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Without question, these have been three of the most grotesquely one-sided days in Ashes history – and given the recent precedents that is quite some achievement. England have been outbatted, outbowled, outfielded, outshouted, outnumbered and out on a limb, from Harmison’s hopeless first delivery to Ponting’s pointed decision to go back out for a second innings this afternoon.It’s been men against boys, and yet, remarkably, one of the most boyish figures on the pitch has emerged as an unexpected hero. Ian Bell is not a man whose demeanour inspires confidence – diffidence is his default setting, and memorably it was his undoing in the 2005 Ashes, as he slumped to seven single-figure scores in 10 innings, including a pair in the series decider at The Oval.Today, however, he was a solitary beacon of hope in an otherwise dismal batting display. In fact, he was to England’s batting what Andrew Flintoff had been to their bowling on days one and two, and it’s not often that those two characters can have been likened to one another. He was disciplined, determined, and skilfully certain of his right to demand control of such a high-profile and high-stakes contest. Without him, England’s humiliation would have known no limits.Okay, so he made just 50 runs, which is barely a fifth of the total that Australia’s No. 3, Ricky Ponting, has so far racked up in this match. But it is 50 more than he managed in that last Ashes outing – an experience which, it was suggested at the time, looked likely to destroy him. Instead it might just have been his making.Body language was Bell’s biggest failing in his previous incarnation as a Test cricketer. He simply lacked the presence to compete with the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, and all too often he was beaten before he reached the middle of the pitch. But it’s a different story now, and even McGrath was moved to admit as much. “In the last Ashes series we probably felt we had it over him,” he said at the close, “but obviously he’s come along well, and he looks a lot more confident out there, especially against Shane.”Bell’s hunger for runs is well documented. After his first three Tests against West Indies and Bangladesh he was averaging 297, and against his favourite opponents, Pakistan, he has racked up four hundreds in seven Tests, including three in a row in last summer’s home series. But the suspicion remained that he was something of a flat-atmosphere bully, all too happy to cash in when the going was good. Today’s innings, in the roughest of rough circumstances, might have silenced the doubters a touch. Insofar as the doubters can be silenced in such a miserable team performance as this.There was little sign of his new confidence as Bell faced the press corps this evening, but then he was discussing issues way beyond his control. Not even Kevin Pietersen could have put a positive spin on England’s desperate situation, as Bell pontificated about Ponting’s unusual decision and patted out the platitudes – “It’s always going to be a battle against Australia when their tails are up.” But with a bat in his hand, he has become a different proposition to the one that the Aussies had envisaged when this series began.It is too early to eulogise Bell as the saviour of England’s series, but on a day when the size of their task was so starkly demonstrated, his efforts were a sizeable crumb of comfort. Barring a dramatic end to Queensland’s six-year drought, the teams will reconvene at Adelaide next week with Australia 1-0 up and with one finger wrapped firmly round the base of the Ashes. Pyrrhic victories are all England have left to deal in.

Rains lashing the city since the wee hours of Monday threatened to wash out the third one-day match between India and South Africa to be held at Chennai on November 22, as officials kept their fingers crossed and players were confined to hotel rooms.Micky Arthur, South Africa’s coach, inspecting the ground at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, said “It looks like the match will be rained off”. However, N Srinivasan, the president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association sounded optimistic saying the day-night tie could start on schedule if rains stopped by tonight. Soggy conditions prevailed at the Chidambaram Stadium although the turf and outfield had been covered. The Met Office has forecast rains at most places in the state, including the city, on the match day, following a depression in the Bay of Bengal.Srinivasan, who too inspected the ground, said the groundsmen were well experienced in handling such situations. “We have equipment like the super sopper and all.” The ground now has slopes to help the water drain unlike last year when the India-New Zealand one-dayer was called off due to waterlogging. The match is crucial for both teams as the five-match series is tied 1-1 after India came back strongly in the second match at Bangalore on Saturday with a six-wicket win.Arthur told reporters, “It will be a tight series if the match is rained off.” South Africa’s coach, who seemed to be readying for a no-match situation here, however, said such a situation “will not dampen spirits of our boys who are professional players.” Arthur said his players would muster all their resources to perform to the team’s strategy and win the next two matches at Kolkata and Mumbai for South Africa’s first-ever series win on Indian soil. The South Africans had lost all five series since 1991-92.

Ten Sports, the Dubai-based sports channel, has entered into a sponsorship deal with the Zimbabwe board. This new agreement, which includes sale of title sponsorship and advertising boards, would also cover India’s tour of Zimbabwe in October 2005.This deal guarantees a substantial increase in the income of the board. In April this year, the Zimbabwe government had deported the Sky News TV crew out of the country citing breach of media laws. However, Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, was pleased with the current deal and said, “This will allow us to continue with our development of the game in the country.”Peter Hutton, the vice-president of Ten Sports, was delighted at this latest development and added: “We have enjoyed a strong relationship with the board for many years now and are happy to assist in the development of cricket in the country.”

