Australia’s cricket authorities are determined that England’s Barmy Army supporters won’t outnumber the home supporters during next winter’s Ashes series, as the jostling for position continues ahead of the most eagerly anticipated tour in years.The Australia press has been speculating that as many as 40,000 English cricket fans will descend on Australia, raising concerns among some players that England’s Ashes defence will be like a virtual home series for the visitors. But Cricket Australia says it is confident Australian fans will not be shouted down by the vociferous Barmy Army.”The Aussie players are going to want to play in front of Australians, and we confidently expect that most people in the stands will be Australians barracking for Australia,” said Peter Young, a Cricket Australia spokesman.”That’s the way it should be, because it’s our country, and Australians should have as good an opportunity to see their team first-hand as we can provide.”There have been projections of huge crowds for the five Tests in November, December and January, and officials believe the refurbished Melbourne Cricket Ground – the principal venue for the Commonwealth Games in March – may break its own world record of 90,800 for the first day of the Boxing Day Test.”It’s going to be phenomenal,” Shane Warne told AFP on Wednesday. “We’ve just got to make sure it’s not a home Test for England. “[If] they’ve got 40,000 or 50,000 at [the MCG] and you’ve only got 20,000 or 30,000 Aussies it will be like a home ground for them.”CA’s marketing people have not yet projected a total crowd figure, but it is expected to be the most watched Australian Test series in history. Young said the reason for the delay in ticketing pricing was the complexity of dealing with “the most extraordinary customer interest we’ve ever encountered”.He said ticket prices and on-sale dates were the responsibility of the individual state associations and CA wanted to make sure everything was right before any announcement. “They own the pricing of the tickets and to get all of that lined up is bloody hard work and we’re not there yet.But Young was not about to turn the English fans away. “We hope that lots of UK visitors come Down Under,” he said. “It adds to the colour and excitement. We also hope that they leave lots of their pounds sterling here, and also that little urn here at the end, because we want it back.”England regained the Ashes against Australia for the first time in 18 years last September with a 2-1 series win.

The Standard Bank Pro20 innings of the season was played by AB de Villiers scoring 91 not out with seven sixes and five fours coming off 52 balls as the Titans beat the Lions by six wickets in a high-scoring gameat the SuperSport Park in Centurion.Winning the toss and batting first, the Lions put together a decent total of 179 for 4 in their 20 overs. Adam Bacher got the innings off on the right foot, scoring 52 from 37 but when he was brilliantly caught at extra cover by Aaron Phangiso one felt that the Gods were smiling on theTitans. Neil McKenzie got off to a slow start but once in his stride, was very strong on the leg side in his 66 off 48. Vaughn van Jaarsveld was aggressive in his 35 off 18 as they put on 83 in seven overs. Brendon Reddy was the pick of the Titans bowlers, getting rid of both van Jaarsveldand McKenzie in consecutive balls.The Titans innings could not have started any better with de Villiers launching the first ball of the innings into the crowd. The fourth ball received the same treatment and the home spectators sensed something special. And special it was; the second highest score in the South African competition with shots going to all parts of the ground. A square drive for six will long be remembered. One wonders why he is not in Australia with the Proteas. With a willing partner in Goolam Bodi (36 off 33) they put on 93 for the first wicket. It was, however the class ofde Villiers and the aggression of Gerald Dros (24 off 11) that put the Titans into a winning position with eight balls to spare and assuring them a home semi-final.The Dolphins won their first match in the Standard Bank PRO20 Series by defeating the Warriors by 11 runs at Kingsmead in Durban. Batting first, Doug Watson got the Dolphins off to a solid start as he struck nine boundaries and a six in a 23 ball 48. A 46 off 30 balls from Ahmed Amla, that included six fours and a six, saw the Dolphins getting to hundred in just 57 balls. Unable to sustain the run rate and wickets falling, the Dolphins could only score 65 in the final 11 overs, and finished on 165 for 7. Some good bowling at the end of the innings contributed to the Dolphins decline with Robin Petersen taking 2 for 23 and Justin Kreusch, 3 for 24.Some tight bowling by Yusuf Abdulla (2 for 20) and Andrew Tweedie (2 for 31) at the start of the Warriors innings put the batsmen under a lot of pressure. With the loss of Tyron Henderson (38) and Arno Jacobs (36), the game had slipped away from the Warriors, who ended on 154 for 6 and now prop up the bottom of the table.

