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Lord’s and The Oval have been nominated as two of the main venues to host next year’s ICC World Twenty20, with the ECB also recommending Lord’s to host the final.After being chosen as the hosts of the tournament, England have spent the past few months deciding on the venues to be used. The Oval has been chosen as a “preferred bidder” for the warm-ups, group and Super Eight matches and a semi-final.”I am delighted that Lord’s, a world-class venue with a famous history and tradition, has agreed to be recommended hosts,” Steve Elworthy, the tournament director, said yesterday in Auckland. “I was privileged to be director for [the] ICC World Twenty20 2007 and thrilled at the success of the event which generated record crowds and also made broadcasting history in India with 1.4 billion viewers tuning in for the final.”Now I am looking forward to the challenge of raising the standard of Twenty20 cricket even higher here in England and with Lord’s as a nominated venue and The Oval as a preferred bidder – as well as a third world class ground yet to be chosen – we have already got off to a great start.”Keith Bradshaw, the MCC secretary and chief executive, added: “The MCC committee is extremely pleased, and I am personally delighted, at the ECB’s decision to recommend that the final and other matches in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 be staged at Lord’s. It is bound to be an exciting and major global event, and MCC looks forward to contributing to its success.”MCC has supported Twenty20 cricket – a form of the game which virtually every cricketer has played – since the county competition started a few years ago. At Lord’s, these matches have regularly attracted crowds of over 20,000, and I am looking forward to seeing the home of cricket full for the 2009 matches.”

Division One

The abject weather forecast for the south is all that can prevent Nottinghamshire thrashing Kent at Canterbury after they were left to make 22 in their second innings. A sixth-wicket stand of 138 between Azhar Mahmood and Martin van Jaarsveld (79) was all that spared Kent from an innings loss after they slipped to 85 for 5, and although Mahmood completed a battling 116 the damage had already been done by Nottinghamshire’s seamers.Only 11 overs were possible at The Rose Bowl, with Hampshire losing Michael Lumb during 40 minutes bitterly cold play against Sussex. Lumb added five to his overnight 77 before he was trapped in front by Robin Martin-Jenkins when trying to whip one through midwicket, ending a stand of 80 with Greg Lamb. The drizzle finally halted mid-afternoon but at 5pm play was abandoned for the day and Hampshire will resume on Saturday – weather permitting – on 319 for 7.For a full report from The Oval, where Surrey continued to boss proceedings against Lancashire before bad light came along, click here.

Division Two

The Warwickshire era under Ashley Giles isn’t starting too well as they had to watch centuries from Vikram Solanki (140) and Graeme Hick (101) ease Worcestershire to a lead of 481 at Edgbaston. Warwickshire then collapsed to 26 for 3 by the close with Gareth Batty taking two wickets in a four-over spell. Their day had started poorly was they were unable to shift the nightwatchman Kabir Ali who added 100 with Solanki, whose first hundred since June came off 162 balls. Hick, showing no signs of an elbow injury, then followed with a 135-ball ton to put the match out of Warwickshire’s reach. Worcestershire were still without Simon Jones but it is expected his sore neck will have eased enough for him to bowl on the final day.Northamptonshire are facing a huge defeat after being reduced to 42 for 4 in their second innings by Essex at Chelmsford, where bad light brought an early end. David Masters knocked the top off the order with a fine new-ball burst that brought three wickets while Ravi Bopara chipped out the other. Bopara had carried his innings on to 150 as Essex built a lead of 223, aided by some distinctly average fielding, with Jason Gallian eventually removed for 171. Mark Pettini, the captain, made a brisk 80 before calling an end to the innings and was able to watch his attack make rapid inroads.Gloucestershire are well placed to open their season with a victory despite a battling performance from Derbyshire at Bristol. They require another 145 to win after Jon Lewis, Marcus North and Anthony Ireland shared nine wickets to bowl out Derbyshire for 362, a considerable improvement on their first-innings 124. Derbyshire’s hopes of setting a tougher target were dealt an early blow when Rikki Clarke top edged a hook off Ireland to deep square leg for 27, but David Pipe made a fighting 62 with nine boundaries. Graham Wagg (25) and Tom Lungley (24) chipped in, but they needed another century to match Chris Rogers’ effort yesterday. Stephen Adshead took his tally of catches to nine, putting him second in Gloucestershire’s list behind Andy Wilson. Needing 172 to win, Gloucestershire were 27 for 1 when drizzle ended play early.Middlesex were left staring down the barrel as they slid to 112 for 5 in their second innings against Leicestershire at a bitterly cold and windy Grace Road, a lead of only 19. Andrew Strauss failed for the second time and it took a dogged, unbeaten 49 from Owais Shah to give the innings any rigidity, and with David Nash he ground out the last hour. HD Ackerman’s tenth hundred for Leicestershire had guided them to 405, a lead of 93, after Tom New had managed to add only five to his overnight 104. Steven Finn, with 4 for 80, was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers.

