Inzamam-ul-Haq has received a one-Test ban for showing dissent against umpiring decisions on the last day of the Bangalore Test.Saleem Altaf, the Pakistan team manager, clarified that Inzamam had been pulled up for two instances of misconduct. “We had a hearing with the match referee, Chris Broad, for two counts of excessive appealing and dissent. On the first count, he has been fined 30% of his match fees and on the second, a level two offence, he has been given a one-Test ban.”Pakistan ended up winning the match by 168 runs, but Inzamam was visibly miffed when a couple of caught-behind appeals against the Indian openers were denied on the first session. Gautam Gambhir was lucky to survive – the snickometer clearly showed contact between bat and ball – but the decision in favour of Virender Sehwag seemed a good one. Inzamam was especially upset after Sehwag was ruled not out, charging past the batsman and shaking his hands in anger.Altaf indicated that the Pakistan board would take a decision on whether or not to appeal against the verdict. If the decision stays, then Inzamam will have to sit out of Pakistan’s first Test on their tour of the West Indies.

Scorecard
Tony Frost kept his cool to ensure Warwickshire maintained their unbeaten Championship record, dating back to the last game of the 2003 season. He made an unbeaten 82 from 232 deliveries after Min Patel had spun Kent – the last team to beat Warwickshire – to the verge of victory with 32 overs of testing left-arm spin. David Fulton declared Kent’s second innings at their overnight score, leaving Warwickshire to chase 347 on a pitch that was assisting the spinners. However, it was Simon Cook who struck the first blow – with the first ball of the day – trapping Nick Knight lbw. Warwickshire were in deep trouble at lunch, on 73 for five, but Frost and Alex Loudon, against his former team, batted the entire afternoon session. Min Patel claimed three quick wickets after tea, including Loudon, and Kent seemed poised for victory but Neil Carter survived for 48 balls and Neil Warren for 15 to help Frost secure the draw.
Scorecard
Stephen Fleming was left to rue is decision not to enforce the follow-on as rain delayed the start of the final day at Lord’s until 2.50pm and then Middlesex comfortably batted out a draw as Nottinghamshire used their spinners to improve their over rate to avoid a points deduction. Andrew Strauss fell early, bowled by the part-time off-spin of David Hussey, but an 87-run stand between Ben Hutton, the captain, and Ed Smith removed any threat of a batting collapse. When Smith was run out, Owais Shah accompanied Hutton for the final hour, Hutton finishing unbeaten on 76. He will feel that Middlesex got out of jail.

Scorecard
Hampshire were left playing out a draw in a tense finish at Hove despite an explosive innings from Kevin Pietersen. Play did not start until mid-way through the afternoon session but Hampshire still went for their target of 285. John Crawley and Billy Taylor took the score to 130 for 3 before James Kirtley snapped them both up without addition to the score. Suddenly Sussex fancied their chance of victory but Pietersen and Sean Ervine then embarked on a thrilling stand of 113 for the sixth wicket. Pietersen smashed 61 from 50 balls, with five fours and three sixes, but when he was caught off Mushtaq Ahmed the task proved too great for the remaining batsmen. The fall of Ervine persuaded Hampshire to play for the draw.

Nine members of the Bangladesh’s defeated Test squad will be making a return trip to England on July 15, after being named in a 15-member Bangladesh A squad.The party will be captained by the left-handed batsman Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, and he will be joined by his Test-squad colleagues, Nafees Iqbal, Tushar Imran, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim the wicketkeeper, Anwar Hossain Monir, Talha Jubair, Shahadat Hossain Rajib and Enamul Haque Jr.Three discarded national players are also recalled to bolster the side – the talented middle-order batsman Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahman, an allrounder who played a large role on England’s tour to Bangladesh in 2003-04, and the left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak Raj. They are scheduled to play five three-day and four one-day games against different county selections during their month-long trip.Three limited-overs games and a three-day trial match were held at the BKSP to form the squad. Kapali, Tushar and Rahman were also in line for the captaincy.Squad Shahriar Nafees (capt), Nafees Iqbal, Tushar Imran, Alok Kapali, Aftab Ahmed, Nazimuddin, Hasanuzzaman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mushfiqur Rahman, Anwar Hossain Monir, Talha Jubair, Shahadat Hossain Rajib, SK Russel, Enamul Haque and Abdur Razzak Raj.

Nathan Astle, one of the heroes of New Zealand’s fighting draw in the first Test against India, will be returning home immediately after the second Test in Mohali starting on Thursday. Astle is to have aggravations in his left knee assessed.The tour is Astle’s first since knee surgery after the World Cup earlier in the year. Despite his problems with the knee, and illness, he scored a century and an unbeaten half-century as New Zealand held out the Indian attack. Astle will be replaced for the one-day tri-series by Chris Nevin.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand team manager, said: “Nathan has had some aggravation in his left knee since early in the tour and he is returning home to have the injury examined by a medical specialist. It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature, or extent, of the injury. The Black Caps on-tour medical panel feel it is unlikely he will aggravate the injury further by playing in the second Test.”However, there would be a greater risk of aggravation of the injury during the triangular tournament because of the more strenuous fielding demands in one-day cricket. The aim of sending him home is to try to ensure he is fit for the home international series against Pakistan and South Africa.”Nevin flew out for India today with four other players who are joining the side for the tri-series, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum and Kyle Mills.

