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Down and out: Adam Hollioake trudges off in his last Twenty20 Cup match© Getty Images

Brad Hodge guided Leicestershire to victory in this year’s Twenty20 Cup final against Surrey at Edgbaston. After Surrey set a challenging total of 168 for 6, thanks to 64 from Alistair Brown, Hodge kept his nerve to take his side home with a cool and calculated 77 not out as Leicestershire took the trophy with five balls to spare.In front of another packed house for a Twenty20 match, Hodge was Leicestershire’s hero. He saw them home with help from Darren Maddy, who became the first player to pass 500 runs in the tournament, and Jeremy Snape, who chipped in with 34 not out as Surrey lost their title by seven wickets.It was Brown who made the early running for Surrey, though, with a typically brutal innings of 64 from 41 balls – his second successive half-century in the final – and Mark Ramprakash also contributed with 23 not out in Surrey’s total. Brown was in the party mood. He clubbed nine fours and two sixes, mainly through the offside, as Leicestershire failed to make an early impression with the ball. He added 80 with Scott Newman, who scored a quick 21 and kept Surrey’s momentum going.Brown, who was dropped on 39, was eventually caught by John Sadler in the deep going for another big hit, but he set the platform for the final fling. Rikki Clarke and Azhar Mahmood all chipped in, but Ramprakash held things together to guide Surrey to their healthy score.However, in the end it wasn’t enough. In their chase, Leicestershire’s two in-form batsmen, Maddy and Hodge made a flying start, punching anything loose to the boundary. They put on 62 for the first wicket, with Maddy scoring 22. Hodge continued to shine, bringing up his half-century from 25 balls, and seven fours.However, the introduction of Adam Hollioake, playing in his last Twenty20 match, in the 11th over pegged Leicestershire back. Darren Stevens came in and played some handsome shots, but he was miraculously caught on the long-off boundary by Mahmood for 20, and John Sadler then chipped Hollioake straight to Clarke at midwicket.Leicestershire required 35 off the last four overs, and two boundaries in the 16th over from Snape tilted the math back in his side’s favour. Snape then crunched a huge six over Hollioake’s head in the penultimate over, and Hodge smacked him back down the ground two balls later – and that was effectively that.The equation came down to four needed from the last over, and this time Mahmood couldn’t repeat his heroics from the semi-final, as Snape caressed the first ball through midwicket for the winning boundary to start Leicestershire’s well-deserved victory.
Scorecard

Darren Maddy: the leading Twenty20 Cup run-scorer© Getty Images

A blistering innings from Darren Maddy helped put Leicestershire into the final of the Twenty20 Cup. Leicestershire, last year’s semi-finalists, piled on a healthy total of 165 for 5, and Glamorgan’s innings never really got going, despite 44 from David Hemp, and they went down by 24 runs.After Brad Hodge won the toss and opted to bat, he and Maddy made a rollicking start, with Maddy smacking 72 from 40 balls, and becoming the first player to 500 runs in the competition. He brought up his half-century from only 25 balls, and scored six fours and four sixes in all.Hodge and Maddy put on 81 for the opening stand before Hodge was out caught by Hemp off Robert Croft for 22. Darren Stevens then chipped in at No. 3 with 27 from 20 balls, and although the middle order slightly lost their way during the closing overs, their total proved to be too much for Glamorgan.Mark Cleary made sure of that with two early wickets, including Matthew Maynard for 9. Hemp and Mark Wallace gave Glamorgan an outside chance with a stand of 49, but once Hemp was caught off the impressive Claude Henderson, his side were always up against it.The wickets continued to tumble as Glamorgan searched for the big hits, and Ottis Gibson wrapped things up when he had Michael Kasprowicz caught on the long-on boundary. Leicestershire now face Surrey in the final, and will be hoping to go one step further this time.
ScorecardSurrey made it through to their successive Twenty20 Cup final – but only just. In an enthralling finish to a low-scoring match against Lancashire, they scraped home by a single run.After Surrey had squandered a blistering start to make 133 all out from their 20 overs, Azhar Mahmood held his nerve to bowl the final over with Lancashire requiring seven to win. However, Chris Schofield could only manage a single and Surrey booked their place in the final.

Surrey celebrate their nailbiting win© Getty Images

Warren Hegg inserted Surrey at the toss, and Alistair Brown got off to a flying start, smacking seven fours in quick time before he was bowled by Andrew Flintoff for 32. Flintoff then picked up the wicket of Scott Newman for 12 as Surrey began to falter. Gary Keedy and Dinesh Mongia then spun Surrey into deeper trouble with five wickets between them, including Mark Ramprakash for 24 and Adam Hollioake for 1.Requiring 134 to win, Lancashire made a bright start as Flintoff hit his first ball for four. However, Azhar rolled out one of his effective slower balls, and Flintoff hit it high in the air to Brown at mid-off for 15. From then on, wickets continued to fall and Lancashire were up against it, especially when Carl Hooper was bowled by Nayan Doshi for 26. However, Dominic Cork entered the fray and smacked 25 from 13 balls, but the big moment of the match came when he skied Hollioake to Clarke at mid-off and Surrey held their nerve to close out a thrilling match.

