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The best ever Junior Sabres Bash is all set to take place at the County Ground in Taunton on Easter Saturday morning.The Junior Sabres, who are the under 21 members of Somerset County Cricket Club have all been invited to attend the pre season bash, which this year is promising to be a very enjoyable occasion, and one that none of the youngsters will want to miss out on.One Dad was so keen for his children to attend the Junior Sabres Bash that earlier this week he signed them all up as club members just so that they could be there.Junior Sabres Membership Secretary Jo Betsworth told me this morning, “The Junior Sabres bash this year looks like being the biggest and best ever that we have staged.”No wonder that the youngsters are keen to be at the County Ground on Easter Saturday. Among the activities due to take place are the Coca Cola inflatable, face painting, bowl at a player, and a guest appearance by Professor Popcorn with his special brand of magic and entertainment.A large number of Junior Sabre members have already contacted Jo Betsworth to let her know that they are going along to the Junior Sabres Bash on Easter Saturday.However, so that all the final arrangements for the day can be made, it is important that anyone who intends being at the Junior Sabres Bash lets Jo know in advance.Remember, the Junior Sabres Bash is free, but is only open to Junior Sabre members of Somerset County Cricket Club.To find out more details and to register for the Junior Sabres Bash give Joanne Bestworth a call on 01823 272946.

The draw was made today for the quarter-finals of the Benson and Hedges Cupquarter finals. Pairings are as follows:

Tuesday 21st May (Reserve Day 22nd May)Gloucestershire v Worcestershire at Bristol (TV – Sky)Umpires: Nigel Cowley, Jeff Evans & Allan Jones (3rd)Wednesday 22nd May (Reserve Day 23rd May)Essex v Yorkshire at Chelmsford (TV – Sky)Umpires: Tony Clarkson, Trevor Jesty & Mark Benson (3rd)Leicestershire v Lancashire at Grace RoadUmpires: Mike Harris & Neil MallenderSussex v Warwickshire at HoveUmpires: Graham Burgess & Nigel Llong

Shiekhupura reserved for themselves a berth in the Final of the One-day tournament (Associations) after achieving a convincing 68-run victory over Rawalpindi in the second semi-final, played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.The main architects in Sheikhupura’s 6th consecutive win in the competition were Kashif Raza, with his magnificent 4-wicket haul, and the middle order batsmen Mohammad Ayub and Mohammad Haroon, who rescued their side from a vulnerable position of 4 for 79 with a timely 96-run partnership.After getting off to a blazing start, featuring a fine 37 off 25 balls by Imran Nazir, Sheikhupura lost four quick wickets, as Naeem Akhtar (3 for 56) found inroads in their upper order. It was at this junction that Ayub (58 off 107 balls) and Haroon (40 off 82 balls) joined together to not only steer their side out of trouble, but also provide a firm platform for the lower order to find some quick runs in the end.The charge was duly taken over by Sarfraz Kazmi and Nasim Abbas, as the two collected 80 runs in the last ten overs, thus, closing the Sheikhupura innings at 250 for 7 in 50 overs.Scoring 251 at slightly over 5 runs an over was never going to be easy for Rawalpindi, especially after Kashif Raza had struck very early. After getting rid of Hashim Iqbal in only the second over of the innings, he accounted for Naeem Akhtar in the next, reducing the opposition to 22 for 2. He struck for the third time in his first spell, when he clean bowled Nauman Aman.Meanwhile, skipper Aaqib Javed also claimed two wickets to reduce Rawalpindi to 73 for 6 by the 15th over, a position from which they did never recover despite determined knocks by Nadeem Abbasi (49 off 73) and Tassawar Hussain (34 off 70).However, once Kashif, operating in his second spell, had got rid of Nadeem Abbasi, the remaining amount of resistance just left their ranks. They were eventually all out for 182 in the 45th over, when the last man Junaid Zia was stumped off the bowling of left-armer Qaiser Abbas.Sheikhupura meet Karachi Whites, the winner of the first semi-final, in the final, to be played at Gaddafi Stadium on 13 May.

