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After being heralded as England’s next great middle order hope for so long, Ian Bell’s burgeoning career was in danger of being completely derailed after a chastening Ashes series. Although included in the squad to Pakistan, he was unlikely to make the playing XI for the first Test. If any fortune resulted from Michael Vaughan’s knee injury, it was for Bell, who was thrust into the crucial one-down position.After scoring an accomplished 71, his fifth half century in nine Tests, he said of his knock, “It was a big one for me obviously with Vaughany’s injury and me not expecting to play this Test. It’s nice for me to get the confidence back. The wicket is exceptional, just a matter of time, I would have liked to have gone on and got a hundred, and I should have been still out there now, after getting in but I enjoyed going out there and spending some time in the middle.”He acknowledged that he had been out for form for some time before this innings, to the extent that he was even bowled by Peter Gregory, the team doctor, during practice. “It’s been hard work and a character-building experience. To be bowled by the doc isn’t the most pleasant of feelings. Fortunately, I went back to a few things that helped me, simple things like focusing on watching the ball, things that I was doing before last season.”His innings was more impressive because of the uncertainty over his place in the team. “Of course, it was a blow to not be part of team. I really want to establish myself and work hard for that, but what I realise is that there are a lot of guys vying for places, and I understood why I was going to be left out of this Test match. I just tried to make sure I got myself prepared just in case the opportunity came around and be in the best position if it did happen.”He enjoyed a little bit of luck in his 161-ball innings, being bowled by a slower ball from Shoaib Akhtar only to be reprieved by Billy Bowden’s call of no-ball. “At the time I was so focused and watching the ball that I didn’t realise the screen was still positioned for round the wicket for Trescothick. I didn’t pick it up at all. Luckily it was a no-ball and it didn’t make me look too much of a fool. It went high into the windows and if the screen was in the right position, it wouldn’t have made much difference. It was a fantastic ball and did me all ends up.”Bell’s 180-run partnership for the second wicket with Marcus Trescothick, captain for this Test, has put England into a strong position in the opening Test and Bell was quick to recognise his captain’s contribution. “Marcus really helped me out there, always talking to me. We ran well between the wickets and it was nice to be out there with someone of his experience. He was keeping it simple, watching the ball, playing as straight as possible, running hard, turning twos into three. He carried on the way he plays and captaincy hasn’t changed him at all. It was fantastic really to watch from the other end when he’s in such good form and stroking the ball so nicely. If I can learn off these guys at the top of their game it is a great help to me.”I was a little bit disappointed after last summer but I still back myself as a good player. I really want to prove to people that I can play at this level, and that I can do this for a long time.”Bell was also full of praise for the bowlers who did so exceptionally well to bowl out Pakistan for 274 on such a placid pitch, calling their performance “exceptional”. He added: “It was a pretty great performance and we had to capitalise on it. We are now in with a definite chance. It’s not a bad position to be in.”

Darrell Hair will make his return to top-level international umpiring in the second Test between England and New Zealand at Old Trafford on May 23.It will be the first Test he has stood in since the 2006 match between England and Pakistan at The Oval. That became the first game in history to be forfeited after Pakistan refused to take the field following Hair’s ruling that they had tampered with the ball.Hair was subsequently stood down from any matches involved full-member nations, although never officially removed from the Elite panel, but continued to stand in associate games. He took the ICC to court claiming racial discrimination, but withdrew his claims seven days into a tribunal in London last October.He moved back to Australia and went on a six-month rehabilitation course before being reinstated at the ICC’s March meeting in Dubai. Hair will stand alongside fellow Australian Simon Taufel at Old Trafford and will remain for the third Test at Trent Bridge when he’ll be joined by Steve Bucknor.It is still unclear where his long-term future lies as Pakistan have made it clear they don’t want him standing in any of their matches. His current contract runs out in March 2009.

