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After Shane Warne sledged Paul Collingwood on the third day at the SCG for being “awarded an MBE for scoring 7 at The Oval”, Geoff Boycott weighed in to the debate over the honours awarded to the England side in 2005.”For 18 years England haven’t won … Australia have been beating England every two years home or away,” he said on his BBC podcast. “Suddenly, when England win, all hell breaks loose. They all get gongs at the palace. It just shows how foolish it was when they come out here two years later and are absolutely annihilated.”I scored 8,000 runs and played a hundred Tests before I got one (Boycott was awarded the OBE in 1980) and what did he score? Seventeen runs? And the others played five Tests to get one? I feel so bad about mine I’m going to tie it around my cat. It’s a joke.”Andrew Flintoff, who’s a super player, Marcus Trescothick who’s played a lot of Tests and done well, Michael Vaughan as the winning captain. But every Tom, Dick or Harry?”Boycott added that the fact that Warne had not been recognised added to the sense of farce.

February was a quiet month for Tim Ambrose, which is strange when you consider he was in the throes of his first senior England tour. But now that the calendar has clicked round to March, there’s no hiding from the limelight any longer. After running the drinks as Phil Mustard’s understudy throughout the one-day series, Ambrose is at last ready to take centre stage. On Wednesday, he becomes England’s latest wicketkeeper and No. 7 batsman, as the first Test against New Zealand gets underway in Hamilton.Wicketkeepers are, as a rule of thumb, a highly-strung fraternity, but to judge from his outward appearance, Ambrose bucks that particular trend. During England’s final warm-up in the Antarctic chill of Dunedin, he was quietly confident in all that he did, easing five fours in an attractive 33, and holding onto four fuss-free catches behind the stumps. The only taut strings that Ambrose displays are those of his travelling companion, his trusty guitar, an instrument he’s been playing since the age of 14.”I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” said Ambrose, as England checked into their Hamilton hotel with three days to go until his Test debut. “I haven’t felt too many nerves so far, but I’m generally excited and looking forward to getting a chance. My game is in good order. Dunedin was a good opportunity to get some rust out and I’m very pleased with the way I’m catching.”There are few roles in international cricket that come with as many caveats as that of the England wicketkeeper. Ever since the retirement of Alec Stewart, that No. 7 position has been a merry-go-round of the tried, tested, and discarded. James Foster, Geraint Jones, Paul Nixon and Chris Read are among the players to have been chewed over and spat out, and then of course there’s the most recent incumbent, Matt Prior, a man to whom Ambrose needs no introduction. The pair sparred over the gauntlets at Sussex for five seasons from 2001, until Ambrose eventually bit the bullet and moved to Warwickshire, the battle for supremacy seemingly won and lost.Not so, it turns out. Prior impressed intermittently with his pugnacious batting, and averaged over 40 for his first year of Test cricket, but it was as a gloveman that he was found wanting. Three ugly fumbles during the must-win Galle Test in December meant that his shortcomings could no longer be overlooked, and he was axed so unceremoniously at the beginning of the year that the England selectors couldn’t even locate him to let him down gently.Ambrose may have been the beneficiary, but there were no hard feelings from his friend and rival. “I’ve spoken to Matt a couple of times since we got here,” said Ambrose. “He sent a text before we left, and he was very supportive because he’s a good friend. But as cricketers me and him are very different. We’ve learned things from each other, but I know how I play and I’ll focus more on what I can do and what I’ll bring to the side.”Part of the reason for the high turnover among English wicketkeepers has been the freakish genius of Adam Gilchrist, whose career has entered its final week with the culmination of Australia’s CB Series campaign. Suddenly every pretender to the role has to average nearly 50 while clinging onto all edges that fly their way, but Ambrose didn’t see his influence as a negative one.”I would never say he’s been detrimental, he’s been inspirational,” said Ambrose. “He’s raised the bar and it’s great to have someone at that level to aim for. There’s no reason why people can’t try to achieve what he’s done in the past. He’s an exceptional performer, and he’s been brilliant for the game and for that skill as well, but there’s nothing wrong with aiming high and trying to achieve those sorts of things.”