A discussion on the role of the third umpire in international cricket and atriennial review of on-field playing conditions will be top on agenda whenthe ICC Cricket Committee-Playing meets in London on May 23.The three-day meeting, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, will consider thequestion of technology against a background of technical developments inbroadcast coverage and its affect on the role and authority of umpires.The scope of the discussion will include a full range of options, includingmaintaining the current situation, an increased use of technical assistancein making decisions, or a reduced reliance on technology.Australian umpire Darrell Hair, a member of ICC panel, will join themeeting on the first day to give an umpire’s perspective on the roleon-field and the third umpires, in relation to TV replay referrals anddecisions, the ICC said in a press release on Saturday.Key matters for discussion within full review of playing conditions willinclude use of lights and penalty runs in Test matches and fieldingrestrictions, number of players in a team and the Duckworth/Lewis systemfor One-dayers. Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis will be present for thisparticular appraisal.The standard playing conditions for all Test and One-day Internationalcricket are reviewed every three years by the committee, which has delegateddecision-making authority from the ICC Executive Board.All member countries have been invited to give their views andrecommendations at the meeting. Decisions reached will be effective for athree-year period starting September 1 this year. The Committee will alsoreceive an update on the progress achieved to date in the restructuring ofthe international panel of umpires and referees. Decisions relating to thiswill be taken at the ICC Annual Conference slated for June.All ICC full-member countries plus associates will be represented at thecricket committee meeting and among the delegates, besides Gavaskar, willbe: Allan Border (Australia), John Reid Jr (New Zealand), Zaheer Abbas(Pakistan), Brian Basson (South Africa), Sidath Wettimuny (Sri Lanka), KrisSrikkanth (India), Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe), Jackie Hendriks (WestIndies), Roquibal Hassan (Bangladesh), David Acfield (England), GeoffEdwards (Canada), John Everett (Scotland) and Harilal Shah (Kenya).ICC chief executive David Richards and cricket operations manager CliveHitchcock will represent the ICC management at the meeting.

The Bombay High Court has adjourned its hearing on the petition filed by Deccan Chargers against their termination from the IPL to September 24, and asked the BCCI not to float any new tender for a new franchise in Hyderabad. The franchise’s owners, Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited (DCHL), had on Saturday, challenged the BCCI decision to expel them, saying there was no breach committed as alleged by the Indian board.On Monday, the BCCI counsel submitted an exhaustive affidavit that DCHL’s team of lawyers sought some time to read. Justice SJ Kathawalla granted them a week’s time, ordering status quo on the matter.”The BCCI filed a counter-affidavit today,” a board official told ESPNcricinfo. “Deccan Chargers wanted some time to go through [the papers]. The affidavit discloses that that we were never going to float a new tender for a franchise in Hyderabad in any case.” Justice Kathawala is understood to have made it clear to the court that he was not “staying the termination”.Even though the board was not surprised by DCHL’s decision to take legal recourse, the BCCI is believed to be disappointed at not being able to move on its plan to get a new franchise on board. “We have the new tender ready with a shortlist of new cities, but can’t do much at the moment,” the official said.

The Western Australian Cricket Association today announced its Chief Executive, Mike Allenby, will step down from the role with immediate effect.Allenby, who was appointed for a three-year term in 1998, will leave the WACA to pursue other business interests. Allenby took on the role at a time when the Association was facing a number of issues.He has been responsible for a number of significant changes during his term, including the restructuring of the events and cricket departments as well as an overhaul of the Association’s commercial activities. Allenby also played a pivotal role in the determination of the WACA redevelopment plan that is currently before the State Government for funding consideration.Some of Mike’s initiatives and achievements include:

• Implementation of the WACA’s strategic plan;
• Taking first class cricket to regional Western Australia;
• The portable wicket innovation;
• Initiated the Global Challenge Tournament.

WACA Finance and Administration Manager Rod Lillis has been appointed to cover the vacancy pending identification of a permanent replacement.”This is a crucial appointment for the WACA and the Executive (the WACA Board) will work hard to find the right person for what is now a very different job to that Mike was recruited for.” said WACA Chairman Charles Fear.”I have essentially completed the “change agent” role I was appointed to do” said Mike Allenby, “and it’s fair to say that the Executive and I have different views as to the way forward so I have decided pursue other interests””We would like to thank Mike for his work at the WACA and for his contribution over the past three years.” said Mr Fear “We wish him well in his future endeavours.”

ScorecardReece Topley finished with 11 wickets in the match and removed Jack Shantry to complete victory•Getty Images

