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A new year will not neccessarily bring a new dawn for England, but it does mean that five lucky readers are filling their boots with our fantastic competiton prizes. There’s something for everyone, with DVD highlights (or lowlights depending where you’re from) of the Adelaide Test, EA’s Cricket 07, and, of course, those stalwarts of the Ashes competiton world Beefy and Boony.To win these two jokers, the DVD and the game all you had to do was answer correctly our exceedingly simple question:As at January 2, when was the last time hundreds were made by both openers in an Ashes Test – and which pair struck them? The answer of course was Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden at The Oval in 2005.Here are the lucky five.Greg Chaff, Charlestown, Queensland, Australia
Melanie Beer, Deniliquin, NSW, Australia
Chandru Boopalam, Michigan, USA
Darren Thompson, Adelaide, South Australia
David Nethery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Well done to those five – prizes are on their way quicker than you can say ‘Skippy the bush kangaroo’ . Thankyou all for playing, good night and good luck.But don’t worry if you didn’t win this time … there’ll be more competitions coming up during the one-day series which also includes New Zealand. Well done everyone.

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

Shivnarine Chanderpaul carried West Indies to a thrilling final-ball one-wicket win in the first one-day international in Port of Spain after being left needing 10 off two deliveries. He responded with a straight drive before flicking a Chaminda Vaas full toss over deep midwicket to send the Trinidad crowd into wild celebrations.An enthralling match had swung one way then the other before the final act. Sri Lanka recovered from 49 for 5 to post a competitive total with Chamara Kapugedera hitting a career-best 95 in a record sixth-wicket stand of 159 with Chamara Silva. West Indies were well placed on 109 for 1 before Chris Gayle fell for 52, and when Dwayne Bravo was run out the lower-order was exposed. Sri Lanka appeared to have done enough, but Chanderpaul had other ideas.He’d struggled to find the boundary, and the strike, in the final stages but clipped a four off the final ball of the 49th over. Only three runs came off the first four balls of the last over from Vaas before Chanderpaul slammed a drive past mid-off, followed by the match-clinching six which sailed over Mahela Jayawardene on the fence. Jayawardene knew he wasn’t going to haul in a last-ditch catch and although he made his displeasure clear at the rare blemish from Vaas, on reflection he’ll find plenty to be pleased about from his team’s performance.This series marks something of a watershed for Sri Lanka as they start to build for the next World Cup. Muttiah Muralitharan has been rested, something that will become the norm for non-major tournaments or series, while Sanath Jayasuriya has been dropped to blood a young top order. Throw in the absence of Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof through injury and this was Sri Lanka’s weakest one-day bowling attack for some time. After Vaas’s 392 wickets, the next best was Tillakaratne Dilshan with 45.It didn’t leave Jayawardene much to work with, especially when Ishara Amerasinghe was taken to the cleaners and Kapugedera’s bowling was less successful than his batting. It was the debutant spinner, Ajantha Mendis, who stood up with three wickets leaving West Indies dumbfounded by his variations to suggest Sri Lanka may have unearthed someone to help ease the burden on Muralitharan.Mendis showed the calmness and control of a seasoned international player, not a 23-year-old playing his first game. He broke through a 56-run stand between Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, later adding Darren Sammy and, one ball after being launched for six, claiming Jerome Taylor in his further spells.Nuwan Kulasekera was another to answer his captain’s call with top-order wickets. Starting with Devon Smith he also removed Sarwan and two balls later trapped Marlon Samuels lbw. Bravo decided the best way to counter the flurry of wickets was with aggression and joined the list of batsmen to take a liking to Amerasinghe. He played his trademark pull off one leg through midwicket before unfurling the shot of the match, a back-foot drive high over extra-cover which struck one of the photographers a nasty blow on the head.It was a piece of headless cricket that opened the door again for Sri Lanka as Bravo succumbed to a misunderstanding with Chanderpaul and both ended up at the same end. Bravo’s dismissal left West Indies needing 67 off 12 overs and the onus was on Chanderpaul. He was composed, but his colleagues less so. Patrick Browne couldn’t pick Mendis’ box of tricks, but his team-mates will forgive him that. They will be less generous about his dismissal. One ball after easing the pressure with a sweet six off Dilshan he tried a repeat and found Mendis at long on. However, in the final throes it was the two most experienced players on the field who went head-to-head, with Chanderpaul coming out on topWest Indies would never have envisaged such a close call after they’d taken advantage of early movement to reduce Sri Lanka’s top order to ruins. Bravo claimed three, including Jayawardene who drove loosely to backward point, after Kumar Sangakkara had fallen in similar fashion against Taylor.Kapugedera has struggled to nail a consistent place in the middle order since making his debut two years ago but has continued to knock on the door with performances for Sri Lanka A. He expanded his strokeplay in the closing overs, taking two sixes off Sulieman Benn plus another off Fidel Edwards, and seemed to be timing his pursuit of three figures nicely until falling to the penultimate ball of the innings.He’d been helped in the well-paced fightback by Silva, the more experienced player who was happy to let Kapugedera play his natural game. With the charge on in the final ten overs Silva also began to open his shoulders, but picked out midwicket for a 96-ball 67, full of inventive strokes and quick running, to hand Bravo his fourth wicket. Bravo’s all-round contribution earned him the match award, but the Trinidad crowd made it clear they knew who West Indies had to thank for pulling off a victory that had appeared to have slipped away.

