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Wayne Madsen, the South African-born opening batsman, has been appointed Derbyshire captain following the retirement of Luke Sutton.Derbyshire, who sacked coach John Morris during a match against Essex in May, were quick to appoint a new captain after the unexpected retirement of Sutton, who had received treatment for depression during the 2011 season.Madsen, 27, began his career with KwaZulu-Natal in 2003 and played in the Lancashire League during the English summers before moving to the UK in 2008. He secured a contract with Derbyshire in 2009 and scored an unbeaten 170 on debut against Gloucestershire.”I’m extremely honoured and looking forward to the challenge of leading an exciting young team,” said Madsen, who has scored 2,476 first-class runs for Derbyshire at 35.88. “The squad has made significant strides during the past year. It will be a privilege to lead this group of players.”Head coach Karl Krikken is confident Madsen is the perfect replacement for Sutton. “As an excellent leader within the squad and as a model professional, Wayne is the ideal candidate to take over captaincy duties,” he said. “He proved to be a very popular stand-in captain in one-day cricket during the latter part of last season and I know he will do an excellent job in the position on a full-time basis.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRavi Rampaul was Man of the Match, but his team-mates made too many errors•Associated Press

Having started their campaign with victory in a game they had no business winning, Mumbai Indians nearly accomplished the exact opposite before pipping a blundering Trindad & Tobago off the last ball. In a game where neither team managed to reach 100, T&T made too many errors to back up their spirit. The mistake that sealed it came after Mumbai Indians’ top-scorer Ambati Rayudu was run out off the penultimate ball of the match, leaving last man Yuzvendra Chahal needing two off the final delivery. In a move that flew in the face of logic, T&T chose to give the single and play for the tie, unmindful of the fact that they would have had to face Lasith Malinga if the Super Over eventuated.Daren Ganga pushed the field back, Sherwin Ganga sent down a low full toss on Chahal’s pads, and the batsman was inventive enough to nudge softly towards deep midwicket. Chahal charged back for the second, the throw from the deep wasn’t accurate, but Denesh Ramdin had enough time to break the stumps after collecting it. Ramdin, however, chose to under-arm from a couple of yards away and missed to the glee of the predominantly Mumbai Indians-biased crowd.When Mumbai Indians came out needing a paltry 99 for victory, talk was that they would go for a big win and boost their net run-rate. Ravi Rampaul and T&T’s army of unconventional spinners had completely different ideas, though. Samuel Badree had Aiden Blizzard top-edging a slider, before Rampaul dismantled the top order with clever lengths delivered at lively pace. T Suman got a leading edge, James Franklin got an outside edge, and Andrew Symonds inner-edged a yorker onto his stumps – the last two off successive balls to leave the chase in disarray.Kieron Pollard survived the hat-trick ball, but T&T kept attacking their once team-mate. Sunil Narine got the prize wicket with a flat offbreak that Pollard bottom-edged onto his pads en route to his stumps to make it 33 for 5. R Sathish and Rayudu concentrated on survival until Rayudu found release with two boundaries off Kevon Cooper. Sathish looked completely out of place, though, and whipped straight to midwicket to leave his side 65 for 6. Harbhajan Singh put the pressure right back with a lashed six, before he was run out in the 18th over while looking to keep Rayudu on strike. T&T’s fielding began to lose its edge, with a number of school-boy errors in the end overs, including Jason Mohammad’s mis-field at long-off that gave Malinga four. Rampaul, however, evened the game once again with a superb 19th over that left Mumbai Indians needing 11 off Sherwin Ganga’s last.Rayudu got a single off the first ball, before Sherwin sent down a friendly full toss off the second. Malinga clattered it straight down the ground, past a leaping effort from Mohammad, for a pressure-releasing six. A single was followed by Malinga’s run-out, backing up too far when Rayudu smashed a full ball straight to the bowler. That made it 3 required off 2, before Rayudu fell attempting an impossible second. And then Daren Ganga blinked, Ramdin missed, and Mumbai were home.T&T’s misery ended with a run-out that was fumbled, but it began earlier in the evening with one that should never have been. They were coasting at 41 for 1 in the fifth over, when Lendl Simmons, returning for a straightforward second, chugged into his crease without grounding his bat. His entire body was over the line, but the front foot was in the air and the back foot on the crease, with no portion of it inside, when the stumps were broken.Until that moment of laziness, T&T’s innings featured all that was good about Caribbean batting. There were flamboyant shots from Adrian Barath in the opening over, audacious pick-up strokes from Simmons, whose approach was unchanged after Barath’s exit, and a couple of emphatic blows from Darren Bravo. But once Simmons handed Mumbai Indians an opening, Harbhajan barged through with attacking bowling and perceptive field placements – he operated with slip and silly point at one point.The middle order did not have the technique to counterattack. Harbhajan enticed Denesh Ramdin into miscuing a sweep right back at him, before nailing Bravo with a yorker. He wound up his spell with Sherwin Ganga’s wicket – a patent slider that pinned him on the back foot. Malinga did his business at the other end, and T&T lost wickets too quickly to last their full quota. They were bowled out with as many as 22 balls left to go in the innings, and in the end that cost them the game.

