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Marlon Samuels believes his growing maturity and hard work while recovering from serious knee problems have paid off in the lead-up to the first Test against Australia. Samuels had a stunning warm-up for the three-match series when he scored 257 against Queensland at the weekend before following it up with 5 for 87.The impressive double will ensure greater responsibility as the young West Indian outfit test themselves against the world champions. “I wasn’t really surprised,” Samuels said of his efforts in the tour game. “I’ve been doing hard work and we all know hard work pays off in the end. I’ve worked on being more mature and patience is the most important thing for me at the moment.”Samuels said his greater emphasis on fitness had already shown strong results and he was in top condition. “I think it played a major part in my batting [against Queensland],” he said. “But with most of my centuries I like to go on and get a big one.”Knee problems have hampered Samuels’ Test career, which began in Australia five years ago, and the last instance of surgery occurred when he was forced to leave the South Africa tour in 2003-04. “I started out well, but if you know my story injury has played a major part in my career,” he said. “I’ve been working very hard on my knee so I can play as much as possible.”West Indies have picked a large pace contingent and Samuels expects to chip in with his part-time spin to break up the fast men’s load. “I’ve learned to vary my pace as much as possible,” he said. “I think they will get me to bowl longs spells and I’m up for it. I’m up for anything.”Samuels said the squad was close-knit and there was no lingering discontent over the team sponsorship issues that resulted in a massively under-strength side playing the Test series against Sri Lanka. He also dismissed the concerns of Michael Holding, who questioned the team’s attitude on tour.”We are spending more time together and we are working very hard as one unit,” he said. “We have a bunch of guys who are very positive and will go up against any team.”

ScorecardOman’s Sultan Ahmed won the toss against Hong Kong’s Tanwir Afzal, and his bowlers did the rest•Hong Kong Cricket

Left-arm pacer Bilal Khan, playing his first T20I game, sliced through Hong Kong’s top order, setting up a crushing six-wicket win for Oman in the first T20 international in Abu Dhabi. Mehran Khan then snuffed out any hopes of a recovery, dismissing Mark Chapman and Tanwir Afzal. The collapse seeped into the lower order as well with Hong Kong barely managing to play out 20 overs. Bilal and Mehran claimed combined figures of 8-0-49-5, and debutant left-arm spinner Ajay Lalcheta picked up a wicket with his first delivery as Hong Kong stuttered to 106.Waqas Khan, coming in at No.8, top-scored with 19 off 28 balls with only three other batsmen getting double-digit scores.Oman’s top order suffered a similar slide, as they were quickly reduced to 43 for 4, Tanwir Afzal striking twice. However, Zeeshan Siddiqui and captain Sultan Ahmed steadied the innings and took their side home with an unbroken 64-run partnership in 8.4 overs. Siddiqui and Ahmed stuck four fours each as Oman completed the chase with nine balls to spare.

The English season may still be another six months away but Mahela Jayawardene is already looking forward to making his county debut. Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, signed for Derbyshire yesterday as the county ring the changes with a new-look squad which includes Wavell Hinds.”It’s good,” he told Cricinfo in Adelaide, as he warmed up for Sri Lanka’s tour match here this weekend. “I haven’t played before. It’s a great opportunity.”I don’t think I will be there for long because of my international commitment. But they’re trying to start all over again, Derby, and they’ve got a few good players coming in. It’s going to be good fun and hopefully I can learn something at a different level of cricket.”And he promised to lend new captain Rikki Clarke, who will be joined by former Surrey team-mate Nayan Doshi, the benefit of his experience. “I’ve played against him a few times and I think he’s a very good cricketer.”Give him the responsibility, he’s a young guy and I think he’s looking forward to it. It’s a good challenge for him as well, so if I can help him in any way it would be great and try to start anew at Derby. A good challenge for me, as well.”Jayawardene will arrive towards the end of April and stay until the middle of July after which he can be replaced by another overseas player.

