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ScorecardDaniel Bell-Drummond was to the fore as Kent’s wonderful T20 season continued•Getty Images

This season’s NatWest T20 Blast has shown, quite clearly, that it is a myth that England’s T20 tournament needs to be played in a block to attract high-quality overseas talent. Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Shahid Afridi, the list of star players who have appeared this season is long, illustrious, and that is only a snapshot.What this season’s tournament has also shown, as did last season’s Big Bash League, is that a team and a tournament does not necessarily need high-quality overseas talent to be popular and successful. No team embodies this more than Kent.Kent, to much derision, did not sign a single overseas player for this season’s T20 Blast, and yet, following another typically clinical and well-rounded victory over Somerset in front of a large crowd are top of the South Group with 16 points and are well on track for sealing a home quarter-final.This was a match, like much of Kent’s season, that was not won by one man, or by one performance but by multiple, complementary performances, contributing more broadly to a tried and tested strategy.

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This season should serve as something of a wake-up call for a Somerset squad who are not as good as they used to be. Marcus Trescothick’s days in the format appear over, Peter Trego is certainly not the destructive presence he used to be, Alfonso Thomas is another ageing force, James Hildreth, not a ferocious T20 player at the best of times, also seems past his peak while Jos Buttler is no longer available. Somerset have arguably lived too long on their three consecutive finals appearances between 2009 and 2011. The time to change and regenerate has come.

Nothing represented Kent’s confidence in their own method more than the innings of Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly as the opening pair put on 112. It would have been very easy for either of these two men, emboldened by their starts to look too big, to aim too high, to perhaps, be selfish and look for a century of their own. Instead both men played at a pace appropriate according to conditions, the opposition and the batsmen they had below.Denly was the first man to fall. Looking to push on with Kent 112 without loss after 13.4 overs he was caught deep on the leg side attempting to clear the boundary-rider. He was, naturally, annoyed to have got out, but there was no anger or worry in his face as he left the middle. He trusted what was to come.So confident were Kent, they promoted Alex Blake, who had hammered a fifty against Hampshire earlier in the season, to No.3. Blake came and very quickly went. Experiment failed. Move on.This was again when Bell-Drummond’s restraint was key. He recognised that as the settled batsman his wicket was almost worth double. But crucially he did not hold back, rather he just did not do anything reckless. Not scoring and not getting out is probably worse than just getting out. Bell-Drummond was proactive and positive. He struck consecutive fours in the over that Blake was dismissed, and two more in the following over.Northeast, Kent’s standout player this season, managed just 7 from 13 balls, but with Sam Billings next in, there was, again, a sense of calm to Kent’s batting, even with them a few short of what they would have wanted with two overs to go, at 166 for 3.Billings played three remarkable shots in the penultimate over, scoring three leg-side boundaries, all off balls that pitched well outside off stump. Such brilliance epitomised Kent’s supremely confident innings. Just seven runs and three wickets came from the final over, including the dismissal of Bell-Drummond for 77, but his innings went beyond numbers. An opener batting through a T20 innings brings a calming presence that the scoreboard does not do justice to.Somerset captain Alfonso Thomas felt a target of 173 was “a few too many” but it was not one that was beyond a powerful Somerset batting line-up. However given Kent’s form and Somerset’s comparative struggles, Kent were always favourites.Indeed not at any point in the chase did Somerset ever seem to be threatening Kent’s score. Eleven came from the first over, but with the third going for two and the fourth going for just one Somerset were behind the rate. The pressure of the scoreboard told when they lost Johan Myburgh in the Powerplay before Jim Allenby fell in the eighth and Peter Trego and James Hildreth went in the ninth to leave Somerset reeling at 57 for 4.It was then that Kent deployed their spinners, James Tredwell and Fabian Cowdrey, and they squeezed the remaining life from Somerset to ensure Kent’s victory well before the end of the match. The final over bowled by Matt Coles was, rather anti-climactically and almost comically, slugged for 34 including three no-balls. But it was a mere stain an otherwise superb victory for Kent.Somerset, who have had Gayle and Luke Ronchi this season – along with Corey Anderson due to play before he was injured – remain in eighth and even if they win all three of their remaining fixtures are unlikely to make it to their quarter-finals.