<Simon Katich recorded his highest Hampshire score so far when he batted quite brilliantly for 143 not out whilst carnage was abound around him. Losing their first three wickets for 7 runs (all extras) his team was in danger of being skittled at Scarborough.Resuming at 326 for 5, Yorkshire struggled against some tight bowling to reach the 400 mark and the maximum batting points. Simon Guy was superbly taken by Iain Brunnschweiler off Chris Tremlett in the first over of the day, then Shaun Udal had Yuvraj Singh caught at deep mid wicket, trapped Gray lbw and had Steve Kirby well caught by Jimmy Adams. In the meantime James Bruce dismissed Ryan Sidebottom forcing him early on the drive. Four wicket tumbled for just 4 runs.In the first over Derek Kenway was bowled when the ball trickled off his pads onto his stumps (2-1), James Adams followed when he edged Chris Silverwood to slip (4-2), the John Crawley not enjoying the best form of late then edged the swift Steve Kirby to the wicket-keeper (7-3).John Francis joined Simon Katich in a an 89 run stand dominated by the Aussie and the help of an abundance of no balls from the Yorkshire bowlers, Francis went for a patient nine, and James Hamblin first ball fell to Chris Silverwood, Dimitri Mascarenhas edged Sidebotton to slip and suddenly at 107-6 the visitors were looking at another follow on.What was needed at one end was support for Simon Katich, and the lower order batsmen responded magnificently. First Shaun Udal scoring 26 put on 52 for the seventh wicket, Iain Brunnschweiler playing in his first Championship match put on 73 taking Hamppshire to with three runs of saving the follow on. Chris Tremlett then joined his team mate in another half-century stand, and Yorkshire's first innings lead of 95 was far less than the seaside spectators had been envisaging earlier in the day. A return of 52 extras conceded by Yorkshire also helped Hampshire's cause, 43 of them in no-balls.Simon Katich played some magnificent shots around the ground, his 142 not out took him 194 balls in which he struck 20 fours and a hugh straight six, his second first-class century of the season and his seventeenth overall.There was time for just 10 overs as Yorkshire started their second innings.Incessant rain throughout the 3rd day curtailed any possibility of play.

The Zimbabweans are due to arrive tomorrow night and open their Sri Lanka tour with two one-day practice matches on December 1 and 3 in Colombo before departing to the beach during the Sri Lankan elections.For the next three days they will be at Taj Exotica in Bentota before returning to Colombo for the commencement of the one-day triangular series with Sri Lanka and West Indies on December 8.The West Indies will remain in Colombo after the Test having net practice at the SSC on December 4 and 6. On the advice of the police, the Cricket Board has kept the dates from December 3-7 free of any cricket due to the December 5 parliamentary elections.Sri Lanka’s one-day squad is expected to be announced soon after the third Test ends on December 3.

Yasir Shah is expected to be fit for the second Test against England in Dubai after recovering from the back spasm which ruled him out of the opening contest. However, team manager Intikhab Alam hinted there could be a surprise addition to the squad after Pakistan’s attempts to call up Zafar Gohar for this match were thwarted by visa issues.Responding to criticism from Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, over the lack of spin cover in the initial 16-man squad, Alam told ESPNcricinfo. “We don’t want to reveal anything at the moment but we have some plans.”That could throw an intriguing couple of names into the frame. A long shot would be Saeed Ajmal, who tormented England here in 2012, but has had to remodel his action and was not effective for Worcestershire in the County Championship this year, while another option may be offspinner Bilal Asif even though his action is under scrutiny after the one-day series in Zimbabwe.Bilal was reported after taking 5 for 25 in Harare, but the reporting and assessment process laid down by the ICC allows him to continuing bowling until the results of the tests are known. The testing has to take place within 14 days of the report and he is due to travel via Dubai to Chennai, one of the ICC’s approved testing centres, on October 18 and be tested the following day. He would be available for selection until the results come through, a process that takes a further 14 days and means, in theory, he would at least be available for the Dubai Test starting on October 22.Ajmal, meanwhile, who on Friday was traveling from Faisalabad to Lahore, told ESPNcricinfo he was not expecting to be called-up. “Of course everyone might be thinking about me right now but I can confirm that they haven’t asked about my passport,” Ajmal said. “But I am sure in the present scenario they are definitely thinking about me.”At the toss Misbah expressed his frustration at the lack of an extra spinner in the squad, thoughts echoed by the head coach Waqar Younis when he spoke to TV on Friday. Pakistan’s plan was to play two fast bowlers and at least two specialist spinners but they were forced to bring in Imran Khan as part of a three-man seam attack after Yasir and Gohar didn’t make it.Over the last two days Yasir has been seen jogging around the ground during intervals and having a bowl in the nets. “He is fit and will be match fit by the second Test,” Alam said. “We no more require Zafar as he was only named replacement for the first Test but he didn’t make it, so we have plenty of time ahead of the next game to decide.”With Yasir set to be available it would appear unlikely that Pakistan would alter their first-choice spin pairing even though Zulfiqar Babar, by lunch on the fourth day, had bowled 48 wicketless overs. The first Test was still awaiting its first wicket for a spinner.

