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A searingly quick fast bowler; an elegant, free-flowing batsman, and an inspirational leader who emerged from retirement to carry his country to World Cup glory. Few cricketers can have enjoyed such a successful a career as Pakistan’s legendary Imran Khan. And yet, Imran’s greatest victory of all occurred off the pitch, in Lahore, where he established Pakistan’s first and only cancer hospital.In 1984, Imran’s mother, Shaukat Khanum, was claimed by the disease after a painful few months, and at that moment, Imran realised that, for all the trappings of fame and fortune, one’s existence was too precarious to be taken for granted. So he vowed to raise a sum of £5 million, with which to establish a hospital – in his mother’s name – that would treat the poor of Pakistan for free.It was not a project that he took lightly. The government of Pakistan donated 20 acres of land on the outskirts of Lahore, but having laid the foundations it was clear to Imran that his first estimation would cover only the initial phase. To keep up the running costs, he would have to commit himself to the project for the rest of his life.And so, in December 1994, a decade of hard graft, tireless fundraising, and sweat and toil came to fruition, as the hospital was inaugurated and the first patients were admitted. To this day, Imran remains the single biggest contributor to the running costs, as the hospital is maintained entirely through charitable donations and without any assistance or aid from government organisations. Rarely can a son have given such a tribute to his mother.

A crowd of 6,500 attended the Twenty20 match at the Rose Bowl, all the more remarkable as the qualification contest had been decided. Another glorious sunny day brought the fans for a great night out.Surrey Lions who had won the 4 previous Twenty20 matches and had qualified for the semi-finals, playing a Hampshire Hawks side still trying to come to terms with the new format.Surrey choosing to bat first, found the Rose Bowl wicket a little bouncy, giving Wasim Akram and Alan Mullally some lift. Scott Newman who had taken 13 (including 3x4s) off Ed Giddins in the second over, was the anchor as the Lions slumped from a comfortable 75 with loss, to just 140 for 9. Newman scored at exactly a run a ball for his 59, as a wicket fell in every over from 14 to 20 with the exception of the 18th.Two unlikely bowlers held the visitors up, Lawrence Prittipaul may be struggling with the bat, but his bowling has come on in strength conceding just 17 in 4 overs and helping him to 2 wickets. James Hamblin too 3-31 and Wasim bamboozled the tail enders for his two wickets.When it was Hampshire’s turn to bat, they received a major set back, as Hamblin who had given the Hawks such good starts, fell first ball lbw to Martin Bicknell. From that point the Hawks struggled to keep up with the pace, Katich again held the innings together, but only John Crawley (23) and a quickfire 27 (19 balls) from Derek Kenway offered resistance as the home side ended 19 runs short.

While his rivals scrambled for a Test spot, Matthew Hayden proved he was the best opening batsman in Australia when he drove Queensland past Western Australia in the Pura Cup clash at the Gabba today.Hayden crashed 143 to lead the Bulls to first innings points after three days, tormenting the Warriors in a clear sign he was ready for the first Test against New Zealand on November 8.Just who will face the new ball with him remains uncertain after Jamie Cox and Greg Blewett scored centuries in their respective matches, but incumbent JustinLanger remains the favourite after his 96 against the Bulls yesterday.Hayden was more authoritative than Langer, providing the backbone of Queensland’s 6-403 declared in reply to the Warriors’ abbreviated first innings of 8-360.The visitors were 0-16 at stumps, leaving the door open for an intriguing finish tomorrow if rival captains Stuart Law and Adam Gilchrist set up a run chase.Hayden became Queensland’s leading century-maker in domestic four-day matches when he scored his 23rd ton, moving off a mark which included Law, the latePeter Burge and leading run-maker Sam Trimble.For all those centuries, Hayden has never entered an Australian summer guaranteed of a spot in the first Test – until now.”It’s great to be look at a record like that and think that you’ve got it,” Hayden said.”But you only have to look around the place to see that there is plenty of other blokes getting runs.”I was just really happy with the tempo of my innings today because I’ve done a lot of hard work and it was terrific to get a century.”Hayden was dangerous at times, belting an off-drive which almost knocked over Marcus North at mid-off before he fired a towering drive into the 12th row of the northern stand, missing a spectator by less than one metre.He played relatively straight for his first 100 runs and the knock was the highlight of a top-order assault which included a lively 73 from opener Jimmy Maher and a typically professional 78 from No.3 Martin Love.They pushed the score to 1-288 before veteran Jo Angel (3-70) found the spot with the second new ball.He removed Love, Clinton Perren (seven) and Andrew Symonds (15) and the Bulls only wobbled past the Warriors total before Law (35) eventually declared with12 overs until stumps.Langer hadn’t scored when he survived a confident shout for a catch behind off Andrew Bichel, probably leaving the match in need of a sporting declarationtomorrow to ensure a result.”It’s a shame we didn’t get a wicket tonight because it looks like a draw,” Hayden said.”But there are 112 overs tomorrow so maybe they will make a game of it.”

