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Somerset supporters were queueing up at the office at the County Ground this morning to take advantage of the discounted membership prices which expire at the end of the day today.Membership secretary Joanne Betsworth told me “The phone lines are red hot this morning with people who are anxious to take advantage of the reduced membership prices.”All of the members of staff in the office were rushed off their feet in an effort to deal with the flood of personal callers and telephone applications that were being received.Already record numbers of new members for this time of year have joined. From a membership perspective it looks like being a highly successful year for the club, which in turn means that revenue is coming into the club coffers at this early stage in the season.Jo Betsworth concluded, “We have been really busy this week and we are really really pleased with the way that things are going.”Anyone who wants to take adavantage of the reduced prices can telephone Jo Betsworth on 01823 272946, or can click onto the membership section on the site and join on line.

The Hampshire members have voted in favour of turning the club into a limited company. The decision to support the plan, put forward by chairman Rod Bransgrove, was taken at an extraordinary general meeting.”It’s a big step and over the next week or two, we’ll be making sure that all the other arrangements, with tax advisors, Sport England and others, are concluded satisfactorily,” Bransgrove explained.”It’s a complex structure at Hampshire County Cricket Club, which has evolved over many, many years.”We need to make sure we unravel this and restructure it in a way which doesn’t prejudice the company’s tax position and any individual’s financial position.”Hampshire are now based at their new Rose Bowl ground on the outskirts of the City at West End, having left their former Northlands Road home at the end of last season after 116 years.The club is still £9m short of the funding required to complete the Rose Bowl, but Bransgrove believes it will eventually become one of the best cricket venues in the world.There is a positive mood on the field as well, with Hampshire currently top of Championship Division Two.A brand new committee to oversee the running of the club as a PLC will be taken at next year’s annual general meeting.Bransgrove, meanwhile, is encouraging members and supporters to take the opportunity to buy a financial stake when the club is ready to issue shares.”It’s a little bit difficult at the moment because the documentation one has to produce to encourage investment is very carefully policed – and that takes an enormous amount of legal and financial advice, which is very expensive.”At this stage we want to try and get the company up and running in as inexpensive manner as possible, but nonetheless, the slightly longer term objective will be to list the business on the Alternative Investment Market.”At that stage, certainly, members will be able to participate.”

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Lancashire make final after another low-scoring semi

English cricket’s three-for-one Finals Day provided entertainment in the second semi-final worthy of the supermarket discount bin. The pitch was stodgy, it was apparent from the outset that intelligent bowling could clamp down on scoring rates, and those Twenty20 fans who want their entertainment identified by an adrenalin rush of boundaries, which is most, will have grimaced with disappointment.Lancashire only needed 116 in a contest defined by missed sweeps, drag-ons and heaves into the leg-side that will not feature on a bat manufacturer’s promotional video. It was a slightly troubled chase, James Faulkner defiantly putting it to bed with two successive leg-side sixes off Chris Wood, the only sixes off the match. The margin: six wickets with seven balls to spare.For the fourth successive time at Edgbaston, Hampshire lost in the semi-finals. They have tried changing hotels, travelling at different times. Cricketers being a superstitious lot, lucky underwear will no doubt have been binned. But it was not down to luck, it was down to an inability to adapt to a slow surface, all the more surprising as they regularly combat similar pitches, designed to their strengths, on their home turf at the Ageas Bowl.It did not help that the second match took place after the home side, Birmingham Bears, had been knocked out in the semi-final and a sense of disappointment hung over the ground. It did not help that the rhythm of T20 is somewhat lost in the gap between the group stages and the final (although time is clearly needed to sell tickets), but Hampshire’s innings lacked energy and wit: it was disappointing fare.

Lost it with the bat – Vince

James Vince, the Hampshire captain, rued the shot selection of his team-mates which prevented the team from posting a competitive total in their semi-final.
“It was a disappointing batting performance. The wicket was tough and it was going to get harder as the day went on, so we knew we weren’t looking at a total of 170-180. But I was happy to win the toss and there were some disappointing shots in there. No one stuck around to be able to build a partnership.
“We never really managed to take regular wickets like they did and it’s easier to set your stall out to score 120. There were plenty of little points you could look at in the field but we lost it with the bat. If we’d got another 20 or 30 runs, we’d have had a chance of defending it.”
Lancashire captain Steven Croft said: “We’d like to have finished it two or three overs before but Jimmy Faulkner’s a really cool finisher and Browny anchored the innings very well. We assessed the pitch very early and both seamers and spinners bowled well.”

