Brian Lara has vowed to battle on as West Indies’ captain, despite leading his team to their first home defeat against England for 36 years.Lara, whose personal form has matched that of the West Indies team as a whole, has come under renewed pressure in recent days, as the Caribbean braces itself for a first-ever whitewash in a home series. And, with the series already decided, it is that match in Antigua which is at the centre of Lara’s thoughts. “I have another Test match to focus on,” he said, “so the time for assessing my position of captain is not now.”Even so, Lara accepted that he will be forced to reconsider his position if West Indies cannot halt their slump. “Assessment time will come,” he admitted, “but I am here to play for West Indies and I will be doing that for some time to come.”Four years ago, Lara stood down after the humiliation of leading West Indies to a 3-0 whitewash in New Zealand, and it is quite possible that he could take a similar course of action now, having managed just 100 runs in the series to date. But, he added, it was up to his team-mates to play their part as well.”We played four series before this and for me to score the most runs in each and every series is a little bit of a concern,” said Lara. “I still believe we have a good group of young batsmen. It’s not that they are too inadequate in technique or anything like that, but they have to understand that they are playing for West Indies and are following in the footsteps of great players. We need to try and emulate them, but you have to be a big man to play Test cricket.”One of those former greats is Sir Viv Richards, now the chairman of West Indies’ selectors. He agreed that a lack of mental focus was at the root of the West Indian problems. “Individuals with a wonderful amount of ability have been unable to perform at their very best,” he said. “We are looking for winners and some of the attitudes that we have seen are unacceptable and selfish.”There are some guys who’ve played a few matches, and think they have a rightful place in the team – there’s no such thing.”

The ICC has refused a request from the Canadian Cricket Association for their Intercontinental Cup match against the USA to be postponed. The three-day game is due to take place in Florida between May 28 and 30.The CCA made the request at the beginning of April, arguing that it had not had enough time to prepare. “We have proposed that the fixture be pushed back to the end of July or possibly September because we will not be ready in May,” explained Ben Sennik, the CCA’s president. “We need some time to breathe and give our team the best possible chance to compete and win.”Sennik had been keen for the national trials – scheduled for early June – to take place before the match, explaining that they would then be in a better position to select their strongest team. The ICC expressed their disappointment at the request, but agreed to look into it nonetheless.”There is a legitimate reason to consider postponing the games because both countries season would have just started by the time May month end comes around,” said Martin Vieira, the ICC’s regional development manager for the Americas.Canada met the USA in the Six Nations Cup in Sharjah in March, and lost by six wickets. And while the fortunes of the USA are on the up – they won that tournament and so qualified for September’s ICC Champions Trophy in England – those of Canada are in decline. They lost every game in Sharjah, and their Under-19 side returned from the World Cup in Bangladesh without a win.

ScorecardKent took over from Lancashire at the top of the County Championship, after Mohammad Sami produced another withering spell of hostile fast bowling to seal a 145-run victory over Northampton at Wantage Road.After serving notice of his intent with 4 for 39 in the first innings, Sami followed up with the fine figures of 6 for 99 in 31 overs, to complete his second ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Northampton had resumed on 39 for 2 and never genuinely threatened to reach Kent’s challenging target of 410, despite a gutsy century from Martin van Jaarsveld.van Jaarsveld, who had reached the close on Friday on 18 not out, faced 296 balls for his 114, and was only prised from the crease when he stepped on his own wicket to give Min Patel the third of his three wickets.The dismissal came at an inopportune moment for Northants, however, as they had just lost Graeme Swann, lbw to Sami for a hard-hitting 41. Swann and van Jaarsveld had stemmed the tide with a 76-run stand for the sixth wicket, but their dismissals precipated a collapse of five wickets for 21 runs. Martin Saggers, who had taken the first of the twenty Northants wickets, wrapped up the proceedings by bowling Carl Greenidge for 4.

England could rise to second spot in ICC’s ODI Championship table if they win all their NatWest Series matches. They enter the series with 105 points, and could leapfrog over the South Africans, who are curently second with 113 points.England have never risen above fourth place in the rankings, and in the unlikely scenario of them failing to win a single game, could slip to the eighth spot. But their campaign to rise to second place is under threat by New Zealand, who, with 109 points, could pip them to the post if they put up an improved performance.West Indies, with 102 points, are in eighth place and could rise to fourth if they win the series. However, a series failure would not hurt them too much. They stand 40 points ahead of Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh.