ScorecardNick Browne’s career best took Essex to victory•Getty Images

An outstanding unbeaten career-best 151 from opener Nick Browne, during which he passed 1,000 championship runs for the season, helped Essex to victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road.Asked to score 307 to win from a minimum of 65 overs, the visitors knocked off the runs needed with five wickets and three overs in hand. The key partnership was that of 157 for the third wicket between Browne and Ravi Bopara, compiled off just 29.5 overs. Bopara’s 69 was his highest championship score of the season.The morning session had seen three declarations, setting up a potentially exciting finish to a match which had lost its first two days to the weather.Leicestershire picked up the wickets of Dan Lawrence, caught at first slip edging an attempted drive at Ben Raine for 28, and then Tom Westley, who failed to keep a square drive down and was caught at point, for just one.Browne, however, was soon timing the ball nicely, and Bopara, after being dropped off consecutive balls by Angus Robson at first slip and then by the bowler himself, Rob Sayer, when on just 17, began to belie his previous poor form.His dismissal, caught behind off a delivery from Ben Raine that lifted more than had previously been the case on a flat Grace Road track, brought in Ryan tenDoeschate, whose 28 from 19 balls added further momentum to the innings.Leicestershire were without Charlie Shreck, who pulled up injured, and with Clint McKay having returned to Australia and Ben Raine suffering from cramp, the attack looked threadbare. Bad light nearly came to their rescue though, but just three over were lost, and though Jesse Ryder went caught behind off Rob Taylor on the resumption, Browne and Mark Pettini saw Essex home.

West Indies spinner Sunil Narine has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after his action was found to be illegal.An independent assessment revealed that all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree limit. Narine’s action was reported earlier this month during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.In accordance with Article 6.1 of the regulations, “Narine’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all National Cricket Federations within domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction, save that, with the consent of the West Indies Cricket Board, Narine may be able to play in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of the West Indies Cricket Board.”The test was done on November 17 at ICC’s testing centre in Loughborough University. Narine can apply for re-assessment after modifying his action in accordance with clause 2.4 of the Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions.Narine was playing against Sri Lanka after a gap of more than a year in international cricket, and finished with four wickets from three ODIs at an average of 18. He is currently the No. 1 ranked bowler in the ICC rankings for ODIs and T20Is.Narine is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League for Comilla Victorians, and this suspension means he won’t be allowed to bowl in the BPL too. He will fly out of Dhaka on Sunday night itself.”We were prepared for the announcement,” Comilla Victorians owner Nafeesa Kamal told ESPNcricinfo. “We were told that we can expect something on November 29 so we had planned accordingly. We will definitely miss him. He was an asset to the team. We are now looking for a player to replace him.”The West Indies Cricket Board said that Narine would receive its full support as he works on correcting his action. “We will be offering our support to Sunil as he does the remedial work on his bowling action. I know the time and effort he has put in to do this work previously and I am sure this will just deepen his resolve to come back a better bowler,” Richard Pybus, WICB’s director of cricket, said in a release.

