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Tim May, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) chief executive, has warned that international players may be forced to resort to performance-enhancing drugs to cope with the demands of too many games. The ICC’s new schedule for international cricket has been labelled “a disaster” that would leave the world’s leading players exhausted and harm the integrity of the game.Speaking to , May cautioned against the punishing year-round commitment that players face: “The FTP is a disaster because it puts no upper limit on the amount of cricket that can be scheduled. There are five or six guys in the five leading sides in the world who play Tests and ODIs and they are being flogged. You only have to look at the doping record in baseball to see that recovery, not enhanced power, is the motivation for most drug misuse. The more we push players the more they might look at options.”May, a former Australia offspinner, referred to the FTP as a “play-travel-play-travel-play-fall over” schedule that didn’t consider the players. “They [cricketers] are the ones who make the difference between a 10,000 crowd and a sell-out; they are the ones who the broadcasters and commercial partners pay for,” he said. “They are exhausted and they are not going to take much more.”Jacques Kallis, the South African allrounder, has endorsed May’s harsh criticisms. “The amount of cricket we play is way too much,” he told the website SuperCricket.com. “They need to cut down the Future Tours Programme, otherwise teams are going to end up resting their top players if it stays the way it is. But the public want to see the best players, so it’s a big problem.”Kallis pointed out that allrounders were particularly over-worked. “For allrounders its definitely too hard a schedule. It’s killing them,” he said. “And young players won’t want to be an all-rounder if they see how quickly you get worn out. It would be better to go the route of being a specialist batsman or bowler. We need scientific research on how many matches would be ideal. There needs to be a balance and I’m sure we need less cricket. It’s overkill – the public are already saying that.”Click here to send us your views. Are the players being asked to do too much, or is the ICC handling the international calendar as it should?

Division One

3rd dayIt took Sussex less than 40 overs to crush Durham by an innings and 133 runs at Hove and leap to the top of the table. Yasir Arafat and Mushtaq Ahmed struck three early blows as Durham slumped to 79 for 5 and it was only a matter of time. However, the inevitable was delayed by a 95-ball century from Phil Mustard and he found support from Ben Harmison as the pair added 82 for the sixth wicket. Harmison eventually fell to Jason Lewry, who claimed three quick wickets, and Mustard needed the support of No. 11, Mick Lewis, to reach his ton. He was eventually the last-man out for 103 to give Arafat his fourth wicket of the innings.Warwickshire moved into a strong position against Hampshire on the third day Southampton, forcing them to follow on after dismissing them for 235. Hampshire managed to add just 109 runs to their overnight score before losing their last seven wickets under pressure from Paul Harris who took six wickets in the innings. Alex Loudon helped him sweep up, with 2 for 58, and there was a wicket too for Neil Carter. Warwickshire had made inroads into Hampshire’s second innings by the close, with Heath Streak taking his first wicket of the match, dismissing Mike Carberry for 6. Hampshire now trail by 139 runs with 9 wickets remaining.There was no action on the third day at Headingley between Yorkshire and Kent meaning that the match is heading for a stalemate unless the captains agree to having a game on the final day.2nd dayIt continued to be slow going at Old Trafford but Lancashire managed to take three wickets in the play possible against Middlesex while Owais Shah completed his second century of the season. Shah fell to Gary Keedy shortly after reaching three figures and the left-arm spinner also accounted for Scott Styris. In between, Eoin Morgan was bowled by Tom Smith but it will take more attacking cricket, and better weather, over the next two days to force a result.

Division Two

4th day
Somerset’s match against Glamorgan at Taunton ended in a soggy draw as rain prevented any play for the second day running.3rd dayEssex romped to a convincing victory over title contenders Surrey at Colchester, beating them by an innings and two runs inside three days. James Middlebrook’s century – two short of his career-best of 115 – lifted Essex to 530, a lead of 200 runs and then the home side crushed Surrey, dismissing them for 198. Ali Brown did his best to weld together Surrey’s innings, but his top-score of 63 was nowhere near enough to stave off Essex’s assault. Their attack was led by Middlebrook and Andy Bichel, who grabbed three wickets each.Only ten overs were possible between Leicestershire and Worcestershire on the third day at Leicester, and this rain-affected match has got draw written all over it. Leicestershire moved on to 56 for 1 in reply to Worcestershire’s 456.2nd dayGloucestershire were thankful for some late-order defiance to boost their total over 200 against Derbyshire at Derby. Steffan Jones and Graham Wagg did most of the damage as Gloucestershire slipped to 146 for 7. But the bowlers, especially James Averis, played sensibly to lift the innings. Jones and Wagg ended with seven wickets between them but Jon Lewis hit back before the close by removing Steve Stubbings.

