood’s occasionally erratic pace and bounce? Both have secret weapons – Mahmood’s ability to reverse swing it and Plunkett’s potential as a genuine No. 8 batsman. It’s this batting ability that may see Plunkett retain his place, at least in the short-term. With coach Duncan Fletcher desperate to have a decent batsman to come in after Geraint Jones, Mahmood may struggle while Ashley Giles is still injured.

“Hopefully I can have a few more days like this,” says Plunkett. “I felt I did well today but I need to keep on taking wickets to keep in contention for the next Test. If I do that, then the selectors will have a tough job.”The future may belong to Mahmood, however. His height and bounce, his reverse-swing and his apparent fearlessness makes him perfect for England’s top mission – Retaining The Ashes. He also induces excitement from the crowd – something that seems to have been missing from this England side over the last two Tests.Nothing can live up to the Ashes Test at this venue last summer, so it’s unfair to compare. But, despite a commanding performance, there seemed to be a real lack of intensity. Two reasons for this are Harmison’s absence and Flintoff not quite recapturing his stirring form of last summer (his pace has dropped slightly as well).The biggest reason, however, seems to be Monty ‘Python’ Panesar. He is the Jim Carey of the England set-up, the fall-guy who offers comedic respite from the serious drama. His drop off Plunkett was bad enough, but his failure to pick up a ball that was going so slow across the grass that worms could have given it a real run for its money was head-smackingly bad.Watching the ball travelling towards Monty is like watching a loved-one making a drunken fool of themself in front of all of your friends. What the Aussie crowd will do to him is enough to make you shudder. What he’ll do when an Ashes-deciding catch is skied towards him is enough to make you lock yourself in your room until the Australians learn how to be good winners.

When the tsunami struck Sri Lanka and India 18 months ago, the cricket world was quick to respond with charity fundraisers which raised millions. The Sport Relief project, a charity that works in conjunction with the BBC, went a step further. As well as raising hundreds of thousands of pounds, the charity sent an English team of 13 celebrities to India for a manic eight-day tour.The team, including Jack Russell, Phil Tufnell and Rosalie Birch, played three charity matches and had a first-hand emotional experience of poverty: at an orphanage in Cuddalore, with the so-called Railway Children of Villapurum and with some children in Chennai who search rubbish dumps looking for bottles and sacks they can sell for food.But the team also saw how the projects were helping to assist in the rebuilding of lives. Even Russell, not a man moved easily to tears, found himself welling up when he headed to a school which has been built to help children orphaned by the tsunami.”What hit me quite hard was thinking of my children in that position. I had visions of my youngest daughter, who is nine-and-a-half, terrified. Parents died in the water – it was something out of a horror film.”Russell and team took a train through Madras, where they saw children who lived on board. “It was quite dirty and uncomfortable. The young kids cleaned carriages with their shirts – that was sad to see.”But, thanks to the charity, 12 of the children were taken out and given an education, and Russell plans to return there. He may even get them painting. “Maybe they can get rid of any trauma. I don’t know, I’m no psychologist.”

Tufnell found the rubbish dump “a very harrowing experience” and yet it was both zenith and nadir for him. “Watching these people live and survive in a place I can only describe as Hell – then to see them in the afternoon washed up and brushed up. The kids had to be taught how to wear shoes for two weeks before the game because they didn’t know how to run in shoes. That was the high by a mile.”Another match was arranged against some fishermen who were affected by the tsunami. “They were just so happy to be involved,” recalls Birch.Like the other England players in the party who have been used to hotels, coaches and comparative luxury on previous tours of the subcontinent, this was a new experience. “I saw a different side of India, the poverty. But it was really nice to go into the villages and help.”In one of those villages she met a woman named Eluta, whose husband died in the tsunami, leaving her to bring up their three girls. “She’s by herself now, it’s just devastating.” But Sport Relief has helped Eluta to have a new start, which helps her buy fish she then sells on at a small profit for her family. Every day Eluta makes a 10-kilometre journey for her work, but she still finds time to make lunch for other children beside her own. “Even though she is desperate need, it’s inspiring how they all club together.”Birch recognises the important role that cricket can play – not just raising money, but in lifting spirits. After the match against the fishermen she says, “It shows sport can make everything go away for a bit of time.”

Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff both made unexpected appearances during a testimonial match for Liam Botham at The Rose Bowl. While neither man actually played, both took turns to umpire.Botham senior, who retired in 1993, vowed at the time never to take part in another game. “If I can’t reappear on a cricket field on behalf of my own flesh and blood, when could I ever make a comeback?” he grinned after a ten-over stint dressed in a fetching pink shirt. “But I won’t be doing that again in a hurry. Umpiring is far too much like hard work for grandfathers like me.”Liam Botham played briefly for Hampshire before turning his back on cricket and becoming a successful professional rugby player. But his career was cut short by a serious neck injury.Flintoff had committed to play, but his ankle injury prevented him from doing anything more strenuous than umpiring. He made his mark immediately, calling Andy Caddick for a no-ball.