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Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies batsman, has said that he wasn’t surprised at being dropped from the WICB’s list of contracted players and that the disappointment would not affect his focus in leading Guyana’s Champions League Twenty20 campaign in South Africa.Sarwan said he had been expecting the setback. “I knew for about three weeks now and even before that I was reading between the lines,” he told CMC. “I am disappointed that it seems I am most times singled out for special attention by the board. At times I get the impression that some people believe that I deliberately get injured and that could be more frustrating than the injury. I continue to be fully committed to representing the West Indies and at this point I am fitter than I was a year ago.”Sarwan’s immediate assignment, is to captain Guyana in the financially-lucrative Champions League, which begins on September 10. “My focus is on ensuring our team represents Guyana and the entire region in the best possible way in South Africa,” he said. “We have a job to do in South Africa and me not getting a contract is not a distraction. They (WICB) made their decision and they must have their reasons.”The WICB announced its list of contracted players on August 31 and later released a statement backing the selection committee’s decision to cut Sarwan. “The team management, selection committee and the WICB are concerned about Sarwan’s extremely indifferent attitude and sporadic approach towards fitness, particularly in recent years,” read the statement. It also said that contracts had not been awarded to fast bowler Jerome Taylor and batsman Narsingh Deonarine because of their fitness issues.

ScorecardJeevan Mendis gave South Africa A a scare on the final day, picking up five wickets as the spectre of an innings defeat loomed over the visitors, but Heino Kuhn and Vernon Philander batted out the closing overs to ensure the game ended in a draw at the SSC in Colombo.Dean Elgar and Stephen Cook had begun well, both hitting half-centuries in an opening stand of 128. The match looked to be heading towards a draw but Cook, who had made 52 with seven fours, was trapped leg before by Mendis. Rilee Rossouw and Stiaan van Zyl fell cheaply to Mendis and Sachithra Senanayake, respectively.Elgar, who had made 174 in the first innings, was still going strong though. Mendis struck the huge blow, having Elgar caught behind for a well-made 78 that included 11 fours. Mendis then made further inroads, getting Jonathan Vandiar and Thami Tsolekile leg before as South Africa collapsed from 128 for 0 to 168 for 6. With more than 15 overs left and South Africa still trailing by 30 runs, Sri Lanka would have fancied their chances of an innings victory.However, Kuhn and Philander combined in an unbroken 52-run stand for the seventh wicket, facing 92 deliveries before the match was called off. Mendis finished with 5 for 74 from 23 overs.Sri Lanka A had earlier declared their first innings at 543 for 4, after adding 58 runs in ten overs in the morning. Kaushal Silva remained unbeaten on 70 off 96 deliveries with four fours.The first match in Pallekele had also ended in a draw. South Africa A now take on Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in a one-day match in Colombo on August 22 before the tri-series also involving A teams from Sri Lanka and Pakistan commences on August 24.

