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It’s not surprising Daniel Vettori looked a tired man after New Zealand’s loss in Hamilton. Captain, selector, No. 6 batsman and best bowler is a heavy burden for Vettori.He bowled 67.3 overs at Seddon Park and flies out in a couple of days to join Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. It will be a welcome break from his many tasks.However, the time will come when Vettori and his fellow selectors Mark Greatbatch and Glenn Turner must make some decisions on the future of their Test team. Their next five-day challenges come on a tour of Bangladesh and India in six months and the opportunity to regroup will be valuable after a summer in which they won two Tests, lost three and drew one.The form of Brendon McCullum was a positive from the series loss to Australia, while Martin Guptill made some progress and Ross Taylor fired with a century. But right throughout the summer New Zealand have had issues in two facets of the game that have become familiar problems.”It is probably the same old theme of trying to get more out of our top three and still looking for that strike weapon with the ball,” Vettori said after the 176-run loss in Hamilton. “If we can solve those two problems then the rest of the components within the Test side are not too bad.”The first issue will be eased by the return of Jesse Ryder, who hasn’t played a Test this summer due to an ongoing groin injury. His eventual comeback might bump Vettori down from No. 6 but it won’t solve the bowling concerns, with the form of the 35-year-old fast man Chris Martin a particular worry.Martin finished the Australian series with 1 for 260 and his season return of 16 wickets at 47.93 in six Tests was disappointing for a man who should be the strike weapon. Martin’s pace has been down but Vettori remained confident he could still play a part in the Test team’s future and build on his career tally of 181 wickets.”I hope people don’t write his obituary just yet,” Vettori said. “I know he is determined to play for a while longer. He wants 200 Test wickets and I’m really confident Chris Martin can be in the mix with the fast bowlers [for the next tours]. I know he wants to and is desperate to. He is not pleased with his performance in this Test match and hopefully that makes him hungry to get better and get stronger for next season.”Jeetan Patel was another member of the attack who struggled for impact during the summer with four wickets at 74.50 in his two Tests against Australia and Bangladesh. There are other spin options around New Zealand, including slow-bowling allrounders like Nathan McCullum and Luke Woodcock, but Vettori was happy with Patel’s status as the second-best spinner in the country.”They need to bang the door down with their domestic performances,” Vettori said. “Jeetan tends to dominate at that first-class level and he’s a very good bowler. Sometimes when he is in and out of the team it is difficult so with some Tests coming up on the subcontinent that is his real opportunity to shine.”Such decisions can be postponed for the time being. For now, the New Zealanders can focus on the shortest format. The World Twenty20 starts in a month and before that Vettori can fly to India and remember what it’s like to concentrate solely on his own game.

ScorecardA blistering innings of 141 by Jacques Du Toit and a sensational spell ofbowling from seamer Wayne White helped Leicestershire to a 47-run victory overNottinghamshire in their opening Clydesdale Bank 40 match of the season at GraceRoad.South Africa-born Du Toit smashed three sixes and 14 fours as the Foxestotalled 282 for 6, with Will Jefferson also hitting a quick-fire half-centuryagainst his former county. The Outlaws made a whirlwind start to the run-chase with Hashim Amla and Alex Hales putting on 96 in 13 overs, but then White claimed career-best figures of 6 for 29 – including three wickets in four balls – as the visitors crashed to235 all out in 37 overs.But it was the brilliant knock from Du Toit that laid the platform for thevictory after the home side had been put in to bat. Jefferson and Du Toit shared an opening stand of 98 in 15 overs, although both players profited from dropped catches, Du Toit being put down by Andre Adams at slip and Jefferson spilled by Samit Patel at mid off.The pair made the most of their escapes, though. Jefferson raced to 50 off 34 balls, pummelling 11 boundaries on the way. He was finally bowled by Graeme White going for another big hit. But Nottinghamshire were unable to put the shackles on Du Toit. Having reached 50 off 61 balls, he put his foot on the accelerator as the ball flew to all parts.He hit two sixes an over off Steven Mullaney and another off Darren Pattinson,reaching his century off 97 balls. He was given good support by Paul Nixon and was finally sixth out for 141 off 122 balls having hit 14 fours and three sixes, slicing a catch to cover off Paul Franks.Hales (46) and Amla (53) gave the Outlaws an excellent start but once they hadboth been dismissed wickets fell regularly. White was in tremendous form, snaring Mullaney, Patel and Franks in quick succession and then dismissing Andre Adams as Nottinghamshire folded with three overs still remaining.Patel made a defiant 59 and Mullaney 41 off 22 balls but it was not enough todeny the home side.

