Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the bowling attack on the second afternoon of the second Test against India. With Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman at the crease, India eventually ended the day on 110 for 1 but Pakistan will be happy with the wicket of Virender Sehwag, who has haunted and taunted their bowling in equal measure in this series and a generally tidy performance.”I thought we were quite disciplined and bowled well against their batsmen in the right areas. We bowled really well to Sehwag in particular and got the length and line right this time, especially Shoaib who beat him a couple of times with superb deliveries,” Woolmer told Cricinfo. Mohammad Asif, who bowled 11 mostly tight and often probing overs in his second Test appearance, came in for special praise.”He was excellent, he really bowled very well. He kept a tight line to Sehwag and was very unlucky not to get Rahul Dravid (an edge fell just short of Kamran Akmal). That would have been a huge wicket. Danish’s leg-before appeal against Laxman was also very close, one of those that could go either way. But I am happy with their performance.”Asif’s solitary Test appearance came against Australia at Sydney a little over a year ago, and in conceding 88 runs from 18 overs, it wasn’t a particularly fruitful one. Since then, however, he has become, in Woolmer’s own words, one of the most improved bowlers in Pakistan, tweaking his action a little and gaining a little extra pace.After taking ten wickets in a warm-up game against England in October last year, he came very close to being picked for the subsequent Test series, eventually missing out on a place in the final XI. He made his ODI debut against them in December and it turned out to be a more impressive one. One day after his 23rd birthday, he took the wicket of Marcus Trescothick with his third ball and ended with 2 for 14 off seven overs.Woolmer was also happy with Abdul Razzaq’s contribution thus far. Razzaq picked up the vital wicket of Sehwag with a ball that bounced a little more than expected; bowling from the Pavilion End, Razzaq exploited some uneven bounce in a seven-over spell occasionally troubling both Dravid and Laxman. Razzaq was surprisingly included in the side at the expense of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan but the decision resulted from a combination of a shoulder injury to Rana and the belief that the pitch might be better suited to Razzaq’s bowling.

Sean Williams, Zimbabwe’s captain at the Under-19 World Cup, has admitted that virtually none of his players are ready to step up to the next level when Zimbabwe play Kenya in the upcoming one-day series later this month.Williams and Graeme Cremer have already played international cricket as Zimbabwe’s resources have been stretched to breaking point with the exodus of players from the game. Williams said that some of the players have been thinking about the ODIs but would struggle: “It’s a difficult question if any of them could handle the next level. It’s too early for most.”But Zimbabwe have few other options and Williams’ advice is for them to go out and try to enjoy it. “You have to make the most of it. When I made my debut I was really nervous. But basically you are so wrapped up in the game you end up focusing more on what you have to do than at this [Under-19] level.”He is also in favour of Zimbabwe playing more games against lower-ranked sides, like Kenya and Bangladesh, rather than one-sided series against the leading countries. “It is very important because of the confidence. If we play really good teams and get thrashed then the confidence won’t be anywhere.”

Fine innings from Umar Abrahams (91) and Riaan Jeggels led Eastern Province to declare at 336 for 6 on the second day of their match against Boland. In reply, Boland lost Warren Hayward for nought and stumbled to 10 for 3 when Dawid Malan was trapped lbw by Lonwabo Tsotsobe. They hold a slender lead of 51 with six wickets remaining going into day three.Gauteng ended day two on top against North West after bowling out their opponents for 252. Johnson Mafa took 4 for 56 but only Thando Bula (68) reached fifty for North West. Gauteng raced to 184 without loss in reply, and lead by 129 runs; William Motaung (77*) and Jean Symes (93*) crashed 22 boundaries in their positive response.

The Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) has expressed surprise and disappointment with the ICC executive’s decision to endorse the Future Tours Programme.Tim May, FICA’s chief executive, told reporters that the move “not only conflicts with volume and scheduling restraints that the ICC adopted as principles in the construction of the new six-year cycle, but appears to fly in the face of concerns expressed previously by the ICC’s president and CEO”.He warned of the increasing dangers of player burnout. “More than ever we are seeing the games’ top players being forced to retire from the demands of one or the other form of the game as a result of the constant and unrelenting schedule. On top of this, injuries and forced absences to the world’s blue-ribbon fast bowlers are becoming more pronounced, and some teams are forced to apply rotational systems to ensure players are not flattened by these congested playing schedules. There needs to be a healthy balance between the commercial needs of the game and the needs of the players”.May’s unease stems from the volume of cricket being played, and there are so many series that there are often no periods between them to allow players to rest. Recently, Sri Lanka returned home from a punishing VB Series in Australia and flew straight to Bangladesh for another series there. Next month, Australia finish their Test and ODI campaign in South Africa and within three days of the end of the Johannesburg Test they are due to play an ODI in Bangladesh.In 2004, Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, warned that “we have come very close to saturation point in terms of the volume of cricket, not only in a commercial sense, but also in respect of the demands it is placing on international cricketers.” Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, also stated when he took office that there were issues regarding the amount of cricket being played.May said that although the ICC had introduced principles around which the FTP would be built, “these have been largely ignored in the final program”.

He continued: “Instead of easing player workloads, the ICC program commits more matches to be played at the Champions Trophy, more Full Member matches against Associate Countries , a further international [Twenty20] competition, regular Twenty20 matches on a bilateral basis and allows countries to fill in any other downtime that players may enjoy with series loosely tagged as ‘icon series’.”In addition, the program allows member countries to add further fixtures to the agreed program without any limitation. It will result in more cricket for a number of teams over the next six years than we have ever seen before.””The program appears to continue to demonstrate the ICC’s growing lack of respect for players’ needs. When coupled with growing concerns from players and their representatives with player terms for the 2006 Champions Trophy and beyond, it will almost certainly produce a prolonged and unsettled industrial landscape.”This program does not achieve the required healthy balance and will only act as a catalyst for further player retirements, absences and on going dissatisfaction with the international calendar. It is clear that very important decisions are being made by ICC committees which have no international cricket playing experience and appear to have no appreciation of the demands and pressures of the game today from a players perspective.”It is likely that FICA will now consult its members before deciding on its next course of action.

Luke Williams, the captain of the Adelaide Buffalos, has won the 2006 Bradman Medal for South Australian grade cricketer of the year.Williams, 26, polled 30 votes, seven clear of Mark Higgs from Northern Districts. He had an outstanding season for Adelaide scoring 820 runs at 117. Two members of the South Australian squad, Matthew Weeks and Gary Putland, both earned 22 votes, with Ben Johnson, the 2005 winner, getting 21.Sturt won the team award, which goes to the side that polled the most player votes in the Bradman Medal count, while the Fred Godson Medal for XXXX Gold Cup player of the series went to Daniel Harris, the Woodville captain, ahead of Dean Waugh.Full awards list
Bradman Medal – Luke Williams
Team Award – Sturt
Fred Godson Medal – Daniel Harris (Woodville)
C.W. Walker Memorial Trophy (outstanding wicketkeeper) – Todd Ferguson (Sturt)
Talbot Smith Fielding Trophy – Matthew Heffernan (Glenelg)
Coach of the Year – Bob Lisle (South Districts)
Women’s player of the Year – Karen Rolton (Scorpions)
Vince Copley Medal (indigenous medal) – Shaun McLennan (Koonibba) and Ken Karpany (Gerard)
Team of the Year – Luke Williams (Adelaide), Glenn Ashmead (Sturt), Shane Deitz (Southern District), Todd Ferguson (Sturt), Jason Borgas (Sturt), Chris Slattery (University), Nathan Adcock (University, capt), Mark Barber (Kensington), Ben Johnson (Adelaide), Nick Roberts (University), Mark Higgs (Northern Districts), Jamie Panelli (Kensington)

Scotland 274 for 4 (Watson 166*, C Smith 70) lead Namibia 168 by 106 runs
Scorecard A superb unbeaten 166 from Ryan Watson put Scotland in control at the end of a rain-affected second day of their Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia at Aberdeen. Play did not start until 4pm and less than 50 overs were possible, but Scotland, who resumed on 95 for 3, reached 274 for 4 at the close.Watson and Colin Smith did the damage, adding 179 for the fourth wicket in even time. Watson brought up his hundred off 121 balls, but got slightly bogged down towards the end of the day, but Smith more than made up for that.Namibia’s only breakthrough came late in the day when Smith was caught behind for 70 off Deon Kotze.The forecast for the weekend is again mixed, and Scotland may need an adventurous declaration if they are to give themselves a chance of victory. After being eliminated because of the weather last year, they will probably go for broke rather than face a repetition of that disappointment.

