Durham are hoping that they have won the race to sign Ryan Sidebottom, who left Yorkshire at the end of this season and has been in talks with a number of clubs, including Durham.Martyn Moxon, the coach, told the : “Ryan would give the attack the sort of variation missing since Simon Brown left the club.” But he will have to wait to see if he has done enough to secure Sidebottom’s services. “While talks have gone well, we won’t know until next week if we’ve been successful,” he added.Sidebottom played one Test against Pakistan and two one-day internationals against Zimbabwe in 2001 and is keen to revive his brief England days. Durham have already recruited Herschelle Gibbs and Gareth Breese for next season.

The results for the Batting Performance of the Year award are:The winner
Michael Vaughan
183 v Australia at Sydney (second innings)
England won by 225 runs
After ending up on the losing side at Brisbane despite having scored 177, Michael Vaughan went one better at Sydney, scoring 183. It was an innings of beauty, poise and technical rectitude and, most relevantly, it helped England to a rare Test win against Australia.The other nominees
Matthew Hayden
119 v Pakistan at Sharjah (first innings)
Australia won by an innings and 198 runs
In oven-like conditions under which Pakistan wilted for 59 and 53, and no other batsman crossed 50, Matthew Hayden gave a masterclass on batting and physical endurance both. The slow Sharjah wicket inhibited strokeplay, but Hayden dug deep, scoring 119 out of 310 in Australia’s only innings of the game.Stephen Fleming
274* v Sri Lanka at Colombo (first innings)
Match drawn
Sometimes, not losing can be equal to winning. The pundits didn’t give New Zealand much of a chance against Muttiah Muralitharan on home pitches. Yet, by the second day of the first Test, Stephen Fleming hadn’t only conquered Murali but ground him to dust. It was an innings epic in concentration, focus, perseverance and technical adjustment. Thanks to it, New Zealand returned home undefeated in the series – and that itself was a victory.Ramnaresh Sarwan
105 v Australia at Antigua (second innings)
West Indies won by three wickets
Classics are made of this. Chasing history (418 to get in the last innings), West Indies looked headed for a familiar collapse at 74 for 3 when Sarwan joined Brian Lara at the crease. He lost Lara’s company at 165, but crafted a stirring partnership with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (105), which took West Indies to the doorstep of a famous victory.Shivnarine Chanderpaul
100 v Australia at Georgetown (first innings)
Australia won by nine wickets
It was the unlikeliest of quick hundreds. Chanderpaul, he of limpet fame, launched an assault so severe that the world’s best bowling attack was found wanting for an answer. The hundred came off 72 balls, the third-fastest in the history of Test cricket. Peter Roebuck described it as “breathtaking in its audacity and inspired in its execution”. West Indies lost the match, though, and Chanderpaul had to wait till the last Test to score a hundred that proved matchwinning.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) today announced a 12-man West End Redbacks squad to take on the Tasmanian Tigers in this Saturday’s ING Cup game at Bellerive Oval.The squad sees just one change from the team which played in Perth last Friday, with 19-year-old Mark Cosgrove coming in to the side for injured Mick Miller.Miller strained his shoulder while bowling during the Pura Cup win against the Western Warriors last week in Perth, and will be unavailable for one to two weeks.Cosgrove, who made his debut for the Redbacks as a rookie in 2002-03, was a member of the winning 2002 Under-19 Australian World Championship team and is a 2003 Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy scholar.The left-handed batsman from Northern Districts also won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 100 not out in the Prime Minister’s XI v ATSIC Chairman’s XI game at Adelaide Oval earlier this year.The Redbacks team is:

Greg Blewett (c)	Andy Flower
Mark Cleary	Mark Higgs
Mark Cosgrove	Ben Johnson
John Davison	Graham Manou
Shane Deitz	Paul Rofe
Callum Ferguson	Shaun Tait

The Redbacks squad is this week in Melbourne playing practice matches against the Victorian Bushrangers, and will arrive into Hobart this Thursday, October 30.The Redbacks also will play a Pura Cup game against Tasmania from Monday, November 3 to Thursday, November 6 in Hobart. The squad for that game will be announced later this week.

