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James Hopes, the Australian allrounder, is set to be forced out of his Derbyshire contract with a shoulder injury. He is currently playing with the aid of injections and is still aiming for the World Cup before taking a break from the game.Hopes, who has nine one-day internationals under his belt, was recalled by Australia for the Twenty20 International against England following the withdrawals of Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee. However, he didn’t make the final XI in Australia’s 77-run win.He said missing his first season of county cricket is a major blow. “I know it leaves the club in a difficult position but there is just no way I’ll be able to play,” he told the club website. “I have always wanted to play county cricket and was delighted at the prospect of linking up with Derbyshire this season. I am waiting for final confirmation from the medics with both Queensland and Cricket Australia later this week but it’s not looking good.”Tom Sears, the Derbyshire chief executive, added: “This is obviously a massive blow as James is an outstanding all round player who will be very hard to replace. We are in the position where we have the financial resource to look at the best possible alternative and Dave Houghton [the director of cricket] has drawn up a list of potential replacements.”There are very few genuine allrounders of James’s ability available so it may be that we look at a specialist.”

Shane Bond’s comeback from an abdominal muscle strain, amid speculation he has signed with the Indian Cricket League, could not help his side Canterbury in their Twenty20 loss to Central Districts in Christchurch. Bond took 0 for 38 from his four overs as Central Districts cruised to 186 for 6, with Ross Taylor smashing five sixes in his 19-ball 46. Chris Harris, who is used to the Twenty20 format after joining the ICL, made 47 in the chase but had little support as Brendon Diamanti collected 3 for 14. Canterbury were all out for 120 in the 18th over, crashing to a 66-run loss.The Northern Districts captain James Marshall posted an unbeaten 58 to help his side to victory over Wellington in Hamilton. Marshall guided Northern Districts to 133 for 3 in the 16th over as they overhauled Wellington’s 131 for 8 with little drama. Grant Elliott top scored for the visitors with 34 but regular wickets meant they could not gather significant momentum.Bradley Scott helped Otago secure a 60-run win in Dunedin, grabbing 3 for 9 as Auckland were rattled out for 94. Rob Nicol tried to guide Auckland’s chase and made 43 but his team-mates fell apart and could get nowhere near Otago’s 154 for 7. Nathan McCullum’s 38 from 20 balls was the best individual effort for Otago.

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A convincing display with both bat and ball helped the ICL Pakistan XI pull off a comfortable win over the ICL World XI in their opening game of the tournament in Hyderabad.World XI had outclassed their Indian counterparts on Wednesday, but Pakistan XI turned out to be a much tougher opponents. Chris Cairns, the World XI captain, chose to bat, and openers Matthew Elliott and Ian Harvey got their side off to a brisk start.But once the first wicket fell with the score at 41, Pakistan XI managed to pick up another two for the addition of six runs. In the 14th over half the World XI side had been dismissed with just 80 on board, with offspinner Arshad Khan taking three wickets in his four overs, Shahid Nazir picking the other two.Lou Vincent and Russel Arnold put on a 32-run stand before Abdul Razzaq struck off the final two deliveries of the 17th over. Naved-ul-Hasan scalped two lower-order wickets as World XI were restricted to 130 in their 20 overs.The Pakistan XI openers then put the match in the bag with a commanding 119-run partnership. Imran Nazir scored 69 off 62, including eight fours and a six, before throwing away his wicket in sight of victory to the part-time bowling of Elliott. Razzaq remained unbeaten on 55 off 42, with three fours and three sixes, as Pakistan XI romped to a nine-wicket win, the second in a row for the side batting second.

