Pakistan ended England’s interest in the Costcutter U15 World Challenge by winning their semi-final at Chelmsford by 58 runs.In search of 191 for a place in Thursday’s showpiece final at Lord’s England lost bost openers inside the first 8 overs. Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel compiled a stylish 48 but when he fell in the 29th over his side were marooned still 100 short of their victory target with only 4 wickets left.There was still time of the sizeable crowd to witness an astonishing phenomena as Pakistan’s ambidextrous bowled Muhammed Naeem demonstrated that he could bowl with both arms. During the course of the same over he bowled left arm around the wicket to the right-handed Nick Swetman and then right arm over the wicket to the left-handed Tom New.A partnership of 32 for the 7th wicket threatened to give England an outside chance in the last ten overs but then three suicidal run-outs effectively ended their hopes.Earlier England kept a tight grip on the Pakistan run-rate with only 41 being scored in the opening 15 overs, although an injury to Muhammed Fahim hampered his progress. He batted with a runner from the fourth over until his departure 17 overs later.Shahid Yousaf top-scored with 42 before being needlessly run out following a mix-up with partner Zulqarnain, who went on to hit 36. A late flurry from Naeem lifted the total to 188-7 by the start of the final over but then Nick Swetman took 3 wickets in four deliveries to finish with 4-39 and dismiss Pakistan two balls short of their full allocation for a total of 190.Ultimately that proved too many for England and in the final Pakistan will face the winners of Tuesday’s other semi-final between the West Indies and South Africa at Hove.

Some of Bermuda’s most talented young cricketers will compete for an Americas XI in a mini World Cup to be held in the West Indies next month.The Under-15 tournament will also include West Indies, Ireland, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Holland and Zimbabwe. Bermuda were invited to send a team but because of exam commitments the board opted to be part of an Americas select instead.Lionel Tannock, the manager of the senior national team, has been selected as the Americas manager with Theo Cuffy, the Cayman coach, chosen as head coach.The group stages will take place in Trinidad and Guyana, from April 19.Bermuda coach Gus Logie said the selectors would choose five or six youngsters to be part of the squad, which will also include players from Canada, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.”The squad is in training at the moment,” he said, “and the selectors will be getting together over the next few weeks.”Grant Smith, the Under-15 national coach, said the quality remained pleasingly high – an age group Bermuda traditionally dominate in the Americas.The likes of Greg Maybury, Tre Govia and Deunte Darrell – who travelled with the Under-19s to the recent World Cup – along with Shea Pitcher, Josh Gilbert, Sinclair Smith and Kevon Fubler are all in contention for a place in the Americas side.”It should be a very competitive tournament. The last time they held an Under-15 World Cup was quite a few years ago,” Logie said. “A few of the big names, like Australia and South Africa, are not participating. I don’t really know what to expect to tell you the truth.”Bermuda Sun

ScorecardMichael Hogan satrred with the bat not the ball [file picture]•Getty Images