Now however, there’s a more immediate distraction as Ambrose embarks on his international career. In Brendon McCullum, New Zealand have unearthed the nearest thing to a Gilchrist clone – as confirmed at the recent IPL auction in Mumbai where Kolkata splashed out a cool US$700,000. In Sunday’s State Shield final in Auckland, McCullum smashed Otago to their first victory in 20 years with an incredible innings of 170 from 108 balls.The innings was being shown in the foyer while Ambrose was waiting to speak to the media, but if he was daunted by the match-up, he didn’t show it. “He’s played very well, and is striking the ball very well, so I’ll be watching him to learn as I have done for the last month,” said Ambrose. “But my game is based on a very simple technique because there is less that can go wrong that way, my keeping in particular, and it seems to suit me.”Wednesday promises to be a special occasion in more ways than one for Ambrose. If an impending debut is not enough emotion to be dealing with, he’s got a long-overdue family reunion in prospect as well. He was just 17 when he first came to England in the summer of 2000 in search of broader horizons, and ever since then his cricketing duties have denied him many opportunities to get back to his native Sydney. This week, however, his parents, Ray and Sally, are due to fly across the Tasman to witness his big moment.”Dad was over for a month last year, but I’ve not seen my mum for a few years so it’ll be good to catch up,” said Ambrose, “though she’ll probably be hiding out the back because she’s not a good watcher. But the whole occasion will mean a great deal. I was talking to Stuart Broad last night, and he was telling me about his debut in Colombo. It sent shivers up my spine, as it was a very proud moment. I’m sure I’ll feel the same.”

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Geoffrey Boycott would have approved of it: dour batting by Yorkshire against quality seam bowling in helpful conditions, with only one wicket falling in two hours play. Nottinghamshire’s four-man seam attack bowled 30 overs and the hosts made it to 51 for 1, with Michael Vaughan on 25 and Anthony McGrath on 14.It was a surprise that Yorkshire chose to bat against the only other Division One team to win a match so far this season, but their batsmen performed creditably in the best Yorkshire tradition. Most pleasing would be the innings of Vaughan, who had survived for 81 balls at the close.The sun shone early on, which meant that play on a damp outfield started after an early lunch, but more rain fell before tea and forced a premature end. Importantly for Yorkshire they only lost one wicket, that of Joe Sayers, who made 9 off 72 balls. Slow it may have been, but it was an intriguing battle.The main points of interest were the batting of Vaughan and the bowling of his England team-mate and former county colleague Ryan Sidebottom, although they rarely came up against each other. Sidebottom moved the ball away from the left-hander Sayers, tying him down with seven consecutive maidens and the batsman only got off strike with a leg-bye in the last.Vaughan mostly handled the bowling of Charlie Shreck and was off the mark secondball, with a neat dab for three past gully. He was beaten several times, but broke through every now and then with strokes of pure class, such as when he flicked Shreck past square leg for four and then drove the next ball to the cover boundary.He ruined Sidebottom’s opening figures with two more boundaries – an edge through the slips and a classic extra-cover drive – leaving Sidebottom with 8-7-9-0. Vaughan did at times show impatience at being tied down, flashing on a couple of occasions, but Sayers was the one who fell, playing on to Mark Ealham with the total at 32.Stuart Broad, in his first championship match for his new county, also bowled well, getting lift as well as movement. His seven overs cost 14 but he was unable to make a breakthrough.There was a brief and unusual interruption at one stage when a fox seemingly thought it was required as a substitute fielder, straying onto the outfield before disappearing as mysteriously as it had come. Presumably it had been wearing a media pass, or else the gatekeepers had been lax in allowing it in without paying. Perhaps they thought it a costume-day participant who had got his Test dates mixed up.Sidebottom had just returned for a second spell before tea when bad light closed in, quickly followed by rain, and the day’s play was over. More of the same on the second day may frustrate fans who have become used to Twenty20, but it will be strongly competitive in the best traditions of the northern game.

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File photo – Peter Fulton’s 55-ball 65 helped Canterbury chase down the target in 37.4 overs•Getty Images

Fifties from Peter Fulton and Henry Nicholls stretched Canterbury’s unbeaten run in this season’s Ford Trophy to five, as they collected a six-wicket victory against Auckland.Chasing 244, Fulton and Nicholls built on Ronnie Hira and Tom Latham’s strong start. The pair added 82 for the third wicket at a brisk pace before Nicholls fell to Lachie Ferguson with the score at 181 in the 32nd over. Fulton, however, continued his assault, smashing five fours and four sixes in his 55-ball 65. He was dismissed four overs after Nicholls, but by then Canterbury were just 28 runs away from the target with over 14 overs in hand. Todd Astle and Andrew Ellis took the visitors home in 37.4 overs, further strengthening Canterbury’s position at the top of the table.In the first innings, Auckland were guided to 243 for 7 by wicketkeeper Brad Cachopa’s 107. Cachopa walked in in the fourth over and dropped anchor for the hosts, batting till the last over of the innings. He was unable to build partnerships with the middle order as quick wickets reduced Auckland to 164 for 6. Donovan Grobbelaar then slammed an unbeaten 45, adding 75 with Cachopa for the seventh boost Auckland in the death.