Hashan Tillakaratne, the former Sri Lankan Test Captain made a fleeting visit to Vienna on Monday. The surprise visit, which came about through personal contacts from the reformed Sri Lankan CC, was a fleeting one, although they were able to take him to see the facilities are Concordia CC’s ground in Markommannenstrasse in Vienna’s 22nd District, where he was able to meet with Concordia CC Chairman and ACA Cricket Development Officer, Siva Nadarajah, who presented him with a team shirt and cap.The ground was officially opened on Saturday 21st June, which some 400 people attending – including youth team players from Tegernsee CC, who have been frequent visitors to Austria for some three seasons now. It will also be used for the forthcoming ECC Notts Sport® Trophy.

A cavalier 176 by Naeemuddin and equally fine batting by Atiq-ur-Rahman helped Gujranwala to earn a slimseven-run lead against LahoreWhites on second day of the National Under-19 Grade-I cricketchampionship at LCCA Ground Thursday.Replying to Lahore Whites’s first innings total of 349, Gujranwalaamassed 356 for eight declared in 78 overs after resuming the day on46 without loss.By close of play, Lahore Whites were in some trouble when they reached94 for three in the second innings.Naeemuddin, taking advantage of atrocious catching by Lahore Whites,carried on from his overnight 35 and blasted 24 fours in his 216-ballinnings that lasted 311 minutes while putting on 130 for the secondwicket with Atiq in only 99 minutes.Atiq hammered 10 boundaries in his 90-ball 72.For Lahore Whites, captain Arsalan Arshad captured three for 58.Summarized scores:Lahore Whites 349 in 78.2 overs (Kashif Ijaz 74, Salman Qadir 71,Zulqarnain Hyder 61, Wahab Riaz 48; MuzaffarAslam 3-87, Ali Imran2-62, Nadeem Hussain 2-103) and 94 for three in 22 overs (ArsalanArshad 27, Adnan Raza 27).Gujranwala 356 for eight decl in 78 overs (Naeemuddin 176, Atiq-ur-Rahman 72, Shiraz Shabbir 30, Waqas Rafiq 20; Arsalan Arshad 3-58).

West Ham are interested in signing Tottenham centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, according to a fresh transfer rumour which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Carter-Vickers on loan in Scotland

The 24-year-old joined Celtic on loan last summer, with Spurs not being able to promise him regular playing time at the heart of their defence.

Carter-Vickers has impressed for the Scottish giants, making 22 Premiership starts and scoring two goals along the way.

With his long-term future seemingly lying away from Spurs, a permanent move appears to be on the cards this summer, and the USA international is not without suitors.

The Latest: West Ham eye up move for Carter-Vickers

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham are among several teams interested in making a move for Carter-Vickers, with the expiration of his contract this summer meaning that he will be available on a free transfer.

As many as five Premier League clubs are mentioned in the report, with Leicester City, Wolves, Burnley and Watford all seen as potential suitors along with the Irons.

The Verdict: Plenty to like about Carter-Vickers

While Carter-Vickers hasn’t necessarily hit the heights expected of him at Spurs, he remains a youthful defender with plenty of potential, making him an exciting target for the Hammers.

He has won 4.5 aerial duels per game in the Scottish top flight this season and an 89.4% pass completion rate, highlighting his strength in the air and composure on the ball. Indeed, Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou has hailed the American as having “a real strong, calming influence” on the team at Parkhead.

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With Angelo Ogbonna likely to depart in the summer, Carter-Vickers could come in as a good squad player to battle the likes of Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop and Craig Dawson for minutes at West Ham, hopefully becoming a key player at the London Stadium further down the line.

In other news, a top club insider has made a key West Ham transfer claim. Read more here.