Chris Gayle may be playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2011 Champions League Twenty20, but he thinks West Indies Twenty20 champions Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) have the potential to win the tournament if they get through the qualifying stage. T&T take on Sri Lanka’s champions Ruhuna on Monday, with three out of the six teams in the qualifier going through to the main draw.”They have been playing good T20 cricket for the last couple of years and can win if they qualify for the main draw,” Gayle told . “It is unfortunate that they have to play in the qualifier. They have been dominant in the Caribbean.”The team have the experience [playing in the Champions League] and know what it is like. Definitely I am confident that they will do well and qualify.”T&T will be without two of their biggest stars – allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – who did not take part in the West Indies domestic tournament and have chosen to play for the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively in the Champions League. But Gayle believes there is enough talent in the T&T squad and the pair will not be missed.”Yes, they definitely can [compete]. I mean you saw it in the regional tournament. Bravo and Pollard did not take part and they actually won it without the two big names.”T&T were the surprise package of the first Champions League, reaching the final before losing to New South Wales, and Gayle said the team would benefit from that experience. “Most of the guys have been there in India and that is good for the team. There is no reason why they cannot do well and win.”Gayle, who is making his Champions Leage debut, said he was looking forward to the tournament and hoped that he could make the same kind of impact as he did in the IPL 2011, where he finished as the top scorer with 608 runs at an average of 67.55 and a strike-rate of 183.13.”It was a massive IPL, “Gayle said. “I took a lot of positives [from it], but the Champions League is a different scenario. There will be different teams we will be playing against and different situations. It is going to be a big good contest amongst the bowlers from the different teams. So I am excited to be a part of it. I want to do well there, just like any other player, and I am looking forward to it, fingers crossed hopefully.”

Scorecard
Jacques Rudolph returned to Yorkshire and fell one run short of a hundred•Getty Images

Jacques Rudolph came within a run of celebrating his return to the Yorkshire ranks with a century as bottom-placed Hampshire endured another difficult day at the Rose Bowl.South African Rudolph, who only rejoined the club last week, seemed sure to score the 43rd century of his first-class career until he drove spinner Imran Tahir to short mid-wicket where Dominic Cork clutched a low catch.Rudolph’s dismissal after 211 balls and 11 fours and a six came as a surprise because the tidy left hander had offered no hint of a chance until then. His dismissal was a rare moment of success for Hampshire as Yorkshire, after winning the toss, finished on a respectable 318 for three at the end of the first day from 105 overs.Left-arm pace bowler Chris Wood promised much for Hampshire in his opening spell in which all his first seven overs were maidens. Wood also took a wicket, that of Rudolph’s opening partner Joe Sayers who edged him to wicketkeeper Michael Bates after managing just eight from 50 balls.Yorkshire went into the match without Tim Bresnan, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow – all on international duty – but they were not missed as Yorkshire quickly got on top.Rudolph and his captain, Andrew Gale took the match away from Hampshire with a stand of 129 for the second wicket in 32 overs. Rudolph reached his 50 with a six over mid-wicket against Danny Briggs before Hampshire made their second breakthrough at 149.Gale who had struck 10 fours in his 54, lifted Tahir to mid-wicket where James Vince held the catch above his head. There was no respite for Hampshire, still looking for their first win of the season, as Anthony McGrath joined Rudolph in another profitable stand, this time 55 for the third wicket.Rudolph was the third to go at 249 but even then Yorkshire maintained a firm grip on proceedings, McGrath now joined by Gary Ballance in an unbroken stand of 114 for the fourth wicket.McGrath was missed at short leg by Jimmy Adams off Tahir at 20 but went in at the close unbeaten with 65 in an innings so far made up of 188 balls and including five fours. The aggressive Ballance reached his half century just before stumps and was 50 not out with eight fours.Wood’s miserly start helped him to respectable figures of 1 for 42 from 18 overs while Tahir was the most successful in terms of wickets with 2 for 89 from 31 overs.

