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If at the start of the season you told the members of the Piton Doverthey would make the Fire Shield cricket final they would have replied:Sure!If you told them their opponents would be MTW, they probably wouldhave replied: MT-Who?Well, that’s the case today at the Police Sports Club, Weymouth, inthe grand final of the Barbados Fire & Commercial Shield Cricket finalthe marquee tournament for lower division sides in the BarbadosCricket Association’s (BCA) competitions.Dover, with their many former Division 1 stalwarts, start asfavourites, but don’t tell MTW that. At stake is a bounty of $5 000,while the losers will pocket $3 500 not bad for a day’s work.The team that plays better on the day will win. We have beenpractising very hard both batting and fielding and we have beengetting some physiological advice to be better prepared for the game,said MTW skipper and leading batsman Geoffrey Padmore.This is MTW’s first Shield final after 11 years in the BCA competitionand allrounder Padmore is the reason why they are there.He blasted an aggressive 73 against Central in the semifinal after histeam was struggling on 70 for six. He promises a well-balanced team inwhat should be a very competitive game.Dover warmed up yesterday in style taking the last four Fustic wicketsin 15 minutes in their Premier League match to record an inningsvictory and the afternoon off.Dover, the 1992 champions, are confident of victory according to theircaptain Vibert Greene, the former Barbados and West Indies Ballrounder.We are confident of victory, he said. We met last year and we wonquite easily, but MTW, with some new faces, will be on a high and itwill not be an easy task. I think we have the best team in the lowerdivision, but cricket is still played on the day.The Dovermen showed their mettle in the semifinal with a four-wicketvictory over the Combermere School team. It was the depth ofexperience which pulled them through.Man for man, Dover have a big advantage.The batting is centred around Peter Clarke, Silverton Weekes, BernardKinch, Wilbur Bruce and Stephen Blackett. Allrounders Greene, JerryKirton and Richard Thornton were all household names of the past.The bowling department is based on mainly fast-medium. The Kirtonbrothers, Jerry and Levere, along with Greene and Thornton, will besupported by Litchfield Kirton, who completes a trio of brothers inthe team.MTW have Padmore and other batsmen include veteran Glendon Johnson,Anthony Burrowes, Testa Baker and Philbert Brathwaite. WicketkeeperPeter Blackman completes a reasonable batting line-up.Fast bowlers Peter Francis and Charles Ramsay will share the new ball,with support coming from Winston Gittens, Mark Bailey and left-armspinner Denis Payne can also do the job.It promises to be a big job, but as we have seen in the past Oh howthe mighty have fallen.

Match facts

September 13, 2015
Start time 10.30am (0930GMT)1:54

‘Having to fake experience’ – Maxwell

Big Picture

If there were fears the English international season would limp to a conclusion – first of all in the wake of Ashes victory and then with Australia taking a 2-0 lead in this series – they have been emphatically put to bed by England’s back-to-back victories, which mean there is a winner-takes-all match at Old Trafford.The weather has played ball and the pitches have been terrific for one-day cricket: pace to encourage the likes of Pat Cummins, but which also allows attacking batsmen to prosper, enough turn to not make the spinners redundant coupled with fast outfields that have provided value for shot. Three-hundred has proved the benchmark, but England’s chase at Headingley to level the series showed that it can be overhauled.For both the teams, it is the beginning of a rebuilding process in one-day cricket. It will be interesting to see how closely the sides at the 2017 Champions Trophy – to be played in England – compare to what is currently taking the field.But the here and now is about winning on Sunday. If England pull off the comeback job to take the series, it will give Eoin Morgan a complete set of limited-overs success this season. For Australia, it is their last chance to take something from a tour which began with such high expectations, but that will largely be remembered for batting collapses and retirements.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WWLLW
Australia LLWWW

In the spotlight

Jason Roy has looked a million dollars in this series. He was the only one of the top six not to pass fifty against New Zealand, but has made two stylish half-centuries and not fallen for less than 31 in the four matches. He was named, alongside Morgan, as the key England batsman by Pat Cummins. The ease with which Roy drives through cover and clips off his legs – the latter with more than a hint of Kevin Pietersen – means it looks like a waste when a soft dismissal crops up. England clearly like what they see, but a match-defining contribution would cap his summer.With Mitchell Starc having earned a rest at Headingley, it means Steven Smith will be the only Australian to play every international of the tour and there is precious little time before his next task, in Bangladesh. He has made runs in all three formats and will leave these shores knowing it is on his shoulders to help shape the future of the team. Does he have one major innings left in him for this trip?

