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David Leatherdale has announced his retirement from Worcestershire to take up the post of commercial director for the club on a full-time basis, having combined both financial and playing roles during the 2005 season.Leatherdale joined Worcestershire in 1987 and was a key player in the trophy-winning teams of the late 1980s and early 90s. As a player, he will be remembered as a high quality allrounder and an excellent fielder. During the 2005 season he passed 10000 first-class runs and 5000 one-day runs, and took 315 wickets in both forms of the game, the highlight of which was his 5 for 10 against the touring Australians in 1997.”I am immensely grateful to have been given the opportunity to start my cricketing career at Worcestershire some 20 years ago,” said Leatherdale, “and would like to thank the club for their faith over this time.”Since playing my first 2nd XI match in 1985 and joining the playing staff full time in 1987 there [have] been numerous highs. To be part of the revival of the club in the late 80s and play in a winning championship and one-day side with the likes of Ian Botham, Graham Dilley and Graeme Hick are times I will remember fondly.”The friendships I have built up with individuals directly involved with the club, as well as members and those outside, will live with me for a long time to come and I look forward to my future off the field with the same enthusiasm I did when starting my career on it.”Mark Newton, Worcestershire’s chief executive, paid tribute to Leatherdale’s commercial prowess: “Since becoming commercial manager back in January, David’s performance in the role has been outstanding. In just nine months he has delivered a commercial surplus that is both above budget and an increase on the previous year. He has secured a number of new sponsors and the announcement of the Elton John Concert will present a huge commercial challenge. We are delighted that David has chosen to take on the role of commercial director.”

England’s cricketers believe they have been used as “political pawns”, after the latest – and presumably decisive – twist to the never-ending Zimbabwe saga.Nineteen months on from a near-identical situation, on the eve of the 2003 World Cup, the players have once again found themselves holed up in a South African hotel, awaiting orders from the England & Wales Cricket Board, after the Zimbabwe performed a spectacular U-turn over the issue of its ban on 13 members of the British media.While the journalists’ ban was being enforced, there seemed no way that the tour could proceed, and for the first time since the saga began, even the ICC seemed sympathetic towards England’s plight. But by lifting the ban at lunchtime on Thursday, the Zimbabwe government whipped away England’s get-out clause, and left them once again facing a hefty fine for failing to comply with the Future Tours Agreement.”From the players’ perspective, the last 24 hours have been extremely disappointing and saddened the players for a number of reasons,” said Richard Bevan, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, in a press conference in Johannesburg. “It’s naive to say that sport and politics don’t mix, but you are able to draw a line in the sand and say you should not cross that particular line, and using players as political pawns is unacceptable.”Friday’s first one-day international in Harare has been cancelled, and the players are understandably keen that it should not be rescheduled for a later date. “[They] have acted in a proper manner throughout by supporting the ECB in a very difficult position,” added Bevan. “The players have also asked the ECB to re-consider the issue of replaying the match that has been cancelled tomorrow.”It is particularly disappointing for the players that an issue that has been ticking away for a year and a half should remain unresolved even on eve of the first match, and Bevan was keen to stress that the decision to tour was in no way indicative of the players’ moral stances.”Deciding to tour Zimbabwe does not condone the issues that are going on in the country,” he said. “We have discussed on many occasions whether this tour should take place.

