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Scorecard
Mark Wallace became Glamorgan’s first century-maker of the first-class season as the Welsh county beat Kent by an innings and eight runs with a day to spare of their County Championship Division Two clash at Cardiff.The wicketkeeper made 107 out of 434 all out – a first-innings lead of 192 over Kent, and in reply the visitors could only make 184 as they were bowled out in the penultimate over of the day. Glamorgan, who have not beaten Kent at Cardiff in a Championship game since 1967, took a maximum 24 points from the win to Kent’s three.At the start of the day Glamorgan had resumed on 366 for seven – a lead of 124 – and wicketkeeper Wallace soon scored the 10 runs he needed to pass 7,000 first-class runs for the hosts. James Harris, who was omitted from the England Lions squad, chipped in with his second-successive fifty – the sixth of his career – which came in 106 balls with six fours.Wallace and Harris followed up their individual milestones by then setting the record eighth-wicket partnership for Glamorgan against Kent, passing the 116-run stand between John Derrick and Rodney Ontong in Cardiff in 1988.Wallace hit James Tredwell for a straight six before pushing the single which brought up the 400 in the first innings – the first time the county had secured maximum batting bonus points for 15 matches since the visit of Gloucestershire last May.Rain caused the loss of 28 overs either side of lunch, and when play resumed at 2.40pm Harris soon fell to give Neil Saker (5 for 112) his fifth wicket and end a superb stand of 169 with Wallace. But the gloveman continued unperturbed and duly went to his hundred from 169 balls with seven fours and two sixes in two minutes short of four hours.He eventually departed after being trapped in front by Tredwell, with Will Owen the last man out just a few minutes later.Kent began their second innings unconvincingly by sinking to 32 for 3. Seamer Harris (3 for 43) trapped Sam Northeast lbw, and 20 for 1 became 28 for 2 when Graham Wagg struck at the other end as Rob Key edged to James Allenby at first slip.Harris then picked up his second wicket as he had Geraint Jones leg before to leave the visitors in trouble. At that stage Kent still had hope of taking the game into the fourth day until Owen took two wickets in as many balls, trapping Martin van Jaarsveld leg before and having Darren Stevens first ball, caught at first slip.There were some cavalier hitting from both Alex Blake and Matt Coles, who both scored half-centuries, but wickets fell regularly until Harris wrapped up Glamorgan’s second Division Two victory by yorking Dewald Nel.

Sri Lanka Cricket has slashed its budget for Australia’s tour in August and September this year, sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has said. The cash cuts, he said, will not affect the quality of security provided for the teams, despite the board being instructed to trim the security bill from 50 million rupees ($ 445,000) to nine million rupees ($ 81,000).”We are taking austerity measures because we can’t even recover the monies we are spending,” Aluthgamage told . “There is no war now [Sri Lanka’s conflict with the LTTE ended in May 2009], and I think there are enough officers in the military and police that could assure us very good security, at a fraction of the [originally projected] cost.”Overall, the SLC had budgeted 300 million rupees ($ 2.67 million) for the tour that comprises three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s. The projected income, however, was a “dismal” 150 million rupees. The board will now look to keep expenses down to 100 million rupees, the minister said. “Lots of frills like distributing hundreds of free tickets and banquet meals for invitees will be cut.”The expenses incurred while co-hosting the 2011 World Cup have left SLC in debt. Pallekele, one of two new venues built for the World Cup, will host both the Twenty20 games against Australia, one ODI and one Test, while the other new stadium, Hambantota, will stage two ODIs. The cost of constructing these stadiums left SLC a debt of $23 million. The board pledged the newly built stadiums plus the income from upcoming tours as collateral to raise funds to pay for the World Cup.

