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Derbyshire ran into trouble against Scotland in the National League, making only 182 in their innings at Derby. It could have been worse: they were 100 for 7 before an undefeated 50 from Mo Sheikh improved matters somewhat. David Watts (45) started brightly for Scotland, but Sheikh nipped in with the ball, removing Ryan Watson and the Pakistan Test opener Yasir Hameed, both for 9, and the Indian Sridharan Sriram for 8. No-one could hang in there for Scotland, as Paul Havell and Ant Botha took three wickets apiece, and they were eventually all out for 154 – 29 runs short of a big upset.In the floodlit match at Chelmsford, Essex made a lively start against Hampshire, eventually reaching 211 for 4 in their 45 overs. Will Jefferson (32) and Andy Flower (41) made a lively start, putting on 59 for the first wicket, and James Foster (46*) and Ravi Bopara (40*) rounded things off with a unbeaten stand of 68. Shane Warne was uncharacteristically loose: his first two balls were full-tosses, and he finished his nine-over stint with 0 for 62. Hampshire recovered after a poor start, with their other Australian, Michael Clarke, in good touch. But after Clarke was run out for a boundary-studded 42, only John Crawley – who finished unbeaten with 70 – made much progress. Darren Gough, who earlier removed both openers, Derek Kenway and Nic Pothas, for ducks, wrapped things up to finish with 3 for 19.

National League Division One

Scorecard

National League Division Two

Scorecard

After a 2-0 thrashing at English hands in the Test series, Zimbabwe have made five changes for the triangular one-day series that starts later this month. The most significant absentee is Mark Vermeulen, who was sent home after the second Test because of persistent misconduct.Mluleki Nkala, Barney Rogers and Vusi Sibanda have also been omitted in favour of one-day specialists. Zimbabwe reached the final of a four-nation tournament in Sharjah in their last one-day outing, and Heath Streak for one reckoned they were better suited to the limited overs format.”The new guys now have five lead-up games to acclimatise to English conditions,” said Streak, “while the rest of the Test squad will be looking to adjust their techniques and approach from the five-day to the limited-overs format.” The squad flies to Ireland on Tuesday for a six-day tour, where they will play a pair of 50-over matches in Belfast (on June 13) and Derry (on June 15).”The arrival of the new players will also give the squad a lift after the disappointments of the Test series,” added Streak. “We know we can be competitive in the one-day series and will be working hard over the next couple of weeks to find the right team balance to take on England and South Africa.”The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) continues to deny that political considerations played any role in the squad selection.Squad Heath Streak (capt), Tatenda Taibu (wk), Dion Ebrahim, Grant Flower, Sean Ervine, Stuart Carlisle, Travis Friend, Andy Blignaut, Douglas Hondo, Ray Price, Douglas Marillier, Gary Brent, Waddington Mwayenga, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Charles Coventry, Richard Sims.

The Development Committee of the Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) met inKolkata on Tuesday to deliberate on a wide range of subjectspertaining to the development of the game in the Asian region.The Committee, chaired by former Sri Lankan captain Duleep Mendis,discussed at length on the Asian Development Plan prepared by the ACFand ways of implementing the project in various affiliated countries.The Asian Development Plan was drawn up by the ACF in consultationwith the Development Committee of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) andit was approved in the Lahore conclave held in May.The high-profile meeting, which implements the programmes of the AsianCricket Council (ACC), also went through the agenda and programmedocuments of the International Cricket Council’s Development Committeebefore finalising on the ACF programmes.The ICC’s Development Committee was scheduled to meet in Amsterdam onSeptember 10 and 11 and copies of their proposed programmes were sentto the ACF for consideration.Apart from Duleep Mendis, the committee comprised Mazhar Khan ofUnited Arab Emirates, Anil Kalavar of Singapore, Jaykumar Shah ofNepal and T Krishnaswamy of Malaysia. ACF Chairman Jagmohan Dalmiyaattended the meeting as a special invitee.The meeting, which lasted for about four hours, also devoted some timeon ways to improve the standard of the game in non-test playingcountries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nepal, UAE, Thailand,Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.The ACF, which had earlier decided to appoint three DevelopmentOfficers with considerable cricketing background in the Lahoreconclave, also discussed the issue and will finalise the panel ofDevelopment Officers at the Screening Committee meeting on Wednesday.The meeting also decided to undertake an elaborate coaching scheme inthese countries with simultaneous emphasis on physical training andsports medicine.The ACF, which had earmarked a budget of US Dollars 2.5 million fordevelopment programmes in the region for the first year, may decide toraise the budget in the subsequent years once the detailed plan getsunderway.The ACF’s screening committee will meet on Wednesday while the threeday conclave will end with a meeting of the technical committee onAugust 16.The organisational problems related to the ensuing Asian TestChampionship may also come up for informal discussions during the nexttwo days, particularly in the light of the Indian Government’sreservation in granting permission to the Indian team to play inPakistan.

