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Aushim Khetrapal, an Indian sports promoter, has denied that he offered New Zealand’s captain Fleming £200,000 (approx US$370,000) to join a match-fixing syndicate during the 1999 World Cup.Fleming claims in his new book, Balance of Power, that he was approached by Khetrapal in the bar of a hotel in Leicester, and offered the chance to earn “real money” as part of an international betting syndicate. Fleming claims he was offered £200,000 straight away, and a further £100,000 in a year’s time, but refused the offer instantly.But, speaking to the BBC, Khetrapal has denied the claims, adding that he is considering legal action. “My passport shows that I was in England from July 30 until August 3, 1999,” he said, “whereas the World Cup was held in June the same year.”Khetrapal is alleged to be an associate of Sanjeev Chawla, the Indian bookmaker whose taped phone-calls with Hansie Cronje blew the lid off the match-fixing scandal in 2000. He does concede that he did meet Fleming, but at a different time, and under very different circumstances.”I did meet Fleming in a hotel in Leicester where he was playing a county match,” Khetrapal, who runs a sports management company in Mumbai, told the BBC. “He said he wanted agents in India and he was offered US$250,000 [£135,000] for modelling assignments. A contract was also signed by him regarding this.”

Scorecard

Canada, somewhat surprisingly, held the upper hand after the opening day of the Intercontinental Cup match against the USA. This was in no small part due to an outstanding allround performance from their captain John Davison. Davison opened the batting, making 84, despite being forced to retire hurt. He then proceeded to devastate the American innings, taking six of the eight wickets to fall. At the close the USA were on 110 for 8, 121 behind Canada’s first-innings total.Canada won the toss and chose to bat in perfect conditions. Canada omitted Manzoor Chaudry and Kevin Sandher from their squad of 13, and the USA included Leon Romero as a last-minute replacement for Rohan Alexander. Davison opened with Desmond Chumney, and appeared to have made a good decision as Canada advanced to 57 without loss. This promising start soon stumbled, however, as Davison was forced to retire hurt, and the Canadian wickets tumbled against the American spinners. Zamin Amin and Javed Nasir each took two wickets as Canada struggled to 107 for 5 at lunch.Davison returned after the interval and built a good partnership with Hani Dhillon. Davison eventually fell for 84, just two short of his first-class best, and Dhillon for an excellent 69 on an impressive debut. Dhillon faced 148 balls and hit 6 fours and two sixes.The brand-new turf wicket – possibly to be used in the next World Cup – was low in bounce and clearly favoured spin bowling. Javed Nasir, the legspinner, excelled with 5 for 78, and Canada were dismissed for 221.The American reply got off to a disastrous start when Johnson was dismissed first ball in the first over lbw to Patel. Richard Staple, the captain, who scored 30, and Romero stabilised the innings. With Clayton Lambert, the former West Indies Test batsman, to come, the Americans were in a strong position, but that was before Davison got in on the act again. America had no answer to his offspin as he recorded his best first-class figures of 6 for 42. He was well supported by Sunil Dhaniram who kept the pressure on with tight, accurate bowling, and was rewarded with the wicket of Reid. Davison took the prized scalp of Clayton Lambert, caught by Billcliff for just 2.

Medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji claimed five wickets to propel Tamil Nadu to a convincing 132-run win over hosts Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group semi-final that ended at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu now take on Mumbai in the Ranji final to be played at Mumbai from May 4.It did not take long for the outcome of the match to be settled after play resumed on Tuesday. In Balaji’s third over, he castled Virender Sehwag (98 not out overnight) with an excellent off-cutter. Sehwag was stranded on 99.With their star batsman back in the pavilion, Delhi’s challenge quickly fizzled out. The remaining four batsmen lasted just 13 more overs as the hosts folded up after the addition of just 41 runs to their overnight total.Tamil Nadu captain S Suresh expressed his happiness with his team’s performance in his post-match interview with the Press Trust of India.”We played really well and everybody contributed in the win. It was indeed a fine show by the players as it is not easy to beat Delhi on their home soil, ” Suresh said.”Balaji again proved that he is a class bowler. He has bowled beautifully throughout the season and no doubt his performance in the semi-final played a significant role in our victory,” he added, while thanking his main strike bowler for his match-winning display.