Shane Bond has been included in Canterbury’s domestic Twenty20 squad, but his playing hinges on whether he decides to annul his three-year contract with the Indian Cricket League.Bond is in talks with New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive, Justin Vaughan, who is making a last-ditch effort to convince Bond to terminate his contract with the ICL. But if Bond fulfills his contract with the rebel league, it could effectively end his six-year international career and delay his return to domestic cricket, as he will only be able to play [on a match-by-match basis] once his contract with the national squad expires in May. However, Bond has been cleared to play while the talks between his legal team and New Zealand Cricket are continuing.”Shane has been passed fit and we want him to play. He is, of course, a welcome addition to our squad,” Canterbury coach Dave Nosworthy told the , a Christchurch-based daily. He said Bond was included on the advice of Warren Frost, the New Zealand board’s sport science medical coordinator, who laid emphasis on how the fast bowler acquitted himself in a club match.Bond looked to have recuperated from an abdominal muscle strain picked up during New Zealand’s tour of South Africa, as he bowled eight overs without taking a wicket and scored 45 for his club team, Old Boys-Collegians.The board hasn’t taken an official stance on players who have signed on with the ICL, but had advised the national selectors to look beyond Hamish Marshall and Daryl Tuffey, two ICL-recruits who are still on the international radar.

Sussex have signed Ryan Harris, the South Australia allrounder, who holds a British passport after beating off interest from other counties. Harris is South Australia’s highest wicket-taker in the Pura Cup with 33 scalps and is the fourth highest in the domestic season.According to , Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Essex were also chasing Harris’s signature but he eventually opted for the defending county champions.”We are delighted to have finally got our man. Ryan is a bowler we have been tracking most of the winter and we’ve used our contact to find out as much about him as we can,” cricket manager Mark Robinson said. “He’s an exciting prospect who has the potential to bowl quickly. Moreover, Ryan is an outstanding fielder and a more than handy lower order batsman. He completes our squad and gives us the extra fire power we need for the defence of our title.”The signing still needs to be confirmed by the ECB but Sussex don’t foresee any problems. Harris will add valuable depth to Sussex’s squad – one of the smallest on the circuit – as they aim to defend their Championship title. Alongside his 33 Pura Cup wickets Harris has also scored 286 runs at 23.During the winter Sussex have lost the retired Richard Montgomerie, Saqlain Mushtaq who has gone to Surrey and Rana Naved to Yorkshire.Sussex begin their season against MCC, at Lord’s, on April 10 before their opening Championship fixture against Hampshire, at The Rose Bowl, on April 16.

Mumbai qualified for the Wills Trophy from the West Zone on Wednesdayby topping the table with the maximum eight points from their fourgames. In their last league encounter of the Ranji Trophy one daytournament, they registered a nine wicket victory over Baroda at theMotibaug ground in Baroda.Jacob Martin and Sameer Dighe, skippers of Baroda and Mumbai strolledout for a crucial toss as both Baroda and Mumbai were unbeaten intheir matches so far.Dighe won the toss and decided to chase a target as they had done inall their matches this season. Santosh Saxena (3/39) pushed Baroda onthe backfoot scalping Connor Williams (5) and Daulat Thorat (9) inquick succession. Kiran Powar ran out keeper Milap Mewada who did notface a delivery. Baroda were tottering on 33 for three.Jacob Martin (66) and veteran Tushar Arothe (76) put on a rescue actwith a 105-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Santosh Saxena brokethe partnership having Martin caught by Vinod Kambli and it was alldownhill for Baroda from there on. They folded up for 203 in 47.1overs. Allrounder Robin Morris chipped in with three for 30.Mumbai openers Robin Morris (56) and Wasim Jaffer (116 not out)continued their good form with the bat putting up their secondconsecutive hundred run partnership for the first wicket. Robin kepthis good form scoring his third half century of the tournament.Wasim’s 98-ball innings had two towering sixes and 15 hits to thefence. Robin put up two sixes and six boundaries in his innings.Mumbai romped home in 29.2 overs scoring at a rate of seven runs anover.