Tino Mawoyo has been stripped of the Zimbabwe A captaincy following misbehaviour by him and other players in camp in Bulawayo early last month.A Bulawayo-based newspaper reported how players broke camp rules by bringing women into their hotel rooms during their matches against South African National Academy played at Queens Sports Club. The same publication also reported that Mawoyo was arrested outside a sports club for public drinking but was not taken to the police station after the police were paid off.The publication of the story sent shockwaves through Zimbabwe Cricket leadingto a disciplinary inquiry. National selector Vumi Moyo, who was the teammanager at the time, was asked to submit a report and he did not deny the that that the players had brought women into their rooms.Sources said if the police had charged Mawoyo, he would have been suspended.Pace bowler Blessing Mahwire has replaced Mawoyo for the South AfricanAirways Challenge pool B match against Gauteng at Bulawayo and ZC boardmember Cyprian Mandenge has taken over as team manager.Mawoyo, who captained Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004, remains a vital member of the Zimbabwe A squad at the top of the batting order. He was promoted to the senior team against India A and South Africa A but struggled and was demoted back to the A team.

Graham Gooch has pulled out of contention for the role as England’s new national selector, saying the commitment wouldn’t allow him to maintain his other interests and also raising concerns over where the final selection decisions would lie.Gooch had been the biggest name linked to the position, but said after weighing up all his options he decided it isn’t a job for him.”The job is very appealing for someone like me who has a big interest in English cricket and a strong desire to see us succeed at international level,” he told the . “Initially I was interested but, after weighing up all the options, I do feel that whoever does the job will have to devote themselves fully to it, to the exclusion of other interests. Mainly on that basis I’m ruling myself out.”If I were to be appointed there is no way I could continue with the coaching work I do at Essex,” he added. “I feel I’ve been able to help in the development of Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara on their road to the England team and that has given me great satisfaction. The other issue is that it seemed unclear to me who would actually have the final say over selection.”David Graveney, the current chairman of selectors, is having to reapply for the role, but the ECB job description says that international playing experience is “desirable although not essential.”Chris Adams, the Sussex captain and former England batsman, is reportedly interested in the role. The closing date for applications is December 17, with interviews taking place early next year. The new selection panel, which will also include two part-time members, will take up position at the start of the 2008 English season.

Brett Lee is confident Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association will work out their sponsorship problems with the BCCI so their players can appear in the Indian Premier League if the tour of Pakistan is called off. CA has raised objections about its contract holders endorsing products that clash with the home board’s deals and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has said he will not budge on CA’s demands about global protection of its partners.”We will listen closely to what CA and the ACA are saying,” Lee said in Melbourne. “It’s a matter now of waiting and seeing. They are confident of coming up with a plan which will make everybody happy”.The Pakistan tour is due to start next month but the Australians are waiting on a security visit to determine whether it goes ahead. If not, the players could be free to travel to India for the IPL before the tour of the West Indies in May.”It’s very hard for us because we are so focussed on what’s happening here in Australia, which is good,” Lee said. “We don’t have to focus on what is happening elsewhere, we have people who are doing it for us.”If the opportunity comes up, then great. The IPL poses a brilliant opportunity for Australian and other world cricketers to go out there and play in the Twenty20 format. I am sure it will all work out and people will be happy with the outcome.”

