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Mark Shields has said that the ICC had ruled out a match-fixing link in connection with Bob Woolmer’s death © AFP

Jamaica’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields has testified at an inquest that the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Team had ruled out a match-fixing link in connection with the death of Bob Woolmer, the former Pakistan coach.”The ICC anti-corruption and security team undertook to investigate if there were any allegations of corruption that may have contributed to Woolmer’s death,” Shields said. “And over the period of March, throughout the investigation, we were in frequent dialogue with the team, which informed us that they found no evidence linking the death of Mr Woolmer to cricket.”Shields, who led the Jamaica Police’s investigations, said the ICC team had conducted their own investigations into Woolmer’s death. He also said that there was no link between a book Woolmer was planning to write and his death and that he had visited Cape Town in May where he interviewed Woolmer’s family and professor Tim Noakes, co-author of the proposed book.Though Shieds said he didn’t see the draft, he said all concerned told him it contained nothing about match-fixing. “I trusted the integrity of professor Noakes and the Woolmer family that Mr Woolmer was not writing about the dirty side of cricket,” he was quoted in the . “I concluded that the manuscript was about the technical side of cricket.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Sanath Jayasuriya blitzed seven fours and five sixes in his 44-ball 70 © AFP

Sri Lanka’s pace bowlers, galvanised by a supremely skilful spell of left-arm swing bowling from Chaminda Vaas, overpowered New Zealand to level the series 2-2 with one game to play. Set a challenging 263-run target, New Zealand collapsed in spectacular fashion and were bowled out for an abysmal 73 in 26.3 overs, their second lowest ODI score, to record their heaviest ever defeat.Vaas was superb, swinging the ball through the air and cutting off the seam during an eight-over new ball burst that ripped New Zealand’s top order to shreds. Unrelentingly accurate, Vaas pinned Fleming, Ross Taylor and Hamish Marshall (three) lbw with full-length deliveries that swung late, reducing New Zealand to 25 for 4 by the seventh over.Like Sri Lanka, New Zealand had shortened their batting order for the fourth game in favour of extra bowling options and, after those initial blows, the match was effectively over. Lasith Malinga, recalled for a second spell after a solitary over with the new ball, created further mayhem in the middle order with a fiery three-wicket burst of his own before Muttiah Muralitharan finished off the game.Sri Lanka’s winning position had been forged earlier in the afternoon by Sanath Jayasuriya, who blazed an astonishing 70 from 44 balls, an innings that contained five of the sweetest sixes you are likely to see, including one monster strike that ended up in the top stand of Eden Park. Kumar Sangakkara then consolidated the innings with a composed 79 after a mini-collapse.Sri Lanka, trailing 2-1 after back-to-back defeats at Queenstown and Christchurch, changed strategy for this crucial game, reverting to six specialist batters and five frontline bowlers, a combination that worked so well for them in England. The batsmen responded well to the heightened responsibility after Mahela Jayawardene won his first toss of the series.Jayasuriya led the way after a cautious start against a lively Shane Bond, playing with the same breathtaking freedom that he displayed at Napier. He started relatively slowly but once Sri Lanka had established a solid platform on 48 without loss after 10 overs, he decided to cut loose clubbing three back-to-back sixes off Michael Mason’s sixth over. Having broken the world record for the most sixes hit in an ODI career (now 222 from 374 matches), he surged to his 61st fifty from just 32 balls. The six-hitting continued with another burst off Andre Adams who was launched over midwicket, smashed over cover and then pulled to the square leg fence in an over that yielded 17 runs.After a steady start, Sri Lanka were flying along having scored 54 runs between the 10th and 15th over. But Mark Gillespie held his nerve amid the carnage and Mason held onto a good catch at deep fine leg off a top-edged pull from Jayasuriya. Two balls later Gillespie bowled an outswinger and induced an out-of-touch Jayawardene, to edge the ball to Fleming – back at the helm after a three match rest – who dived full length, and low, to his right and took an stunning catch. In the next over, Upul Tharanga, who had been playing a responsible second fiddle to Jayasuriya, was bowled off the pad after Gillespie nipped one back.