Essex wrapped up a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Worcestershire inside three days to keep their promotion hopes alive. This is now their third victory in five matches since their defeat at Old Trafford, as they continue on a run that has them nipping at the heels of second-placed Northamptonshire, with three games left to play.The match was capped by a stellar performance of a sensational 11 for 85 from their young precocious left-arm seamer Reece Topley, who finished the Worcestershire second innings with 5 for 56 to give himself his maiden ten-wicket haul. Those figures represent the best match return by an Essex bowler since Maurice Chambers took 10 for 123 here against Nottinghamshire in June 2010.While his bowling in the short-form has garnered praise, a small number – to his surprise – have flippantly questioned his approach to four-day cricket. In this match he focussed his efforts on maintaining a steady line and swinging the ball, even sighting Tim Murtagh exploits at Malahide against England as an example of why bowling is not all about pushing the 90mph mark. “Sometimes it’s all about control, not raw firepower,” Topley said.Having set himself the goal of 50 first-class wickets at the beginning of the season, Topley looks on course for that target, with three games still to play. Today’s haul puts him out in front as the club’s leading wicket-taker in the competition, and seven away from his target.”I’ve had some critics say I haven’t proved myself with my red ball bowling,” he began. “But that 50 milestone is well in sight. Then again, I wouldn’t want to get 50 wickets at the expense of the team. If I don’t get any wickets for the rest of the season and we still get promotion then I’ll settle for that any day.”Results still need the go Essex’s way, whether Topley takes wickets or not. With rain forecast around the country tomorrow, a draw seems the most likely result for Northants away to Hampshire. Should Northants’ pick up only three more points, Essex will be 29 points off the second promotion spot with a game in hand; next week’s fixture away to Kent.You won’t find many associated with Essex on the terraces and in the changing room that have given up on promotion. Paul Grayson this morning knew his side had to concentrate on their own game before worrying about slip-ups elsewhere. When the prospect of an extra day off was put to him, as the prospect of an early finish to this match loomed large with early morning wickets, his response was short and sharp: “I’ll be back here – working.”Faced with a poor Worcestershire side, the hosts were clinical. The 51 runs for victory were knocked off with an air of nuisance that they had been asked to bat again, despite the two wickets lost – Jaik Mickleburgh and Greg Smith cutting Shaaiq Choudry to Moeen Ali at gully and second slip, respectively.Topley had created such a slim target. He nabbed two wickets in his first over, as he trapped nightwatchman David Lucas in front, before tempting Joe Leach into an expansive and unnecessary drive, which he edged through to James Foster, giving Topley, only 19-years-old, his third of the innings and eight in the game – beating his previous best of 7 for 114.Graham Napier’s absence this morning because of a stomach bug meant Ryan ten Doeschate had the ball for the first time in the match, and struck with the valuable wicket of opener Matthew Pardoe, who was starting to play some shots. Known as “golden arm” in these parts, ten Doeschate started with a long-hop and then a ridiculous wide, before finding a good length and decking the ball across Pardoe, a left-hander, who fended the ball to Mickleburgh in the slips.Michael Johnson then gifted Topley his wicket with yet another loose drive, bringing Ross Whiteley and Shaaiq Choudry together. The pair put on a handy 67 to take Worcestershire into the lead – a partnership that coincided with the introduction of Monty Panesar to the attack.With England spin bowling coach Peter Such watching on, Panesar started with two maidens, before serving up a four-ball in each of his last five overs, before being replaced at the River End. He cut a forlorn figure in his final over, kicking the ground in front of him when a ball was worked around the corner.Choudry and Whiteley were then both removed in consecutive balls, either side of lunch, before Topley took the final wicket – Jack Shantry edging behind – to give him an eleventh success.

The Delhi court hearing Ajit Chandila’s bail plea has deferred its ruling to September 5. The ruling was expected on Monday but, according to , additional sessions judge Dharmesh Sharma said he first needed clarifications on some points from both Delhi Police and the defence.During the hearing, advocate Rakesh Kumar, appearing for Chandila, told the court his client had been “falsely implicated” in the spot-fixing case and had no link with either Dawood Ibrahim or his aide Chhota Shakeel, among India’s most wanted criminals. The Delhi Police, he said, had “mischievously added” provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to their charges, so that the accused could not get bail.Chandila’s lawyer argued that police had not been able to satisfy another trial court – which had granted bail on June 10 to Sreesanth and Chavan, along with 17 others – on this count. While granting those two cricketers bail, the judge had said Delhi Police had not produced enough evidence to charge the players under MCOCA.However, after naming the three cricketers among 39 people in a 6000-page chargesheet at the end of July, Delhi Police had lodged a plea with a Delhi trial court to cancel Sreesanth’s and Chavan’s bail. The two were then issued bail notices by the court, and would have to respond, giving reasons as to why their bail should stand; it was understood then that the investigation had progressed to a point where the police believe the MCOCA law can be invoked.

