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Australian batsman Simon Katich will not be returning to Derbyshire next season after turning down a new offer with the club. He doesn’t feel he can commit to another 12-month cycle of cricket and wants to put his efforts into playing for New South Wales and aiming for an Australia recall.During the 2007 season Katich has already scored 1780 runs in all cricket, while also leading the side during another tough season where success has been hard to find and David Houghton, the director of cricket, left midway through the summer.”I have thought long and hard about this decision and it has been a difficult one for me to make,” said Katich. “I have never played two back-to-back full seasons of county cricket and being captain of both sides would make it very difficult because you can’t keep going at 100% the whole time.”Derbyshire’s new head of cricket John Morris said: “I am obviously disappointed that Simon feels unable to come back next year due to the fact that he still has ambitions to play for Australia. As I have said before, I would have loved the opportunity to work with Simon next year as I know how good a player he is.”He has never returned to England for a back-to-back second term with any of the other counties that he has represented in the past. Simon feels that if he is to achieve his ambition to one day play for Australia again, he needs to commit his future to New South Wales.”However, the club has agreed new two-year deals with Graham Wagg and Tom Lungley. Both players have passed 50 wickets for the first time in 2007, while Wagg has also provided useful late-order runs.Wagg was one-year into his current deal, but 51 wickets and 431 runs has persuaded the club to offer him a longer and improved deal.

Andrew Strauss took heart from England’s series-leveling win against Pakistan at Edgbaston yesterday and said his team had turned a corner in the right direction. “There’s a lot of fight there and a lot of belief,” he told reporters after the match. “It’s been a tough summer in one-day cricket but hopefully there’s some light there at the end of the tunnel.”Strauss believed his team’s back-to-back wins could inspire them to greater deeds: “If we can continue that over the course of this winter and beyond we could be a very, very good side.”England’s one-day summer had been dismal, with a 0-5 drubbing at Sri Lanka’s hands and two bad losses as the series opened up against Pakistan. But Strauss found comfort from England’s Test performances and the come-from-behind one-day wins. “I’m pretty happy with the way the summer has gone because it started off not so good and improved as it went on and that’s what you’re looking for,” he said. “Young guys are coming in and taking the opportunity and showing what they can do and playing with freedom. Hopefully we can continue that in the Champions Trophy.”On the tense, three-wicket win in the final match, Strauss was relieved that the tail was able to scrape through. “We made a bit of a mountain out of a molehill,” he said. “We shouldn’t have left it to the tail-enders to finish off the job. We bowled really well. Chasing 150 you should really do nine times out of 10.”Meanwhile, Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, admitted the ball-tampering row at The Oval had affected his side’s performance as they rounded off their tour on a losing note. “Coming back from a terrible week to play so well in four games – including the Twenty20 – took a lot of energy and it finally petered out,” he said. “There was no fuel left in the tank – it’s been a big emotional drain.”It was tougher to bat in the morning than the afternoon,” Woolmer added. “Saying that, we bowled beautifully and when suddenly we had a bit of a sniff of getting England out, the boys showed what they can do in those situations. We are disappointed because we had a pretty good chance to win the series. We played well in the Twenty20 and the first three one-dayers but failed to continue that. But we’re not going to make excuses and say we were tired after a long tour – England played the better cricket in the last two games.”

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Faisalabad Wolves beat Chilaw Marians in the final of the inaugural International 20:20 championship, thanks to a captain’s innings of 45 from Naved Latif.The Wolves appeared to be coasting to their victory target of 133, as they reached 96 for 2 with little trouble, with Mohammad Hafeez stroking six fours in his 31 and Asif Hussain supported him well. But Nimesh Perara led the fightback for the Marians, dismissing Hussain, Ijaz Ahmed and Mohammad Salman in quick succession.Latif, like the chilly autumnal air, remained cool through to the end, striking a six to complete victory with eleven balls to spare. His bowlers had earlier restricted the Marians to a modest 132; only Perera demonstrated any fluency with some flamboyant strokeplay in his innings of 37. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was the pick of the Faisalabad Wolves bowlers with 2 for 25 – and the Marians lost two further wickets to run-outs in the closing stages of their innings, as the Wolves applied the pressure.In the end, their total wasn’t enough, and Latif took the Pakistani side through to victory, collecting the Man-of-the-Match award and the winner’s cheque.Full report and photos to follow shortly