Tim Boon, the Leicestershire coach, admits his club are facing a battle to retain their gifted young bowler, Stuart Broad.Broad, 21 – who was widely expected to make his Test debut yesterday against India, before being overlooked for Chris Tremlett – is one of England’s brightest fast-bowling prospects. And in this modern era of lucrative player moves, Boon is acutely aware that other counties could lure him with a sizeable pay packet.”This is the right place for him and I’d be disappointed if he goes for money,” Boon said. “We have put a support structure in place here which means he has everything he needs to achieve his goals.”I have also told him that the money will come to him, so I will be disappointed if he leaves for that particular reason. We were well aware that we would be facing this battle to keep Stuart because he is one of the most gifted prospects in the game but I remain hopeful that he will stay with us.”Broad was due to turn out for Leicestershire today but, like many sides, they fall victim to the rain as their match against Middlesex washed out at Grace Road without a ball being bowled.

A tournament billed as a clash between three of the teams most likely towrest Australia’s crown at next year’s World Cup will now in all probability giveway to a bilateral one-day series between Sri Lanka and India. This follows a bombblast in Colombo on Monday afternoon which prompted the South African team toreassess their presence on the island.Unless the ICC threatens them withpunitive measures, the South Africans – already rattled after an explosionkilled three on the final day of their Test series – will head home on theadvice of their consulate and the security firm in charge of theirsecurity. The players are united in their desire to curtail the tour, andGerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board of SouthAfrica, is sympathetic to their stance.The explosion, triggered by a Claymore mine, took place in front of the popular Liberty Plaza shopping mall, killing seven and injuring 17. Four of the dead were army personnel providing an escort to, Bashir Wali Mohamand, the Pakistani High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, who escaped unhurt. According to the Sri Lankan government, the target was the Pakistani High Commissioner as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was disturbed about the close cooperation existing between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in defence matters.Sri Lankan cricket officials and security experts said as much in ameeting with both the Indian and South African team managements, assuringthem that the blast was a one-off. They insisted that security for bothteams would be further beefed up. But with the blast taking place lessthan 2km from the Cinnamon Grand hotel where South Africa are staying, andjust over 3km from the Taj Samudra which houses the Indians, there weremore than a few worried players by mid-afternoon.Torrential rain throughout Sunday night and much of Monday morning hadalready dampened any hopes of the tournament starting on time, and MickeyArthur, South Africa’s coach, said after the meeting with Sri Lankanofficials that his team continued to be jittery.”We are pretty worried,”he said. “They tried to explain how a cricket event or the teams wereleast likely to be targetted. But this was quite close to home. It’s fairto say that if we hadn’t been playing today, a lot of our boys might havebeen over at Liberty Plaza.”With India having cleared a massive contingent for the South Asian Games,which starts here on Friday – the football team is already in town,staying at the same hotel as the South African cricketers – the stancefrom New Delhi was quite different. Having spoken to BCCI officials backhome, Rajan Nair, India’s media manager, announced that a further meetingwas planned for Tuesday morning, and that the Indian team was protected bythree layers of security at their hotel.When asked if the prospect of ablast en route to the ground – Liberty Plaza is on the way to the SSC,where India were scheduled to practise on Monday afternoon – worriedthe players, he said: “Sri Lankan security officials are responsible forsafety when we are travelling, and they have assured us that nothinguntoward will happen.”Though Sri Lanka Cricket officials quickly came out and said that thetournament was unaffected, with Sri Lanka and South Africa expected togive it another go on Tuesday, the feeling of unease in the South Africancamp was palpable. Players hung around the lobby, waiting for news andasking their friends in the media for updates. By late afternoon, itbecame known that the team were keen to leave, and that officials backhome in South Africa were weighing up the ramifications of a pullout.Gordon Templeton, the team’s media manager, told Cricinfo: “Our cricketboard is in consulation with the consulate here and also our securityfirm. They will come to a decision based on that.” Asked whether thatmeant not waiting for the meeting announced on the morrow, he said: “Thedecision will be taken by the board, and it may happen before that.”Several of the South African players voiced their fears privately. Onetold this correspondent: “Before we came here, we were assured that theproblems were all up north. But this is the second bomb in a week, andwe’ve also read of numerous assassinations.” His views were echoed byArthur, who said: “The situation seems to be getting worse too, if youwatch the news and read the papers. We saw today that a truck full ofexplosives had been stopped just outside of Colombo.”The Indians, though, sang from an altogether different hymn sheet,perhaps acutely aware of the fact that they will be hosting the ChampionsTrophy in October, less than three months after the serial blasts onMumbai’s suburban railway network.Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, saidthat it was the host nation that had to take a decision, while Lalit Modi,the vice-president of the board, told Cricinfo: “What South Africa decideis their business. Let us not speculate. Let us wait for the facts andthen decide. The series is on and we haven’t heard anything to thecontrary.”By nightfall, the South Africans were more or less ready to pack theirbags. An ICC spanner in the works was unlikely, given that neitherAustralia nor West Indies was punished for boycotting matches in SriLanka during the 1996 World Cup. With such a precedent to fall back on,it was a near-certainty that the triangular would become a South Asianface-off, inclement weather and terror attacks permitting.