The bitter infighting inside Zimbabwe took yet another twist this week as the ten provincial chairmen disassociated themselves with claims by Themba Mliswa, the political extremist who held a media conference during which he said he was speaking on their behalf.Mliswa called on Peter Chingoka, the board chairman, to account for recent events and repeated accusations of financial impropriety against board members as well as making threats that he had friends in high places who were behind him.But the Zimbabwe Cricket website has said that last weekend the chairmen met and voted unanimously to disassociate themselves from Mliswa’s remarks. A statement issued by them said: “While we do not wish to go into detail with regards to Mliswa’s statements, and whilst we prefer to reserve our comments on his statements against certain individual members of the ZC interim board, our conscience is clear as we make this brief statement.”Mliswa was slung off the board in July, and the chairmen reiterated that he “does not represent any of the ten provinces”.While the removal of Mliswa from the scene – if that is what the upshot of this is – can be no bad thing, the chairmen’s stance is hardly surprising given that by and large they are in effect appointees of the ZC hierarchy.This is not the end of the unrest as Crispen Tsvarai, the senior executive who left the board a fortnight ago, has raised a number of issues which will need to be addressed.

On Monday, Hamish Marshall was batting for Northern Districts in New Zealand’s domestic State Championship final. On Wednesday, he was in Antigua preparing to bat at No. 3 in New Zealand’s Super Eights match against West Indies a day later.Marshall said it had been a hectic week after he was called up to replace Lou Vincent, who broke his wrist, in the 15-man squad. “There’s a bit of excitement,” he told AFP.”It’s always nice to get to a new country so I’ve been staying up reasonably late but I got to sleep last night and got eight hours in. I had a schedule that [the fitness trainer] Warren Frost had given me – when to sleep and when not to – and I stuck to that.”Marshall was dropped from the New Zealand team in January after reaching double-figures only twice from eight ODIs since the start of the Champions Trophy. However, his domestic form has been strong and on Monday his unbeaten 80 helped Northern Districts win the State Championship title.”It’s nice to be here, a little bit of a shock and I’m disappointed for Lou,” Marshall said. “It’s an opportunity for me and it’s just nice to be over here. The batting’s been going well for ND and playing some cricket in a team that’s winning is also pretty handy. To get some runs myself has been good for my confidence.”Marshall said facing up to West Indies on Thursday would be a huge challenge having only just arrived in the Caribbean. “It’s a quick turnaround but it’s part of the job,” he said. “I knew that was going to happen when I was coming over.”Mentally and physically there’s not a lot you can do, just get as much rest as possible and hydrate and eat well – that sort of thing. Mentally the key is to get on track to play a game which is pretty important for us at the start of the Super Eights.”Marshall’s appearance at No. 3 is not the only change to the New Zealand top order, with Peter Fulton set to open with Stephen Fleming. A win for New Zealand would put them well on the way to a semi-final berth.

Scorecard
Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill made Darren Lehmann’s decision to bat look questionable in the Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval, where South Australia crashed to 154 – and were lucky to even make that. MacGill finished with 3 for 6 as he ran through the Redbacks late in the innings, while Clark (2 for 33) set up the day of New South Wales dominance with two wickets in his first four overs.Phil Jaques and Greg Mail let the Redbacks off the hook with seven dropped catches between them but South Australia were unable to capitalise, managing to bat for only 65.3 overs. The opener Shane Deitz was dropped four times on his way to 62 before Doug Bollinger (2 for 30) finally had him caught behind off a thin edge.Lehmann also had a life before he was out for 32 just before tea to a magnificent return catch by MacGill. Clark, who is fighting for a place in Australia’s Ashes attack, had Matthew Elliott caught at gully for 0 from the fourth ball of the match, then claimed Cameron Borgas for 2. The Blues’ success came despite the fact that Moises Henriques, who took 5 for 17 against Queensland barely a week ago, was left out to make way for MacGill.In reply New South Wales showed there were runs in the pitch, reaching 2 for 96 at stumps. Phil Jaques and Ed Cowan (29 not out) led the way before Jaques was out for 44 off the last ball of the day.