The USA Cricket Association announced on Tuesday the appointment of former England Under-19 and Canada coach Andy Pick as USACA High Performance Manager in a move aimed at helping the USA form a more professional administrative cricket structure. Pick has been serving as the ICC Americas High Performance Manager since 2009 and will still be partially employed in that role as he splits his workload between the ICC Americas office in Toronto and USACA’s headquarters in Florida.”There is a lot of natural talent in the USA,” Pick said in a USACA media release. “In the past, the pathway from talent discovery through to players becoming established international cricketers has not always been clear. Having been involved in high performance planning and delivery for the last 14 years, I hope I can make that pathway more accessible and transparent.”The official announcement of Pick’s new role with USACA was hinted at through his more frequent appearances around USA teams and programmes in the past six months. In March, he was in Florida for USA’s unofficial three-match 50-over series against Bermuda ahead of ICC WCL Division Three and was present as a sounding board during selection meetings to pick the squad that went to Bermuda a month later for the tournament.In June, he organised and oversaw the inaugural USACA U-19 Selection Combine, which was designed as a new method to select USA’s U-19 squad for the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament. In the past, USACA had used domestic tournaments as a selection mechanism. Pick was in constant contact with USACA chief executive Darren Beazley while at the ICC Americas U-19 tournament and at the conclusion of the July event, he drove from Toronto to Miami to work with Beazley on a plan for the USA senior team to prepare them for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in November.”USACA is extremely pleased to have the support of an experienced cricket administrator such as Andy Pick to provide a dedicated focus on establishing the correct structures and processes to ensure USACA identifies and develops talent, wherever talented men and women reside across the country,” Beazley said in the release. “His intimate knowledge of cricket in the USA and of our playing lists will be very important, particularly as our men’s team commences preparation for the ICC T20 Qualifer in Dubai in November.”Pick has been a regular source of guidance and assistance to the USA through his ICC Americas position. In the winter of 2011, he spent time in New York and New Jersey organising weekly training courses for the region’s junior players and coaches. He also set up a coaching clinic in March 2011 for the New York Public Schools Athletic League, the only high school cricket league in USA.In April 2011, he organised a month-long training stint with reigning English county champions Nottinghamshire – where Pick played from 1983 to 1997 and also served as bowling coach – for USA players Muhammad Ghous and Adrian Gordon. Four months later, Pick and ICC Americas colleague Wendell Coppin conducted a 10-day training camp in Barbados for the USA Women’s team to aid their preparation for the 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh.In October 2010, Pick stated in an interview with ESPNcricinfo that he was impressed with the “abundance of natural talent” in the USA, but was worried that structures were not in place for proper development. “If I’m brutally honest, they have at the moment little framework beneath it to continue providing and developing their best players. That is part of my role, to try to work with the US to see if we can help rectify that situation.” With his new role at USACA, Pick now has more control and authority to carry out that mission.

Steven Taylor, who earlier in June was named the USA Under-19 captain for the ICC Americas Division One U-19 tournament in Canada from July 8-14, will lead the senior team back to Canada for a second tour later in the month. Taylor, 19, is the youngest player picked in the USA senior team and will captain a 14-member squad against Canada as USA tries to regain the Auty Cup, a trophy awarded to the winner of a two-day match recognising the rivalry between the two countries that stretches back to 1844, the oldest rivalry in international cricket.Taylor is one of only four players from the squad that participated at the ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Bermuda last April and May who will be traveling to Canada for a tour which includes the two-day match, a 50-over contest and a pair of Twenty20 matches to be played from July 25-28. The other three players – Akeem Dodson, Danial Ahmed and Naseer Jamali – were reserve players on the tour to Bermuda with Ahmed and Jamali only playing the third-place playoff after USA fell short of clinching a spot at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.A USACA press release stated that several first-choice players were unavailable to tour Canada due to work commitments. Among those are regular 50-over captain Steve Massiah and vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni as well as Orlando Baker, who captained USA’s Twenty20 team to an undefeated tournament title at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in March.It opens the door for eight players to earn a recall to the senior team. Two other players, batsman Ravi Timbawala and fast bowler Mohammad Usman Rehman, have been selected for their first senior team tour. Both players previously represented USA at the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka along with Dodson and spinner Abhimanyu Rajp. The matches are USA’s last international assignment ahead of the 2013 World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE.”This is a relatively young group of players and I want them to go out onto the field confident that they can win this tournament and play fearless cricket,” USA coach Robin Singh was quoted in the press release. “I am also excited to see how the young group of bowlers stand up to tough challenges when their skills are tested both mentally and physically.”Squad: Steven Taylor (captain), Danial Ahmed, Ryan Corns, Akeem Dodson, Karan Ganesh, Adrian Gordon, Naseer Jamali, Mital Patel, Timil Patel, Abhimanyu Rajp, Mohammad Usman Rehman, Nicholas Standford, Timothy Surujbally, Ravi Timbawala