<I India 238 for 7 (Goswami 69) lead England 223 (Atkins 73) by 15 runs
ScorecardThis was a day for the diehards. India’s batsmen continued where they left off yesterday, in painstakingly slow fashion, as they crawled to a 238 for 7, at barely two an over. By the close they had sneaked ahead of England’s total – itself an innings to test the patience – and they still had three wickets intact.Katherine Brunt got England’s day off to a flyer, trapping both openers Karu Jain and Monica Sumra lbw early on (34 for 2). Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj rallied to add 85 for the third wicket, and India built on their innings from there.But not, alas, in electrifying fashion. Tight bowling from England made their progress slow at best, with Jenny Gunn finishing the day with the ridiculously economical figures of 29 overs for 42 runs.Goswami went on to top score with 69 from 288 balls, an innings compiled over more than four hours. Then the England captain Charlotte Edwards made the breakthrough. Raj just missed out on her half-century; she made 47 before being trapped lbw by Gunn. Anjum Chopra became the tenth lbw victim of this match shortly afterwards, when she was also undone by Edwards, for 22.Needless to say this pitch is slow and low and, unless there is a clatter of wickets, this game has got bore-draw written all over it.

Mitchell Johnson, the Australian left-arm fast bowler who returned home after two matches in Kuala Lumpur, has now readjusted his aims to earning a spot in the Ashes squad.”It [the Ashes] is always in the back of your mind,” Johnson told . “I think now it’s probably a little bit more but I’ll see what happens. I’ve still got the ICC [Champions] Trophy to go to and see how I’ll go there and we’ll see what happens.”Johnson had a good short tour of Malaysia, getting six wickets for 72 runs in two matches, including 4 for 11 in the rained-off game against India on Saturday. “Sachin Tendulkar said ‘well bowled’,” Johnson told reporters in Brisbane. “Getting Tendulkar and Brian Lara in the same week has been awesome. I probably struggled a little bit at the start of my one-day career, but getting those wickets definitely has helped.”Johnson said flying back to Queensland after two matches was always part of the selectors’ plans and he will play club cricket for Norths in the Brisbane grade competition this weekend.

The good news was that England cruised through their first, and only,practice game against an unheralded side; the bad news is that AndrewFlintoff, who smashed a breezy 59 with the bat, revealed that he will notbe bowling in the opening game of the Champions Trophy, a crucial clashagainst India on Sunday.”I won’t be bowling this Sunday,” Flintoff told reporters at the end of atiring day in the field. “As for the series, I’m bowling in the nets,trying to build it [the ankle] up. As for an exact date as to when I’ll be bowling again,I’m not sure. I’ve bowled two or three times in the nets and it’s feelingstrong but that’s something that we’re assessing day by day.”Speculation has been rife about Flintoff opening the batting in thetournament and his entry at No.3 today lent more weight to that theory.Flintoff, though, played his cards close to his chest. “Today, we had theorder we had,” he dead-batted. “Going into Sunday, we’d need to discusswith the coach and decide. We have quite a few options we can take butit’s something we’ll finalise before Sunday.”Flintoff was visibly sapped at the end of a demanding day under the Jaipursun but he brushed aside suggestions that the weather might affect histeam’s chances. “I thought we coped quite well with the heat last time,”he reasoned, talking about England’s visit to India earlier in the year,when they encountered temperatures so oppressive that a few players neededsaline drips. “We have experience in playing in extreme heat. It’ssomething we’re aware of. We’re getting accustomed to it in the last fewdays.”Just as they’d done against Pakistan, England played both their spinners -Jamie Dalrymple and Michael Yardy – in the warm-up game as well. “Weplayed two spinners today and they’re obviously vital members of our sideas are the pace bowlers. We’re quite fortunate to have three allroundersin the side – Collingwood, Yardy and Dalrymple. They all bat well and bowltheir overs. We also have Rikki Clarke. It gives us a lot of depth.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, feels that the decision to ban Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif could hamper his team’s chances in the forthcoming home series against West Indies and more importantly in next year’s World Cup.Shoaib was banned for two years and Asif for one year after both were found guilty of using the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone, by a three-man drugs tribunal formed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Asif said that he would appeal against the ban, and Shoaib is likely to follow suit. Inzamam – serving a four-match ban for bringing The Oval Test into disrepute – hoped the players would be able to make a successful appeal against the ban.”I can understand how the two were feeling and I am hurt myself over the incidents,” Inzamam told AFP. “Their absence will make a difference in our performance. Asif’s career had just taken off and both he and Akhtar were our main wicket-takers. Even our series against the West Indies will become tough without them.”He said that their absence would give the younger players the opportunity to prove themselves and hoped that the doping episode would serve an important lesson for the next generation of players.Shabbir Ahmed, the fast bowler banned for a year for a suspect bowling action, has a chance to resurrect his career in the absence of Shoaib and Asif. The PCB informed that he would head to Australia on November 20 for biomechanic tests on his action. Shabbir was last reported during the Multan Test against England last year and his ban ends on December 18.