James Vince, a batsman of some quality, acquitted himself considerably better than anybody. He was eager to show his prowess on a big day, having been omitted from England’s 50-over squad once again. He could play on this Finals Day pitch, justifying his decision to bat upon winning the toss. It was just that not many other Hampshire batsmen could.Vince made 69 out of 115 and, having opened, was out to the second ball of the last over, a skied top-edge which fell to the wicketkeeper Jos Buttler as he tried to heave Faulkner into the leg side. He was dropped on 45, too, by Buttler off the offspin of Steven Croft, but generally, his thought processes and execution were faultless.Around him, others fared less well. George Edwards has not been a regular for Lancashire this season in any format, but the wickets of Michael Carberry, who spliced to mid-off, not imagining his 13 would be the second top score, and Adam Wheater, first ball, athletically held by Buttler down the leg side, set Lancashire motoring.It was a scenario that Lancashire’s spin pair of Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley could not resist. They entered the final against Northamptonshire with 40 wickets between them and economy rates below seven, their effectiveness in T20 bearing comparison with Faulkner, and there is no higher praise than that.Parry found sharp turn to bowl Owais Shah as he came down the pitch and defeated Sean Ervine and Liam Dawson on the sweep. Lilley bowled Wood to a swipe and Yasir Arafat to one of several drag-ons in the match. Their combined tally of 5 for 32 in eight overs, with Vince watching with growing consternation, ensured Lancashire had a cakewalk.Vince chose not to bowl his spinners in the Powerplay, for understandable reasons, but by the end of the six overs Lancashire were 43 for 1, the chase all but broken, before Danny Briggs and Will Smith had a chance to respond. Keith Brown’s unbeaten 45 from 43 balls ensured the opportunity was not shunned. Buttler perished at long-off, telling himself as he went, no doubt, that he could still make an impact in the final.Hampshire even tried dismissing a Lancashire batsman by pushing him away from the crease, not a dismissal not yet included in the MCC Laws. It was an incident that could have created a major flashpoint, instead to cricket’s credit it just became a curio.Davies, on 3, scooped a catch to mid-on and with everybody seeming strangely oblivious to the no-ball call from Rob Bailey (a marginal decision by an umpire who rightly still believes giving no-balls is part of his job, unlike many of those standing in the Ashes) he made little attempt to make his ground. Vince, who was rapidly becoming the only Hampshire player with common sense, took off a bail, but an appeal for a run out was not really on when two Hampshire players were manhandling Davies to the pavilion.

Chris Gayle and Clive Lloyd keep referring to the West Indies team under their charge in South Africa as young. Dr Donald Peters, the chief executive officer of the West Indies Cricket Board, notes that it is presently the second youngest in international cricket.They are all strictly correct. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins and Rawl Lewis are the only three of the 15 here over 30. Six are under 25.Yet it is a chronological illusion. The youthful average age is in direct contrast to the overall international experience.Chanderpaul, Daren Ganga, Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor and the injured, absent Ramnaresh Sarwan all first appeared for the West Indies as teenagers. Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin made their debuts at 20, Fidel Edwards and Devon Smith at 21.They are now relatively old hands at the game. Only Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Runako Morton and the newcomer, Brenton Parchment, have been less than three years in Test cricket. Bravo is a typical example of the experience gathered in the several short careers. Still only 24, he has already toured Australia, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe and played in one World Cup and two Champions Trophy tournaments. Like so many others, he was the outstanding individual in his first series, in England in 2004.Sarwan’s unbeaten 81 in his debut Test innings against a Pakistan side, which included Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Abdul Razzaq, prompted the watching Ted Dexter, the England captain of an earlier generation, to predict an eventual Test average of over 50.Samuels was another who made an immediate mark. Steve Waugh was so impressed with his class when he came in as a replacement in Australia seven years ago, aged 19, he presented him with his favourite red handkerchief.Yet, with the prominent exception of Chanderpaul, every young West Indian has regressed. Sarwan’s batting average has slipped from the mid-40s to 38.76. Only Chanderpaul (46.63), Gayle (38.28) and Bravo (34.24) of those in South Africa are above 30.The same holds true of the bowlers, of whom Collins’ 34.63 is the lowest.The task of the new coach, John Dyson, over the coming six months is clear. And so should the message to his players. Dyson himself has recognised it. “The team has tremendous potential and I don’t think they are achieving it,” he told the BBC last month. It is a self-evident truth.”They’re quite capable of moving up the ICC tables (where they now stand eighth out of nine) and, from my point of view, it’s important they have the ability to do that, so it’s an area I can work on.”It is a task that has proved beyond the long line of those who have preceded him. Each one has departed, either of their own frustrated accord or by the pink slip from the WICB, while most of the players have remained.Andy Roberts, himself one of the previous coaches and now selector, stated after the selection for this tour that the “stakeholders”, as he termed them, remained because genuine contenders have not emerged from the sub-standard first-class tournament in the Caribbean.In other words, the “stakeholders” have become complacent, knowing their places are virtually secure how ever much they underachieve.It is a state of affairs that has run its course.