New Zealand may be no nearer to configuring their frontline attack for the Test series against South Africa after the three-day game against Boland ended in a draw on Thursday, but, as coach David Trist acknowledged, at least two of the backup bowlers did their causes no harm in Paarl.The match wandered along to its inevitable conclusion in the early evening as Boland, set to make 357 in the last session, pottered to 53 for two before the game was called off 30 minutes early.Summing up, though, Trist said: “There were encouraging signs from one or two of the bowlers. That’s something we can take out of this game.”In particular, all-rounder Scott Styris and legspinner Brooke Walker, who might not have been in the frame a few weeks ago, have both wandered into it.Styris scored an unbeaten 73 in the New Zealand first innings and backed it up with three wickets as Boland replied while Walker bowled tidily in the Boland first innings for two for 38 and took the last wicket of the game on Thursday evening.”Nobody’s a certainty,” said Trist, “but certainly he (Styris) advanced his claims. He offers a batting/bowling option that’s worth looking at. I don’t think he’s there yet as a batter or a bowler at Test level, but it’s demanding times. He had a very good game and threw down the gauntlet and the challenge and may well sneak in. But he would have to back up the performances here to show that he really is deserving of a place.”Trist allowed that strengthening the New Zealand batting down the order “is a key to our success or survival” in the Test series.The coach had encouraging words, too, for Walker, who now seems to be New Zealand’s only spin option with Paul Wiseman’s sprained ankle likely to keep him out of the first Test.””I thought Walker had a good game,” said Trist. “He bowled well, got nice drift and basically used conditions that did not suit him quite well. But this was a warmup game. It’s not South Africa.”Of the three seamers given a run in Paarl, Chris Martin emerged as the man most likely to share the Test new ball with Shayne O’Connor, with three wickets in the Boland first innings and another on Thursday evening. But New Zealand will look again at their pace options in the three-day game against North West in Potchefstroom that starts on Saturday.As an exercise, Trist seemed happy with the Boland game, despite the tedium of the final day, played out in sweltering heat. He feels that Potchefstroom will provide conditions similar to Bloemfontein, where the first Test starts on November 17, and says the last warmup match will be “critical” to New Zealand’s preparations.And even though in one sense New Zealand’s cruel run of injuries may have made selection for the Test match more straightforward, Trist said that the business of choosing the side would still be “harrowing”.”It may be a bit simpler,” he said. “But it doesn’t take the stress out of the whole thing, does it?”

by 9 wickets – D/L method
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

An efficient bowling effort was followed up by a couple of confident half-centuries as India rolled along to a thumping nine-wicket win in the rain-affected one-off one-dayer against Ireland at Belfast. It was a comprehensive way to start a three-month-long tour and a victory that would provide them a boost ahead of the three-match series against South Africa, starting in three days’ time.Ireland’s innings never really got going – the top-order fell to swing, the middle to wrist-spin – and it took a fighting half-century from Niall O’Brien to prop them up to 193. Showers interrupted play exactly at the halfway point, costing more than two-and-a-half hours and leading to the target being revised to 171 off 39 overs, but an effervescent 163-run stand between Gautam Gambhir and Sourav Ganguly sped India to victory.Gambhir and Ganguly were the expected opening combination but Tendulkar walked out early, for the first time in a one-dayer since early December last year. The move didn’t pay off, though, with Tendulkar lasting just three deliveries: not accounting for swing, he attempted to flick a full ball from off to leg, leaving the gate wide open. Roger Whelan, on his one-day debut, couldn’t have imagined a better start.It meant Gambhir, coming off a century on India’s recent tour to Bangladesh, was in as early as the second over, slapping and flashing to anything wide of the stumps. He’s always liked width, backing himself with those jabs, but there were other strokes too: a delectable straight-drive off medium-pacer Trent Johnston and a crackling pull when Kevin O’Brien dropped it short.At the other end, there was more left-handed class on show. Ganguly struggled with his timing and placement early on but soon unfurled the gorgeous strokes, lacing silken drives on the up and giving the cover fielders no chance. The events of the 11th over, from Kevin O’Brien, encapsulated his innings: second ball, full and outside off, driven to cover; third ball, full and outside off, driven to cover; fourth ball, outside off, driven between mid-off and cover for four; fifth ball, full and outside off, driven to cover; sixth ball, full and outside off, advances down the track and drills it emphatically past mid-off for four. Uncertainty followed by certitude followed by dominance. He rarely blinked thereafter and stamped his authority with a straight six off Whelan towards the end.

