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Tama Canning, the allrounder who has played four ODIs for New Zealand, has announced his retirement at the age of 29, following a disciplinary breach. He renounced his contract with Auckland, his state side, after questions were raised about his conduct and commitment during their State Championship match against Northern Districts at Eden Park last week.Canning, the overnight batsman, reported late on the final day with a hangover, showing up barely 20 minutes before the first ball was to be bowled. Though he picked up seven wickets, he failed miserably with the bat, with scores of 0 and 1, as his side crumbled to a 318-run defeat. His actions irked the team management and his team-mates.This was his second breach following an incident in an Auckland nightclub last year, and though he claimed no recollection of the offence, he was fined by the Players’ Association. Andrew Eade, Auckland Cricket chief executive, told the that they were yet to discuss at that stage whether his contract would be cancelled.”There was an incident at the last game,” Eade said. “We held a hearing following the incident, which is what we do in situations like that, and it hadn’t reached the stage of deciding what we were going to do as a flow-on from the incident. Tama himself decided, because he’s had a bit of a history of difficulties with commitments I guess, that it was time for him to retire.”Heath Mills, the Players’ Association manager, added that Canning had struggled to meet his obligations as a professional cricketer, thereby prompting him to retire and look for a career outside cricket. Canning has moved back to Perth, his former base.Canning was named the Auckland Player of the Year in 2003 after a good season in which he took 46 wickets in the State Championship at an average of 21.97, breaking John Bracewell’s haul of 43 in 1986-87. He also scored 451 runs, averaging 37.58.

First Division

Marcus Trescothick inspired a far more resilient batting performance from Somerset on the second day against Hampshire at Taunton, the hosts moving to 159 for 1 at stumps to reduce their deficit to 74. Hampshire were dismissed for 359 with John Crawley moving from his overnight 78 to 104, while Michael Lumb made 76. Ben Phillips finally made the breakthrough to dismiss Crawley, who had barely offered a chance, forcing a thick edge low to Trescothick at second slip. Lumb and Nic Pothas then put on 48 before Pothas – who injured his calf earlier in the day – fell to the first ball after lunch. His replacement, Michael Brown, was also injured, forcing Hampshire to call on Tom Burrows, a Second XI wicketkeeper. Somerset, who limped to a hopeless 126 in the first innings, fought resiliently at their second chance with Trescothick and Neil Edwards putting on 83 for the first wicket. Edwards fell to a full-toss from Greg Lamb for an even fifty from 69 balls but Trescothick was still standing on 62 at stumps, which included six fours and a six into the River Tone.Fifties from Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat handed Kent the most unlikely of first innings leads over Nottinghamshire on the second day at Trent Bridge, but the home side raced to 106 for 2 at stumps to regain the lead by 70 runs. After their disastrous top-order capitulation yesterday, in which they were reduced to 5 for 4, Kent found resistance in their lower-order with McLaren cracking a vital 57, sharing in an eighth-wicket stand of 67 with Arafat as the visitors defied Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad. Sidebottom remained predictably accurate – picking up 1 for 11 in eight overs in the morning – but McLaren was strong on the drive, particularly off Broad, while Arafat tucked into Samit Patel in his 70-ball fifty. Sidebottom continued to probe and picked up his fifth wicket when Robbie Joseph edged to slip, but Kent had gained an invaluable 68-run cushion. However, after the early loss of Will Jefferson, Matthew Wood regained the momentum for Nottinghamshire with an 89-ball fifty and the hosts lead by 70 with two days to go.Click here for John Ward’s report from Old Trafford where Andrew Flintoff bagged a pair for Lancashire, before nipping out three quick Durham wickets.