The selectors must be guided over the coming three months, for the subsequent home series against Sri Lanka and Australia, by performances in the Tests and ODIs against South Africa and in the simultaneous Carib Beer Series in the Caribbean.Batsmen whose averages are stuck in the mid-20s and bowlers who have made little progress after several years of Test cricket must know that their places will go to those back home who verify their claims with runs and wickets at regional level.And the WICB can back up its recent stated intention to smother the team with love by providing them with as much technical support as other Test teams now enjoy as a matter of course through bowling and fielding coaches (especially fielding) and qualified physical trainers. Otherwise, it will be the same old, same old.

South Africa women’s team has made three enforced changes just a week before they host Pakistan in a much-anticipated five-match ODI series.Mignon du Preez, Angelique Taai and Kirsten Blair have been called in as replacements for the injured Shandre Fritz and Shafeeqa Pillay, while Alicia Smith hasn’t recovered from illness.With the World Cup qualifiers taking place in Pakistan in November this year, both teams will use the forthcoming series as part of their preparations.Cri-Zelda Brits steps into the captaincy role to cover Fritz, who sustained a neck injury while diving into a swimming pool last month. du Preez, from Northerns, provides extra depth. Brits, the 23-year-old right-handed batsman from North West, has plenty of experience at this level, having played in the World Cup in South Africa two years ago.Pakistan arrive in South Africa on Monday, and will be based at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre. On Wednesday they play a SA Invitational XI in a one-day tour match at the Laudium Cricket Oval, Pretoria and will play their first ODI match on Saturday.They are currently ranked 10th on the ICC world rankings, three places below South Africa (7) and, under captain Urooj Mumtaz (22), the team will be looking to play nothing less than inspirational cricket.

Ashwell Prince, South Africa’s middle-order batsman, has been named vice-captain of the side following Jacques Kallis’s departure home due to a shoulder injury.Prince, 28, has been a regular member of the South African one-day side for over a year now, contributing key knocks apart from being a superb asset in the field. He has played 15 Tests and 33 one-day internationals, and included in his resume is the fact that he captained South Africa A and the former Western-Boland franchise on the South African domestic circuit.Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of South Africa’s selection panel, said today that these two factors were an important factor in Prince getting the nod. “Ashwell is now well established and respected as a senior member in the Proteas’ squad. He will provide excellent support to Graeme Smith in the absence of Jacques Kallis,” Lorgat said. “He has also played representative cricket at all levels from Under-13 to thenational team, and so is fully conversant with the ethos of South Africancricket.”Kallis, the third South African to return home during the tour to Australia, flew back in order to ensure his full fitness for the return series against Australia, which starts at the end of February.

Shoaib Akhtar has pulled out of the forthcoming three-match Test series against India. The Press Trust of India reported that he announced: "I aggravated my injury a couple of days ago and now it seems that I will take four to five weeks to recover and play any competitive match."Shoaib has been at the centre of controversy for a while now, with his team-mates reportedly questioning his commitment and the Pakistan Cricket Board fining him. Such controversy will finally cease to hound the Pakistani side, but only until the end of the Test series."I am certainly not a candidate for the Tests," said Shoaib, "but if I recover by the time the one-day series begins, I will inform the Cricket Board. They can then select me if they feel the team requires me." He added that the main reason for his withdrawal was that he did not want to risk a mid-series breakdown, like the one he had undergone against Australia.Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, said that Shoaib’s absence would be a loss for the team. "It’s a terrible blow for us," he said, "because it’s difficult to go on a tough tour like India without your premier bowler. But I think Shoaib is at a stage in his career where he is the best judge of his fitness. I hope he makes speedy recovery and makes himself available soon."