A massive 305 run first wicket partnership between T Suman (169) and PShashank Nag (141) put Hyderabad in a formidable position on the firstday of their Cooch Behar Trophy South Zone League match against Keralaat the Gymkhana Ground on Sunday. The stand helped Hyderabad to ascore of 345 for 3 at close of play.Winning the toss the Kerala skipper M Vipin Lal put Hyderabad into batbut he was in for a shocker as the Hyderabad openers took hold of theproceedings. Both Suman and Shashank Nag were unstoppable right fromthe start and brought up the 100 before the lunch interval. Suman, whoscored his third century of the tournament, was more severe on theKerala attack while plundering 20 boundaries during his 310 minutestay at the crease.The post Lunch session saw the two going from strength to strength andbefore long took the team score past the 200 run mark. The Keralaskipper was probably bereft of ideas and tried all his might to breakthe partnership. The spinners especially bore the brunt of the openersbats so much so that Aneesh Kumar and Sooraj went for 185 runs betweenthemselves. Shashank Nag was not far behind and matched his partner inpacing his innings. During his 348 ball stay he managed to find theropes 8 times while clearing it on five occations.Kerala bowlers found their first success in the form of Suman only inthe post Tea session when he was caught at deep extra cover by sujitoff Sooraj in the 77th over of the innings. His partner Shashank Nagdeparted seven balls later, being caught at deep mid wicket by Soorajof Aneesh. The new bat Arjan Yadav offered a return catch to Aneesh inthe 88th over. AT Rayudu (15) and Ibrahim Khaleel (6) safelynegociated the end overs and made sure of no further casualities forHyderabad.

Tipped over the bar
When the usually accurate Ian Bradshaw strayed a little down the leg side, Sanath Jayasuriya teed off in trademark fashion. As the ball dipped down towards deep square leg, there was a buzz of anticipation in the crowd. Shivnarine Chanderpaul threw himself off the ground and palmed the ball over the rope. Had it been a game of football, it was a save that Gordon Banks would have been proud of. As it was, it was six more.The air leaves the World Cup balloon
Kumar Sangakkara not only had the eagle eye and presence of mind to spot Brian Lara’s back foot outside the crease, but also fast-twitch fibres akin to a White City greyhound in whipping off the bails. The entire stadium, and perhaps the World Cup organising committee as well, held its breath through a couple of minutes of replays before the stadium scoreboard flashed what no one wanted to see. As Lara trudged off, head bowed, you sensed that West Indian World Cup hopes were leaving the field with him.All-round woe
As Sri Lanka were wrapping up a facile victory, Michael Holding walked down from the commentary box. A World Cup winner in 1979, he has often been a strident critic of this West Indian team. When asked what he’d thought of West Indies’ terrible display in the field, Holding smiled ruefully and said: “It wasn’t just the fielding. The batting and bowling were terrible as well, give or take a couple of names.” We could only think of Daren Powell, Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan.Boo girl
As we walked across the stadium perimeter on our way to the press conference, Jayasuriya was being presented with the Man-of-the-Match award. As he walked up to accept it, a little girl in the stand above me started booing. She carried on, even while those around her looked around awkwardly. Too young to have experienced Caribbean cricket’s halcyon years, she might have to get used to many more days of disappointment. Booing the wrong colour shirt won’t help either.Save the best for last
On a day of stunning hits from Jayasuriya, the pick of the bunch was perhaps the last ball of the Sri Lankan innings. Dwayne Bravo dropped one in the slot, and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s bat cleaved through the air to send the ball soaring deep into the stands at midwicket.Fast man goes slow
Victory had been clinched and the sun had gone down but even at half past six, Lasith Malinga was in front of the stand adjacent to the pavilion signing autographs. Two West Indian fans waited patiently, and thanked him politely after he’d slowly scrawled out a signature. Next in line was a policewoman, paper and pen in hand. No doubt she found something arresting about Malinga’s hair.