The former West Indies offspinner Omari Banks has joined Somerset as a Kolpak player for the 2008 season.Banks, 25, played 10 Tests and five ODIs for West Indies between May 2003 and August 2005, but has since failed to break into the international set-up.His finest hour came at Antigua in 2003, in only his second Test, when he scored 47 not out from No. 8 as West Indies chased a world-record 418 to beat Australia.”Omari is a great signing and will give us strength in depth in key positions in our squad,” said Somerset’s director of cricket, Brian Rose. “He will be a huge asset to us and will be very dangerous in one-day cricket and the Twenty20 Cup.”Banks does not count as an overseas player as he was born in Anguilla, a British protectorate. He spent two months in the Leicestershire second team, with a solitary senior appearance against Pakistan.

After two severe batting collapses against Australia and Sri Lanka, Herschelle Gibbs has urged South Africa’s middle-order batsmen to build on the solid starts provided by the top order.”The guys are firing up front and it would be good for our middle order to fire as well,” Gibbs told . “In order to win a tournament like this you need a big team effort and along with that team effort comes individual performances and the guys are good enough to turn it all around in one game. I wouldn’t say it’s a problem right now. The guys up the order have been setting it up, we just need the middle order to get in there and bat with the same intensity.”Chasing 378 for victory in their final Group A match against Australia, South Africa were on course at 220 for 1 in the 32nd over, but they were eventually dismissed for 294. It got worse in the Super Eights match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. South Africa needed only five runs off 31 balls with five wickets in hand but Lasith Malinga took four wickets in four balls and it was left to Robin Peterson to edge South Africa home with a wicket to spare.”We learnt the lesson of not completing the innings with the same intensity with which we started it,” Gibbs said. “That’s what happens when you drop the intensity, it takes four good balls to turn the game on its head. It was an interesting experience and very, very nice to come away with a win. But it was a big lesson for all the batsmen who batted at the end.”I don’t normally have the stomach for matches like that. I’m normally the first one hiding in the toilets at the back of the change room, not able to watch. But I sat through it this time and witnessed every ball and had a drink very quickly after it was finished. Maybe we just took things for granted and weren’t clinical enough at the end of the innings. But the lesson has been learned and the same mistake won’t be made again.”South Africa’s next match is against Ireland on Tuesday in Guyana and Gibbs said there was no way they would underestimate the Irish challenge. “We know they are a dangerous team and we know you can’t take anything for granted,” he said. “If you disrespect your opponents you will come short. The games are hotting up now. It’s a big time in the tournament and we can’t relax.”

Confusion over the match between India and Pakistan Legends sides, originally revealed by Cricinfo on October 18, appears to have been slightly eased with the announcement at the weekend that the game is set to take place on March 3 at the 60,000-capacity Rogers Centre in Toronto.Ben Sennik, the president of the Canadian Cricket Association, confirmed the game was going ahead at a press conference in Toronto. He said that the event has the full support of the Canadian board and added he anticipated a sell-out crowd. “We should make it a point to be part of this event to show our support for Cricket in Canada,” he concluded.S Madan Lal, the former India Test player who is managing the Indian side, insisted that the game was being taken very seriously and that two well-balanced teams were being brought to Toronto. Players such as Ajay Jadeja, Venkatesh Prasad, Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar were among those who would play.There was, however, no mention of Mohammad Azharuddin who was originally announced as the captain of the Indian side.

Jonathan Batty’s unbeaten 102, his fourth century of the season, guided Surrey to a comfortable draw on the last day against Durham at Chester-le-Street. Surrey had been set an improbable target of 447 after a remarkable late onslaught from Liam Plunkett, who belted five sixes in his unbeaten 59 from 44 balls. Plunkett then took the first wicket to fall, that of Scott Newman for 34, before Ottis Gibson extracted Mark Ramprakash’s off stump to give his side a massive lift. But without the injured Steve Harmison, Durham’s attack lacked the penetration and the game meandered to the close.Ryan McLaren was the star at Edgbaston for the second time in a fortnight, as Kent exploited seaming conditions to dismiss Warwickshire for 213. McLaren took a hat-trick earlier in the month as Kent secured the Twenty20 Cup, and he was on target again with 4 for 42. Martin Saggers jagged the ball around for figures of 3 for 53, and Warwickshire’s best resistance came from Luke Parker, who made 49. Martin van Jaarsveld, who took the final wicket, chipped in with five catches. In reply, Rob Key compiled a bullish half-century, as Kent reached the close on 108 for 1.Adil Rashid took one step closer to securing a winter tour berth with England as he rescued Yorkshire’s innings with his maiden first-class century against Worcestershire at Kidderminster. It was a crucial innings too – Yorkshire had at one stage slipped to 125 for 5 in seamer-friendly conditions – but Rashid’s effort, from 152 balls with 17 fours, ensured a healthy total of 319. Click here for John Ward’s report.