‘Chaminda Vaas was superb, swinging the ball through the air and cutting off the seam during an eight-over new ball burst that ripped New Zealand’s top order to shreds’ © Getty Images

Sri Lanka slumped from 102 without loss to 103 for 3 in the space of 13 balls and the innings was back in the balance. Aware that their partnership was utterly crucial considering the reduced depth of the batting order, as well as the decision to rest the in-form Chamara Silva to make room for Chamara Kapugedera, Sangakkara and Marvan Atappatu took few risks early on. The partnership run rate was slow, averaging around three runs per over for much of the stand, but gradually Sangakkara picked up the momentum, finding the boundary with increasing frequency. Atapattu, though, currently looking uncomfortable in his new middle-order role, laboured throughout his innings, using up 75 deliveries for his 34 runs.However, their 91-run stand, broken as Atapattu tried an ambitious lofted drive, carried Sri Lanka into a position where they could attack again in the final ten overs. Sangakkara pushed down hard on the accelerator some more, mixing innovative strokes with some classical shots, and then Farveez Maharoof provided some icing with two huge sixes and a four in a quick 21 from 11 balls.Vaas needed just seven balls to claim his first scalp, the all-important Fleming, who missed an inswinger that would have hit the inside of leg-stump. But the next victim belonged to Maharoof following a shrewd bowling change in just the fourth over and an acrobatic one-handed diving catch from Sangakkara off the inside edge of Brendon McCullum’s bat. With Nathan Astle not playing, and New Zealand’s two most dangerous batsman back in the pavilion, Sri Lanka sensed the opportunity to drive home their advantage. Sure enough, Vaas soon exposed the technical deficiencies of Taylor and Marshall against the swinging ball. Both were set-up for their lbws beautifully, gradually pulled across the crease by his offcutter and then pinned by the inswinger.Malinga, brimming with energy after his rest in Christchurch, was unleashed for the second time in the 12th over and he struck immediately, beating Peter Fulton for pace first ball. Adams was unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to a Malinga toecrusher – the only one of the six lbws that was a poor decision. Bond was deceived by a slower one.Craig McMillan provided some resistance, top scoring with 29 not out, but was far from convincing, especially against Malinga who should have claimed his fourth wicket when McMillan took evasive action and the ball ballooned up to Dilhara Fernando at third man. The straightforward chance was spilled; the one blot on Sri Lanka’s fielding performance.Fleming summed up New Zealand’s performance by saying: “It was rubbish, that’s what it was.”

Ozias Bvute: no truth in suggestions he had been ousted © ZC

Earlier reports that Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, and Ozias Bvute, the managing director, had been removed from office have been fervently denied by Bvute himself.Speaking to Cricinfo, Bvute said that the rumour that his house had been raised by police at 4am was “simply not true” and that, contrary to reports, both he and Chingoka were still in Harare and in full charge of ZC.The original suggestion that the pair had been removed from office was made by Tatenda Taibu, the former Zimbabwe captain, in an interview with the BBC. He suggested that Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, had stepped in and had them removed from office. “The president said, ‘Enough is enough, they had to go’,” Taibu claim. “But when they looked for them, they couldn’t find them.”Bvute said factions opposed to the ZC board had “found it convenient to tell these malicious stories to discredit us. I was asleep at 4am and left my house at 8am this morning to go to work. I have not been raided and I don’t believe anyone has raided Mr Chingoka’s house either.”