Ireland 172 and 196 (Joyce 61) beat Scotland 234 for 9 dec and 131 (McCoubrey 4-17) by three runs
Scorecard

Scotland’s hopes of successfully defending their Intercontinental Cup title disappeared as they slid to a three-run defeat by Ireland at Aberdeen. The result, which will give Ireland satisfaction after their loss in last month’s ICC Trophy final, means that they are left needing a draw from their match Holland at Stormont later this month to progress to the semi-finals.Scotland’s bowlers had given them a chance of victory by bowling Ireland out for 196, leaving a modest target of 135 in 39 overs. But some poor batting, one or two dubious umpiring decisions, and a devastating four-wicket opening spell from Adrian McCoubrey which reduced Scotland to 34 for 4 proved too much to overcome.The home side were further hampered when Craig Wright was found to have suffered a broken finger, which will rule him out of Thursday’s match against Australia. Coming in at No. 9 with the score on 78 for 7, he hammered a brave 31, including two huge 6s on the trot, to take Scotland to the brink of victory only for Dewald Nel to be run out off the next delivery.Ireland resumed on 46 for 2, but for a second time their batsmen could not master the bowling, with only Dom Joyce (61) and Andre Botha (46) showing any real definace. Gregor Maiden (3 for 24), Ryan Watson (3 for 64) and Johan Nel (3 for 30) shared the spoils.”It was lots of wee things throughout the three days that did for us, not the final chase,” said Andy Moles, Scotland’s coach. “We let Ireland’s lower order get far too many runs on the first day, then we didn’t get enough ourselves in reply. And, crucially, after Craig Wright broke his finger, he didn’t bowl much. I am certain his absence from the attack cost us wickets at important times.”