Peter Moores says England will not jeopardise Andrew Flintoff’s future if his left ankle could be further damaged by continuing to play.Flintoff has struggled following a third operation on his ankle this summer, whereby he missed both Test series against West Indies and India. He returned for the one-day series against India, but, after suffering a swollen knee at Bristol, felt more pain in his left ankle following the match at Old Trafford. He missed two further games before having a steroid injection to help him through the decider at Lord’s.During his four-over spell against Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 pain was etched on his face and such determination to play through the problem has prompted fears he could do himself more damage.”At the moment I do know that Fred wants to play cricket,” admitted Moores, England’s coach. “He could aggravate it here but he could aggravate it at the next tournament, so you have to find out.”His ankle needs managing, there’s no doubt about that, but this is quite a good tournament for us to be able to test out where we are with him. He has four-over spells. It’s a short form of the game and we can control it and look at it so at the end of every game we do that.”If at any stage we thought we were damaging it or making it worse, he wouldn’t play. That is the basic premise everyone is working towards. He’s getting through and it’s manageable so they can look at different ways of rehab and strengthening it as we go along. At the moment it isn’t great because he’s definitely having to work a little bit within himself, but he’s still doing a good job for the team.”Moores then allayed worries that, in order to prolong his career, it may be best for Flintoff to pick and choose which matches he plays. He said that it’s not something England have considered just yet “because we just don’t know.””You can wrap him up and leave him but they’ve got to find out and I think that’s common sense. He saw the surgeon before we came out and the surgeon was very happy with it. It’s all credit to Fred for getting stuck in and playing.”Flintoff will undergo a fitness test – something he will be well used to by now – before England’s first Super Eight match against hosts South Africa on Sunday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A day truncated first by a wet outfield and then bad light ended saw only 27.2 overs being bowled at Napier as West Indies reached 95 for 1 thanks to sensible knocks from Daren Ganga and Brian Lara. West Indies may have been happy to have been saved by rain in the first two Tests which they lost, but their last shot at redemption was seriously jolted in the final Test.When Stephen Fleming won the toss and chose to put West Indies in at 3pm, with 47 overs to play, he held all the aces. Shane Bond had recovered fully from his illness and was firing on all cylinders, the skies were overcast and the outfield damp and slow. It was the condition of the outfield that had delayed the start of play in the first place, leaving both sides hanging. Despite all this, though, Chris Gayle and Ganga began well, as they have done more than once in this series.Gayle in particular disregarded the 0-2 Test series scoreline, coming on the back of a 1-4 hiding in the ODIs, and played some sumptuous strokes. He drove through the off side well and played his favourite pick-up shot through the on side with ease, only occasionally struggling against the pace and bounce of Shane Bond. Gayle had struck five boundaries in his 30 when a moment of indiscretion cost him his wicket. He punched Chris Martin on the up towards short cover where Peter Fulton was placed for just such a shot.After Gayle’s error in judgment a determined Lara knuckled down and blunted the New Zealand bowling. Defensive for the best part, Lara moved exaggeratedly in his crease getting right behind the line of the ball. He was able to handle the pace of Bond quite well and even unfurled an attractive cover-drive, full flourish of the MRF bat sending the ball screaming to the cover fence.Fleming, leading New Zealand for the 75th time in Tests, behind only Allan Border the former Australian great who led his team 93 times, sensed that his main fast bowlers were not getting much assistance from the conditions and threw the ball to Nathan Astle who bowled a tight line and length and kept one end very quiet. He troubled Lara with his nagging line, getting in a good lbw shout from which Lara was only saved by the height. When tea was taken, after 22 overs of play, Lara was on 17 while Ganga had reached 23 in West Indies’ 75 for 1.Soon after a tea break which both team really could have done without, considering the fact that they were cooling their heels in the dressing-room for the best part of two sessions, West Indies pressed on. They consciously looked to put runs on the board, and this almost resulted in a second wicked when Lara pushed Bond to gully and set off. Fortunately for the West Indies the shy at the stumps missed and Lara lived to battle on. He slapped Bond over point for a boundary, and two balls later, when the light was offered, the batsmen accepted it. Lara was on 28 and Ganga on 31, the second wicket partnership of 58 pushing West Indies along to 95 for 1, the score on which stumps were drawn soon after when the light situation failed to improve.