Jason Gillespie was the first Test cricketer to acknowledge Aborginal descent in 2001© Getty Images

The annual cricket match to commemorate the 1868 Aboriginal team that toured England has been scrapped for the next two summers, according to the Melbourne-based newspaper.”It’s gone straight on to the scrap-heap,” said Geoff Clark, the official at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) who came up with the idea of the match in the first place. The Australian government has tried to sack Clark, and to bring an end to ATSIC.In 2001, the first match, between the Prime Mininster’s XI and the ATSIC Chairman’s XI, was made memorable after Jason Gillespie was selected as captain of the ATSIC XI: he was the first Test cricketer to acknowledge an Aboriginal ancestry. At the time, John Howard, the Prime Minister, fully endorsed the fixture: “There are a lot of things that contribute towards the reconciliation process, and this is one of them.”

Ajit Agarkar puts in some practice ahead of the Irani Trophy

The 2003 Irani Trophy has been billed as a match worth going miles to watch. A full-strength Rest of India (RoI) team attempts to defend their trophy in Chennai against Mumbai, who have been rejuvenated by Sachin Tendulkar’s return to the captaincy. A three-hour shower on Thursday night delayed the morning practice session of the Mumbai side, as the RoI players arrived in a trickle from various parts of the country, with Sourav Ganguly, the captain, bringing up the rear. It’s to be hoped that this isn’t a sign of things to come.”Let me say on behalf of the Mumbai team that we’re here to win,” said Tendulkar in the sweltering Chennai heat. “We will fight all the way. It will be a tough match – Rest of India is almost the full Indian side. The youngsters in our side have a lot to learn, but the idea is to win.” Mobbed by photographers, television cameras and journalists, he spent more than a few minutes overstating the obvious.When it came to practice, though, Tendulkar was very much in his element. Playing a headmasterly role, he marshalled his team into small groups and took a hands-on approach to the drills. Sairaj Bahutule and Wasim Jaffer were stretched to the limit, spilling a few tough chances as Tendulkar sliced slip catches to them. The RoI will be hoping that the practice session has put Tendulkar in the edging frame of mind.Apart from Tendulkar, the Mumbai team looks adequate rather than impressive. Vinod Kambli, a sleeker version these days with tramlines running wild across his bald pate, must prove once more that he is a class above the average domestic cricketer. The batting, traditionally a Mumbai strength, has an unusually shaky look. Jaffer, with a keener eye on an Indian opening slot than Mumbai glory, teams up with Vinayak Mane to see off the new ball.Nishit Shetty, the left-hander who has played just one full first-class Ranji season, has impressed observers. Although a late bloomer – he’s 30 now – he has made rapid strides of late. His two centuries came at a time when Mumbai really needed runs, especially in the second innings of the Ranji final against Tamil Nadu.Over the last season, however, Mumbai have been bolstered by their late-middle order. The tenacious batting of Vinayak Samant, the wicketkeeper, Ramesh Powar and Bahutule kept opposition attacks at bay, although the retirement of Paras Mhambrey, who chipped in with valuable runs himself, has opened up a pivotal slot in the team.Tendulkar will have a tough choice ahead of him on the morning of the match. He might be tempted to play Nilesh Kulkarni as the third spinner, but would be hard pressed to leave out Bhavin Thakkar. An RoI attack including Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble is likely to force him to prop up the batting. After all, he has the pace of Ajit Agarkar and Aavishkar Salvi, the spin of Powar and Bahutule and, well, just about anything he wants from himself.”We all know each others’ strengths and weaknesses, but I don’t want to discuss them,” said Tendulkar. “We’ll leave it to tomorrow. You only need one ball to get a batsman and whoever makes a mistake will pay the price. We all have to be on our toes.” Tendulkar will be hoping, though, that reports about Zaheer’s stiff back are true. If Zaheer does not play, it will be up to Amit Bhandari and L Balaji to take the new ball on a Chennai pitch that’s difficult to read. It’s like a Perth wicket for the first four overs, then gets flatter and slower and, according to a local scorer, by the third day is a typical Indian wicket.Kumble and Harbhajan will be a major factor, especially against some of the inexperienced Mumbai batsmen, who would have played very little competitive cricket against spinners of this quality. The batting of the RoI team is a Who’s Who of Indian cricket: Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar open, with Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh making up the middle order.This is a big break for Yuvraj, who signalled his return to form with a dominating hundred in the Challenger series after a disappointing run with Yorkshire in county cricket. For the others, there’s little more than pride at stake. The bowling looks well settled, with only a question-mark over Zaheer’s fitness. Rohan Gavaskar, whose contentious selection must have brought personal joy, will probably have to be content carrying drinks for his more illustrious peers.”The Irani Trophy is a very prestigious competition. It’s not a practice match. We want to grab the title from Rest of India and I’m sure they too will want to win,” said Tendulkar. With luck it will be hard-fought match, unlike the Challenger series, which some people reckon had more in it for selectors than spectators.Teams
Mumbai (from): Wasim Jaffer, Vinayak Mane, Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Nishit Shetty, Vinod Kambli, Bhavin Thakkar, Vinayak Samant (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Sairaj Bahutule, Ramesh Powar, Aavishkar Salvi, Nilesh Kulkarni, Swapnil Hazare, Vinit Indulkar, Robin Morris.Rest of India (from): Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel (wk), Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, L Balaji, Murali Kartik, Amit Bhandari, Rohan Gavaskar.

