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Marcus Trescothick passed 500 first-class runs for the season with his second Championship century, as Somerset posted a competitive 314 for 9 against Sussex at Hove. His innings consisted of 182 balls and contained 17 fours, and with Arul Suppiah providing diligent support with 49, Somerset gave themselves an excellent platform with an opening stand of 138. But Piyush Chawla’s marathon spell of legspin undermined the innings, as he claimed 5 for 95 in 33 overs to destabilise the middle-order. The pivotal moment was the run-out of Trescothick at 191 for 2 – after that, no-one was able to dominate the innings in quite the same way, even though Zander de Bruyn and Peter Trego both chipped in with 50 from 88 balls – the latter unbeaten at the close.Daryl Mitchell and Steve Davies gave Worcestershire the upper hand against Yorkshire at New Road. John Ward watched the first day’s play.The County Champions, Durham, continued to defend their title in style at Edgbaston. Full report to follow.

Graham Napier overcame the disappointment of missing out on a starting berth in England’s World Twenty20 campaign, as he rescued Essex with a hard-hitting 68 not out from 64 balls against Kent at Tunbridge Wells. After winning the toss and batting first, Essex immediately ran into trouble when they slumped to 18 for 3 at the hands of Robbie Joseph and Amjad Khan, with Alastair Cook labouring to 8 from 28 balls. Essex regrouped strongly, however, first through Matt Walker and Mark Pettini, who made 41 and 55 respectively, and then through the efforts of Ryan ten Doeschate (40) and James Foster, who made 36 only hours after England’s elimination at the hands of West Indies at The Oval. Napier’s late onslaught lifted their total to 280, whereupon he finished Essex’s day on a high with the first-ball dismissal of Robert Key, only moments after Joe Denly had also gone for a duck, lbw to David Masters.Surrey assumed total control of their clash with Leicestershire at Grace Road, thanks to an impressive onslaught from the new-ball pairing of Jade Dernbach and Chris Jordan, who claimed nine wickets between them in Leicestershire’s modest first-innings effort of 165. Dernbach claimed both openers for single figures en route to 6 for 47, the best figures of his first-class career, while Jordan chipped in with 3 for 54. Only the wicketkeeper, Tom New, found any effective means of countering their aggression as he thwacked a meaty 44 from 49 balls, with eight fours. In reply, Surrey found runs far easier to come by. Scott Newman provided a rapid start with 40 from 69 balls, and Michael Brown dropped anchor with 46 not out from 142. With Mark Ramprakash ominously placed at the close on 29 not out, more toil in the field is anticipated on the second day.Mark Cosgrove reached his second century of the season and promptly retired hurt, as Glamorgan compiled a handy 308 on the opening day against Northamptonshire at Cardiff. Cosgrove’s innings, from 139 balls with 18 fours and a six, was one of the two pillars of Glamorgan’s performance, the other being Michael Powell’s 88 from 238 balls, a doughty performance that prevented Northants from assuming control after Cosgrove’s departure. David Wigley was the pick of the visitors’ attack with 5 for 78, while Andrew Hall provided excellent support with 3 for 37. Northants had time at the end of the day to play out a solitary maiden in their first innings.

Kumar Sangakkara said his team would make a “very strong impact” on the World Twenty20 with less pressure on it to perform in this format. The tournament, which begins next week in England, marks Sangakkara’s maiden tour as captain since taking over from Mahela Jayawardene, and the team’s return to cricket following the Lahore attack in March.”I don’t think there is as much pressure on us in the T20 format as an international side as when we play Test cricket and one-day cricket. It is still a format that we are exploring but I think with the side we have, we have a great opportunity to make a very strong impact,” Sangakkara said before his team’s departure for London on Thursday.Sri Lanka are with Australia and West Indies in Group C, which Sangakkara described as the group of death but also pointed to the opportunities it presented. “You’ve got to win at least one game. But at the end of the day you have to beat the best sides in the world to qualify in a tournament. We’ve just got to take our chances,” he said.In the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, Sri Lanka came through unbeaten in their group and qualified for the Super Eight before being eliminated.Sangakkara said he believed the side had the right balance for the tournament and was confident his sometimes inconsistent batting line-up would play its part in their success. “I am definitely confident of the batting we have. You take [Tillakaratne] Dilshan, Sanath [Jayasuriya], Mahela [Jayawardene], [Jehan] Mubarak, Chamara [Silva] and myself – we’ve got great batting talent to represent the country in a World Cup.”A hundred and twenty balls is a long time. Even though Twenty20 cricket seems short it is not really that short when you are batting. If you plan your innings right and hopefully execute it on that day any score over 150 would be a very competitive one.”Sri Lanka’s bowling line-up, he said, was one of the best in the tournament.”There is [Nuwan] Kulasekera, who is no. 1 in the world, Murali, Ajantha [Mendis], Thilan Thushara and Lasith Malinga who has come back so strongly. It’s a great mix but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you have, you’ve got to walk the walk basically to really get on the field and perform well,” he said.Sri Lanka have included Angelo Mathews and Farveez Maharoof in the squad, and Sangakkara feels one of them could fill the vacant allrounder spot. “Angelo is a batting allrounder and Maharoof, a bowling allrounder. One of them has got the ability to put their hands up and become that allrounder that all sides are looking for and one we haven’t had for a long time.”Indika de Saram comes into the side after a long time on the back of some very good domestic performances and Sangakkara described Isuru Udana as an exciting prospect with his change-up. “He was the best performing bowler in the domestic tournament from what I have seen”, he said.Sri Lanka begin their campaign on June 8 against Australia at Trent Bridge and take on West Indies two days later at the same venue in Group C.