Owais Shah made a spectacular and timely unbeaten 177 to show the selectors he’s in form ahead of England’s seven ODIs against India against Northamptonshire. Shah added 196 for Middlesex’s third wicket with Ed Joyce, who made 106, before exploding into action with 17 fours and three sixes as wickets fell away around him. There is little chance of a result after just 9.2 overs over the first two days at Northampton, but Middlesex were in some trouble at 36 for 2 when Shah and Joyce came together. And after Joyce had been dismissed by David Wigley, they stumbled again; Eion Morgan made a second-ball duck, and Jamie Dalrymple and Ben Scott both went cheaply too. Shah, however, found useful support in Chaminda Vaas, who was run out for 28, as Middlesex reached 380 for 7 at the close.Andy Caddick burst into action after two days of inactivity at Cardiff, grabbing two early wickets with the new ball and returning to dismiss Mark Wallace for 16, to give Somerset control against the Championship stragglers, Glamorgan. At 92 for 6, Glamorgan were deep in the mire, but Alex Wharf and Robert Croft pulled them round with a vital half-century stand for the seventh wicket.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, has pulled out of England’s three-day practice match against Board President’s XI at Baroda due to the recurrence of soreness in his right knee.Andrew Walpole, the England media manager told , “The soreness was also there during the first warm-up match against CCI XI in Mumbai and he was not comfortable in the nets here. It was decided as a precautionary measure to rule him out of the three-day game. We are hopeful he will be fit for the first Test”.Coincidentally, Vaughan suffered the same injury in Pakistan last year during his side’s second warm-up game, against Pakistan A at Lahore. Vaughan retired hurt after facing just one ball in England’s second innings and subsequently missed the first Test at Multan.It was the recurrence of a long-standing cartilage problem that required surgery ahead of the 2002-03 Ashes tour, and then reoccurred in the nets at Lord’s in May 2004. Vaughan’s absence paved the way for Andrew Strauss to make his debut.

On a day when their new-ball bowlers were smattered in the first session, their third seamer over-stepped on 15 occasions and their fielders let slip three catches, the Indians could take heart from Zaheer Khan’s spell in the middle session, one that read: 7-3-10-2. It was an effort that both Andrew Strauss, captain of the England Lions, and Venkatesh Prasad, India’s bowling coach, spoke highly of and would serve as a consolation at the end of a tough opening day.A year back Zaheer was uttering phrases like “all I want to do is be back in the side” and “I’m desperate to return”. He was at Worcestershire, troubling batsmen in the second division of the County Championship, and doing his best away from the spotlight. It was an experience that got him fitter, gave him a chance to bowl long spells and enabled him to return to England as India’s spearhead. He ended as the highest wicket-taker in the division (78 wickets in 16 games) and helped Worcestershire gain promotion.He wasn’t at his best on the opening day at Chelmsford. He struggled with his length in the first spell, though he got rid of the out-of-form Andrew Strauss, struggled with his line in the second, when he strayed down leg, before turning up for an inspired seven-over burst in the middle.He showed the value of experience – keeping it on and around off – and mixed his length well. Jonathan Trott, who recently made his England one-day debut, was forced to edge to first slip in a sequence that read yorker, slash and miss, leading edge, outside edge. Tim Ambrose, the Lions’ wicketkeeper, was taunted from over-the-wicket before he quickly changed to round the stumps and induced the edge. The bowlers had discussed a specific plan at the lunch break, as Prasad was to reveal later, and decided to avoid the trap of keeping it too full or too short. Bowling back of a length and mixing up the angles worked just fine.”Being a left-armer adds something to your armoury, something most batsman aren’t used to and he can swing it both ways,” said Strauss of Zaheer. “He knows what he’s doing with the ball and is someone to watch out for from the Indian side.”The fact that Sharma sent down 15 no-balls, on a day when he hardly threatened, didn’t seem to worry Prasad. “He’s just 18, he’s bowling well in the nets and this is a chance for him to learn. He’s shown signs of improvement and will be better off after this experience.”But were India anywhere close to deciding their third seamer for the first Test at Lord’s? “RP Singh has been the most impressive,” said Prasad providing a clear indication but quickly added, “Ranadeb Bose and Ishant have done well too. It’s upto the team management to finally decide.”Strauss said he was happy with the total but cautioned that they’d get an indication of how good a total it was only when they bowled on the pitch tomorrow. “Bresnan batted exceptionally well and both he and Broad saved us today,” he said. “Broad showed what talent he has with the bat and Bresnan we all knew had a lot of capability anyway. At 380-odd at the end of the day we’re pretty happy with that, a few guys have shown what they can do.”Strauss himself didn’t make much of an impact though, and couldn’t get much practice before the first Test at Lord’s, starting on July 19. “I was looking forward to getting a big one but there is a second innings to come and hopefully things will turn around. I was feeling pretty jaded at the end of the last Test at Durham [against West Indies] and felt I needed some time away. It was a case of getting myself ready for the Tests and part of it involved technical work indoors before hitting the ground running with Middlesex. Hopefully I can get a good score in the second dig, before the first Test.”