Thilanga Sumathipala, Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) president, faces further legal wrangles after Namal Balalla, the Colombo Additional Magistrate, announced this week that he had been discharged but not cleared. The magistrate has ordered Sumathipala to appear before court on January 8.Sumathipala is fighting a case filed by the CID under the Immigration and Emigration Act after being accused of aiding and abetting an underworld figure to obtain a British visa under a false passport. The investigation followed a series of serious allegations by a Sunday newspaper. If found guilty, Sumathipala faces a possible jail sentence.Sumathipala, who vehemently denies all the charges, had held a pressconference on Monday night to announce that he had been discharged.Sumathipala’s legal team had convinced a Poya Day court that the CIDpossessed insufficient evidence to pursue their case. He looked to haveemerged from the most difficult period of his life.But the manner in which the court was convened on a public holiday, without the presence of a representative from the Attorney General’s department or the CID, drew sharp criticism from the bar. Balalla rejected the submissions by the defence not to accept the plaint filed by the CID, arguing any evidence would be assessed in court on Jan 8.

Mark Butcher: ‘you can’t just bury your head in the sand’ © Getty Images

Mark Butcher has called on the England & Wales Cricket Board to reach a swift decision on the question of whether to tour Zimbabwe, as he and the rest of the England squad prepare to fly out to the West Indies next month.A final decision is expected at a special meeting of the ECB’s management board next month, and all parties are hoping to avoid a repeat of the scenes in South Africa last year, when the players instigated a last-minute boycott of the match, in protest against President Robert Mugabe’s regime.”I’d like to think I keep myself aware of pretty much what is going on in the world," said Butcher, "and it’s plainly obvious to everyone that things are not right in Zimbabwe. But it’s one thing to say what I’d do – in a team game it’s not about what you want, it’s what everyone wants to do.”During last summer, when Zimbabwe were over here, I remember thinking that we were going there in 2004 and would things have changed by then?” he added. “The best difference this time is that the ECB and the government are trying to pre-empt any disasters like those that happened last time in the World Cup. With a bit of luck we can concentrate on playing a series in the West Indies and it will be taken care of back here.”The furore at the World Cup undoubtedly affected England’s performances. "You cannot poke your head in the sand and say these things do not make any difference to you because you are a sportsman – of course they do," said Butcher. "But with a bit of luck there will not be a decision for us to make anyway. Our employers, the ECB, and the Government at the moment are talking about what should happen – it’s in their hands and until it comes back to us that’s it.”

The United States of America claimed the final spot in September’s ICC Champions Trophy tournament, pipping Scotland by 0.028 on net run rate to win the Six Nations Challenge in Dubai.The USA overhauled Scotland’s 206 to win by five wickets in the 48th over, to scupper the Scots’ hopes. Meanwhile Holland, the tournament’s overnight leaders, blew their chances by losing to the United Arab Emirates. In an exceedingly close-fought competition five of the six teams finished up with six points (click here for the points table), but America squeaked home by virtue of a superior net run rate. Canada, conquerors of Bangladesh at the 2003 World Cup, lost all their five matches.The USA now take their place alongside the ten Test-playing nations and Kenya at the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to take place in England in September. The Americans face group games against Australia, the world champions, and New Zealand. They will be the USA’s first official one-day internationals.