It really didn’t matter that Pakistan chased down their target tonight with all the assurance of a one-legged man roller-skating in quicksand with his hands tied behind his back. It only mattered that they chased them down at all, even if at one stage it seemed Misbah-ul-Haq was bent upon wresting his countryman’s hold on the longest international innings of all time.Pakistan are not used to playing against Australia and they are certainly not used to winning against them; this was only a second win in their last 12 ODIs (over nearly seven years) against them. Though not many in this team are scarred by that kind of record, they batted as if that history was firmly on their mind. If this was a weakened, transitional Australia, it was Australia nonetheless and Pakistan can happily point to an absent middle-order bearded wonder and an equally absent lanky fast bowling genius.But with the added layers of what has happened to Pakistan cricket over the last two months, the broader fate that has befallen them over the last two years, and to a nation seeking cheer as desperately as Susan, it is as welcome as might be a water cooler in the Thar desert. The details don’t matter as much as the bigger picture but they are worth noting, if only to sketch an outline over the rest of the series.Intikhab Alam, Pakistan’s coach, had said before the series that spin would be key, but could he have imagined this? The modern Australia have often been limited against spin, struggling against it to score at pace. Johan Botha and several South African spinners played key roles in the two ODI series wins over them this year so Intikhab wasn’t talking cheap. Indeed some might even smirk that if South African spinners are troubling you then you really have troubles.But to crash so haplessly so as to lose eight for 27 at one stage and more significantly, look so utterly bewildered? Shahid Afridi has been one of Pakistan’s better ODI bowlers in a unit that has struggled to show bite, conceding 300-plus five times since last June. He forms Pakistan’s holding pattern generally: bring down the run-rate during the middle overs, maybe pick up one or two momentum-stifling wickets. He is rarely expected to wreck an entire line-up.It’s difficult to see what he did so differently today to what he has been doing. He did get marked drift and appreciable turn, as he does. He was accurate, as he is. He was generous mixing in his wrong ‘uns and the other tidbits, as he always is. The only surprise was that Australia were so poor at playing fare that, among others, Sri Lanka and India have handled with relative comfort.His collaborator Saeed Ajmal, meanwhile, has quietly gone about doing what is expected of many modern offies. He doesn’t give runs up cheaply and it compensates for a lack of guile. His doosra has always spun and he doesn’t mind using it, but Australia read him as well as you might expect them to read an Urdu newspaper. If you didn’t know about their previous with spin, this could be put down as a freakish glitch. It may yet prove as much, at least in this series.For now, though, the need isn’t for such analysis. For tonight and tomorrow, Pakistan can bask a little in the glow of this win. How significant it might prove cannot yet be told, but much caution must be advised for days ahead. All Australian sides, even this one, have fight in their DNA – they will not let this series slip by just as they didn’t this match.And Pakistan are well-rehearsed in letting slip some good cheer from their grasp. The euphoric win against Sri Lanka in the 2006 Champions Trophy after Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had been sent back, heralded only a shambolic exit soon after. More recently, they slipped against Sri Lanka at home, having trumped Murali and Mendis first up. Nobody will forget either that they were bowled out for 75 in the last game of that series; in fact their last ODI before this one.Maybe the struggle to chase tonight is a good thing after all. It will – or it should – keep real the difficulty of the task ahead.

