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ScorecardChris Dent hit his maiden first-class century as Gloucestershire made a fightof the County Championship game with Surrey at Cheltenham.The 20-year-old local product made exactly 100 as his side reached 249 for 4in their second innings to take a lead of 112 into the final day, skipper AlexGidman contributed an unbeaten 57.Earlier, Surrey had been bowled out for 423, having begun the day on 392 for8, Yasir Arafat being ninth man out for 65 and Jon Lewis claiming four for95 on the day it was announced he would be moving to The Oval on a two-yearcontract next season.That gave the visitors a first-innings lead of 137 and they made an earlybreakthrough in Gloucestershire’s second innings when Hamish Marshall was pinnedleg-before by a ball from Tim Linley that cut back and kept low.It was 12 for 1 and Surrey may have harboured hopes of a swift kill. But Dentand Chris Taylor responded positively for the hosts and took the total to 68 atlunch. A further 25 had been added when Taylor, on 47, attempted to pull Linley andgot a top edge to be caught by Jade Dernbach at deep square leg.At 113 for 2 rain interrupted play, but an early tea was taken and no overswere lost. It meant a long final session of 50 overs and Dent reached hishalf-century off 114 balls, with eight fours.Kane Williamson looked in good form moving to 27, with four fours, but thensurrendered his wicket in careless fashion, driving the left-arm spin of ZafarAnsari in the air to mid-on where Arafat took a comfortable catch.Gidman, on seven, appeared to survive a chance to first slip off Gareth Battywith the score 153 for 3, and the Gloucestershire captain went on toflourish with some fine attacking shots including a straight six off Ansari.Dent was prolific square of the wicket with some sweetly timed cuts and pullshots. Having narrowly missed out on a hundred several times last season, hebravely went for broke and moved from 94 with a pulled six off Ansari.The diminutive left-hander had faced 202 deliveries and hit 13 fours. TheSurrey team joined in the applause of the festival crowd for a memorablelandmark in his short career, but in the same over he pushed forward to Ansariand was bowled.Gidman moved to fifty in the following over, having faced 89 balls and hit fourfours and a six. The new ball became due, but the light was poor and the umpirestook the players off with a possible five overs left in the day.

No confirmation on Zaheer availability

There is no final word on Zaheer Khan’s availability for the second Test. Asked if Zaheer was expected to be fit for the match, which starts on July 29, Dhoni was skeptical. “We have three days but I am not 100% sure if we will play him or not. It is a long series and we don’t want to risk any individual if he is only 90% fit as that only increases the chances of him getting injured further. It is very important to get the guys fully fit.”

So who’s to blame for India’s defeat? MS Dhoni, for putting England in to bat? India’s senior batsmen, for playing shots that, to the distant eye, seemed unnecessary? Harbhajan Singh, for yet again failing to have an impact on a match? Or even the under-preparedness of the India players, most of whom were struggling to come to terms with conditions at the practice match in Somerset?Dhoni himself blamed the loss of Zaheer Khan, his strike bowler, to a hamstring injury on the first afternoon. He blamed the absence of a third fast bowler to assist Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar. He blamed a surface that did not assist turn on the first two days and relegated his lead spinner Harbhajan to playing the role of a sandbag for Kevin Pietersen in the first innings. He blamed the circumstances that forced the batting order to be completely reshuffled in the second innings.”Most of the things that could have gone wrong in the game went wrong. It was tough for both the bowlers and the batsmen,” Dhoni said with a resigned look at the media conference. The turning point in the Test came on the first afternoon, when Zaheer stopped mid-stride and then walked off to the dressing room with a hamstring injury. It was a bad setback for Zaheer, who was starting to dominate the England batsmen and had dismissed openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.England’s confidence rose and Pietersen rode roughshod over an Indian bowling attack comprising two fast bowlers who were playing their maiden Test in England, and a spinner who had been rendered impotent by the conditions.”It became quite tough for us after losing Zaheer Khan on the first day,” Dhoni said. “It was very difficult to bowl with three bowlers. The pitch did not take too much turn on the first two days and we did not have too many options. So it was quite difficult in terms of resources.”Praveen and Ishant toiled hard in Zaheer’s absence, and improved as the game went on. Praveen recovered from first-morning-Lord’s nerves to bounce back with controlled swing and bag a maiden five-for in the first innings, and Ishant injected a renewed sense of purpose into India with an energetic spell of seam bowling on the fourth morning. India missed out on a third seamer, though, which Dhoni said made all the difference. “We just needed that one extra bowler and things could have been different but it is something that you can’t really do anything about as injuries happen.”An injury to Zaheer Khan meant MS Dhoni was forced to bowl himself during the Test•Getty Images

