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ScorecardSteven Finn enjoyed a Middlesex outing ahead of joining up with the England squad next week•PA Photos

Surrey’s late charge for the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast stalled at Lord’s as they lost to Middlesex by 43 runs.Surrey had gone into the game with four wins out of their last five at a venue where they had won on their previous six visits.But chasing 186 in front of a crowd of 26,000, they never recovered from losing four wickets for 33 during the six-over Powerplay.Kumar Sangakkara top-scored with 32 but Surrey now need to beat Sussex at The Oval on Friday to have any chance of qualifying as they will be relying on results elsewhere.Steven Finn picked up the key wicket of Jason Roy in the first over when the England one-day player mistimed a pull to short fine leg. Finn also had Ben Foakes held at mid-off for six and was well backed up at the other end by Mitchell McClenaghan.The New Zealander removed Steven Davies and then bowled well outside off stump and tempted Rory Burns to drive to wide mid-off.Sangakkara was Surrey’s only remaining hope and the Sri Lankan seemed to be getting into his stride when he struck off-spinner Ollie Rayner for six.But when he holed out to long-on off Neil Dexter for 32 in the 11th over and Rayner took a tumbling catch in his follow through to remove the dangerous Azhar Mahmood there was no way back for Surrey.Finn finished with 3 for 17 while Dexter’s mix of cutters and slower balls proved highly effective on a slow pitch as he took 3 for 12.Middlesex’s total of 185 for 5 was built around a third half-century in this season’s Blast for John Simpson, who top-scored with 53, and a punishing fourth wicket stand of 77 from 39 balls between Eoin Morgan and James Franklin, who plundered 40 off the 18th and 19th overs.Nick Gubbins dragged a ball onto his stumps from Jade Dernbach in the fifth over but Simpson and Dawid Malan regrouped by adding 73 from 53 balls for the second wicket.Simpson swatted the first of six sixes in the innings over mid-wicket in Dernbach’s first over and then belted three fours in a row off Sam Curran as Middlesex took 57 during the Powerplay.Zafar Ansari broke the stand when Malan failed to clear the longest boundary at long-off and Middlesex were 97 for 3 when Simpson was held at deep midwicket off Sam Curran for 53 from 43 balls with seven fours and a six.However, Middlesex maintained the momentum in the second half of their innings as Morgan and Franklin played with increasing freedom.Franklin hit four successive boundaries off Sam Curran in the 18th over before Morgan cut loose in the next, striking two sixes off Dernbach through midwicket before Franklin belted two more boundaries.The veteran Mahmood picked up both in the final over as Morgan drove to long off and Franklin was caught at deep midwicket.

Cricket Australia will push to increase the attractiveness of cricket to women following a survey showing only 36% of females watch the game “always or occasionally” on television. While cricket was the most popular sport for both sexes in the Roy Morgan poll – 50,000 Australians were surveyed – James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the state and national bodies had to increase their efforts.”Drilling into the Morgan data shows that cricket, and indeed all sports, needs to do more work to win female support,” Sutherland said. AFL was the next most popular with 34% watching it while 33% voted for tennis. The overall results showed 47% of the Australians surveyed enjoyed cricket on television, 41% chose AFL and 33% picked tennis.While record numbers of people are playing the game formally in Australia, Sutherland wants to make it more accessible for women. He said Cricket Australia would look to develop Twenty20 with an eye to catching the attention of new female fans, review event presentation at venues and try to understand their specific needs. Ladies’ days have been held during the MCG Tests over the past couple of years as a way to make more people feel welcome at the game.Australia will defend the Women’s World Cup when they host the tournament in March 2009. They won the 2005 event in South Africa under the leadership of Belinda Clark, who is now the manager of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.