The South African captain Graeme Smith says Australia do not have the strength in depth to rest key players and Arjuna Ranatunga believes the policy is “cocky and arrogant”.”From what we have seen in the past few games, they are more than capable of missing out on the final with the way Sri Lanka and South Africa have played,” Ranatunga told the . “You can see the way they crumble under pressure. When there is no pressure, they look really good and are tough to beat. But they panic under pressure and they looked awful and vulnerable the other night.”Ranatunga said Sri Lanka had a good chance to finish the VB Series on top after beating Australia in Sydney on Sunday. “I don’t think our players will worry if Australia are being arrogant. If they are cocky, that’s their problem, not ours.”Smith, whose side is preparing to take on Sri Lanka on Tuesday, said the Australian attack was exposed without their spearhead Glenn McGrath. Australia chose to rest McGrath at the SCG and Sanath Jayasuriya smacked 114 off 96 balls.”It shows how important McGrath is to their set-up … McGrath and [Brett] Lee,” he said. “I know McGrath hasn’t got many wickets but they’ve really bowled well up front this series and created pressure. It just maybe shows the depth is just like ours, it takes a while to get those guys up to a level they need to be.”The allrounder James Hopes was hammered for 65 runs off six overs by the Sri Lankans while Brett Dorey was substituted by Ricky Ponting after being smashed for 35 runs off four overs. Smith questioned why the Australians continued to ignore Jason Gillespie, despite his poor form in Australia’s Ashes tour of England. “I know he struggled through the Ashes but he’s a world-class bowler, and certainly it has been a surprise that he hasn’t even been spoken of much.”Smith was also surprised at the decision to rest Phil Jaques, who blasted an Australian one-day debut record of 94 against South Africa in Melbourne on Friday. “It’s a bit harsh on the boy,” he said, “but I guess they’ve backed Simon Katich from the start and it’s important to have a degree of consistency.”Consistency was a strength of ours through our success winning 20 games in a row in the last six to eight months, now we’ve lost a lot of those guys going home and it takes a while to build that experience and confidence at this level.”

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

After the tug-of-war of the first four days, New Zealand ensured that there would be no final West Indies comeback by taking the last two wickets for 17 runs to go up 1-0 in the series. Shane Bond, the architect of New Zealand’s final surge, fittingly took the last wicket and bagged a five-wicket haul in his first home Test since December 2002.New Zealand began the day with two tailenders to dismiss and 44 runs to defend. Daniel Vettori prised out Ian Bradshaw, caught by Stephen Fleming at bat-pad. Bond followed up by bowling Jerome Taylor, who had struck two boundaries off Vettori to give a flutter of hope to the dressing-room, off the inside edge to end the match in the tenth over of the day. This 27-run win was New Zealand’s narrowest in terms of runs, beating their 40-run victory against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 1962.Bond was adjudged Man-of-the Match for his matchwinning spell but New Zealand’s win was a result of several fightbacks over the course of the match. Scott Styris bailed them out of a first-innings debacle with a hundred and Brendon McCullum staged a recovery with Vettori in the second before Bond’s onslaught sealed the result.For West Indies, it was a familiar tale of what could have been. They had the perfect opportunity to win their first overseas Test, other than in Bangladesh or Zimbabwe, since beating England at Birmingham in 2000. But every time they wrested the advantage, their inability to build on it and shut New Zealand out of the game let them down. However, they can take heart from Ian Bradshaw’s performance on debut. With Jerome Taylor unable to bowl more than nine overs in the match because of a hamstring injury, Bradshaw shouldered the extra burden and bowled 57.1 overs, sometimes unchanged through an entire session, and picked up six wickets. In the second innings, Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga showed, during a 148-run opening partnership, that the Bond threat could be overcome. However, the middle order didn’t follow their lead and wilted against Bond’s pace, collapsing spectacularly to a 27-run defeat.

Ian Bradshaw c Fleming b Vettori 10 (251 for 9)
Jerome Taylor b Bond 13 (263 all out)

