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JP Duminy on maiden captaincy stint

The BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel has criticised former England captain Ian Botham for his comments on the Indian Premier League, saying the latter should have got his facts right during his speech at the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on September 3.Botham had said that the IPL was “too powerful” for the good of cricket and believed it should not exist. He said that the tournament provided the “perfect opportunity for betting and therefore fixing” and, on the subject of corruption, also called on the ICC to do more to expose the “big names” involved.”Let him get his facts correct first. He has asked how the other boards have allowed IPL to happen. The BCCI has distributed over US $10 million as compensation to the other cricket boards for allowing their players to play in the IPL,” Patel told .Patel also brought up Botham’s association with Texas financier Allen Stanford, who had plans for an IPL-style T20 league before he was arrested for financial fraud.”I can still visualise the photo of Botham sitting in the front when Stanford went to England. And he has the temerity to talk about IPL. We don’t want his advice. We have enough top players like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid to advise us,” Patel said.The BCCI secretary said that it was “premature” to discuss the possibility of Shastri being appointed director of the Indian team for the 2015 World Cup, after his recent success in England, where the ODI team has dominated the series. Shastri had been team director for the one-day series after India’s 1-3 loss in the Test series in England.”It’s premature to talk about this. Let this ODI series be over first,” Patel said. “He was very gracious to accede to the BCCI’s request when we approached him after the Test series. He said he was always there for India and Indian cricket and accepted it without any preconditions. We will certainly compensate him for whatever he has lost by way of not fulfilling his contract as a TV commentator and media columnist.”Patel also addressed the issues relating to the Goa Cricket Association, which has been threatened with de-recognition by the state government due to the fall-out of a fake ticket scam in 2001. The state government has asked incumbent president Vinod Phadke to step down due to his alleged involvement in the scam and has warned the association that it could be de-recognised for failing to implement the recommendation of the Justice Pendse Commission, which was investigating the issue of bogus tickets during the 2001 ODI between India and Australia at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda.”The GCA does not get any financial support from the state government,” Patel said when asked about this controversy.Phadke has defiantly claimed that he has the backing of the BCCI and will stick to his post.”There is no question of me stepping down,” Phadke told PTI on Thursday. “I have informed the BCCI about the show cause notice issued by the state government. The BCCI is firmly behind me. I will be meeting the board officials within a week over the issue.”

Many stars of the England women’s cricket team will play for their clubsthis Saturday 7th September at King’s College, Taunton, in the ECB Women’sClub Cup Final. In a re-run of last year’s final, which saw a narrowvictory for Wakefield WCC, they will take on Brighton & Hove WCC.England skipper Clare Connor will captain Brighton & Hove and the teamincludes fellow international batsman Caroline Atkins. Kate Oakenfold andAlexia Walker, who played in the successful England Under-21 team which wonthe European Cup earlier this year, will also play for the Sussex side aswill New Zealander and World Cup winner Haidee Tiffen.Wakefield WCC includes the England seam bowler Clare Taylor, who became thefirst Englishwoman to take 100 international wickets this summer, as well asKathryn Leng (batsmen) and a rising star of the women’s game Kathryn Doherty(fast bowler) who has spent this summer training with the Yorkshire CricketAcademy.The match is 40-overs per side, and will begin at 1pm. Admission is free.