The West Indies Cricket Board is reportedly attempting to salvage the A-team tour to Zimbabwe despite being faced with players refusing to tour and confusion over the safety advice given regarding the wisdom of the trip even happening.Cricinfo has learned that Sylvester Joseph, who was originally named as captain last week, has declined the invitation to lead the side or take part. It now emerges that Daren Ganga was offered the role on Thursday and also turned it down. The latest name in the frame is Rawl Lewis.There is also increasing speculation that the West Indies Cricket Board is struggling to find enough players of a decent standard to fill the squad without it losing credibility. They are due to leave in a week and yet nobody has been named, despite daily assurances that an announcement is imminent.What is certain is that if the tour does happen, once again, as happened with the senior side before their tour of England, a West Indies team will set out with little preparation.Meanwhile, assurances from the West Indies board that CARICOM had given its blessing on player safety have been denied by Eddie Green, CARICOM’s assistant secretary general. He said that Tony Deyal, the WICB’s corporate services manager, had been told that “the Bureau of Heads the opinions were split and we need to send out a formal request to all Heads which we did two weeks ago. I have not spoken to him since and the official decison will be made on June 30.”Yesterday, Deyal told reporters that the WICB had “received a no-objection letter from … Greene”. That now seems to be incorrect, even though Bruce Aanensen, the WICB’s chief executive officer, said last weekend that a response from CARICOM had been delivered on June 13.The other documentation relied on by the WICB is from Zimbabwe Cricket and the Zimbabwe Republic Police. A source inside Zimbabwe told Cricinfo that any assurance from the police “was not only worthless but was a sick joke”. He added: “The police are the people to be afraid of, and the Zimbabwe board might not be the most objective party.”Deyal told Cricinfo that player safety was of paramount importance to the WICB and that nothing would ever be done to threaten that. He earlier said that unless WIPA passed over their documentary evidence that it would be unsafe to travel to Zimbabwe, then the tour would go ahead.”We want WIPA to send us what they have so we can make the best decision in the circumstances and that both parties can agree to it,” he said. “WIPA never sent us anything. We are anxious to get information. We have sought information from a variety of sources.”However, WIPA officials have told Cricinfo that much of the evidence they have has come from sources who do not wish to be identified as many of them fear for their own safety. In view of that, it will not be passed to the WICB for fear that it will find its way into the hands of the Zimbabwe authorities.”We are not in agreement with the tour as stated before because of concerns over players’ safety and the volatile situation in Zimbabwe,” Dinanath Ramnarine told The Nation. “That’s still our position. As far as we are concerned, the players’ safety is of paramount importance to us. We are a responsible organisation and we want to look after the interest of our members. We don’t see the benefits of the tour.””We are left to interpret the actions of WIPA to be nothing more than a play for power,” Deyal countered. That the two sides are again at loggerheads less than 24 hours after an arbitration panel, which yet again found in WIPA’s favour in a dispute with the board, stressed the need for the two parties to work together, does not bode well.