The base was laid by the bowlers earlier in the day, in conditions that were ideal for fielding first. Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh, bowlers with contrasting styles but similar curving deliveries, posed the early questions. Ironically, it was a straight delivery that produced the early breakthrough: Kenneth Carroll driving away from his body only for Dinesh Karthik to leap to his right and pull off a delightful catch.A scratchy yet consolidating partnership followed until Dominick Joyce drove loosely away from his body, getting a thicker edge that flew to Ganguly’s right at third slip. Ganguly surprised himself, and the sparse gathering that had turned up, with an athletic take, one that resulted in his 100th catch in one-dayers. William Porterfield managed an adhesive 46-ball 16, an innings which went well with the sleepy settings provided for this game and equally one that ensured that Ireland didn’t lose their way completely.Things got worse with the introduction of the 18-year-old legspinner, Piyush Chawla. Not the conventional sort of legspinner but one who relies on a flatter trajectory and a majority of googlies, Chawla had the Irish middle order in knots. A delightfully flighted topspinner undid Gary Wilson, who played around a full ball and was castled, before a googly lured Kevin O’Brien into a slog sweep, one that struck the top edge and got only as far as RP Singh at deep midwicket. Andrew White was flummoxed by a conventional legbreak that bounced a little extra and struck the outside edge.The situation was dire at 83 for 5 but Niall O’Brien produced a fighting knock, his fourth half-century in one-dayers. He wasn’t frustrated by the dot balls – a massive 224 of them in fact – and hung in there when wickets fell at the other end. Johnston’s was the more entertaining knock, cracking two sixes and a four towards the end, and boosted the total to close to 200 and set up some sort of a contest. Tendulkar’s early dismissal caused a few flutters but Ireland had little to cheer from then on.

South/West Division

Chris Benham blasted Hampshire to their first win of the season as they chased down a mammoth total with three balls to spare against Gloucestershire at the Rose Bowl. Alex Gidman’s career-best 105 helped guide the visitors to a towering 350 for 5 and Hampshire’s hopes of opening their account were looking slim. Marcus North belted 85 from 73 balls, while Hamish Marshall (64) and Christopher Taylor (53 off 23) contributed to the carnage. The tall target was reduced to 240 from 30 overs after rain affected Hampshire’s innings, and Michael Carberry got them away to a strong start with 60. A 98-run stand between Benham and Nic Pothas pushed them closer but when Pothas fell for 43 from 32 balls the victory was far from secured. Jon Lewis chose to bowl the final over himself, a decision he might regret as he finished with an unflattering 0 for 49 from 4.3 overs as Benham ended up unbeaten on 54 from 27 balls and Greg Lamb clubbed 8 from three deliveries.Glamorgan survived a late scare from Steffan Jones, who clattered 42 from 36 to nearly take Somerset to an unlikely win at Taunton, but the visitors crept home by 19 runs with more than three overs to spare. Glamorgan’s 221 was set up by a fine 95 from David Hemp, including 11 fours, but there was little else from his team-mates apart from Mike Powell’s 32. Somerset struggled in reply, with Marcus Trescothick (15), Craig Kieswetter (18) and, crucially, Justin Langer (7) all falling cheaply. Ian Blackwell muscled 42 from 36, but when Somerset slipped to 163 for 9, there appeared little hope for the home side. Jones, though, gave them genuine belief with a blistering 42 – lifting three sixes – before he was last man out to David Harrison.

North Division

A career-best 75 from Navdeep Poonia was not enough for Scotland who fell to Derbyshire by six wickets in a rain-affected match at Derby. Charl Langeveldt collected 4 for 28 and troubled Poonia’s team-mates, none of whom passed 16 as Scotland battled to 169. Chris Rogers, who recently lost his Cricket Australia contract as he was not considered a one-day player, guided Derbyshire’s chase with 57 from 73 balls while his opening partner Steve Stubbings laboured for 53 deliveries for his 24. And although both fell, Dominic Telo (15*) and James Pipe (4*) took Derbyshire home with 14 balls to spare.Click here for John Ward’s report from Old Trafford where Lancashire pulled off a stunning win over Durham.