Teams news

England’s one decision is whether to recall Steven Finn, who was rested for the fourth match, in place of Mark Wood who, while bowling quickly, has struggled to take wickets (four in six ODIs now) and has a high economy rate. Although David Willey proved expensive at the death, his new-ball burst of three wickets was valuable.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Steven FinnAustralia must decide whether to push out Starc for one more match on this tour, while they will most likely have to find room for Ashton Agar – probably at the expense of Marcus Stoinis. James Pattinson and John Hastings were both expensive at Headingley and one probably has to make way. Hastings offers more batting, while Pattinson has more of a future ahead of him.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 Mitchell Starc, 11 Pat Cummins

Pitch and conditions

A day game this time, so some different considerations to the previous match on the ground which was under lights. It is also being played on a new surface. England exploited some early swing in Leeds with a 10.30am start, but the spinners will again expect some help. The forecast has improved with a dry day in the offing.

Stats and trivia

• If England win the deciding match, it will be their first bilateral one-day series win against Australia during an Ashes tour – as opposed to a tri-series or standalone series as in 2010 and 2012 – since 1997.
• Eoin Morgan needs one run to become just the second England batsman to score 600 runs in a home summer – Andrew Strauss made 745 in 210.
• If Pat Cummins takes two wickets he will equal the most scalps taken by an Australia bowler in a five-match one-day series. Clint McKay took 14 against Pakistan in 2009-10.

Quotes

“If momentum does exist then it is with us. We managed to steal a bit of it while we were in Manchester. I think confidence is a contributor to that. Going into Sunday the guys are full of confidence and we are really looking forward to it.”
“We really wanted to come here and finish off the series and give us some breathing space for Manchester.. We played it like a final, but the good thing is Sunday will be a final and we’ve played a lot of them and been quite successful.”

The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association has again delayed its reconvened AGM after some member clubs complained that they had not received the necessary notification.The original AGM in July – the first for three years – was a stormy affair at which clubs refused to pass the accounts or the chairman’s report. A follow-up meeting was due to be held in mid September but was cancelled by the executive.That was rescheduled for October 8 but last week Cricinfo was told by some Nairobi clubs that they had either not received formal notification or that they had but not in time for them to submit agenda items.It is not clear whether the elections will be held in accordance with the old constitution. The NPCA agreed in May 2005 to amend its constitution in accordance with the new one adopted by Cricket Kenya and the two other functioning provinces – Coast and Rift. However, this has not been done and a promised review of the constitution appears to be delayed by lawyers.

As the prelude to the domestic season gathers momentum the talk around the circuit is not merely of players moving states and of when foreign cricketers will play in the Ranji Trophy but also of coaching positions up for grabs. Prime among them is the race to be Mumbai coach – currently being contested by Balwinder Sandhu, Jayantilal Kenia and Ashok Mankad. Pravin Amre has been already been appointed as batting coach.The Mumbai Cricket Association confirmed that they had received letters of interest from these three, but equally denied that they had approached any of the candidates – either officially or otherwise.Of the three candidates in the race Sandhu, the former Indian medium-pacer, and Mankad, who had opened the batting for India, have coached Mumbai in the past. Sandhu was coach of the Mumbai team from 1996 to 1998-99. With his specialisation in the bowling side of things, and Amre already in the saddle as batting coach, Sandhu’s case is a strong one. In the period when he oversaw the side, Mumbai won the Ranji trophy once, in 1996-97.Mankad’s tenure began with the 1999-2000 season and lasted till 2001, and he too tasted victory once, in his first year when Sachin Tendulkar scored an epic double-century to brush aside Tamil Nadu in a hotly contested semi-final.Jayantilal, who played one Test for India when he stood in for the injured Sunil Gavaskar in the West Indies in 1971, and eventually ended as a stalwart for Hyderabad, is an outside candidate to win the job. He has coached Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy, but came to prominence through his involvement in the BCA Mafatlal Scheme that was in place in Mumbai some years ago.If the whispers are to be believed there is also a possibility that the MCA may decide to expand Amre’s role and make him in charge of the team, instead of restricting his expertise to working with the batting side of things. Amre made his debut for Mumbai back in 1986-87, a time when the likes of Sunil Gavaskar were still on the circuit and when Mumbai dominated the Ranji trophy. It is believed that while Amre has enough of the old Mumbai attitude and pedigree he is also in touch with modern coaching methods, and this holds him in good stead.The final decision will be made on August 21 by the Cricket Improvement Committee of the MCA. The committee comprises Sanjay Manjrekar, Raju Kulkarni, Milind Rege, Madhavrao Apte, Sanjay Patil, Shishir Hattangadi. All members of the committee – barring Manjrekar who is out of the country on a commentary assignment – are expected to attend the meeting that will decide who gets the job.

