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Roger Dill, a 48-year-old fireman from Bermuda, will create history in Trinidad later today.Dill will become the first member of the ICC’s Associate and Affiliate umpires’ panel to stand in a one-day international during the opening match of the tri-series between Zimbabwe, Bermuda and Canada which is being held in Trinidad. He will officiate alongside Simon Taufel, while former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd will act as match referee for the four matches.”I’m pleased to be invited and also very excited,” said Dill. “I didn’t realise I will be the first person from the Associates and Affiliates to umpire a ODI but the chance to do that is a great vote of confidence in the new panel. It shows the ICC is now looking at all umpires, no matter where they come from, and no one is out of the circle.”Dill’s rise is especially impressive given he has been umpiring for less than ten years and he admitted he began by chance and not because of any burning ambition. “I started in 1997 when I went to watch a friend playing and they were short of an umpire,” he said. “I was told afterwards I didn’t do too badly so I went to a few meetings to learn more, I found it fun and interesting and it went from there.”I did play a bit as well but I never expected to get this far in my umpiring career. Now I just want to continue to enjoy the game, make myself available whenever I can and umpire consistently at as high a level as I can.”Dill was a member of the first ICC Associate and Affiliate umpiring panel, created in April last year to give officials outside the Full Member countries the chance to progress to the highest level possible. He has stood in Intercontinental Cup, ICC Trophy and ICC U-19 World Cup matches and after impressing during those appointments has now gained further recognition.It means Dill will have to take time off from his job as a sergeant in Bermuda’s fire service but he views it as a worthwhile sacrifice. “There have been a couple of instances where I have had to take some leave and my colleagues have also been willing to cover for me,” he said. “It is all worth it for something like this. When we get these sorts of opportunities as Associate and Affiliate umpires then it is part of our responsibility to take them.”Dill believes his job as a firefighter, one he has done for almost 30 years, has helped him in his efforts as an umpire. “They do have some similarities,” he said. “They both involve being under pressure and everyone around you expects you to be calm and in control.”Now he has the chance to work with the ICC’s umpire of the year Taufel and Lloyd, a legend of the game, and he cannot wait. “Simon is one of the top elite umpires and he came and spoke to us during a recent meeting in Dubai,” he said.”He is so professional in everything he does, his dedication and attention to detail is amazing and I can only gain from his experience and knowledge. And to be part of Clive’s team will be a great thing given the way he is revered in the cricket world.”And what advice has Dill got for other aspiring officials, especially those from the Associate and Affiliate ICC members? “I have learnt lots from the Elite and International panels I’ve met but the main things are to maintain a sound knowledge of the Laws, be physically fit and stand in as many matches as you can. And as for the matches in Trinidad, I’m really looking forward to them and am determined to enjoy it all.”

Sri Lanka’s national selectors might finally get financially rewarded for their efforts. The job has so far been an honorary one, but Tryphon Mirando, the secretary of the interim committee, said that they will meet shortly and discuss ways of compensating the selectors.”Over the years the selectors have spent their own money on travelling, and [using] their personal phones to be in touch with each other,” Mirando explained. “If we expect them to do a job properly they should be duly compensated.”The selection committee is presently headed by former Sri Lanka offspinner Lalith Kaluperuma, and comprises Don Anurasiri, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, KM Nelson and Shabbir Asgerally.

