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Hugh Morris, the former Glamorgan and England batsman, has been appointed as deputy chief executive of the ECB. Morris, 42, has previously been the ECB performance director.He will head up the cricket department in addition to his roles as deputy chief executive, and John Carr will take responsibility for the performance of the international team matters.David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said: “I am delighted for Hugh. He did a magnificent job as acting Chief Executive in the time last year between Tim Lamb departing and my appointment. Hugh’s strong cricket background is important for the ECB and, as a former Test player, he brings strong qualities to the management team. His work with the National Academy has been outstanding and has been recognised around the world.”Morris was highly successful and consistent with Glamorgan, scoring almost 20,000 first-class runs at an average of 40.29. He won three England caps in 1991 and also captained England A to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka as well as becoming Glamorgan’s youngest ever captain in 1986.

The MCC’s World Cricket Committee has proposed the creation of two three-week periods in the international calendar to accommodate sanctioned events such as the Indian Premier League.There is a concern that players may start preferring the riches on offer in India ahead of playing for their country because there are few gaps in the current schedule.”The committee accepts that there is a place for the IPL but that the introduction of this tournament has brought to the fore the issue of premature retirement from the international game,” read a statement today. “It is vital to ensure that there is a strategic, well-planned fixture list.”The committee proposes that the ICC identify windows in the cricket calendar to enable all forms of the game – Test, 50-over ODI and Twenty20 – to successfully co-exist. Furthermore, the committee hopes that all Member boards will work with ICC to work towards this goal.”Another recommendation was to trial day/night Tests in countries where the climate makes in feasible in order to boost attendances. “The committee recognises that there will be challenges to overcome with a proposed trial of Test match day/night cricket – such as dew, the colour of the ball and clothing used – but that efforts should be made to research and develop this option.”There was also a call to allow elite umpires to stand in matches involving their own country and that an effort should be made to ensure those umpires who don’t want to travel the world can still be used at the top level.The committee said that the minimum Test over-rate should 15-an-hour, calling the current average of 13.8 “acceptable, particularly for the paying public.”A warning on the importance of player conduct said it was vital that international cricketers set the best example, while the committee reiterated its support for the use of increased technology in decision making.

The board of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) is still awaiting a decision on a disciplinary matter involving Sulieman Benn earlier in the season.Benn, who has been named in a 16-man Barbados squad for the upcoming KFC Cup, was embroiled in an on-field confrontation with Robin Parris on June 23 during the Banks Division 1 match between arch-rivals Super Centre Spartan and ICBL Empire at Queen’s Park.BCA chief executive officer, Dr Roland Toppin, said after receiving a report from match officials, that the matter was referred to the complaints and disputes committee. It was heard by a sub-committee but the findings are yet to be passed on to the office.The incident, which both clubs apologised for a week later, developed after Benn delivered a beamer to Parris. When Parris was attempting to run a single off the next ball, television cameras captured Benn gently kicking him.Parris showed his frustration by walking past the stumps at the bowler’s end and approaching Benn in a face-to-face, glove-pointing remonstration

Robin Peterson believes he has a major role to play in the World Cup despite his limited impact with the ball so far. Peterson hoped the success of other spinners – including Brad Hogg, Muttiah Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori – in the Caribbean might be an indication that he can help South Africa reach the semi-finals.”Coming to the West Indies I thought the wickets were always going to be slow and I expect, at some stage, to have a role in the tournament and I must make sure that I am ready,” Peterson told . He has played only two of South Africa’s four World Cup matches, for figures of 0 for 43 from 11 overs.With Shaun Pollock struggling to contain top-order batsmen and South Africa’s attack dominated by fast bowlers, Peterson hoped he would be called upon more often as the tournament progressed. “I think because of the heat the role of a spinner was always there,” he said.”You can’t bowl seamers all the time and it’s also important to control the over rate, change the pace of the game, so there’s always a role for a spinner. You look to spinner to slow the run rate, just get the batsmen thinking of a certain style of bowling and as a spinner you think all the time and, if you pick up wickets, it’s a bonus.”Peterson’s bowling has been economical but unspectacular, however it is for his only World Cup innings that Peterson’s team-mates will thank him the most. When Lasith Malinga claimed four wickets from four balls to leave South Africa unexpectedly on the verge of a loss to Sri Lanka, Peterson edged a boundary to third man to ensure victory.”I’m not a hero, I was just lucky,” he said. “Obviously I’m happy that it was important to win the game and the two points came our way. The important thing was that we came out on top at the end.”South Africa face Ireland in Guyana on Tuesday, and Peterson said his team would not take the encounter lightly after almost losing to Ireland in a warm-up game. Two days later South Africa will play Bangladesh before finishing the Super Eights with a string of tough clashes against West Indies, New Zealand and England.

