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ScorecardJimmy Anderson caused problems for all the Essex batsmen as he collected 6 for 44•PA Photos

James Anderson recorded his best Championship figures since 2002 as Lancashiredominated the opening day’s play at Chelmsford after putting Essex in.The England fast bowler finished with six wickets for 44 runs from 20.5 oversas Essex were bowled out for 176, to which the visitors responded with 83 for3 before the close.Anderson quickly announced his arrival by having openers Billy Godleman andAlastair Cook well taken in the slips in his second and third overs. And with Glen Chapple producing inswingers to claim leg before wicket verdicts against John Maunders and Jaik Mickleburgh, Essex found themselves in dire straits at 16 for 4 in the 14th over.Captain Mark Pettini and James Foster launched a recovery with a partnership of62 before both fell just before the lunch interval. Foster slashed a wide delivery from Sajid Mahmood to backward point after making 27 while Pettini, on 28, edged Anderson to second slip.Two more wickets fell cheaply but some semblance of respectability was achievedthrough the efforts of Ryan ten Doeschate and Chris Wright. They stuck it out for 27 overs while adding 70, during which time play was twice held up during an over from Mahmood in which ten Doeschate required attention following blows suffered on his forearm.But Anderson, who maintained an admirable line and length throughout, was towrap up the innings to leave ten Doeschate stranded unbeaten with 55 whichspanned 115 balls and included just three boundaries.A feature of Lancashire’s performance was their fielding, seven catches beingheld by fielders behind the wicket. Whereas the visitors held everything which came their way, Cook – who contributed just three with the bat – put down a straightforward catch at firstslip in the opening over of Lancashire’s reply.Tom Smith was the batsman to escape but he failed to make the most of hislet-off, departing lbw to David Masters for only 7. However, by then Stephen Moore was well into his stride. He quickly assumed control by collecting three fours and a six from Wright’s second over and went on to complete his half-century from 37 deliveries.Moore eventually fell for 61, containing 10 fours and two sixes, and lbw victimof Maurice Chambers from a delivery that kept low. Anderson, sent in as nightwatchman, was caught in the slips in the next over from Masters but despite those two late setbacks, it still proved Lancashire’s day.

Shaun Marsh will be in India by the weekend provided he can convince Cricket Australia his injured back is fully healed. The opener Marsh, who was the batting star of the first IPL, has been troubled by a bulging disc problem for the past five weeks and the injury interrupted his Australian one-day ambitions for the second year in a row.If he can prove his recovery to Kevin Sims, the Cricket Australia physiotherapist, on Friday, Marsh will try to get on a flight that night or on Saturday morning and begin his road back with Kings XI Punjab. “Hopefully I’ll get the all-clear, which I’m really confident of doing, and get over to play some cricket in India,” Marsh told Cricinfo.”It’s perfect to get away and play over there, it’s a little bit more relaxed than playing international cricket, so I want to get over there and have a little bit of fun and enjoy it. I’ll see what happens after that.”Initially it was thought Marsh suffered back spasms in the warm-up before the third ODI against West Indies last month, but the injury was diagnosed as a painful bulging disc. It was another untimely setback for Marsh, who was floored by long-term hamstring injuries last year, just as he was becoming a fixture at the top of the one-day order. In 26 ODIs he averages 37.96 and made starts in all eight matches against Pakistan and West Indies this summer, with his scores ranging for 12 to 83.The latest issue has forced a change in his approach to fitness for Marsh, who is still only 26. “The last year I’ve had these injuries and it’s made me realise I have to start look after my body a little bit better,” he said. “I probably really haven’t worried about it too much. This has given me a little bit of a kick up the bum that I make sure I do everything right, with recovery and gym work and that sort of stuff. I see it as a minor setback.”Shane Watson, who seems to have overcome his injury plague, has offered Marsh support with his problems. Marsh has not followed Watson into a life full of pilates and free of alcohol, but he has restructured his training and wants to build on the outlook in India.Punjab are currently win-less after two games and have matches on Sunday and Tuesday, which Marsh could be part of. He was the surprise of the first IPL, topping the run list with 616 at a strike-rate of 139.68, but he didn’t play in the second event due to his hamstring problems.Later in this campaign he hopes to run into his little brother Mitchell, the 18-year-old signed with Deccan Chargers. “He had a fantastic year this year, he came on in leaps and bounds,” Shaun said. “Hopefully I’ll get over there and play against him.”Mitchell left Perth for India on Tuesday and the brothers’ franchises are due to face each other on April 16. By then Shaun will know how his body has coped with the extra demands of his rehabilitation.