ScorecardOnly 9.2 overs of play were possible on the first day of Leicestershire’s County Championship Division Two game against Middlesex at Grace Road.But the home side, who were bowled out for just 71 by Glamorgan in their lastmatch, were soon in trouble again. They lost two wickets for only 23 runs beforeplay was abandoned for the day.The start was delayed until 1700 as the groundstaff battled against steadyrain. When play did get under way, Middlesex won the toss and had no hesitation inputting Leicestershire in to bat on a green-looking pitch.Will Jefferson, fit again after injury, resumed to open the innings for thehome side but was run out in bizarre fashion in the first over without a run onthe board. Pushing forward to a delivery from Tim Murtagh, he was rapped on the pad andthe ball went to Neil Dexter at second slip. With Jefferson still out of hiscrease, Dexter ran him out with a direct throw at the stumps.Paul Nixon soon also departed, edging to wicketkeeper John Simpson off thebowling of Iain O’Brien to leave Leicestershire 16 for 2. But Middlesex’s progress was halted after two balls of the 10th over when the teams were forced off again for bad light. And, when rain began to fall again soon afterwards, play was called off for the day.

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Glamorgan remain on course to achieve a third County Championship victoryof the season after James Harris took three of Northamptonshire’s second-inningswickets on the third day at the Swalec Stadium.Northants finished the day on 126 for 4 – still trailing Glamorgan by 71 runs. That was after the home side were dismissed for 450 having accumulated a 197-run advantage on first innings, the only blemish for Glamorgan being their failure to register maximum batting points.And when Northants batted again, Harris broke through to finish with three for43 from 15 overs. Much now depends on David Sales if Northamptonshire are tohave any chance of saving the match on the final day tomorrow.Resuming the morning on 348 for 5 – a first-innings lead of 95 – Glamorganwere eager to put more daylight between them and their opponents. Jim Allenby continued his good form by registering his fifth half-century of the summer, although he was dropped on 46 by Andrew Hall at slip and on 47 Stephen Peters at cover before reaching his half-century from 86 balls with six fours.After missing out on the fifth batting point by five balls, Allenby lost MarkWallace who went leg before to Hall leaving Glamorgan 402 for 6. And after a 20-minute rain break Northamptonshire broke through twice more – Hall getting another lbw decision to dismiss Harris before Allenby edged Jack Brooks to David Sales at second slip having made 76 – his highest score of the season.David Harrison came to the middle in positive mood, striking four boundaries asGlamorgan went to lunch at 442 for 8. After 21 overs were lopped off the afternoon session because of a 90-minute rain break, Dean Cosker was trapped in front by David Lucas, who polished off the Glamorgan innings when Harrison chopped onto his stumps.Niall O’Brien and Stephen Peters made a good fist of shortening Glamorgan’slead as they reached 43 for one after tea, with Harrison particularlyexpensive. But his new-ball colleague Harris broke through to have O’Brien caught down theleg side by Wallace for 33.Peters looked as if he was going to reach his half-century but, two runs short,he was caught by Harrison running in from deep square leg after a top-edgedsweep at Cosker.Northants slipped to 91 for 3 as Harris broke through for a second time to have MalLoye caught by Ben Wright at cover point. And his fine spell was complete when he had Rob White leg before, bringing nightwatchman David Lucas to the middle for the final six overs.