Glamorgan CCC will confirm today the appointment of John Derrick as firstteam coach for the coming season.

Watch these pages for further details.

MRF thrashed Andhra by 161 runs in a lopsided encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore today to move into the quarter finals of the KSCA Diamond Jubilee tournament for the Coromandel Cement Trophy. When Andhra captain MSK Prasad got the better of his counterpart, M Senthilnathan over the spin of the coin, he invited MRF to take first strike. They posted a total of 225 which proved more than adequate in the circumstances as Andhra crumbled to a miserable 64 in just under two hours.In the morning session, MRF were bowled out in the last of their allotted fifty overs, with five balls to spare. They suffered a poor start when Aashish Kapoor was caught off the bowling of former India A seamer N Madhukar for nought. In the fifth over, one of the heroes of India’s Under-19 World Cup triumph, Venugopala Rao was thrown out to leave the tire manufacturers at 18/2.Hemang Badani and Hrishikesh Kanitkar then steadied the boat with a 82 run third wicket stand before the former was trapped leg before one run short of his half century. Badani had struck six boundaries in his run a ball knock. Kanitkar duly went past the fifty mark but was given the marching orders by Ram Mohan for 61 (77 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) in the 31st over.All rounder Rajat Bhatia also showed his mettle with a useful 46 but when he tickled one through to Prasad off Madhukar, the lower order fell apart and MRF settled for a score of 225. Madhukar ended with the creditable figures of 4/48 but it was Watekar who combined both potency and miserliness to finish with 4/24.Andhra began their reply in disastrous fashion as both openers, one of whom was the captain Prasad, were removed for ducks by Mumbai medium pacer Sriram Kannan and Baroda paceman Zaheer Khan respectively. A Pathak and YG Rao managed to enter double figures but after Khan took a return catch to despatch the former, a steady procession began to and fro the crease.The last eight wickets slumped for 31 as the Andhra innings terminated in the 24th over. All five MRF bowlers were among the wickets but it was Kannan who produced the best analysis in the end with 3/26 from his seven overs. MRF now goes through to a quarter final clash with Indian Airlines at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on August 8.