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, has called for several changes to increase the popularity of five-day cricket, including paying Test players significantly more and not broadcasting the game in the city hosting the game until a large crowd turns up at the ground. Speaking on Cricinfo’s video show , Sangakkara also said every country should have an iconic series like the Ashes to draw spectators to the stadiums.There has been plenty of talk over the decline of Tests, but Sangakkara said it was premature to write the format’s obituary. “Everyone is talking about Test cricket dying. Maybe we are pre-empting its death and trying to kill it before its time,” he said. “When it comes to players, they value playing the five-day version a lot more than they do any other version.”With a lot more money on offer in lucrative Twenty20 leagues such as the IPL, he stated that salaries of Test specialists should be hiked substantially. “Paying a match fee for playing a Test match that is 10% more than for a Twenty20, or a one-day game or 50% more doesn’t cut it,” he said. “Test cricket should be given its premium position by paying a premium amount for players who play only Test cricket sometimes.”Test cricket is packing stadiums only in England and a handful of cities over the world, something which Sangakkara felt could change if there were changes in way television broadcasted the game. “Stop overkill of cricket on television. We can’t have 24-hour cricket channels and still expect people to come and watch it at the ground,” he said. “Not telecasting the match to a particular city until they have an acceptable crowd at the ground [as they do in Australia is the right thing to do].”The Ashes have been one series which have been extremely well attended, with many grounds being sold out in advance, which indicated the way forward for Tests, according to Sangakkara. “Have iconic Test series for every country, like the Ashes for England and Australia. Have one for India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – it draws the crowds to the grounds.”There have been plenty of exciting Test matches over the past few years, including the memorable South African victory in Australia, England hanging on to nail-biting draws in three Tests, and India retaining the No. 1 ranking after a win with nine deliveries to spare in Kolkata last month in the face of a Hashim Amla masterclass. Sangakkara said players must dish out exciting cricket to gets fans to show up. “We have to accept the fact that we play because we are watched, we are entertainers – we can call ourselves gladiators,” he said. “At the end of the day we entertain and we like to play in front of a crowd. To get the crowd we have to be responsible enough to play entertaining cricket.”He also spoke of his team’s ambitions to correct some of the blots in Sri Lanka’s Test record, such as their record against Australia and their performances on tours to India. “We want to win against Australia, we want to beat India in India. Those are the things we talk about as players, and these opportunities don’t come if we don’t play Test cricket,” he said. “If Test cricket is going to be relegated as the third format of the game, behind Twenty20 and one-day cricket, then I think it will be a very sad day for cricket.”

Zimbabwe Cricket has expressed delight at record attendances for the Stanbic Bank 20 Series which finished last weekend.The final at Harare Sports Club on Saturday attracted a crowd of around 7500 which is the biggest for a domestic match in living memory. It represented a triumph for the board following its decision to revamp the domestic structure at the start of the season.In recent years attendances for any kind of match, including internationals, have more often than not been in the hundreds rather than thousands. However, crowds for the midweek matches in the nine-day tournament were low and Shingai Rhuhwaya, ZC’s head of media and communications, said it was “a pity that more schools did not take up the invitation to attend”.She added: “Schools cricket is the lifeblood of the future, and it can only be hoped that, after the success of this tournament, more of the schools will be prompted to bring parties of their pupils during the week.”Certainly the pupils who did attend appeared to have a great time and helped to create some atmosphere with their enthusiasm and cheering. Over the first weekend it was estimated that about 6000 attended in total over the two days.”

Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of India’s selection committee, has said VVS Laxman will definitely play in the second Test against South Africa in Kolkata starting Sunday. He also said he was willing to take the blame for the mess involving the selection of India’s middle-order but it was the result of a “freakish” incident.”Laxman is going to be back in the Kolkata Test match,” Srikkanth told . “He has said he is 100% fit. [His] capability will bolster the Indian batting.” Laxman was one of the three first-choice middle-order batsmen who missed the first Test, which India lost by an innings and six runs.Srikkanth and his panel are under fire for not picking a reserve batsman in the original squad for the first Test, defeat in which has left India needing a win at the Eden Gardens to retain their No. 1 ranking. Rohit Sharma, who was part of a Board President’s XI team that played a warm-up match against South Africa, was included in the national squad a day before the first Test but he too injured himself minutes before the start, forcing India to hand reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha a debut as a specialist batsman.The chief selector said he was willing to take the blame for picking a player who was not fully fit (VVS Laxman) but insisted there would have been no controversy had it not been for the unanticipated last-minute injury to Rohit. “Whatever happened on the morning of the Test match was absolutely unfortunate and freakish,” he said. “That’s what they have in this contract called ‘force majeure situations’. Imagine if a player is unfit just 15 minutes before the toss and that too a standby player – Rohit Sharma wasn’t even in the original 15 – just before the toss, I don’t think anybody can be blamed for it.”Saha was dismissed for a duck in the first innings and made a dogged 36 the second time round, but has been left out of the squad for the second Test, with Dinesh Karthik returning after two big hundreds in the Duleep Trophy final. “They all [critics] feel that Wriddhiman Saha is not a genuine batsman but a wicketkeeper who can bat. But in all fairness, Saha proved that he can bat pretty decently.”The original pool for the first Test had included four fast bowlers, though India rarely pick more than two quicks in home matches. “Generally we have an opener, a middle order batsman, a spinner and a seamer in the reserves,” Srikkanth said. “But in this Test match alone we thought we would encourage two more fast bowlers. But to our bad luck, you had one batsman walking out.”