Ricky Ponting couldn’t quite achieve an unprecedented clean sweep at the Allan Border Medal awards in Melbourne, but he still enjoyed a successful evening as the elite of Australian cricket gathered to celebrate their successes of the past 12 months.The Australian team flies out to Sri Lanka on Saturday, and that series will be Ponting’s first as Test captain. It is therefore appropriate that he has been recognised as Australia’s best Test cricketer of the past year, as well as their most valuable overall player.Ponting’s identity as the Allan Border Medal-winner was one of the worst-kept secrets in Australian sport. The new world-record-holder Matthew Hayden, who didn’t have too bad a year himself, said last week that the decision was a foregone conclusion. And so it proved, as Ponting secured a total of 139 votes, 48 more than Hayden in second position, and almost double the number polled by Adam Gilchrist (70) in third.Ponting, who was last year’s Test player of the year, scored 1503 runs at an average of 100.20 in 2003. He also became the first player since Don Bradman to score three double hundreds in a single year. His one-day form was no less prolific, and he had been widely tipped to secure all three major categories. In the end, however, he was pipped to the one-day post by Gilchrist, who made 1463 runs in a period that began with the opening fixture of last year’s World Cup, at a phenomenal strike rate of 105.63 and an average of 45.71.In a closely-fought category, Gilchrist polled 28 votes to finish four ahead of Brett Lee and Ponting, and five ahead of Andrew Symonds. Gilchrist secured the award in the second-last game of Australia’s season, the first final against India at the MCG on February 6. He scored two centuries in the past year, with a highest score of 172 against Zimbabwe in the VB Series, as well as 60 catches and a stumping.Ponting, who was the only man to play in all 37 matches, made 1317 runs at 43.90, including his World Cup-winning innings of 140 not out, while Lee was Australia’s top wicket-taker with 49 at an average of 19.87, but his absence from the recent tri-series in India scuppered his prospects of the award. Votes were awarded on a 3-2-1 basis by a panel of former cricketers and media representatives.The evening also featured a tribute to David Hookes, who died last month, while the former Test players Alan Davidson and Hugh Trumble were officially induced into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. The women’s player of the year award went to their fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick; New South Wales’ Simon Katich was named as the State player of the year, while South Australia’s paceman Shaun Tait picked up the Bradman award as the best young cricketer of the year.Ponting is the fifth winner of the Allan Border Medal, following in the footsteps of Glenn McGrath (2000), Steve Waugh (2001), Hayden (2002) and Gilchrist (2003).

Sachin Tendulkar’s inclusion in India’s team for the third National Bank Series One-Day International against New Zealand, at Jade Stadium tomorrow, would be particularly helpful as the side attempts to pick up their first win of the tour.Coach John Wright said the side had managed 20-odd wins in recent ODIs during his time as coach without Tendulkar and that proved the side was not dependent on him, so his presence would be a boost nonetheless and it would be good for cricket.”We have to create situations and an attitude where you expect any one of six or seven to be able to do the job,” Wright said.Lifting the side back from the 2-0 deficit they face in the seven-game series was a case of making individuals in the team aware of what is required of them.”We finished the last year badly, we’re starting a new year for us tomorrow so it is really self awareness and team awareness.”The fielding in the last match was unacceptable and it may cost a player or two their place in the side tomorrow. Fielding is all about giving to the team, it’s about attitude and commitment. It’s a giving process and it was the most disappointing area of our performance in Napier.”But that can happen. It can happen once, if it happens again that will be serious.”Everyone can have a bad day but I am sure you will see a better fielding performance tomorrow,” Wright said.India would not be looking to rest players during the series. They wanted to win the series and that meant doing their best with the best players available to achieve that.And that would be the side’s best preparation for the World Cup.The main things ahead of the side, apart from winning, were to get batsmen into form and to rediscover the eagerness and zest that the side had in England and at the ICC Champions Trophy where there was an evident hunger.The development of the side’s bowling had been a big bonus from the tour so far and that was timely given that it was an area of concern when looking at the Cup from the longer term.”At Auckland and Napier we blew winning opportunities in both games and I look at the potential for improvement and I am very optimistic about this side performing well in South Africa, no matter what happens here.”I have a lot of confidence in this side and I know that the boys will perform well in South Africa. But have said that we don’t need fielding performances like the other day,” he said.