Even on a rain-flecked morning with the sun fugitive it was difficult to credit that a few folk wanted this game finished in three days. Glen Chapple was bowling and he was moving it away late from Graham Wagg and Andrew Salter, Glamorgan’s eighth-wicket pair.The air was still, though it still held the tang of the sea. Many spectators, caught between realism and hope, had opted for anoraks and shorts. They watched the cricket mostly in rapt, appreciative silence.Of course it was natural to expect that Lancashire’s players, eager for an early win and a day’s rest before their journey to Worcester on Friday, aimed to have matters concluded as early as possible. But many others, whatever their loyalties, probably hoped to enjoy their full four days’ cricket by the sea.Fortunately for this large latter group, Glamorgan’s team is filled with proper cricketers this summer, playing with the confidence born of regular victories. Their win against Surrey at Guildford firmly established their credentials, even though it must seem a long month since that week of wonders.So Glamorgan’s later batsmen made Lancashire work for almost every success in an entertaining morning session. After Mark Wallace had played on when driving crookedly to Chapple in the sixth over of the day the last three wickets added 175 runs, more than doubling the score to 348. And by the time Michael Hogan was last out in the ninth over after a delayed lunch for a career-best 57, Glamorgan’s tail had done their best to make it clear that this was not to be a day characterised by submission and collapseNor was it, quite, even though Lancashire remain utterly dominant in this game, their power founded on their mammoth first-innings 698 for 5, a total that not so much exceeds Glamorgan’s scores as towers over them. Even with the efforts of the tail Glamorgan were still 201 runs short of avoiding the follow on and they go into the last day on 146 for 5 in their second innings. They are still 204 runs in arrears and almost certainly heading for an innings defeat.Once Hogan, Wagg and their friends had done their best, Glamorgan plainly needed their top order to occupy the crease for hours on this flat pitch. Yet none of the five batsmen dismissed in the second innings lasted longer than 57 minutes against this fine, well-balanced Lancashire attack, which was supported by some inspired out-cricket.For the second time in 24 hours Glamorgan’s openers failed to provide a solid platform for an innings. In the eighth over Jacques Rudolph was pouched at slip by Steven Croft when driving at a rather wide one from Kyle Jarvis which he could have left alone; in Jarvis’s next over Will Bragg was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Alex Davies, who dived wide to his right to take a nick off the inside edge. Glamorgan were 40 for 2 at tea and the sun’s brief appearance seemed almost a consolation to the supporters who had travelled from Neath or the schoolchildren from Mold and Abergele.Things got worse for the home side in the evening session and, therefore, so much better for Lancashire, whose seventh win would all but confirm their promotion. Colin Ingram was superbly caught by Alviro Petersen off Arron Lilley, the fielder diving backwards to take the chance one-handed at deep mid-on. Then David Lloyd, having hit six pleasant boundaries, was leg before to Lilley for 34 when he went only half forward to a straight one; seven overs later, Mark Wallace, for all his studious and orthodox defence, was bowled by Kerrigan for 2.That left Glamorgan on 120 for five and though Chris Cooke and Salter saw them safely to the close, they did so with close fielders in attendance and the spinners in full cry. There will be more of that for Cooke and Salter to deal with on the final day.Yet all this grim defence in adversity was far removed from that morning session when Glamorgan’s tail had lifted the spirits of the home supporters in the crowd. Predictably, a fresh mood was established by Graham Wagg. Glamorgan’s leading run-scorer in Championship cricket, Wagg deposited Lilley into the Penrhyn Avenue gardens three times in an over, which may have disrupted the residents’ morning coffee and custard creams a little.Lilley gained some balm for his pain a few moments later when Wagg skied him to Brown at deep mid-wicket, although we could have done without the bowler’s graceless send-off to the departing batsman. But Lilley is still young and he will learn.Encouraged by Wagg’s faintly mad heroics, Glamorgan other’s batsmen responded with resistance of their own making. Salter and Dean Cosker, the latter almost anchoring the end of the innings, had added 45 for the ninth wicket when Jarvis bowled Salter for 43, although Lancashire had by then been forced to take the new ball.And still bowlers continued to play like batsmen. Hogan, often regarded as a tail-ender of the old fashioned “whack, whack, out” variety, began to select his shots with fine discrimination. Three sixes, one of them into the road off Chapple, and six fours were mixed with defensive shots out of the coaching book. Lunch was delayed by eight overs but Hogan and Cosker resisted until mid-afternoon when Hogan edged Lilley to Paul Horton at slip via Davies.The last pair had added 75 and almost everybody except eleven Lancastrians had enjoyed the entertainment. If they or Wagg had felt any scoreboard pressure, that fashionable cricketing burden of the day, they had done an excellent job of concealing it.This was a pretty fine effort when you consider that they could see Lancashire’s total of 698 every time they looked at the scoreboard. Of course, it will not save their side but it has still made the fourth day something to which all spectators can look forward, even if those in Penrhyn Avenue are spending the evening checking their insurance policies.