Falling crowds at Twenty20 matches will be high on the agenda when county chairmen meet at Edgbaston on Tuesday.Launched in 2003, Twenty20 proved an instant success with the public with huge crowds attending matches. But the competition has been massively expanded and there is now a growing feeling that the format is overexposed and the public is tiring of it. This season there are 151 matches, with each county playing eight home matches.”We do need some kind of change,” Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove told the Daily Telegraph. “This is the crucial time. We have had a couple of opportunities and not got it right. We now have to look at it again and decide what we are going to do to explore the fantastic opportunities Twenty20 provides. We are running out of chances.”The first four or five years of Twenty20 competition witnessed massive crowds, the zenith being when almost 30,000 watched Middlesex play Surrey at Lord’s in 2004. Many other larger grounds also sold out, and buoyed by this success the ECB took the decision to increase the number of matches.It is common knowledge attendances have been down this season. While some counties still attract good crowds, the major grounds have seen a dramatic falling off in interest. Warwickshire, which at one time expected close to capacity at Edgbaston, have averaged 3000 a game this year, and it is a similar story at many other counties.A source at The Oval told Cricinfo the counties had to take their share of the responsibility. “Who do you think asked for more matches?” he said. “The counties saw Twenty20 as the cash cow and they pushed the ECB to give them more games. Now the public are voting with their feet, the same people are moaning it’s all the ECB’s fault.”Another administrator said the timings of matches were a turn-off as well as the cost. “When it all started there were a handful of games, so the scarcity value made them must-see events, and the ticket prices were low. Now prices have rocketed and there are too many games in too short a time. Not many people can afford £20 a night eight or nine times in six weeks. So they come to one or two and miss the rest. It’s the same audience, it’s just been diluted. And when the buzz of a full ground becomes a more stilted atmosphere of a two-thirds-empty one, then the casual fans stop being drawn in as well.”The county chairmen are expected to demand another revamp of the format, with more weekend matches and a competition spread over the season. That is unlikely to find favour, either with the ECB or with Sky, who have broadcast rights and want a product which fills the void between football seasons.The other main area under discussion will be the county championship. The ECB continues to press for reform and earlier this year put forward five alternative proposals for change, but it is expected the chairmen will opt to leave things as they are.

ScorecardFor a change, India A had to slog it out. Andre Fletcher and Devon Smith hit centuries to help West Indies A hit back after the Indians posted a mammoth 543. Coincidentally, the senior West Indies conceded the same amount of runs to the South Africans across the Atlantic Ocean at St Kitts.Resuming at 12 for 1, West Indies lost the wicket of Omar Phillips, bowled by Jaskaran Singh, with the score on 54. From then on, it was hard work for the Indians as Fletcher and Smith built a strong partnership. Fletcher hit 20 fours in his 123 before he was dismissed by Jaidev Unadkat. Smith remained unbeaten on 131 at stumps, hitting 15 fours in his knock. Kirk Edwards was with him at the crease, unbeaten on 19. With only a day remaining, a draw seems likely.

Brad Haddin, the Australia wicketkeeper, has been fined 10% of his match fee for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct during his side’s seven-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the ICC World Twenty20 final in Barbados. Haddin was charged with a Level 1 offence under article 2.1.3 of the code which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”.Haddin was given out caught-behind when he tried to pull a short delivery from Ryan Sidebottom. The ball appeared to have deviated off his hip and Haddin walked back visibly upset.Haddin pleaded guilty to the charge and as such, under the provisions of the code, the matter was determined by Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee, without the need of a full hearing.The charge was brought by on-field umpires Billy Doctrove and Aleem Dar as well as third umpire Billy Bowden and fourth official Rudi Koertzen.

Essex beat Holland by just one run as the hosts came close to causing a huge Clydesdale Bank 40 upset in Amstelveen. Set 219 runs to win, the Dutch finished on 217 for 6 as Eric Szwarczynski provided the bedrock of their brave chase. Despite seeing Nick Statham (five) and Michael Dighton (nine) depart cheaply to leave the hosts 37 for two, the South Africa-born right-hander remained unflappable as he fashioned a recovery.A Chris Schofield half-century guided Surrey to a two-wicket win over Glamorgan in their Group A game under the Swalec Stadium floodlights. Surrey were set 224 to win but looked in trouble until Schofield and Gareth Batty rescued their side from 126 for 6 in the 26th over with a 53-run partnership.