Mumbai236 for 3 (Jaffer 143) v Andhra
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Mumbai vindicated their decision to bat first as they finished the first day at Vijayawada in a comfortable position against Andhra. Wasim Jaffer carried on his sparkling form this season, and helped himself to another century. His innings contained 13 fours, but he was out at the fag end of the day. Bhavin Thakkar scored a patient 47, as Andhra tried eight bowlers.Delhi 274 for 7 (Manhas 129, Varun Kumar 50*) v Punjab
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Mithun Manhas led from the front with a fine century, but Delhi lost wickets with regularity at the other end, and frittered away a chance to post a mammoth total at Chandigarh. After reducing Delhi to 37 for 4, Punjab’s bowlers had partly justified their captain’s decision to bowl first, but Manhas got support from Pradeep Chawla (39) and Varun Kumar to take them towards respectability. Gagandeep Singh scalped three victims, while Vineet Sharma and Amit Uniyal picked up two each.Assam 33 for 1 trail Bengal 246 (Shukla 82, Haldipur 67) by 213 runs
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After opting to field first, Assam gained the upper hand by restricting Bengal to 246 on the first day at Kolkata. Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who is having a great time with the bat, top-scored with 82 while the other notable contribution came from Nikhil Haldipur. The Assam bowlers stuck to their task with Gautam Dutta and Arnald Konwar snapping up three wickets each.Tamil Nadu 252 for 6 (Sharath 97*, Vidyut 50) v Gujarat
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Sridharan Sharath propelled Tamil Nadu to a decent score at stumps on the first day against Gujarat at Ahmedabad. He spent close to four hours in the middle and was still unbeaten at the end of the day. Vidyut Shivaramakrishnan’s half-century was a valuable contribution which included six fours and a six.Karnataka 64 for 3 trail Hyderabad 177 (Vinay Kumar 65) by 113 runs
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Hyderabad were shot out for 177 on the first day of their Elite Group match against Karnataka at the Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad. After Hyderabad decided to bat first, Vinay Kumar’s half-century was the lone spark in a faltering effort as Narvanda Aiyappa derailed the innings with three wickets. Karnataka lost three wickets when they batted, but Barrington Rowland held the fort with a sedate 25 not out.Uttar Pradesh 16 for 2 trail Railways 137 (Bangar 51) by 121 runs
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Sanjay Bangar’s half-century prevented a complete fiasco as Railways caved in for a paltry 137 against UP at Varanasi. None of the other batsmen passed 20 with Ashish Zaidi, Praveen Gupta and S Shukla grabbing seven wickets between them. UP lost two early wickets in their reply, and an early finish is surely on the cards.Kerala 207 for 7 (Hemanth Kumar 66) v Baroda
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Baroda gained the upper hand as Kerala gave a tame display on the first day at Vadodara. Barring Hemanth Kumar, who made a gritty 66, the rest found no answers to Rakesh Patel (2 for 68) and Tushar Arothe (3 for 48). Irfan Pathan Sr and Shekhar Joshi picked up a wicket each as Kerala rued their decision to bat first in the morning.Plate Championship 2nd RoundOrissa 160 for 4 (Parida 81) lead Maharashtra 77 (Mohanty 5-24) by 83 runs
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To be shot out for 77 on the first morning after winning the toss and batting first is almost unthinkable. But that’s what happened to Maharastra, who were without the controversial Abhijit Kale, as they collapsed in 35.1 overs with only three batsmen reaching double figures against Orissa at Cuttack. Debasis Mohanty, the former Indian swing bowler, tore through the soft underbelly of the batting order and grabbed five wickets. When Orissa batted, Rashmi Ranjan Parida anchored the innings with 81, and made a second consecutive victory of the season a distinct possibility.Haryana 242 for 3 (Chetan Sharma 74, Sunny Singh 67) v Tripura
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Haryana opted to take first strike and made it count when they finished in a commanding position at stumps on the first day against Tripura at Rohtak. Chtean Sharma and Sunny Singh hit eight fours apiece, and laid the base for what could be a massive total.Vidharbha 287 for 5 (Deshpande 126, Vivek Naidu 64*, Alind Naidu 50) v Madhya Pradesh
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Amit Deshpande’s fine hundred and half-centuries by the two Naidus, Vivek and Alind, were the highlights of the first day’s play between Vidharbha and MP at Indore. Deshpande’s 204-ball innings contained 17 fours and a six.Goa 3 for 0 trail Services 212 by 209 runs
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Goa’s bowlers justified the decision to bowl first as Services were restricted to 212 on the first day at Panjim. Yashpal Singh top-scored for Services with 47, as most of the batsmen threw it away after getting good starts.Jammu & Kashmir 56 for 5 trail Bihar 172 (Dhoni 64) by 116 runs
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Bihar collapsed to a small total, but hit back by picking up five wickets on the first day against J&K at Jammu. Only Mahendra Dhoni, the opener, provided much resistance in a meek batting display. But J&K were even worse, with Shahid Khan’s 4 for 10 making them lose their way.

