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ScorecardJesse Ryder whittled out Glamorgan•Getty Images

Jesse Ryder’s career-best figures put Essex in firm control against Glamorgan at Chelmsford, snapping the visitors’ excellent run of recent form with the bat.Ryder, the New Zealander, picked up 6 for 47 in 15 overs as Glamorgan were bowled out for 162, the first time this season they had failed to get a batting point in a completed innings. Essex were left with a first innings lead of 117 on a day when 46 overs were lost through rain or bad light and they added another 78 runs before the close.In overcast conditions, Ryder used a combination of seam and swing to undermine the visitors’ innings after they had resumed on 40 for 3 and he beat the bat so often that he could have reaped a greater harvest.Ryder claimed the first five wickets of the innings to fall with only 59 on the board and at that stage, Glamorgan were in danger of being asked to follow-on after replying to an Essex total of 279. But they steered clear of having to do so largely through the efforts of Colin Ingram, Mark Wallace and David Lloyd.Ingram adopted a positive approach while gathering 43 from 56 balls with the help of five fours and a six while Wallace’s 21 included five boundaries. Both were eventually dismissed by paceman David Masters who trapped Wallace leg before wicket before he bowled Ingram for 43. Lloyd hit out boldly while making an unbeaten 20 that included a six and three fours.Masters finished with 3 for 53 while Napier picked-up the remaining wicket when Michael Hogan was bowled off his pads to bring Glamorgan’s replay to an end in the 41st over.With Jaik Mickleburgh suffering from back spasms, Liam Dawson, on-loan from Hampshire, was promoted to open the innings with Nick Browne and the pair never looked in any real trouble as they pressed home Essex’s advantage. They defied a succession of bowling changes while raising the fifty stand with some fine strokes on either side of the wicket and they put together the highest partnership of the match so far.They were still together when bad light brought play to an end with the total on 78 without loss. Browne was within eight runs of his half-century while Dawson will resume on 30.Essex have certainly put themselves in a healthy position to inflict upon promotion-chasing Glamorgan their first defeat of the summer, one that would be a blow to their hopes of reaching Division One. But the real winner could yet prove the weather with outbursts of rain, some prolonged, forecast over the next couple of days.All-rounder Liam Dawson admitted that his Essex side are in a good position. “To go into day three almost 200 runs ahead with twn wickets left is a position that you want to be in. I think there is enough in that wicket if you bowl well over a period of time to take wickets. The longer the game goes on and the more runs we get on the board, the more we put the pressure on Glamorgan. When we come to bowl against them again, whether it is late tomorrow or the start of day four, there is plenty in that wicket to encourage us.”Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford added: “It was a disappointing day for us, I thought that Ryder bowled exceptionally well, used the conditions overhead and got a lot from the pitch, swung it and nipped it both ways. I was still disappointed though that we couldn’t get closer to the Essex first innings score and then we failed to take any wickets this evening. So we are under pressure and have to play well over these last two days.”

West Indies’ first ever Twenty20 international, in Auckland, ended in a bowl-out © AFP

It’s the new wave of the international game, so we might as well get used to it. Those who measure the quality of a cricketer by his performances over the long haul, and have grown to tolerate one-dayers as a necessary evil, will probably look scornfully upon the two Twenty20 Internationals between the West Indies and England.Just as the 50 over version was ridiculed in its fledgling years as “pyjama cricket” with its coloured clothing and other gimmicks, so too has the 20 overs-per-side hybrid been dismissed as a glorified whipping session, where the subtleties and complexities of the real thing are abandoned in the quest to clear the boundary ropes almost every delivery to the accompaniment of ear drum-puncturing noise from the resident DJ.Given their stubborn refusal to accept those ODI innovations in the immediate aftermath of Kerry Packer’s revolutionary World Series Cricket, it is more than a little ironic that this latest consumer-friendly variety has really taken off in England, as evidenced by the overwhelming popularity of the domestic version since it was introduced to a very receptive audience four years ago.They were not the first to experiment with an even shorter form of one-day cricket, but it is fair to say that its instant success convinced the ICC of the need to get in on the action, seeing as almost every match, whether domestic or international, is played in front of capacity crowds that are representative of every strata of society, from hardcore party animals to whole families enjoying an evening’s entertainment.And that’s essentially what it is: entertainment. Not a complex series of sub-plots and individual skirmishes, all unfolding over time in a duel that has almost as many twists, turns and changes of pace as the most complex scandal-laced soap opera.In an era when those who have extra money can’t enjoy the luxury of much spare time, Twenty20 fills the breach almost perfectly.