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

Both teams face a nervous wait for the conclusion of a pulsating final Test as Damien Martyn’s unbeaten 93 crept Australia to within 44 of their target with only four wickets remaining. Australia, who may not be able to use Justin Langer, seemed set for a comfortable chase during a brilliant 165-run partnership between Martyn and Michael Hussey, but when Hussey departed for 89 the side lost 4 for 39 to refresh a previously ailing South Africa over the last 90 minutes.Makhaya Ntini charged through Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne after Nicky Boje finally removed Hussey, and Jacques Kallis, a debutant captain under unfamiliar pressure, ended a dangerous drive from Andrew Symonds. The last three batsmen fell for nine runs in a dramatic turnaround as South Africa’s mood changed from one of impending defeat to hope of a first positive result in six Tests against Australia this summer.Through the chaos Martyn remained calm, like he had throughout an innings that was crucial to his career prospects, and Australia finished at 248 for 6. The reshuffled order meant Hussey was promoted to his preferred spot of opener and while his place was assured after his brilliant entry this summer, Martyn was at an important stage in a three-match comeback that was not convincing until today. Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, picked Martyn’s experience for this type of uncompromising situation and by stumps he had repaid them. On Tuesday he will aim for a 13th century and an Australian victory.Playing with casual determination, Martyn deflected the fast men and spent a lot of time taking runs from Boje, often through cut shots. This was the version of the player who wooed audiences worldwide before the Ashes blip that he worried had ended his career. Given an unlikely chance, Martyn waited until the third Test to reconfirm his capabilities as a match turner.He hit 12 boundaries and looked unflustered in his 184-ball stay that was crucial throughout the final two sessions, and Australia were relived that he was unbeaten at the end with Brett Lee on 9. The second new ball is due in nine deliveries and Ntini, who picked up 3 for 60, and Pollock will be dangerous on a surface that offers the most when the ball is hard and shiny.

The purpose of Hussey was on display as the zinc on his nose wore off when sweat dripped down his face. Despite gaining a trio of early reprieves, he uncovered some cracking pull shots and sweet cover drives mixed with determined defence during his 197-ball innings that included 12 boundaries. Hussey’s second half-century of the match came from 140 deliveries and he drove the chase again in the final session with his hard running and careful placement.His early performance was not a smooth one and he could have been dismissed to lbw appeals from Andre Nel on 0 and Pollock on 5. Both were rejected by Steve Bucknor, and Hussey was also lucky to escape an edge to Mark Boucher off Makhaya Ntini on 19. The mistakes were costly and South Africa finally got their man when Boje trapped him playing back with the score on 198 and the target less than 100.Symonds came in and thrashed a brutal 29 off 26 balls that reduced the aim further and just as a fast finish seemed likely he edged Kallis to Boucher. Hitting a six over cover, driving fours and pulling two more boundaries, Symonds eased the pressure on his team-mates before leaving as quickly as he arrived at 224. Gilchrist then fell first ball, Warne went with a similar edge to Ntini and the South Africans were back.After reaching 258 in their second innings, the home side’s push for victory started well when AB de Villiers took a sharp diving slips catch to a Matthew Hayden nick from Ntini before Ricky Ponting (20) collected a fine inside edge to an unconvincing drive off Kallis. With the score at 33 for 2, Kallis deserved to be pleased, but he was hindered by an illness to Nel, who was visibly struggling and able to deliver only two overs before leaving the ground for treatment.Australia also had their problems with Langer after he was hit in the head by Ntini with the opening ball of the first innings on Saturday. Reports ranged from him batting No. 4, which didn’t happen, to playing if the team really needed him or not at all. He turned up at the ground late in the day dressed in street clothes and as the wickets fell did not pull on his whites.There was no doubt about the performance of Lee as he finished off South Africa’s innings in only 15 balls this morning, knocking over Boucher for 63 and Ntini for 0. The smooth end gave Australia some useful momentum, but despite an impressive push by Martyn and Hussey the game had ebbed again by stumps.

Australia
Matthew Hayden c de Villiers b Ntini 0 (0 for 1)
Ricky Ponting c Boucher b Kallis 20 (33 for 2)
Michael Hussey lbw Boje 89 (198 for 3)
Andrew Symonds c Boucher b Kallis 29 (228 for 4)
Adam Gilchrist c Boucher b Ntini 0 (229 for 5)
Shane Warne c Boucher b Ntini 3 (237 for 6)
South Africa
AB de Villiers b Clark 4 (9 for 1)
Boeta Dippenaar c Hayden b Clark 20 (55 for 2)
Herschelle Gibbs c Martyn b Warne 53 (100 for 3)
Ashwell Prince c Symonds b Warne 9 (120 for 4)
Jacques Rudolph c Gilchrist b Clark 0 (140 for 6)
Shaun Pollock c Gilchrist b Lee 44 (186 for 7)
Nicky Boje c Symonds b Warne 4 (194 for 8)
Mark Boucher c Gilchrist b Lee 63 (258 for 9)
Makhaya Ntini b Lee 0 (258)