Peter Barrable, a former batsman and captain of Northern Transvaal, has died at the age of 72 on Thursday.He had played 16 first-class matches and scored 626 runs. His career began in the 1964-65 season and lasted a decade. He led Northern Transvaal for his final two years between 1972 to 1974 and had been president of the Northerns Cricket Union even as he played cricket.”Not many cricketers possess the skill and leadership qualities to represent the union as batsman, while also being given the captaincy role and simultaneously serve as president,” Titans chief executive officer Jacques Faul said. “Barrable had the skills and knowledge to lead in the board room and on the field and we are grateful for his legacy to the NCU. On behalf of the Northerns Cricket Union family I extend our deepest condolences to his family, his friends and his cricketing colleagues.”

Garry Sobers has delivered an emotional lament on the state of West Indies cricket, attributing the decline of West Indies side to the rise of Twenty20 leagues. He made his comments in Colombo, ahead of the second Test of the Sobers-Tissera series, which he is attending.Sobers was particularly sorrowful as he reflected on what he felt was a dearth of motivation and pride in playing for West Indies, among modern players. West Indies are currently eighth on the Test ranking list, and seventh in ODIs. “My whole obligation was to West Indies cricket,” Sobers said. “As I’ve always said, I have never made a run for me. I have always played for the West Indies team and it was such a pleasure and joy to be able to do what I did. You know, records meant nothing. The team was important.”I don’t think we have that kind of person today. We might have them in different countries – we might have them in Sri Lanka, in England, in Australia – but I don’t think we have that kind of person in West Indies cricket anymore, who is quite prepared to play and give it everything for their country. And that hurts. Until we can get people who are willing to play for West Indies in the right way, I think we’re going to be struggling for a long time. Other countries are going to surpass us. “Sobers suggested that some West Indies players even focus on Test cricket only as a means to landing an IPL contract. There have been several instances of Caribbean players prioritising domestic leagues over playing for West Indies in the past few years. In January, Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine declined the retainer offered by the West Indies Cricket Board, ostensibly to remain free to play in domestic T20 tournaments.”I think T20 competitions are certainly destroying West Indies cricket, I’ll tell you that,” Sobers said. “When you look at the point of view of the players from the West Indies in particular, they come from very humble backgrounds. So if the opportunity is there for them to make money so they can help their families, then you can’t really blame them. But I think they should be able to use discretion and understand the difference. I don’t think Twenty20 will run away. I’ve always believed that Test cricket was the utmost, and if you were a cricketer, that was the sort of cricket that you’d want to play.”Sobers said that other cricket nations had maintained the primacy of international cricket much better than West Indies had. He believed, however, that the Caribbean could still produce talented cricketers who were capable of regaining some of West Indies’ former glory.”In the 1980s and 90s, West Indies were champions for about 15 years. I don’t think you’ll see that again in the history of cricket. At present we have lost a lot of that because I suppose we got too lazy. T20 cricket seems to be affecting West Indies more than any other nation. We’re all rebuilding. But some seem to be doing it faster than others. All the other countries seem to be doing it faster than the West Indies.”But I think we’ve got a lot of good players in the making, and I think they just need a bit more time. If they are handled in the right way and are given the right ingredients, I am quite sure that West Indies cricket will blossom again.”

Such were the exertions that Alastair Cook had put himself through in nearly 14 hours at the crease in temperatures easily in the high 30s – and the convention that the England captain usually only speaks after a Test match is finished, except for the occasional TV grab – that for the second day running it was left to a team-mate to marvel at the captain’s qualities.This time it was Joe Root, seemingly leader-elect and a player who will go onto challenge whatever stack of records Cook leaves behind, after he made 85 in dominating a fourth-wicket stand of 141, who was the spokesman.”As you can imagine being out there for two days it’s taken a lot out of him, but I’m sure it’s a good pain and one at the start of the week he’d have loved to have had,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll rest up tonight and be as fresh as a daisy tomorrow.”It was a hell of an effort, two days in that heat showed huge amounts of skill, concentration and fitness. We spoke a lot as a side about batting long periods of time out here and how important it will be if we are to give ourselves a chance of winning. Our captain has led from the front and set the example for the rest of the series.”Such have been the conditions in the UAE that even Cook – who is well known for not sweating – has had to change his gloves more than ever. There is, as yet, no count on the exact number of pairs or volume of shirts that the third longest Test innings required. Root did, though, say that while Cook may have changed gloves he did not change persona at any stage whether in the middle or the dressing room.Joe Root shows his frustration at a century that eluded him•Getty Images