Second Division

Andre Nel blitzed Middlesex’s top-order with 3 for 8 in six deliveries to lift Essex’s spirits on the second day in Chelmsford. Bowling with genuine pace and bounce, he removed Andrew Strauss for 12, Shaun Udal – the nightwatchman – first ball for 0, before condemning Ed Smith to a miserable pair. At stumps, Middlesex led by 114 – a disappointing lead considering the performance of Danny Evans earlier in the day. Evans, the 20-year-old medium-pacer, picked up his maiden five-wicket haul as Essex lost 6 for 27. Only Jason Gallian (56) and Tom Westley, whose grinding 60 spanned nearly three hours, offered much resistance in a stand of 72 before Gallian became Evans’ first victim, caught behind. Westley impressed on the drive but edged the probing Vernon Philander (3 for 45) to slip – and then Evans dominated, taking 4 for 7 in 7.5 overs to pick up 6 for 35. The match, however, remains in the balance.Jonathan Trott hit his first hundred for two years for Warwickshire who gained a slender – but potentially telling – 40-run lead over Derbyshire on the second day at Derby. After losing Ian Westwood early, the big three of Darren Maddy (57), Ian Bell (48) and Trott set about rebuilding Warwickshire’s reply to Derbyshire’s 270. Bell fell in the forties for the third time this season, though he did become the fastest Warwickshire batsmen to reach 5000 first-class runs. Bell’s England colleague Tim Ambrose cricked his neck during a warm-up routine, preventing him batting at No.6, though he did come in later to help Trott to his hundred. Derbyshire’s Tom Lungley took 4 for 8 in 21 balls – James Anyon surviving the hat-trick – to levy the balance, but Warwickshire’s lower-order fell away quickly to leave the match intriguingly poised.

Kanbis took another step towards retaining their NPCA crown for the fourth year in succession with a six-wicket win over Parkland Rhinos. Second-placed Stray Lions slipped up with a three-wicket loss at home to Aga Khan. Kanbis now top the table with 167 points while Stray Lions are 15 points adrift.The match between Swamibapa and Sir Ali Muslim Club did not take place as Swamibapa boycotted the match as part of their ongoing dispute with the NPCA.Ruaraka A lead the first division on 192 points for 12 matches with Kanbis B second on 153 points with a game in hand. Swamibapa B are third on 145 from 11 with Kongonis fourth on 144 from 12.The second division is headed by Telca with 188 points from 12 games, with Nairobi Nookers second on 161 and Nairobi Institute third on 155.Nairobi Jaffery have already secured the third-division title with wins in all ten matches. They are on 186 points with Simba Union B and Ruaraka B tied in second back on 125 points.NPCA Super Division

ScorecardFifteen wickets fell on a bowler-dominated day at Nagpur. Vidharbha hit back after being bowled out for 163, reducing Services to 38 for 5. Vidarbha collapsed after the opening partnership of 56 – incidentally the highest of the day – to a combination of seam and spin. Rakesh Sharma and Narender Kumar shared five wickets while the spinners Ashish Mohanty and Arun Sharma grabbed four wickets as the wickets fell in a heap. For Vidarbha, the seamers did the trick: Mohammad Hashim and Sandeep Singh bowled 17 overs and took all the five Services wickets to fall.J&K 133 for 8 (Bandekar 4-46) v Goa
ScorecardCharged by a four-wicket haul by Saurabh Bandekar, Goa restricted Jammu & Kashmir to 133 for 8 on a truncated opening day’s play at Jammu. J&K had reached a comfortable 82 for 1 when Robin D’Souza effected a twin-strike to push them to 83 for 3. Bandekar prised out three more quick wickets and Shadab Jakati struck twice in succession to leave the hosts reeling at 118 for 8. The ninth-wicket pair of Manzoor Dar and Pranav Mahajan kept the Goa bowlers at bay for seven more overs before play was called off after only 53 overs.Tripura 285 for 4 (Shetty 164*) v Assam
ScorecardNishit Shetty smashed a career-best 164 not out to propel Tripura to a healthy 285 for 4 against Assam at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Tripura were in touch of bother at 32 for 3 before Shetty added 106 runs with Rajib Saha, who made his highest first-class score of 66, and a further 147 with Timir Chanda (36). Shetty struck 26 boundaries in his 232-ball knock as Tripura headed towards a big first-innings total.

