Keith Bradshaw, MCC chief executive, has said that recent reports of a merger between MCC and Middlesex have been taken out of context and the notion of the two clubs joining forces was only spoken about hypothetically.”What is accurate is that I have regular meetings with Vinny Codrington, the secretary and chief executive of Middlesex,” Bradshaw said in an email to MCC members. “During one such meeting, we discussed the proposed future development of the ground and how this might affect Middlesex.”When we meet, we consider many issues relating to the use of the ground, the arrangements for Middlesex matches at Lord’s, innovations and, from time to time, how each club might develop for mutual benefit. The possibility that Middlesex might one day become a part of MCC was touched upon hypothetically during discussions; but I must stress that there are certainly no current plans for a merger of the two clubs.”The idea brought support from other county chief executives with both Paul Sheldon from Surrey and Lancashire’s Jim Cumbes enthusiastic about the suggestion.But Bradshaw explained that should any moves be made towards a merger that it would involve members of both MCC and Middlesex and added that MCC’s main consideration at the moment was as guardians of the game.”I cannot stress enough that MCC’s continuing focus is the Laws of Cricket – as its guardians – upholding the spirit of the game, and ensuring that Lord’s remains the premier cricket ground in the world.”There are extensive long-term development plans being put in place by MCC and Lord’s has also been put forward to host the ICC World Twenty20 final next year.

Scorecard

The Lions stumbled for the second consecutive day in a run-chase of 160-odd as they fell to a 22-run loss against the Kolkata Tigers, thus ending their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.The match in Gurgaon was a crunch clash, as both sides needed to win to have any chance of going through. Craig McMillan, the Tigers’ captain, won the toss and his top order cashed in on the decision to bat.The momentum was provided by Subhomoy Das right at the start; he smashed three fours before Andrew Hall had him trapped in front in the first over. Lance Klusener then joined Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, and the duo added 78 in 11.2 overs.Klusener was run out by Dinesh Mongia for 38 from 34 deliveries but Jhunjhunwala stayed till the 20th over before he was dismissed in the same manner. He made 62 off 57 balls as the Tigers puta competitive total of 165 on the board. Hall took 3 for 37 in his four overs, while his new-ball partner Daryl Tuffey was miserly, conceding only 14 in his four overs.Then it was over to the Tigers’ pace attack; wickets fell at regular intervals as the Lions struggled in their hunt of 166. Abu Nechim scalped three as they succumbed to 69 for 6 after 12.1 overs. A 50-run stand between Manish Sharma and Tejinder Pal Singh raised hopes of an unlikely win. Upul Chandana was carted for runs as Tejinder Pal scored 34 off just 16, while Sharma took the same number of deliveries for his 23.Andre Adams removed the duo in the 17th over, and Nantie Hayward and Nechim got rid of the tailenders as the Lions were bundled out for 143. Nechim finished with 4 for 27 off his four overs, while Adams bagged 3 for 22 off his quota. Nechim and Jhunjhunwala shared the Man-of-the-Match award.

Gauteng will meet Northerns in the final of the SAA Provincial One-Day Challenge after they defeated South Western Districts and Eastern Province in the semi-finals held on March 8.Gauteng thrashed South Western Districts by 209 runs while Northerns prevailed over Eastern Province by 15 runs.Gauteng’s massive win in Johannesburg was set up by opener Dane Vilas, who smashed an unbeaten 119 from 115 balls, including ten fours and two sixes, as he steered his team to a commanding 297 for 5. Warren Swan chipped in with 57 while wicketkeeper Matthew Harris (25 off 13) and Dumisa Makalima (47 off 22) provided the flourish at the end. The only bowler to end with respectable figures was Rudy Hillerman, who took 2 for 49 in eight overs.Pursuing a stiff 298, South Western Districts struggled as left-arm spinner Jean Symes along with fast bowlers Yunus Keiller and Brian Mathebula shackled the visitors and bowled them out for 88 runs in 21 overs. Symes finished with 4 for 8 off 3.5 overs, while Keiller had 3 for 23 off his seven. Nigel Brouwers hit three sixes but fell for 26 as his side crashed to a 209-run lossIn the other semi-final in Port Elizabeth, Northerns scraped home in a low-scoring encounter. A tight bowling performance saw the Northerns, who chose to bat, restricted to 172 for 9. Shaun Liebisch scored almost a run-a-ball 60, but the rest of the batsmen were unable to find any run-scoring rhythm. Two run-outs in the 30th over didn’t help the cause of the Northerns either.Liebisch, though, sparked off his team-mates with the ball; he provided two vital breakthroughs when the Eastern Province top order were threatening to take the game away via building partnerships. Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso removed Nos 6-8 to finish with 3 for 31; wicketkeeper-batsman Sean Adair fought for 69 off 100, but was one of two scalps for medium-pacer Tumi Masekela.Eastern Province were dismissed for 157 off 42.5 overs, 16 short of their target. Northerns will face Gauteng in the final on Wednesday.

Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah slammed a 80-ball 100 to lead his side to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Karnataka in the quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. After being asked to bat, Karnataka could only muster 234 as Robin Uthappa top scored with a measured 50. Left-arm medium-pacer Balkrishna Jadeja, playing his second List A game, took three wickets for Saurashtra but was expensive, giving away 68 runs. The Saurashtra chase was given a solid platform with openers Chirag Pathak (64) and Sagar Jogiyani adding 87. Shah then propelled them to victory, crunching 10 fours and five sixes in his second List A hundred.The day’s other quarter-final also saw a captain’s century set up a win. Bengal cruised to a 48-run triumph over Delhi on the back of a commanding batting performance, led by captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s 95-ball 124 in Visakhapatnam. Bengal got off to a good start as their openers forged a 74-run stand but stumbled as three wickets fell for the addition of five runs. They got back on track thanks to an express 120-run partnership between Shukla and Anustup Majumdar, who contributed less than a third of the runs in the stand. Debabrata Das chipped in with a quick 40 as Bengal finished on 295. Delhi’s batsmen had to score briskly to chase down the big target and perished in the attempt. Though they reached 139 by the 25th over, they had lost five wickets and despite Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Virat Kohli’s efforts, they were bowled out for 247.

The MCC has submitted a planning application to Westminster City Council for six floodlights at Lord’s to be installed at the start of each season from 2009 for five years.Having floodlights is one of the provisions for hosting ICC World Twenty20 matches next year and could also be used for one-day internationals and county matches. If the plan is approved there will be six light pylons, the tallest standing at just under 48 metres behind the Warner, Compton, Edrich, and Tavern Stands. They will remain in place throughout the season and removed each winter.The application follows an in-depth study by the MCC which looked at the growing demand for day/night games The MCC realises that Lord’s needs floodlights to remain an attractive venue for day/night matches. Lord’s is one of three grounds that will host the World Twenty20, conditional on the provision of floodlights that meet ECB standards and the requirements of broadcasters.The MCC has already experimented with temporary mobile floodlighting for a day/night match in 2007 but found that they failed to meet ECB standards and there were problems with light spill and glare. A further day/night trial with temporary mobile floodlights is scheduled for August 2008 to address some of these issues.The temporary floodlights now proposed for 2009 are specifically designed for Lord’s and will implement higher quality and more accurate lighting to minimise light spill for local residents and eliminate glare for players, umpires, broadcasters and spectators. It will also enable the MCC to continue to monitor the impact of floodlighting on both the game and across the wider neighbourhood over a longer period of time.”Floodlights are now a key component for staging one day and Twenty20 matches,” said Keith Bradshaw, the MCC secretary and chief executive. “This application provides a solution to floodlighting for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in 2009, a major international sporting event, as well as matches over the next five years. As the home of cricket globally, it is crucial that Lord’s continues to host these games.””The temporary option has been developed following a thorough analysis of floodlighting solutions. It’s important that we take into account the effect on the local area as well as how it fits in with the Lord’s masterplan, which will see significant and long-term improvements at Lord’s.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDevendra Bishoo nearly pulled off a stunning heist in the last over•Caribbean Premier League

Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel huffed and puffed and just scraped through to their first win of the season by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter against Guyana Amazon Warriors. Requiring five in the last over, T&T nearly found a way to lose as legspinner Devendra Bishoo picked up his second wicket of the over with the penultimate delivery, but on inspection a no-ball was called by the third umpire because the bowler had overstepped. With one to get and two balls still remaining, Kevon Cooper smashed the free-hit for six to win it for Red Steel.Cameron Delport had got Red Steel off to a brisk start in the chase of 119, making 22 out of a first-wicket stand of 23 with Jacques Kallis. Darren Bravo and Kallis then added 38 in 44 balls, but both got out in quick succession. Again a partnership built, with Dwayne Bravo and Kamran Akmal adding 31, and Red Steel were comfortably placed at the end of 15 overs – needing 20 to win off 30 balls.Kamran played an inspired cameo – 30 off 17 – but was dismissed in the 16th over with Red Steel still requiring 13 for victory with four overs remaining. However, three frugal overs ensued, including a tight 18th over by Bishoo, in which he took one wicket and conceded just one run. Tasked with defending five off the last, Bishoo conceded three singles and took a wicket in his first four balls, and also had Cooper stumped off the fifth. That delivery, however, turned out to be a no-ball, too large an error in a game of small margins.Amazon Warriors had made a poor start to the game after choosing to bat, losing two wickets in the third over. Lendl Simmons and Brad Hodge began rebuilding with a 35-run stand, before Hodge was caught and bowled off Samuel Badree for 19. Sunil Narine came out to bat at No. 5 but couldn’t get going, eventually holing out to long-on for 14. Simmons was bowled just after he reached his half-century as Amazon Warriors slumped to 104 for 7. They were soon bowled out for 118. Dwayne Bravo produced his career-best bowling figures of 4 for 18, while Kallis and Cooper took two wickets each.

An unbeaten 78 from Yuvraj Singh helped Punjab take another step closer to the knockouts as they beat Rajasthan by six wickets to register their fourth win in five matches. Manender Singh, playing in only his second List A game, top-scored with 118 in Rajasthan’s 270 for 7, but it wasn’t enough as Punjab’s launch pad was set by Jiwanjot Singh (66) and Mandeep Singh (60). That smoothened the passage of victory as Yuvraj hit 10 fours and two sixes in his 59-ball knock and Punjab won with 32 balls to spare. Brainder Sran, the left-arm pacer, was Punjab’s best bowler of the day, finishing with figures of 4 for 60.Services were consigned to their second successive loss as Mumbai put it past them by six wickets in a Group A fixture. Nakul Verma’s half-century was the lone bright spark in a disappointing batting effort as Services were bowled out for 151 in 42.1 overs. The bulk of the damage was done by pacer Shardul Thakur who finished with 4 for 19.The in-form Akhil Herwadkar piloted Mumbai’s chase with a 48-ball 46, while Shreyas Iyer, coming in at No. 3, contributed 35. Although Mumbai lost three quick wickets with the target in sight, victory was never in doubt. They eventually crossed the line in 25.2 overs to post their third win in four matches.Assam, who came within touching distance of upsetting Punjab on Monday, suffered a batting collapse as Hyderabad beat them by 72 runs to register their first win in the tournament. Hyderabad, who were sent in to bat, were propelled to 271 for 8 courtesy Tanmay Agarwal’s 83. Hanuma Vihari, the captain who walked out to bat at No. 3, chipped in with 51 as he and Agarwal put on 107 for the third wicket to set the foundation for a big total.As many as six Assam batsmen got off to starts, with Pallavkumar Das’ 54 at the top of the order being the highest. The pace duo of Ravi Kiran and Chama Milind picked up three wickets each as Assam were bowled out for 199. With five losses in as many matches, Assam have only pride to play for in their final league fixture of the tournament on Thursday.