Anil Kumble bowls India to the brink of victory© Getty Images

On the pitch
It’s a very placid track. Whatever we have achieved in this game is because of the huge score that the batsmen put on the board. Once they scored 675, there was enormous pressure on the opposition. But whatever is said about the pitch, I think the credit should go to the team who have been able to get a result out of it. This team truly believes that it can win, no matter what the conditions.On the prospect of becoming the first Indian team to win in Pakistan
We thought it might be possible today, but we have to come back tomorrow and pick up one wicket. It’s going to be a great achievement. We’re playing in Pakistan after 15 years, and to win our first Test here will be a source of tremendous satisfaction.On comparisons to his ten-wicket haul at Delhi in 1999
It’s difficult to compare. What is important is the team winning.On how quickly he got into the groove after a spell on the sidelines
At times today, with the number of overs I bowled, I felt like I hadn’t left off in Sydney. After a couple of overs in the first innings, the ball was coming out nicely. It’s no secret that I love to bowl, or that I like to be involved as much as possible.On how the team coped for such a long time without the injured Zaheer Khan
I thought Irfan [Pathan] and Balaji bowled great spells early on. Yuvi also took a crucial wicket, and ran Inzamam out. And it also helped that we have guys like Sachin and Veeru, who are capable of picking up wickets rather than just turning their arm over.On whether this will quieten his critics, who claim he’s effective only on helpful pitches
I’m not here to prove anybody wrong. They will say that this is still the subcontinent [laughs]. They will say that I don’t spin the ball. But ultimately, all that matters is the number of wickets, and how you contribute to the team’s success.On Irfan Pathan
It was fantastic to see a 19-year-old run in so hard in just his third Test. He has made big improvements in every aspect of his cricket, and that augurs well for the future of Indian cricket.On looking back at his career, and looking ahead to 400 wickets
I look back with a bit of pride. As for the 400 wickets, I’ll take things one at a time, and hope I get there soon.On Yousuf Youhana’s century
He’s a quality batsman. It would have been nice to get him out today, but we’ll have to come back tomorrow for that.On whether he had thought of how India’s famed spinners had been savaged here in 1978
I don’t like to go back to history. I came here with a lot of confidence, having done well against Pakistan in India [in 1999].On what has changed in Indian cricket, allowing the team to become more consistent and successful
I’d put it down to the belief that we have now. The players have worked very hard, and have been helped by the support staff. Credit needs to go to John [Wright], Andrew [Leipus] and Greg [Allen King], and also Adrian [le Roux] who was there before Greg. They have instilled confidence in us, and the work ethic is also great. The players have also made a tremendous effort.On how the result here will affect the rest of the series
We hope we can take the confidence we have gained here to Lahore, and win the series.

On the wrong side of the fence. Heath Streak and his fellow rebels have pulled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka© Getty Images

The four “rebel” Zimbabwean cricketers selected for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts at Harare on Thursday, have pulled out of the match after the Zimbabwe Cricket Union refused a request from the 15 disaffected players for independent arbitration.Heath Streak, Trevor Gripper, Sean Ervine and Ray Price had been named in a 17-man squad, but their decision to withdraw left Zimbabwe with a squad of only 13 to choose from. Mark Vermeulen and Vusumuzi Sibanda were later omitted from the final eleven – Vermeulen being ruled out on medical advice.”The ZCU did not accept our proposals and we do not accept theirs,” said Grant Flower, one of those to have initiated the boycott in April. “There is simply no agreement, and on that basis the four chosen for the squad are withdrawing. They have fully agreed to that.”Vince Hogg, the ZCU’s chief executive, said: “I am extremely disappointed by their decision. It is very sad that it has come to this.”With Stuart Carlisle, Craig Wishart and Andy Blignaut not considered for the squad, Zimbabwe now face the harrowing prospect of going into the Test series with more or less the same side that was routed 5-0 in the one-day series.”We’re back to square one, we are boycotting again,” said an unnamed player earlier, after they threw out the ZCU’s offer of non-binding mediation. “In effect, we’ve had three weeks of mediation, and we believe arbitration is the only route. We’re meeting at 10am tomorrow [0800 GMT on Wednesday] to write what will hopefully be our final letter, to say we’re rejecting this.”The players had resumed training as an act of good faith, and Streak – Zimbabwe’s former captain – had declared his willingness to play if the ZCU acceded to the rebels’ requests. But according to a report in The Guardian in London, a source was quoted as saying that the board was not going to be seen to be “bowing down to a bunch of whites – their egos won’t let them”.”It was unnegotiable that this matter had to go to arbitration to give it the seriousness and the respect it deserves,” said Chris Venturas, the lawyer representing the players. “Mediation doesn’t assist in any way. Regrettably, [the ZCU] feel they will pacify us with a mediation process. Even if the mediator finds in our favour on all three points, the ZCU don’t have to abide by his ruling.”The players have made it clear that they do not trust the ZCU to honour any assurances it gives. They have been given until May 7 – the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka – to end their boycott, but face being fired if they are still holding out at that time.”Most of us are almost at the point where we wouldn’t bat an eyelid if they just fired us,” one of the players is quoted as saying. “We’re not getting through to these guys. If they say they want to mediate, maybe they think we’re bloody fools. They’re just not getting us. Mediation is going to take another three weeks, and Zimbabwe cricket can’t afford that.”We’re all sick of this, but we’re standing strong together. It’s very simple: arbitration with those three points and we’re all back.”Zimbabwe team for first Test
1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Brendan Taylor, 3 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 4 Tatenda Taibu (capt and wk), 5 Elton Chigumbura, 6 Alester Maregwede, 7 Prosper Utseya, 8 Mluleki Nkala, 9 Blessing Mahwire, 10 Douglas Hondo, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.