Midlands Division

HD Ackerman’s 103 and a fine all-round performance Jim Allenby took Leicestershire through to a comfortable 39-run win over Ireland at Grace Road. Ravi Rampaul, Ireland’s recently-signed overseas player, couldn’t inspire his new team-mates – conceding 49 from his 10 overs – but he bowled Dillon du Preez late in the innings for 3. Ackerman dominated his opening stand of 103 with Tom New (31) before he and Allenby put on a further 87 for the second wicket. Chasing a sizeable 252 Ireland slipped to 68 for 5, with Garnett Kruger picking up two early wickets, but Andrew White (52) and Gary Wilson (58) staved off Leicestershire’s march to victory with a fine sixth-wicket stand of 109. However, once Allenby removed Wilson, the rest folded quickly and Allenby ended with 4 for 44.Nottinghamshire had the better of a rain-affected day at Trent Bridge, where Darren Pattinson helped them account for Northamptonshire in a Duckworth/Lewis result. Pattinson, the Victorian fast bowler, picked up 3 for 39 from ten overs in his first one-day match for Nottinghamshire as the visitors struggled to support Stephen Peters, who made 90. They wobbled to 64 for 5 before Peters finally found some support from Lance Klusener, who made 60 from a very un-Klusener-like 109 deliveries. Northamptonshire ground out their 50 overs to reach 189 for 7, but later rain meant the home side’s target was reduced to 143 from 30 overs. Nottinghamshire’s other Australian player, Adam Voges, completed the six-wicket win with 42 from 40 balls after Will Jefferson set the platform with 36.

South East Division

Click here for Brydon Coverdale’s report on Surrey’s win over Middlesex at Lord’s.Kent won a nailbiting match against Sussex at Hove, with Justin Kemp (68*) and Ryan McLaren (17) squeezing them home to a four-wicket win with one ball to spare. Sussex’s 246 was set-up by four thirties from Matt Prior, Chris Adams, Luke Wright and Carl Hopkinson, with Michael Yardy making 50 from 78 balls. Kent began solidly, with Joe Denly making 43 and Martin van Jaarsveld cracking 58 from 55, but Wright hit back with three quick wickets to check Kent’s run-chase. Geraint Jones and Azhar Mahmood both fell in the dying overs, but McLaren held his nerve and smacked 17 from 14 balls to help Kemp and Kent through to victory.

Yuvraj Singh has been fined 20% of his match fee for “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision” during the final ODI between India and Pakistan in Jaipur.Yuvraj was given out by umpire Suresh Shastri during India’s chase, after he miscued a pull off Umar Gul to the keeper. However, instead of walking, an upset Yuvraj stood his ground, and indicated the ball had hit his shoulder and not his bat or glove. Replays suggested that the ball had hit his shoulder.Though Yuvraj had been charged with “showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision”, Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee, downgraded the charge to “showing dissent” after taking in to account the fact that Yuvraj, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, had apologised for any offence he may have caused and that it was his first appearance at a Code of Conduct hearing in eight years at the international level.”I took into account several factors in downgrading the charge, including the player’s previous excellent conduct, his apology at the hearing, the fact it was a spontaneous act out of character with his normal behaviour and that he did not appear to use foul or offensive language,” Mahanama said.”However, the fact remains that when the umpire raises his finger a player must leave the crease immediately and without question no matter what he may think of the decision.”That is one of cricket’s most fundamental principles and Yuvraj’s failure to adhere to that principle, especially given the message his action sends out to the millions of people watching at the ground and on television, merited some form of action.”

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the former West Indies captain, has been signed by Durham as a replacement for Scott Styris for the remainder of this season. His move to Durham was delayed due to work permit and visa problems.The batsman, named Man of the Series in the recently-concluded Test series between England and West Indies, will replace Styris whose stint with Durham was ended a week before his contract was due to expire after a series of niggling injuries.Geoff Cook, Durham’s head coach, said: “Signing a player of Shiv’s class is a statement of our intent for the rest of the season. He is in exceptional form at the moment and will provide valuable middle order runs while demonstrating what it takes to be a world-class batsman to some of our younger players.”With a number of important games and obviously the Lord’s final on the horizon, adding Shiv to the squad will give us extra batting options as we strive to make this Durham’s most successful season.”Chanderpaul, who will join the squad on Saturday, could make his first appearance for Durham as early as the following day against Surrey in a Pro40 match at Guildford. He will be available for the county until the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship starting on September 11.