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It’s not all plain sailing for overseas players looking to ply their trade in England, as a report in the Worcester News pointed out.Nash Jones from Grenada had been signed by Barnards Green CC as an overseas player, but less than a week after arriving in the UK, he was deported as he had failed to mention to immigration officials that he would be playing during his six-month stay.”The guy was here on holiday, was staying with us, and was going to have a few games of cricket, unpaid, and coach the kids,” club captain Chris Smedley told the newspaper. “He would have brought colour, diversity and greater understanding of a different culture to our club and to Malvern, yet we’ve been denied all that.” Keith Middleton, the club’s chairman, added that it was “a crazy decision”.Jones reportedly had sufficient funds, a return ticket and a letter from the club confirming the arrangements.The case has been taken up by local MP Sir Michael Spicer and Jones has been told by immigration officials that he “can reapply” to be admitted.

Delhi Daredevils conceded 15 runs off the final over in their last-ball defeat to the Chennai Super Kings, but instead of faulting Shoaib Malik, the bowler, his captain Virender Sehwag blamed the defeat on the lack of a specialist spinner in the side.Sehwag said it was a choice between him and Malik for the final over. “I consulted my team-mates and they said either me or Malik should bowl [the last over]. I thought he would do a better job than me, so I gave it to him,” Sehwag said. “Such things happen in Twenty20, sometimes you are hit and sometimes you are not.” .Delhi had posted a formidable 187, but Sehwag felt they lost the plot in the end stages of the match. “187 is not a small score. [Gautam] Gambhir and [Shikhar] Dhawan batted superbly and then [Vijaykumar] Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan did their job while bowling. Everything was going to our plan till the 15th over [of Chennai’s innings]. At the end we lost at the last over.”If we had a specialist fifth bowler, we would have saved 30-40 runs, we missed a fifth bowler,” Sehwag said. Together he and Malik gave away 58 runs off their four overs, and Sehwag suggested a change for the next game. “We are including a specialist spinner in the next match.”That means legspinner Amit Mishra might get a game, as Daniel Vettori is away on New Zealand duty. Following the match, Delhi were fourth in the points table, but Sehwag wasn’t too perturbed. “We lost a match today but it happens in cricket we will bounce back,” he said. “Our top order was batting beautifully and bowlers bowled well, it so happened that we lost in the last over.”

quoteAfter Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle helped New Zealand salvage a draw inthe first Test at Ahmedabad, coach Ashley Ross sounded confident about his team’s ability to succeed under any conditions.”I am pleased with the players and their ability to adapt to differentconditions. We are fully prepared for the challenge ahead,” Ross said.He also mentioned that the team might make changes to the final XI for thesecond Test after considering the conditions at Mohali. “There is everychance that we may choose a different eleven for this Test match. We willdecide later,” he said.On the Mohali wicket, Ross said: “We played here four years back and we aremindful of its reputation. We are excited by the challenge. It’s aninteresting wicket. I have seen the wicket yesterday and today. There aresome cracks.” But Ross did warn that India’s penchant for preparing slowdustbowls would let them down abroad. “India may face problems when they goabroad if they continue with such slow wickets. To play well in Australiaor New Zealand, you need to have the experience of playing on fast wickets.”New Zealand’s batsmen handled the spinners better than expected, albeit ona slow track, and Ross drew confidence from that performance ahead of theMohali Test. “It is great for the New Zealand players to face such greatspinners in Indian conditions. Facing them is a great challenge,” he said.When asked whether New Zealand were contemplating a victory at any stage oftheir second innings, Ross said “We were playing for a win throughout. Butgiven the conditions on last day and with some quick wickets falling, wesettled for a draw. It wasn’t a win, but it wasn’t a loss either,” he said.Ross did however caution against complacency and hinted that there wasstill much room for improvement. “There are still a lot of areas where wecan improve. With every match you have to improve. What is important is toadapt to a given set of conditions,” he said.Underlining New Zealand’s emphasis on planning well in advance, Ross said:”It helps us enormously. We prepare for all the eventualities. We work hardto be successful in unfamiliar environment.”When questioned about why Nathan Astle was playing at Mohali despitecarrying a knee injury, Ross said that the medical panel felt it wasunlikely that he would aggravate the injury further by playing.