ICC Europe has announced the schedule and venues for the ICC European Division 1 Championship to be held in Ireland from July 25 to 31, 2008.The 50-over round-robin tournament will see Europe’s top six Associate and Affiliate countries – Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland – fight it out for Europe’s top spot. Six cricket grounds will be used to host a total of 15 matches that will see each country come face to face over five days.Current European champions Ireland will be looking to retain their title on home soil, and their campaign will begin against tournament newcomer Norway at The Hills Cricket Club on July 25. ICC Affiliate Member Norway gained promotion to Division 1 after finishing top of Division 2 in 2006, overcoming second place Jersey, and other Associate members including France, Gibraltar and Israel. The other opening matches will see Denmark face Scotland at Malahide CC and Italy take on the Netherlands at North County CC.”Winning the European Championships and retaining the title is still a hugely important goal for Ireland,” said Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, Warren Deutrom. “Although last year’s World Cup success gave us an exciting glimpse of the world beyond, we still consciously compare ourselves to our European neighbours, particularly our counterparts in ICC’s High Performance Programme. If nothing else, the fierce competition among traditional rivals makes for highly competitive cricket which, in turn, helps raise the bar for European cricket.”

Walking towards the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati is like gradually entering a sea of . You notice pockets of security officers patrolling street corners, large chunks manning the gates, and an entire ocean flooding the premises of the Assam Cricket Association.More than 1500 security men – picked from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Para-military forces and State Battalions – swarmed the outer part of the ground, receiving instructions on their duties for the next two days. In April last year, Guwahati was witness to an ugly riot, when the India-England game was abandoned due to a wet outfield. The incident – when a section of the crowd broke down stands, burnt paper and pelted missiles – jeopardised Guwahati’s standing as an international venue.An India-Pakistan match is usually accompanied by heavy security but the local administration, with backing from both the central and state governments, is trying to cover all bases. “In view of past incidents, as well as the fact that this is an India-Pakistan match, we have taken additional steps,” said GP Singh, deputy inspector general of the western range police.”We have been informed that a number of Pakistan fans and media will be accompanying the team and we are ensuring appropriate security measures across the city.” Around 250 fans and close to 50 mediapersons are expected to make the trip from Pakistan. “There is no separate enclosure for the Pakistan fans. They have been allotted tickets in various parts of the ground. We are keen to have an incident-free match.”Amid this throng of security men is a giant poster announcing the match, with Sunny Deol, the Bollywood star, welcoming both teams with folded arms. There are also big hoardings announcing the National sub-junior Kabaddi Championships in January 2008 and the upcoming Bordoloi Trophy football tournament (involving club teams from India and abroad).The Nehru Stadium, a multi-sport arena, has staged 11 ODIs and the pitch has generally tended to favour bowlers who can move it around. Only twice have teams crossed 250 and locals mention a score of around 230 being a realistic target. Matches in Guwahati start earlier than other centres in India, what with the sun setting as early as 5 pm, and the initial dew is conducive for the faster bowlers upfront. However, Sunil Barua, the local curator, felt it was a “300 pitch”, with the batsmen free to drive through the line. “There will be a lot of dew early but the pitch is a very good one.”Both teams are scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon and there will be no practice session, with the series trophy set to be unveiled.

The ECB are refusing to budge on Ian Harvey’s attempts to register as a non-overseas player. His citizenship application has become stuck at the Home Office with a drink-drive conviction meaning it can’t be processed.”While sympathetic to Ian Harvey’s position the board reconfirmed the ruling that Derbyshire would be able to continue to select [him] as an unqualified player,” said the ECB.Derbyshire are using the example of Ottis Gibson who was allowed to play while awaiting his citizenship. The ruling means that Harvey will remain on the sidelines as Derbyshire have two fellow Australians, Simon Katich and Travis Birt, as their overseas players.”We are disappointed but not surprised by the decision and we will continue to pursue the matter through the Home Office,” said chief executive Tom Sears. “Most of all, we feel a huge amount of sympathy for Ian who is being prevented from continuing his Derbyshire career, which began in such terrific fashion at the start of the season.”We remain determined to get Ian back to doing what he does best and we will continue to explore every avenue to make that possible.”