Scorecard
Australian Adam Voges struck a brilliant unbeaten century and Samit Patel took four wickets as Nottinghamshire eased to an important 21-run Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C win over Glamorgan.Voges scored 103 from 76 balls – with his second 50 coming off only 28 balls – out of the Outlaws’ 281 for 6 from their 40 overs. Despite opener Gareth Rees scoring a run-a-ball 90 Glamorgan could only make 260 for 8 in reply giving Nottinghamshire, who won the toss, their fifth victory of the campaign.Nottinghamshire’s platform was set by openers Alex Hales and Rikki Wessels who put 82 in the first opening 10 overs. Hales brought up his 50 in 35 balls with six fours and also hit two sixes in successive overs from Graham Wagg and Will Owen, but his innings was ended in unfortunate circumstances when he was run out at the non-striker’s end off Michael O’Shea’s fingertips.Two overs later Wessels holed out to Dean Cosker at long-on off O’Shea, but Patel and Voges proceeded to put on 74 in 15, overs both hitting Cosker for sixes over cover as the visitors reached 132 for two at the halfway stage. Voges went to 50 from 46 balls with five fours and a six, but not before he lost Patel who holed out to long-off.The visitors took the batting powerplay at 203 for 3 after 32 overs and it yielded 49 runs, helped by Scott Elstone striking successive sixes off Wagg. And even though Elstone was stumped off Cosker, the Outlaws managed to score 100 off the final 10 overs.With a chase of around seven an over, Glamorgan opted to open with Wagg as a pinch-hitter, but early on it was Rees who was the main aggressor in an opening stand of 70 in just under 13 overs.Rees, who already had two centuries to his name in the competition this season, lost Wagg and then skipper Alviro Petersen, but he twice struck Graeme White out of the ground as 18 came off an over on his way to 50 from 58 balls. He continued his onslaught over with further sixes from Mullaney and Paul Franks.Jim Allenby joined in with a six off Steven Mullaney before he found Hales at deep midwicket, ending a third-wicket stand of 66 in less than eight overs. But the Glamorgan middle order imploded as they lost four wickets in four overs for the addition of only 15 runs.The damage was done by Patel who celebrated a double-wicket maiden when he removed Chris Cooke and O’Shea with consecutive deliveries as Glamorgan subsided from 170 for 2 to 185 for 6.Patel struck again to remove Glamorgan’s main threat. Rees attempted to hit his fourth six over wide mid-wicket, but this time holed out to end Glamorgan’s chances. Patel finished with 4 for 37 from his eight overs.

Chris: Gayle: “They leave me out here to dangle in the wind”•Associated Press

I, Christopher Henry Gayle, am making this statement so that all my friends, fans and followers who continue to wonder why I am not being picked for the West Indies team despite being fit, available and in form will know the truth considering the many rumours and statements that have been made as it relates to this issue. Until now, I have kept my silence, but I believe that the time has come for you to all know what I plan to do about this extremely frustrating and humiliating situation.Ever since I was a little boy growing up in Rollington Town, and living in the shadow of Sabina Park I had two dreams. The first was to play for Jamaica and the second to play for the West Indies. Fortunately, and thanks to the Almighty, I have been able to achieve both of them. I have been Captain of both Jamaica and of the West Indies, and have worn both uniforms with pride and served with distinction.I find it really painful now to hear that I did not give my best or that I lost my commitment to the cause of West Indies Cricket. This is not true. I have always given my all. I have always played with my heart and soul. I am not a boastful person. I normally don’t speak until I have to. I try not to show in my face what is in my heart but now my heart is heavy. I have played with injuries. I have played with pain. But nothing in my life has been more painful and more injurious to my spirit than what has been done to me in the past few months. Nothing.I want to take you back to September 2009 when Ernest Hilaire who was not yet the CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board cast doubts on my being retained as the West Indies Captain despite my performance in that role. I thought that what I was seeing was a statement made in error. I did not know at the time that what I was seeing was the writing on the wall and what was being written about me was not pleasant or true.Ernest Hilaire acted quickly. At a meeting of the WICB held in October 2009, as soon as he took up office, the Board questioned the recommendation of the selectors that I should be Captain of the team to tour Australia. Eight members voted for me and five members of the Board voted against me. Clive Lloyd, who had praised me highly before was one of them who did not want me as Captain. He never said anything to me about why he was no longer on my side. Joel Garner who was the Manager of the West Indies team and who worked with me closely on the Stanford game which we won voted against my being Captain of the West Indies. Conde Riley from Barbados voted against me. Most surprising is the man who said publicly that he always supported me as Captain. Professor Sir Hilary Beckles voted against me so when he says that he pushed for me to be Captain you have to decide whether to believe Beckles or the Minutes of the