ScorecardMichael Carberry stood firm for 74 while wickets fell around him•Getty Images

When Neil Carter was first told that he was no longer required by Warwickshire, in September 2004, it seemed unthinkable he would be leading the club’s attack six years later.Warwickshire were hopeful of luring Jon Lewis to Edgbaston at the time and believed that Carter would never develop into a quality seam bowler.Rather underlining the sense that Carter has not always been as appreciated as he might be, Warwickshire released him again at the end of 2007. They reasoned that his best days were behind him and that he would struggle to maintain form and fitness.But Carter is not the sort to take no for an answer. Had he been, he would surely never have enjoyed a career in the game at all. He would never have recovered from terrible ligament damage sustained in a water-skiing accident even before he made his debut, and he would never have fought his way from the brink of cricketing oblivion to reinvent himself as a skillful bowler and highly-effective batsman.His story is an encouraging tale of enthusiasm and determination defying logic and pragmatism. 99 first-class games and 263 wickets later, it’s not looking like such a bad career move.Now, aged 35, he’s bowling better than ever. In Warwickshire’s last championship match, against Lanchashire, he took 5-79, and he followed up here with four for 59. Already, this season, he has taken more championship wickets than he managed in the whole of 2009 and his lofty position in the MVP rankings does not flatter him in the least. Already he has hopes of surpassing his best tally for a season of 41 wickets.Key to his improvement is his recently acquired ability to swing the ball. After starting his career as a tearaway fast bowler, he is now a model of discipline. He has the priceless ability of a left-armer to swing the ball back into the right-hander and, though he is out of contract in September, hopes to play on for another three years. He’s even acquired a new head of hair, though the number of times he beat the bat yesterday might have seem him tearing it out if only it hadn’t proved so expensive.”I taught myself to swing the ball,” he says. “It was just trial and error, really. I’ve been playing a long time now and I understand my body and my game much more. In the past I would run in and just try to bowl as fast as I could all the time. I was always trying to make things happen.”But now I try and bowl as tight as possible and use my skill. I bowled 43 dot balls in a row against Yorkshire and 36 in a row against Lancashire. When I started I wasn’t sure I was good enough. But I really enjoy playing and I wanted to give myself every chance to make a go of things.”I am probably fitter, too. Now I know my body, I don’t go on 5km runs with the others. I get fit on the bike or by swimming and I’d like to think I can play in limited-overs cricket until I’m about 38.”Certainly Carter bowled well yesterday. On a pitch that appears dry, true and slow, he found enough swing to trouble all the batsmen and was easily the pick of the home attack.Jimmy Adams was drawn into prodding at a good one that left him, before Chris Benham and James Vince played across balls that swung back at them. Neil McKenzie edged another good ball that left him.Carter lacked support, however. With Warwickshire playing the extra spinner, Ant Botha, in place of swing bowler Naqaash Tahir, they went into this game with just two specialist seamers. While Darren Maddy and Jonathan Trott bowled respectably, Chris Woakes lacked consistency.The policy allowed Hampshire to recover. Teetering at 120 for five at one stage, they recovered through a sixth-wicket stand of 83 between Sean Ervine and Nic Pothas. They may reflect that their final total of 283 is still some way short of par, however. A number of their batsmen, notably Michael Carberry, played a part in their own downfall.Carberry must wish he could play against Warwickshire every week. His last five innings against them have now brought scores of 192 not out, 77, 65, 204 and 74 at an average of 153. He looked utterly solid here. Leaving the ball well outside off-stump, he defended anything on a good length but pulled superbly when the bowlers dropped short. Luring them into over-pitching, he drove efficiently and it was some surprise when he mis-timed an attempted pull to mid-on.In Pothas and Ervine Hampshire finally found a resilient partnership. Both men looked particularly good off the back foot and settled in against the support bowlers. It took a fine ball to part them. Trott, finding lavish swing, found Pothas’ outside edge that was brilliantly taken by Clarke at slip.Kabir Ali soon prodded at one he could have left before Imran Tahir produced a brace of googlies to account for the left-handed Ervine, caught at slip, and Danny Briggs, bowled through the gate. James Tomlinson’s merry innings ended when he mis-timed a pull to mid-on.Though Warwickshire soon lost Ian Westwood, outclassed and beaten for pace by Kabir, in reply, Darren Maddy and Ian Bell looked ominously sound in seeing Warwickshire to the close without further loss.Hampshire may reflect that they didn’t fully utilise the new ball, however. Maddy, playing his first game of the season, was able to indulge his favourite cut shot, while Bell oozed class in leaning into a series of pleasing drives.An important session looms in the morning. Both these sides have lost their first two games and, in what seems likely to be another enthralling, low-scoring encounter, neither side can afford to lose another.

Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner, was voted Tasmania’s best player as he picked up the Ricky Ponting Medal in Hobart. Doherty finished on top in a tight tussle and was also rewarded with the Jack Simmons Medal as the team’s most valuable man in the FR Cup.He led the one-day competition wicket-list with 20 in 11 matches and was a key reason for the trophy win. Twelve Sheffield Shield victims in three games also boosted his tally as he finished ahead of the captain George Bailey in both categories.The opener Ed Cown was the Shield Player of the Year in his first season with the Tigers while Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who is currently appealing his ban by Pakistan, was the outstanding performer in the Twenty20 competition. Brady Jones gained the Scott Mason Memorial Captain’s Award, Tim Paine accepted the Cricket Tasmania Chairman’s Award and Erin Burns was the Roar Player of the Year after their first season in the Women’s National Cricket League.

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Rumeli Dhar took career-best figures of 4 for 19•Getty Images

India took a 2-1 series lead with a convincing seven-wicket win in Visakhapatnam. Rumeli Dhar starred with a career-best 4 for 19 and Jhulan Goswami and the spinners assisted in keeping England down to 130. Anjum Chopra scored an unbeaten 61 as India chased the target with ease.India had lost the second match in Bangalore by three runs, with only Mithali Raj and Amita Sharma making significant contributions with the bat. But this time the target was much lower, owing to some incisive bowling.Dhar and Goswami triggered an early collapse which allowed the spinners to pressure the middle order and dry up the runs even further. Dhar returned in the final 10 overs and picked up two more wickets to give the Indian batsmen an easy target to chase.Ebony Rainford-Brent was the first to be dismissed when she edged Dhar to the keeper for a duck in the fourth over. Dhar then trapped Caroline Atkins leg before for 26 in the seventh over, before she held a catch to remove Jenny Gunn for 2 off Goswami. England captain Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway dropped anchor, looking to score off loose balls, and added 33 at less than three an over. At the end of the 24th over, Edwards was stumped off left-arm spinner Preeti Dimri and England were tottering at 54 for 4. Dimri also picked up Greenway’s wicket and finished with figures of 2 for 20.India’s fielders didn’t always back up their bowlers’ efforts – fumbling in the outfield and fluffing run-out chances – but the early wickets ensured England couldn’t rebuild. Beth Morgan and Laura Marsh added 39 before Dhar struck off consecutive balls in the 43rd over. First she had Morgan caught in the deep and then trapped Katherine Brunt plumb in front.Marsh fell trying to clear the in-field and gave left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana her first wicket of the day. She took another wicket in the final over, catching Nicky Shaw for 9. Goswami also picked up a second wicket – Tamsin Beaumont – and finished with impressive figures of 2 for 17 from nine overs.India opened the batting with Poonam Raut, playing her second ODI, and Anjum Chopra, after two low scores by Anagha Deshpande. Brunt got some movement early in the innings and troubled both Raut and Chopra. But the openers stuck in and added 97 at over three an over. Raut hit nine fours in her 91-ball 44 before she was trapped leg before by Gunn in the 32nd over. Two balls later Gunn trapped Priyanka Roy for a duck. Brunt bowled Deshpande soon after for 1. Dhar joined Chopra at the crease and hit the winning runs with a four in the 41st over.