Pakistan supporters awoke from this year’s World Cup with a giant-sizedhangover: a thumping headache and overpowering nausea without much sense of when those horrible feelings would give way to normality. They knew for sure that the traditionally extreme highs and lows of following Pakistan were infinitely preferable to the insipid ennui that Waqar Younis’s team had delivered in its final months. They were less sure what the new axis of Rashid Latif, Javed Miandad, and Aamir Sohail would deliver. A likely scenario was that a team devoid of its best players would crumble in the way that an experimental Pakistan side did against Australia in Sharjah.Instead Pakistan’s planners will look back at these first few months with quiet satisfaction — and so they should. Here’s why:1 An early win at Sharjah followed by defeats in Sri Lanka and Englandmight not sound great but Pakistan played exciting, competitive cricket in each tournament. They could have won all three had it not been for Shoaib Akhtar’s ball scratching in Sri Lanka and some bad luck at Lord’s. It is probably better for a new team to sniff victory and lose rather than become overconfident.2 Pakistani players traditionally take several weeks to acclimatise to an English summer and it was a surprise that they ran England so close. The Pakistani camp had concerns about the batting at the start of the tour, and although the batsmen did struggle to stay in each game there were some success stories: primarily the pukka allrounders (no bits and pieces here, thank you) Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, the revival of Abdul Razzaq, and a hint of something better from Imran Nazir. Nonetheless, this is a Pakistani batting line-up screaming for the return of the lean, mean, run-scoring machine – aka Inzi.3 Pakistan’s pace attack has recovered surprisingly easily from the loss of its illustrious opening pair, so easily that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami should have been given the responsibility at least twelve months earlier. While Sami has secretly turned himself into a mature fast bowler, Akhtar showed that, given the right management environment, he too can play with responsibility. His ten-over spell at Lord’s was one of the best, albeit unluckiest, of his career. He could have taken five wickets. That he ended up with none was no fault of his. Bad umpiring and spilled chances did for him. The good news does not end there. Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed offer youthful support and variety.4 Some critics were sceptical about Rashid Latif’s appointment as captain, myself included. Is he just too quiet to inspire a new generation, I wondered? But Latif has proved us doubters wrong, which is welcome because Latif is sincere and amenable. The sudden change in attitude in Pakistan’s players — from sullen disinterest to enthusiastic competitiveness — must in large part be down to him. His captaincy style is quiet but authoritative and generally he gets it right. At Lord’s he missed a trick by not having a slip fielder at crucial times in the final overs. But despite his 35 years Latif is still new to captaincy and will learn much this year. One of his strongest attributes is that he is highly self-critical, a better path to improvement than the self-righteousness of his predecessors.5 Finally, a word for Javed Miandad. Pakistan’s finest batsman lookscomfortable as coach, shepherding this young flock with a captain who will listen. As his recent autobiography reveals, there was just too much painful history between Miandad and the dearly departed. The new team certainly bears the tenacity and ingenuity of Miandad’s influence. Thus far, Pakistan are rebuilding nicely but there is a danger in complacency. Latif and Miandad share a philosophy that rewards performance and shuns hierarchy. This is not only a novel concept in Pakistan cricket but also Pakistani society at large. The question is whether or not they can maintain this bold stance and cohesion once the honeymoon period of their partnership is over? That test will arrive on Pakistani soil with the South African tourists. Kamran Abbasi, born in Lahore, brought up in Rotherham, is deputy editor of the British Medical Journal.

The England selectors have been forced to make two additions to the England squad scheduled to leave for the short tour of Zimbabwe on Wednesday (26th September).Leicestershire pace bowler James Ormond had already withdrawn in order to allow time for his injured knee to recover before the trip to India in November. He is suffering from patella tendonitis. Last week, Yorkshire all-rounder Craig White, whose season was severely hampered by injury, twisted his right knee in training and will also miss the trip.Into the party come Yorkshire fast bowler Chris Silverwood and Graham Thorpe, the Surrey batsman who gets an early chance to return to international cricket having been left out of the original touring party. It was feared that he would need longer to recover from the broken bone in his hand sustained at Lord’s in the Second Test against Australia, but he has now been deemed fit.Silverwood for Ormond is a straight bowler for bowler replacement, whereas some questions might be asked about Thorpe’s substitution for all-rounder White. However, chairman of selectors David Graveney said that there had been plans to utilise White’s experience high in the order, where he has enjoyed considerable success for Yorkshire, and so this was an ideal opportunity to bring Thorpe back to add similar experience.Thorpe himself was delighted with the news and is eager to take the chance to get back into the swing of cricket. Had he not gone on this trip he would have spent the time getting back to full fitness. In Zimbabwe he will be able to do that in far more meaningful circumstances with a bat in his hand.England’s other injury doubt, Andrew Flintoff, has convinced the management that he will be fit to take his place in the party. Extensive examinations have revealed that his injured right thumb is not broken and he proved his fitness by having a net at Lilleshall on Saturday, supervised by England’s assistant coach for the tour, Tim Boon.This gave an opportunity for Boon to confirm that Silverwood was fit as well. The Yorkshireman bowled at Flintoff, confirming that he has fully recovered from a rib problem that troubled him during the latter part of the season just passed.The party is now back to a full-strength complement of 16 for the five one-day internationals and the warm-up match that precedes the serious part of the two and a half week itinerary.