Harbhajan, India’s most experienced bowler, wore a deflated look for most of the Test and his match figures of 56-4-218-1 only raised questions about his position as lead spinner. Dhoni, though, did not appear too bothered. “I saw a lot of improvement [in Harbhajan]. He bowled a lot slower in this game. It was slightly tough on him, especially when Pietersen was set and began going after him. There was no turn to deceive the batsman. But I was really impressed with the pace at which Harbhajan bowled. As the series progresses, it will be really interesting to see him bowl at some of the venues that are known to assist spin.”With their bowling in a shambles, India’s chances of escaping the first Test with a draw hinged exclusively on their vaunted batting order. No batsman, barring Rahul Dravid, lasted long enough in the first innings. On the last morning, India were 378 runs adrift of the huge target set by England. In the absence of Virender Sehwag, a victory was unimaginable. A draw, though, was possible, especially in conditions that were tough but not unplayable.Yet the highest partnership in the second innings was 75 runs, between Dravid and VVS Laxman for the second wicket, closely followed by the 60-run alliance between Dhoni and Suresh Raina for the sixth wicket. While England had three 100-plus stands in the match, India had none. Dhoni defended his batsmen, pointing to the fact that an injury to Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar’s illness had forced a reshuffle in the batting order.”Yes, we could have done with one more partnership from the top-order batsmen. But it was tough because most of our batsmen were batting in slots different to their original number. Rahul opened, Sachin batted at a different number, Gautam batted at a different number. That also added pressure.”The India batsmen also struggled to come to terms with the inconsistent bounce, he said. “As the Test progressed, what we saw was variable bounce, which meant we couldn’t really leave deliveries on length saying it was a three-quarter length delivery and would go over the stumps. So, more often than not, we were forced to play deliveries and we chased them.”Comparing the current Lord’s track to what he encountered on India’s tour in 2007, when he helped save the first Test for India with an unbeaten half-century, Dhoni claimed the bounce was more even four years ago. “This time there were many occasions when the ball did not comfortably travel to the keeper so the variable bounce did have an impact.”

Scorecard Paul Stirling’s excellent hundred wasn’t enough as Scotland chased down a huge total•Associated Press

Ireland were given a rude awakening by Scotland at the Grange, as their oldest rivals showed them that they can no longer rest on their laurels as No. 1 Associate nation.Despite scoring their third-highest ODI score, Ireland slipped to a five-wicket defeat with nine balls to spare. It ended a run of seven limited-over wins in succession for Ireland over Scotland, and gave the latter the Celtic-nations bragging rights for now.On an excellent batting pitch, Scotland made nonsense of the form book and history books as they chased 321 to win. Ireland’s bowlers never found their length and were put to the sword by some breath-taking batting.Richie Berrington’s 56 off 23 balls was the final blow, but the opening stand of 129 between Kyle Coetzer (89) and Fraser Watts (54) set Scotland on their way as Boyd Rankin and Trent Johnston misfired.It was quite a shock to most of the vibrant Edinburgh crowd, who had seen Paul Stirling’s third century in four ODIs spur Ireland to a commanding 320 for 8 earlier. Stirling’s thunderous innings of 113 was backed up by a typically-measured 71 by Alex Cusack and a breezy fifty by Andrew Poynter.Stirling was perhaps stirred into belligerent style – his hundred came up in 83 balls – by a communication from his county. Middlesex told him to report to the second XI at the conclusion of this tournament, as his services would not be required this week by the first team.Stirling was given every assistance by the home bowlers, who squandered the toss by bowling far too short and wide of the stumps. Scotland’s raw opening bowler, Safyaan Sharif, saw a six and a four disappear off Stirling’s bat over cover in his first over, before William Porterfield took consecutive boundaries off his third.The Irish opening stand sailed past fifty in the ninth over, before a bowling change brought Scotland a breakthrough. Porterfield tried to hit Josh Davey over the top and instead skied to Coetzer at mid-on. Cusack joined Stirling, and settled into his favoured role of second fiddle.Stirling raced to his fifty off 45 balls as the 100 was raised in 18.2 overs. Scotland skipper Gordon Drummond made frequent changes as bowler after bowler failed to quell Stirling and Cusack.By the 22nd over he was on to his seventh bowler, Kyle Coetzer, but he was whipped out of the attack when his third over was plundered by Stirling. The second ball sailed into the crowd at extra cover, and three balls later he disappeared into the distance, the ball still rising as it flew over the wall surrounding the picturesque Grange ground.Stirling raised his century off 83 balls in the 28th over, and had time for a sixth six before he fell to Majid Haq. In the absence of Niall O’Brien, Andrew Poynter took a rare chance toshow his class, and pulled and swept powerfully while Cusack continued to accumulate.Poynter’s fifty came up in 33 balls. He perished at the hands of the eighth bowler Drummond used, South African-born Preston Mommsen. The innocuous-looking offspinner kept his lines tight and picked up 3 for 26 off five tidy overs. His second scalp was Kevin O’Brien, who was surprised by the bounce of the first ball he received, which he proceeded to steer into the diving, outstretched hand of Majid Haq at short third man.The Irish lower middle order is well-practised in finishing an innings, and Gary Wilson and Trent Johnston ensured the total reached 320.But some stirring batting from Scotland made the target look innocuous. Trent Johnston laboured hard, but his lack of match-practice told. In the last ten weeks he has bowled just 25 overs, all for Ireland, as he has been forbidden by Cricket Ireland from turning his arm over for his club Railway Union .George Dockrelll ended the opening stand when Watts missed a sweep, but the Somerset youngster never settled and bowled his ten overs in five spells. Coetzer continued his purple patch, getting his fourth consecutive ODI half-century, and equalling his career-best score of 89, set two weeks ago against Netherlands. He fell to Rankin who got a pearler to take the top of off stump.Berrington took up the baton however and a blistering batting Powerplay of 65 runs ensured victory was comfortably secured. He hit six sixes, most of them over the tennis courts into Arboretum Avenue.Ireland coach Phil SImmons said he was “disappointed rather than angry” at his charges. “Its the sort of kick they need sometimes,” he said. “They need to learn not to underestimate anybody.”They did it last week against Namibia and got away with it. But today we lost intensity and its hard to get momentum back when that happens.”When Ireland beat England in Bangalore during the World Cup, they celebrated in the team hotel by singing “Are You Scotland in Disguise?” as they encountered the England players.As the Scotland players celebrated in their dressing room last night, one wag was tempted to lead them in a chorus of “Are You England in Disguise?”