FULL NAME: Andre Pierre Hoffman
BORN: At Harare, 23 April 1978
MAJOR TEAMS: Mashonaland (1999/2000), CFX Academy (2001/02)
KNOWN AS: Andre Hoffman. Nicknames: Hoffie, Hoffmeister, Burger
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Medium Pace
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy studentFIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 3-5 March 2000, Mashonaland v CFX Academy, at Country Club,Harare
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaitedBIOGRAPHY (March 2002)Andre Hoffman, currently captain of the CFX Academy in the 2001/02 Logan Cup competition, is a cricketer with a handicap, which he is not afraid to admit and to tackle. He has to fight against being overweight, and has achieved such success that it is hard, looking at him today, to realize that this is a constant problem in his life and career.Andre comes from a rugby rather than a cricketing family, but came to realize that he has more talent in cricket. His brother, eleven years older than he, played cricket, although not at an exalted level, and he passed on his love of the game to Andre. He can remember playing back-yard cricket with him when very young, his introduction to the game.He began his junior schooling at North Park, where he played for the colts team, but later moved to board at Barwick. He remembers taking nine wickets for 30 runs in trials for the Zimbabwe Under-13 team, bowling medium-paced outswingers, and thinks he took more than 30 wickets during that week. He followed it with a successful tour to England with the Mashonaland Country Districts Under-13 schools side; he remembers scoring 86 against a Sussex team. "I’ve always been an all-rounder," he says. "I’ve always preferred batting; that’s been my main key, but I’ve got something to fall back on if I fail with the bat."He moved from Barwick to high school at Watershed near Marondera, the same school as Raymond Price, who was two years ahead of him, but they played first-team cricket together. "One thing I enjoyed about playing with Raymond was that he had a lot of guts and he definitely tried a lot harder than anyone else," said Andre. "He probably wasn’t the most talented of cricketers but he always worked hard at his game. I can remember before trials one year getting up at five o’clock in the morning for about two terms and having throw-downs with him in the nets."Watershed, a comparatively new school, did not have a strong team and by the end of his first year Andre found himself in the senior team. In a schools festival that year he remembers scoring 78 not out and also taking four wickets against Jameson (Kadoma). For his Under-13 team he recorded innings of 170 and 180, both not out, against Eaglesvale and Hillcrest, and took over 100 wickets. Unfortunately a back injury at the start of his second year prevented him from bowling for a year, which hampered his confidence when he returned and its long-term effects cut down his speed. Back problems still hamper him at times.In the fourth form he scored seven successive fifties, but `only about three or four hundreds’ altogether for the first team, putting it down to lapses in concentration. He names deputy head Jim Davidson as the greatest influence on his career, the man who taught him the desire for and love of the game. He played in all the age-group teams for Zimbabwe from Under-13 level onwards, captaining the Under-15 team, and was a member of the Under-19 team to tour England in 1997.He joined Harare Sports Club at the age of 14 and has played for them ever since when in Zimbabwe, enjoying the camaraderie at the club. He has played for them mainly as a bowler, but 2001/02 he thought was his most successful all-round season for them, scoring three half-centuries and several instances of four wickets in an innings. He also played winter league cricket for Watershed, scoring five centuries for them in 1998.Andre left school in 1998, and decided to opt for overseas experience, spending three seasons playing in the United Kingdom, trying to "further my knowledge of different conditions, which I think has worked, and has also helped in the mental aspect with the game. I think I’m a lot more focused now than when I left."In 1999 he played for Alderley Edge, topping the batting averages in scoring over 800 runs, with four centuries, but without bowling much as he was suffering from a shin splint injury. He returned to Zimbabwe, made his first-class debut for Mashonaland and was selected for the Board XI at the end of the season; in 2000 he played for Selkirk in Scotland. Tired of the politics interfering with the game in Zimbabwe, he decided he would give himself two years away from the country, but privately expected never to return. A winter in Scotland soon changed his mind.By the time he returned his weight had increased to 115 kilograms or more, and he found the cricket community did not take him seriously – despite the example of the legendary Richie Kaschula, who played at times with weight reputedly in excess of 130 kilograms! He found encouragement, though, from Andy Flower, who told him that if he put his heart into it, he could lose the weight and make a successful return to cricket.He returned to England for the 2001 season to play for Norton in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire league, a season he did not enjoy. His personal performances were disappointing, and he calculated he had an average of four catches a game dropped off his bowling. The death of his mother in Zimbabwe also affected him badly, as he had