According to Italian media outlet Corriere dello Sport, via Tuttomercatoweb, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign Sevilla defensive midfielder Steven Nzonzi to replace the outgoing Mousa Dembele.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Corriere dello Sport, via Tuttomercatoweb, says that Dembele could be on his way to Inter Milan – although the Belgium international is also interesting clubs in the Chinese Super League – and that Pochettino has instructed Daniel Levy to bring Nzonzi to north London as his replacement.

Sport Witness report that the France international has a release clause of €40m in his contract with the La Liga side, and there is no doubt that he has become a really key player for them since joining from Stoke City in 2015.

Should Dembele go and he arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he would be competing with the likes of Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier for a spot in the centre of the park.

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Would he be a good signing for Tottenham?

Given he turns 30 years of age at the end of 2018, he certainly wouldn’t have the usual profile of a Spurs signing, which perhaps suggests that Pochettino is looking for results now rather than players who have the potential to make more of a difference in the future.

That said, despite his impressive performances for Sevilla in recent years you do wonder whether he would be able to replicate those showings and be as dominant and influential again in the more physical Premier League, even if he has played in it previously.

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Pochettino, who must look to hijack Everton’s bid to sign a highly-rated Barcelona ace, has brought in a lot of quality players during his time at the helm of Tottenham, however he has also endured a fair few disaster additions too with names like Clinton Njie, Moussa Sissoko and Roberto Soldado among others, and Nzonzi would be the next in line to join those names if he did sign.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”269864″ player=”12034″ title=”England v Sweden Five previous encounters”]

The scoreboard may have the names but India’s players didn’t show up for practice at Kanpur’s Green Park © AFP

The Kanpur ODI, coming two days after Diwali, and featuringIndia and Pakistan, should have the status of the Boxing Day matchesplayed in the southern hemisphere. However, the scenes in Kanpur aday before the match suggested little of that. The deserted town boreno signs that a crucial ODI was less than a day away; only feverishlast-minute activity at the stadium gave the game away.After one has signed an undertaking absolving the hotel of anyresponsibility for any loss of property from their room comes the really good news: there is no room service – and indeed no food -because the workers had gone for their Diwali holiday for a week.One must simply grin and bear it as that is the case in almost all thehotels.People from this part of Uttar Pradesh have a reputation of beingstreetsmart, a quality long and often romanticised in Bollywood andbooks. As one steps out in search of food, such things becomeconspicuous. There are at least four outlets on one road sellingvarious versions of a popular clothing brand. One of them has Saif AliKhan and Preity Zinta endorsing it, another has Uday Chopra andTanisha doing the honours. For the uninitiated, they are allBollywood stars, but they are not earning anything for their serviceshere. Those are cutouts from movie stills that have been superimposedon standard advertisement.As one approaches the stadium, one can see Mahendra Singh Dhoni “canvassing”for a candidate in a local election in much the same fashion, and moresuch. It would have been fun talking to the great brains behind allthis, but the stores are all closed. It would have been much more funto get some lunch, but the restaurants are all closed.It’s all down to the north Indian custom of going to friends’ housesto wish them the day after Diwali. It’s called different things indifferent areas – here it is . For this one day,everything is shut in Kanpur. Quite a hellish morning after.Then a flash of inspiration: the team hotel will surely have arestaurant, albeit obscenely priced. The self-congratulation dissolvesrapidly when the police refuse to play ball, barring all entry intothe hotel.”What if I need to rent a room?””You need a pass issued by the police.”That is the time when one forgives the Indian Railways for all thedelayed trains, the dirty toilets and rude booking clerks. Whennothing works, the railway station does. That the Kanpur Centralrailway station is located in a neighbourhood calledFaithfulganj can’t just be a quirky coincidence.