Despite being booed by supporters after England’s wretched nine-wicket defeat by South Africa, Michael Vaughan was adamant that he was not about to stand down as captain.Clearly affected by the hostile reception and the manner of the loss, Vaughan admitted that both he and Duncan Fletcher were under pressure. “I’m an honest guy who says my position is hugely in doubt due to my batting,” he said. “But I still believe I’m a very good captain. I’m not retiring.”It’s a horrible feeling to have walked off the field and get booed by a lot of England supporters, but rightfully so from the performance we put in,” he said. “I’ve been a supporter in a stadium, watched football teams that haven’t produced, and done exactly the same. I fully understand why they have given us that kind of reception.”With 130 runs from nine World Cup innings – and without a hundred in 85 ODIs either -Vaughan could hardly say he was anything other than disappointed by the outcome. “It’s a massive tournament, in which I expected us to turn up and produce something. I firmly believe that we have players with the talent and the attitude to do that on the big stage. We haven’t done that so we have to accept all the criticism that comes our way. It’s a very sad day for English cricket.”And as for his own position? “There will be many conversations in the days ahead,” he said. “There needs to be a lot of honesty after a very, very disappointing six months. As players we have to look at why we have performed to a standard that is unacceptable through the winter. The most important thing is to get a strategy to get English cricket back on track.”

Chris Rogers’ hopes of replacing Justin Langer in the first Test have ended after he had his appendix removed in Perth on Thursday night. The unfortunate timing of the illness leaves Phil Jaques in an almost untouchable position to join Matthew Hayden when Australia face Sri Lanka at the Gabba from November 8.Jaques (13 and 167) and Rogers (9 and 17) went head-to-head in the first Pura Cup match of the season but now only Jaques, Brad Hodge and maybe Michael Hussey are contenders. Rogers was admitted to the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and had his appendix taken out using a laparoscopic technique.A WACA spokesman said Rogers would stay in hospital for another night and would look to resume playing in two weeks. The recovery will prevent Rogers from appearing in the Pura Cup match against Victoria in Melbourne from next Friday, which is the last chance to impress ahead of the Sri Lanka series.The Willetton allrounder Matt Johnston has been included in the 13-man squad for Western Australia’s FR Cup match against Tasmania in Perth on Sunday. He has started well in the Perth grade competition, scoring 179 runs at 89.50 and taking 4 for 44 in his only bowl.”Matt has received a reward for displaying outstanding form,” the coach Tom Moody said, “and he now has an opportunity to show his wares once again on the interstate arena.” Ben Edmondson, who injured his hamstring in the Pura Cup contest, was replaced by Daniel McLauchlan while Darren Wates also came into the squad.Western Australia FR Cup squad Justin Langer, Luke Ronchi (wk), Adam Voges (capt), Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Matt Johnston, Darren Wates, Sean Ervine, Shawn Gillies, Aaron Heal, Brett Dorey, Steve Magoffin, Daniel McLauchlan.