New South Wales’ slow bowling stocks have received another boost with Beau Casson, the left-arm wrist spinner, announcing today he will leave Western Australia. Casson was the Warriors’ first-choice ahead of the one-day international Brad Hogg in the Pura Cup last summer, but he has decided to fight for a spot in Sydney alongside Stuart MacGill, Jason Krejza and Nathan Hauritz, who is also chasing greater opportunities.Tony Dodemaide, the Western Australia chief executive, was disappointed to lose Casson, who took 17 wickets at 54.23 in the Pura Cup in 2005-06. “If Beau wants to go to the next level, he won’t do that by bowling in the nets in Sydney,” Dodemaide said. “We pulled out all stops to try to convince him to stay. I think he will struggle to get more opportunities ahead of MacGill and Hauritz than he would for WA where he is the No. 1 choice in first-class cricket.”MacGill is the Blues’ main spinning weapon while Steve O’Keefe and Krejza filled the support roles last summer. Last week Hauritz opted to move south after being attracted by the state’s “spin bowling culture”.”The prospect of having left- and right-arm wrist spinners is exciting,” Trevor Bayliss, the NSW coach, told . “Our spin bowling stocks at that level haven’t been all that deep, but with Beau coming and quite possibly Nathan, it creates some competition.”One of the reasons we went after Beau is the SCG wicket is conducive to wrist-spin bowling. We think Beau has got that potential to go further than just state cricket. He’s the right age.”

April has been just another wacky month in the wacky world of West Indies cricket.Filled with typical incongruities and oddities, it has ended with puzzling twists that, at least according to those who now preside over its destiny, have overnight turned doubt and despair into new hope and optimism.The sudden official confidence in the resurgence of a team that has nosedived from top of the world to within an inch of rock bottom in a decade, is based principally on the return to the captaincy of Brian Lara for the third time, and the eventual signed accord between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) on several of the issues they allowed to undermine the game they are supposed to promote.The supposed new dawn broke this weekend with the first of seven one-day internationals against Zimbabwe. Its high noon is a year down the line, with the first World Cup to be staged in the West Indies. Zimbabwe’s cricket is in even more of a mess than ours. It has created such a decimated team of wide-eyed juveniles that Lara should be able to successfully launch his third and final attempt at moulding a strong team and leaving a legacy to match his phenomenal, long established batting reputation.The first genuine test only comes once India, one of the best led, best balanced and strongest of opponents, arrive in two weeks for five ODIs and four Tests. If Lara’s elevation generally came as a surprise – even, judging by his own comments, to himself – it was signalled months ago when Ken Gordon, the WICB president, appointed him as the only current player on his ‘Win World Cup’ committee, even above then captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Gordon described Lara last week as the logical choice as new captain, based on his “unquestioned” experience and knowledge. But much the same was said by earlier presidents when Lara was first installed, in place of Courtney Walsh in 1998, and again when Wes Hall persuaded him to take over from Carl Hooper in 2003. Expectations were similarly high on each occasion but came to nothing.Lara first resigned in 2000 after “two years of modest success and devastating failure” to take a break from the game. Last year he withdrew from the team in solidarity with players dropped because of the sponsorship row with the board rather than fight their cause in the prime position as captain. Why Gordon and the former players who have now implored him to take the helm once more are persuaded it can be different this time is not clear. Every West Indian, desperate for an end to years of defeat and distress, will pray for the promised revival under Lara and wish him well. Perhaps it will be third time lucky and, for all the glory his batting has brought to West Indies cricket during its most dismal times, he deserves a more fitting finale than he has had in his previous stints at the helm (ten wins against 23 losses in 40 Tests, 37-42 in 82 ODIs).Yet such a record, along with his frequent statements over the past year that, in his 37th year, captaincy was no longer a consideration and he aimed to cut down on ODI appearances so as to prolong his Test career, do not correspond with the claim that he was the only logical choice.Quite the opposite. It is clear that this is a short-term measure designed to provide a bridge to the World Cup. It takes no account of the long-term future that required a new, younger captain, especially as his immediate opposition would be Zimbabwe.The most disturbing aspect of the whole business was Gordon’s dismissal of the alternatives as not ready for the role, even to the extent that no one was named as vice-captain. That, we were officially and bafflingly informed during the first ODI yesterday, would be decided by Lara “should the need arise during the match”. Ramnaresh Sarwan, aged 25, six years an international cricketer and twice vice-captain, must be even more confused than when Guyana preferred Chanderpaul to him as their skipper immediately after he was first chosen West Indies’ deputy. Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga and Wavell Hinds, all experienced cricketers, and others with ambitions to lead the West Indies one day must also be nonplussed by Gordon’s blanket rebuttal. But that is the way of West Indies cricket, typified by several other recent events.April started with the resignations within days of each other of two of its most prominent leaders, Chanderpaul as captain and Roger Brathwaite as the board’s chief executive officer. Two men thrust into their positions by default, they joined a host of others who had found the challenge beyond them. Soon, the longest serving member of the board, Chetram Singh, never one to be out of the limelight for long, was openly and consciously slating his president on some specious grounds, following up by hailing Chanderpaul, whose captaincy he had championed, for making the right decision to quit.