England are aiming to look to the future rather than the past when the fourth test against Australia gets under way at Headingley tomorrow.With the country inundated by articles, features and television specials about the exploits of Ian Botham and Bob Willis on this ground 20 years ago, thepresent England team are aiming to stop Australia’s momentum and claim a consolation prize from this one-sided Ashes series.With the Ashes already gone beyond recall, the back-to-back Tests at Headingleyand The Oval are seen more as a chance to evaluate form and availability as the selectors look towards the tour of India later this year.That squad will be announced on August 28th, together with the one-day party tovisit Zimbabwe for five one-day internationals in September, if the politicalclimate there allows it.”We can’t afford to keep losing – we’ve got to put a performance in again andstart the ball rolling once again,” stressed the England captain Nasser Hussain, back after missing two Tests with a broken finger.”Everyone tends to look back to the glory days, but we have to be careful wedon’t do that. We are looking to the future and not backwards, which even goesfor this side – there’s no point going on about the last 18 months when we’vebeen successful if we rock up and keep losing.”English cricket has to carry on. We’ve competed against everyone else butnot this Australian side, but we have important tours coming up and we have tothink about the future.”Hussain and the Chairman of the England selectors, David Graveney, will have further discussions with England’s two senior players, Alec Stewart and Michael Atherton, before England finalise their tour parties.Hussain said: “They have two important weeks making up their own minds becausewith the tour selections coming up soon after the Oval we would hope both ofthem and anyone else would have made their minds up by then.”I have great respect for those two, they have both played over 120 Testmatches, both average around 40, Stewie does little wrong behind the stumps andAthers is still catching well and still gutsy – for me there is no doubt whatAlec Stewart and Michael Atherton have done for this country cricket wise.”If players wanted to miss part of the winter we would have to review it witheach individual. I’ve been in that situation before with Graham Thorpe knockingon my door asking for the winter off and I know the coach has strong opinions onthat.”Hussain faces a motivational task to lift a side already 3-0 down in the series and facing the prospect of a 5-0 whitewash.”We have to get better – it’s as simple as that,” he insisted. “We’ve shown signs of recovery and competed against every other side in the world but we just haven’t done it against Australia.”The road doesn’t just end because the Ashes are gone, we’ve got to carry onand try and continue to get better.”Hussain admits he is badly short of match practice. “I don’t feel I’ve had a summer yet. We’ve got 10 very important days coming up which are no more or lessimportant to me than what has just gone.”In an ideal world I’d have played a couple of championship games for Essexbefore I came back but they were not there and with Australia over here and backto back Test matches coming up, I as captain have to come back and get stuckin.”Hussain is undecided about selection, with spinner Robert Croft retained in the 13-man party. If they decide to choose an all-seam attack, the final place alongside Alex Tudor, Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick will presumably rest between Richard Johnson and Alan Mullally.