In an era when several players of his ilk are contemplating giving up Test cricket to prolong their careers, Pakistan’s latest fast-bowling sensation Mohammad Aamer has said that the longest version is the gold standard for him. “Test cricket is the real deal. I enjoy Twenty20 matches and one-dayers, but Test cricket is the number one priority for me,” Aamer told www.PakPassion.net.Aamer burst onto the Test scene during Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka last year and was impressive during the forgettable tour of Australia, where he picked a five-wicket haul in the Melbourne Test. He looks forward to having another go at the Australians in England later this year. “I’m very excited about the series in England; I cannot wait to face the hosts, and especially Australia,” he said. “Pakistan start afresh against the Aussies and the previous series in Australia will be wiped from our minds.”The 18-year old seamer is eager to play as much as possible, and is not concerned about breathers in between tight schedules. “I don’t like being rested for any matches. I want to play all of the time. I’m a young guy, I feel strong, I feel fit and I don’t want to be rested. However I can understand the need for rest, but only want to be rested for dead rubbers.”Aamer’s early exploits have already led to comparison to Pakistan’s fast bowling greats, one of whom is his coach in the national side. Aamer is eager to pick up some tricks from Waqar Younis. “I enjoy working with Waqar, but its early days in our relationship, and I look forward to learning further from him. It’s great that I can spend an extended period of time with him in the coming season when Pakistan has a lot of cricket,” he said. “One area of my bowling for improvement that Waqar has mentioned to me is to get closer to the stumps, which will bring more lbws into the game for me.”

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Keith Barker’s explosive innings allowed the Warwickshire Bears to ease to victory by six wickets against the Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road and move second in the North Group.Alex Wakely, with 41 from 30 balls including three fours and one six, top-scored for the hosts as they recovered from 41 for three to post 149 for 5 in their 20 overs, with Chris Woakes taking 3 for 21.Barker then crunched 48 from 28 balls as the Bears chased down their target with 11 balls to spare, despite Zimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura taking three wickets in four balls in the middle of a spell where he took 3 for 19.Northamptonshire won the toss and chose to bat in glorious conditions and David Sales made 16 before holing out in the fourth over to Chris Woakes, with Ant Botha taking the catch at mid-off. Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien (8) followed him back to the pavilion when he launched Barker high in the air and was caught by the bowler.Chaminda Vaas, who has made a string of half-centuries in this competition recently, made 16 before edging Imran Tahir to former England wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose to leave the Steelbacks on 41 for 3.The fourth-wicket pairing of Stephen Peters and Wakely stabilised the hosts’ innings, however, putting on 77 between them in 11 overs. But Woakes removed both in the 17th over when he forced Peters, who scored 39 off 31 balls, to top-edge him and be caught at short third man by Botha.Two balls later, Wakely smashed him down to Steffan Piolet at long-off, then Chigumbura’s 15 not out and captain Andrew Hall with an unbeaten seven guided Northants to the end of their innings.Chasing 147, Warwickshire lost Neil Carter (8) with the last ball of the first over when he drove Vaas to David Lucas at gully. Darren Maddy and Barker then rapidly built a fifty partnership in the next five overs as the Bears managed to put themselves comfortably ahead of the required run-rate.The second-wicket pair had added 77 between them in 41 balls before Chigumbura forced Maddy, who made 30 off 24 balls, to edge to O’Brien. Needing 54 runs from 10 overs, Warwickshire lost two wickets in consecutive balls when Barker smashed Chigumbura to Hall at extra cover before captain Jim Troughton (1) edged him to O’Brien.But an unbeaten stand of 54 between Ian Westwood and Ambrose, not out on 24 and 30 respectively, eased the Bears home in the penultimate over.

The Indian team had a less than ideal training session in Dambulla ahead of their tri-series match against Sri Lanka: opening batsman Dinesh Karthik was hit painfully on the hand and MS Dhoni was displeased with what he felt were substandard practice pitches.The pitches reportedly hadn’t been mown and were damp, resulting in balls rearing up from a good length, and bowlers’ run-ups weren’t firm as well.”Dhoni was unhappy with the practice pitches,” India’s team manager Ranjib Biswal told the . “He felt the bounce was uneven. We have not lodged a protest but have asked the authorities for better practice wickets. The captain wants pitches with more consistent bounce at the nets.”Biswal said Karthik, who was hit by one of the local net bowlers, did not have an injury concern and would be fit to play on Monday.Sri Lanka Cricket’s national curator Anuruddha Polonowita, however, said there was nothing wrong with the facilities. “I don’t understand what kind of wickets they [India] want,” he said. “The other day, on a beauty of a wicket, they were bowled out for 88. Now, they don’t want to play on the practice wickets.”India lost their opening game of the tournament by 200 runs to New Zealand and are scheduled to take on the hosts on Monday.