Meeting. Gregory Shillingford of the Leeward Islands voted against me. The Board decided to appoint a Committee to meet with me and it should be no surprise that among the members of that Committee were Messrs. Lloyd, Garner and Beckles. Looking back, I now realise that I have been put in a no-win situation since 2009.I found out how bad things were when the WICB held a meeting in St Lucia in July last year. I saw the Minutes of the Meeting later. In reporting on why he thought that the West Indies had not done well in the T20 World Cup, the Coach, Otis Gibson, said “the Captain was not a natural leader” and that “Senior players and some others lack a passion for the game.” He also said that “there was no evidence of leadership qualities among the senior players” and that the “Captain is not a student of the game and lacks tactical awareness on the field.”The sad and horrible thing is that Gibson never said anything to me about how he felt about me before or after his report. He is a man who sought my advice when things were not going well. Before he became the West Indies Coach he used to call me often. I could never imagine that he would deliberately try to destroy my character, reputation and livelihood or question my commitment to West Indies cricket. I would not have believed, until I saw it in black and white, that he would devalue my leadership and try to destroy me without giving me a chance to respond. The WICB should have invited me to that meeting to face my accuser and, as Captain, to give my views about why we did not do well. What also hurts me is that there are three members of the Jamaica Cricket Association who are on the WICB and none of them told their colleagues on the Board, “Wait. We believe that Chris should be allowed to defend himself” or even “We need to hear from the Captain.” None of them.Coach Gibson recommended to the Board that they should “select the team on character” which means that by leaving me out the WICB, including the Jamaican Directors, feels that I have no character.In October I was sacked as Captain and still have no idea why. I did not protest since the Captaincy is not a right. It is a duty. I went on the Sri Lanka tour having recommitted myself to West Indies Cricket and giving the new Captain the assurance that I would support him. I played the best test innings of my life in the first test and contributed 333 runs out of a team total of 580 in that match. Nobody questioned my commitment then.It was after the World Cup when the Board was looking for people to blame for the poor performance of the team that they picked on me and the other senior players. This time it was not the Captaincy that was the issue but the senior players. Gibson said we lacked the hunger and the desire to succeed. Would I be where I am today as a cricketer if I lacked the desire and hunger to succeed? It was the easy way out. There are people who will constantly refuse to look deeply into themselves and question their own actions and motives while there are others to blame. I was an easy target and my 333 was forgotten, and all my years of blood, sweat and toil for the West Indies cause was abruptly cast aside.I played with an injury during the World Cup and returned to Jamaica to get myself in shape for the Home Series against Pakistan. A camp was set up and nobody contacted me. I was ignored. The squad was picked for the first two ODIs. I was again ignored and saw in the newspapers that I was omitted. I read the comments of the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire who said that we, the senior players, thought we were bigger than the team and all we wanted was money. I then got an offer to play in India and went when the WICB made is publicly clear in its release to the media that Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Gayle was not considered for selection. I did not turn my back on the West Indies because the West Indies had already turned its back on me. I was not in the squad and it was clear that there was no intention to pick me. I was being punished for the failure of an entire team and also of the administration.What I did in India for the Bangalore Royal Challengers is history. The management and fans of the team treated me with respect and showered me with love and support. I did respond to the accusation made by the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire that implied that I lacked commitment to West Indies Cricket. I reminded him that I had to pay my own medical bills, which I hoped to be reimbursed at some stage. The feeling by some people is that I started the whole thing. I did not. What I have shown you is that there is a pattern in the attempt to paint me into a corner and destroy my career and reputation. There was a pattern to marginalising me. Yes, there was a pattern and what came next was the proof.The proof came in a speech made by a Director of the WICB, Hilary Beckles, who had opposed my captaincy in 2009 despite his claims that he supported me. Beckles compared me to a “Don” and my captaincy as “Donmanship”. He likened me, Chris Gayle, to the notorious criminal and alleged drug dealer Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Beckles says his second home is Jamaica so he knows the implications of what he said but in an effort to avoid the consequences, he says he was talking in a private capacity and not as a Director of the WICB. The other Directors, especially the three from Jamaica who are on the WICB, did not say anything or do anything to clear my name or to get