Chris Taylor has parted ways with Yorkshire a year before his contract with the county was due to expire in order to focus on his business interests. Taylor, 28, founded the Pro Cricket Coaching Academy in 2006 with Andrew Gale, his Yorkshire team-mate, to provide coaching across the Midlands and northern England. He came to the decision by mutual consent with the county after becoming frustrated by his lack of opportunities since rejoining the club after a two-year spell with Derbyshire.”Following my successful stint with Derbyshire I genuinely thought I could make a real impact back at Yorkshire,” said Taylor, who made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 2001. “However, I have been somewhat disappointed not to have played more first-team cricket. That said, I do realise there are some very exciting young cricketers emerging at the club and, as such, it is unlikely I will get any first XI opportunities in 2010. The last thing I want is to block the development of talented young cricketers making their way in the game.”Stewart Regan, the Yorkshire chief executive, added: “Chris is a great guy and I am sorry that he has not had the breaks he needed to establish himself in our first team. I would like to thank him for his contribution over the last two years and wish him well in his new venture.”

England 574 for 9 dec (Bell 140, Cook 118) beat South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) and 133 (Swann 5-54) by an innings and 98 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGraeme Swann – nine wickets in the match•Getty Images

England’s cricketers needed just 18 overs on the final morning at Durban to wrap up a thumping innings-and-98-run victory in the second Test, as South Africa’s tail crumbled under the sheer weight of scoreboard pressure bearing down on them following the team’s desperate performance on the fourth evening. Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were once again the stand-out performers, as they shared nine of the ten wickets in the innings, with Swann claiming the spoils with 5 for 54 in 21 overs.South Africa resumed their fight on 76 for 6, with Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel entrenched in a 26-run stand for the seventh wicket, and though Morkel pulled Broad with some confidence through midwicket for the first boundary of the day, he was unable to deal with the wiles of Swann, who continued once again his extraordinary penchant for striking early in a spell.In total, Morkel faced three deliveries from Swann, and might have been dismissed by the lot. The first was tossed up from round the wicket and spun sharply past his edge. The second was snicked to slip, where Andrew Strauss – deputising in that position for the injured Paul Collingwood – couldn’t get a hand on the chance. The third, however, was the perfect follow-up. Fuller, flatter, and faster, and Morkel barely moved his pad before he’d been pinned lbw for 15.Paul Harris was the next man in, and he received a rough reception from Broad in particular, who sensed a vulnerability to the short ball, and tested it to the max with a barrage of lifters that struck him variously on the chest, ribs and armpit. But he did his best to endure as he anchored himself on the back foot, and each of his first three fours came from steers through point off Broad, only one of which was genuinely involuntary.The real body blow for South Africa’s faint hopes occurred at the other end, however. Boucher is one of the best scrappers in world cricket, but the magnitude of this particular task proved to be beyond him. On 29, Broad fizzed a lifter down the leg-side, and there was an audible snick as the ball flew through to Matt Prior behind the stumps. Umpire Aleem Dar initially turned down the appeal, but Strauss and his team-mates were convinced, and the referred decision showed a clear deflection off the glove.Harris did his best to hang in there, edging Swann through third man before cracking him more emphatically down the ground for another boundary, at which point Strauss decided it was time for a change. James Anderson entered the attack from the Umgeni End, and he needed only four balls to make the breakthrough, as Harris was deceived by late swing from a full length, and Broad – though denied a shot at a five-wicket haul – nevertheless made good ground at mid-off to scoop a low catch.Instead the honour of the five-for went to Swann, the man who had set the collapse in motion before tea on the fourth day. Dale Steyn propped forward in front of off and was instantly sent on his way lbw for 3, and England’s fielders hurtled from the field to begin their celebrations. The final Test of the decade had finished as a remarkable innings victory for England, their first in South Africa since 1964, as they set off to Cape Town with their spirits soaring and the series seemingly theirs to lose.