The WACA ground’s Farley stand is scheduled to be completely demolished later this week, on either Friday or Saturday, when Brajkovich Demolition Contractors bring in the Excavator Machine to take down the remaining walls and roof of the veteran grand stand.The WACA ground’s Farley stand is being demolished as part of the West Australian Cricket Association’s (WACA) refurbishment of the WACA ground.The essence of the refurbishment project is to transform the WACA ground into a stadium that primarily embraces the cricket spectator, and also provides the ability to accommodate other sporting events and a permanent winter tenant.Part of the WACA’s refurbishment plan involves; reducing the size of the ground by 15m on both the east and west sides of the ground, to bring spectators closer to the action; extending the grassed seating and shaded areas, so as to revitalise the ground’s family atmosphere and; raking the perimeter seating around the ground so as to provide better quality spectator viewing from an elevated position.WACA Chief Executive Officer Kath White said, The final demolition of the Farley has taken some time, but finally, the old warhorse will be disappearing. Much of the internal material was salvaged so bits of the Farley stand will find their way into various structures around WA.

Hosts Tamil Nadu lost their opening match of the P Subbiah Pillay Trophy,Ranji Trophy South Zone One-Dayers against Karnataka by 33 runs at the MAChidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. After a damp outfield delayed the start ofthe game by 190 minutes, Tamil Nadu skipper Robin Singh won the toss andput Karnataka in to bat.The decision turned out to be a good one as Thirunavukarasu Kumaran reducedKarnataka to 0/2 at the end of the first over. A quick yorker got rid ofJAK Arunkumar and off the very next ball, the fifth of the innings, stumperTilak Naidu dragged the ball back onto his stumps. With two batsmen back inthe hut and no runs on the board, Mithun Beerala and India One-Day discardVijay Bharadwaj came together.Mixing occasional clean hits with some precise running between the wickets,the pair blunted the Tamil Nadu attack. The mediumpacers gave way to thespinners and there was still no respite for Tamil Nadu. Former Testoffspinner Aashish Kapoor was welcomed to the attack by sixes over long onfrom both batsmen. At 101/2, a half hearted shot from Bharadwaj saw himpresent a simple catch to Sadagoppan Mahesh and Kumaran had his third scalpof the match. Bharadwaj had made 47. In the company of Beerala, he hadadded 101 runs to the total.Just 2.4 overs later a very tired Beerala was run out by a good bit offielding from Robin Singh and it looked like the balance might swing inTamil Nadu’s favour. Beerala’s run a ball 53 included three boundaries andthe solitary six.Dodda Ganesh (31) added a late in the innings charge that included twolusty sixes and Karnataka ended their 32 overs on a healthy 171/9. Inresponse, the strong on paper Tamil Nadu batting line up lost its waycompletely. Barring a promising 24 from Ramesh and a steady 25 from RajatBhatia at the top of the order, no one in the top five made it to doublefigures. The two put on 48 for the second wicket and this turned out to bethe largest partnership of the innings. At 77/6 after 21.1 overs there waslittle hope for the home side. A lively 32 from Sridharan Sharath delayedthe inevitable even as Tamil Nadu ended on 138/9 after 32 overs. The hostsplay Goa tomorrow and need to get their act together in a hurry.