ScorecardDarren Stevens scored a 61-ball hundred but Kent still lost•Getty Images

Glamorgan were indebted to a brilliant unbeaten 94 from Chris Cooke as they chased down a target of 318 to beat Kent by three wickets in a thrilling Royal London Cup match in Cardiff. Cooke struck eight fours and four sixes in his 54-ball innings as Glamorgan, who required 103 runs off the last eight overs, secured victory with two balls to spare.Cooke did have a life, though, caught on 52 after sending an Ivan Thomas delivery high into the sky, only to earn a reprieve with the Kent seamer having overstepped. The South Africa-born batsman made the most of that no-ball to lead Glamorgan to their opening win in the competition after seeing their first match against Nottinghamshire rained off.Kent’s impressive total of 317 for 7 was built on Darren Stevens’ blistering 110 from only 64 balls, his ton coming after Sam Northeast and Sam Billings had laid the foundations with a partnership of 104 in 18 overs for the third wicket.Prior to Cooke’s late onslaught, his countryman Colin Ingram helped keep Glamorgan in touch with 109 off 106 balls, but after his dismissal with the score on 197 it looked as though the visitors had gained the upper hand. Cooke had other ideas, however, and aided by David Lloyd (21 off 11 balls) he guided Glamorgan over the winning line.Earlier, Glamorgan’s bowlers had done well to restrict Kent to 219 for 5 with less than 10 overs remaining after captain Northeast and England international Billings had set a promising platform. But Stevens ensured the visitors would post a total in excess of 300 as he accelerated over the closing overs before finishing with six sixes and nine fours.He was eventually caught on the long-on boundary by Dean Cosker off Michael Hogan in the final over, with the Australian then dismissing Fabian Cowdrey in a similar manner before Matt Coles avoided the hat-trick.Cosker was the pick of the Glamorgan attack, but the home team surprisingly left out Andrew Salter, their promising offspinner. Instead they opted to give Ingram and Jacques Rudolph three overs which cost 27 runs, while their cause was not helped by some sloppy fielding.Long-serving wicketkeeper Mark Wallace, however, will remember holding an edge from Alex Blake to record his 1000th dismissal for Glamorgan in all cricket – a career that started against Somerset in a Championship game 16 years ago.Glamorgan soon lost Rudolph in the third over, but the left-handed combination of Will Bragg and Ingram counter-attacked with a flurry of boundaries, with Thomas struck for 15 in his first over before he was taken off .Ingram soon reached fifty from 47 balls with the 100-run partnership reached in the 21st over. Bragg, in his first one-day game of the season, also brought up his half-century, and after 25 overs Glamorgan were 121 for 1 – nine runs behind Kent at the halfway stage.The partnership of 136 was eventually ended when Bragg drove a low full toss back to Thomas. Aneurin Donald was sent in with licence to attack but the 18-year-old, after striking two fours, was caught at short fine leg for 12.Glamorgan’s progress was restricted by accurate bowling – especially from Stevens – but Ingram reached his first century in any competition for Glamorgan to keep them ticking over. However, after scoring 109, he was brilliantly caught by Billings leaping to his left behind the wicket.When the players returned after a shower Glamorgan needed 95 from 46 balls and Cooke gave his team hope with fifty from 36 balls. There was still plenty to do, but Cooke played superbly to take his team to victory.”When we came out after the rain, we had the advantage of a wet ball,” Cooke said. “It was especially difficult for the offspinner James Tredwell. This will give us a great deal of confidence for the next two games – against Essex on Friday and Hampshire on Saturday.”