Shane Warne says he is keen to take part in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which has already signed Brian Lara for its inaugural multi-million dollar Twenty20 tournament. Yet even as the buzz around the ICL grows, so does the confusion, with Warne’s manager denying reports that he had been signed on and one top ICL official – and former cricketer – contradicting another.”Playing cricket in India is always an experience,” Warne wrote in his column for the . “That is one reason why I am keen to take part in the new Twenty20 League in October and November. The organisers are ambitious and, if the whole package is right, then I’ll be out there.”Brian Lara has committed to it and I have been speaking to him and a few other players. I know that I will miss the game during the winter, having retired back home. This is ideal at roughly three weeks long. People the world over are turning to Twenty20 for a quick fix of cricket and they will love the spectacle in India.”On Thursday, Kapil Dev, the chairman of ICL’s executive board, told Warne and Glenn McGrath were “on the verge of signing” and that the news would be released within 24 hours. But Kapil was contradicted by the managers of both players who denied that the former Australian cricketers were close to joining the ICL.The ICL had met with disapproval from the BCCI and Warne’s manager, James Erksine, said that he would not be a part of it if there was going to be a conflict. Erksine said that he had spoken to Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland about the matter.”I asked him [Sutherland] politically what the situation is,” Erskine told the . “He tells me that the BCCI are going to be in a situation where they’re probably going to get upset by it. He wonders whether all the Indian players they say they’re going to pick will fly in the face of the BCCI. We will wait and see what the political fallout is before anyone puts pen to paper.”McGrath’s manager, Warren Craig, said that he had been contacted by the ICL earlier in the week to discuss matters but McGrath was also no closer to signing up.Dean Jones, one of the executive directors on the ICL board, said that Kapil’s comments were not accurate. “He [Kapil] hasn’t been briefed properly,” Jones said. “He’s firing from the hip. Everything’s fine. It’s just normal Indian press and a few guys not communicating. Discussions are still continuing.”The ICL is a Twenty20 series proposed to be held around October in India featuring six teams comprising four international players and two Indian stars, with the rest made up of younger players.

The Indian board’s marketing committee approved sponsorship bids concerning India’s formal wear and accessories, BCCI Ratings and Awards, and the board’s web portal, but rejected the bid on ground rights for the tri-series to be played in Singapore and Malaysia in September.All approved bids will be forwarded to the Working Committee for its ratification. “We had only one bidder for the ground rights – Percept,” Lalit Modi, the chairman of the marketing committee, was quoted as saying in . “But, it was rejected on the grounds that it was too low.” Modi said fresh tenders would be issued, and finalised on Friday in Delhi.The committee approved Accenture’s bid for the board portal. Other issues that were discussed in the meeting were the schedule of the tri-series involving India, Australia and West Indies in Singapore and Malaysia, ticketing for matches in India, and Microsoft’s proposal for software to monitor umpires and non-televised matches.Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, said the working committee meeting on Wednesday was to discuss the agenda for the Annual General Body meeting to be held on September 28.

Andy Blignaut, whose arrival in Hobart was delayed by a late visa application, will land in Tasmania tomorrow and play in their opening ING Cup game against Western Australia at the WACA on Friday.Blignaut, the allrounder who represented Zimbabwe in 15 Tests and 47 one-day internationals, has been selected in the first one-day and Pura Cup squads of the summer alongside Michael Bevan, the side’s other big off-season signing.The team also includes the wicketkeeper David Dawson, who impressed with strong performances during the pre-season tour in Queensland, for the first time.Tasmania open their Pura Cup campaign against Western Australia on October 17.Tasmania ING Cup squad Daniel Marsh (c), Michael DiVenuto, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Andy Blignaut, Luke Butterworth, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Xavier Doherty, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Damien WrightTasmania Pura Cup squad Daniel Marsh (c), Michael DiVenuto, Michael Bevan, Andy Blignaut, Sean Clingeleffer, Jamie Cox, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Damien Wright