Whatever became of Plan A? At the beginning of the series, Brian Lara confidently asserted that England’s attack was over-reliant on Steve Harmison, and that the back-up bowlers were there for the taking. Two Tests and one retained Wisden Trophy later, England have made Lara eat his words, and the much-maligned Ashley Giles has been right at the forefront of the effort, with 18 wickets in the back-to-back fortnight of matches.Harmison, in the meantime, has been a virtual spectator, with just three wickets in the two games, at an average of 81. Giles, however, is in no doubt that Harmison is merely biding his time, and believes that “someone is going to pay the price” for his lean spell.Giles warned that Lara would come to regret his pre-series optimism, before adding that there were no concerns in the England camp about the sudden down-turn in form of Harmison, who had swept all before him in the Caribbean and against New Zealand earlier in the summer. He was Man of the Series on both occasions, and with 45 wickets in the seven Tests, he was the world’s leading wicket-taker for 2004.”I don’t think we are worried about any burn-out factor with Steve," said Giles. "I just don’t think the wickets have been particularly suited to him. They have not been quick and bouncy. He has probably been easier to play because of his extra pace. It comes onto the bat on slower wickets a bit easier.”With Steve’s record recently, I am sure he will be keen to get a few more wickets under his belt," added Giles, "and I think someone is going to pay the price. If we get a quick wicket at Old Trafford, it might be this lot."

It has been a heady week for Giles, who began the season contemplating his retirement after managing two wickets in the entire Caribbean tour, but has now been catapulted into the top ten of the PwC ratings for the first time in his career. “It is nice to be making a contribution," he admitted. "I didn’t have much success in the West Indies, but two wickets have come up at Lord’s and Edgbaston that I’ve been able to bowl a lot on and I’ve got a few scalps.”Suddenly my confidence is very high, I’m bowling well, and getting the pitches I want. I’ve got my 100 Test wickets and I’m kicking on from there and I hope that continues." The signs for next week’s third Test at Old Trafford are promising to say the least. "Warwickshire played at Old Trafford on Saturday," he added, "and apparently it turned square so I don’t mind that at all!"England’s other key performer with the ball has been Matthew Hoggard, who took 10 wickets in the two matches, with a match haul at Edgbaston of 6 for 153 – his best in a home Test since India came to Lord’s in 2002. Hoggard, for one, will be quite content for Harmison to reclaim the limelight at Old Trafford. "Everybody has settled down into their roles," he explained. "We’ve got Harmison the quick bowler, I’m the swing bowler and Freddie [Flintoff] is the allrounder – everyone knows their role well and knows how to bowl and bat in their role.""Back-to-back Tests are very stressful on your body so it’s important to take time out," added Hoggard. "I’ll completely forget about cricket for a couple of days. I’ll be at home walking my dogs and keeping away from all and sundry – I like staying at home and doing nothing."”We don’t feel unstoppable, but there’s a lot of confidence in the side,” added Hoggard. “We focus on one game at a time, we take small steps and small strides and we’re finding it’s working for us. If we do that the rest will take care of itself. Australia are still the best in the world and they’re the benchmark. They’ve set the standards and we’re just trying to creep up slowly – by concentrating on playing good, solid cricket.”

On returning to the side despite having been tagged a one-day player for so long
I was feeling good, and I did quite well in England, where I made two 50s and also batted higher up the order. I’m making my comeback after three years.On why he was in so much distress
I was cramping up. I don’t think I drank enough water. I’d had viral fever in Bangalore, and I think it was a combination of two things, weakness and dehydration.On what he considered an achieveable fourth-innings target
It depends, it’s hard to say. Our spinners are bowling well and Zak [Zaheer Khan] chipped in with a crucial wicket at the end. We’ll be looking to chase 100, or maybe even less.On the pitch and the conditions
It’s quite slow and low. The spinners are getting turn and bounce. The conditions have been hard for everyone. Even if you’re just standing on the field, you start sweating.On how he approached the innings
It was important to remain patient. I had a crucial partnership with Parthiv Patel. But the conditions were not easy.On India’s lower-order batting
In the first Test, Irfan [Pathan] and Parthiv batted really well. We’ve been putting a lot of effort in. Against teams like Australia, it’s always a close contest, and the team needs every run it can get.On his run-out
It was quite funny to be honest. I was a little lost, unable to concentrate.On whether Australia raised any objection to his having a runner
They were a little confused about whether to allow a runner or not. But I told them that I was not completely fit, and that I was cramping up.On getting Gilchrist at the fag end of the day’s play
It was a great wicket to get. He’s a player who can change the game at any stage. He made that hundred in Bangalore and has done well in these conditions. It will definitely help us to have new batsmen at the crease tomorrow.