“He was just the same as always, pretty down to earth chats about rubbish. It’s a bit like batting in the middle, he doesn’t give you any banter or doesn’t look like he’s overly concentrating. He’s just a model professional, he knows what he needs to do and he can switch off when he needs to. I think that’s one reason he can bat long periods of time.”Cook’s innings, which made him the leading non-Asian batsman in Asia ahead of Jacques Kallis, eventually ended with a top-edged sweep to short fine leg – a shot that had been a key part of his stay – but replays showed that Shoaib Malik’s delivery was a no-ball. Although Malik’s foot did drag back, it is the first point of planting that matters and he had nothing behind the line. It was one of the increasingly rare dismissals where the front line was not checked, so there was no recourse.Root, though, acknowledged how the energy-sapping conditions that the players have gone through are the same for the umpires, two men who have to stand in the middle throughout.”It’s disappointing,” he said of Cook’s dismissal. “It’s tough, the umpires are in a position where they can never win. If they make a good decision they are expected to do it, if they make a bad one everyone wants their heads. I have a little of sympathy for the umpires out there in that heat as well, they have to concentration for just as long as we have but you want to see those decision go the right way. Unfortunately everyone makes mistakes.”

Sussex have again questioned the viability of cricket festivals at Horsham and Arundel, suggesting that at least one of them could be dropped next season unless there are more indications of commercial and community interest.Most at risk over recent seasons has been Horsham, which looked under threat two years ago before a late influx of sponsorship gave it a stay of execution.Festivals have been in gradual decline for decades as counties have invested heavily in their main grounds, commercial support has wavered and players, the media and some spectators have come to expect better facilities.Zac Toumazi, Sussex’s chief executive, has told BBC Sussex about Sussex’s cricket festivals: “We all love it and all want it but very few want to pay for it. I am a massive supporter of it but the economics have to be considered.”Sussex’s chairman Jim May sounded even more pessimistic. “Our takings at Horsham and Arundel were considerably down last year on the prior year – gate money by over 30% while hospitality wasn’t good at all. It is the old cliché: ‘use it or lose it’. Unless we get significant sponsorship I find it highly likely we will only be playing at one festival ground in 2016.”Only part of that decline could be put down to a disappointing Sussex season that ended in relegation in the Championship, especially as crowds at Hove actually rose on the previous year.Horsham CC is one of oldest cricket clubs in the world. The first recorded game for a side based around the town was in 1771, the club dates back to 1806 and has been at its current ground at Cricketfield Road since 1851.”I’ve been clear I would like the festivals to continue,” Toumazi said. “We look at the model all of the time but I can’t guarantee what the outcome will be.”