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, will return to the side for the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka at Auckland on Saturday. Fleming sat out the first three games as per New Zealand’s rotation policy ahead of the World Cup in March and the side was instead led by Daniel Vettori, the left-arm spinner.While Nathan Astle, who opened for New Zealand in the absence of Fleming, will sit out of the fourth game, Jeetan Patel, released from the squad to play for Wellington, was recalled. Craig McMillan, who wasn’t part of the third one-day squad, replaced James Marshall.”With the continued use of Brendon McCullum at the top of the order, it is now necessary to introduce a player who can provide a powerful finish to the innings and we are looking to Craig to provide that,” said John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach. He added that though Marshall was unlucky to miss out the game, the management wanted him to put pressure on those who had been selected.New Zealand lead the five-match series 2-1 after they won the low-scoring third game played through rain interruption.Squad
Brendon McCullum, Stephen Fleming (capt), Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Andre Adams, Mark Gillespie, Shane Bond, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel

Mark Vermeulen has been charged by the police in connection with two arson attacks earlier this week which destroyed buildings at the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy and damaged an office at the headquarters of Zimbabwe Cricket. He is expected to appear in court in the next few days.A source said that Vermeulen, who played eight Tests between 2002 and 2004, had been due to fly to Johannesburg on Wednesday.”He’s been detained since yesterday on charges of arson,” Vermeulen’s father Roland said. “We don’t know at the moment where they are holding him … but we are trying our best to get him out and sort matters while he is outside.”He flew back to Zimbabwe in September ostensibly to try to win back his place in the national side. But he was not picked in the provisional squad for the forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe and his chances of a recall appeared almost non existent.His summer in England ended in controversy when he was banned – initially for ten years but that was reduced on appeal – following an altercation during a Lancashire League match.

Shane Warne is not concerned by the outburst of Kim Hughes this week as the former Australia captain is “not someone I respect”. Hughes told an English newspaper Warne would have been an “embarrassment” as the national team’s leader and he showed a “complete disregard” for the coach John Buchanan.Warne was disappointed with the comments but “didn’t take them to heart”. “If it was someone I respected and really liked, I would be pretty annoyed and would take it up with them,” he said in . “If it was a Richie Benaud or an Ian Chappell, who has been the biggest influence on my career, I would be on the phone and disappointed and upset by it.”Warne maintained that his comments about Buchanan during the launch of a book had been misconstrued. “It was never a personal attack on John Buchanan,” he told the paper. “All I said was some of his methods and some of the ways he goes about things I thought lacked a bit of commonsense – not him as a person.”It was never with malice or an intent of having a go at the coach. I don’t know what the fuss and kerfuffle was about – as [the Cricket Australia chief executive] James Sutherland said the other day.” Warne is due to open his season when Victoria play Western Australia in the Pura Cup match at the WACA on Sunday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe Titans recovered from the precarious overnight position of 70 for 4 to post a handy 93-run first-innings lead, but the Dolphins soon chased it down as the second day of the SuperSport Series final ended with the game intriguingly poised.Justin Kemp and Geoffrey Toyana posted a vital fifth-wicket partnership of 107 with Kemp uncharacteristically becalmed; his 50 came from 113 balls. The aggressor was Toyana who raced to his half-century from 69 balls.However, both batsmen fell while settled and it was left to Albie Morkel to play the innings of the day. He struck 15 fours and a six in his 93-ball innings to help give Titans a very useful first-innings lead. Ugasen Govender, the 22-year-old fast bowler, was the pick for the Dolphins; although expensive, he captured the key wickets of Morkel today and Martin van Jaarsveld yesterday.The Titans bowlers were unable to capitalise on the efforts of their batsmen, though, and the Dolphins calmly reached 99 without loss, trailing by just six runs.

The Canadian board has announced that the quadrangular Twenty20 tournament this September has been postponed. Canada had hoped for West Indies and two other full-member ICC countries to play a competition in Toronto ahead of the World Championships the same month.The board says there was not enough time to obtain TV rights for such an event, but will continue to look at possibilities in 2008 and afterwards. A Canada spokesperson told Cricinfo: “Unfortunately, due to the difficulties of securing global media support in such a short timeframe, the CCA reports that it has proved impossible to bring the project to fruition in 2007.”The West Indies board apparently remains committed to working with the CCA to expand cricket in Canada, particularly through exposure to the Twenty20 version of the game, which is ideal for the North American cricket public.

Shaun Udal, the 36-year-old Hampshire spinner recalled to the England squad, has said he will be happy not to play a significant role in this winter’s tour to Pakistan.”Hopefully I can go there and do a job for them in whatever capacity I’m needed,” Udal told . “In a way, hopefully I won’t be selected to play because that will mean England are winning and Ashley Giles is fit and everything is going swimmingly well.”I possibly thought the chance had gone but one of my strengths is that I believe in myself. I’m probably a better cricketer than I was when I last played, with experience comes the nous and the knowhow.”Udal was born in 1969, at a time when England possessed the dangerous and aptly nicknamed “Deadly” Derek Underwood. Indeed, Underwood was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1969. Udal’s recall has increased the debate of England’s decades-long dearth of quality spinners and, while he is the form spinner in the country, his selection came ahead of younger rivals such as Gareth Batty and Graeme Swann. Udal, while delighted with his recall, readily admits that he is coming to the end of his career:”I know my career’s coming into its last five years, so what’s the point in standing still? I love my cricket, it means as much to me as anything in the world. To get this chance now is one that I’ll try to take with both hands – if it’s only for this tour or the next six months or two years.”Udal was grateful to his Hampshire team-mate Shane Warne for the assistance. “Operating as a second spinner is what I’ve done for the last two years at Hampshire with Warney at the other end,” he told reporters. “He brings more than just his bowling: his cricket brain, his enthusiasm, his passion – it’s rubbed off on me.”Warney is just from a different planet, he sees things other people don’t see as a captain and has helped me with my bowling. He is not just a good friend, he’s been an enormous help to me. He teaches people to respect the game, respect the opposition and never fear them.”