enjoyed a close relationship with her and she had always supported him.However, Andre’s brother is in the army in England, and at this stage his influence for good on Andre continued. When he returned to England, his brother put him through commando training for six months, which lost him about 30 kilograms. "The focus he put into me made me decided that, yes, cricket was the way forward, and I was going to come back (to Zimbabwe) and give it my best shot. That is basically why I applied to come to the Academy."Andre feels he still has to lose another ten kilograms to be his ideal weight, but he now looks no more than burly and his application to fitness is satisfying the requirements of the Academy. "Everything is heading forward at the moment," he said. "I’ve put myself on hold for a bit for a prosperous cricket career, and now I intend to work hard at my game and see if I can actually make it to the top. I want to be a role model to a lot of people who think they’re overweight and can’t do things – or anything that is holding them back. I want to show them that if they put in a little bit of hard work – in fact, a lot of hard work – things can happen."It may sound a bit bigheaded, but I do intend to play Test cricket and I do intend to play one-day cricket for Zimbabwe. But that only comes with hard work and getting the right break at the right time, and cashing in on it."Andre is still keen to play cricket, of a higher standard next time, during the English season, and recalls a game during 2001 when he played as a guest for a club that is interested in hiring him as a future professional. He scored 160 not out, and would have won the match for them had not a run-out on the final ball of the game brought about a tie.Andre is predominantly a back-foot player who `likes taking it to the bowler’; he prefers batting at number four or five. When bowling, he feels that patience is his main virtue and he gets most of his wickets simply by bowling in the channel and getting many caught-behind decisions. His favourite fielding position is first slip.Cricket heroes: Andy Flower and Steve Waugh.Toughest opponents: Bowler – "John Traicos, in the nets at Harare Sports Club – very wily and cunning." Batsmen – Andy Flower and Alistair Campbell.Personal ambitions: "I’d love to play Test cricket and get a big hundred; to captain the team would be an even greater honour."Proudest achievement so far: Captaining the Academy side, a dream come true.Best friends in cricket: Bryan Strang, Donald Campbell, Mark Vermeulen, Raymond Price, Trevor Gripper.Other qualifications: No actual qualifications, but worked as a computer technician for eight or nine months, but found it difficult to take on a daily basis. He started his own computer business, doing odd jobs, and made quite a bit of money, but still found it too monotonous.Other sports: Rugby up to provincial level at school – "but it got a bit taxing on the body." Athletics.Outside interests: Computers – despite their being boring!Views on cricket: I’d prefer better umpiring – but we all make mistakes! I think rather than choosing players on colour, I would prefer a performance-based selection. Instead of having a quota system, players should be picked because they’re in good form or they have what it takes to succeed at that level, and we’d have a much better Test side. The Test side would believe in each other and we wouldn’t have the problems of players not wanting captaincy and so on, if we were playing the best side. I feel we could probably pick a second team that would give the Test side a good run for their money."

This week last year saw many a black day for Indian cricket. ManojPrabhakar, along with Inderjit Singh Bindra, opened up a large can ofworms – the matchfixing saga. About a year ago, Prabhakar, writing acolumn for Cricketnext.com said he had named the player who offeredhim money to underperform to a ‘big gun’ in the government. ButPrabhakar refused to name him in a public forum. He also kept the nameof the government official close to his chest. If Prabhakar thought hecould keep things quiet for a while, he was soon forced to thinkagain.On CNN’s Q & A programme, Bindra revealed that Prabhakar told him thatKapil Dev was the man he named. All hell broke loose in the media. Thebattle lines were drawn clearly, with allegations flying thick andfast. Prabhakar was boxed into a corner and hard-pressed to provideevidence of some kind. For every allegation there was a denial and acounter question, “what proof do you have?”No proof was forthcoming.Prashant Vaidya, former India fast bowler was in the room adjoiningKapil Dev’s room. Naturally, Prabhakar turned to Vaidya for corroborationof the allegation that Kapil Dev offered him 25 lakhs tounderperform in a one-day international. Vaidya, keen to stay out ofthe mess, pleaded ignorance. Although nothing conclusive emerged fromthe episode, bad vibes abounded.On an interview given to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)Kapil Dev broke down and wept bitterly when asked about theallegations of matchfixing. The interview made headlines innewspapers, magazines and websites alike, for all the wrong reasons. Asection of the media rallied around the ‘fallen icon’ and questionedPrabhakar’s motives. A rival section praised Prabhakar for hisforthright attitude, asking if Kapil Dev’s crying on nationaltelevision was a carefully managed stunt.Following the events and disclosures of that fateful week in May whenthe heat was really on, the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) was forced to set up commissions of inquiry, investigationpanels and the like. With a bare minimum of international crickethappening, the matchfixing saga kept the media on its toes.But the media were not alone. The Indian Government had a major roleto play, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the IncomeTax officials joining forces and conducting one of the mostsensational investigations in Indian cricket history. When the CBIreleased the report on its findings, the BCCI acted swiftly. Theverdict surprised many, and saddened more. Mohammed Azharuddin andAjay Sharma were banned from playing any cricket conducted under theaegis of the BCCI for life. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and formerIndia physio Dr Ali Irani were to serve out five year bans.Kapil Dev was exonerated of all charges of betting and matchfixing.It all went very wrong for Manoj Prabhakar. From being the accuser,the tables were turned, and the former Delhi and India all-rounder wasnow the accused. Not just accused, but pronounced guilty as well.Whether you’re a fan of Kapil Dev or Prabhakar makes no difference atthis moment in time. It hardly matters which side of the story youbelieve. Looking back one year later, one thing is clear. Indian crickettook some painful blows. There were several casualties, but wascricket really a winner at the end?

Two more brand new England caps may well be handed out at the start of the second npower Test against India at Trent Bridge, as the hosts strive to build on their one-nil series lead against India.After Glamorgan’s Simon Jones won his debut at Lord’s, the side injury he sustained there has opened the door to Durham’s Steve Harmison. Alex Tudor, included in the original squad, was released to rejoin Surrey for their Championship match against Sussex at Hove. And Kent’s Robert Key is the immediate beneficiary of Graham Thorpe’s decision to take a complete break from cricket, with Marcus Trescothick already sidelined with a thumb injury.”It’s a lucky opportunity for me, really,” admitted Key. “Marcus and Graham Thorpe are among the best players around at the moment and for him (Trescothick) not to play because of his injury is unfortunate for him.

“I’m under no illusions really – I’m going to be going out there doing my best and trying to keep guys like him and Graham Thorpe out of the side, trying to give the selectors a dilemma when these guys are fit for selection.”Key is grateful to England’s most-capped player Alec Stewart for advising him on what was required to reach the top level during a Professional Cricketers’ Association dinner two years ago.”I’d had a bad year and Kent were toying with the idea of sending me to Perth,” Key said. “I was pretty much sick of cricket and I wanted a break. I didn’t want to do another six months of playing but he pulled me aside and told me to sort myself out.”He told me to get out to Perth and play on some of the best batting wickets in the world and work hard and if I did that there would be a good chance for me going on and playing for England. I was wasting away as a cricketer and not really doing anything. I wasn’t really doing enough to be a professional cricketer even. I wasn’t even succeeding as a county player.”Key and Harmison both went back to Australia last winter as members of England’s Academy squad under Rod Marsh. Harmison, selected in four England squads two years ago against Zimbabwe and West Indies, is hoping to make his debut at last.”It feels good to be back, but it will be better if I actually get a game,” admitted Harmison. “Conditions in the past meant I didn’t get a chance.”At start of the season I was being bandied about as being the one bowler from the academy that could go on and play Test cricket this summer. But Simon got there first. I spent some time with him in Australia and what he did was a breath of fresh air for English cricket.”The England captain, Nasser Hussain, was still undecided today whether Harmison, Ashley Giles or Dominic Cork would be the unlucky man to miss out.”It’s an unusual Trent Bridge pitch,” Hussain said. “It sounds hollow. I would be guessing if I tried to tell you what it will do.”It will be a very difficult decision. It has swung around in recent years, which brings Cork into the equation. It may get quicker which brings Harmison into the equation. It could spin for Ashley Giles.”I think everybody wants to see what he’s like in the middle but that’s not a reason to play Harmison. We are not good enough to pick people for the sake of it.”India’s coach, John Wright, has told his batsmen to continue their natural attacking game at Trent Bridge.”I like to see our players playing their shots, because when we dominate we can take the game away from the opposition,” Wright told a news conference today.”Some of the shots we play are easier to play in the sub-continent. We’re trying to build a team who play for each other and fights hard.”The Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, warned that Sachin Tendulkar, who failed to reach 20 in either innings at Lord’s, is due for a big knock.”He is the best player in the world and a match winner,” Ganguly said. “He does help us win games but he should be allowed to fail once in a while.”Meanwhile India’s dilemma over how to find a place for their off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been resolved. Leg-spinner Anil Kumble is still suffering from the left calf strain he sustained during the NatWest Series, and makes way for Harbhajan in an otherwise unchanged eleven.