answers from the WICB. They could have requested an emergency meeting of the WICB to ask why I was omitted and targeted but they did not. They left me hanging out on a branch and were, at the same time, helping to cut that branch.I want to tell you that I am not going to hide and say that this statement is in any other capacity. I am Christopher Henry Gayle and I stand by what I say. I am a professional cricketer and the former Captain of Jamaica and the West Indies. This is my capacity. This is my job. This is my livelihood and this is my life.I was not surprised when the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire sent me a letter on June 2, 2011 in which they accused me of a number of incidents including “making myself unavailable for the home series against Pakistan, my interview on KLAS radio in Jamaica and several “tweets‟ which have suggested a general disenchantment on your part with West Indies cricket and the West Indies Cricket Board.” He said that the Board wanted to make my considerable talent available to the West Indies and international cricket.I took the Board seriously and went to the meeting which was held in Jamaica a few weeks ago. The meeting ended without any commitment with regard to my future selection for the West Indies team again. I thought that was the purpose of the meeting and was foolish enough to believe that it would end with a decision about when I would be back on the team. Instead I have read about an incident between the President of WIPA Dinanath Ramnarine and the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire that makes me question whether I was at the same meeting. Ramnarine was not the only person to lose his cool in that room and I can understand if someone falsely accuses you of attempting to siphon funds into some account that you will be understandably upset. The accusations made by the WICB are not true. I can say without fear of contradiction, and what I am saying has been supported by other people who were present at that meeting, that there was no picking up of any chair and Ramnarine never threatened Ernest Hilaire. It is unfortunate that Ramnarine is being accused of not representing my best interest at that meeting, a view I strongly disagree with. It was also reported that in some quarters that Ramnarine was responsible for the breakdown of the meeting, a view I strongly disagree with also since the meeting went on for more than one hour after certain accusations were made by the CEO WICB Ernest Hilaire at the meeting. But that was not why we were there and what we went there for was never accomplished. When I saw the misleading reports coming out I realised that I was being used to cast blame on someone else and the meeting had other motives than my reinstatement. In other words it was a diversion of the real issue and the outcome of the meeting was clearly predetermined.I was again put on hold. My career was put on hold. My future was put on hold. My life was put on hold. Ernest Hilaire said he could not do anything until he had spoken to the Board, the selection committee, the management and, although he didn’t say it out loud, the media.I believe now it was deliberately staged to give the impression that the Board wanted me back and that the intention was always to string me along and to fool the people of the West Indies.I made it clear that I was still willing to meet with the Board to resolve the issues. On June 22, I wrote to WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire who had sent me an email the day before saying that I would also like to resolve the issue, and while I am willing to meet I would like to ask what it is you would like me to do? I told him that I have not received any guidance, other than what has appeared in the media, as to what it is that needs to be done for me to be included in the West Indies team. I said that I am putting in writing the willingness to meet with you as soon as possible. I also said that time has been wasted and it would seem that the delays will ensure I am unable to play for the entire home series. I pointed out to him that a meeting was not requested until the India series had almost begun, and the meeting was then delayed until after the Test Team for the 1st match was chosen and it has taken over a week for this meeting request to be sent.The WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire wrote me back on June 24th complaining about my antagonistic approach and the tone of my email. He said that the issue is more than my radio interview but is about a history of misunderstanding, miscommunication and mishandling of issues, on both sides. It cannot be easily swept under the carpet with the hope that it goes away. He said that I would have to meet with the team management and after that with the selectors and after that with the cricket operations department and only then he would meet with me before he could send a report to the Board. He said he would not be available to meet with me until August. This means that I will definitely not be playing against India and that I will be cooling my heels until after August- more than two months away and even then my matter would go to the Board if the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire believes we have a final and agreed position.I was glad that the Board admitted its own guilt in the situation and despite the fact that there seemed to be no end to this, I then met in yet another meeting with the Coach and the Team Manager on June 24th 2011 in Jamaica. I tried my