Sri Lanka arrived in Adelaide less than a week ago promising aggression and focus as they bid for their first Test win on Australian soil. On the day they landed, their captain MahelaJayawardene made it clear that to compete against Australia in any form they must be on the ball for at least four days of the five.In the first warm-up match against the Chairman’s XI in Adelaide, they could not even concentrate for four sessions as their fielding fell apart over the last two of the three days. Five catches were dropped, with Jayawardene culpable in two instances – missing sitters at second and leg slip. He admitted that it was a “bad habit” the players must shake off, but was keen to downplay the fielding and happy to put it behind them.”It was just a lack of concentration,” Jayawardene said after the game ended in a draw. “We’ve had a long chat about it yesterday and today as well. The guys concentrate a lot on the batting and the bowling but it’s just on the field it seems to not have the same kind of concentration which is a bad habit obviously. We just need to make sure we don’t get into these kind of things, especially when playing Australia.”He was candid, too, about his batting performance which involved a first-innings duck and a fair fifty, with both innings ending in the softest of dismissals, popping up on the off side. “The first innings was a shambles the way I got out. I just wanted to spend some time out there in the middle. The way I was hitting the ball, that was pretty good, but towards the end I was just trying to do a few too many things.”And he took away some positives – “The way Sanath [Jayasuriya] played and the way we handled the conditions. A bit of a tough start, losing a bowler [Chanaka Welegedera] early wasn’t the best thing because we didn’t want to tax a lot of guys as well, we just wanted to get them into a rhythm.”The biggest plus was Muttiah Muralitharan who took four wickets. Jayawardene confirmed Murali was “100 per cent” and would be rested for the warm-up. Malinga Bandara will come in to replace him for the tour match in Queensland. “He bowled pretty well, I was very happy withthat – all in all it was a good outing for us.”That may be, but Kumar Sangakkara was injured in the process – tearing his left hamstring while batting. Chanaka Welegedera also tore his right quadricep muscle and will have a replacement – Sujeewa de Silva – flown in for him, hopefully in time for the next tour match whichbegins on Friday.

Daren Ganga is unlikely ever to bring a house down with his batting in themanner of a Chris Gayle or Brian Lara. But there is a lot to be said foran opener in his mould, especially on a day, and a pitch, like this.For over five hours, Ganga stood resolute, surviving trial by new ballswing, by reverse swing, by leg-spin and by unpredictable bounce. Thoughmost of the nine boundaries in his 214-ball stay were executed with apleasant correctness, unlike his 82 in the last Test, you are unlikely torecall any of them. Yet with his unbeaten 77 rest a substantial portion ofWest Indian hopes in this match.”I was trying to consolidate the side’s position,” Ganga told reporters atthe end of the day. “The plan was to make as many partnerships as possibleand with Shivnarine Chanderpaul we got one going for a while. We tried todo it with Runako Morton and Dwayne Bravo as well but they both got out.The plan is to get as close to 304 as possible now.”Neither was it an easy effort and nor was it particularly pretty on theeye. That has much to do, said Ganga, with the pitch though he was at leastcandid enough to admit that, occasionally, such pitches are a pleasantsurprise. “There is inconsistency in terms of bounce and it is toughgoing. It is important to be patient on this pitch. It isn’t a sportingtrack because it’s very slow and you can’t play shots too easily on this,”he said.But he added, “This is a true test of character though, a real test ofskill as a batsman. I am enjoying the challenge and as all great batsmenhave done in the past, you have to prove yourself on all types ofsurfaces. As a batsman, you have to be tested in all conditions. In termsof concentration and technique it was one of my better knocks.”It has been one of his better tours too and following a fifty in Multan,the signs that West Indies have found a long-term partner for Gayleare promising. “Yeah, so far this year has been good for me. Against Indiaand in New Zealand earlier this year, I was pretty consistent. I have setmyself goals and am trying to achieve them. We knew it would be difficulton this tour, we knew we would be challenged but we have shown characterso far.”If nothing else though, this Test will be a special one for him, for itbrought him his first international wicket. And it wasn’t a small oneeither. “Yeah getting Inzamam’s wicket yesterday was special. It was agreat joy to get such a big scalp. I haven’t done much bowling but it’sopened my eyes and I want to bowl more and become one of the options formy captain in the future.”Scalping big names is something Umar Gul is getting used to already.Having notched up Lara in Lahore to a list that already includesSachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman to name three, he was at itagain here. A marvelous post-lunch spell of reverse swing brought threebig names in two overs – Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lara and thelast two castled by peaches. Lara, bowled by one cutting away from him,was part of a plan.”We plan against all batsmen and teams. We knew Lara shuffles early on andis a candidate for leg-before so my aim was to try for that,” Gul said.Despite three wickets and looking the most likely paceman to take more,Gul said the pitch wasn’t helpful for fast bowlers. “It isn’t that greatfor fast bowlers. You can keep the spinners on at one end and rotatebowlers at the other which Inzamam did well. It is a difficult pitch forfast bowlers but you have to be able to bowl on all kinds.”But if you’re not confused enough about the nature of the pitch already,Gul added, as an afterthought, that “it’s not a sporting wicket becauseeven I batted well on it.”