In the meantime, Clive Lloyd, the eminent former captain rejected after he was nominated as vice-president at the board’s directors meeting last year, was named head of a reformed cricket committee. As was immediately evident, it is a post that carries far greater authority. The first problem requiring the attention of Lloyd and his colleagues, all members of the teams he led during the glory days, was the prolonged and tiresome impasse between the WICB and WIPA over retainer contracts. They had all passed this way before, on the opposite side as players. Now they declared in a public statement that they were “at a loss to understand the reasons for this matter being dragged out as long as it has”. It was a sentiment widely shared by those who still cared about West Indies cricket.Lloyd’s committee described what had been put forward as “a good offer, fully competitive with other full member countries of the world” and, as only ten days remained before the start of the series against Zimbabwe, recommended a cut-off date for the players to sign so that a new captain and team could be named.There was one drawback. The board was still drafting its contracts so the deadline had to be shifted. It was not until 3 a.m. last Wednesday that the deal was finally done: 23 years after the retainer scheme was first mooted by then WICB president Allan Rae to Lloyd’s team, specifically to combat the exodus of players to apartheid South Africa. As those who have managed to maintain their interest in West Indies cricket through all the nonsense of recent times, waited to know if there would be anything to watch in the coming weeks, there were other bewildering developments.One of the WICB’s representatives in the contracts negotiations was Desmond Haynes, the former West Indies opener who, only eight months earlier, was secretary of WIPA. Now one of Barbados’ directors on the board against which he once had a protracted court action, he has found a fellow director to be the new president of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association Gregory Shillingford, who was fired as the WICB’s chief executive officer three years ago.And if these contradictions were not perplexing enough, there were the full page, colour advertisements in Thursday’s newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago. Each featured a prominent image of Brian Lara. One proclaimed: “Born Leader – Raise Your Hand!, the other Lara In The Lead!” One was for Digicel, sponsors of the team that Lara captains once more, the other for TSTT, the Trinidad and Tobago off-shoot of Cable & Wireless, Digicel’s fierce rivals with whom Lara has a personal contract.Only in West Indies cricket.

Richard Caborn, the sports minister, is under pressure to call for a meeting with BSkyB officials to discuss the small audience being attracted to Sky Sports’ coverage of international cricket.This comes after it was revealed that viewing figures for the Tests against Sri Lanka were under a third for those on Channel 4 this time a year ago. The average audience for the Sri Lanka Tests was 200,000 while the comparative figures for the Bangladesh series in 2005 were around 700,000. Critics of the BSkyB deal also point out that Bangladesh were also a less appealing opposition.The Department of Culture, Media and Sport also indicated that the BBC had expressed a desire to hold “serious discussions” with BSkyB to try to negotiate the return of limited coverage to terrestrial TV. The Keep Cricket Free campaign said that the audience figures were proof that the deal with BSkyB had been “misguided”.John Grogan, the MP for Selby, a vociferous advocate of cricket being available for free, said that it was “absolutely unprecedented” for a minister to call in broadcasters to discuss a commercial contract such as this. “This reflects the fact that the viewing figures on Sky have been truly appalling,” he told the Yorkshire Post. “There is still hope that if James Murdoch, head of BSkyB, agrees to negotiate, some of the England-Pakistan series could be on free-to-air television.”A media insider said that the BBC’s move was slightly surprising given that it had not been interested in putting forward any bid when the contract was up for review in 2004. He also questioned whether the BBC would be able to devote the hours needed for the coverage of matches on its main channels, or even if it would be prepared to pay a commercial rate for such coverage.Caborn confirmed in parliament yesterday that he had written to all broadcasters asking them to major broadcasters last month offering to hold a summit, providing they “are willing to negotiate with BSkyB”.