Scorecard
Vikram Solanki’s first County Championship century for 14 months enabled Worcestershire to take maximum batting points for the first time this season in their clash with Division One relegation rivals Hampshire at New Road.Daryl Mitchell declared at 403 for 8 as soon as Solanki was dismissed for 173 after batting for almost six hours and 36-year-old Alan Richardson unsettled Hampshire with 3 for 52 in two spells until they closed 171 behind at 232 for 7.Liam Dawson was caught behind from the sixth ball of the innings – giving Richardson his 400th first-class wicket in a 16-year career with four counties – and Michael Lumb made only 6 on his first Championship outing of the season.Lumb went leg-before to Gareth Andrew’s third delivery but with Australian Damien Wright having come to the end of his stint in the overseas slot, Worcestershire’s back-up bowlers were unable to sustain the initial breakthrough.Held up for 17 overs by Jimmy Adams (52) and Neil McKenzie (37), they had to wait for Richardson’s reappearance before regaining momentum. Adams survived a low chance to second slip after completing 50 from 70 balls but then played on as Richardson claimed wickets in successive overs. McKenzie was next to go when the experienced seamer knocked back his middle stump.With Richardson resting again after testing all the batsmen, Hampshire milked some dismal bowling. James Vince made 50 before he was bowled by Jack Shantry after putting on 95 in 16 overs with Nic Pothas (60), but the follow-on target of 254 had still not been cleared when Shakib Al Hasan claimed two late wickets in six balls.At the start of this month Wright and Richardson were the most successful new-ball pairing in the Championship with 61 wickets as Worcestershire moved 15 points clear of Hampshire by beating champions Nottinghamshire.Now given an opportunity to go for back-to-back wins for the first time in four separate seasons in Division One, they made the running thanks to Solanki’s best performance since relinquishing the captaincy last August. Resuming at 250 for 4, he completed his hundred from the first ball he faced and went on to dominate proceedings in the third century partnership of the innings.Shakib contributed 54 out of 109 in an unexpected Championship appearance as stand-in for Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, who is due to arrive in the country on Monday after delays over his visa.Dominic Cork revived Hampshire with a lively new-ball spell in which he removed Shakib and Andrew with slip catches and the captain also held an over-the-shoulder chance at long off to dismiss Solanki after he had hit 25 fours and a six. That gave Dimitri Mascarenhas a tidy return of 3 for 76 in 28 overs.

