Warwickshire have confirmed the signing of the Australian spin bowler Brad Hogg as one of their overseas players for 2004. Hogg, 32, was a member of the side which won the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, and is currently playing for Australia in the one-day TVS Cup tournament in India.Hogg, a left-hander, started out as a specialist batsman and remains a fine strokemaker who bats in the middle/lower order for Western Australia, but he is now better known as an unorthodox left-arm wrist spinner. He is also a magnificent fielder.Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be able to agree terms with Brad to enable him to join us next season, and his world-class left-arm spin bowling will provide the control and penetration we have been searching for. He was, without doubt, one of the most impressive bowlers in the last World Cup, taking 13 wickets at 24.76 apiece, and he will make an enormous difference to our bowling line-up.”

Close India 362 for 6 (Ganguly 144, Laxman 75) lead Australia 323 by 39 runs
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India had a day they could be proud of at the Gabba. Sterling performances from Sourav Ganguly (144) and VVS Laxman (75) went a long way in assuaging the pain of seeing Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar dismissed for only a run between them. There was a passage in play between lunch and tea when India were well and truly on top. Australia’s bowlers were under pressure, the field was spread and India’s traditional strength, their batting, came to the fore. India reached 362 for 6, a lead of 39, with one day left in the game.When the day began, with India on 11 for no loss, there was still plenty of work to be done. Steve Waugh unleashed Australia’s bowling firepower on a bright, sunny day, but India had answers to most of the questions asked of them. Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag looked the part at the top of the order.Sehwag made the most of Andy Bichel’s ordinary spell earlier on, driving and flicking with confidence. It was only the full, swinging deliveries outside the off stump that created trouble. He was dropped by Damien Martyn off Nathan Bracken in just the fourth over of the day. But, Bracken had his revenge, and first Test wicket, later on, when Sehwag’s flashing drive resulted in an edge to Matthew Hayden in the slip cordon (61 for 1). Hayden wrapped his hands gratefully around the ball, and ended Sehwag’s breezy 45.Soon after, Gillespie imposed himself on the game. He tricked Rahul Dravid (1) into poking at a delivery that swung, seamed away and kissed the edge on the way to Hayden at slip (62 for 2). In the same over came the moment that Steve Bucknor will be reminded about by every Indian supporter he comes across in the rest of his life.

Gillespie let rip a quick one on the stumps. Tendulkar picked up the length of the ball early and shouldered arms in the firm knowledge that the ball would clear the stumps. As the ball thudded into pad, Gillespie, wild mullet flapping in the wind and fire in the eyes, went up in appeal. Bucknor looked back blankly till Gillespie gave up hope, and then raised his finger. Tendulkar gone for a duck, 63 for 3, and suddenly talk about the follow-on target of 124 seemed valid.But Ganguly did not entertain any such negative thoughts. He hit the crease running, and drove through the off side with the panache that once prompted Dravid to say, “in the off side there is God, and then there is Ganguly.” He leaned into the line of ball, not necessarily moving his feet in exaggerated fashion, and stroked, nay caressed, the ball to the fence. The timing was spot on, and soon the placement matched it.Even the fall of Chopra, in the first over after lunch, for a well-made 36, once again to the firm of Hayden and Gillespie (127 for 4) did not slow down Ganguly. For that, much credit must go to Laxman. When Laxman played a characteristic swivel-pull, that left square leg dead in his place, for four, it seemed as though he was batting on a hundred. There were several more gorgeous shots, fit for a king. There was the flick off the hips, the on-drive and the backfoot punch through covers.When Ganguly brought up his century with a sweep off Stuart MacGill, a well of emotion poured forth. Under pressure, against the best side in the world in their backyard, the captain of India had come good. It sent out a strong signal and did much to set up the series.Laxman, another man who has been under needless pressure in recent times, was out in the middle to share the moment with his captain. Sadly, even though he himself looked good enough for a hundred, Laxman gave his wicket away, completely against the grain of play. He sliced a short, slightly wide delivery from MacGill straight to Simon Katich at point (273 for 5). Laxman had made an elegant 75, laced with 11 delectable boundaries.Unfazed, Ganguly carried on in the company of Parthiv Patel (37 not out) and racked up 144, with 18 boundaries, before he holed out to Gillespie off MacGill (329 for 6). By this stage, India had taken the lead, and stretched it to 39 when play was called off due to bad light.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