The blush was unmistakable. Chris Gayle, when asked about his “relationship” with St Kitts, couldn’t hide a naughty smile. Gayle had played a first-class match in St Kitts only once before, scoring 78 in two innings, but the questions were obviously pointed references to Natasha Berridge, Gayle’s Kittsian girlfriend. Gayle said that he wasn’t showing any “favouritism” to the ground but his quickfire 83 definitely made the first day of Test cricket at Warner Park a memorable affair for the locals.Think Gayle, and you think spontaneity. The ease with which he carries himself, the lilt with which he jives, the calm shouldering of arms, the sudden burst of power, all appear impromptu. Yet, there’s a calculated streak that adds to the danger and Gayle admits to a certain level of premeditation. He’d decided to bide his time – in the first eight overs, even loose balls were only tapped or flicked; he’d decided to take the “fight” to the “aggressive Sreesanth” – in the eighth over, with clouds hovering over the ground, he punched a four to long-on and upper-cut, in true Sanath Jayasuriya-style, over point; he wanted to take on Harbhajan Singh – “He was playing his first Test of the series and I tried to put the pressure on him as early as possible” – and soon had the commentators running for cover.Rahul Dravid recently compared Gayle to Virender Sehwag, for being able to start with an impact. Both can demoralise, make good balls look ordinary and generally leave the whole place in a total mess. But one area where Gayle falls short is with regard to conversion. While Sehwag manages a hundred every other time he gets a fifty (12 hundreds, 11 fifties), Gayle has missed out on a hundred 24 times after crossing 50. Gayle admits it’s a concern, as does Lara. “It was another excellent knock by Chris,” said Lara, “but I don’t know if I’m more disappointed or he is [at the end].”I think he’s played four out of five very good innings and hasn’t gone on to get a triple-figure score. That’s unfortunate but I suppose when it comes the flood-gates are going to open … But Chris is improving and personally I would like to see him go on to get big scores. That’s the trademark of an opener – you get rid of the new ball, get to 30-40 and then go on to get a big score.”It’s been more than a year since Gayle’s reached a three-figure score – in May last year he amassed a monumental 317 against South Africa. Gayle knows it’s a problem. “I’m very disappointed with not being able to get the big scores. It’s been a while since I have a Test century and I really work hard to achieve it. I’m a strong guy and next innings or next game I can achieve it. You never know. One of the things that’s worked is that I’ve tried to be more consistent with my batting. I try to aggressive at the start of my innings, whenever I’m aggressive I’m in control of the game more.”Gayle and Daren Ganga might sound like a duo specialising in fusion music, but Lara pointed out their effectiveness by pulling out a telling stat. “I don’t know if you guys heard, but Chris and Daren has a partnership of 43, compared to Desmond and Gordon who average 47.” Of course, these two have walked out to open in only 31 innings – compared to the 148 that the legendary Greenidge and Haynes managed – but the start’s been promising.”Myself and Daren talked a lot and tried to utilise the wicket,” said Gayle of their collaboration. “The first hour was very important and we tried not to lose a wicket as much as possible and communicate well between the wickets as well … Daren and I are very close, good friends off the field as well. We really communicate and share a joke with each other while batting out there. He always tells me to look to drop the ball and run. If I have a problem with a bowler, we communicate that as well and he tries to take more strike. And I might do it as well.”Going by today’s evidence, Ganga had slightly more problems – facing 105 balls compared to Gayle’s 127. Yet, one wonders what strike rotation Gayle was talking about. Having got 19 singles, one double and 13 boundaries, he didn’t need to. He was in St Kitts, remember.

ScorecardChris Benham’s riproaring century consigned West Indies A to a convincing defeat by 62 runs at the hands of Hampshire. Benham wasted no time in making 122 from 145 balls to lift Hampshire to an unassailable 292 for 8 and ultimately heap further misery on the tourists.He and Mike Brown put on 122 for the first wicket, a strong opening platform and the home side simply motored on from there. There was a mini-wobble after Brown fell for 44, with four wickets falling for 37, but some powerful lower-order hitting from Mitchell Stokes (36 off 18 balls) and Shaun Udal (32 not out from just 11 balls) boosted Hampshire late on.West Indies’ innings got off to a woeful start at 4 for 2 and, despite Runako Morton’s 102, they couldn’t recover. In fact, they were never in the hunt as they lost wickets steadily. James Bruce did the damage to the top order, grabbing 3 for 14 from seven overs, and there were three wickets too for Greg Lamb.