Graeme Smith, the South Africa Test team captain, will require six to eight weeks of recovery after undergoing surgery on his right knee, and will consequently miss the Champions League Twenty20 which his franchise Cape Cobras have qualified for. Smith had an arthroscopy in Cape Town on July 15 and the results of the procedure were made available to the South Africa team management on July 18. While he will not be match-fit for the Champions League, which starts September 23, Smith should be ready in time for South Africa’s international season.”He had a debridement, which is basically shaving off of the cartilage,” Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager told ESPNcricinfo. “He will be training under the guidance of the rehabilitation team.”The injury was sustained during the IPL in April where Smith was playing for Pune Warriors. He collided with team-mate Rahul Sharma while fielding against Kochi Tuskers Kerala and had to bat with a runner later on in the match. Smith only played two more games for Pune after the incident and was said to be in discomfort even though he was undergoing physiotherapy.”He had an operation to the same knee when he was 19 years old,” Moosajee said. “If everything goes well he will be ready in time for the summer.”Smith’s eight-week recovery period will end in mid-September which will still give him a month to train before the start of Australia’s tour to South Africa, which starts with a Twenty20 international on October 13 in Cape Town, and will include another T20, three ODIs and two Tests. Smith stepped down from the ODI captaincy at the conclusion of the World Cup, but is still available for selection in the limited-overs forms of the game.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has been named as Sri Lanka captain in all formats until the end of the year. This means he will stay in charge for the three-Test home series against Australia and at least the first two Tests of the South Africa tour that kicks off in December. The appointment was ratified by the Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.Dilshan took over the reins from Kumar Sangakkara following Sri Lanka’s runners-up showing at the World Cup, but the team’s fortunes have dwindled since – they lost the Test and ODI series in England, and currently trail 1-2 with two matches to play in the home one-dayers against Australia. They have had more success in the Twenty20 format, with victories in the one-off against England and the two-match series against Australia.Dilshan, personally, has had a mixed time as batsman since taking charge. After Sri Lanka’s capitulation in the first Test against England at Cardiff, Dilshan was in the process of leading a fightback at Lord’s when he was struck on the right thumb. The injury was diagnosed as a fracture, and kept him out of the third Test and the solitary Twenty20, leaving Sangakkara to lead the side in his absence.Dilshan was in poor form on his return, failing to reach double figures in the five ODIs against England and the solitary outing against Scotland that followed. An unbeaten ton in the first Twenty20 against Australia, however, seemed to shake the rust off. Dilshan played a key role in the victory in the third ODI, hitting a half-century and bowling a tight spell in the middle overs as Sri Lanka kept the series alive.

Kevin Pietersen has insisted he still has the hunger for one-day internationals after being rested from the current series against India. That decision from the England selectors was followed by reports that Pietersen wouldn’t play again this year, but he says he hopes to be on the plane to India next month.Before then there are two Twenty20 internationals against West Indies, at The Oval, which have been added to the end of England’s season and Pietersen also has his sights set on them. He played against India, at Old Trafford, last week and is still seen as a key part of the 20-over outfit as they prepare to defend their world crown in Sri Lanka next year.”I’ve got two Twenty20s versus the West Indies later this month at The Oval and then we leave on October 3 for the one-day series in India. I’d love to play in all six games in India,” he told the . “You can never say you won’t have an injury or that you’re a dead cert for selection, but I’d love to play in every game, of course. I’m planning to play on for another four or five years, which will incorporate another couple of Ashes series.”Part of the reason behind Pietersen’s rest has been revealed as a wrist injury that needs treatment and he believes that it is England’s careful management of the players that has helped them rise to the top of the Test rankings.”There’s no doubt that England’s success is also partly down to the fact that the players are rested when they can,” he said. “International cricket can be a constant slog. I think India have got to that point now. The demands on the top players, especially if they play all three forms of international