‘ I will be glad to pass on my expertise of my playing career and also whatever I have learned from my coaching courses’ – Prasad © Getty Images & Cricket Australia

After a year of wishful thinking, India’s bowlers may finally get what they want: a bowling coach. On Friday, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, said he had asked the BCCI for a coach and Venkatapathy Raju, the South Zone selector told Cricinfo that a bowling coach could assist in the development of India’s crop of promising fast bowlers.And Venkatesh Prasad, a former India fast bowler and one of those in line to take up the job, has said that only a bowling coach can help take those youngsters up to the next level.Vengsarkar’s statement, in Kolkata, will attract attention because Team India coach Greg Chappell has so far not expressed his keenness for a bowling coach. Ian Frazer, the biomechanics expert, doubles up with bowling duties – leaving India lagging behind other top teams. Troy Cooley attained legendary status for helping England regain the Ashes last year, after which he’s moved back to Australia and repeated his success; Vincent Barnes has fine-tuned South Africa’s pace-bowling machine and Waqar Younis and Kevin Shine have been performing the role in Pakistan and England respectively.That seems to have been reflected in India’s recent one-day matches. Even in South Africa, the bowlers have had the opposition on the ropes with early strikes, only to let them off the hook at the death. It’s not a new problem: In 80 innings since the last World Cup, India have conceded 4358 runs between the 41st and 50th overs.”You cannot mess around with technique at the highest level”, Prasad told Cricinfo today, “but yes, if a bowler is going through a prolonged bad patch, has recurring injuries or is unable to bowl at the right areas then definitely a bowling coach can help with the technique, the action and other related areas.”Prasad – who has completed the Level III coaching program at the National Cricket Academy and with the ECB in England – had declared his interest in the job last year but, when no coaching stint came about, he went on to become the Karnataka coach. It’s time well spent, he says. “The stint [with Karnataka] has definitely helped me improve my coaching skills. If the board offers the position, I will be more than willing to take it up.”The ball is now in the BCCI’s court. Its secretary, Niranjan Shah, has been quoted in The Times of India as saying that there will be no knee-jerk reaction to the results in South Africa, a process will be followed.Candidates for the job: (in no particular order)Venkatesh Prasad: Currently coaching Karnataka, Prasad had shown an interest in the job last year. Having acquired an advanced coaching certificate from England, he’s revealed that he was keen to work with the new generation of Indian pace bowlers.Javagal Srinath: Prasad has probably become a frontrunner by default. His state-mate Javagal Srinath, with whom he forged a successful new-ball pairing in the ’90s, would have probably got the job if not for his match-referee duties in the forthcoming Sri Lanka v New Zealand series. Srinath has been critical of the lack of guidance for India’s current crop of fast bowlers. The fact that he’s overseen the development of bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar makes him the best candidate for the job.Paras Mhambrey: Currently coaching the Bengal state side, Mhambrey has earned a reputation as an excellent bowling coach. His knowledge of biomechanics – especially with relation to Indian bowling – and his track record as a hard-as-nails coach make him an outside candidate. Last year, he took over a Bengal side that had just escaped relegation, galvanised them into a fighting unit and guided them to the runner-up spot. His past experiences under Frank Tyson, the former England fast bowler, and his assistance to John Wright during an India camp in 2003 add to an impressive resume.Bruce Reid: Hampshire’s bowling coach for the past three seasons, Reid may be the best option, considering his past successes with India’s bowlers. He was roped in during India’s epic tour to Australia in 2003-04 and played a vital behind-the-scenes role in the drawn rubber. Whether he’s approached again, and whether he’ll be willing to forgo his other commitments remains to be seen.Apart from these three, Fanie de Villiers, the former South African fast bowler, has expressed an interest in coaching India’s fast bowlers, especially on their ongoing tour in the Southern Cape. Sarfraz Nawaz, the former Pakistani swing merchant who worked with the Delhi fast bowlers recently, has said he was open to the offer.