Warwickshire Bears remain top of the NUL after Shaun Pollock’s all-round excellence secured an 85-run victory over Notts Outlaws. The South African followed his belligerent innings of 70 with 3-12 as his side made it two NUL wins in two this season.It was a one-sided encounter at New Road as Worcestershire Royals prospered against a weakened Somerset Sabres side. The hosts soon recovered from losing Solanki to the first ball of the day as Anurag Singh and Ben Smith compiled half-centuries and David Leatherdale and Steve Rhodes chipped in with valuable cameos. Kabir Ali then ran through the visitors with 4-15 including the key wickets of Bowler and Cox as the Sabres were humbled by 127 runs.In Cardiff Glamorgan Dragons did well to defend a meagre total of 161-8 against Durham. Welsh supporters will thank Mike Powell for his patient 47 not out and a partnership with Mark Wallace (34) of 58 for giving their bowlers something to defend. And Michael Kasprowicz responded brilliantly by cutting down the Dynamos top order with 4-28 as his side secured a 20-run victory.Darren Lehmann steadied his side with another match-winning performance at Canterbury. His unbeaten 69 (98 balls with four boundaries) saw his side to a five-wicket win. Earlier the Spitfires had fought back from a dire start thanks mainly to a fine half-century from Matt Walker. And with Yorkshire Phoenix wobbling at 64-4 they were indebted to their captain for his knock that leaves them equal on points – but just behind on run-rate – at the top of the table.In the second division a wonderful all-round game from Jon Lewis saw his Gloucestershire Gladiators side clinch a one-wicket victory over Surrey Lions at Bristol. The day’s most exciting game saw Lewis (27 including a six) add 18 for the final wicket with Mike Smith to thwart an excellent effort by Surrey Lions’ opening bowlers Martin Bicknell and Ed Giddins. Earlier Lewis had taken 4-22 including the key wicket of Mark Ramprakash as the Lions had struggled to 163-9 in their 45 overs. It was a tough result on Giddins in particular, who bowled with real skill and batted with uncharacteristic resilience in adding 32 in a last-wicket partnership with Jon Batty (28 not out) that so nearly won his side the game.Elsewhere Ashley Cowan and Andy Clarke each snared a three-wicket haul to limit Derbyshire Scorpions to 155 all out. Essex Eagles knocked off the runs without undue difficulty to secure a seven-wicket vistory.Meanwhile Northants Steelbacks cantered to victory against Middlesex Crusaders. Darren Cousins was the start for the hosts with 4-13 including a hostile opening spell that saw the visitors slip to 10-3; a postion from which they never really recovered. Although the Steelbacks endured a sticky start to their reply, David Sales (66 off 79 balls) and Mike Hussey (56 off 83 balls) then added 109 for the third wicket to take their side within sight of victory.Stuart Law built on the good work of Lancashire Lightning team-mates Peter Martin and John Wood with an innings of 71 with five fours and two sixes. Earlier Martin (2-22) and Wood (3-21) had bowled out Sussex Sharks for just 160. But a good effort from the Sharks’ seamers saw Lightning endure some nervous moments before the vastly experienced Law saw them home.