cricket, are immense. Maybe that’s why we haven’t quite got there yet in one-day cricket. But we’re working on it.”Another player who isn’t involved in all three formats for England at the moment is James Anderson, who hasn’t been part of the Twenty20 side since the trip to South Africa two winters ago. Anderson, who took his 200th ODI wicket in the abandoned match against India at Chester-le-Street on Saturday, is keen to regain his place and is considering a stint at the IPL to press his case.”My immediate priority is to play my part in winning the ODI series against India, but if I bowl well enough perhaps that will push me back into their thinking,” Anderson told the . “If not, one option might be to try to play in the Indian Premier League next spring or elsewhere, something I’m really going to have to consider.”With a maximum of only nine T20 matches for England between now and the next World Twenty20, time and games are running out for me to convince the selectors I still have something to offer,” he said. “I understood my omission from the World T20 in West Indies last year on tactical grounds and the variety offered by Ryan Sidebottom’s left-arm seam and swing, and the reasons for my absence ever since.”I can also see where they are going with this younger-looking team,” he added. “But I do feel I can transfer the skills I’ve developed in one-day and Test cricket to the T20 arena and it’s frustrating that I haven’t had the opportunity to play any domestic T20 cricket in which to try to press my case.”Anderson, 29, has not built up quite the same reputation in cricket’s shortest format as he has in Tests and ODIs but has a reasonable record. With international commitments taking precedence, he also hasn’t been helped by the fact that he’s played just three domestic Twenty20 games in the last two seasons, his solitary match this summer coming against Durham in June.”I’m sure the selectors know my feelings,” he said. “I want to play T20 cricket for England, I’m disappointed that I’m not and it’s down to me to persuade them I should be.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outHarbhajan Singh took 3 for 20, including the wickets of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli•Associated Press

On a night of mediocre cricket, the Mumbai Indians kept their surprise run going to win the biggest prize, in financial terms, in non-international cricket. James Franklin was the only man to keep his head in a suicidal Mumbai innings, which helped them reach 139, but the Royal Challengers Bangalore once again choked in a final to lose despite a start of 38 for 0 in four overs. For the vanquished this was a painful repeat of their IPL final in Johannesburg where they froze while chasing 144. The victors, though, can claim they once again won the big moments: through Franklin’s sober innings, through Lasith Malinga’s two sixes amid a collapse, through an extra over given to Malinga that produced a wicket and through their spinners’ seven overs for 29 runs and five wicketsBe that as it may, for a majority of the match the teams seemed to be in a contest for ordinary cricket. There were three run-outs, there were unsavoury slogs resulting in exposed stumps, the winning side bowled 10 out of a total of 13 wides, and MI’s’ keeper kept letting through byes. If Franklin’s smart 41 off 29 suggested he was the only sober man in a Paris Hilton party, the Royal Challengers clearly outdid their opponents for rashness. Yes the pitch was slow and it took turn, but not enough to justify the bizarre and spectacular collapse, which featured minimal attempts to take singles with the asking-rate around seven.MI didn’t even know there was turn in the pitch for them. As Dilshan hit the ground running in the chase, they made a necessary departure from their usual ways of bowling Malinga for only two overs at the top. Dilshan’s 27 until then had come off shots either through the line or through the covers, and he would have known how desperately MI would have wanted a wicket off what then seemed like a last roll of the dice. As it turned out, he swung across the line of a full first delivery, losing his off stump.Kumar Dharmasena then made a potentially match-turning call. He had already got two lbw calls wrong in MI’s innings, first reprieving Harbhajan Singh when he was plumb, then ruling him out when he wasn’t. But his most consequential mistake was during the chase and again involved Harbhajan, who fired in quick offbreaks in his first over. The last ball of the over, in which he had conceded just a wide, was tossed up, and Chris Gayle got a big stride in. The offbreak didn’t turn as much as expected, hit him in front of off, and he was ruled out. The ball had a massive distance to travel, and the ball-tracking predicted it would have hit the outside of off stump. Conventional wisdom would have ruled it in the batsman’s favour, and even Gayle lost his cool when he saw the finger come up.With an unreliable batting