Thilanga Sumathipala, the former president of the Sri Lankan board, has reportedly acted as a mediator and brokered a truce between Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s captain, and Asantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s controversial selection chief, after their angry public dispute during the Pakistan tour, according to the newspaper.De Mel, a former fast bowler, incensed Atapattu when he publicly criticised the team management and senior players for being "selfish" and undermining the selectors’ attempts to blood young players. The rift deepened when Tillakaratne Dilshan was surprisingly axed from the Test team despite averaging 36 since his return to Test cricket last year.The spat led to a complete breakdown in communication between the two, forcing Sumathipala – a key powerbroker in the Sri Lanka cricket scene, who has returned to the limelight having started to emerge from the humiliation of an immigration scandal – to intervene and organise a face-to-face meeting.Sumathipala met with de Mel on Wednesday at his private residence and arranged a meeting for Thursday. During that meeting, the Daily Mirror says Atapattu had explained how "certain [recent] selection decisions could undermine his status as captain" and made it difficult to win the full confidence of his players.A third meeting was arranged on Friday, to which Duleep Mendis, the board’s chief executive, also attended. The meeting apparently also touched on other issues, including the vice-captaincy, currently held by Mahela Jayawardene, which de Mel’s committee are in favour of handing to Chaminda Vaas. Atapattu, though, was given an opportunity to provide his input on the issue.Both Atapattu and de Mel agreed that the present bloated seven-man selection panel should be urgently trimmed back to the normal four-person committee. A special request is to be made to the Sports Minister, who appoints the selectors, to reduce the size of his panel.Atapattu is due to leave for a three-week break with his family at the weekend, but when he returns a major summit meeting of past captains, senior players and top officials is expected to put together a plan for the coming few years.

What does it feel like, finally making it to the England side, after scoring almost 7000 first-class runs?
My aim in my first Test is quite simple – I just want to play well. I’ve had a good run of form and scored a few centuries this season, and I just want to take that into the Test and play well for England.What have you done differently this season?
I haven’t changed very much. I’ve felt in good form since my trip to India in January, where I worked on a few things at the Cricket Club of India. Ever since then, I’ve felt good when I’ve walked out to bat and I’ve got a lot of hundreds.But surely you’ve changed something?
The one thing I have deliberately changed in the recent past is the type of bat I’m using. About two or three years ago I started using a bat with a longer handle. I did this on the advice of Vasu Paranjpe. That has helped my balance and it helped me get a bit tighter.How did going to India help?
I’ve been to India twice. The first time I came down was in 2001 when I stayed at the CCI for about a month. And then I came down again this winter, in January. I thoroughly enjoyed both trips and made some very good friendships in Bombay. On both trips I learned a great deal about cricket – especially playing spin and batting on wickets that are on the slower side. I’d have to say those two trips to India were a big part of my development as a cricketer.How much of the game is played in the mind?
I’d say about 50% of the game is mental. But it’s not really about percentages. There’s a great deal in having your mind in exactly the right state when you’re playing. Of course, you have to get things right with the physical aspects as well, and it helps to be in good form, but you can never undermine the importance of being in the right frame of mind.They say you have “a brain the size of the planet” …
Well (laughs), that’s certainly an exaggeration I’m afraid. People certainly like to exaggerate these things, don’t they?But you’ve written a book … cricket’s generally a blokeish profession where people are good at hitting a ball or bowling one, but not much else?
I have written a book, and am writing another one now. The first one was a comparison of cricket and baseball, and what they mean to England and America. It grew out of my experiences in New York, where I fell in love with the New York Mets baseball team. I wrote a book comparing the two games, so to that extent I’m guilty as charged of having a life outside cricket!And a double-first in history from Cambridge on top of writing books …
Unfortunately that doesn’t help me when I walk out to bat. The two things don’t have very much to do with each other. When I’m batting I’m very much thinking like a cricketer. And I try my best to play cricket as a cricketer. The double-first does nothing for me when I’m at the crease, I’m afraid.Apparently there are a few bowlers who think you’re a bit susceptible to the short stuff?
We’ll see on Thursday. We’ll all find out soon enough. I’m looking forward to playing on Thursday. I want to enjoy playing my first Test and then enjoy playing for England.Haven’t you credited Steve Waugh for helping with your game?
I really enjoyed playing with Steve. I learned a lot from batting at the other end, when he was here. He was not in the greatest form, but fought his way out of it with some very positive cricket. As much as batting with him, it was terrific to talk to him about batting, about cricket. I did learn a lot from him.