The Wellington allrounder, Grant Elliott, has been named in New Zealand’s 13-man squad for the first Test against England at Hamilton, which starts on Wednesday.Elliott, 28, was born in Johannesburg but has completed his national qualification, and impressed the selectors with 2 for 12 from eight overs and a composed innings of 28 during England’s tour match at Dunedin. He is one of seven players in that match to have been included in the squad, including the seamer Iain O’Brien, who beat his new-ball partner Mark Gillespie to the final place.New Zealand’s selector, Dion Nash, said that Elliott is a solid middle-order batsman and a good bowling option with his ability to swing the ball. He enjoyed a productive season for Wellington in 2006-07, with 361 runs in seven matches at 45.12, including two of his three career centuries. He has been less prolific this year, although he provides the selectors with a handy back-up for their established allrounder, Jacob Oram.””I came for a lifestyle change and also for my cricket, but as soon as I arrived in New Zealand and made it my home, I had aspirations of playing international cricket for New Zealand,” said Elliott after his call-up. “It’s a really tough move to make, because you always grow up thinking you’re going to be a Springbok or a Protea and then you make that change to another country.”Elliott’s allegiance was cemented last winter when he was selected to play for New Zealand A. “When I opened the bag and saw the silver fern that was a real indication that New Zealand’s my home – and I’ll give everything for New Zealand,” he said. “I’m a permanent resident now, I think I can push for my citizenship soon, which I’m quite keen to do. Moving here has been great; New Zealand Cricket have been wonderful, and I consider myself a Kiwi now.”Another notable inclusion in the Test squad is Jamie How, who excelled during New Zealand’s recent one-day series victory with 201 runs at 50.25, including an 86-ball century at Napier. His innings of 65 in the Dunedin warm-up was enough to confirm his place alongside Matthew Bell at the expense of Craig Cumming, with Ross Taylor and Mathew Sinclair also included from the Select XI top-order. The out-of-form Peter Fulton misses out. He has suffered a reoccurrence of a right-knee injury, and will be reassessed prior to the second Test.New Zealand squad 1 Matthew Bell, 2 Jamie How, 3 Stephen Fleming, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Mathew Sinclair, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Iain O’Brien, 11 Chris Martin, 12 Grant Elliott, 13 Jeetan Patel.

The England team after putting the Sri Lankan team into bat on a rainaffected first day of the second under-19’s Test match at Northamptonfailed to press home the advantage.Sri Lanka, one down in the series, were at one stage 79 for 3 butrallied to make 223 for 5 at the end of day thanks to a stand of 98between Thilina Kandamby (58) and Jehan Mubarak (46) in 34 overs. Theopeners Ian Daniels (38) and Nimesh Perera (27) put on 51 runs in 12overs when the latter was out to Tim Murtagh. Malintha Gajanayake wasthe next to go, dismissed by Justin Biship for 1. Then Daniels left at79. The fourth wicket stand between Kandamby and Mubarak initiated arecovery before left arm spinner Monty Panesar bowled Mubarak for 46.Finally Kandamby succumbed to Bishop.Kaushalya Weeraratne and Muthumudalige Pushpakumara played out tillthe end of the day.

The phony war in St Kitts is ever so nearly at an end. One lastmismatch presents itself tomorrow, when the high-flying South Africanstake on the undaunting Scots, and then it will be time to focus on thereal business end of this group – next Saturday’s seismic clashbetween South Africa and Australia.For Graeme Smith, however, tomorrow’s fixture contains an unexpectedblast from the past. The leader of the world’s No.1-ranked side isabout to go head-to-head with his former club captain. Ryan Watson,Scotland’s stand-in skipper, was a contemporary of Smith’s during hisschool-days at King Edward’s in Johannesburg, and Smith admitted itwould be a surreal feeling when the pair walk out together for thetoss.”When we were at school together Ryan was a few years ahead of me,”said Smith. “It will be weird to walk out on the pitch and spin a coinwith a South African. We’ve been teasing him quite a bit since MontegoBay, because there are quite a few guys who do know him. He’s a reallygood man, so I guess part of you wants him to do well – but then thereis a big part that doesn’t.””Believe it or not, [Smith] used to fetch drinks for me and carry mybags,” said Watson. “I don’t know if he’ll do that tomorrow, but I’ll ask him. At school, hewas limited in terms of his strokeplay, he’s progressed a long waywith that. Mentally he was far better than anyone I saw as a youngkid.”He used to enjoy making big hundreds as a schoolboy, which is unusualwhen other guys are making 50 or 60. He got hundreds as a 15-year-oldagainst Premier League attacks, so everyone knew he was going to be aspecial player and he’s proved that.”Watson was under no illusions about the task his side facestomorrow – a task made all the more onerous by the shock victories ofthe past week. “They’re a quality side and they’re not going to becomplacent against the minor sides,” he said. “We were poor at thedeath against Australia, by our own standards, and that’s somethingwe’ve worked on. That’s a crucial part of the game and they’ve gotsome really clean strikers, so we’ll have to make sure we get it rightat the end.””The upsets earlier in the week in the other groups have kept everyoneon their toes,” added Smith. “It just shows that if you’re not up forit and don’t perform to your levels you can put yourself underpressure. We certainly will be on our toes – and the way we performedagainst Holland is the way we want to perform tomorrow.”Inevitably though, Smith had more than half an eye on next week’sbattle. “On everyone’s minds is the Australia game,” he admitted.”That is the big one everyone is looking forward to. I think bothteams have their fair share of strong hitters, but I think our lengthand power in our batting line-up is one of our strengths. We have agood variety in our bowling attack, which has been brilliant over thelast few years.”South Africa are expected to welcome Makhaya Ntini back into the foldfor tomorrow’s game, after he missed the opening fixture to attend thebirth of his first daughter. “He is huge variation for us,” saidSmith, “and Andrew Hall over the last two years has been the best’death’ bowler in world cricket. We have options; we’re very strong inthe bowling department. I’m pretty comfortable with our attack.”Scotland, for their part, are expected to introduce the SouthAfrican-born seamer Dewald Nel to replace their captain, Craig Wright,who has flown home to attend the funeral of his aunt. There may alsobe a recall for the middle-order batsman, Neil McCallum, who hasbecome something of a cult figure among the vocal Scottish fans inBasseterre.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 AB deVilliers, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Herschelle Gibbs, 5 Mark Boucher (wk), 6Ashwell Prince, 7 Justin Kemp, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Andrew Hall, 10Makhaya Ntini, 11 Andre NelScotland (probable) 1 Fraser Watts, 2 Majid Haq, 3 Ryan Watson(capt), 4 Neil McCallum, 5 Gavin Hamilton, 6 Dougie Brown, 7 ColinSmith (wk), 8 Glenn Rogers, 9 Dewald Nel, 10 Paul Hoffman, 11 JohnBlain