order, pampered by the true Bangalore surface and short boundaries, to follow, it was down to the only survivor of the Royal Challengers’ 2009 choke, Virat Kohli, to shepherd the rest through. However, he found himself batting with a trigger-happy Mayank Agarwal, who despite all his attempts at power hitting managed 14 off 19 before holing out to long-off. Even when the desperate Agarwal got out, the Royal Challengers needed a manageable 73 off 57.Kohli felt the pinch too. Perhaps it was the presence of Malinga in the end, perhaps it was just the shock of having to work hard for runs after the flat Bangalore pitch, but even he didn’t show the willingness to take the game to the deep end. In the next over he holed out to deep midwicket. Everybody knew it was game over there and then.The rest were just a blurry procession of catching and stumping practice, a complete contrast to how Franklin managed a strike-rate of close to 150 without a shot hit in anger. There was no dearth of madness around him either. Sarul Kanwar first ran Aiden Bliazzard out before slogging around a full delivery. Ambati Rayudu struggled to find singles in the middle, and a positive 40-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav ended with a run-out.Franklin ensured the trend continued, hesitating during a second run to complete the third run-out. Kieron Pollard’s massive leading edge travelled as far as long-off, and MI were in a tailspin after looking good for a repeat of their 160 from the semi-final. Although it didn’t look enough at the moment, Malinga’s two sixes in the end turned out to be surplus.Both teams were fined for slow over-rates. Harbhajan, the MI captain, was fined US$3,000 and each MI player $1,500 for being two overs behind the required over-rate. The Royal Challengers players were fined $750 and their captain Vettori $1,500 for being one over behind the required rate.

The USA Cricket Association has announced that national elections will be held in December, with the results announced on December 21, in keeping with ICC compliance regulations. The decision was taken at a board meeting over the weekend, at which it was also decided to complete by that time all regional elections and also a compliance review by an independent auditor.The decision marked the latest twist in the controversial saga of the 2011 elections. According to the USACA constitution, the current board was to serve a three-year term that would have ended on March 29, 2011. However, it was announced in March that the national election would take place on October 15. At the time, USACA board member Shelton Glasgow stated, “I know people are saying, ‘It’s three years. They were in there for a three-year term.’ That is quite true. It says three years, but it also says within the electoral year; elections can be held within a specific time [no later than November 30].” Elections in December would be going against the mandate of the USACA constitution, which states that elections must be held by November 30.The USACA press release also stated that the board voted to uphold USACA secretary John Aaron’s suspension for six months and voted to no longer recognise the North East Region as an official region, by extension to no longer recognise the region’s representative Tony Gilkes as a member of the board. Also, it was decided that Akhtar Masood Syed will remain the Central East board representative pending, “the establishment of a special sub-committee to investigate whether correct constitutional process was followed to remove Mr Akhtar Masood Syed as regional representative”. Syed was recalled by his regional administration in June and replaced in a September vote by Golam Sayeed.Aaron, Gilkes and Sayeed all travelled to Florida for the board meeting with the idea in mind that they were representing the wishes of USACA constituents by being present, but all three were barred from entering. According to a source, the hotel conference room where the meeting was held had a sign posted outside that read “Gladstone Dainty Meeting”. The source said that a policeman was stationed outside to prevent anyone not on the “Gladstone Dainty Meeting” list from entering.Dainty used a similar ploy in 2010 to keep Gangaram Singh out of a USACA board meeting, while former board member Raj Padhi’s position was in question. Singh had been appointed on an interim basis to serve as the Western Region board member, after Padhi had been suspended by the region. Both men showed up to the November 2010 board meeting, but according to multiple sources a security guard was present and only Padhi was allowed into the meeting.USACA’s release also stated that Krish Prasad has been replaced as chairman of the USACA cricket committee by Ahmed Jeddy. Prasad, Jeddy, Gilkes and Aaron had been united in a stance against what they felt were unconstitutional actions carried out by USACA President Gladstone Dainty, but it appears that the alliance of the four men has now completely fallen apart.