Pakistan and Bangladesh are scheduled to play the inaugural match of the second Asian Test Championship at Multan from August 29, 2001. Ironically, after staging the first test match way back in 1980-81 the historical city Multan was ignored as a test venue until now.Multan has staged 12 International matches to date including a Test match and 6 ODIs. However, Pakistan’s record at this venue is not impressive, the only test match played so far ended drawn and out of the ODIs they won two and lost four.Presented below is a brief review of previous International matches played at Multan.1955-56: MCC ‘A’ v Combined Railways and Baluchistan
Donald Carr’s strong MCC ‘A’ team won the match against combined Railways and Baluchistan team by an innings and 23 runs. Tony Lock claimed nine wickets including second hat-trick of the tour.1968: Unofficial Test Match v Commonwealth Team
Pakistan won the first match of the unofficial test series against Commonwealth Team by 105 runs with 35 minutes to spare on the last day. Mohammad Ilyas hammered superb 149 runs for Pakistan. Mushtaq Mohammad chiefly contributed with 104 for the visitors. Setting a target of 237 in three and a quarter hours, spinners Intikhab Alam (5/44) and Zulfiqar (5/49) bowled Pakistan to a convincing victory.1974: Sri Lanka v Pakistan Under-19
Nasir Valika (114) and Qasim Umar (66) were principal scorers for Pakistan Under-19. Duleep Mendis (100) and skipper Anura Teenekoon (68) helped Sri Lanka to amass 431 for 5 declared in a drawn match. Kaluperuma claimed five wickets (5/59).1978: India v Pakistan Universities and Youth XI
Despite teen ager Amin Lakhani’s hat-trick in each innings, a rare feat (only the fifth bowler to do so in first class cricket) Bishen Singh Bedi’s visiting Indian team won the low scoring match by 2 wickets Surinder Amarnath scored 72 and Sunil Gavasakar made 65.1980: Australia v Punjab Governors XI
Allan Border scored 178 on the final day to save the tourists from an embarrassing defeat. Australian’s scored 213 & 302. Governors XI replied with 323 (Azhar Khan 100) and 88 for one. Match drawn.1980-81: Test Match, Pakistan v West Indies
On December 30, 1980 Multan became Pakistan’s sixth Test venue. This rain hit yet historic drawn match is more remembered for the unfortunate incident of brick hurling into the crowd by late West Indies fast bowler Sylvester Clarke. He reacted to oranges being pelted at him while fielding at the boundary. Helped by a tremendous 120 not out by Vivian Richards, the visitors scored 249 in the first innings. Imran Khan claimed 5 for 62. A fighting 57 by skipper Javed Miandad enabled Pakistan to reply with a score of 166. Four quick wickets fell (84/1 to 85/5) for just one run in the visitor’s second innings that gave the home team an outside chance of victory to square the series in this fourth and final test match. However, rain and wet wicket prevented any possibility of play on most of the fourth and entire fifth day. Joel Garner claimed his 100th Test wicket in this Test.1982: Australia v BCCP XI
Allan Border and Geoff Lawson claimed five wickets each in BCCP XI’s first innings. G.Wood (52), Kim Hughes (50), G. Richie (59), Zahid (64) and Taslim Arif (51) all scored fifties. Match ended drawn.1982-83: ODI v India
Zaheer Abbas won the man of the match award after scoring 118 in Pakistna’s total of 263 for 2. Mohsin Khan (117 no) also scored a century. India replied with 226 for 7 (B. Patel 84). Jalaluddin, Zaheer Abbass, and Mudassar Nazar all claimed two wickets each and Pakistan won by 57 runs.1990-91: ODI v West Indies
Pakistan, after scoring 168 for 9 in 40 overs won the low scoring match by 31 runs after the West Indies failed to achieve the target and scored 137 for 7 in 40 overs. Imran Khan scored 46 not out and won the man of the match award. Courtney Walsh claimed 3/28, Ian Bishop took 2/35, Mushtaq Ahmed took 3/31 and Waqar Younis took 2/19.1991-92: ODI v Sri Lanka
Despite Inzamam-ul-Haq’s brilliant 101 to bring Pakistan to a modest total of 205 for 5 in 40 overs, Sri Lanka clinched the match by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare.1994-95: ODI v Australia
Pakistan’s score of 200 for 8 in 50 overs was not good enough to stop the Australians from a thumping seven wicket victory in 46 overs. MoM award winner David Boon scored 84 not out. Inzamam-ul-Haq (59) scored another fifty in his hometown.Summary of International Matches at Multan
1955-56 To Date