ScorecardBengal reached a strong position before losing seven wickets for 45 runs, as Mumbai came out on top by just 5 runs after scoring 262 for 8 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.Mumbai’s batsmen asserted themselves against Bengal’s bowling, with the top six getting starts. Robin Morris first put on 70 with Vinayak Mane, and then 51 for the second wicket with Vinod Kambli, before falling to Utpal Chatterjee for 55, the only half-century of the Mumbai innings. With the score reading 121 for 2, he had ensured an ideal launching pad for his team. It didn’t go waste. Kambli and Indulkar both made 31, before Nishit Shetty and M Bangara came together and hammered 62 in close to seven overs. Shetty scored 41 in 38 balls, before Sanjib Sanyal, who had a good outing, nailed him to get his fourth victim of the day. The tail biffed the ball some more, and Mumbai ended their innings at 262 for 8.Bengal’s reply got off to a spirited start. Arindam Das and Nikhil Haldipur galloped to 109 in little more than 18 overs, making the target look eminently achievable. Das was the first to go, having scored a 60-ball 57. Deep Dasgupta gave Haldipur company, and both put on 59, before Manoj Joglekar ran out Haldipur for 78. With seven wickets in hand, 14 overs to go, and only 80 runs needed, Bengal then blew it. Thakur, who bowled valiantly the previous day and still ended on the losing side, returned to dismiss Dasgupta (42), Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Sanyal, and Saurasish Lahiri in quick succession, and Bengal could only watch on in horror as their last seven wickets fell in a heap, just short of the finish line.

ScorecardA magnificent burst of bowling by Warren McSkimming almost set up a win for Otago, but they eventually had to settle for a draw against Sri Lanka A. McSkimming took five wickets for four runs in a seven-over burst in the morning, as Sri Lanka stumbled to 49 for 6. But Pradeep Hewage (67) and Hasantha Fernando (66 not out) then added 121 for the seventh wicket, and the declaration came at 170 for 7. Chasing 233 to win, Otago could only manage 208 for 8, with Craig Cumming smacking 92 off 104 balls.Dinuk Hettiarachchi, the left-arm spinner, followed up his four-for in the first innings with 5 for 74. Otago stood a realistic chance of winning as long as Cumming was at the crease, but they lost their way after he was out.

Frank Chamberlain, the chairman of the Test & County Cricket Board between 1990 and 1994, has died at the age of 78.Chamberlain, who made six first-class appearances as an amateur for Northamptonshire in 1946, succeeded Raman Subba Row at the helm of English cricket’s governing body – the forerunner of the ECB. He served a four-year term before being succeeded by Dennis Silk.Chamberlain was also chairman of Northamptonshire from 1985 to 1990, and later served as their president. He was educated at Uppingham School, but his playing career was cut short by the demands of business.

Tim Lamb, the chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board, is expected to tender his resignation at a press conference on Thursday morning, according to a report on the BBC website. Lamb, who has held the post since 1997, has been in discussion with lawyers to finalise the terms of his departure.It is only the timing of his departure that is coming as a surprise. On Wednesday morning, the British newspapers were united in their belief that Lamb would step down as soon as the end of September, despite the ECB’s continued insistence that such talk is “pure speculation”. There is no formal process for nominating Lamb’s successor, although the current operations director, John Carr, is a likely candidate.Writing in The Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins didn’t mince words: “Tim Lamb is to leave his six-figure-salary job as chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board before the end of the year. A statement originally intended to say that he had resigned and would leave at the end of September was delayed last night while lawyers discussed the terms of his departure. His successor will be appointed by the 18-man ECB management board … The Zimbabwe issue and a row over the future programme of domestic cricket have sparked Lamb’s exit from a role that he has performed with immense industry for seven-and-a-half years.”CMJ continued: “At 51 and with children in private education, his departure, despite his disillusionment with the sport’s internal politics, is not entirely voluntary. In effect, he has been pushed from the job he has held since the board’s inception in January 1997.”Elsewhere, there is widespread agreement that the main reason for Lamb’s departure is the ongoing saga surrounding the Zimbabwe tour. But behind the scenes, Lamb – and also David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman – have lost the support of many of the county chairmen, and without that his position became increasingly untenable.Lamb’s departure also raises question-marks about Morgan’s own future. Plans for a review of the county system were not so much thrown as hurled out by the First Class Forum (FCF) earlier this month, and while talk of a no-confidence vote turned out to be wide of the mark, the positions of Lamb and Morgan were greatly weakened. It is widely expected that Surrey’s Mike Soper, the chairman of the FCF and an outspoken critic of many of the ECB’s recent initiatives, will oppose Morgan when he comes up for re-election later this year.Yesterday’s announcement that Mark Sibley, the ECB’s commercial director, has also resigned after less than a year in the job was another blow. Sibley is the man who would have spearheaded the board’s crucial discussions with broadcasting companies over the TV rights from 2006 onwards. It has been suggested that he was fed up with the ECB’s “oppressive” bureaucracy and the continuing uncertainty over the Zimbabwe issue.