Khan Research Laboratories were propelled to the top of the table with 12 points after securing a draw against State Bank of Pakistan. KRL put SBP in, with the decision seemingly vindicated after Yasir Arafat bowled opener Raheel Majeed for just 1. A 53-run stand for the second wicket between Kashif Siddiq and Umair Khan saved early blushes, before an imperious 202 from Usman Arshad wrested the match in SBP’s favour. SBP finished their innings on 420, with Sadaf Hussain and Umaid Asif taking three wickets a piece.KRL’s effort proved even between, led by Ali Khan’s 187 at No. 6, with a pair of seventies from Shoaib Ahmed and Nayyer Abbas book-ending the innings. KRL finished on 481 despite Mohammad Naved taking 5 for 129. Facing a deficit of 61 runs, SBP did well to get past the mark with just a wicket lost. Majeed scored 50 while Umair Khan just missed out on an eight first-class ton when he was out for 97. SBP were 199 for 5 when stumps was called and the match was declared a draw.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited beat Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited by 93 runs in Islamabad to register their first win of the tournament. ZTBL batted first, but found themselves in a jam when they were placed at 42 for 3. Haris Sohail and Haseeb-ur-Rehman steadied the innings with a 75-run stand. However, once both batsmen departed, the rest of the order failed to put up a fight as ZTBL were dismissed for 210. Imran Ali led the bowlers with 5 for 31 while Hussain Talat chipped in with 3 for 24. SNGPL’s innings was marked with the inability of their batsmen to push past double figures, with only Naeemuddin and Azhar Ali the exceptions. ZTBL needed just three bowlers to dismiss SNGPL for 80, giving them a lead of 130 runs. Usman Khan took four wickets, while Imran Khan and Mohammad Khalil chipping in with three a piece.ZTBL posted a strong second innings when Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam put on 166 runs for the second wicket, with Azam having to retire hurt on 80. Sohail remained unbeaten on 50 as ZTBL declared on 236 for 2. SNGPL were given a target of 367 to chase, with things started abjectly when SNGPL were 35 for 3. Things got even worse when they were placed at 103 for 7, but a stunning counter-attacking 106 from Bilawal Bhatti scored 106 at No. 9, but despie that performance, SNGPL still ended up falling short by 93 runs.A nerveless unbeaten 49 by Naeem Anjum in the second innings saw out a tricky 178-run chase for Pakistan Television as they held on to a four-wicket victory over Port Qasim Authority in Lahore. PQA batted first, with the openers putting on 64 for the first wicket. Innings from Faraz Ali (69) and Mohammad Waqas (88), pushed them to 316. Mohammad Ali’s took best figures of 5 for 75. Despite losing their openers with the score on just 11, and then suffering further set backs to be reduced to 51 for 4, Pakistan Television looked under the cosh, but Zeeshan Mushtaq (105) and Yasim Murtaza (70) rallied the team, helping them secure a slim 43-run lead. Mohammad Sami and Sohail Khan chipped in with three wickets a piece.PQA’s second innings didn’t go to plan as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Despite a stirring effort from Shahzaib Hasan, with 105 off 110 balls which included seven fours and four sixes, none of the other batsmen, aside from Sami’s 30, were able to contribute significant scores as PQA were rolled for 220. Waqar Ahmed and Wasim Murtaza did chief damage, taking three wickets each. With 178 runs for victory, Pakistan Television lost opener Haroon Ahmed with the score on just 17. Imran Ali and Nawar Ahmed also went out in quicktime, before a double-strike of consecutive balls from Mohammad Sami left them at a precarius 102, with 76 still required. A calm 59-run partnership between Fahad-ul-Haq and Naeem Anjum ensured they got to the mark, with Anjum finishing off the chase with consecutive boundaries.United Bank Limited beat Water and Power Development Authority by 176 runs to post their first win of the tournament. UBL batted first, with Abid Ali leading the way with his 76. Each of the UBL batsmen chipped in, but failed to go on to post a meaningful total. A couple of forties from Asif Raza and Tariq Haroon were the only notable performances other than Abid Ali as UBL reached 319. WAPDA started promisingly with some good stands up front, but lost their way after reaching 218 for 6, losing the remaining four wickets for the addition of just 42 runs. Aamer Sajjad, the captain, top-scored with 84 while Mohammad Ayub chipped in with 50. Both Mohammad Irshad and Tariq Haroon picked up four wickets each to lead the UBL bowlers’ efforts.UBL’s second innings was anchored by Abid again as he bettered his 76 in the first innings with an unbeaten 101. Khaqan Arsal scored 70 at No. 5, as UBL declared their innings at 242 for 6 with a lead of 302. WAPDA were never really in the chase, as they succumbed to 68 for 7. Only their captain, Sajjad, fought valiantly with his 64 as WAPDA were bundled out for 125, giving UBL a 176-run victory.Some imposing first-innings totals resulted in the match between Pakistan International Airlines and Habib Bank Limited finishing as a stalemate. Both sides were seeking their first win after losing their respective tournament openers. It was PIA who batted first, where innings from Fahad Iqbal (52), Anop Santosh (51) and Anwar Ali (61) helped PIA to 343. Sarmad Anwar and Ehsan Adil took seven wickets between them.Habib Bank’s innings started well, with opener Shan Masood and captain Imran Farhat adding 114 for the second wicket. Masood and No. 6 Rameez Aziz then put on 169 runs together, with Masood finally falling for 140. After Rameez was out on 78, Mohammad Aslam and Abdul Ameer were left not out as the match petered to a draw, with Habib Bank on 411 for 8.