Middlesex have announced that chief executive Vinny Codrington has resigned from the position with immediate effect. Codrington has been the club’s chief executive since 1997, making him one of the longest-serving administrators in the game.Recent weeks have seen Middlesex caught up in a scheme to sell on Ashes tickets for Lord’s set up by former players Chris Rogers and Tom Scollay. Rogers, the Australia opener, had planned to use tickets granted to him by Middlesex as part of hospitality packages for the second Ashes Test, contrary to the regulations.Codrington denied that the episode was a motivation in him stepping down halfway through the season, however. The MCC, with whom Middlesex have a tenancy agreement at Lord’s, are understood to still be investigating the matter.”Over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of my desire to seek a new challenge and now is a good time for me to make that move,” Codrington said. “Once I had made that decision, I felt it was in the best interests of both parties for me to move on immediately, so I requested a release from my contract. I am grateful to Middlesex for agreeing to that request.””Being the chief executive of a sporting organisation is emotionally draining in every sense. After 18 years, this does catch up with you and that is why I have been considering my position. People may assume that the Chris Rogers ticket affair was a factor in this. I cannot deny that we, as a club, made mistakes on the issue. However, it is not a factor in my resignation, nor was I asked to resign by the club.”Codrington leaves Middlesex with them re-established in Division One of the Championship. They won the Twenty20 Cup in 2008, as well as the Division Two title in 2011, but silverware was otherwise in short supply.”It is with regret that we have accepted Vinny’s resignation,” Middlesex’s chairman, Ian Lovett, said. “In the modern era, it is almost unheard of for a chief executive to spend 18 years at the same sports club. That achievement is testament itself of Vinny’s great talents and his endless commitment to the club; he has made a quite remarkable contribution to the development of Middlesex cricket, both the professional game and, in many ways more importantly, at recreational level.”