If it is the knack of successful captains to make exactly the right decisions at exactly the right times, then it seems likely that Nathan Hauritz will, ultimately, enjoy a long and fruitful career in the pursuit. For, with one mere piece of initiative, the brazen Queensland skipper turned an engrossing National Under-19 Championship Final against Victoria completely on its head here at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today.Like many of his teammates, Hauritz was unable to set an overcast Hobart day ablaze with any great deeds with the bat. But, just under six hours after he and his charges had been asked to make first use of a never altogether-friendly pitch, he had them right back – possibly even holding the edge – in a game upon which they had previously been unable to extract a hold all day.Victoria had entered the match a raging favourite and, for most of the opening stages, played in accordance with the status. Following his victory at the toss, captain Tim Welsford (0/20) joined with left armer Brett Anderton (1/49) to lead the way with excellent opening spells. On a charcoal-tinged pitch which offered significant encouragement to the bowlers, they set a pattern of impeccable line and length that their support cast could not help but follow. Albeit that only one wicket – that of Chris Simpson (16) to an lbw decision at the hands of Ben Waterman (2/25) – fell in the pre-lunch session, the Queensland upper order found itself under consistent pressure as the contest began.Following lunch, the Victorians formally converted their early dominance into a comparatively rapid rush of wickets. Between the dismissals of Aaron Maynard (12) and Mitchell Chapman (1) to medium pacer Mark Simpson (3/31) and the departure of Chris Hartley (17) to a loose stroke at Paul Seeary (1/28) outside the line of off stump, further success came the way of Waterman with the prize scalp of Nick Kruger (61). With his clever control, changes of pace, and ability to produce notable variation in bounce from just short of a length, medium pacer Waterman was probably the pick of the attack throughout.It was just as well for the Queenslanders that they received the benefit of a largely unrelenting individual performance of their own – in their case from Kruger, who was able to hold things together in a stabilising hand that occupied more than three hours. Through his innings, the left hander was often uncomfortable. But, crucially, he was also unyielding. And, without his gritty half-century, his team might well have found itself in dire straits.Even after tea, there was no real let-up in the pattern of Victorian dominance until the aggressive John Dellit (46*) fashioned an association with Chris McCabe (22) that brought the Queenslanders a priceless fifty runs for the eighth wicket. Dellit was in fact in the midst of an excellent attacking innings when, out of the blue, his captain decided that enough scoring had already been done. With only thirty-five minutes left on the clock, and potentially as few as seven overs remaining, came Hauritz’s closure at 8/232.Admittedly, it was a freakish piece of brilliance from McCabe in the cover field – in intercepting a well-hit shot and then throwing down the stumps – that went much of the way toward vindicating the gambit. Certainly, Travis Birt (15) had appeared in little trouble until his opening partner Peter Dickson (1) drove a ball powerfully off the back foot, seemingly well away from the tall seventeen year old, and set off with the stroke.When the jubilant Queenslanders then added to their bounty the wicket of Dickson himself as he pressed only half forward to a well pitched off cutter from Nathan Rimmington (1/13) in the following over, the scoreboard was suddenly reading 2/16. Stuart Brohaska (1*) and Nathan Geisler (0*) survived the four deliveries that followed but not without enduring the odd scare of their own. Suddenly, it had become a completely different game.

Match facts

September 11, 2015
Start time 10.30am local (0930 GMT)3:11

McGlashan: Both captains would like to bat first

Big Picture

England’s win at Old Trafford kept alive hopes of beating Australia in an ODI series for the first time since 2012, as well as eased fears that they will fall below Bangladesh in the ICC rankings. Even a 4-1 defeat will see England remain in sixth, for now, while two more victories would drag them up to within range of Sri Lanka in midtable.The last time England managed consecutive ODI wins over Australia was also three summers ago. That 4-0 win was among the peaks of Alastair Cook’s roundhead reign as captain but the ODI world has shifted dramatically since then – and England have at last shown signs of catching up. Only Eoin Morgan and Steven Finn remain from the 2012 NatWest Series (with Stuart Broad’s future undecided) and pulling back the No. 1-ranked side from a 2-0 lead would be worth a campaign medal for Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and their new model army.They will attempt to do so in front of a packed house at Headingley, home of the back-to-back County Champions, Yorkshire. The locals have sometimes struggled to work up enthusiasm for England visits – and a significant number will be at Lord’s hoping to see their team lift the Championship pennant on Friday – but, having paid their shilling, they will demand England maintain the standards on display across the Pennines.Australia, too, can claim a strong Yorkshire connection, from the coach, Darren Lehmann, through to Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell – both of whom have had to make do with representing Yorkshire’s 2nd XI this season. Coming towards the end of a long tour that has yielded rather less success than was promised, Australia would surely like to tap into the prevailing mood of celebration by sealing the series with a game to spare.Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and Jonny Bairstow are likely to play on their home ground•Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLLWW
Australia LWWWW

In the spotlight

Alex Hales is hot-and-cold player. Having come into the one-day series on a blazing run of scores for Nottinghamshire – 85, 9, 81, 58, 189 and 62 – he has felt the chill of Autumn more than most: four innings against Australia, including the T20, have tallied 52 runs and a high score of 22. Hales has still only played 17 ODI innings and, with a couple of blistering half-centuries against New Zealand earlier this year, looked to be finding his feet. He has, however, lost form at the wrong time and has been outshone by his opening partner Jason Roy in the series so far.Pat Cummins, 22 years old and with 16 ODI caps to his name, could find himself the most experienced member of the Australia pace attack on Friday. If Mitchell Starc is rested, then Cummins – comfortably the quickest bowler on either side – will be required to step up and lead the way. He has impressed with his pace, steepling bouncer and impressive control; he is the leading wicket-taker in the series, with the best average and, among pace bowlers to have delivered more than eight overs, the lowest economy. Perhaps more importantly, he has avoided injury – this will be his fifth consecutive ODI and his longest run in the side.