Have you had problems getting tickets – or even getting through to the website – or have you found everything as smooth as silk. Click here to send us your views on the sale of Ashes tickets

The first day of cricket’s biggest and most unusual family went as smoothly as many more traditional gatherings, with lengthy delays, grumpy arguments and disappointment about missing out on presents. As Cricket Australia’s locals-only policy for Ashes tickets was opened to the Australian Cricket Family, members of the 128,500 unit were furiously mouse-clicking in the search of the promised seats in stints that lasted the equivalent of three sessions of play.The current slogan for the summer is “It’s definitely on”, but today it should have been changed to “It’s definitely crashed” as computers all over the country – and in England for those with Australian-resident friends – refused to budge on the ticket-selling websites. Seats went on sale at 9am, by which time the server on Cricket Australia’s page had turned off due to overload. The online outlets Ticketmaster, who was selling for the Gabba, the WACA and the MCG, and New South Wales’s Ticketek quickly joined in as pages loaded at a pace that would have made even Chris Tavare yawn. Telephones lines were engaged as workers worried that they would end the day empty-handed.”Our system is currently busy due to a large event on sale,” the Ticketmaster site read. “We apologise for the inconvenience.” Servers spent more time going down than big ships in blockbuster movies, and buyers who were told to rush to avoid missing out were being ordered to be patient.After five group emails and months of signing up members, Cricket Australia and the ticket sellers knew exactly how many people were prepared to purchase and they expected the “unprecedented” surge. Unprecedented has been the favourite word of the publicity campaign – it was the headline of a Cricket Australia email an hour after the release – and can be used again. The delay in getting tickets to a Test was unprecedented.”We understand that due to the volume of interest systems are sometimes slower than expected,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said generously. “I would urge all members of the Australian Cricket Family to continue to be patient through this process as the day continues.”Andrew Symonds had surgery this week on a wrist problem that flares during heavy periods of batting. He will be in demand for tips on prevention and cures after the mass development of RSI for users who spent the day trying to refresh the pages – or attempting to get into the main ticket sites. Australian supporters must hope the five-Test campaign is better planned and runs more smoothly than this family affair.

Latest tables

South

Surrey routed their London rivals Middlesex, who have yet to win a match in the competition, by seven wickets at The Oval. Nayan Doshi took 4 for 22 with his left-arm spin before James Benning romped past a target of 116 with 41 balls to spare. A packed house of 23,000 turned out to watch.Essex drew level with Kent at the top of the table after beating them by five wickets at Chelmsford. The wickets were shared between all five bowlers as Kent were restricted to 157, whereupon Ronnie Irani led the chase with 53 from 43 balls.Hampshire successfully defended a meagre target of 112 against Sussex at The Rose Bowl. Dmitri Mascarenhas was their hero, with 4 for 23 to restrict Sussex’s tail. They closed on 97 for 9.Middlesex’s

Midlands/Wales/West

Gloucestershire posted their highest score since the Twenty20 competition began, as Craig Spearman and Chris Taylor led the onslaught against Somerset at Bristol. Spearman made 63 from 32 balls and Taylor 83 from 34 in a total of 227, which proved to be well out of their opponent’s reach, despite a lusty reply from Justin Langer, who top-scored with 49.Glamorgan slumped to a 14-run defeat against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road, despite the best efforts of Brendon McCullum, who smacked 40 from 15 balls to keep their pursuit of 174 on course. David Sales and Lance Klusener had already shown the way with the bat for Northants, however, who then held onto all their catches to seal an important win in the top half of the table.Worcestershire finally recorded their first victory of the tournament, and did so in fine style, beating their local rivals Warwickshire by four runs in front of an enthusiastic 15,000 crowd at Edgbaston. Worcestershire batted first and made 186, with Ben Smith’s unbeaten 69 anchoring the performance, and they were always in control thereafter, despite an unbeaten 75 from Jonathan Trott.