Australia 254 for 4 (Clarke 80*, Ponting 66, Symonds 42*) beat Bangladesh 250 for 8 (Shahriar 75, Mashud 71*) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In their final match of the NatWest Series, Bangladesh demonstrated all the lessons they have accumulated on an arduous tour, as Australia were forced to fight for every scrap in an unconvincing six-wicket victory at Canterbury. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Bangladesh recovered from a dreadful start to post an impressive total of 250 for 8, and it wasn’t until Andrew Symonds entered the fray in the final 15 overs of Australia’s run-chase that the gulf between the sides was finally exposed.In the end the margin of victory was comfortable enough, but for the departing Bangladeshis, it was very much their day. Their heroes were the young left-handed opener, Shahriar Nafees, who kept his head while the top-order crumbled to reach a career-best 75, and their veteran wicketkeeper-batsman and crisis-manager, Khaled Mashud, who consolidated at first, and then spanked 24 runs from the final two overs, bowled by Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, to post his seventh and highest one-day half-century.In their previous encounters with Australia this summer, Bangladesh had won gloriously at Cardiff and lost emphatically at Old Trafford, and when they slumped to 19 for 3 in the seventh over, it seemed apparent which direction this particular match was headed. Javed Omar and Tushar Imran both fell for ducks in a hostile start from Lee and Gillespie, and Mohammad Ashraful was yorked by Lee one delivery after hoisting him, Gordon Greenidge-style, into the midwicket stands for six.Ashraful’s example suggested that Bangladesh were demob-happy, although with Shahriar entrenched and guarding his wicket for all he was worth, there was a solidity to their performance that had been absent during the Test series. Habibul, whose form has flickered only briefly on this tour, strode out with a purpose and clobbered 30 from 24 balls, including three fours in a row off Lee, and when he eventually fell to a leaping delivery from Shane Watson, Mashud was on hand to add 94 in 20 overs for the sixth wicket.Shahriar’s fifty came from 82 balls and was celebrated with a twirl of the bat to all corners of the ground. His vigil was finally ended by a fine offcutter from Watson, but Mashud had set himself up for an explosive finish, as Bangladesh helped themselves to 72 runs from the final ten overs. It was a shock to Australia’s system, but a tonic to a huge contingent of Bangladesh’s flag-waving fans, as their team equalled the total that they had successfully chased at Cardiff.

Bangladesh were aided by another ragged fielding display from the Aussies, which included 23 extras and a bad miss at slip from Matthew Hayden, whose day ended as badly as the rest of his week when he was caught behind for 1 in the run-chase. His dismissal brought Ricky Ponting to the crease, whose habit of falling across his front pad made him a candidate for lbw at every available opportunity, as Mashrafe Mortaza proved a particular handful.In the absence of any fluency from Ponting, it was left to Gilchrist to keep the score ticking over. He clobbered his first delivery, from Mortaza, for four, followed up with a six over long leg and had rattled along to 45 when his innings ended in bizarre fashion. Gilchrist aimed a full-blooded stroke through the covers off Tapash Baisya, only for the ball to lob into the hands of Khaled Mahmud at first slip. He walked off in bemusement, assuming that he had hit it, but replays showed that the ball had exploded out of a foothole at the same time as he had struck the ground with his bat.Bangladesh’s mood improved even further when Mahmud himself entered the attack. His previous outing in the series had not been auspicious – a first-ball duck and three overs for 39 against England – but with his 11th delivery he found the perfect length to draw Damien Martyn into his stroke and Mashud claimed his second catch of the innings. Australia went into the drinks break at 83 for 3, and with one or two troubling thoughts in their minds.But while Ponting was off-colour, Michael Clarke was merely keeping his head down, and together they added 85 vital runs for the fourth wicket. There was time for one more alarm, when Ponting holed out to Tushar Imran at deep midwicket off the persevering Mortaza, but Symonds’ arrival added a long-overdue sense of certainty to the proceedings. His unbeaten 42 included a massive six off the final ball of Mahmud’s spell, as he and Clarke sealed the win with 11 balls to spare.