The West Indian public embraced the Stanford 20-20 tournament last year © Joseph Jones

Most people were more preoccupied with the staggering sums of money shovelled out than the quality of the cricket played, but Allen Stanford’s ground-breaking Caribbean version of the frenetic spectacle proved such a hit last August in Antigua that, just for a moment, we almost believed his baseless boast that “West Indies cricket is back on track!” just after Narsingh Deonarine smashed a six off the penultimate ball of the final to give Guyana a pulsating victory over Trinidad and Tobago.It’s all about instant gratification, so there’s no point griping about it lacking the depth of the longer contest. That is not to say, of course, that any fool can dash to the nearest phone booth and be transformed Clark Kent-style into a Twenty20 superhero.Indeed, there is enough evidence to suggest that the concentrated demands of this extremely abbreviated style have contributed to even sharper fielding, while batsmen exposed to it on a regular basis are now more inclined to attack much earlier and with more clinical efficiency in both Tests and one-dayers.Still, it doesn’t appeal to all players, despite the financial rewards. Two years ago, Brian Lara commented that he didn’t enjoy having to swing for the hills almost from the word go when rain reduced an ODI against South Africa at the Queen’s Park Oval effectively to a Twenty20 affair.A number of Australia’s senior players, including skipper Ricky Ponting and 2007 World Cup final hero Adam Gilchrist, have cautioned against exposing younger players too much to a form of the game that could see them developing habits inimical to ensuring the country’s continued dominance at Test level.Still, Twenty20 has well and truly claimed its place in the cricketing world with the ICC approving the inaugural World Cup in South Africa in September. It is unlikely, however, given the increasing complaints about squeezing more matches into an already congested international schedule, that Twenty20 will enjoy the unfettered growth of its 50-over relation.Of course, as with anything else, it takes some getting used to, and Sunday’s 84-run humiliation at the hands of Derbyshire is not an encouraging sign for Chris Gayle’s reconstituted side. Hopefully, the final warm-up against the PCA Masters at Arundel would have proven more encouraging ahead of their first clash with Paul Collingwood’s England at The Oval in London.In their only Twenty20 International before the upcoming matches, the West Indies lost out in a tie-breaking bowl-out in Auckland at the start of their New Zealand tour in February of last year. It was an entertaining experience with a thrilling finale, but apart from the fact that it marked the farewell of allrounder Chris Cairns to international cricket, hardly anything else is worth remembering.But that’s Twenty20 for you: gratification without any real meaning, much like life in the 21st century. It is very much a game for the times.

“Unless he leaves, cricket in Bengal will further deteriorate” © Getty Images

Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, has labelled Jagmohan Dalmiya’s re-election as Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president as a “victory of evil over good”. Bhattacharjee, who had backed Dalmiya’s prime opposer Prasun Mukherjee, the police commissioner of Kolkata, has vowed to remove Dalmiya in the interest of cricket.”So far [as] I’m concerned I’ll not compromise with this man,” he told reporters. “The battle will continue. I want him to leave this post. I want him to leave the organization. So long [as] he is there in the CAB the future of cricket in Bengal is doomed. He has many interests … vested interests … all interests other than cricket. Unless he leaves, it will further deteriorate.”Bhattacharjee had publicly opposed Dalmiya’s campaign for the top spot well before the election date but his words had little effect on the result. Dalmiya went ahead and filed his nomination and won the highly politicised election late Sunday.Bhattacharjee backed his anti-Dalmiya campaign again and emphatically stated that this was not a battle between two individuals. “It’s a fight between good and evil forces. Evil has triumphed this time. It happens at times,” he said. “Whatever I said, I said consciously. In normal circumstances one does not take such a stand. But there are times when it is a crime not to intervene when such interventions are necessary. I said this in the interest of Bengal cricket, the cricketers and to save the Eden Gardens which has become a condemned stadium. And accordingly I had requested Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty to persuade Dalmiya to stay away.”Bhattacharjee also felt that there were plenty in West Bengal who were apprehensive of the CAB’s management. “Cricketers, both former and current, and also budding ones, do not like it,” he said. “Some well-meaning persons wanted to bring about a change in the CAB. But unfortunately they were defeated.”However, veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu on Monday disapproved of Bhattacharjee’s statements, asserting that Dalmiya had triumphed through democratic means. “I don’t know what he has said. We will discuss it in the party,” Basu said when his comment was sought. When it was pointed out that Bhattacharjee had described Mr. Dalmiya as an “evil force,” Basu said the CAB president had won the election in a democratic way.Chakraborty, who openly sided with Dalmiya despite Bhattacharjee’s request, summed up Dalmiya’s win as a victory for democracy. “I congratulated Dalmiya on his re-election and Prasun Mukherjee whose defeat proved that political interference in cricket was wrong,” he said. “It will be a bit of an embarrassment to the chief minister as his nominee Kolkata Police Comissioner Prasun Mukherjee could not win.”Bhattacharjee refrained from comment on Chakraborty’s stance during the controversial election.