North Group

Worcestershire v Birmingham, New Road, Worcester, 5.30Second-placed Worcestershire host top-of-the-table Birmingham in what promises to be a hard-fought, high-quality match. With 16 points, defending champions Birmingham are the most successful team in the country this year, while only Kent in the South Group can match Worcestershire’s tally of 14 points. Both teams should qualify comfortably for the quarter-finals but a win in this match would all but confirm it and both will also be keen to guarantee a home quarter-final. History favours the defending champions with Birmingham having won five of the last six matches between the two teams.Leicestershire v Lancashire, Grace Road, Leicester, 5.30Leicestershire are in sixth place and Lancashire are in fourth but both teams are level on ten points in a very tight North Group. Indeed, given their proximity in the league table, this match could prove to be pivotal for both teams.Leicestershire and Lancashire have both had inconsistent seasons. Leicestershire were arguably playing some of the best cricket in the country when they registered three convincing wins in four matches; Lancashire’s victories, by contrast, have generally been tighter, but they have a formidable record against Leicestershire having gone unbeaten in the last eight matches, with six wins and two ties.James Faulkner is set to return to Lancashire’s squad following his drink-driving charge after he was involved in a collision in a Manchester suburb while Leicestershire will miss Kevin and Niall O’Brien who are playing in the World T20 Qualifiers for Ireland and seamer Rob Taylor who is playing for Scotland.Yorkshire v Durham, Headingley, Leeds, 7.00Durham, who are fifth, have had one of the more bizarre campaigns this season, and have not won twice consecutively since their opening two matches. Five of their matches have been either won or lost by less than 20 runs; fine margins define the position they find themselves in now. They have an opportunity against a struggling Yorkshire to turn themselves into serious contenders for a quarter-final place.Yorkshire promised to give T20 greater importance to the NatWest T20 Blast this season, but such emphasis has not translated into results and they will need a miracle to qualify for the quarter finals, having registered just three wins in nine matches so far. They do welcome back Liam Plunkett from injury and have included Adil Rashid in their 14-man squad after he was released by England. Youngsters Ben Coad, Ryan Gibson and Josh Shaw have all been included and could make their senior T20 debuts.Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire, Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire, 6.30Derbyshire’s quarter-final chances are over with them having won just three times in 11 matches. Nottinghamshire, meanwhile, are not much better placed, having won four from 10 and none consecutively. The addition of Peter Moores to the coaching staff brought no miraculous change in fortunes last week. However, sitting in seventh place, they are just two points off the quarter-final places. “We’ve backed ourselves into a corner where we need to win all four,” said Nottinghamshire head coach Mick Newell. “If we do that, I’m pretty sure we’ll get through, but we have no room for manoeuvre.”Can Steve Finn pump up ailing Middlesex?•Getty Images

South Group

Hampshire v Surrey, Ageas Bowl, Southampton, 7.00This crucial match in the South Group brings together Hampshire who have lost three in a row and Surrey who have won three in a row. Only a fortnight ago Hampshire were seemingly well on course for a quarter-final place alongside Essex at the top of the table while Surrey were languishing right at the very bottom. Two weeks on and how things have changed.Hampshire are seeking their sixth consecutive appearance at Finals Day and began the season strongly, but close observers noted cracks appearing in their tried and tested formula. Seam bowling in particular has been a problem.Surrey’s season turned around following a stunning comeback victory away to Glamorgan on an inauspicious cold Friday night in Cardiff. They will be without Gary Wilson who is playing for Ireland in the World T20 Qualifiers, while Matt Dunn is ruled out with a side injury. Hampshire, who have won their last six home matches against Surrey, have named an unchanged squad from last week’s match against Glamorgan.Sussex v Glamorgan, The County Ground, Hove, 7.00Sussex in second and Glamorgan in fourth are in strong positions in the South Group and are both just a win away from top spot. However, with just two matches left after this fixture they will recognise the importance of a win over a quarter-final rival.Sussex’s defeat against leaders Kent last week ended their streak of four consecutive victories and they will be keen to recapture their form against Glamorgan, who have included Michael Hogan in their squad.”We’ve tended to play better away than at home in T20 so far this season,” said Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford. “So we’re looking forward to the game at Hove off the back of two good wins on the road against Somerset and Hampshire.”Kent v Somerset, The Spitfire Ground, St. Lawrence, Canterbury, 7.00Although Somerset are languishing in eighth place in the South Group they are only three points off Essex in third and still have a chance to make a late push for a quarter-final spot.”Every game is important,” said head coach Matt Maynard. “We have to look to try and win all four of our remaining matches to make sure that we qualify for the quarter finals. To do that we need to get out of the powerplay with the ball and with the bat because that has cost us big time. If we can get out of those first six overs in good shape we tend to win the matches. We have had a chat about it and we have put a system in place.”Somerset will have their work cut out against Kent who are have surprised many onlookers with their strong form this season, winning seven of their ten matches so far despite not signing an overseas player. Kent have made one change to their squad from their victory against Sussex last week, with Calum Haggett replacing the injured Ivan Thomas.Middlesex v Essex, Old Deer Park, Richmond, 5.30Middlesex won two matches in Game Week 2, but either side of that have not managed a victory and have now lost seven in a row. With four points from ten matches their quarter-final chances are all but over. With two top-four sides, Sussex and Glamorgan, in opposition, third placed Essex will sense an opportunity to move one step closer to the quarter-finals against a struggling team.Essex have turned their season around excellently having lost three of their first four matches and head coach Paul Grayson is thrilled with the progress. “If someone had said seven or eight games ago that we could have a chance of finishing in the top-four, we would definitely have taken that,” he said.Liam Dawson, on loan from Hampshire, is expected to make his T20 debut for Essex while Tom Westley has been included in their squad after recovering from injury. Middlesex welcome back international pace duo Steven Finn, released by England, and Mitchell McClenaghan, back from injury.

Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, has said that Bangladesh’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe, scheduled originally for January 2016, will be shelved to keep the team’s focus on T20Is. Hassan did not mention when the series will be now be held, but said the period after the World T20 was in discussion.”It is necessary for us to prepare for the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 which are two important tournaments,” he said. “Many of our T20 players aren’t in the T20 squad so if we play Test cricket at that time, they won’t be able to prepare.” The BCB, however, is yet to announce any international or domestic T20 tournament between the end of the BPL and the start of the Asia Cup, which they will host.The two-Test series was part of Zimbabwe’s full tour to Bangladesh, but after Australia postponed their Test series in October, the BCB forwarded the limited-overs matches from the Zimbabwe series to November. Bangladesh won the ODI series 3-0, and the two teams shared the two-match T20I series 1-1.Back in August, the BCB had already cut one Test from this series to prepare for the World T20. In October, the two Tests scheduled for January were forwarded to November, but a week later, the BCB changed the format of the series to include just ODIs and T20Is.

The former West Indies and Kent cricketer, Hartley Alleyne, an acclaimed coach at St Edmund’s School in Canterbury, faces deportation within 28 days after being refused a work permit by the Home Office.Alleyne, who completed an NVQ in sports coaching to satisfy immigration officials, is being backed in his bid to stay in the country by Canterbury’s MP, Julian Brazier, who has branded the decision “appalling”. Brazier is demanding for an urgent meeting with Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne.”It is utter madness,” Brazier told The Kentish Gazette. “Here is a man who has given a great deal to this country and particularly young people and is unique in the experience he provides.”How can we turn down his application for a work permit when the Government is letting foreign criminals stay in this country and handing out permits to thousands of others who shouldn’t be here?”The decision can be overturned by Mr Byrne and I hope to persuade him to do the right thing.”The school has stood by Mr Alleyne during his appeal, and its staff and pupils are said to be devastated by his impending deportation. He has lived in the UK for 29 years and has an English wife and three children.”To me England is my home,” he told the website, “and Barbados is a place that I return to every now and again for a holiday. I have given so much of myself to this country and have helped to teach kids cricket and help them make a good start in life.”

ScorecardRain washed out yet another fixture of the Top End series, as the one-day match between Queensland XI and Pakistan A was abandoned at Cairns. After frequent rain interruptions, the umpires called off play 19 overs into the Queensland innings, with the hosts at 3 for 108.The start was delayed by three hours due to wet conditions, as play finally got underway at 12.30pm local time, with the match reduced to 34 overs per side. However, showers forced the players off the field almost immediately, reducing another three overs. When play resumed, the Queensland openers feasted on some wayward bowling, scoring at more than five an over. Another interruption followed, reducing the game to 28 overs per side. Wasim Khan pulled things back with the wicket of Ryan Broad, who spooned a catch straight to Hasan Raza at covers. Khan struck again soon after, sending Clinton Perren’s off stump cartwheeling towards the wicketkeeper.Martin Love and Brendan Nash had a good partnership, scoring boundaries at will. Love was dismissed soon after reaching his half-century, driving uppishly to Misbah-ul-Haq at cover point off Mohammad Hafeez. Rain intervened again just as Chris Hatley walked out to bat. There were chances of a resumption when the sun came out, but the umpires officially called it off after deeming the ground unfit for play, particularly due to the wet patches on the bowlers’ run-ups.This is the fifth consecutive match at Cairns to be affected by the weather. This includes the four-day match between Pakistan A and New Zealand A, two one-day matches between the two sides, and the final day of the four-day match between India A and Australia A.