5th place play-off
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Rain had the final word at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur, washing out the play-off for fifth place between arch rivals Australia and England. In a curtailed game – 24 overs a side – Kirk Pascoe’s 55 led an impressive recovery for Australia after they were in a precarious position at 7 for 4.England exploited the damp conditions after putting Australia in, with the new-ball bowlers – Steven Finn and James Harris – snaring four victims in just 4.1 overs. A wicket didn’t fall for the next 12.2 overs, as David King provided support to Pascoe with a patient 45-ball 19.Tom Westley, the offspinner, picked up two wickets in his five overs, but Pascoe ensured Australia played out their overs for a fighting total of 106 for 7. Pascoe kept the scoring-rate ticking along with five fours and a six in his 67-ball innings.When the match was called off, England were at 47 for 2 off 10.5 overs, needing another 60 off 79 deliveries.

Plate Championship final
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An fine all-round performance from Darren Bravo helped West Indies clinch the Plate Championship – contested for ninth place – at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur. Rain resulted in the match being reduced to 27 overs a side, and the Nepal captain Paras Khadka, playing the last match of his third and final U-19 World Cup, opted to bat.However, the move backfired with the West Indies seamers striking early blows. Jason Dawes, the right-arm fast bowler, collected three wickets, and his new-ball partner Delorn Johnson picked up one as Nepal were reduced to 17 for 4.Bravo then came and chipped away at the middle order, taking three wickets, and Dawes took his fourth as Nepal crashed to 74 all out in 25.3 overs. Extras made the highest contribution to Nepal’s total; Sagar Khadka was next with an unbeaten 17 in an innings where the best partnership managed 15.Kieran Powell and Adrian Barath got West Indies off to a steady start, before Bravo steered them to victory with an unbeaten 24. Amrit Bhattarai scalped two consolation wickets, but a paltry total meant holders Nepal couldn’t avoid losing the trophy that they famously won in 2006.

13th place play-off

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Ireland completed back-to-back wins in Johor to secure 13th place with their first victory over a Full Member nation at U-19 level. On Friday, Greg Thompson, the captain, spun a web with his legspin against Bermuda, but it was opening bowler Andrew Britton who wrecked Zimbabwe in the 13th place play-off final.Thompson’s decision to field in a match reduced to 27 overs a side soon paid dividends. Britton accounted for Zimbabwe’s top four as they were reduced to 34 for 6, Shane Getkate picking up the other two wickets. Reginald Nehonde, the No. 7, struck 43 as Zimbabwe batted out their overs and scored 99.A 40-run second-wicket stand between Ben Ackland and James Hall set up the platform for Ireland’s chase. Stewart Matsika dismissed them both, but the remaining batsmen completed the win with six wickets and 22 balls to spare.

The Northern Territory batsman Ken Skewes has been called up by South Australia, his adopted state, for the ING Cup match against Western Australia at Adelaide Oval tomorrow.Skewes, a 20-year-old in this year’s Cricket Academy intake, arrived at the Redbacks last year on a SACA traineeship after moving through the Northern Territory’s under-age teams. Mark Higgs, the slow-bowling allrounder, has also been added to the squad as the pair replaces Ben Cameron and Paul Rofe.Luke Williams, the 24-year-old opening batsman, will return to the South Australia side for the first time in four seasons after being picked for the Pura Cup match against the Warriors, starting on Sunday. Williams played two first-class matches in 2000-01 and was chosen after scoring 172 in the Cricket Australia Cup match against the ACT this week.South Australia ING Cup squad Graham Manou (capt, wk), Nathan Adcock, Greg Blewett, Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Daniel Cullen, Callum Ferguson, Ryan Harris, Mark Higgs, Ken Skewes, Jack Smith, Shaun Tait.South Australia Pura Cup squad Graham Manou (capt, wk), Paul Rofe, Nathan Adcock, Greg Blewett, Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Daniel Cullen, Callum Ferguson, Tom Plant, Jack Smith, Shaun Tait, Luke Williams.