Charlie Robertson, one of Zimbabwe’s senior administrators and the head of the group of provincial chairman, has called on the ICC to send in a group of neutral observers to see for themselves what he described as “the complete joke” that cricket has become in Zimbabwe.Robertson has made several approaches to the ICC on behalf of stakeholders opposed to the board run by Peter Chingoka, but to date all have been rebuffed.”We are amazed that no representative of the ICC has been sent here on a fact-finding mission, with a mandate to meet with the cricket stakeholders, both players and administrators,” he told Cricinfo. “The ICC seems hell-bent on dealing only with the current ZC administration – which has in effect been put in place by the government’s Sports and Recreational ministry – to the exclusion of all other stakeholders. The current constitution is null and void in terms of recent developments under the guise of this ministry.”Do we now bypass the ICC? What recourse do we have? Perhaps we need to get some real cricketers here …Barry Richards, Ian Botham, Michael Holding and Sunil Gavaskar to name a few … on a fact finding mission to report back to the whole of the cricket fraternity, and the ICC.”Surely the ICC is answerable to the stakeholders and not a self-imposed hierarchy. We need to muster support from the other Test-playing nations to lobby the ICC and galvanise it into making a principled stand, without political considerations, before all our players and administrators are forever lost to the game here.””The ICC’s procedures mean we deal with one administration for each of our members, hence in this case we are dealing with ZC as they look to resolve ongoing organisational and operational issues,” an ICC spokesman explained. “This position is consistent with our processes in dealing with all our members. Another point of consistency is that we do not seek to become involved in the running of the game within individual members unless invited to do so by that member. We have made offers to go to Zimbabwe in the past, the last of them in January when Ehsan Mani [ the ICC president] wrote to Chingoka, but our policy has always been to let members run their own affairs.”Robertson countered that while the ICC continued to refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and accepted what it was being told by Zimbabwe Cricket, the game was dying.”Our cricket is a complete joke and the standards are shocking,” he shrugged. “The bottom line is we do not have anything that resembles first-class cricket. In the Mashonaland Country Districts, all 24 grounds that we have been using and maintaining are totally derelict, including Harare South, a first-class venue where we have hosted England, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.”And unsurprisingly, Robertson, who has publicly rowed with board chairman Peter Chingoka, slammed Zimbabwe Cricket’s leadership and claimed that morale within the board was “at an all time low”. He added: “Most people with cricketing knowledge have either resigned or been pushed out.”

On the verge of an embarassing three-day defeat, Western Province Boland’s lower order came to the rescue and put up enough runs to take a minor lead, though a heavy loss still looked likely on the fourth day.The Titans enforced the follow-on after dismissing WPBOL for 233, where Con de Lange top-scored with 87 and Alfonso Thomas mopped up the tail. Following on, WPBOL started terribly. They were soon 106 for 6 before Thami Tsolekile (77 not out) and Rory Kleinveldt (92) put on 148. Kleinveldt had bettered his high score by a long way; his previous best was 27. Quentin Friend, coming in at number nine, also passed his previous best to end the day on 42 not out. The tail had put on 219 between them and allowed WPBOL a lead of 34 going into the final day.A tough match lead to what could be a riveting final day in Blomfontein. The Lions, set a target of 291, eased themselves to 142 for 1 with Adam Bacher on 63 and Justin Ontong on 58.The Eagles had extended their overnight lead to 185 when Boeta Dippenaar was the first to go on 71. Nicky Boje was then dismissed for 51, and Free State ended on 330. The Lions then lost Steven Cook (17) early before Bacher and Ontong took control, putting their team on the road to victory. The pitch had had lost its venom and allowed Free State back into the game.The Dolphins could only add 22 runs to their overnight total of 201 for 7 as Mornantau Hayward cleaned up the tail. With a deficit of 126, the Dolphins fought back strongly, as the pace attack of Johann Louw (3 wickets), Lance Klusener (3 wickets) and Andrew Tweedie (4 wickets) demolished the Warriors. A 54 from Mark Boucher and 46 from Robin Peterson hauled the Warriors out of serious trouble. They were eventually bowled out for 165, setting the Dolphins a target of 292 runs. At close the Dolphins had moved to 28 for 1.

Bob Woolmer is looking forward to the match between India and Pakistan, who will meet in the second round of the Asia Cup, and despite describing the match as a "needle" encounter, has played down the rivalry between the two sides.”I don’t think the Pakistan players are seeking any revenge against India in the match,” said Woolmer, “But yes, they remain stunned by their home series defeat recently to the Indians and it will be a needle encounter. Obviously every time these two teams play it is a big match with a lot of emotions to it. But I think the players are looking beyond the India match in this tournament.”Pakistan and India resumed cricketing ties earlier this year after a three-year break over tensions in the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir. India won both the one-day and the Test series.Woolmer, in his third week as Pakistan’s coach, refused to give any hints of his strategy for the second round match against India. “I can’t share the plans I have for the team with the media," he insisted, "But yes, I have set some goals for myself and the team in this tournament. Hopefully this team will get better and be more competitive.”