The USA Cricket Association has named a 14-strong team for the Americas under-15 tournament, which will be held in the Cayman Islands from July 20 to 25. The announcement came as a surprise to many, as the USACA has faced a lot of criticism this year for apparently neglecting junior cricket in spite of promises made in the past.Brian Ajodhi, the team’s captain, and Ravi Timbawala, the vice captain, are expected to open the batting – both have gone on international tours with the USA Cricket Academy as opening batsmen.Shaham Mumtaz, then 12, wrote his name into the record books at the ICC U19 World Cup two years ago as the youngest player to have played in the tournament. He was not over-awed by the occasion, and picked up a five-wicket haul against Cayman Islands with his legspin. Dhruv Mehra has also performed well on several international juniors. Apart from these players, the rest of the team will be playing on the international stage for the first time.Following the naming of the team, there was an unofficial protest from New York, claiming that no New York Region players had been selected for the U15 team because of past feuds between the USACA and the New York Region over international junior tours. However, this is unlikely as the coach, Linden Fraser, is himself from New York.USA squad for Americas U15 tournament Brian Ajodhi (capt), Dhaval Patel, Shalin Naik , Shaham Mumtaz, Mohammed Hassan, Chirag Bhakta , Ravi Timbawala, Imran Samsair, Kartik Vittala , Dhruv Mehra, Sunil Deopersaud , Syed N. Abdullah, Chandika Singh, Siddhanth Dhume.

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A solid 91 from Mark Wallace in Glamorgan’s 451 helped to set up an intriguing final days’ play tomorrow at Swansea, with Sri Lanka A needing another 225 runs to win with nine wickets left.Nuwan Kulasekara, who ended with figures of 6 for 109, made the early breakthrough for Sri Lanka A with the wicket Dean Cosker early on, but David Hemp and Ian Thomas put on a handy stand until Thomas was caught off Suraj Mohamed for 68. Mike Powell completed a dismal match with the bat when he was bowled by Kulasekara for 2, but Jonathan Hughes then added a round 50 before he was trapped lbw by Jehan Mubarak.Hemp then fell for 73, bowled by Kulasekara, and Wallace made his mark on the match, hitting 12 fours and a six and putting on stands with Robert Croft (37) and David Harrison (22*). Wallace was finally out, stumped by Charith Sylvester Fernando off Suraj as Glamorgan set Sri Lanka A 254 to win.However, Ian Daniel was out in the first over, bowled by Harrison for 1, leaving Shantha Kalavitigoda and Malintha Gajanayake holding the fort as Sri Lanka A press for victory tomorrow.

The former Glamorgan and England batsman, Hugh Morris, has agreed to step in as acting chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board, following the departure of Tim Lamb.Morris, 40, was a pugnacious opening batsman who was unlucky to play just three Tests in his 16-year career. He made a belated debut against West Indies at Edgbaston in 1991, and went on to play a vital innings of 44 in his second match at The Oval, which went a long way towards securing England’s series-levelling victory.Lamb, who announced he would be stepping down earlier in the summer, served seven-and-a-half years in the post, and vacates his desk at the end of the month. Morris’s first day in the job will be October 1, and he will continue in the role until a permanent replacement is chosen.A large factor in Lamb’s demise was his loss of support among the counties, an aspect of the day-to-day running that Morris, as a former county captain, should be well prepared to cope with. He will be working alongside the chairman, David Morgan, who was last week unopposed in his re-election for another two years.The ECB’s interests on the International Cricket Council will be represented by John Carr, the director of cricket operations.

Robert Key was in a philosophical mood as he faced the press after his matchwinning performance in England’s warm-up fixture against a Nicky Oppenheimer XI at Randjesfontein. For all the purity of his strokeplay, as he cracked five sixes and seven fours in an 85-ball 87, he knows he might yet lose his place to Mark Butcher come the start of the Test series.Butcher was England’s ever-present No. 3 in 42 Tests from 2001, until he lost his place to Key last summer, following a freak car accident near The Oval. He then aggravated a thigh strain while picking up a cardboard box at his home in London. It was, as Key admitted, an unfortunate catalogue of misfortune.”I’ve said all along that I only got picked because Butch got hit by a car,” admitted Key. “He hasn’t had much luck in recent times, so if he gets in ahead of me that evens it up a bit. He’s got a bit of credit in the bank – he didn’t get dropped or anything, he just got injured in a freak way. He’s been one of England’s best players for several years now, so I’m philosophical about the situation.”Butcher’s case for a recall was further dented today, as he fell to Charl Willoughby for just 6 in the closing stages of England’s run-chase, but by then he was on a hiding to nothing, with just ten runs needed for victory and the Test-class bowlers, Willoughby and Heath Streak, back in the attack.Asked whether it would have helped the team cause if he and Marcus Trescothick had got out after reaching their fifties, Key responded: “That was pretty much what we were trying to do. But the boundaries were short and we were just having a slog. It’s amazing how well you can connect with the ball when you play without fear.””It was a bit like a pre-season game,” he added. “I don’t enjoy them all that much, because I don’t like using up all my luck in games that don’t matter. But we’re all feeling the pressure for our places at the moment, with the likes of [Ian] Bell and [Kevin] Pietersen coming up on our heels. We can’t afford to hold back for a minute.”