Chris Schofield won’t let something like split webbing stop him © Getty Images

Chris Schofield is confident that his hand injury won’t prevent him from taking part in the ICC World Twenty20.Schofield split the webbing on his left hand when fielding during Surrey’s Pro40 victory against Kent on Tuesday and had to have four stitches, but his club says there is nothing to worry about. He even batted as Surrey moved to the one-wicket win.”He was keen to return to the field,” a Surrey spokesperson told Cricinfo, “but Alan Butcher and Mark Butcher didn’t want to risk it, particularly with the internationals coming up.”He did, however, bat and made 11. “He batted really well – a little gingerly to start with, but then as the adrenaline kicked in he started to play his shots.”The stitches are due to come out around the time Schofield heads to South Africa on September 9. His international commitments mean he will miss the closing stages of Surrey’s Pro40 promotion campaign, which continues in earnest with the floodlit match at The Oval against Somerset on Tuesday.While Schofield is sad to be missing out on the end of Surrey’s season, he knows it’s for the right reasons. “It’s not a bad thing because I’m playing for England,” he told Cricinfo, “but Surrey have been brilliant and have given me every opportunity to express myself.”The change in Schofield’s fortunes has been well-documented, but his inclusion in the England side still hasn’t sunk in. “It was a massive surprise. The start of this year was a new beginning, like I hadn’t been in first-class cricket. I’ve had lots of challenges in the last two years and now I’m about to face another big challenge.”

VVS Laxman, selected for the India Green side, has pulled out of the Challenger Series tournament owing to a hamstring injury.It was earlier reported that Mohammad Kaif, who was appointed as the captain of the India Green side, may also miss the series because of a viral fever, with the likelihood of Sachin Tendulkar leading the side in his absence. However, Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, assured that besides Laxman, all the other players from the three squads were fit.Rajagopal Satish, the middle order batsman from Tamil Nadu, has been added to the India Blue squad. India Blue play their first match on Monday against India Red.

ScorecardAmit Pagnis’s century helped Central Zone, the defending champions, make an emphatic start to their Duleep Trophy campaign and finish with 299 for 3 at the end of the opening day against South at Surat. Hemang Badani’s decision to field first backfired as Pagnis and Jyoti Prasad Yadav, who made 87, put the South bowlers to the sword. Lakshmipathy Balaji didn’t have any success in his 14 overs and it was left to Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, the left-arm spinner from Tamil Nadu, to snap up two wickets.
ScorecardJoginder Sharma and Amit Mishra, the duo from Haryana, routed the visiting Zimbabwe President’s XI for just 94 on the first day at the Wankhede Stadium. Joginder, the medium-pacer, ripped through the top order and finished with a rich haul of 6 for 21 while Mishra, the legspinner, mopped up the tail. North added 62 by the end of the day and, after the reverse against East in the earlier game, were well on their way to gaining a much needed bonus point.

Faisal Iqbal put Pakistan A in a commanding position© AFP

Centuries from Steve Tikolo and Ravindu Shah got Kenya out of trouble on the second day of the three-day match against Pakistan A at the Simba Union Club in Nairobi.Kenya replied with 254 for 3, after Pakistan A declared their first innings at 495. Taufeeq Umar and Faisal Iqbal smeared the Kenyan bowling to all parts of the Oval and Pakistan A declared shortly before lunch on the second day. Tafeeq made 144 and Faisal finished on 119.Kenya’s reply was rocked early in the innings when Kennedy Obuya and HiteshModi fell in quick succession. However, Tikolo and Shah engineered the fightback with a third-wicket stand of 216. Shah struck 23 boundaries and continued his great form, after his 135 against Uganda a week ago, and notched up his third first-class century.Tikolo brought up his fourth first-class hundred with a single off Salman Butt and spanked 15 boundaries in his 140-ball effort. Thomas Odoyo got in on the act too but bad light brought the day’s proceedings to a premature end.

Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean started with an emphatic 55-run win at Bridgetown in the first game of the three-match series. Defending a moderate 201-run total after a stop-start performance with the bat, Chaminda Vaas and Prabath Nissanka clinched the game with penetrative new-ball spells. Reduced to 19 for 4 in the first six overs, West Indies never regained the initiative despite a valiant solo effort from Brian Lara, who remained undefeated on 64.West Indies had come into the game brimming with confidence after three successive wins against Australia. On paper Sri Lanka represented a far lesser challenge, especially considering their indifferent form since the World Cup. The game ran true to form in the first innings, as Sri Lanka’s batsmen – with the exception of Romesh Kaluwitharana (54) and Kumar Dharmasena (40) – struggled against West Indies’ quick bowlers.Considering the authoritative manner in which the West Indian top order had knocked off recent Australian targets, Sri Lanka’s score of 201 looked light. But Vaas and Nissanka superbly exploited a sudden change in the weather. As heavy clouds closed in around the Kensington Oval, the ball swung around dangerously. The West Indian chase never got off the ground.Vaas set the tone with an immaculate first over, swinging the ball away from the left-handed Chris Gayle, who was dropped at first slip off the third ball, by Mahela Jayawardene. Nissanka broke through first, as Wavell Hinds, who came into the match on the back of two successive matchwinning hundreds, was bowled behind his legs for a duck. Gayle could not capitalise on his first-over reprieve, nicking a carbon-copy outswinger from Vaas in the next over (4 for 2).Ricardo Powell, promoted in the line-up as Brian Lara dropped down to the middle order to counter the threat of Muttiah Muralitharan, started with a firm legside clip but never settled. Vaas trapped him leg-before on the back leg with an inswinger that would have knocked back his middle stump (15 for 3).When Ramnaresh Sarwan crunched a boundary through the offside, Marvan Atapattu positioned Kumar Sangakkara at a short point position. Next ball, Sarwan blazed a similar square-drive off the middle of his bat only to see Sangakkara cling on to a fine head-high catch (19 for 4).A short break for rain provided West Indies with a chance to regroup, and after the interruption Lara started the repair work with Marlon Samuels. The pair had to negotiate increasing variations in bounce, but they saw off Nissanka and Vaas and grew in confidence as the sun started to shine once more.Muttiah Muralitharan was eventually introduced into the attack in the 18th over of the innings to resume a longstanding rivalry with Lara. But it was Dharshana Gamage, Sri Lanka’s new bald-headed first change seamer, who broke through. Samuels (29) was caught behind off the thick edge as he tried to force powerfully through the offside (73 for 5).West Indian hopes were left resting on the shoulders on Lara but he needed support. It was not forthcoming. He added 32 runs with Ridley Jacobs before Muralitharan hurried the match towards an early conclusion, taking the wickets of Jacobs, David Bernard and Mervyn Dillon in quick succession to finish with three for 17 from seven overs. West Indies lost their last five wickets for 41 runs to be bowled out for 146. Lara tried to win the match singlehandedly, manipulating the strike as he added 25 runs with Corey Colleymore for the last wicket. He finished with an unbeaten 64 from 130 balls as Colleymore was trapped leg-before by Dilshan.Earlier, Kaluwitharana had laid the foundations for Sri Lanka’s moderate total. Weathering painful blows to his helmet and midriff, he stroked 54 from 75 runs, adding 46 with Marvan Atapattu (22) after the first-over loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, who was wrongly adjudged caught behind.Lara’s decision to introduce Marlon Samuels’s part-time offbreaks into the attack in the 10th over conjured up a breakthrough as Atapattu clipped back a simple return catch, as Sri Lanka started to lose their way. Sangakkara (15) was caught at deep point, Mahela Jayawardene (8) top-edged a pull and Kaluwitharana was run-out to leave Sri Lanka in trouble on 112 for 5.West Indies, however, couldn’t land the winning punch. Tillakaratne Dilshan (27) and Dharmasena repaired the damage with a workmanlike 59-run stand for the sixth wicket. Despite the loss of the last five wickets for 30 runs, Sri Lanka had scrambled together sufficient runs to complete a timely morale-boosting win.

Man-of-the-match Muttiah Muralitharan, playing in his 66th Test, who donated his winning cheque to Ashraful after the youngster’s astonishing 114, became the fastest bowler to reach 350 Test wickets when he caught and bowled last man Mohammad Sharif.Earlier this year in South Africa Muralitharan reached 300 Test wicketsafter 58 games, which was two games slower than Australian Dennis Lillee.Since then is has raced to the 350 mark in just eight Tests, beating RichardHadlee’s 69 game record.”I was not thinking about the record this morning, just about takingwickets,” he said afterwards.Bangladesh had started the day on 100 four, still 365 runs arrears, butteenager Mohammad Ashraful delayed the inevitable with a century on debut.”I thought it would be easier than what it was,” he admitted. “The pitch,however, had lost its bounce and Ashraful rode his luck to play a brilliantinnings.”He finished with match figures of 10-111, his second consecutive ten-wickethaul and the seventh time he had completed the feat – only Hadlee has doneso on more occasions (nine in 86 matches).Muralitharan’s assault on the record books didn’t stop there, as he brokethe world record for the most Test wickets in a single venue when he trappedHabibul Bashar leg before wicket on Friday evening.He has now taken 83 wickets in 13 games at the Sinhalese Sports Club,beating Lillee 82 wickets in Melbourne.Muralitharan believes that he has become a better bowler now and expects tocontinue his climb up the all-time Test wicket-taking list.”I have become a more experienced bowler over the last couple of years andthat has helped me take more wickets,” he said.”I can’t be expected to take wickets all the time, but I am still enjoyingthe game and see no reason why I can’t continue playing for at least anotherfive years.””That will depend upon injuries of course, but I have been very lucky withthose so far thanks to the work of physio Alex Kontouri, who has beenworking with us for six years now.”Muralitharan has been playing non-stop since Sri Lanka toured South Africain December and he will now travel back to England to play one last matchfor Lancashire.He admits to be looking forward to a break: “When I come back from the UK Iwill finally put my feet up for a month before Sharjah.”When he says “feet-up,” however, he uses the term loosely because you canbet he will be back in his domestic nets bowling in next to no time.