Despite being a Saturday the County Ground at Taunton was a hive of activity this morning.Outside fast bowler Richard Johnson was running laps round the ground alongside one of the club physio’s Ross Dewar, and the signs are looking good for him to be fit to play in the C and G semi final against Kent.`Johnno’ has been missing from the scene since he injured his hamstring against Warwickshire at Edgbaston five weeks ago, but he hopes to play in a club game on Sunday, and providing there are no after effects he will be back to spearhead the Cidermen’s attack on Thursday.Alongside the Academy Fitness Centre a forklift truck has been delivered in readiness for the erection of the portable stand that is expected to take place at the start of this week.Meanwhile inside the Colin Atkinson Pavilion the office staff were busy dealing with telephone and personal sales for the remaining 500 tickets for the semi final.By the time that the office shut at lunchtime a fair number of these had been sold.Accounts manager John Fitzgerald told me: "Any remaining tickets will be sold to personal callers only on Monday, between 9am and 5pm. After that there will be no further tickets sold."

Around this time last year, Moin Khan was the Pakistan captain. And although things had started unravelling for him because of a string of reverses, he was still supposed to carry the mantle till 2003 World Cup, if not beyond. Now, he has to use all his powers of persuasion, and some behind the scenes wheeler dealing, not to win back his place in the eleven, but simply to sweat along with the boys at the training camp.That invitation was not an original idea of the selectors, but a mere afterthought. Not in the original 30, a terse one-liner two days later from the PCB headquarters informed the world that Moin’s name had been added to the list of invitees. The telephone lines are said to have ‘burnt’ not just between Lahore and Karachi, but all the way to Cape Town too, to win this small, but crucial concession to take Moin’s international career out of limbo.But being “in the reckoning” is the easy part. With Rashid Latif keeping and batting like a dream come true, Moin’s return to the eleven will take some doing. Ever so neat, compact, agile, athletic and all anticipation, with all the ingredients that make a great wicket-keeper, Rashid has looked so good with the gloves that a missed catch or stumping seems unimaginable. Of course Rashid too is human and fallible. But since his comeback there hasn’t been a hint of him giving anything away. So supreme has he been that in the Sri Lankan innings of 500-plus in the Asian Test Championship Final, he conceded just one bye. A remarkable feat, considering that the Pakistani ‘quicks’ were spraying it short and wide until young Mohammad Sami found the line and length to claim a hat-trick.Using the gymnastics scale of excellence, if Rashid were to be rated a perfect 10, Moin was something like 5 or 6. It was Moin’s doughty batting, and some ‘indiscretions’ of Rashid’s that he has now left behind but has the courage of conviction not to disown, that earned the former preference. While Latif’s batting was even then in the classical mould, it was Moin whose ability in a crisis endeared him to the gallery and the selectors alike.In his latest reincarnation, caused by a stroke of inspiration by the PCB chief Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, Latif is recognised as perhaps the best keeper-batsman – as opposed to batsman-keeper – in contemporary cricket. Rashid has earned this tag with remarkable consistency in critical situations, often in last-ditch stands with the tail. In the process he has improved both his Test and one-day highest scores, notching 150 in the same Test (against the West Indies at Sharjah) as he claimed his 100th victim behind the stumps.While Moin remains second best, by a considerable distance, he does not have the ghost of a chance to wear the Pakistan cap again in the near future. Regardless of the politics of cricket (in which the south of the country has repeatedly yet inexplicably stood solidly behind Moin, although Rashid is also a native of the same cosmopolitan city), the weight of Rashid’s performance is too massive to ignore.But stranger things have happened in Pakistan cricket than Rashid being consigned to oblivion now when he is at the peak of his powers. Oblique hints that ‘player power’ is rearing its monstrous head are floating again. How high it will be raised will be determined in the days to come, depending on the PCB’s patience with such antics. If things get out of hand (the chances of which seem remote) there might be a slight opening here for Moin. Maybe he will beseech the selectors to offer him an opportunity as a specialist batsman. There is a precedent, for Moin has played international cricket as a batsman alone. But that was in different times.The question here is: can Moin break into a batting line-up which may not live up to its potential in each and every innings, but where all middle-order spots are occupied by undisputed genuine articles? Can Moin possibly push out Inzamam, Youhana, Younis or Razzaq to carve a slot for himself? It doesn’t seem plausible.Among others, Faisal Iqbal, rated highly by some but run down by others, cannot hope to find a place in the middle order. That is why Faisal’s canny uncle Javed Miandad, knowing full well that there are limited opportunities in the middle order, has suggested to the selectors in one of his columns on a web site that the youngster be considered for an opener’s slot.So the dilemma for Moin is two-fold: Rashid is well settled, and the window of opportunity for batsmen is shut too tightly for comfort. It is time for the gritty fighter Moin to test the power of his prayers, and hope that luck would somehow shine on him.