The BCCI has clarified its pay structure for domestic cricket, and expressed surprise at the high figures stated by the media. reported that Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s joint secretary, said that Rs 4000 would be paid on a per-day basis, and applied to all Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and domestic one-day games.”There has been a change in the system of payments to players for their benevolent fund,” Shetty said. “Last season we paid the players Rs 3000 per day on match days with a lump sum of Rs 4000 going towards the benevolent fund. This season the per-day sum on match days has gone up to Rs 4000. So if he earns Rs 16,000 for a four-day game, a similar amount will go to the fund. For a five-day game it could be Rs 20,000 for the match and another Rs 20,000 into the fund. Thus, the total sum would be Rs 40,000.” Shetty also dismissed reports of the reported dramatic pay hike. “I don’t know where this figure of Rs 56,000 came from.”Interestingly, Jagmohan Dalmiya had recently been quoted about specific player payments. “Those playing all the matches at the domestic level will get Rs 52,000 as per the revised formula and players playing upto the qualifying rounds will get Rs 35,000 per match.”Dalmiya said that domestic-level cricketers would get the enhanced payments when the graded system of payment comes into effect – most likely by the end of this month.Besides the top tier of domestic cricketers, junior players and umpires will be at the receiving end of the BCCI’s pay hike. Under-19 and U-22 level players will receive Rs 1000 per day – double their previous salary. Umpires will receive Rs 1500 per day and a sum of Rs 3000 for their benevolent fund per match, while umpires in junior matches will receive Rs 1000 per day, with Rs 750 for the fund.

Stuart Carlisle has hit out against the Zimbabwean Cricket Union, saying that the move by some of the players to go on strike was prompted by what he claimed were racist and politically motivated policies by the board.Carlisle, who was among 15 cricketers banned by the board, is now part of a 14-man squad called The Red Lions which will tour England for a series of friendly games. Speaking at a fund-raising dinner to launch the tour, Carlisle said: “Our group went through this extremely stressful period not to destroy cricket in Zimbabwe but to try and save it. It did not all start three months ago (with the strike), but in 2001 when the Zimbabwe Cricket Union launched its Task Force.”The Task Force was meant to provide more opportunities for blacks to take to the game, but Carlisle stated that it only ended up alienating the players. “The result [of the Task Force’s actions] was we lost 35 players, both black and white during the last three years,” Carlisle said, according to an AFP report. “At that time the players formed their own association and we were internationally recognised, but not by the ZCU. Had they done so, we would not be in disarray today.”Because of this, players had to try and fix off-field problems individually. And so they were targeted. And when some players actually refused the captaincy or vice-captaincy, it shows how serious the situation became. Past form, performance, statistics, experience and merit are words that have not been in the selectors’ vocabulary for a long time.”And so, when an employer refuses to meet employees about all this, problems inevitably occur. In putting our international careers on the line it was a sure sign we had had enough. It turned out we were all sacked three times in a month. Can that have happened anywhere before?”Carlisle, who played 35 Tests and 108 ODIs for Zimbabwe, will now play for The Red Lions in a week-long tour of England, which starts on July 14 and includes matches against a Lashings XI and a Zimbabwe World XI.