ScorecardWest Indies won the third and final one-dayer against Bangladesh by seven wickets at St George’s. After Bangladesh reached 118 for 7 from 25 overs, Devon Smith guided his side home with five balls to spare. Thus they took the series 3-0, and while the first two games were a little too close for comfort for West Indies, at least today was a more convincing win.The game was reduced to 25 overs per side after heavy rain, which originally threatened to wash out the game. Once play got underway in the afternoon, Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, won the toss and chose to bat.It was Bashar himself who played a captain’s innings of 42 to hold together Bangladesh’s innings after they again slipped to a stumbling start. Bashar, helped by Rajin Saleh, Faisal Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahman, who all made useful contributions, boosted their total to a respectable one. Dwayne Smith was the leading bowler for West Indies, taking 3 for 24, including the wicket of Bashar.Devon Smith, opening West Indies’ innings with Ricardo Powell in place of Chris Gayle, provided the backbone of the innings. After Powell was caught off Mushfiqur Rahman for 17 (21 for 1), Dwayne Smith gave proceedings some momentum with 23 from 24 balls, including four boundaries, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul then scored a handy 24 to put West Indies within sight of the finishing line.Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies’ captain, who was still standing in for the rested Brian Lara, kept his cool towards the end before Smith fittingly hit the winning runs from the first ball of the final over.

Phil Tufnell, the winner of the reality TV show, I’m a Celebrity … Get Me out of Here, is set to follow in the footsteps of the former England captain, David Gower, by becoming a team captain on the BBC One sports quiz They Think It’s All Over. Tufnell is currently negotiating a number of media offers after being crowned king of the jungle, and They Think It’s All Over would suit his laconic style. The quiz is now in its eighth year, and the departing captains Gower and the former England football captain, Gary Lineker, were routinely made the butt of jokes by the comedians Lee Hurst, Rory McGrath and Jonathan Ross.Ross, who hosts a chat show on BBC One (Tufnell is lined up as one of next week’s guests), is to stay as one of the panellists, along with the host of the show, Nick Hancock. Contenders to be Tufnell’s opposite number include Steve Davis, the snooker player, and the former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies.

LONDON – Man of the series Glenn McGrath feels inferior to Dennis Lilleedespite beating the great fast bowler’s benchmark of 355 wickets in theFifth Ashes Test.And Shane Warne, pipped by McGrath for the honour of being the highestwicket-taker in the series by 32 to 31, says he has never bowled betterthan on the final day at the Oval.McGrath took 5-43 in England’s second innings of 184 for a match haul of7-110 and a total of 358 wickets from his 75-Test career.That’s three more wickets than Lillee claimed in his 70 Tests, but thosefigures do not include his 103 scalps from World Series Cricket andSuperTests which would have bumped Lillee’s aggregate up to 458.”I dont think I’m up there with Dennis yet,” said McGrath.”He was my hero and I doubt I will every get up there alongside him.”I rate him as one of the best – if not the best – fast bowler ever.”To go past him is a great honour but I still feel I have a long way togo yet.”Warne, dogged by injury over the past two years, bowled with all his oldturn, flight and bounce on a pitch ideally suited to spin, finishing theTest with 11-229 and a man of the match award.Warne’s 92 Tests have netted 407 wickets, fifth on the all-time listbehind Courtney Walsh (519), Kapil Dev (434), Sir Richard Hadlee (431)and Wasim Akram (414).”Here in the second innings is probably the best I can bowl,’ Warnesaid.”I think I bowled two bad balls in 28 overs and I had the ball fizzing.”A bit of the old turn was there … I feel like I’m bowling as well asI ever have.”The ball from McGrath for wicket No.355 to match Lillee was his best ofthe series, rearing off a good length and prompting a floated returncatch off Marcus Trescothick’s gloves as he ducked for cover.”There was just a spot on the wicket there where I hit it and it jumpedoff a length,” McGrath said of the Trescothick ball.”It was hard call for Marcus to get and the fact it flew straight to mewas a little bit unusual.”He could think himself a little bit stiff.The Australian bowlers were superior to their English rivals throughoutthe series with the exception of Brett Lee, who came out of adisappointing series with only nine wickets at 55.11.McGrath’s 32 were at 16.93, Warne’s 31 were at 18.7 and Jason Gillespietook 19 wickets at an unlucky 34.31.”England bowled well in spells but when you bowl to a lineup like we’vegot it is pretty tough work,” said McGrath.”You look at Gough and Caddick and they go for the wickets a lot of thetime rather than build it up and try to maintain pressure that way.”I bowl line and length because I don’t swing the ball and I’ve got nopace.”No pace, but plenty of wickets.