A recurring back injury prevented Ricky Ponting from fielding throughout the fourth day, but he is expected to return as Australia attempt to finish off England at the Gabba on Monday. Ponting experienced the problem while making an unbeaten 60 as he set the tourists an impossible target of 648, but he spent the afternoon receiving treatment in the dressing room from Alex Kountouris, the team physiotherapist.Ponting strained a muscle in his upper back when he turned for the crease after backing up. He stretched on the ground but remained on the field until Justin Langer reached his century, declaring with his team at 1 for 202.The injury is similar to one he experienced on the 2004 tour of Sri Lanka and Langer said he would “bet his house” on Ponting being fit for the second Test at Adelaide from Friday. Adam Gilchrist assumed the captaincy on a day when Glenn McGrath also suffered with pain in a “hotspot” in his left foot.”The pressure is from his shoe and he’s had it for a long time,” Kountouris said. “The fact he’s gone from one-day cricket to bowling a lot more overs meant the soreness was severe today.” McGrath had a pain-killing injection in the foot and it will be treated after the match, but it is unlikely to threaten his participation in the remainder of the series.Shane Watson is another who is due to be available for Adelaide as his recovery from a hamstring injury progresses well. Watson was ruled out of this match but Kountouris said he was on track for the second Test, which would force another reshuffle if he is included in the team.

Scorecard
How they were out

A patient and polished century from S Badrinath ensured that Tamil Nadu did not suffer the fate of some other teams on the first day of the opening round of Ranji Trophy matches. After choosing to bat, they ended the day on 184 for 3, a healthy score on a slow pitch that might just be a tough one to bat on last.The day began well for Delhi. Ashish Nehra, feeling his way back from injury, played his first Ranji Trophy game at the Feroz Shah Kotla, his home ground, in six years, and bowled well with the new ball. But it was immediately obvious that Tamil Nadu’s last-minute decision to play the extra spinner in C Suresh in place of D Tamil Kumaran, the medium-pacer, would pay off.The going was tough for M Vijay, making Ranji debut, and S Vidyut. Ishant Sharma, the tall young Delhi fast bowler, struck an early blow, trapping Vidyut in front of the stumps in the fourth over. At 2 for 1 Tamil Nadu had gotten out off to a terrible start, and Hemang Badani was in the middle much earlier than he would have liked. He toiled with the industrious Vijay, and spent 40 minutes at the crease for 5 runs. Just as Nehra was flagging, having done all the hard work, Badani felt for one outside off and tickled an edge to the wicketkeeper. In the 13th over, the score was only 11 and Tamil Nadu had lost two wickets, including the vital one of Badani.Given the history of the Feroz Shah Kotla, where the ball inevitably does a bit in the first hour, it should have been Tamil Nadu’s aim to merely see the new ball off and then settle down for a long stint out in the middle. That the first boundary came as late as the 20th over, when Badrinath picked off Chaitanya Nanda’s legspin, indicated how difficult it was to bat.But Badrinath, who has been in a rich vein of form, and Vijay, having got over his early nerves, realised that there was little point playing on the back foot on a pitch that showed signs of low bounce as soon as the ball got a bit soft, and began to build a partnership. Although the runs did not flow freely at any stage in the day, Tamil Nadu were able to take control of the game.Nehra bowled a long first spell – 12 overs on the trot for 27 runs – and should have had a second wicket when Badri, on 17, slashed one to gully, only for Rajat Bhatia to drop a catch he would have taken nine times out of ten. It proved a costly drop as Badrinath and Vijay put on 127 for the third wicket. When Delhi finally broke the partnership, it was against the run of play, and much needed.Delhi had used Bhatia in a containing capacity and he’s capable of sticking to one line and toiling away, despite not quite having the pace to force batsmen out. And it was his perseverance, sticking to an off-side line that paid off. Vijay, who had spent 17 minutes less than five hours at the crease for 59, shouldered arms to one on the stumps and was out lbw.Fortunately for Tamil Nadu, Badrinath was nonplussed by the change of partners, and began to show his full range of strokes with R Sathish for company. He was superb when there was any width and drove superbly through the off side. When the bowler overcompensated and was too straight he efficiently whipped the ball off his pads through the leg side. He played the one big shot of the day, a clean hit off Sanghvi straight back over his head that thudded into the sightscreen next to the players’ dressing-rooms.When play was called off at 4.45pm because of bad light, Badrinath was on an even 100. Tamil Nadu would have liked to have had more than 184 on the board but given that they were 11 for 2, on a wicket where batsmen could not trust the bounce to commit early, they will be well pleased with their solid start. It remains to be seen if they can sustain it on the second day.