For much of this afternoon, the spectators who had crowded into Galle International Stadium sat quietly on as their side drifted towards an apparently inevitable defeat. Then at 4:24 Gary Kirsten tried to sweep Mutiah Muralitharan and was bowled. Suddenly the band started banging their drums with hope, the Sri Lankan flags begun to wave and the spectators awoke from their slumber.One hour later the same spectators where cheering their team into their dressing room after Sri Lanka had won the match by 37 runs after a dramatic South African collapse in which 10 wickets had fallen for just 62 runs.The mood of the crowd was mirrored by that of the players who had appeared to have given up hope of winning the match during a 150 run opening stand between Gary Kirsten (59) and Andrew Hall (81). The dismissal of Gary Kirsten though galvanised the team, shook them from their gloom and as the wickets fell steadily, they couldn’t hide their undulated joy.Prior to the match the Sri Lankan’s had opted for three spinners in the expectation that the ball would turn in the second innings. It was a tactic that paid off as the spinners ran through the South African batting.Kirsten’s dismissal was promptly followed three overs later by that of his opening partner. Andrew Hall, in just his third one-day international, had stepped into the shoes of Herschelle Gibbs with aplomb, and had dominated the Sri Lankan spinners, hitting them from three sixes, but was caught and bowled by Upul Chandana.With the experienced Jacques Kallis (11) and Darrel Cullinan (14) at the crease there was no need for panic but Kallis tried to launch Dharmasena over mid-wicket and was caught by Chandana on the boundary. Suddenly the players and the crowd started to sense the possibility of a victory and the atmosphere in the ground became electric. They believed they were going to win when Jonty Rhodes (0) was caught behind off his very first deliveryThe run rate now begun to increase rapidly and Darrel Cullinan (14) was forced into taking the aerial route against Chandana but only succeeded in hitting the ball straight down the gullet of a grateful T.M. Dilshan on the mid-wicket boundary.Sri Lanka became unstoppable. Mark Boucher (2) and Lance Klusner (20), the Proteas only hope, were both run out by Sanath Jayasuriya. Pollock (5) was caught by Jayawardene, Nico Boje (1) was bowled by Mutiah Muralithran and Ntini was run out to end the match.Whilst Upul Chandana’s four wickets may have won the match at the end, he was only able to do so thanks to batted deeds of Sri Lanka’s youngsters: Avishka Gunawardena (47), Russel Arnold (59) and Kumar Sanagakkara (85).Put into bat, Sri Lanka quickly lost three wickets, including those of Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu and Mahela Jayawardene. The senior players gone, Avishka Gunawardena and Kumar Sanagakkara counter attacked in dramatic fashion. Sanagakkara may have been lucky to survive an LBW appeal in his first over and Avishka may have played and missed early on with alarming frequency but this in no way belittles their performance.Like Steve Waugh has done on so many past occasions, they took a calculated risk and in the space of a few overs had wrestled the initiative away from South Africa. They were helped in the cause by some wayward bowling. Mornantau Hayaward’s first four overs cost 40 runs and South Africa bowled a staggering total of 24 wides.Whilst the Russel Arnold and Avishka Gunawardena may have batted well, it was Kumar Sangakkara who caught the eye. Unfazed by the pressure of the occasion the 22-year-old from Kandy played with a maturity far beyond his years and experience. He played shots all round the wicket, placed the ball quite expertly and was justly awarded the man of the match award. Unfortunately he was stupidly run-out within reach of a well deserved century.Dav Whatmore was clearly impressed: “To win a man of the match award and come into bat in that situation and play the way that he did in his first one-day international was extremely impressive. The way that he performed was like a veteran and his future looks very rosy.”South Africa were clearly disappointed, so much so that they felt the need to hide inside their dressing room during the presentations. Nevertheless they surely can’t be expected to perform at their best straight after a two-month lay off.Speaking afterwards Shaun Pollock said: “The openers set a great platform for us to get that score and we let them down. We only had to go at five runs an over in the last 20 overs. It just goes to show that the conditions are more difficult than you think. As a fresh batter its quite difficult to get going.””I am not looking to make excuses but we definitely need more time in the middle. We have only played one practice game and the pressures in a practice game and an international one are very different. You realise that the heat is on when you get out here in an international game.”South Africa now travel to Colombo where they take on Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