Glamorgan extended the leadership team of captain Jamie Dalrymple and coach Matthew Maynard, giving them two-year contracts which will keep them at the club until the end of 2011.Glamorgan had an improved season in 2009, finishing fifth in Division Two of the Championship. Their two wins, two defeats and 12 draws was welcome progress after a difficult season in 2008 when they finished second from bottom, losing five matches.Maynard, who was England’s batting coach between 2004 and 2007, returned to his former county Glamorgan as head coach in 2008 and despite a challenging first season in charge is confident that the club is improving.”We made headway last summer and I am delighted that Jamie Dalrymple will continue his role of club captain. Jamie is a tremendous leader and will undoubtedly play a key role in helping us achieve our goals next summer.”Dalrymple, who took the captaincy reins at the beginning of the season, also feels the side is moving in the right direction. “Last season showed that we have become more difficult to beat in four-day cricket and from a poor start, our performances in one-day cricket improved. We still have some way to go, but I am confident that we now have the right team in place to help us reach our goals next year.”

Any bowler who can regularly send down six consecutive 150kph rockets is a man to respect. Kemar Roach did exactly that at the Adelaide Oval, where his speed was as impressive as Sulieman Benn’s bounce. Although he finished up with slightly disappointing match figures of 3 for 159, Roach gave the Australians plenty to think about as they battled out a draw.Had he converted a couple of his tricky second-innings deliveries into wickets, Australia might not have escaped a defeat that ensured they will hold the Frank Worrell Trophy at the end of the series. As it stands, Australia head to Perth for the third Test with a 1-0 advantage but the captain Ricky Ponting said Roach would be a serious challenge on what is traditionally Australia’s quickest surface.”He’ll be a handful in Perth,” Ponting said. “As you can see, every spell he’s bowled, almost every ball he’s bowled, is hovering around 150kph. We knew that he was capable of that. He’s hit his areas really well. He hasn’t sprayed the ball around too much. He’s bowling well for them at the moment.”Roach doesn’t have the height of the great West Indies fast men of yesteryear like Curtly Ambrose and Joel Garner, but his skiddy action is still tough to face. Ponting had trouble against him in the first innings and was hurried up by a quick delivery that he tried to pull, but only managed to send a catch to Dwayne Bravo at midwicket.”Someone who is pretty short at that pace can get the ball to skid onto you pretty quickly off the wicket with not much bounce,” Ponting said. “We’ve played him pretty well here [in Adelaide]. The ball reverse-swung for them in both innings. He’s a handful, there’s no doubt about that. He’s someone who could play a fair bit of Test cricket for them in the future.”The WACA might not be the fast-bowling paradise it once was, but Roach stands out as the most fearsome of the seamers in an attack otherwise made up of medium pacers like Bravo and Darren Sammy, and the medium-fast Ravi Rampaul. Roach is only 21 and is still learning his craft, but Ponting said the Australians would need to continue to show him plenty of respect.”Anyone that’s bowling that sort of pace will trouble any batter, especially later in the game when the bounce gets a bit variable,” Ponting said. “That’s when you’re at your most vulnerable against guys who bowl at that sort of pace.”

Matabeleland Tuskers continued their winning ways with a 39-run win over Southern Rocks at Masvingo. The Tuskers were pushed to a strong 299 for 7 by Bornaparte Mujuru (89 off 90 balls), the in-form Terrence Duffin (68) and Dion Ebrahim (61), who then picked up 5 for 45 with his part-time offspin. It was ultimately poor fielding that cost the home team asthey continued to drop simple catches.In reply, the Rocks could only muster 261. The opener Eric Chaulaka (44) and captain Steve Tikolo (54) were the main contributors to that total, with Thomas Odoyo (32),Chitongo Tendai(36) and opener Steve Marrillier (21) failing to convert starts. Ebrahim had no opposition in picking up the Man-of-the-Match, running through the batting.At Mutare, the Mountaineers opening pair of Tino Mawoyo and Bernard Mlambo destroyed the Mid West Rhinos in a ten-wicket win with 81 balls to spare. Tidy and commanding spin bowling from Natsai Mushangwe and Donald Tiripano did for the Rhinos, who were bowled out for 169 in the 44th over. Mawoyo, the Mountaineers’ captain, hit an unbeaten 71 from 109 balls and Mlambo 81 from 113 balls, with 11 fours, as the target was achieved with minimal fuss.