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Marvan Atapattu’s 11th Test century gave Sri Lanka the upper hand on the first day of the first Test – the inaugural match at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. Sri Lanka had reached 250 for 4, with Atapattu still unbeaten on 108, when rain forced a slightly early close after 87.1 overs.Atapattu was his usual steady self, hitting 13 fours in his 242-ball stay. He put on 108 with Kumar Sangakkara (56), then added 68 with Mahela Jayawardene – still battling with his form after a run of low scores – who made 45.The first man to go was Sanath Jayasuriya, the former captain, who has been struggling for his best form on this tour (he didn’t manage a half-century in the three one-day internationals). He hade made only 8 when he chopped a wide delivery from Corey Collymore straight to gully, where Omari Banks took a good sharp catch (19 for 1).West Indies’ only success of the afternoon session was the dismissal of Sangakkara, shortly after a heated exchange with Brian Lara, who accused him of deliberately scuffing up the pitch by running on the danger area. Sangakkara, who had raised the tempo of the Sri Lankan innings in the morning after Jayasuriya went, cracked six fours. But eventually he was trapped leg-before as he shouldered arms to a Chris Gayle offbreak (127 for 2).Jayawardene regained some sort of form before he edged Banks’s offspin to slip, where Lara plunged to take a fine catch (195 for 3). Then, as the clouds that eventually brought an early finish closed in, Sri Lanka’s captain Hashan Tillakaratne misjudged one from Collymore and inside-edged it into his stumps (228 for 4).The pitch is already beginning to take spin, which would have pleased the watching Muttiah Muralitharan. If Atapattu can keep going tomorrow, Sri Lanka will be strong favourites to lift the first match of this short two-Test series. It already looks an uphill struggle for West Indies, who gave a debut to Jerome Taylor, a 18-year-old fast bowler from Jamaica. He was sharp, but a tendency to send down one bad ball an over meant he proved rather expensive – 76 runs came from his 18 wicketless overs.

Sri Lankan fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa, who is nursing a stress fracture in hisankle, is expected to be available for selection for the forthcoming Sharjahtri nation one-day tournament in October.”He should be fit for the triangular tournament in Sharjah,” declared SriLanka physiotherapist Alex Kountouri on Monday.Zoysa broke down just before the three nations Coca Cola Cup in Sri Lanka inJuly and missed the tournament and then the Test series against India thatfollowed. He will also miss the Asian Test Championship match againstBangladesh, which starts Thursday.”The fracture would take 12 weeks to heal. He was in crutches for six weekswhich is over and now it’s the recovery part,” said Kountouri.”He says there’s no pain at all at the moment, but there’s no need to rushanything. He’s working out at the gym these days, but he can’t bowl yet,”revealed Kountouri.

The Lodha committee was tasked with fixing the sanctions on Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Here’s the case made to the committee for a lenient punishment by India Cements Limited (ICL) and Jaipur IPL Cricket Limited‘s (JIPL) lawyers, and the committee’s responses.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

1. Gurunath Meiyappan

Having rejected all the arguments presented by India Cements Ltd and Jaipur IPL’s lawyers, the Lodha Panel announced the following sanction on the two companies.””The period of suspension shall commence from the date of this order.

Reports that the multi-million dollar deal between Allen Stanford and the ECB is under threat because of problems with Stanford’s black bats were dismissed as “rubbish” by an ICC spokesman.It was claimed that Stanford’s trademark black bats, which are central to his marketing strategy, would be outlawed by the ICC and, as a result, he would withdraw his offer to put up to US$100 million into matches in the Caribbean and London.However, matches played by Stanford are not under the jurisdiction of the ICC, who oversee international cricket, and, as such, the sides involved can agree to their own playing conditions and amendments to the laws.The Times quoted a source close to negotiations between the ECB and Stanford as saying that “we have been told that the ICC put forward this recommendation about the colour of the blades at the request of the BCCI”. The ICC spokesman pointed out that coloured bats were not even discussed by the cricket committee.