best to compromise with the two representatives of the Board. Still, despite this meeting and the fact that both sides agreed that significant progress had been made, I am still on hold. My career is at a standstill. My hopes of representing my country at home in the West Indies have been destroyed. My contribution has been devalued and the fans of the West Indies who believe I can make a difference have had their hopes dashed. After the conclusion of this second meeting, my suspicions were confirmed and it was now beyond doubt that there was never any real intention of resolving any issues concerning me at the first meeting. The WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire’s letter of June 24th 2011 also confirmed this as well.I have now reached the stage where I have to say that enough is enough. I understand that the WICB and the Jamaica Board met and my matter was discussed but nobody has told me anything and I can only assume without any positive feedback there has been no resolution. I played cricket for Jamaica and served the Board well. I would have thought that from the beginning of this whole attempt to discredit me that the Board would have done or said something on my behalf. I don’t want them to cover up for me but at least to ensure that I received natural justice and was able to respond to my accusers. They have all been silent. The three members on the WICB Board have not asked for an emergency meeting, as they have the right and power to do, so that we can get everything cleared up. Instead they leave me out here to dangle in the wind.There is a disciplinary process in West Indies Cricket. Yet the Board is allowed to be the complainant as well as policeman, judge, jury and executioner in my case. When I tried to respond to the accusations made against me, I am deemed to be out of place and trying to destroy West Indies cricket.I am now coming close to the end of my shelf-life as a cricketer. While other professionals can plan on a career from the time they graduate from University to when they retire in their sixties, most cricketers have an average of eight years – between 24 and 32 – to earn enough money for the rest of our lives. Some are lucky to be coaches or commentators. I have no such option at this stage and must concentrate on providing for my family now and in the future.On this basis, and not hearing from the West Indies Cricket Board with any clear pathway forward, I have come to the bitter realisation that I am not wanted by the Board and all that has gone before in terms of reconciliation is a sham and a mockery. I see it as a scam to fool the people of the West Indies and the world into believing that they were serious about my returning to West Indies cricket.My eyes are open, my heart is clean, my conscience is clear and the voice of reason is loud in my ears telling me that I should close this chapter in my life. I am not going to be the WICB’s whipping boy. They have said they will root me out and they have succeeded in doing so by using the sort of underhanded tactics while attempting to ascribe blame to other people for what is clear is a well planned set of action.We as West Indies players are admired throughout the world for our honesty and sportsmanship. Yet the custodians of West Indies cricket, the people who are responsible for the development of our heritage sport, have not dealt with us honestly.It is against this background that I have now decided not to wait on the WICB any longer but while I still have the time and the skills to explore the opportunities available to me elsewhere. I do it reluctantly but have no choice. I have people to take care of and cannot sit for months waiting on WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire and the Board.”There was no picking up of any chair and Dinanath Ramnarine never threatened Ernest Hilaire”•WIPA

As for the Jamaica Cricket Association they have let me down badly even though I did meet with the new President of the JCA, Mr. Wright and Mr. Hinds but nothing has been done.Despite all that has happened I am still hopeful that good sense will prevail and I would once again represent my country and my region in near the future. I wish to make it abundantly clear that I have not yet retired from any form of the game and remain available for selection for both Jamaica and West Indies. However, this is entirely out of my hands.I want to say to my colleagues on the team, that I have opened the batting for the West Indies against some of the fiercest fast bowlers in the world bowling at almost 100 miles per hour. I have stood up to them as I am standing up for what I believe is right. I want to tell them that if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.I appeal to the Heads of Government of CARICOM to do something about this situation. West Indies Cricket is different from the West Indies Cricket Board. West Indies Cricket and West Indies Cricketers need help. Since you are the people who represent the fans and all the other stakeholders, it is time for you to act.Finally, I want to thank you all for your support and look forward to your continuing that support in future as I follow the path that the Almighty has mapped out for me. I place my trust in God and believe that if your heart is pure and you have faith in Him, you will always triumph against oppression and adversity. When one path is closed, there is another path opened for the righteous and pure in spirit. I now set out on that path with confidence, safe in the assurance that I will succeed.