Chris Gayle c Fulton b Martin 30 (37 for 1)

Scorecard

Kent claimed only their third domestic title in 29 years with a thrilling four-wicket victory in an action-packed and controversial Twenty20 final against Gloucestershire. Needing 13 off the final over, Darren Stevens crunched two boundaries off an overawed Carl Greenidge, but in chaotic scenes there was confusion over if the match had actually been won.The equation had come down to six off three balls when Stevens launched Greenidge over cover. Kent’s batsmen ran off to begin celebrating, but Gloucestershire were ready for another ball and the umpires weren’t sure either. It had been missed, apparently by everyone except TV, that a no-ball had also been called. After a consultation between the umpires the Kent celebrations began in front of a near full-house.The champagne spraying was led by Robert Key, but the final was tinged with a moment of controversy involving the Kent captain’s dismissal for 18. He flicked a ball from Greenidge and Hamish Marshall dived forward at midwicket to claim, what appeared, another impressive catch. Key took Marshall’s word and made his way off, but in similar scenes to Kevin Pietersen’s ‘dismissal’ at Lord’s against India earlier this season the big screen flashed up a replay before Key reached the boundary.He lingered inside the rope, but by now the umpires (Neil Mallender at square leg had been happy about the catch), and players were ready for the next delivery and the TV replay wasn’t called for. Clearly unimpressed, Key flung his bat across the boundary and stormed into the Kent dug-out. A short while afterwards, having calmed down in the dressing-room, he told : “I’m surprised they didn’t take it to the third umpire. The boys told me to go back like Kevin Pietersen.”Repercussions are likely for such a clear show of dissent, but it proved how much the players now want to win the Twenty20 and that it is played as intensely as the other tournaments. “I’ll probably cop it,” admitted Key afterwards. However, it shouldn’t take away from an impressive performance by Kent who were on-song throughout the day. In the end, Key was able to smile with his first trophy as captain and said: “Two overs from the end I was back in the dressing kicking a few things around thinking we were done for, but it’s pretty special.”Ryan McLaren’s hat-trick, the fifth in English Twenty20, helped restrict Gloucestershire to 146, a total around par for the day where scoring never appeared quite as easy as first imagined. After slipping to 62 for 4, Gloucestershire threatened a recovery as Marshall, with a 49-ball 65, formed a useful stand with Mark Hardinges before McLaren intervened. Marshall chopped into his stumps as he tried to glide a ball to third man, Stephen Adshead was cleaned-up by a beauty that held its line and took off stump and Ian Fisher was trapped in front.As in the semi-final against Sussex, Kent’s chase was handed a flying start by Key and Joe Denly. After Key’s dismissal Denly and Walker continued to make good progress. However, Hardinges removed Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld as the pressure mounted. Then Jon Lewis brought himself back and picked up Matthew Walker on the deep square-leg boundary and bowled McLaren. When Geraint Jones was involved in a manic run out, slipping as he tried to abort a second run, Gloucestershire were sensing the win.But Lewis had gambled on giving the final over to Greenidge, the weakest link in his attack, and the move backfired badly as he followed long-hop with half-volley, even bowling one delivery off two steps. Stevens connected cleanly with two mighty swings and the first trophy of the season was heading to Canterbury. That, though, was only one of the talking points from another eventful Twenty20 final.

Bennett King, the West Indies coach, reposes more faith in his unproven bowling attack than in the team’s batting. King believes it will be the Australian bowlers who will turn on the pressure on the West Indies in the three-Test series that begins in Brisbane on November 3.”We have the bowling that can unsettle the Australian batsmen,” King was reported as saying in the . “History shows they have two of the best bowlers in the world, so batting is in for a tough time, I guess.”King regards Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne as the prime threats to a star-studded batting lineup that includes Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, all of whom have played over 50 Tests. Lara averages 53.75 with the bat, Chanderpaul 47.41, Sarwan 40.87 and Gayle 39.38, but King feels that they have their task cut out for them.The West Indies squad to Australia includes six fast bowlers, none of whom has played more than 17 Tests. Jermaine Lawson, whose action has been scrutinised in the past, is the only fast bowler who averages less than 30 with the ball. King believes all six have the necesssary pace and fire to succeed, and cited their good showing in Sri Lanka in July. “We didn’t get enough runs in Sri Lanka on very good batting decks but we certainly got very good players out,” King said. “We know we can get good players out. We have to make sure we get runs as well.”King’s claims come a day after his bowlers, led by Daren Powell (4 for 58), bowled out Queensland for 323 in a warm-up game ahead of the Test series. Lawson, Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore were all rested but are expected to come into contention for the first Test.