The Pakistan board has decided against allowing Iftikhar Anjum, the medium-fast bowler, to join Glamorgan after the county showed an interest in signing him up as their overseas player for 2008.”We have told them [Glamorgan] that Pakistan have a busy international season coming up and cannot afford to release any of their players from the core squad,” Shafqat Naghmi, PCB’s chief operating officer, told the .Pakistan are due to host Australia in March and April next year for a Test and ODI series before hosting the Asia Cup in June and according to Naghmi, Pakistan will be needing Iftikhar’s services throughout.The PCB is also reluctant to allow a fit fast bowler play for a county with most of the national team’s bowling line-up on the injured list. Mohammad Asif has just undergone an elbow operation, Umar Gul is recovering from back spasm that ruled him out of the Test series against India while Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami were both below par due to illness during the tour to India.There are reports, however, that Glamorgan have agreed terms with Iftikhar’s agent and are prepared to wait until March for a final decision by the PCB before following up other potential targets.If the deal goes through, Iftikhar will be the first Pakistan player to sign for the county since Waqar Younis over a decade ago. He has made 39 ODI appearances and taken 42 wickets with an economy-rate of under five an over. Iftikhar last featured for Pakistan in the ODI series against India before being surplus to requirements for the Test series. A spate of injuries and illness, however, prompted the PCB to send Iftikhar back to India as cover for the other fast bowlers ahead of the final Test in Bangalore, which he didn’t play.

Andrew Symonds believes it is a shame that Twenty20 is being legitimised to the point of staging a World Championship and says Australia would prefer to keep having fun with the concept. Symonds said his team-mates had viewed previous Twenty20 internationals as “a bit of a spectacle” but they would need to take their must-win attitude to South Africa in September.”The thing people love about Twenty20 is that it’s fun and fresh, but it’s also not played that often,” Symonds told the . “It’s a good thing as long as it’s not taken that seriously. Now there’s a World Cup it’s obviously going to be taken seriously. That might be a bit of a shame.”Symonds’s comments have come a week after Nathan Bracken also expressed his concerns about the World Championship and said Australia should not get too stressed over the tournament. Symonds said the players, like the fans, enjoyed the laid-back nature of Twenty20 matches.”The best part is having the captains wired up for TV and being able to play with the kids on the boundaries,” he said. “We’ll lose all that because everyone will take it seriously.”So far Symonds has enjoyed his Twenty20 international experience – he has played four matches and made 125 runs from 63 balls at an average of 62.50. Australia’s World Championship begins with group matches against Zimbabwe and England in Cape Town but to win the 12-team competition they will need to play a further five games.

Ricky Ponting is confident Australia’s strong record in big matches will help them through the semi-final with South Africa in St Lucia on Wednesday. The teams are set to play for a place in the decider after South Africa thrashed England on Tuesday.”It was a big game for them, but not as big as a World Cup semi-final or final,” Ponting said in The Australian. “We have a great record in those games and we are looking forward to playing them. It’s a little way off. We have a good game to play against New Zealand first, but we are very excited about the prospect of playing South Africa.”Australia’s most famous success against South Africa came in the 1999 World Cup semi-final when they tied the game at Edgbaston and went through to the final on a superior run-rate. However, Australia lost the most recent series 3-2 when South Africa overhauled Australia’s 434 to take the trophy. “They have been good rivals of ours,” he said. “They have played excellent cricket of late against us as well.”Ponting is wary of the depth of South Africa’s side and considers them a threat on the Caribbean surfaces. “By the looks of things they might have got conditions to suit them a little bit with their bowling early on, but their batting was very good,” he said. “They are a dangerous side.”

Tim Nielsen, Australia’s new coach, believes the three replacements for the holes left by Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer have still not been decided. While Phil Jaques seems to have sealed the opening batting place, Mitchell Johnson the bowling spot and Stuart MacGill the spinning vacancy, Nielsen said there was still time for other players to be considered for the first Test against Sri Lanka from November 8.”I don’t think the Glenn McGrath position has been finalised and it’s the same with the spin position,” Nielsen said. “There are also a lot of contenders for the opening position and Phil Jaques has done well over the past couple of weeks.”Jaques strengthened his claim with 13 and 167 against Western Australia in Perth last week while Chris Rogers struggled before his chances were ended when he was hospitalised with appendicitis. Brad Hodge, who has also signalled his intention to partner Matthew Hayden at the Gabba, managed only 61 runs in eight games in India while Michael Hussey is recovering from a hamstring strain and the Australian management wants him to stay at No. 4.Nielsen said the round of Pura Cup games over the next week would be crucial as the Australian one-day players switch from limited-overs to Test mode. Ideally he wants his batsmen to spend long periods in the middle and the bowlers to deliver two or three spells a day.”This first game will be important for the guys,” he said. “They have four days of playing, getting up and playing again. It’s something they haven’t done for a while.”The fixtures will also be important for Stuart MacGill and Shaun Tait, who are coming back from off-season operations. MacGill, who is coming back from a knee surgery, will be part of the New South Wales team which will host Queensland from Friday, the same day Victoria begin their contest with Western Australia. Tait, who is fighting to prove his fitness from an elbow problem, will have a one-day match against Tasmania on Saturday before the Pura Cup game starting next Monday.Despite the loss of the three greats, Nielsen is confident Australia will be able to provide cover. “I want to make sure there is heaps of depth to do a great job,” he said. “There’s a new focus in the team and it’s the start of a new era. It will be positive and challenging time.”