Team news

Chris Woakes has been ruled out with a thigh injury, so England will be forced to change their attack – David Willey seems the most likely candidate, offering a left-arm angle as well as the potential for bludgeoning runs lower down the order. Mark Wood and Reece Topley are the other pace-bowling options in the squad.England (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 David Willey, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven FinnAustralia have already had three players withdraw from their squad and look set to give Mitchell Starc a rest after playing in all 12 of Australia’s international fixtures in the West Indies, England and Ireland. John Hastings, called up as cover from Durham, could come in for his first ODI appearance since 2011.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 John Hastings, 10 James Pattinson, 11 Pat Cummins.

Pitch and conditions

England, in their stodgy former mould, still managed to knock up 294 under clear skies against India at Headingley last year and Lehmann said he expected the pitch the good for batting. The forecast is good, if a little cool, for Friday but an early start and any passing cloud cover could interest the seamers.

Stats and trivia

• England and Australia last contested an ODI at Headingley in 2005 (the scheduled fixture in 2013 was washed out)
• Australia have won 11 out of their last 13 ODIs against England
• Steven Finn needs two more wickets for 100 in ODIs
• If they play, Cummins, James Pattinson and John Hastings will form an Australia pace attack comprised of 41 caps between them

Quotes

“I was keeping tabs on the score on Twitter, looking every five minutes and there were texts flying around.”
Adil Rashid couldn’t join in with Yorkshire’s Championship celebrations but enjoyed from afar“We’re all tired, but that’s international cricket, that’s what you do when you’re representing your country.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Given how Bangladesh were terrorised by the short ball in this Test, it was entirely appropriate that South Africa wrapped up the match and series with one. And unlike the five-wicket defeat in Mirpur, there was nothing remotely heroic about the innings-and-205-run capitulation in Chittagong, with a world record partnership between Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzieillustrating the huge chasm that still separates Bangladesh from the best practitioners of cricket’s most demanding form.When Mashrafe Mortaza couldn’t avoid fending one to the left of McKenzie at gully, it was the final act of a match that once again didn’t go into the fourth afternoon. With Aftab Ahmed unable to bat after a sickening injury on Sunday, South Africa needed only four more wickets to set theseal on a very satisfactory outing.An eighth-wicket partnership of 56 between Abdur Razzak, who remained defiant on 33, and Shahadat Hossain briefly halted the victory charge, but with Robin Peterson scalping an unexpected five-for, the result was never in doubt. Bangladesh managed a few half-century partnerships during the course of the Test, but the fact remained that their tally over twoinnings didn’t even come close to matching Smith and McKenzie.The batting frailty was all too evident at the start of the fourth day. Razzak’s periscope approach to batting resulted in a comical four over the wicketkeeper off Dale Steyn, and South Africa didn’t have very long to wait for the breakthrough. Peterson was aiming at the cracks from the outset, and Mushfiqur Rahim edged his first ball of the morning to Jacques Kallis at slip.Enter Mohammad Rafique to tremendous applause in his final Test innings. Two balls later, exit Rafique – a biff back to the bowler that Peterson was never going to drop. Shahadat, with a few sorties down the ground, and Razzak with his patented carves over slips added runs in a hurry, but the South Africans were amused rather than annoyed, and when Shahadat holed out to long-off to give Peterson number five, the Last Post could begin.South Africa now look to India, and a series that will really be a test of their mettle in subcontinent conditions. As for Bangladesh, they have three one-dayers to look forward to. The format suits their hit-and-miss batsmen, and they did hammer South Africa at the World Cup last year.Jamie Siddons just won’t be expecting any miracles in Tests, especially not with an FTP that barely gives them matches to iron out the many kinks that continue to bedevil their play at their highest level.