Nick Speak produced a captain’s innings of concentration and careful shot selection to give Durham the first day honours at Taunton.Having won the toss and chosen to take first use of a typically batsman-friendly pitch at the County Ground, Speak found himself walking out at88-3, with Somerset threatening to get on top.By the time he was out in the final session the scoreboard read a healthy 287-6 and an unbroken stand between Andy Pratt and John Wood took it to 324-6 by the close.Speak faced 211 deliveries for his top score of 78, hitting 7 fours, but building his innings mainly on watchful defence.He shared stands of 128 with Paul Collingwood and 65 with Jimmy Daley during a day of attrition, which saw Somerset’s below-strength attack struggling to find any penetration.Jon Lewis and Michael Gough had given Durham a solid start with an opening stand of 52 before Lewis was well held low at second slip by Parsons off Graham Rose for 31.The tall Gough produced some sweetly-timed offside strokes in his 33, but fell to a poor shot, caught behind attempting to cut a wide ball from Jamie Grove.When Simon Katich was pinned lbw by Grove trying to force a straight full-length ball through mid-wicket Somerset may have sensed a collapse.But Speak dropped anchor, while Collingwood punished anything loose, hitting 11 fours in reaching his half-century off 71 balls.Collingwood was never as fluent from then on, but had battled his way to 74 when getting the one ball of the day that turned appreciably off a good line and length. He was caught by Rose at slip off left-armer Ian Blackwell.It was a solitary success for the two Somerset spinners. Blackwell and Adrian Pierson shared 36 overs, bowling tidily enough, but rarely troubling the batsmen.Their seam bowling colleagues also had to work hard while getting precious little encouragement from the pitchAt 281-4, Durham looked set to end the day in an even more commanding position. But then Daley and Speak fell in quick succession to avoidable dismissals.Daley had made a season’s best 34 when run-out by Keith Parsons from mid-off answering Speak’s call for a quick single. The throw hit the stumps without the assistance of wicketkeeper Rob Turner, with Daley inches short of his ground.It was a breakthrough Somerset’s bowlers, lacking Andy Caddick on Test Match duty and Peter Trego with England Under-19s, did not look like making.Soon Speak had hooked Grove’s first delivery with the second new ball for four. But he departed trying to repeat the shot, caught off a top edge by Pierson at third-man.The Durham skipper had reached his fourth half century of the season off 137 balls, with only 3 boundaries. He was prepared to await the bad ball, which came less often after tea when Pierson and Blackwell bowled in tandem.Pratt and Wood took advantage of some tired bowling to add 43 in quick time after the Durham innings looked to be getting bogged down and the visitors will be looking for maximum batting points on day two.

After six Test matches spread out over nearly three years, Makhaya Ntini finally established himself as an international bowler in his own right as South Africa won the first Castle Lager/MTN Test against New Zealand by five wickets at Good year Park in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.Ntini, now 23, took six for 66 as New Zealand were bowled out for 342 in their second innings on Tuesday, leaving South Africa to make 101 to win. As straightforward as the target should have been for the home side, they made heavy weather of it, losing practically their entire top order before Mark Boucher took it upon himself to finish it off.Three swept boundaries off successive deliveries from the leg-spinner Brooke Walker carried South Africa home and finally ended the home team’s fears of a shock New Zealand victory.In reality, though, it was never likely after Ntini had worked his way through the New Zealand lower order before and after lunch. By most estimations, the Goodyear Park had lain down and died sometime on Sunday, but Ntini, whose boundless energy can exhaust anyone in his vicinity, ran in over after over after even Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock had started to look ordinary.The key wicket on Tuesday, however, went to Jacques Kallis rather than Ntini. Kallis scored a magnificent 160 in the South African first innings, but his fast-medium was more medium than fast during this Test match before he slowed one up even more against Craig McMillan and made a vital breakthrough 20 minutes before lunch.McMillan, who went in on Monday evening, had taken up 272 minutes for his 78, but he failed to read Kallis and went through with his shot to give up a catch to mid on.Ntini had had Walker caught at the wicket an hour into the morning and he came back after lunch to wrap up the tail, taking three wickets in three overs. It was a Herculean effort and he thoroughly deserved his share of the man of the match award with Kallis.When Ntini was chosen for this and the second Test, selection convener Rushdi Magiet said that his fitness had given him the edge over Roger Telemachus. You had to be fit to keep going on that pitch, and as the New Zealanders ruefully acknowledged afterwards, if one or two or even three of the South African fast bowlers weren’t coming at them, there was always the fourth to do the job.The victory target had just enough in it for nuisance value as Daryl Tuffey finally took first three wickets in Test cricket. It was the sort of situation in which the side batting last is on a hiding to nothing – the side batting last should win easily, but the fielding team have nothing to lose by giving it a go.And so Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar lost their wickets before tea and Daryll Cullinan and Lance Klusener there’s after the interval before Boucher finished it off.The match, though, had been won and lost during the first innings, when South Africa built up a handsome total and New Zealand responded poorly. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming acknowledged as much while Pollock was pleased with a performance from his side that, barring the last rites, had been polished and professional.The fact remains, though, that New Zealand were unable to bowl South Africa out once, let alone twice and it is the bowling that is the real difference between these two teams.