Michael Vaughan: back in the side © Getty Images

Michael Vaughan has recovered from his groin strain and will play against Australia at Edgbaston in the eighth match of the NatWest Series. Vaughan, who was forced to sit out of the last two matches, will be seeking to reimpose England’s authority at a time when Australia are showing signs of galvanising after their shaky start to the tour.Both sides are guaranteed a place in Saturday’s final thanks to their victories over Bangladesh at the weekend, so this match has become a high-profile dress rehearsal. Australia have the momentum at present, having won their day-night encounter with England at Chester-le-Street, although it is unlikely that England will choose to field first if they win the toss today – which was the mistake that Marcus Trescothick made last time around.Australia have made a solitary change to their side. Michael Clarke has recovered from his back injury and reclaims his place ahead of Shane Watson, with Mike Hussey slipping down the order to No. 7. Meanwhile, England’s Ian Bell and Jon Lewis have been released to play in the Twenty20 match between Warwickshire and Gloucestershire at Bristol this evening.England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve HarmisonAustralia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Mike Hussey, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Sourav Ganguly has a bit to worry about © AFP

Sourav Ganguly has said the Indian team is worried about the security situation in Pakistan, a month before they are scheduled to tour. “We are not worried about the Pakistan tour, we are worried about the security there,” said Ganguly, after India had lost the second final of the VB Series at Sydney.”We are concerned because we have families at home and it is not going to be easy. We have to go back and talk to the BCCI and get a clearer picture,” said Ganguly. The BCCI’s three-man advance team left for Pakistan on the morning of February 9 to inspect Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Faisalabad, the various venues India is scheduled to play at. The team, comprising Ratnakar Shetty, the joint secretary of the BCCI, Amrit Mathur, director of communication and Yashvardhan Azad, a security expert.However, Ganguly clarified that the team had not made any decision yet about withdrawing from the tour. “I have heard some reports that players are not going to tour Pakistan, which is untrue. Our only worry is security. Any further comment won’t be fair at this stage.”

The past, present and future generation of West Indies cricketers will be on show today at the Carlton Club ground for a worthy cause.In an effort to raise funds to help with the construction of an autism centre, the Variety Club of Barbados has organised two matches, the first starting at 4 p.m. and the other at 7:30 p.m. under the lights.The feature attractions brings together a "West Indies" team and the Barbados team, and the preceding affair to set the stage will involve a clash with the island’s leading primary schools, Marshall Trading St Catherine and Barbados Public Workers Co-operative Credit Union Wesley Hall.Leading the list of former West Indies stars are: Senator Desmond Haynes, along with ace fast bowlers, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose.Recent West Indies players: Stuart Williams, Keith Arthurton and Adam Sanford. West Indies Under-19 selectees, Patrick Browne and Alcindo Holder, arealso in the "West Indies" line-up which has borrowed Barbadians Sherwin Campbell and Philo Wallace.The most known names in thematch featuring the juniors are:Anthony Alleyne, captain of recently-crowned primary schoolschamps St Catherine,and his rival skipper Roston Chase.The night match, which is a 35-overs-a-side affair, will feature coloured clothing and black sightscreens.Admission is $10.

The Indian cricket team’s participation in the three-match limitedovers series against Australia in September was yet to be approved bythe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).BCCI secretary JY Lele, who was in Mumbai on his way to Chennai, toldPTI that a decision whether to accept the invitation from theAustrailan Cricket Board (ACB) to play would be taken at the Board’sworking committee meeting to be held in the third week of July."We had asked for a change in the dates from the ACB as they clashedwith the Asian Test championship tie with Pakistan from September13-17 and the ACB has acceded to our request," he said. "However,the final decision whether to send a team for the series rests withthe working committee+, Lele said.The ACB announced from Australia yesterday that the three matchesagainst India will be held on September 21 and 23 (Colonial IndoorStadium in Melbourne) and September 26 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira may be forced to make changes ahead of the Eagles’ clash against his former club Arsenal on Monday night.

Take nothing away from Palace this season; these changes won’t be a knee-jerk reaction to their recent form. With three wins and two draws from their last five games in all competitions, the Eagles have hit form at an ideal time.

They have bagged nine goals in that time, although their ability to pick up points of late is not just down to their goalscoring acumen.

Vieira’s side have displayed incredible defensive stability, with their water-tight defence leaking just two goals over their last five outings. Impressively, during that run they faced the second-highest scorers in the league in Manchester City and came away with a point and a well-earned clean sheet.