The Greeks would sympathise. There has been something Athenian about the doubts and delays that have dogged England’s preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy, which gets underway at Edgbaston and The Oval on Friday. While the Zimbabwe crisis was raging, there was a genuine threat that the tournament would be whisked away to India, and as for the venues – neither The Oval, which is midway through its long-overdue facelift, nor the Rose Bowl, with its recently laid pitches, looked as if they could possibly be ready for such a high-profile event.Factor in all those other peripheral matters, such as the wisdom of staging such a jamboree so late in the English season, sluggish ticket sales, and the blink-and-you-miss-it format, which seemed tailormade for another embarrassingly early exit for the hosts, and there were all the makings of cricket’s dampest squib since … well, the opening ceremony of the 1999 World Cup at a rainy Lord’s.But then again, it is not every day that you get all the world’s top players (give or take a Tendulkar or Muralitharan) gathered together in one place, and it is not every day that English cricket finds itself on a roll of quite such staggering proportions. So far, touch wood, even the weather looks as if it might play along. Far from being a tournament too many, the coming fortnight has all the makings of a celebration of cricket – and, assuming they don’t fall at the first hurdle, a celebration of England’s remarkable season as well.That factor could be the clincher. With apologies to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, it is not being unduly one-eyed to suggest that the tournament’s best hope of capturing the public’s imagination is for England to progress beyond the group stage – for the first time in the competition’s history. The whole show will be done and dusted in 15 manic days, which is a far cry from the bloated, seven-week slog everyone endured at the last World Cup. The longer the host nation is involved, the better.Given the disparity between the competing teams, the four groups of three could hardly be better balanced. There is little prospect of an upset from any of the four underdogs (and in the case of USA v Australia, those of a weak constitution ought to look away now). In fact, the only side that might conceivably fancy their chances are Bangladesh, the best of the rest, who have been drawn alongside those two faltering powers, South Africa and West Indies.The tasty ties, however, are Australia v New Zealand in Pool A, and India v Pakistan in Pool C. Quite apart from the local rivalries involved, each throws up the prospect of a clear challenge to the established pecking order. Australia, as they showed against Pakistan at Lord’s on Saturday, retain an uncanny ability to wriggle out of any tight corner, but both they and India have shown signs of vulnerability in their recent performances.As for India, their victory over a Flintoff-free England in the last match of the NatWest Challenge was hailed in some quarters as the turning of a corner. That might be over-egging the game’s significance slightly – the mere fact that England selected Anthony McGrath as Flintoff’s stand-in was ample proof that England have, to borrow Brian Lara’s phrase, no Plan B, not when it comes to their one-day side, anyway. It is time for Duncan Fletcher to cross his fingers and pray that his first XI can come through four more matches unscathed.There is, of course, one potential match-up lurking around the corner that could conceivably shunt even Wayne Rooney and Graeme Souness off the back pages of the British tabloids for a day or two. If England can see off a Murali-less Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl, and Australia send everything pear-shaped for the Kiwis at The Oval, then the big two will square up at Edgbaston on September 21. It will give England a chance to lay the ghost of that two-wicket defeat at last year’s World Cup, not to mention a marker or two for next summer’s Ashes.It’s not all going to be fun and frolics, however. The ICC has seen to that with their absurdly draconian stance on spectators’ picnics (never mind British Rail suffering from the wrong sort of snow; to be apprehended for the wrong sort of cheesy nibbles really takes the, er, biscuit). And all the while, the climate threatens to jeopardise the entertainment. Never mind the threat of rain, the real fear is that too many matches will be decided by the toss of a coin, as fielding sides take the chance to exploit the moist conditions that will prevail early in the morning.But all such doubts remain, at this stage, mere speculation. A global audience of millions will be tuning in over the next fortnight; there is prizemoney of US$1.15million at stake, and new stump-microphone technology has been introduced to aid the umpires in adjudicating on caught-behind decisions. All of this and more goes to show how high-profile this tournament is intended to be. It’s time to put the cynicism to one side, and let the games begin.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

England’s easy win at Riverside has presented the selectors with an unfamiliar problem. Although the one-day merry-go-round means that the squad for the first Test against South Africa does not have to be considered for another month, the success of Richard Johnson, James Anderson and Steve Harmison leaves a fast-bowling conundrum. How to accommodate three more experienced faces – Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard – who are likely to be back from injury come mid July.The situation is not unwelcome – England’s quick-bowling selections in recent years have tended to become something of a last man standing affair come the end of the summer – and Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, admitted that it is something that has been at the forefront of his thoughts. The solution might be squad rotation.”We could have a difficult selection problem when the other bowlers are back,” Fletcher said. “When they return we will have some problems but we want to build on the pool of players we have, especially in the bowling department. It is important we have some players sitting in the wings who have some experience.”There’s a good chance of rotating the bowlers,” he continued. “Somewhere along the line, these young guys are going to have to have a rest.”We will have to sit down and look at the situation and decide how important the win is. The one-day series will show us whether we are ahead of the pack, but it is going to be very, very difficult to get this balance right. I’d rather have someone playing too little cricket than the other way around. If he’s undercooked, then we can take him forward; if he’s overcooked, it’s gone, finished, too late.”Fletcher also warned not to expect too much from Anderson, a bowler who twelve months ago was still playing club cricket. “I think it’s going to be a big ask for Anderson to bowl through all these Tests and one-dayers,” Fletcher explained. “There’s a lot of travelling as well. He seems fine now but you don’t want to shut the stable door and find that the horse has already bolted.”