The Warriors are wrestling their way through the Pro20 competition like the fighters they are supposed to represent. They’ve won all three of their matches and have secured a place in the semi-finals. In the past week, it’s been the Dolphins and the Lions who have suffered at the hands of the Eastern Cape side.Arno Jacobs’ 54 off 51 balls against the Dolphins in Durban set the tone last Sunday. Jon-Jon Smuts opened the batting with Jacobs and together the pair put on 70 runs in the first half of the innings. Smuts scored 43 off 31 balls. The Warriors middle order all chipped in, with Colin Ingram slamming 32 off 15 balls as they totalled 162 for five.The Dolphins’ reply was punctuated with wickets. Big-hitters Loots Bosman and Andrew Hall both made just 10. Imraan Khan, Ahmed Amla and Dale Benkenstein kept the Dolphins’ heads above water with 45, 31 and 21 respectively. The remaining five who batted scored a miserable 13 runs between them. Rusty Theron, Makhaya Ntini, Lyall Meyer and Nicky Boje each claimed two wickets as the Dolphins ended on 139 for 8, 23 runs short.On the same day, the Titans beat the Cobras by 17 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in a stormy Centurion. Gulam Bodi was the mainstay for the home side with an aggressive 88 off 44 balls. Thirteen boundaries came off Bodi’s bat, including seven fours and six sixes. The Titans faced 12 overs and ran up a total of 136 for one.The Cobras were pegged back early when they lost Andrew Puttick and Henry Davids. Herschelle Gibbs looked set for heroics, making 48 off 28 balls. When he was dismissed by Pierre Joubert for 48 off 28 balls, the Cobras were 84 for 4 with 22 balls remaining. Two wickets from Albie Morkel restricted the Cape side to 122 for 6 in their 12 overs.The Dolphins suffered their second defeat in three days when they lost to the Eagles by 13 runs in Durban. They bowled well to restrict the Eagles to 152 for 9. Morne van Wyk (62 off 43 balls) and Boeta Dippenaar (30 off 25 balls) were the only significant contributors to the Eagles’ total. Johann Louw was the best Dolphins’ bowler, taking 3 for 27.In reply, the Dolphins began well. Bosman smashed 38 off 21 balls, Khan hit 30 off 29 and Amla 43 off 35. The rest of the order, were abysmal – the other seven batsmen scored 25 runs between them. Johan van der Wath took 3 for 27, but it was Dillon du Preez’s three wickets in four balls that sank the Dolphins. They lie at the bottom of the log, with no victories in three matches.Also on Wednesday, the Lions had their first taste of success of in the competition, when they beat the Titans by four wickets in Centurion. Robert Frylinck struck in the first over, getting rid of Blake Snijman for 8. Then, Ethan O’Reilly continued to make early inroads into the Titans batting order removing Faf du Plessis for a duck and Bodi for 7. The Titans found themselves in the unfamiliar position of 26 for 3 in the third over. Jacques Rudolph’s half century and Heino Kuhn’s 32 rescued the Titans and they ended on a defendable 145 for 5.This time though, their bowlers could not defend the total, despite, Ethy Mbhalati’s 4 for 20, which included the wickets of Neil McKenzie and Vaughn van Jaarsveld. Dane Vilas’ 53 off 37 balls, supported by Zander de Bruyn’s 39 off 34 balls, guided the Lions to victory with eight balls to spare.The Johannesburg boys couldn’t follow it up with another win. The Lions lost to the Warriors by five wickets on Friday at the Wanderers. Things didn’t start well for them as McKenzie and Johnathan Vandiar went early but Van Jaarsveld was magnificent, scoring 72 off 51 balls. No one else contributed with the bat against containing bowling from Kruger (2 for 31), Ntini (2 for 31) and Meyer (2 for 23). The Lions racked up 155 for nine.They looked well set to defend that score when Frylinck removed Jacobs and Smuts early on. The Warriors were on a shaky 15 for 2 on the first ball of the third over, but Colin Ingram was on hand. The competition’s top scorer (175 runs at an average of 58.33) was bruising in scoring his 82 off 52 balls. He was eventually bowled by O’Reilly but had already set the Warriors up to win. Captain Davey Jacobs was there at the end, unbeaten on 32.