Michael Vaughan wants to be judged on the runs he has scored, rather than the big-game experience he can fall back on, when it comes to the possibility of a recall to the England squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next month.Vaughan has not played Test cricket since resigning the England captaincy in August last year, but had expected to find out on Monday whether he had made the first international squad of the summer. Instead that decision was postponed, allowing him to travel to Chester-le-Street for Yorkshire’s opening County Championship fixture of the season against Durham on Wednesday knowing that a solid performance would put him firmly in line for a comeback.”I’m glad it’s been put back a week, it’s the right decision for everyone,” Vaughan told Cricinfo. “I’m very pleased with my pre-season preparation, and Durham is a great place for me to start against a really good bowling attack. [Steve] Harmison, [Liam] Plunkett and [Graham] Onions at this time of year will be a tough examination, but it’s pretty obvious what I’ve got to do – score some runs.”Vaughan has already played two innings against Durham so far this season. He made 12 while playing for MCC in the season’s opening fixture at Lord’s, but then showed glimpses of his best form during an attractive 43 in the Friends Provident Trophy on Sunday. “I’m playing nicely,” he said. “I have been doing since January. I don’t want to just be picked on experience. It’s important that I score runs for my own sake.”The competition for England’s No. 3 is the most keenly contested in the side at the moment, although Vaughan will have to go some way to overhaul the start made by Ian Bell, who followed up his 172 for Warwickshire against Somerset at Taunton with a further century against the same opponents at Edgbaston. “I don’t think it should come down to whose scoring the most runs,” said Vaughan, “but I think it’s important that whoever plays is in good form when they are picked.”After a winter away from the international scene, Vaughan is eager to get back involved. “I’d like another stab at the England side,” he said. “I feel I’ve got a great opportunity to do that. Last summer I got to a stage where I wasn’t quite enjoying cricket, and I didn’t like that feeling at all, but anyone who’s been around me for the last six months will see that I’m ready to go.”During his time away from the front line, Vaughan has remained an interested observer. “England’s form has been patchy, there’s no point in denying that, but what I saw in the West Indies was a team that got better after being bowled out in Jamaica,” he said. “They should have won in Antigua, could have won in Trinidad, and could have won the series 2-1. I know these are ifs, but sometimes the hardest bit is to get over the line to win.”To that end, Vaughan believes they have the perfect man in charge to get England back to winning ways. “I do believe in Straussy as a captain,” he said. “I really think he’ll be a great England captain, one who’ll offer a lot of stability, a lot of consistency and a lot of maturity, and those are exactly the attributes you require to be England captain.””He’s also a good thinker of the game but he’s also realistic. He knows exactly where the team can end up, and he and Andy Flower will have a vision, which is crucial. The partnership they are creating seems to be a good one, and hopefully it will be a more stable time and the team will prosper.”Even so, Vaughan warned that expectations will have to be managed as Ashes fever takes hold of the country. “You’ve got to be careful because you’ve got to give Flower time,” he said. “He’s only just come into the position as a full-time coach, and the Ashes are two months away.”Myself and Duncan [Fletcher] were lucky, we had two years to develop a team to take on the Aussies in 2005. We had a great set of players operating in the fashion that we wanted, and that took time. This summer is a big summer for the world game because the Ashes is very special, but it’s not the be-all and end-all for the England team, because it’s all relatively new for Flower and Strauss.”Whatever happens, however, Vaughan insisted that the 2009 would not be his last in the game. “I’ve enjoyed being back in the Yorkshire ranks,” he said. “People might find that hard to believe, when you play in Ashes-winning teams and been with England for ten years. But I love the game and being in the ranks is a real good change. I won’t play forever because I’ll get too old. But I’ll certainly be playing cricket next year.”Click here to listen to the full interview with Michael Vaughan.

Match facts

Makhaya Ntini has been recalled for the final match•Associated Press

April 17, 2009
Start time 2.30pm (12.30GMT)

Big Picture

South Africa and Australia have faced off in six Tests, four Twenty20 internationals and nine ODIs over the past four months. The end is in sight. However, the final match is a dead rubber after South Africa wrapped up the series in Port Elizabeth and the best Australia can hope for is a victory that would give them some momentum heading to the UAE to take on Pakistan. South Africa have a 7-2 advantage in the nine ODIs this year and have deservedly retained the No. 1 one-day ranking. Australia have slipped so far that they now sit third behind India, although victory in Johannesburg would bump them back up to second.The Wanderers will bring back incredible memories for both teams and anyone who watched the previous ODI between the sides at the venue. It was March 2006. It was the decider for a series locked 2-2. Australia posted 434 for 4 – the first time any team had passed 400 in a one-day international. Their new record stood for only a few hours as South Africa defied all expectations to chase down the total and finished with 438 for 9 when Mark Boucher slammed a boundary off Brett Lee to win with a ball to spare. It’s too much to ask for a repeat, or anything close to it, but a tight, hard-fought match would be an appropriate way to end this long and competitive summer.