The gloves are off in the battle for control of Zimbabwe Cricket, and it seems almost anything goes, with both sides in the dispute accusing the other of dirty tricks, and the newspapers clearly taking sides in the battle.Earlier this week, Macsood Ebrahim, the chairman of Masvingo and the head of national selection, told of how the ZC board was forcing pro-board loyalists into key positions in his province in a bid to oust him.On Wednesday, Ebrahim reported that Lazarus Zizhou, who had been suspended by the board in 2004, had arrived at Masvingo and said he was taking over as general manager under orders from Ozias Bvute, the controversial ZC managing director.Less than 24 hours later, Zizhou’s name was all over the newspapers, claiming that he had been racially abused by Ebrahim. “Macsood stormed into my office and threatened to remove me,” Zizhou told the Independent yesterday. “He called me a black c*** after I refused to produce my letter of appointment as he was demanding. I could not cooperate with him because he has no power to do so since he was booted out by the province.”While pro-board newspapers have claimed that Ebrahim has been ousted by his own province, that is disputed by many inside Masvingo.The timing of Zizhou’s allegation was suspicious, and while Ebrahim is not stranger to controversy himself, he has been at the heart of Zimbabwe’s attempts to push for racial quotas in the national side which made the claims all the more surprising.Today, Ebrahim’s supporters in Masvingo rallied behind him and issued a letter suggesting that, in front of five witnesses, Zizhou actually abused Ebrahim.How ZC deals with this remains to be seen. It is already under fire for not taking any action over allegations of racial threats made by Mashonaland chairman Cyprian Mandenge and provincial selector Bruce Makovah when they stopped a match in Harare. Last week, further serious allegations were made to the board over the conduct of Themba Mliswa, the chairman of the newly-created Mashonaland West province.There appears to be a concerted attempt to oust certain provincial chairmen following a meeting which produced a dossier asking ZC many probing questions and demanding an Extraordinary General Meeting. Aside from Ebrahim, Alan Walsh, the chairman of Manicaland, was reported dismissed after a fractious meeting, but again this is disputed by provincial officials.