Wolves could head into next season without veteran midfielder Joao Moutinho, with the 35-year-old’s contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign.However, they could keep his compatriot and midfield partner Ruben Neves, which would provide a huge boost to manager Bruno Lage’s plans for next term and indeed to the Molineux faithful.What’s the news?Wolves’ technical director Scott Sellars has revealed that the club are in talks with the 25-year-old over a new contract, after it was reported by the Daily Mail that Barcelona were interested in signing him this summer.Sellars said in an interview with the Express & Star: “Ruben is having a fantastic season and everybody should take a pat on the back in terms of how well he is playing.”We’re obviously talking to him and we all know how much he loves playing for the club. We know how much he has settled here, but he is also an ambitious young man.”As with all players, you try and have an open dialogue with them and their representatives to come to the best scenario for the club and the player.”Rightly so, elite clubs all over Europe will have Ruben on their radar, but we have an excellent relationship with him and will do things properly, and collaboratively, when the time is right.”Wolves’ most important playerThe 25-year-old has averaged a 7.20 Sofascore match rating in the Premier League this season, the best of any outfield player at the club, with only goalkeeper Jose Sa bettering him with an average match rating of 7.22.Having provided six goal contributions in 28 games, only centre-forward Raul Jimenez has had more than Neves, who has as many as fellow midfielders Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker combined (WhoScored).An accomplished passer of the ball, he ranks in the top 1% among midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for long passes completed per 90 (14.92), top 6% for passes into the final third (7.16) and top 3% for switches per 90 (4.49).Keeping hold of Neves would nearly feel like a new signing to Lage given the recent transfer speculation, and having him around for next season could help Wolves to make another push for European qualification in 2023.In other news: Wolves must avoid disaster on “instrumental” £8.1m-rated gem, he’s “brilliant to have”

Wayne Rooney is carrying a minor injury and will not be risked in England’s international friendly against Norway next Saturday, Roy Hodgson has confirmed.

The Manchester United man is part of the Three Lions squad for Euro 2012, but is suspended for the first two games of the tournament against France and Sweden.

Hodgson has confirmed that Rooney will sit out the match against the Scandinavians, but may well play against Belgium in the final warm-up fixture against Belgium on June 2nd.

“Wayne has been playing with a minor injury for the last three or four games which needed a couple of weeks to clear up,” the England boss told reporters, published by Sky Sports.

“He won’t be involved in the Norway game and I don’t know whether I will select him for Belgium at this stage.

“I offered him a couple more days’ rest but he was adamant he wanted to be part of it when we meet up for the Belgium game.

“The fitness side doesn’t bother me. If he needs a bit of topping up we will do that. But his enthusiasm for the task was fantastic,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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