Scorecard

New South Wales blew away Victoria for just 91 on the penultimate day of their Pura Cup match at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, and sealed victory by an innings and 88 runs. Stuart Clark, the medium pacer, sent down a dream spell as he claimed 5 for 10 from only 13.5 overs and triggered off a dramatic collapse. Remarkably, Victoria lost nine wickets for just 34 runs after lunch.New South Wales have not beaten Victoria by an innings in 30 years when they slumped by an innings and 23 at the MCG. The thumping defeat this time was engineered by Clark, who began with five maidens and then went on to scalp five wickets in 45 balls.Victoria needed to score 180 to make New South Wales bat again, but began badly, as they lost Matthew Elliott for just 12. But Brad Hodge and Graeme Rummans went through to lunch largely untroubled. That, however, merely turned out to be the calm before the storm.In the post-lunch session, wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Hodge was lbw to Clark for 19 with the score on 57 and Jonathan Moss, the first-innings centurion, scored just 10 before being bowled. From then on, the middle-order offered almost no resistance. David Hussey, Cameron White, Andrew McDonald and Peter Roach added eight runs between them and were cleaned up quickly. With the middle-order blown away, there was little the tail could do as the innings ended after only 36.5 overs.Clarke’s five-for was the key factor in the rout, but no-one should forget Stuart MacGill, who picked up 4 for 41 to go with his first-innings bag of 4 for 105. “It’s a great feeling when things like that are happening, everyone gets behind it,” Clark is quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press. “I’ve had a six-for a couple of years ago but 5-10 would be up there (as my best bowling).”Greg Shipperd, the Victorian coach, admitted that his team were outclassed. “We talked last night about making sure we found a way back into the game and to provide ourselves on some fight, but we were completely outplayed today. We’ve all probably seen collapses before and that was a beauty.””Once an opposition team gets on a roll and they realise what areas to bowl … You’ve got a world-class spinner turning it a big way from one end and another fellow in the middle of a terrific spell – that was challenging, but it was disappointing we weren’t able to at least compete on an even basis.”

Wavell Hinds scored a century to give Ramnaresh Sarwan’s XI victory overBrian Lara’s XI in the second practice match for the VB Series trainingsquad in Barbados.Hinds reached his hundred from 117 balls, and hit three fours and six sixes. Three of those sixes came off Chris Gayle, a team-mate of his at Jamaica, including two in succession over midwicket. Hinds put on 119 with Sarwan for the second wicket before being trapped in front by Sherwin Ganga’s occasional offspin. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, undefeated on 46, and Ricardo Powell, who plundered 58 from 46 balls, lifted the final score to 290 off 50 overs.In reply, Lara’s XI were always struggling and were 88 for 5 at one point. Lara himself made a cameo of 40 from 45 deliveries and Runako Morton made 30.

Individual statistics for Tests played in 2004

Individual statistics for ODIs played in 2004

Shoaib Akhtar flew out of Australia yesterday to end an eventful, occasionally destructive and often disruptive tour expecting more nightmares about bowling to Justin Langer. Shoaib, who was ordered home after suffering a left hamstring tear at the Gabba last Wednesday, was impressed by Langer’s series return of 390 runs, but disappointed by the lack of bowling support from his team-mates.”Justin said before the start of the tour he had nightmares about me," Shoaib told the Daily Telegraph. "After bowling to him I can say I now have nightmares about him. He is easily Australia’s toughest batsman. He is unbelievably determined. Damien Martyn is under-rated and much improved but Langer is the best.”Shoaib told the paper he deserved credit for his bowling, which peaked with 5 for 99 in the first innings at Perth and included 11 Test wickets. “It was just me up against seven batsmen who are all capable of scoring 200 each," he said. "It was very tough. It is hard trying to bowl at 155km/h all the time. You do get niggles. It’s like driving a Ferrari. After every few laps you have to get it serviced."Waqar Younis, who has spent the summer watching as a television commentator, said Shoaib "sometimes likes talking it up more than bowling". “There was no spirit in the bowling," Waqar told the Sydney Morning Herald. "You are supposed to take pride when you bowl for your country. They looked better when Shoaib was bowling his heart out early, but that all stopped with injuries. Pakistan don’t need an unfit Shoaib Akhtar." Waqar said without Shoaib the attack was like a club side’s bowling.