Scotland’s 47-run win over Ireland today in the ICC Trophy final in Ireland confirms the groupings for the first stage of the 2007 World Cup. The fixtures schedule for 2007 can now be finalised and, along with the tournament dates, will be announced on July 19 in Trinidad.Scotland’s reward for winning the ICC Trophy is a place alongside Australia, Holland and South Africa in Pool 1 in St Kitts. Ireland will be in Pool 4 with the host West Indies, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.In Pool 2 Bermuda will take on Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in Trinidad and Tobago while Canada will be in Pool 3 in St Lucia with New Zealand, England and Kenya.Confirmed World Cup PoolsPool 1 – St Kitts Australia, South Africa, Holland, Scotland
Pool 2 – Trinidad Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bermuda
Pool 3 – St Lucia New Zealand, England, Kenya, Canada
Pool 4 – Jamaica West Indies, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland

Australian batsman Matthew Hayden hopes to feast on his favourite dishin Trinidad this weekend when the West Indies send a little-knownAnguillan off-spinner into his first cricket Test.Omari Banks, from the tiny Leeward Island, will walk into a trap ifHayden unloads the punishment that has floored some of the world’s bestspinners in the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval from Saturday.Hayden is due for a century, by his lofty standards, because he hasn’treached triple figures in his past five Test innings.The Queenslander is second only to Don Bradman on the list ofAustralia’s most frequent century-makers in Tests, with a ton aboutevery five knocks and a Test average of 50.40.Hayden expects his average to increase if he faces more spin this seriesafter the Windies relied on four quicks in last week’s nine-wicket lossto Australia in the first Test.”It’s going to come, but I think it’s going to come a little bitdifferently for me this time. I am looking to just bat length of timethroughout the Test matches here,” he said.”Getting to face spin I think that’s going to be huge, that’s going toultimately reveal some massive scoring opportunities for me throughoutthe series.”I kind of missed the boat in some ways not really facing (two part-timespinners). I don’t think they have got a real quality spinner in theirside.”But Hayden and the Australians were impressed by Banks when the lanky20-year-old claimed three wickets for the Guyana Board President’s XI inthe opening tour match in Georgetown two weeks ago.Hayden was satisfied with his batting in that match but not as happywith his innings of 10 and 19 in the first Test.He lost his ranking as the world’s best Test batsman this week toEngland’s Michael Vaughan, but the laid-back Hayden was hardly bothered.The merits of the ranking system are debatable and Hayden remembers thatAustralian team-mate Adam Gilchrist jumped into top spot last year afternot playing a match in one ranking period.”It shows the fickle nature of our sport and of this particular rankingsystem as well,” Hayden said.”It’s a nice tag to have, the number one ranking, and I think it’ssomething to aspire to as well. It’s now a battle to get it back againand I am sure it will be pretty close.”But it’s not something I play the game for. My passions are ourpartnerships and the way we demonstrate in playing for Australia.”Australian selectors are yet to decide whether to stick with the rarecombination of five specialist bowlers after the experiment worked inGeorgetown.The wicket at Queen’s Park Oval, with a greater covering of grass, maysway selectors but there was some speculation today among the team thatthe beefed-up attack may remain.

Michael Bevan, the former Australian middle-order batsman, is set to miss the start of the domestic season to recover from knee surgery.Bevan, who was Tasmania’s talismanic batsman last summer after his move from New South Wales, said the healing process was taking longer than expected and he would not be training for another month. “No doubt it’ll come good,” Bevan told the website. “It’s just getting through the frustration and being patient enough to wait until it does.”Tim Coyle, the Tasmania coach, said Bevan would not be pressured to rush back. “We are very keen to get it right,” he said. “If it means missing the first few games, it’s better to do that and have him right for the rest of the year.” Bevan had the operation in March, but his recovery has taken twice as long as he hoped.Tasmania have more injury worries with Luke Butterworth, the allrounder, in doubt for the start of the season after undergoing groin surgery.

Division Two

Points TableIan Bell struck a record-breaking 137, the highest score in the National League by a Warwickshire player, to help his side beat Yorkshire by a commanding 102 runs. Bell, not known for his powerful strokeplay, struck seven sixes and 11 fours in an 84-ball hundred, as Warwickshire rattled up 309 for 3 in their 45 overs. Jonathan Trott was also in the runs, hitting 94 in a stand worth 216 with Bell. Yorkshire’s target was inevitably too daunting, and they crumbled to 209 for 9, with England’s new promising spinner Alex Loudon taking 3 for 26. This convincing win makes Warwickshire near certainties for promotion to Division One, subject to Derbyshire winning by a substantial margin to increase their net run-rate.

Division One

Points TableOnly an hour’s play was possible at Canterbury today, as Nottinghamshire set about increasing their overnight total of 397 for 5 against Kent. Play got underway at 5pm, and Mark Ealham immediately secured Nottinghamshire’s batting bonus point by cutting through point for four. Ealham, who spent 14 seasons with Kent before leaving for Notts in 2003, had the misfortune of running out his batting partner, Jason Gallian, for a gut-wrenching 199. It was the second time this season Gallian had been dismissed one shy of a double-hundred, and for the second time he was run out.Speaking to ECB’s website, he said: “I was laughing. It was just one of those situations, going for some quick runs to try to make the most of our total and win the game.”In the sixteen overs possible in the late afternoon, Notts added a further 58 runs, with Mark Ealham moving on to his third half-century of the season. Despite the loss of nearly an entire day’s play today Ealham remains confident of a result, one which would secure them as Division One champions.”We are in a very good position [in the title race], but obviously it would be preferable if we could get the job done here,” he said.
Glamorgan v Hampshire – no play Thursday due to rain. (scorecard)

Division Two

Points Table
Northamptonshire v Durham – no play Thursday due to rain. (scorecard)