Unfortunately for Palace fans, there are doubts over the talismanic duo of Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise after the pair picked up injuries whilst on international duty.

The Ivory Coast forward missed his nation’s friendly against England due to a hamstring problem, whilst the France under-21 starlet withdrew from international duty after suffering inflammation on his foot.

Although neither have trained since their respective returns from international duty, Vieira is optimistic that the pair could feature against Arsenal, with Eagles fans able to take solace in the 45-year-old’s positivity as the duo “still have a chance” of playing at Selhurst Park on Monday.

Here is how we think Palace XI will line up against the Gunners, in a 4-3-3 formation:

Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guéhi, Mitchell; Gallagher, Kouyaté, Schlupp; Ayew, Mateta, Édouard

If our prediction is accurate, the game on Monday will see Vieira make four changes from last time out as the Eagles look to capitalise on their good run of form.

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Those changes could see the likes of Jack Butland, Eberechi Eze, Olise and Zaha – who all featured in Palace’s 4-0 demolition job against Everton in the FA Cup a fortnight ago – drop out. Vicente Guaita, Jeffrey Schlupp, Andre Ayew and Odsonne Edouard, who was hailed as a “special talent” by his former Celtic boss Neil Lennon – all coming in against Arsenal.

Whilst Zaha is Palace’s top scorer this season, perhaps the biggest miss will be the “fearless” Olise, who has asserted himself as one of the most creative outlets in the league, creating seven big chances and providing five assists this season.

In other news – Huge blow as Vieira dealt double setback ahead of Arsenal clash, supporters will be gutted

	More reasons to smile for the Indian women’s team © Tiger Cricket.com

BCCI president Sharad Pawar has announced a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh (around US$12,000) each for the 15 members of the Asia Cup-winning Indian women’s squad.Hailing the triumph, Pawar said, “I congratulate the women’s cricket team for winning the Asia Cup.” India were undefeated throughout the tournament, winning all six league games before crushing Sri Lanka by 177 runs in the final on Sunday to clinch their fourth successive Asia Cup.After Asha Rawat’s 114-ball 97 helped set up a stiff target of 261 for Sri Lanka, the Indian spinners sparked a collapse which saw the hosts lose their last eight wickets for 22 runs. It was the fourth consecutive time that India and Sri Lanka had clashed in the finals.India’s president, Pratibha Patil, also congratulated the team and their captain Mithali Raj for the victory.

Hampshire 206 for 7 (Crawley 64) beat Warwickshire 166 (Sangakkara 44, Clark 3-38) by 40 runs
Scorecard

Kevin Pietersen clips to leg … but for once he played a minor role © Getty Images

Hampshire overcame a sluggish start to book their place in the Friends Provident Trophy final with a battling 40-run victory over Warwickshire at Southampton. They will meet Durham at Lord’s on August 18.On a sluggish pitch Hampshire’s total of 206 for 7 looked gettable, all the more so when Jonathan Trott and Kumar Sangakkara rebuilt the innings after a jittery start which included two superb catches by the ageing John Crawley.Almost inevitably the introduction of Shane Warne turned the game on its head. He lured Jim Troughton into holing out in the deep but when Sean Ervine dropped a routine slip catch offered by Sangakkara off him it appeared that it might not be Hampshire’s day.Ervine made immediate amends when he had Sangakkara well caught at short midwicket one run later, the first of two wickets in five balls, and Warwickshire never recovered. Tim Ambrose kept battling as partners came and went and he was last man out as Stuart Clark, in his final outing for the county, mopped things up to finish with 3 for 38.Crawley, the Man of the Match, had anchored the early part of the Hampshire innings which had an almost anticlimactic feel when Kevin Pietersen was caught high above his head by Darren Maddy at mid-off for 18. Crawley looked set for a hundred when he failed to beat Heath Streak’s throw, Ambrose doing well to gather a low return and whip the bails off with Crawley an inch short.Another run out – Ervine was the victim of more slick work from Ambrose – wobbled Hampshire and Ambrose was centre stage yet again soon after when he stumped Chris Tremlett, showing cunning in waiting as Tremlett lost his balance to a leg-side dart and tottered out of his ground.Dimitri Mascarenhas then had the unusual experience of surviving two third-umpire referrals off one delivery, first for a stumping and then, reprieved from that, when Warwickshire queried Peter Hartley’s decision to turn down a leg-before appeal. Replays suggested it was probably out, but the rules state the umpire can only be overruled if there has been an obvious error.Mascarenhas added a crucial 54 for the seventh wicket with Nic Pothas, as Hampshire collected 53 runs in the last 10 overs. It turned out to be the difference between the sides.