Rahul Dravid, Rajasthan Royals’ team mentor, has said he respects the Justice Lodha Panel’s decision to suspend Royals and Chennai Super Kings’ owners for two years, but felt the court’s decision was a massive blow to the prospects of the younger players in the two teams.Dravid, who is currently the coach of the India A team, was speaking at a press conference in Chennai ahead of India A’s four-day match against South Africa A. While he refused to get drawn into the specifics of Lodha’s verdict, Dravid said the entire episode would affect “everyone involved with Indian cricket”.”I don’t want to make firm judgments on people, but it’s disappointing that the actions of one or two can have an impact on so many,” Dravid said. “Not only me, but generally in a situation like this, the people at the bottom of the pyramid are the ones who are most affected.”The top players and coaches always find stuff to do afterwards. It’s not difficult for top players to be picked by other franchises. However, the young players who don’t easily get an opportunity, they miss out. I feel disappointed for them, but we respect the decision the court has taken. In my opinion, not everyone at Rajasthan Royals or Chennai Super Kings are bad. There are lots of very, very good people.”When asked if his association with Royals would forever be a blot on his career, Dravid diplomatically insisted it was “for the people to decide”, but said had he been aware of any wrongdoing in the team, he would have “dealt with it”.”At the end of the day, I see my role as a mentor and as a coach of a team. People need to decide if the actions of shareholders or owners can be linked to coaches or mentors. I don’t want to try and defend myself. I only wish I had known that the three players were doing something suspicious, as I would have dealt with it,” he said.”People know what spot-fixing is. It’s difficult to know, even if in same team, if people are involved in spot-fixing. If I were to doubt every single wide or four, I would lose all my love and interest in the game. Any team I coach, I don’t go into it suspecting people everytime they get hit for a four. I had absolutely no clue, and I’ve spoken to the Mudgal commission about that. What people do in their private lives, I personally feel it’s difficult for mentors and coaches to know what decisions they are making.”

Shandong, the second-most populous province in China, has become the seventh region after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Liaoning, Chongqing and Tianjin to officially take up cricket, according to a media release from the Asian Cricket Council.”The Shandong people are well known for their good physical condition in China … the majority of rugby players are from Shandong,” Aminul Islam, the ACC’s development officer for China, said. With cricket being aligned with rugby in the multi-ball games administrative centre in China, the Chinese Cricket Association (CCA) felt a partnership between both bodies to make use of athletes all-year round would be ideal.”The local education bureau has said that they would organize the local junior students to learn cricket for promotion and then build for high performance,” said CCA secretary-general Liu Rongyao.The appeal of taking the game to China is not hard to see. “The potential benefits and commercial revenues from [China’s] presence in the cricket world are enormous,” said Syed A shraful Huq, the ACC’s chief executive. “As soon as China breaks though, I foresee the total global revenues for cricket increasing by 30% to 40%.”

The National Selection Committee has announced a squad of 22 players for the training and fitness camps to be held in Quetta from July 10 to July 23, 2007. The camp in Quetta, second of the three camps organised to improve the players’ fitness levels, follows a disappointing tour of Scotland in which Pakistan’s both matches were rained off.The left-handed duo of Imran Farhat (opener) and Abdur Rehman (spinner) will join the squad as the only two new faces as 20 of the 22 players named were present in Abbottabad where the first camp was held.Talat Ali, the manager-cum-coach for the team’s tours to Abu Dhabi and Scotland, will be in charge of the camp while Haroon Rasheed, former Pakistan coach, and Aaqib Javed, coach of the National Cricket Academy, will serve as batting and bowling coaches respectively. With special emphasis on fielding, Mohtashim Rasheed, former first-class cricketer, has been appointed as fielding coach.The third and final camp is scheduled to take place in the coastal city of Karachi from July 25, 2007.Camp attendeesSalman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Misbah-ul-Haq, Naved Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhter, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Iftikhar Anjum, Najaf Shah, Abdur Rehman