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Seamer Rayad Emrit starred with a four-wicket haul to help Trinidad and Tobago comprehensively beat Guyana at Providence. Guyana fought back after a poor start but their total of 208 wasn’t enough as Kieron Pollard helped his side ease to the target.Guyana were weakened when captain Ramnaresh Sarwan pulled out before the start of play after sustaining an ankle injury during training. Sent into bat on a pitch which tested the batsmen with variable bounce, the Guyana openers added 36. However, they lost their way as Mervyn Dillon dismissed Sewnarine Chattergoon with a good delivery that moved away from him and Emrit proceeded to take three wickets in quick succession.At 77 for 5, with Guyana in danger of folding up early, Neil McGarrell and Leon Johnson counter-attacked with half-centuries. Johnson added 43 for the sixth-wicket with Derwin Christian that pushed the total to 120. McGarrell continued the rebuilding process as he supported Johnson in a quick-fire stand of 47 for the seventh wicket. Johnson’s 50 came off 72 balls with four fours and two sixes while McGarrell’s 51 was more aggressive, coming off 39 balls with three fours and a six. Guyana added 42 off the last five overs to finish on 208 for 8 at the end of 50 overs.The target wasn’t enough for the Guyana bowlers to defend as Mario Belcon and Daren Ganga led a steady reply. Dwayne Bravo chipped in with 28 but the finishing touches were added by Pollard who helped himself to an unbeaten half-century. His 52 came off 62 balls with three fours and a six as T&T reached the target with four overs to spare. T&T now head the Zone B table with 12 points and the win has given the defending champions a boost ahead of the semi-finals.
ScorecardAn impressive performance by the spinners helped Windward Islands ease to a five-wicket win over Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in Berbice. After wrapping up CCC cheaply for 131, Darren Sammy and Under-19 batsman Donwell Hector reached the target in the 34th over. It was a consolation win for Windwards who were already eliminated from the tournament after losing their two opening games.After being put into bat by Rawl Lewis, the openers Shirley Clarke and Omar Phillips began steadily, adding 45. However, spinners Shane Shillingford and Gary Mathurin struck quickly to peg CCC back at 54 for 3. The spinners continued to make life difficult for the batsmen as Lewis and Liam Sebastien ran through the middle and lower order, sharing six wickets between them. CCC lost their last six wickets for 20 runs and were left to defend a rather modest score.On a pitch with variable bounce, the CCC bowlers had their moments, picking up three quick wickets after the Windwards openers added 43. Sammy and Hector then added 43 for the fourth wicket to push their side closer to victory.

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.

A career-best 158 from Morne van Wyk kept the Eagles in with an outside chance of pulling off a comeback against the Lions although a target of 173 should not provide too many problems on the final day. van Wyk added 143 for the eighth-wicket with Ryan McLaren to help guide the Eagles from 213 for 7 to 381 all out. Garnet Kruger was the pick of the attack with a hard-earned 5 for 114.The third day at Paarl was low on excitement as an attritional performance from the Cape Cobras produced 192 runs in 96 overs. An unbroken eighth wicket stand of 49 between Vernon Philander and Paul Adams edged them past the follow on after Dale Benkenstein produced a surprising performance with the ball for the Dolphins. The Cape Cobra’s early progress was steady as Gerhard Strydom reached 82 before Benkenstein burst through with three quick wickets with his medium pace. Ian Harvey struck a valuable half-century, but Ugasen Govender’s three wickets kept the Dolphins in control.Alviro Petersen and Zander de Bruyn cracked impressive centuries to take the Titans into a first-innings lead against the Warriors at East London. Petersen faced 289 balls before falling to Tyron Henderson but then de Bruyn and Albie Morkel added an unbeaten 110 for the sixth wicket. A draw is the favourite result on a pitch that has been a batsman’s paradise.

The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit will return to Kenya in January to interview a further 10 players as part of its ongoing investigation into allegations of match-fixing resulting from the recent hearing which banned Maurice Odumbe.Martin Hawkins and Alan Peacock, the two ICC officials who have been in Nairobi since Tuesday, had rather a wasted trip. Most of the players they had hoped to speak to were either out of the country or refused to meet with them. Allan Kosgey, who represents the players, explained that his clients had been given insufficient notice of the visit.”I am discussing with my clients which dates would suit them,” Kosgey told Reuters. “We agreed that they will return in January to interview my clients [who] are happy to be interviewed at a future date which is convenient to them.”It is understood that Hawkins and Peacock did speak to Ravindu Shah, Brijal Patel, Lamech Onyango and Alpesh Vadher.