S Vidyut lbw b Sharma 2 (1 for 2)
Hemang Badani c Dahiya b Nehra 5 (11 for 2)
M Vijay lbw b Bhatia 59 (138 for 3)

The late loss of VVS Laxman’s wicket made the scoreboard a less appealingprospect for the Indians, but Greg Chappell, the coach, was satisfied withthe application that most of his batsmen showed on a surface that gaveenough encouragement to the pace bowlers.”I thought all the middle-order batsmen batted well and fought it out,given the conditions and the nature of the surface,” said Chappell,speaking to the media after the day’s play. “It wasn’t easy to bat at all.It’s not a wicket where you could say you were ‘in’ at any stage.Hopefully, there will be more sunshine tomorrow, and we can continue fromhere and bat better.”The decision to bat, despite the damp pitch, was Rahul Dravid’s, andChappell supported it. “It was a courageous decision to bat first,” hesaid. “But as a team, we always look to bat first. This appears a drytrack, and we wanted to take the initiative because batting last will bevery difficult here.”Jacques Kallis, who sent back both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, wasdelighted with his nine-over spell, and said that it had been pretty mucha typical Wanderers pitch. “There was a little bit in the wicket, and youjust needed to put the ball in the right areas. You always expect it toplay a little up and down. If anything, what was different was the lack ofpace. It was very slow. If you get in and see off the new ball, it’susually a good scoring ground.”He was confident that South Africa could wrap up the Indian inningsquickly and then set up the game with the bat. “We would like to cash inbatting during our first innings, and put them under pressure,” he said.”Normally, days two and three are the best batting days on this ground,hopefully the track will get a little quicker too.”South Africa might well be without Dale Steyn for that second day, afterhe pulled up with a recurrence of a quadriceps strain after bowling thefirst ball of his 11th over. “He had a Grade I strain in his left thighsome three weeks back,” said Shane Jabaar, the team physio. “He has beenreceiving treatment and bowling in the nets for the last one week, but ina Test match, there is an increased ten percent intensity in bowling.”He felt very mild pain and left the field as a precaution, which wasgood. We’ll see how it responds in the morning, and see if he can comeback for the first innings, or whether we should get him ready for thesecond innings.”They might need him too, on a pitch that Chappell reckons will growincreasingly bowler-friendly. “I think the bowlers will dominate thisgame,” he said. “This could turn out to be a low-scoring Test. The oddbatsman might get stuck in, but generally, the bowlers will have the upperhand. We have no target as such, but 350 is usually what we aim for in aTest match batting first.”Even if they get within a 100 runs of that stated target, it will be anachievement in itself. After the limp surrender of the one-day series,this was a day to show some fight. And though no man lasted the distance,there was some true grit on display. What price a Ganguly epic on day two?

Focus is the buzzword for Tino Best during the 2007 season. The West Indies fast bowler has bounced back with an impressive start to the new regional season after the disappointment of last year.”The selectors gave me the confidence. I just need to focus,” he told . “As long as the Lord gives me the strength to focus and I don’t get into any foolish trouble … I know I have a short fuse. I know I have to focus and concentrate.”Best, 25, has quickly made up for lost time after spending most of last season on the sidelines. His four-wicket haul, generated with genuine pace that caused Trinidad and Tobago’s batsmen discomfort in the Carib Beer Series match at the North Stars Club last weekend, went a long way in helping Barbados to a come-from-behind victory.It was his first game for Barbados since he was dropped after his only match last season, and his performance won him many admirers. There are some who still aren’t impressed, but Best isn’t bothered by his detractors.”They don’t get to me. Some people tell me I am a Ferrari without control. If they tell me I am a Ferrari, that is a top car. If I am a Ferrari without control, all I need is a steering wheel.”This game has shown me again how to get wickets. It slipped a bit, doubting yourself but the confidence is back there. I’ve got to remain humble. That is the most important thing for any sportsman, just remain humble, do the right things, keep it simple.”Best concedes that he was under some pressure in the second innings after he was wicketless on the opening day. But the advice of Wayne Daniel, the former West Indies fast bowler, helped put him on the right path.”I was under a bit of pressure,” he added. “Barbados has got a lot of quality bowlers. I don’t mean bowlers who are just bowling. We’ve got guys who are wicket-takers. I must commend Wayne Daniel. After the first innings, he called me. He even came into the dressing-room and spoke to me for about 45 minutes. He spoke to me about my action. Once I got my action in place properly, things worked out for me.”After losing his place in the Barbados team, Best was in and out of the West Indies A squad, but he never gave up hope of returning to the regional arena. His goals for the remainder of the season are simple – to bowl fast and put the ball in the right areas.”Once I bowl well, I think my team will win,” he said. “I know I am a wicket-taker. Once I get one, I know I have the ability to bowl out a side by myself. I’ve just turned 25. When you have something like 170 odd first-class wickets in about 50 games, I don’t think anything is slipping by.”