The national selection committee will have certainly one, and possibly two, new faces when the BCCI’s annual general meeting takes place in Mumbai on September 27 and 28. Kiran More, the former Indian wicketkeeper who’s currently the chairman of the committee, has completed four years, and will make way for someone else from the West Zone. VB Chandrasekhar, from Tamil Nadu in the South Zone, could also be out, as it is Hyderabad’s turn to nominate someone from South Zone to the national selection panel.”I am tired of answering this question. He [More] has been selector for four years, as per the constitution, and his term is over,” Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, emphatically told Cricinfo, scotching all speculation that this committee could continue intact till the end of the World Cup. Earlier there were suggestions that this committee should continue, with an extra-constitutional extension as a one-off case, as it would benefit the team if there was a sense of continuity in the selection panel till the World Cup was over.”How can the term be extended? Can a secretary’s term be extended just like that?” asked Shah, “[this is ] unnecessary speculation in the media. Why should there be any confusion?” As per the board’s constitution, which is to be amended in September at the forthcoming annual general meeting, the term of office is two years with a possible extension for one year. This means that future selectors could have a three-year term, but that would not be applicable till the constitution is amended.In the current system each of the five zones – North, South, East, West and Central – nominates a candidate to the national selection committee. In the South this is done in rotation among the major teams – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Hyderabad. At the end of this term, it is Hyderabad’s turn to nominate someone from the zone, and the name of Venkatapathy Raju, the former Indian left-arm spinner, is doing the rounds. Raju is currently head of the Hyderabad selection committee.In the West, the front-runner is Dilip Vengsarkar, but it is unclear whether he wants to take up the post. The West Zone does not follow the tradition of rotation among teams, and could nominate anyone. The name of Dhiraj Parsana, the former Gujarat and India allrounder, has also cropped up. If he becomes a selector Parsana will be the first from Gujarat.Ranjib Biswal (East), Sanjay Jagdale (Central) and Bhupinder Singh (North), the three other members of the selection committee, are likely to continue as they have not completed their terms yet.

Gus Logie has signed a four-year contract extension as the coach of Bermuda.Logie originally took on the role for six months in April, but following Bermuda’s success in qualifying for the World Cup in 2007, the board has offered him a longer deal, which he has accepted. The official start date of the new contract is October 5.Under Logie, Bermuda have also reached the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup which will be held in Windhoek, Namibia in October.”We are excited and very pleased,” said Reginald Pearman, the president of Bermuda’s board. “We understand that it is a major change for Gus and his family, but we believe they will be very happy in Bermuda and that Gus will continue to do a great job.”The funding for the contract comes from a number of sources, including the government, the ICC and the Bank of Bermuda Foundation.