Scorecard
Sri Lanka A secured a tremendous advantage by putting up 335 for 2 against Bangladesh A on the opening day of their first four-day match at the Colts Cricket Club in Colombo. Malinda Warnapura and Thilan Samaraweera struck unbeaten hundreds in a partnership of 313 for the third wicket.After choosing to bat, Sri Lanka A got off to a disastrous start, losing both their openers for 22. Fast bowler Nazmul Hossain removed Mahela Udawatte in the third over for 5 and then had Michael Vandort caught for 10 in the seventh.However, if Bangladesh thought they would seize the day, they had another think coming.Once Warnapura, the nephew of Sri Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapurna, and captain Samaraweera got together it was all one-way traffic. Warnapura struck 177 off 291 balls with 11 fours and a six. Samaraweera last played a Test for Sri Lanka against England in 2006 and today he accumulated 129 off 232 balls.Bangladesh used seven bowlers but only Hossain met with any success. Khaled Mashud, one of Bangladesh’s most experienced Test cricketers, was playing for Bangladesh A after being dropped from the World Cup squad.

Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, today said India was yet to decide on its participation in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa next year.”We will take it up in the board’s Working Committee which will decide on this,” Pawar said at a media conference in New Delhi today. He added that because of a previous resolution the board had to annually ratify the ICC’s proposal to hold a Twenty20 World Championship. And, as such, it had sought time to embrace the new format of the game.”The ICC did not compel us to play in the 2007 Championship, but we have agreed to play from 2009 event on,” Pawar said. “The BCCI members had resolved in a working committee meeting recently that they were not happy with the Twenty20 version and will not play it.”At the ICC meeting [in Dubai last week] we went through the previous records and found that a unanimous decision had been passed in October 2005 in Sydney and we were party to it. Any resolution which had two-third majority of the ICC members was binding.”The resolution referred to by Pawar allows for an annual Twenty20 World Championship under the aegis of the ICC. Pawar also clarified that the Pakistan board had informed the Indian board of its inability to play in a triseries at Abu Dhabi in September. “The dates were not suitable to them because it came immediately after their England tour,” he said. “But we will have a triseries in Abu Dhabi, the dates will be different though.”

Lunch
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The tsunami-postponed Test series started with a battling first session after New Zealand, relieved to have waved goodbye to Ricky Ponting’s formidable Australian team, made a watchful start with the bat after winning the toss. Sri Lanka’s bowlers, still missing their injured talisman Muttiah Muralitharan, probed away accurately and both teams left the field for lunch satisfied as New Zealand reached 61 for 1.The only casualty of the morning was Craig Cumming (12) as Chaminda Vaas, swinging the ball a smidgen and cleverly working the angles, zeroed in on a perceived susceptibility to being trapped lbw after a difficult series against Australia. Eventually, Vaas, having changed ends to bowl into a fresh breeze, landed a perfectly pitched full-length inswinger that would have curved into middle-and-off stump (35 for 1).Sri Lanka could have earlier claimed the wicket of James Marshall, as Sanath Jayasuriyia, partially obstructed by a flailing dive from wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara, grassed a straightforward chance at first slip off an attempted forcing stroke in Nuwan Kulasekera’s first over of Test cricket. James Marshall capitalised on the reprieve, resisting Sri Lanka’s bowlers until lunch and finishing on 24 not out.All three of Sri Lanka’s seamers bowled well, maintaining a tight line and length and forcing the Marshall Brothers to graft hard for their runs. Vaas created question-marks with his inswing, Kulasekera bounced in with refreshing enthusiasm and nipped the ball in, and Lasith Malinga always threatened to take a wicket with his remarkable science-defying catapult action, generating bounce and pace and very nearly finding the shoulder of Hamish Marshall’s bat with a nasty lifter just before lunch.Before the start, New Zealand confirmed the call-up of allrounder Kyle Mills, who replaced Daniel Vettori who decided to rest a sore back. Vettori wasn’t New Zealand’s only injury problem either with Scott Styris (knee), Jacob Oram (back), Ian Butler (back), Darryl Tuffey (bicep) and Michael Papps (finger) all unavailable for the two-Test series. Sri Lanka also have injury problems with Murali and Nuwan Zoysa both recovering from surgery.Sri Lanka, who have fond memories of McLean Park in Napier having won their first-ever Test outside the subcontinent at the same venue back in 1995, were positive in their selection, resisting the safe option of selecting seven frontline batsman so they could play five bowlers, including two spinners. Shantha Kalavitigoda, Farveez Maharoof and Ruchira Perera were the players omitted from the touring party.New Zealand team:1 James Marshall, 2 Craig Cumming, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Nathan Astle, 5 Hamish Marshall, 6 Lou Vincent, 7 Brendon McCullum, 8 Kyle Mills, 9 Paul Wiseman, 10 James Franklin, 11 Chris MartinSri Lanka team:1 Marvan Atapattu, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Upul Chandana, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Nuwan Kulasekera, 11 Lasith Malinga.