After weeks of anxious waiting, Zimbabwe’s forthcoming tour of England was finally given the go-ahead today, as a 20-man squad was announced by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. The party will be captained by Heath Streak, and leaves Harare for London on April 29, after permission was granted by the Zimbabwean government’s Sports and Recreation Commission. The tour has been in the balance ever since England’s boycott of their World Cup fixture in Harare, and there had been widespread speculation that Robert Mugabe’s regime might have decided on a tit-for-tat retaliation.Peter Chingoka, the chairman of the ZCU, finally received a telephone call on Friday approving the tour from Anthony Mandiwanza, the commission’s chairman, and Tim Lamb, the chief executive of the ECB, was officially informed of the decision today. “I am delighted we have been given the definitive green light,” said Lamb, “This guarantees a full international programme for the summer, including the first-ever Test match to be held at Durham’s Riverside Ground. With Zimbabwe, South Africa and Pakistan touring, I look forward to another great summer of international cricket.”Quite what sort of a challenge Zimbabwe will be able to mount, however, is anyone’s guess. Their squad has been weakened by the loss of four key players, including the irreplaceable figure of Andy Flower, who was obliged to retire following his black-armband protest during Zimbabwe’s opening match of the World Cup.The extrovert fast bowler, Henry Olonga, who joined Flower in mourning the “death of democracy” in Zimbabwe, has also been driven out of the national side, and the former captains Alistair Campbell and Guy Whittall have also played their final matches. Although the selectors have picked just the one debutant, Vusimuzi Sibanda, a fast bowler, the inexperience of the side is summed up by the promotion of Tatenda Taibu, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper, to the vice-captaincy.Fifteen players have been selected for the two-Test series, which starts at Lord’s on May 22, with a further five earmarked for the triangular NatWest Series, which also includes South Africa.Zimbabwe squad Heath Streak (capt), Tatenda Taibu (vice-capt), Grant Flower, Dion Ebrahim, Mark Vermeulen, Barney Rogers, Sean Ervine, Andy Blignaut, Mluleki Nkala, Stuart Carlisle, Ray Price, Travis Friend, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Douglas Hondo, Douglas Marillier.Additional players for the one-day matches Gary Brent, Waddington Mwayenga, Stuart Matsikenyere, Charles Coventry, Richard Sims.

While Muttiah Muralitharan’s record-breaking achievement in the first Test overshadowed the enormity of Zimbabwe’s defeat, there will no hiding place for them this time in what promises to be another one-sided whopping, starting at Bulawayo tomorrow.If the sacking of the rebel players, coupled with the innings-and-240-run defeat at Harare weren’t bad enough, Zimbabwe will be without Blessing Mahwire, one of their more experienced bowlers with all of six Tests, for the second match. He was reported to the ICC for having a suspect bowling action during the first Test and has been dropped.Mahwire is now in Stage One of the ICC’s process for dealing with bowlers with suspect actions. This allows him to continue playing international cricket while working with specialist advisors, but the selectors have decided to scrap him. His place has been taken by Mark Vermeulen, who has recovered from a head injury sustained against Australia early on this year. Meanwhile, Prosper Utseya has failed to recover from a shoulder injury, and will be replaced by Tawanda Mupariwa, who is set to make his Test debut.Sri Lanka are expected to name an unchanged side, with the likes of Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya expected to rack up their run-tally, and Murali sure to stretch the gap at the top of the Test wickets list. However, he won’t be bowling his controversial doosra after it was outlawed by the ICC. “I have done all the tests that are required and the reports have gone to the ICC,” Murali said. “At the end of the day, what matters is what the report, the expert, my cricket board and the ICC say.”Geoff Marsh, Zimbabwe’s coach, admitted that it was going to be another tough battle for his side. “The guys are in good spirits even though we got beaten pretty well, and they’re looking to this Test match to improve,” he said. “We’re up against a very good side and we didn’t play well enough in any areas.”One stat to give Zimbabwe an ounce of encouragement, however, is that Sri Lanka have failed to win at Bulawayo in two attempts, but then again, Zimbabwe have yet to record a victory against Sri Lanka anywhere. And that is unlikely to change in the next few days.Zimbabwe 1 Tatenda Taibu (capt, wk), 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Mark Vermeulen, 4 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 5 Brendan Taylor 6 Alester Maregwede, 7 Tawanda Mupariwa, 8 Mluleki Nkala, 9 Douglas Hondo, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Elton Chigumbura.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Thilan Samaraweera (wk), 7 Prasanna Jayawardene, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Farveez Maharoof, 10 Nuwan Zoysa, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.