Scorecard
Durham leapfrogged Lancashire in the northern section of the Friends Life t20 after a comprehensive 83-run victory at Chester-le-Street. Liam Plunkett was the star of the show, posting career-best 20-over figures of 5 for 31 as he outshone England rival Jimmy Anderson, who finished the evening as the most expensive bowler on display.Plunkett took a wicket in each of his four overs as Lancashire failed to chase down Durham’s imposing target of 201, eventually finishing some way short on 117. The England seamer had Stephen Moore caught by Chris Rushworth at long-on early on, before David Miller produced an excellent diving catch to account for Steven Croft.Karl Brown edged Plunkett to Phil Mustard to depart for a first-ball duck, and the Teessider followed up with the wickets of Gareth Cross and Jordan Clark to claim his first five-wicket haul in the 20-over format.Plunkett, who also scored a quickfire, unbeaten 27 with the bat, completed a memorable evening’s work when he took a routine catch to dismiss Farveez Maharoof off the bowling of Gareth Breese as Lancashire briefly threatened a recovery.As it was, the visitors were never in the game once Plunkett struck repeatedly early on, and Durham enjoyed their most comfortable 20-over victory of the season so far. Batting first after losing the toss, Durham compiled their third-highest Twenty20 total ever as Anderson in particular failed to exercise any degree of control.Dale Benkenstein top scored, with the skipper’s 60 runs from 34 balls representing his best-ever 20-over score. He cracked sixes off Gary Keedy and Luke Procter, and appeared ready to lead Durham’s charge in the crucial closing overs when he holed out to Tom Smith at deep square leg with 12 balls left.Anderson was the bowler on that occasion, but the wicket was one of the Lancashire paceman’s few successes as his four overs went for a mammoth 54 runs. Both Benkenstein and opener Mustard inflicted considerable damage, before Plunkett and Will Smith plundered 25 runs off the final over of the innings.With one-day matches against Sri Lanka looming, the England selectors will be hoping Anderson rediscovers his best form in the shorter forms of the game soon.

Scorecard and ball by ball details
Iqbal Abdulla kept Chennai in check•AFP

Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers made best use of a sluggish pitch after a rain-delayed start, keeping Chennai Super Kings to 114, and their batsmen did enough to be ahead of the par score when rain returned to cut the match short. Both captains thought the weather would have little impact on the pitch and identified it as a good batting strip, but were proved wrong.On a slow, low wicket that didn’t allow the ball to come on, Brett Lee and Iqbal Abdulla exploited the conditions perfectly. It was only S Badrinath’s carefully crafted half-century that held the Chennai innings together. Both Lee and Abdulla bowled tight lines, with Lee using the slower ball well, and didn’t give the batsmen room to break away.Lee bowled a three-over spell up front, instead of the usual two, and while he pulled the noose at one end, another wicket fell at the other. Pressure built and M Vijay succumbed. Abdulla saw him charging down the track, dropped one short and was offered an easy caught-and-bowled.Yusuf Pathan, who didn’t allow any release, took the pace off the ball and had Suresh Raina caught at midwicket. Rajat Bhatia also permitted no let-up and after nine overs, Chennai had not scored a single boundary.The first one came in the 10th over, off Yusuf, when Badrinath had had enough, and smacked it low and flat over long-on. Michael Hussey had stayed with Badrinath through the tough patch but his labour ended in the next over when he was offered a short ball by L Balaji and pulled it straight to Eoin Morgan at midwicket.Albie Morkel was promoted to number five and gave himself some time to get in and the Kolkata bowlers maintained the stranglehold. After eight balls, he had the opportunity to sink his teeth into Jaidev Unadkat, who was only brought on in the 15th over. The pace bowler seemed to misread the pitch and bowled too quick, getting dispatched for consecutive fours before he pulled it back with some slower balls. Morkel was dropped in the same over by Lee, trying to launch Unadkat over the leg-side.While Morkel was attempting to hit big shots and even appeared to get an edge in Lee’s final over but was not given out, Badrinath was sculpting his half-century. He became more comfortable after he had got in and picked the balls to hit. Morkel had more of the strike in the last two overs but only one of his many swings got to the boundary.It wasn’t easy for Kolkata to chase, especially with R Ashwin making use of some turn. He bowled Eoin Morgan in the second over and also got the important wicket of Gautam Gambhir, although the fielder deserved more credit for the second. Gambhir had danced down the track and sliced the ball in the air towards extra cover. Suraj Randiv ran from point to take a tough diving catch.Jacques Kallis was the immovable rock for Kolkata. He coped well, given the conditions and struck two classic boundaries. Along with Manoj Tiwary, Kallis looked comfortable enough to see Kolkata through and had the rain not come down, he probably would have. Nevertheless, he had done enough to put Kolkata firmly in front when play ended.