Bob Woolmer was a “little depressed” following his team’s exit from the World Cup and he was looking forward to going home, according to an email that may have been his final words before his death in Kingston, Jamaica last March.The email, which was sent to his wife, Gill, was read to jurors at the inquest into Woolmer’s death. “Hi, darling, feeling a little depressed currently as you might imagine,” the message started. “I am not sure which is worse, being knocked out in the semi-final at Edgbaston or now in the first round. Our batting performance was abysmal and my worse fears were realised … I could tell the players were for some reason not able to fire themselves up.”He went on to say that he was glad not to have to travel to Guyana and was looking forward to seeing his family again. “I hope your day was better but I doubt it as you were probably watching … not much more to add I am afraid but I still love you lots.”Mark Shields, Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner who was at the heart of the investigation, read the email to jurors. He is among the final witnesses in the inquest which is expected to finish this week.The fifth week of the inquest got off to a bizarre start when a subpoenaed witness failed to turn up. David Wong Ken, a local DJ who claimed to have evidence about Woolmer’s death, failed to appear under instruction from his lawyer. “I take full responsibility for him not being here,” his representative said. “It would be an exercise in futility, and a side-show that should not be allowed.”

The Indian squad’s two-day conditioning camp in Kolkata from November 2 in preparation for the home series against Pakistan, has been shifted to the Eden Gardens from the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CCFC). The Indian board has agreed to postpone the Ranji Trophy Super League match between Bengal and Hyderabad to November 4 to accommodate the camp.”Eden [Gardens] has superb world-class facilities including floodlights and indoor practice arrangements which were not there at the CCFC. We were earlier forced to opt for the CCFC as Eden was not available,” Prasun Mukherjee, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, told PTI. “But I managed to convince the BCCI that the camp should be held at the Eden [Gardens] so as to give the Indian players the very best of infrastructural support before such an important series.”Another reason given by Mukherjee for shifting the camp was that the Eden Gardens had floodlights, which would help the Indian team as three of the five ODIs against Pakistan were day-night matches.Mukherjee said the BCCI had decided to shift the camp to the Eden Gardens after speaking to officials from the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad squad are likely to have their nets at Sourav Ganguly’s academy in Salt Lake.

The uncertainity over who will take over leadership of the Indian team if Rahul Dravid leaves the field has been answered for the moment with Sachin Tendulkar being appointed vice-captain for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.”Tendulkar has been made the vice-captain,” said Surendra Bhave, India’s administrative manager.India did not appoint a vice-captain for the one-day series against Bangladesh but Virender Sehwag took over when Dravid left the field for a brief while during the second ODI. The one-day squad did not include Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly or VVS Laxman and, with Sehwag dropped from the Test squad, the question cropped up once again.Laxman had been appointed vice-captain for the Test series in South Africa in December 2006, after which Sachin Tendulkar took over the role for the home one-day series against West Indies and the World Cup in the Caribbean.