After both sides claimed winning draws in their semi-finals, Canada and Scotland will meet each other on Sunday when the three-day final of the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup starts.Scotland, who ruthlessly outplayed Kenya at Abu Dhabi, will be on a high after their batsmen seemed to run into some form: six separate players passed 40 once against Kenya. Fraser Watts, who opens the batting, became the first player since John Kerr in 1927 to score successive first-class hundreds for Scotland when he put together to 146 in over six hours in the first innings.Although Craig Wright, Scotland’s captain could say that said the winning draw against Kenya was due to having “a bit more firepower in the bowling department” they still need to find more bite as they struggled to make any serious incisions when Kenya batted out time in the last two sessions after being set an impossible 607 to win. John Blain remains incisive with the new ball, but there are no such guarantees with Gavin Hamilton’s medium-pace if the batsmen take control mid-innings. It’s unlikely that Paul Hoffman will return figures like 5-5 again, but there are a number of bowlers that Wright can call on.The value of winning the tournament should not be underestimated. Wright said: “We want to achieve one-day international status. We are aiming to prove we are consistently the best Associate Member country and any elevated status would give cricket a massive boost in Scotland.”Canada, for their part, will hope to repeat their successful game plan against UAE, who were put under pressure from the start after Canada posted an imposing 337 before the end of the first day. Ian Billcliff, Canada’s captain, indicated that “the partnership between Zubin Surkari and Don Maxwell was absolutely vital and enabled us to apply pressure with runs on the board,” but he considers that the game will “come down to application.”The tournament has so far provided some astonishing performances, not least among them John Davison’s match figures of 17-137 against USA, which were the second best in first-class cricket since Jim Lakers’ 19-90 against Australia in 1956. But with Davison missing for Canada due to commitments with South Australia, and Dougie Brown unavailable for Scotland through injury, if something special happens, the performer’s talents will have been nurtured in the earlier rounds.Canada (probable) 1 Zubin Surkari, 2 Ashif Mulla (wk), 4 Don Maxwell, 4 Ian Billcliff (capt), 5 Haninder Dhillon, 6 Jason Patraj, 7 Sunil Dhaniram, 8 Austin Codrington, 9 Sanjayan Thuraisingam, 10 Umar Bhatti, 11 Kevin Sandher.Scotland (probable) 1 Douglas Lockhart, 2 Fraser Watts, 3 Cedric English, 4 Gavin Hamilton, 5 Ryan Watson, 6 Colin Smith (wk), 7 Kyle Coetzer, 8 Craig Wright (capt), 9 John Blain, 10 Paul Hoffmann, 11 Asim Butt.

What’s in a name? Plenty according to Australian cricket administrators who tomorrow introduce their third name change in 98 years when their institution becomes Cricket Australia. But fear not, the baggy green cap will remain the untouched icon of the Australian game.When consultation was done, across the various parties involved in the governance of the Australian game, it was agreed that whatever changes were made, the cap should be untouched. So it will remain the only link with the past, the unmistakable mark of the Australian international. All other equipment and kit will feature the more modern logo featuring the traditional kangaroo and emu, and the Southern Cross, illuminated by a sunburst.Cricket Australia’s chief executive officer James Sutherland believes the new name will be more timeless than the previous ones. Since becoming the controlling body of the game in Australia in 1905, the national body was known as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, and then in 1973 it became the Australian Cricket Board.Nothing is forever it seems, unless you are the Marylebone Cricket Club, although its functions have diminished as change has occurred in the game, and even cricket’s ruling institution, the International Cricket Council has had name changes, from its days as the Imperial Cricket Conference and the International Cricket Conference.As part of its bid to give cricket, across the board, a co-ordinated approach in Australia, the name change had been agreed, and accepted by all the parties concerned and those states who haven’t already fallen in behind the national body are being invited to follow suit. Already there are Cricket New South Wales, Cricket Victoria and Queensland Cricket.The new logo will also integrate more seamlessly with the new logos for the three-Test series, the VB Series, the Pura Cup and the ING logos. Mixed messages had been presented to the public in the branding of trademarks and advertising material in the past and the collective view was that the Cricket Australia option offered a better way or co-ordinating these.The Australian public will have their first real chance to assess the changes being made to the side’s international presentation in the forthcoming first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin, starting on July 18. Sutherland said he was thrilled with the way the new logo had come up and it was something that people could read into what they liked but it was representative of how Cricket Australia saw themselves.”Our logos and branding are going to change, we’re not going to see a significant in our behaviour. The one-day uniform will not change, apart from the different logo,” Sutherland said.And after all, cricket is merely catching up with a number of other Australian sporting institutions, like Basketball Australia, Athletics Australia, Australian Swimming, Soccer Australia et al.While the timing was coincidental, the recent agreement by Australia’s women’s cricket body to integrate with the men’s administration, has already seen the new name of Cricket Australia show its inclusive appeal. The women’s changeover also occurs at midnight today.