Is time running out for India’s most successful captain? © Getty Images

The tumultuous events at the power-centres of Indian cricket may take another twist on October 13, when the national selectors meet to choose the captain for the forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka, beginning on October 25. With Sourav Ganguly missing the Challenger Trophy with an injury, it remains to be seen if the selectors stick with him as captain, assuming he will be fit enough, or decide to choose Rahul Dravid instead.The timing of Ganguly’s return to competitive cricket leaves him very little time before the series against a strong Sri Lankan side, currently ranked No.2 in the ICC one-day table. Advised to rest his elbow till October 17, Ganguly is set to play for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy game against North at Rajkot, from October 20 to 23 and, should the game last the distance, will be left with just one day to gear up for the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Nagpur. Whether that is good enough preparation for an international clash, not only as a captain but also as a player, is a choice the selectors have to make.All this may mean that Dravid may have to face the possibility of another stop-gap arrangement as captain, just like he experienced during the Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the season. If Dravid is indeed the choice, it will be interesting to see if the selectors go with this temporary quick-fix solution or appoint him for a longer term.The selectors will announce the squad for the seven-match series the following day (October 14). With a few players staking a strong claim in the Challenger Trophy, they will have some tricky choices to make in that meeting as well. The decisions taken could also well reveal just how much of an influence Greg Chappell has over the selection panel.

Come October and the West Indian cricketers are likely to become full-time, contracted cricketers. According to a report in Trinidad and Tobago Express, the West Indian Players’ Association (WIPA) and the board held discussions last week in which it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding would be signed between the two parties soon.Roger Brathwaite, the chief executive of the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB), announced that the second stage of negotiations had been completed. The report mentions that the next stage of talks – dealing with the WICB’s use of the contracted players’ images for advertising – would be held later. Brathwaite confirmed that the contracts should be ready in about four months: “I think it would be realistic to expect that we would have tied up everything and that the chosen players would be on contracts by October 1, which is the start of our financial year.”Teddy Griffith, the president of WICB, mentioned that while the contract system of various countries were studied, the Australian model was the one that they decided to follow most closely. He noted that since the West Indian team comprised players from various countries, the contract was designed keeping in mind the different labour laws in various regions. Under the system, the contracted players would be assured an annual salary, apart from the match fees and endorsement money.Griffith also clarified that the board was planning to have a system in place which would reduce the possibility of a strike by the players. “We have agreed on a process that overcomes that and ensures that we should not have a repetition of the players’ strike of last year. It does not remove the players’ right to strike but it does put in place an agreed procedure before that can occur.” The semi-finals of the Carib Beer Cup was delayed by a day last season due to a strike.Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe all have a contract system in place, while India is likely to have one too before the start of the next season.

Busy groundstaff

Heavy overnight rain over the whole country, not just the county prevented any play at The Rose Bowl, on the third day of the Frizzell County Championship match between Hampshire and Yorkshire.Most of the heavy stuff fell during the night and it wasn’t until early morning that it abated.Umpires Tony Clarkson and George Sharp decided to look after lunch, and then again at 4:00pm after the tea interval, but despite all the excellent efforts of Nigel Gray and his ground staff, further storm clouds arrived at around 3:00pm, and the covers arrived just in time for the umpires to send everyone home.Yorkshire in the ascendancy in the match will be the more disappointed at the day’s inactivity, with a large party from the Yorkshire Southern Group being well dined in the Rose Bowl’s excellent pavilion, also leaving for home well fed, but without seeing a ball bowled in anger.More heavy rain on Friday/Saturday night, some of storm force made play on the fourth day impossible, with captains Anthony McGrath and John Crawley both agreeing to the abandonement by 10:30am, despite the fact that the sun was shining and may have bemused the smattering of spectators who had arrived.

The ECB has confirmed the dates for the semi-final matches in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy.Somerset will play Warwickshire at Taunton on Saturday 11th August, and Leicestershire will meet Lancashire at Leicester on Sunday 12th August. Both matches will be broadcast live by Channel 4.As a result of this, the following fixture rearrangements are necessary.In the CricInfo Championship, Somerset’s game against Leicestershire at Taunton, and Hampshire’s match against Warwickshire at West End, will now start on Tuesday 7th rather than Wednesday 8th August.In the Norwich Union League, Somerset’s game against Leicestershire at Taunton, and Middlesex’s match against Lancashire at Lord’s, are now scheduled for Tuesday 14th instead of Sunday 12th August. Both games will start at 11.00am.