Hamilton Masakadza has been appointed Zimbabwe’s captain in all three formats following Elton Chigumbura’s resignation. Legspinner Graeme Cremer has been named vice-captain.”It is very exciting, because it is a big honour to lead your country,” Masakadza told the . “It is an exciting challenge I am looking forward to. I was not exactly expecting this. I didn’t think I was going to be one of the front runners. I have been waiting for my turn for such a long time, I never thought it was going to come, I thought it had evaded me.”A long-term vice-captain, Masakadza has also filled in as captain in 12 internationals when injury or absence ruled out the regular skipper. He also has extensive captaincy experience at domestic level, having led Easterns under the old domestic system and Mountaineers when Zimbabwe adopted the franchise system.Cremer is new to vice-captaincy at national level, but was a senior member of the Mid West Rhinos for several years before his hiatus from the game, and has skippered the Zimbabwe Board XI and provincial sides on occasion. Both men are also in sparkling form in the game’s shortest format, with Masakadza currently ranked eighth in the T20 batting rankings, while Cremer is ranked fifth as a bowler.”Both Masakadza and Cremer are senior players who have shown their leadership abilities working with previous captains,” ZC managing director Wilfred Mukondiwa said. “We have no doubt they will be successful in their substantive posts, which come at a time when both are in the top 10 of the ICC T20I Player Rankings for batsmen and bowlers respectively.”Masakadza’s ascent to the captaincy is all the more remarkable because he was dropped from the national squad in October after a middling year with the bat. He was recalled for Zimbabwe’s trip to Sharjah, scoring his fourth ODI hundred during the tour. His returns from Zimbabwe’s four-match T20 series were even more impressive, with Masakadza scoring 222 runs to take the record for most T20 runs in a bilateral series and became the first Zimbabwean to reach 3,000 runs in T20 cricket.”I never for a moment thought my career was over, I still have a lot in me,” Masakadza said. “I still have a few years. At the moment I want to play through to the next 50 over World Cup.”Once thought too slow even for ODI cricket early in his career, Masakadza has evolved into a stroke-playing batsman across all formats. “Naturally I play a slow game, I start my innings slowly and when T20 cricket came I thought that was the end of my cricket. I have been working hard on my game and processes. I have always worked on my game and fitness. When I was dropped I did not feel out of touch. I didn’t think I was struggling with my game that time, but still I went and worked hard, something I have always done in my career.”The Zimbabwe administration is working on securing short format fixtures for the national side ahead of the World T20 in March, which will be Masakadza’s first major challenge as captain. Zimbabwe will play Hong Kong, Scotland and Afghanistan in a qualifying round ahead of the tournament proper, and Masakadza’s form is likely to be vital for his team.”Our chances are high,” Masakadza said. “On paper we are better than those teams. I hope to maintain my form and win games for the team.”

ScorecardLuke Wright celebrated his call-up to England’s Twenty20 World Championship squad with a breathtaking 73-ball 125 as Sussex completed a two-wicket win in a high-scoring match at Hove. Still, when Wright was fifth out with 86 still needed, it required sensible innings from Carl Hopkinson, Robin Martin-Jenkins and the tail to see the chase home.Wright, who earlier this season hit a Twenty20 century off 45 balls, was in supreme touch as he struck 19 fours and four sixes. He displayed the clean striking that made him the leading run-scorer in this year’s Twenty20 and caught the eye of England’s selectors.He showed brutal strength through the off side and made full use of a short leg-side boundary as Gloucestershire’s attack, apart from Jon Lewis, was made to look pedestrian. He was finally dismissed when a top-edged sweep found Chris Taylor and he left to a long standing ovation.Wright’s domination was highlighted by a fourth-wicket stand of 73 where Michael Yardy’s contribution was 17 off 32 balls, but Gloucestershire almost pulled the match back. Lewis had removed the first three wickets and returned to shift Rana Naved-ul-Hasan with 14 still needed. However, Andrew Hodd and Saqlain Mushtaq finished the job, ensuring Wright’s effort wasn’t in vain.It was always going to take something special to overshadow Hamish Marshall’s 105-ball 122, which powered Gloucestershire towards an impressive total. He shared a stand of 180 with Kadeer Ali (76) before James Kirtley, another of England’s Twenty20 selections, claimed four late wickets.

As was widely predicted, Bangladesh have picked uncapped batsman Mehrab Hossain Jr in their 14-man squad for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in India. Opener Javed Omar, batsmen Mushfiqur Rahim, Tushar Imran and all-rounder Alok Kapali were omitted from the final squad.Habibul Bashar, who missed six matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya in July and August due to a thumb injury, has been retained as captain, though he is yet to recover fully.Faruque Ahmed, chief selector, told reporters, “Mehrab Hossain Jr had some very good performances over the last two years and we hope he can do something good in the Champions Trophy.”Bashar’s selection had been confirmed by the selectors a few days ago. Ahmed told the Dhaka-based then that “Habib’s progress is satisfactory so he will definitely be included to lead the side in the tournament.”There was uncertainty over Bashar’s participation after he fractured the fifth metacarpel on his left hand during the second one-day match against Zimbabwe in July. He also missed the last Champions Trophy in England in 2004 because of a fracture to his right thumb. Bashar has said recently that his condition will only be confirmed once he starts batting from September 14.Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe in the qualifying phase of the Champions Trophy from October 7-14. The top two teams will qualify for the main competition from October 15 to November 5.Squad: Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees (vice-captain), Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rajin Saleh, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Saqibul Hasan, Mehrab Hossain jnr.