Final points table

Warwickshire ensured they progressed to the quarter finals thanks to a 41-run win over division winners Northamptonshire at Edgbaston. Warwickshire raced to 205 for 2 thanks to Ian Bell’s 38-ball 66 not out, and 61 from Nick Knight, and then three wickets from James Anyon checked Northants’s progress and thereafter they were always well behind the asking rate.Gloucestershire’s defeat by Somerset in front of 6000 spectators at Taunton meant they missed out, and also secured the home side one of two quarter-final places on offer to the best third-placed teams. Graeme Smith (53) and Ian Blackwell (45) laid the foundations for Somerset to reach 228 for 5. Gloucestershire, who needed a point to book their own place in the last eight, found the pressure too much and they were skittled out for 133 with Gareth Andrew taking 4 for 22.The wooden-spoon battle was won by Worcestershire, who beat Glamorgan by 37 runs at New Road. Ben Smith hammered 105 off only 45 balls, smashing 12 fours and six sixes, as Worcestershire made 223 for 9, a score well beyond the visitors.

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Ryan Watson guided Scotland to their first ICC Trophy title after a commanding batting display, a miserly bowling performance and, to top it all, two crucial catches that broke Irish hope and heart.Over 2,000 people packed into Clontarf CC hoping for a home victory on a pitch that has historically been a happy hunting ground. But news was not good from the outset as Jason Molins, their captain, failed a fitness test before the start – Kyle McCallan took over. He won the toss and that was the Irish high point.Put in on a hazy morning, that turned into a muggy scorcher, Scotland had a blistering start. Pinch hitter Paul Hoffmann struck a brisk 22 with mostly his bottom hand and took any sting out of the Irish attack. With that early momentum, the Scots plundered – then feasted. McCallan’s decision to bowl seemed more to do with a paucity of options as opposed to an aggressive modus operandi.The result was an epic 324 for 8 in 50 overs. After the early fireworks, Fraser Watts and Watson added 120 with solid running, big hitting and ruthless punishing of anything loose. When McCallan brought himself on to take the pace off the ball with off-breaks Watson made his only mistake of the day – a suicidal single that accounted for Watts (55).He may have carved Trent Johnston to point before completing a deserved hundred but Watson’s 99-ball 94 was a superb innings. He never let the run rate drop, smashed anything slightly short or slightly wide and played with control that gave his more steady partner confidence.The rest of the order hit hard, in particular Dougie Brown, formerly of England and currently of Warwickshire who made a powerful 59. Despite a flurry of late wickets from Gordon Cooke, who had earlier bowled short and been sent, Scotland’s total always looked monumental.But Ireland have their own first-class player, and he is serious quality. The local hero Ed Joyce needed to produce something magical if Ireland could overhaul the huge target. Batting at four, he was in the action early as Hoffmann, opening bowling after the batting, claimed the wickets of Dominic Joyce (brother) and Eoin Morgan (Middlesex staff) in the third over.

With Jeremy Bray at the other end, Joyce threatened to do what the absorbed locals hoped. They added 130 for the third wicket, taking a run from every ball and a boundary an over. At least this was the tactic and it worked, until Watson returned.Bowling slow off-breaks he changed the pace and added control, which slowly suffocated the batsmen. With such a heavy target, a few dot balls can begin to asphyxiate – both lived dangerously, Joyce dropped three times (cover, keeper and midwicket), Bray once (slip). Eventually Bray broke at the other end, slog sweeping Gregor Maiden’s medium pace to a delighted Watson at deep square-leg, out for 70.All eyes were on Joyce. He did play beautifully for his 81, timing the ball down the ground, pushing into gaps and, while he was at the crease, anything was possible. One man can never do it on his own, and he fell sweeping Wright to deep backward square where who else but Watson took the decisive catch.The remaining batsmen swung and missed, then swung and hit – Watson grabbed a wicket for good measure and despite an unbroken last wicket stand of 55 between Paul Mooney (22*) and Cooke (34*) the game was over, Scotland were home by 47 runs.McCallan admitted the better side had won and had mixed emotions – disappointed to lose the final but elated to qualify for the World Cup. Craig Wright, his opposite number, was thrilled with yet another Scottish victory, saying: “For the future of the sport in Scotland, this is massive. I asked the team to take responsibility and they have. This time it has been comprehensive.”

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