ScorecardJames Cameron was the only Worcestershire batsman to shine with 69•PA Photos

Derbyshire hinted they could become a new force in the Clydesdale Bank 40 format after registering a third successive victory with eight balls to spare against Worcestershire at New Road.After winning only nine games in 40-over competitions over the last five seasons, the Falcons are already looking a revitalised team under new captain Luke Sutton. Rebounding from an opening defeat by Holland, they have since defended and chased totals with equal success.Worcestershire were never able to create a platform when batting first after losing the toss. Tim Groenewald took 4 for 22 in their 171 and left-handed opening pair Chesney Hughes and Usman Khawaja put on 84 in setting up Derbyshire’s six-wicket success.Khawaja, who made his Test debut for Australia in the final match of the Ashes series in January, completed his first half-century in county cricket in 76 balls and went on to see his side home with an unbeaten 89. A well-judged innings included 10 fours, as well as a six over the New Road stand, but with one run needed, Wayne Madsen was leg before wicket to Gareth Andrew for 21 after a partnership of 56.Derbyshire initially took control when Groenewald’s opening spell of two for eight in five overs saw off two of Worcestershire’s major stroke players. Moeen Ali tamely drove to cover and Alexei Kervezee was leg-before after hitting a couple of boundaries.James Cameron led a recovery with a competition-best 69 from 80 balls but Derbyshire’s spinners kept the scoring rate under control. The Zimbabwe-born left hander was responsible for nine of the 16 boundaries in the innings and it was a six, clubbed over long-on, that took him past his previous highest-score of 58 against the Unicorns last summer.Daryl Mitchell (29) and Neil Pinner (26) featured in the only significant partnerships as Hughes and the on-loan Yorkshire off-spinner Azeem Rafiq shared three wickets while conceding only 58 runs in their 16 overs.Cameron’s robust innings ended with a serious misjudgement which led to the last three wickets falling in five balls without addition. Chancing a second run to Greg Smith at deep point, he was run out by some distance.Hughes set the pace in Derbyshire’s run chase, hoisting a six over square leg in Andrew’s second over, and he went on make 42 before he was leg-before to Mitchell’s first delivery.The captain’s wicket-taking boost for Worcestershire quickly turned to disappointment when he was forced to go off with a side strain after pulling up in pain as he bowled the fifth ball of his third over.

Praveen Kumar, the Kings XI Punjab seamer, has said he is “yet to get in to the zone” following his return from the elbow injury that ruled him out of the 2011 World Cup. Praveen has picked up wickets in the first over of each of the two games he’s played in this IPL so far, but leaked runs after the initial burst. He dismissed Graeme Smith first ball against Pune Warriors but went for 28 in three overs, and was taken for 22 in one over by MS Dhoni after he had struck twice off the first two balls of the match, removing S Anirudha and Suresh Raina.”It has been a frustrating couple of months for me while I was getting ready for the IPL,” Praveen told . “I did not know whether I would be fit in time. But I worked hard on my fitness and here I am. However, after a couple of games for Kings XI Punjab, I feel I have yet to get into the zone.”See, the rhythm is still missing. I have to work on my slower ball. Variation in pace is crucial in Twenty20. I somehow need to get back the slower delivery when the ball is old. Otherwise the new ball is coming out well from the hand.”Praveen admitted Twenty20 cricket was not the ideal stage to judge a bowler’s form but hoped to do well to remain in contention for India’s tour to the West Indies. “With back-to-back matches and a hectic travelling schedule, it is difficult to get time off to work for a long time in the nets,” Praveen said. “In T20, every bowler gets the stick and it is not an ideal platform to judge a bowler’s form as he is bound to go for plenty. Yet, I am hopeful of improving with each match and be in peak form when the team for the West Indies tour is picked.”

ScorecardMarcus North was unbeaten on 136 at the end of the day•Getty Images

Marcus North compiled his first Sheffield Shield century since being axed from Australia’s Test side, as Western Australia frustrated New South Wales on the opening day in Sydney. The Blues have secured a place in the final and beating Western Australia would give them a chance of hosting it, but North and Mitchell Marsh did their best to thwart that goal.North finished the day unbeaten on 136 and Marsh was on a career-best 89, as the Warriors reached 4 for 310 having taken the risk of choosing to bat on a grassy pitch in overcast conditions. It was a fine turnaround after they were 4 for 99, with the teenager Patrick Cummins having picked up two wickets in a New South Wales attack missing Stuart Clark, who had a heel injury.They fielded an inexperienced pace group, with the debutant Nic Bills taking 1 for 85 and Trent Copeland leading the attack. Copeland bowled a remarkable 22 overs in his opening spell, either side of the lunch break, but by stumps he had just one reward, the caught-behind wicket of Adam Voges for 1.There was plenty of young talent on display in the match with the Warriors’ teenage opening batsman Marcus Harris making 21 and their 20-year-old No.4 Tom Beaton posting 27. Under Mickey Arthur, Western Australia have had a bright second half to their season, with two wins from their past three games.