Mark Butcher insists Kevin Pietersen has no long-term future at Surrey after joining the county on loan for the rest of the season earlier this week.Pietersen was dropped by England for the upcoming Twenty20 and ODI series against Pakistan after struggling for form in the Test matches this summer and told to rediscover his form in county cricket. It was an ignominious end to a season that started so promisingly when Pietersen was named Player of the Tournament in England’s successful World Twenty20 campaign in the Caribbean.Since the World Twenty20 he has made just 232 runs in nine Test innings and though he was initially unhappy to be dropped by England, Pietersen now insists he’s looking forward to getting some time in the middle for Surrey.Yet Butcher, who captained Surrey last year, believes the county do not want Pietersen permanently and thinks the player will struggle to find any county that does next season.”It’s just a loan,” Butcher told TalkSport. “Surrey are very much keen to get it out there that the ECB asked them to take Kevin Pietersen and that they didn’t instigate the move. They are essentially doing the ECB a favour in taking him, so where that leaves KP when he is looking for a county next year I don’t know. It’s a difficult situation for him, everybody gets dropped at some point and it’s how you react to that.”Pietersen began his career in England at Nottinghamshire, before leaving in controversial circumstances, with the club captain Jason Gallian dumping Pietersen’s kitbag over the pavilion balcony at Trent Bridge. He left for Hampshire after the 2004 season but since making his England debut in July 2005, Pietersen has featured in a solitary county four-day fixture for the club and he revealed half way through this season that he intends to leave Hampshire and find a county closer to his London home.Hampshire duly decided they would not require his services which left him unable to go back to county cricket to find form when his performances for England dipped.”Being an England contracted player whatever contract he signs with a county is held in abeyance, until such a time as he loses that contract,” said Butcher. “The ECB pay him, counties do not, so it is not a money issue it’s a Kevin Pietersen thing unfortunately.”

Leicestershire have announced that allrounder James Benning will leave Grace Road at the end of the 2010 season.Benning, 27, joined the club on loan from Surrey in 2009 before making the move permanent. He has made just a single appearance in Championship cricket this year, however, in Leicestershire’s seven-wicket win against Worcestershire at New Road.In that game, Benning made 29 and 26 not out and also took three wickets, but competition for the allrounder’s spot in the side has limited his chances. Leicestershire coach Tim Boon believes Benning still has a future in the game as he looks for opportunities elsewhere.”James is a talented cricketer who I’m sure will attract interest from other counties,” said Boon. “He has made good contributions in one-day cricket with bat and ball. James had limited four-day opportunities but has the ability to change the course of the game through a positive approach. I personally wish James every success in the future.”

After messing up their chase a day earlier, Shamanoor Davangere Diamonds held their nerve in a close finish to beat Bangalore Provident (Rural) by four runs in Bangalore.Chasing a target of 117, Provident were in control at 88 for 3 after 16 overs. However, the Davangere spinners kept things tight and the pressure showed on Provident as they lost five wickets to end up on 112 for 8. Offspinner Sunil Raju picked up 2 for 12 in four overs and was named Player-of-the-Match. Three run-outs didn’t help Provident either.Their bowlers had earlier restricted Davangere to 116 for 6. Medium-pacer Abhishek Jagan and leftarm spinner Anand Katti took two wickets each while Yere Goud top-scored for Davangere with 30 off 31 deliveries.In another match-winning performance by a spinner, Balachandra Naveen’s 4 for 20 helped Belagavi Panthers defeat Bangalore Brigadiers (Urban) by the narrowest margin of one run in Bangalore.Naveen, along with Stalin Hoover and Srinivasa Dhananjaya, had earlier helped Belagavi recover to 131 for 8 after they were in trouble at 55 for 6. Offspinner M Vinod picked up 2 for 19 in two overs.Vinod later kept Brigadiers in the chase after they had collapsed to 89 for 7, hitting three sixes in his 15-ball 29. However, after his dismissal in the 19th over, the other batsmen could get only 16 of the 18 needed for victory.