Rain affected all the three games, ensuring that two were decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method while the third was washed out. Canterbury handed Auckland their first loss of the tournament as the hosts ended just six runs short of the par score when rain forced an early finish at Colin Maiden Park.Gareth Hopkins and Colin Munro had brought Auckland’s chase back on track after they had been reduced to 49 for 4. After a brisk 82-run stand, though, Munro was stumped off Rob Nicol for 53 with the score on 131 in the 26th over. Not only did his dismissal increase the par score, it also tied Auckland down, with only seven coming off the next 16 deliveries before the rain came down. Auckland ended on 138 for 5 with the par score being 144 at that stage.Brendon Diamanti had earlier smashed an unbeaten 102 from 79 balls to lift Canterbury to 238 for 9 after they lost regular wickets throughout their innings. Diamanti hammered seven sixes and four fours while the expensive Michael Bates finished with four wickets.Northern Districts won their first game of the tournament, beating Wellington by 27 runs at the Basin Reserve. James Marshall anchored the Northern Districts’ innings with his unbeaten 110 and added 103 for the second wicket with his twin brother Hamish Marshall (64). Scott Styris added an aggressive fifty as well before Corey Anderson took the game away from Wellington with a late assault. Coming in at the fall of the fifth wicket at 222 in the 42nd over, Anderson clubbed six sixes and four fours in surging to an unbeaten 74 off only 31 balls. Northern Districts ended on a stiff 327 despite the efforts of Andy McKay and Luke Woodcock who took five wickets between them at four an over. Michael Papps got Wellington going with a fifty but they lost too many wickets at the other end. They were 221 for 6 after 38 overs, 27 short of the par score, when rain ended the game.The match between Central Districts and Otago in Nelson was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Faf du Plessis’ fluent innings helped South Africa recover after they lost three wickets cheaply•Getty Images

South Africa took an unassailable 3-0 lead after the most closely fought game of the five-match series thus far, with the result settled in anticlimactic fashion by the Duckworth-Lewis method. Thundershowers interrupted play at the end of 34 overs of South Africa’s chase, at which time the teams were on even terms but the hosts just four runs ahead mathematically. In that context, captain AB de Villiers’ counterattacking, unbeaten 39 and his brief partnership with Albie Morkel, which included a retrospectively decisive 26 runs in the last three overs, settled the game for South Africa.Batting down the order, at No.6, and promoting Faf du Plessis to No.4 proved a masterstroke from de Villiers, who showed excellent adaptability to a tricky situation posed by the weather. A light drizzle infused a sense of urgency in his approach, and by the time it had developed into pouring rain, he had taken his team past the required target. His efforts, together with du Plessis’ fluent half-century earlier in the innings, undermined a spirited performance from Sri Lanka in the field and a much-improved show with the bat.Three fours in an over against Kosala Kulasekara signalled the acceleration South Africa needed to get their noses ahead. de Villiers, in the 32nd over, smashed two deliveries through extra cover and walked across to clip one through square leg. The next over fetched five and what turned out to be the final over of the match yielded eight, including a wide and at least a run scored off every other ball. de Villiers and Albie Morkel had got together when their opponents held the advantage, following the run-outs of du Plessis and JP Duminy.du Plessis revived South African hopes after an early double-strike from Lasith Malinga, and an irresponsible shot from a set Alviro Petersen, jolted the hosts, who were missing the services of two key batsmen – Jacques Kallis was rested and Hashim Amla out on paternal duties. du Plessis was fluent throughout. He timed the ball well, punching it firmly through the off side, subtly working the ball and opening the face on either side behind the stumps and crashing deliveries past the covers for a couple of boundaries. Duminy moved along steadily at the other end, picking up the singles and twos comfortably as the field spread, and collecting boundaries himself with some expert placement.But just as it seemed South Africa were going to inch ahead due to that 61-run stand, Duminy, racing to the non-striker’s end in the 24th over for a single, was given run-out by the third umpire Billy Doctrove. Nuwan Kulasekara scored a direct hit but the side angle showed Duminy to just have made it as the bails were knocked off, while the front-on angle showed the bat just on the line. As the big screen flashed “Out” there was disbelief on Duminy’s face and in the South African dressing-room, where Gary Kirsten had his arms up in the air. It took an age for Duminy to walk off, and the pressure was back on the hosts again. A little more than five overs later, a cramping du Plessis departed, struggling to complete a quick single and found short as Kumar Sangakkara took off the bails. But as it turned out, he’d done enough for his captain to complete the job in time.Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka vice-captain, had aimed for a target of 250 in this game and his team exceeded expectations. The openers, led by Upul Tharanga, with Tillakaratne Dilshan uncharacteristically playing second fiddle while recovering from two consecutive ducks, approached their innings methodically, forging a 94-run stand. The focus was on settling down and batting long, illustrated by only two boundaries being struck in the first 10 overs, both from Tharanga.Both improvised, Tharanga smashing two sixes in the first over of spin and Dilshan pulling off his trademark scoop. But they kicked off a trend of batsmen being dismissed after getting starts and not converting them to something substantial, top-edging sweeps.Sangakkara struck three delectable boundaries through different parts of the ground, including his favourite cover drive, but both he and Mahela Jayawardene were run out, thanks to brilliant pieces of fielding from du Plessis and Colin Ingram. Nuwan Kulasekara made a handy 40 down the order, and Dinesh Chandimal and Mathews chipped in.But despite a collective effort with the bat, more energy and fight in the field, and the fact that the match was evenly poised when rain interrupted, Sri Lanka hadn’t done enough.

Mike Brearley, the former England captain, has said that Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler currently in prison for his role in the spot-fixing scandal, should be treated more leniently. Brearley said the pressure put on young players to fix spots or matches can be “appalling” and, should they admit their guilt and be willing to play their part in the fight against corruption, they ought to be given a second chance.”We also need to recognise that the pressure put on the young player by criminal bookies or their agents, or by their corrupt team-mates, can be appalling,” Brearley said in his Voice of Cricket Lecture at the Raj Singh Dungarpur World Cricket Summit in Mumbai. “As a result, some of those involved might need to be treated with compassion, especially if they admit their guilt and are willing to be enlisted in the battle against corruption. Deterrent and retributive justice tempered with mercy and discrimination is vital in sentencing and punishing.Mike Brearley has said that Mohammad Amir should be treated with more leniency•AFP

“I don’t think the whole truth has been told yet, or can be told. The 18-year old Mohammad Amir, who was subject to pressure and was, I believe, uninterested in any illegal financial gain, should have been, and I think should now be, treated much more leniently.”Amir was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat during the Lord’s Test in August last year. The case was brought to court following a sting operation by the newspaper, which alleged that player agent Mazhar Majeed had arranged for Pakistan captain Salman Butt to ensure Amir and Mohammad Asif would bowl three pre-determined no balls.Unlike Butt and Asif, who were found guilty after a 21-day trial, Amir had pleaded guilty before the trial began. Justice Cooke, who presided over the trial, said the early admission of guilt played a part in the reduction of Amir’s jail term from nine to six months. Amir’s appeal against his sentence, however, was subsequently dismissed.”Like all secret organisations that recruit the naïve for illegal activities, the criminals linked to gambling draw people in by involving them first in activities that seem of a minor importance,” Brearley said, adding that such activities could include information about the pitch or fitness of players in the dressing room. “And once in, threats against the player or his family may make it extremely difficult to get out. In the strenuous search for exemplary punishment, there has to be room for giving a misguided young player a second chance.”Brearley said cheating was cricket’s most important issue and called for stakeholders to speak out against it. “Whistleblowing should become an absolute duty for everyone in the game.”