North

Nottinghamshire consolidated their lead at the top of the North division thanks to a virtuoso performance from Graeme Swann. He took 3 for 15 to restrict Derbyshire to 128, then led a measured run-chase with 40 from 29 balls. Notts were victors with four balls and seven wickets to spare.Leicestershire look like joining Notts in the next round after seeing off Durham at Grace Road. Their total of 144 for 5 seemed eminently gettable, but Nick Walker destroyed Durham’s response with 3 for 19.A minute’s silence for Fred Trueman inspired Yorkshire to a 15-run win over their Roses rivals, Lancashire at Old Trafford. Batting first, Yorkshire posted 156 for 7, thanks to Anthony McGrath’s 43-ball half-century, but that proved sufficient for victory. Lancashire lost their way after a decent start, with only Mark Chilton passing 30.

Monty Panesar might have attained a hero’s status after his matchwinning performance in the Old Trafford Test but Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, has said that Panesar must develop the other areas of his game before he can be assured a permanent spot in the team.Ashley Giles’s lengthy absence because of a hip injury allowed the 24-year-old Panesar a chance to show what he can do in international cricket. So far, Panesar, the first Sikh to play for England, has made an encouraging start with 25 wickets in his first eight Tests, including a superb matchwinning return of 5 for 72 in England’s crushing innings and 120-run victory over Pakistan in the second Test.Panesar’s return at Old Trafford, where England won inside three days to go 1-0 up in the four-match series, was especially impressive as he dismissed five of Pakistan’s top six including Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf – all noted players of spin. His attacking style has led many to suggest that Panesar should retain his place even if the more defensively-minded Giles, a valuable member of England’s Ashes-winning team last year, regains full fitness. But Fletcher said Panesar had to improve his batting and fielding, the latter a particular concern, to secure his place in the England team.”I think Monty is a very good bowler, but we have to produce 11 players who can produce two of the departments efficiently, whoever is playing for England,” said Fletcher. “I still have slight reservations about his batting and his fielding, but he’s an outstanding bowler and doing a job for us because there’s no-one else at the moment who can fulfill that role.”He needs to work hard at it because if you work hard at your fielding you can really improve that a great deal. It’s not easy to turn you into a No.6 batter, but I just think you need to work at those two areas.” Giles, capable of taking some sharp catches in the gully, had developed into a handy lower-order batsman with an average just over 20.Asked to identify England’s leading spinner, Fletcher said: “It will depend on when Ashley is going to be ready and how Monty bowls on other wickets and we’ll have to make a decision when Giles is ready. We’ll also have to look at the balance of the side. It was a good wicket for Monty to bowl on and he bowled damn well on it, but we’ve got to make sure in the future we get wickets that help our bowlers like that. Quite often when you get onto a wicket like that you can try too hard because you know it all depends on you, but he went out there and bowled a good line and length and spun the ball on occasions a great deal.”Meanwhile Giles, speaking on BBC Radio’s Sportsweek programme, admitted he had a fight on his hands. “Monty is the man in possession and I have to get my place back – that’s the danger if you do get injured. My recovery is going OK, it is just frustrating. I cannot bowl and cannot run but the rehab is going well. It is going to be another four or five weeks until we reach that point.”Giles also paid a generous tribute to Panesar, saying: “Monty is a brilliant technician and works extremely hard. He is able to land the ball in good areas and put batsmen under pressure.”England are due to announce their squad for the third Test at Headingley on Monday. However, Geraint Jones, who took the field at Old Trafford despite a fractured right ring finger, remains doubtful and his long-standing rival Chris Read, who played for England A against Pakistan earlier this season, could be called in as cover.

ScorecardWest Indies A’s match against Leicestershire at Grace Road petered out to a draw as the home side batted through the last day to save the game.In fairness, there was little else Darren Maddy could do after Leicestershire conceded a first-innings lead of 144 and then slid to 51 for 3, with Darren Sammy grabbing two wickets. However, life wasn’t especially testing for the batsmen as Omari Banks and Ryan Hinds, the two spinners, failed to find the right line or produce much turn.Maddy – who is struggling to hold down a place in the Championship team – and Tom New added 162 for the fourth wicket to snuff out the tourists’ chances of victory, and by the time Sammy returned to remove Maddy, the game was as good as over.New was within sight of a maiden hundred when he fell to Dwayne Smith, and after that there were not even personal milestones to enliven the tedium.