Form guide (last five ODIs, most recent first)

South Africa WWWLW
Australia LLLWN

Watch out for

On his day, Herschelle Gibbs is the most dangerous batsman in South Africa’s side. He had one such day three years ago, when his 175 from 111 balls made their total of 438 a possibility. He had another triumph on Monday, when he scored his 21st ODI century to set up another South African series victory in Port Elizabeth. The combination of an in-form Gibbs and a match at the Wanderers should sound alarm bells for Australia.Australia’s leading run scorer during the series has been Brad Haddin, who has looked more comfortable in the opening role than his partner Michael Clarke. A powerful top-order striker, Haddin has made two half-centuries during the series and with Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh both waiting for their opportunities to arrive in the UAE from next week, he will be keen to put one last stamp on the opening position before it once again becomes a wrestle for the job.

Team news

South Africa have decided to rest Johan Botha after his bowling action was reported by the umpires in the previous game and he is likely to head to Perth in the coming days to undergo testing. Wayne Parnell has also been left out after struggling in the past two matches to recapture the brilliant form he displayed in collecting 4 for 25 in Centurion. But the attack won’t be significantly weakened with Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel named as the replacements.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Roelof van der Merwe, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Albie Morkel, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Australia could have used the dead rubber to throw an opportunity to their unused members of the squad but Marcus North and Cameron White will remain drinks-waiters at the Wanderers. Neither man is in the touring party for the Pakistan series, which starts next week. Ben Laughlin is in that group and for the Johannesburg match has replaced Shane Harwood, who has resumed training with the Rajasthan Royals after his brief flirt with ODI cricket. “We feel with Ben Laughlin being in our squad for Dubai as well as Stuart Clark, this would be a good opportunity for Ben to have another good solid hit-out,” Ricky Ponting said. “Stuart has been here for a few days and he has got a bit of bowling under his belt. But we have decided to go with Ben ahead of him for this game.”Australia 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Michael Clarke, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Ben Laughlin.

Stats and Trivia

• Between the two sides, ten men who played in the 438 match will take the field on Friday – four from Australia and six from South Africa
• The two highest scorers from each team in that game – Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Ponting and Michael Hussey – will all be part of the rematch
• It’s often assumed that Mick Lewis had the worst economy rate in that match as his ten overs cost 113 but in fact the honour belongs to Jacques Kallis, who bowled six overs for 70 – or 11.66 runs per over
• Gibbs needs 44 runs to become the second South African after Kallis to reach the 8000 figure in ODIs

Quotes

“If we can make it 8-2 over the summer it’s pretty much a clear-cut victory”
“I don’t see that there’s a great need to make a lot of changes right now. What this last game becomes all about for us is having some pride in our individual performances and our team performance.”

by nine wickets
Scorecard
South Africa crushed Sri Lanka by nine wickets to take seventh place in a battle between the two teams without a win in the tournament. Only two Sri Lankan batsmen made it to double-digits as their side folded for 75, a total South Africa sauntered past with more than 21 overs to spare.After choosing to bat, Sri Lanka were tied down by the South African new-ball bowlers. Opener Chamari Polgampola was bowled in the first over, and only 18 runs came off the next 11. Charlize van der Westhuizen then struck twice in successive overs, before a run-out and a wicket for Alicia Smith left Sri Lanka reeling at 35 for 5. Suwini de Alwis resisted with a 24 but fifteen-year-old legspinner Dane van Niekerk’s blows and some more poor running from Sri Lanka meant South Africa had a modest target to chase.There was an early hiccup for South Africa when opener Yolandi van der Westhuizen was bowled for a duck. However Trisha Chetty and Cri-zelda Brits, South Africa’s highest run-getters in the tournament, put on an unbroken 72-run stand to end their side’s run of eight games without a win.South Africa had finished in seventh place in the 2005 World Cup as well, and Sri Lanka had been sixth.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out