The weather that was so good for the start of the Frizzell County Championship could not extend its favours to include the start of the last-ever Benson and Hedges Cup competition. Most matches in the first round of zonal matches were affected to some degree by April showers.The first result of the day was in the Midlands/Wales/West Division at Northampton, where the home side beat Glamorgan by eight wickets. Glamorgan never really threatened to score enough runs, losing wickets at regular intervals. Only Robert Croft with 33 and Matthew Maynard (32) came to terms with the Northamptonshire attack. Tony Penberthy returned the impressive figures of 3 for 6 and Jeff Cook 3 for19. A total of 122 was never going to be enough and, in spite of the early loss of Graham Swann to Mike Kasprowicz, David Sales (53*) Mal Loye was unbeaten with 53 as Northamptonshire were home, and dry, by eight wickets.A Nick Knight hundred was the highlight of a rain-shortened match at Edgbaston between Warwickshire and Somerset. The England opener carried his bat for 126 not out in an impressive Warwickshire total of 263 off the revised 41 over duration. Duckworth/Lewis machinations meant that Somerset had to score 270 to win but the loss of four quick wickets rendered that equation unlikely. When captain Jamie Cox went as well before 50 runs were on the board, Somerset’s only salvation appeared to be the weather, and that duly obliged – for a time. A recalculation saw them needing 173, but Warwickshire ran out winners by 94 runs.They might have had only a short trip across London from the Oval to Lord’s, but Surrey’s batsmen did not travel well. Surrey were bowled out for just 122 by their transpontine rivals. Mark Butcher (51) at least offered some resistance to Ashley Noffke, who took 4 for 34, and Chad Keegan with 3 for 24. Outgoing skipper Angus Fraser was in miserly mood, conceding just 22 runs in his 10 over stint, and he picked up a wicket. Despite interruptions for rain, Middlesex moved easily past the required total losing only two wickets in the process. Owais Shah led them home with an unbeaten 50.At Chelmsford, Essex set Sussex 207 to win, having recovered from 18 for 4 at one stage. The mainstays of the Essex innings were skipper Ronnie Irani who hit 47, newcomer Aftab Habib with 46 and Paul Grayson who was still there at the end of the 50 overs with an unbeaten 49. With Irani taking 5 for 36 in his 10 overs, including Chris Adams for 54, the game was evenly poised with Sussex needing 87 in 19 overs with 4 wickets in hand when the rain returned. Richard Montgomerie was 44 not out. Essex were declared the winners by 86 runs.In the North Division at Trent Bridge, Yorkshire recovered from early strife against Nottinghamshire. Greg Smith took four early wickets, but Yorkshire recovered to 225 all out, thanks in the main to a century partnership between captain Darren Lehmann (89) and Anthony McGrath (48). Smith ended with 5 for 39 from his 10 overs. Nottinghamshire chased a revised target of 100 off 17 overs between the showers that further reduced the target to 71 off 13. Yorkshire’s bowlers held their nerve and won by 2 runs.Rain dominated proceedings at a damp Derby. When play eventually got underway, Lancashire stuttered to 17 for 2 in the 27 balls that were possible before the return of the rain initiated a hurried return to the pavilion and the match was abandoned.