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The Mumbai Champs, already out of the reckoning for a semi-final spot, cruised to a consolation 35-run victory over the Chandigarh Lions. The win was set up by a solid batting display, led by their captain Nathan Astle’s breezy 42.Astle chose to bat at the toss, and the Champs lost two wickets before he and Subhojit Paul smashed 60 runs in six overs. Shreyas Khanolkar and Kiran Powar provided useful contributions before Ranjit Khirid provided the impetus towards the end of the innings. He lashed a 21-ball 32 to lift the Champs to 160.Andrew Hall turned in an outstanding bowling performance, finishing with 4 for 8 in his three overs, while Daryl Tuffey, Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia went for more than nine an over.After Manish Sharma was run out in the second over, Tejinder Pal Singh and Lou Vincent set up a platform for the Lions’ chase, taking them to 46 before Vincent fell in the eighth over. Shridhar Iyer then struck twice to remove Tejinder Pal and Mongia, and the Lions’ chase looked in disarray at 70 for 4, needing 91 with 47 deliveries remaining.Once Michael Kasprowicz dismissed the dangerous Cairns, the hunt looked all but over for the Lions. They closed at 125 for 8 in their 20 overs, and more importantly lost out on two points in their pursuit of a semi-final spot.

The Indian Premier League has leading England players in its sights, according to its chairman, Lalit Modi, and is prepared to look at its future dates to accommodate them.Speaking to the BBC, Modi said: “I know a lot of them are interested but we don’t want to conflict with the English season. If that means we have to move our matches a few weeks in advance, we would be happy to do that to accommodate the English players. We would like to see a lot of the English players in the IPL but I cannot commit to them until the ECB actually finds a window and clears them.”Modi has said several times over the past month that English players were interested, and his latest comments seem to be a response to Giles Clarke, the England board (ECB) chairman, who said at the weekend that no English-qualified players could be poached by the IPL. “We have a contract with the BCCI [Indian board] … in that contract, they’re not allowed to take any English players of any kind to play in IPL if there is no No Objection Certificate. The IPL will not play any player who has not received an NOC.”Modi has maintained that the IPL will work with the England board, although earlier this month he suggested that the ECB might “move their season back by a few weeks … then we can have a window. It would be a win-win situation for everybody.”That idea, aside from the meteorological issues, left Clarke distinctly unimpressed. “We are not interested in people playing in the IPL,” he said. “The IPL is a domestic competition and we’re not going to alter our season for a domestic season in another country.”Modi is aware he has to be careful. While as chairman of the IPL he can say what he wants, he has to balance that position with his role as vice-president of the Indian board.The IPL is already impacting on England with several overseas players preferring to play in it rather than start the season with their counties. And while only one England player – Dimitri Mascarenhas – has signed, it has been announced that five of the New Zealand squad for the tour which starts in five weeks will miss two warm-up games because of their IPL commitments.Clarke has maintained that the large sums of money on offer are still not enough to tempt the best in his country. “I don’t think the rewards being talked about are particularly ones England players would be interested in,” he said. “Should any player give up his English contract he would, of course, risk losing his England place. We play international cricket during the time the IPL is on and most players don’t want to lose their international place.”Asked about Mascarenhas, Clarke made clear his position. “As far as the ECB was concerned it was entirely a matter for his employer. Hampshire are taking a serious risk, which they acknowledge, that Mascarenhas might get injured while playing in the IPL and be out for the whole English summer.”One England player who might sign, Modi hinted, is Steve Harmison. Although he has a central contract, it appears increasingly unlikely that will be renewed after a string of substandard performances led to him being dropped from the side in New Zealand.The signs are that the relative harmony that has so far existed between the IPL and the ECB could start to be tested in the coming months as the IPL’s desire to sign up as many of the leading stars grows. That, in turn, could test the relationship between the board and its contracted players.