The debut of the Three Ws-Sir Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes – some 60 years ago changed the face of West Indies cricket forever. That history was celebrated on Tuesday night at the Queen’s Park Oval Banquet Hall in the presence of the last surviving member, Sir Everton Weekes.Worrell made his Test debut in 1948, at the Oval, against England. The match marked the start of the Three Ws era, and was also Andy Ganteaume’s lone Test appearance. Though the Trinidad and Tobago batsman made 112, he was never again selected on the regional team.Three perspectives on the life of Worrell and the 1948 Test match were presented at Tuesday’s function. Deryck Murray gave a player’s take on Worrell, Tony Cozier delivered a journalist’s point of view and Professor Courtney Bartholomew presented a personal perspective.All three speakers agreed that his contribution to West Indies cricket went “well beyond the boundary”.Murray described the 1948 Test as unique since it was Ganteaume’s first and last appearance. He said Ganteaume’s unfortunate situation will remain one of the defining moments of the era. Murray praised Ganteaume for the way he carried himself after being dropped after becoming the first West Indies batsman to make a century on debut, in the first innings of the Oval Test. The T&T board president said Ganteaume was “still able to contribute, and further the cause of West Indies cricket.”Murray recalled the first time he played under the captaincy of Worrell. “In Sir Frank Worrell we had a man who became accepted as the elder statesman of West Indies cricket…a unifying force. He was all things to all men. I understood how little the significance of insularity could be if you wanted to be part of a team. He insisted that room-mates could not be from the same territory, he insisted that there was an older and younger roommate so that at all times the team administration was about learning, mentorship and becoming a representative of a truly West Indian team in the true sense of the word. I have no hesitation in saying that Sir Frank Worrell was the greatest leader that world cricket has ever seen and probably even beyond that.”Cozier looked back at Worrell’s career. “Here is a man who, through cricket and from quite humble beginnings in Barbados, was knighted in 1964, the second West Indian cricketer to be knighted, was a senator in Jamaica, and when he died he was honoured by a Memorial Service in Westminster Abbey, the only cricketer to be so honoured.”It was here at the Queen’s Park Oval,” Cozier continued, “a 17-year-old school boy, batting No. 11 and considered a left-arm spin bowler, came onto the scene playing for Barbados. He moved up the order, and in 1946 he and Walcott put on an unbeaten partnership of 574 of which Worrell had 255 not out and Walcott 314 not out. “Sir Everton Weekes,” Cozier noted, “was out for a duck, but he more than made up for it in subsequent innings at the Oval.”

In the feature address, Bartholomew was high in praise for the Three Ws. “It was all for one and one for all,” he declared, noting that when Weekes was out for a duck at the Oval, Worrell and Walcott made up for it. It is a good thing that God made night or else Worrell and Walcott would still be at the crease.”Bartholomew also spoke about Worrell’s captaincy on the tour of Australia in 1960-61. At the end of the tour there was a ticker-tape farewell for the team, with 200,000 people lining the streets of Melbourne chanting “We want Frank”. West Indies lost the series 2-1 but featured in the first-ever tied Test. “We won the hearts of everyone in Australia and indeed the world.”In 1963, West Indies toured England and were again very popular. On that occasion, West Indies won the series 3-1. Worrell retired after the series, and died in 1967.The day before he died, Bartholomew recalled, Worrell told the nurses, “‘Please remove the drips … I am tired, very tired’. And so, the captain declared his innings retired hurt, before he reached his half-century, at the age of 42. The king is dead, long live the king. It was the worst of times.” Bartholomew thanked the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Committee for keeping the “memory of the King alive … it was the best of times.” Weekes and Ganteaume were presented with memorial plaques.

One of the most keenly contested series in women’s cricket takes place later this month when New Zealand tour Australia in a bid to regain the Rose Bowl. Karen Rolton, the Australia captain, can’t wait to play their trans-Tasman rivals, and she will expect to pass 4000 runs during the series, needing 61 to reach the milestone.Australia have lost only three out of 27 games against New Zealand since the 2000 World Cup defeat, and they have won every Rose Bowl this decade. Despite this one-sidedness, Rolton is expecting a close contest.”I don’t think there is too much difference between the two teams, any team can win on the day,” Rolton said. Although Australia won the Rose Bowl 5-0 in 2006, the first three matches were decided in the last over. The two sides also reached the final of the Quadrangular series in Chennai in March, which Australia won by six wickets.”Every time we play New Zealand we are ready for a tough, hard-fought series,” Rolton said. “The two teams really enjoy playing against each other. We can’t wait to play this series as we really enjoy playing against one of the best teams in women’s cricket.”Rolton said the Australia team had changed a lot since the World Cup in 2005, which they won, and were in the process of rebuilding. They will certainly feel the loss of Cathryn Fitzpatrick, their leading fast bowler, who retired after the Quadrangular series.The Rose Bowl will be good preparation for the World Cup that Australia are hosting in 2009. “It is important to try as many players as we can to see who can perform against the best teams in the world,” Rolton said, “so we can have the best performing players ready for action in 2009.” The series begins at Darwin’s Garden’s Oval with a Twenty20 game on July 19, followed by five ODIs between July 21 and 29.