Trevor Hohns, Australia’s chairman of selectors, is targeting to 2007 World Cup as a major milestone as they rebuild following their Ashes defeat. Hohns is in Pakistan with Australia A to spot future Australian players and said: “I suppose winning the 2007 World Cup is a challenge now.””Australia won the last two [World] Cups, so it would be nice to win three in a row and we consider the timing is right now for us to start juggling our side and that [is what] we will be doing,” he added.Australia last week dropped Damien Martyn, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz from the Test squad for next month’s Super Series against the World XI. Gillespie, Kasprowicz and opener Matthew Hayden were also dropped from the one-day side as Australia start rebuilding for the World Cup. But Hohns denied that Australia were on the road to decline.”I don’t agree. We have been beaten by England, who are a very, very good side which Pakistan will see very soon,” said Hohns, referring to England’s tour of Pakistan starting next month.”The future of Australian cricket is very strong. We may not win all the time; sooner or later you had to lose because others have been trying to come up to the Australian level and, maybe, some of them have reached that mark.”Hohns highlighted the lack of runs made by Australia’s batsmen as a key factor in losing the Ashes, and concedes they “may have been a little under-prepared.” But their bowling and catching were also not of the high standard they had come to expect.”The bowling lacked something and we also dropped catches,” he added. “It was unlike the Australia side which has performed so well for many, many years.”Hohns said Australia have quality back-up players but replacing greats like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne would be tough. “No doubt that we have quality players to fill in, but filling in the shoes of McGrath and Warne may be a little difficult. They are two of the all-time great bowlers in one side and we need to restructure to make up.”

Waqar Younis is all set to join the growing band of former-cricketers-turned-commentators. According to a report in The News, a Pakistan daily, Waqar is in Delhi to sign up with ESPN, and will be part of the commentary team for the Asia Cup, to be held in Sri Lanka from July 16 to August 1.Waqar played his last international match during the 2003 World Cup, after which he was dropped following Pakistan’s miserable performance in the tournament. He waited a year for a possible recall, but with the Pakistan board plumping for youth, Waqar finally announced his retirement in April 2004.Waqar, 32, ended with 789 international wickets (373 in Tests and 416 in one-dayers), and will add to a burgeoning list of players who have opted for a lucrative career as commentator after their playing days. The last to join the band was Nasser Hussain, who announced his retirement after England’s first Test against New Zealand earlier this season, and within weeks joined the Sky Sports commentary team for the NatWest Series.

The second Test ended in a tame draw after crackling briefly back into life on the final day when New Zealand were bowled out for 183. Muttiah Muralitharan did most of the damage, with a record 37th five-wicket haul in Tests. Set 191 to win from 38 overs after tea, Sri Lanka disappointingly settled for a draw soon after Sanath Jayasuriya (9) fell early.Sri Lanka’s only chance of winning was for Jayasuriya, their most destructive batsman, to launch an early assault. Jayasuriya tried, smacking two early boundaries, but was then dismissed tamely when he mistimed a drive. Sri Lanka immediately settled for a draw, disappointing a noisy crowd whose expectations had been raised by Sri Lanka’s dramatic fightback with the ball in the first session. The match ended with Sri Lanka at 72 for 1 after 30 overs.New Zealand had started the final day in a dominant position, leading by 99 runs with nine wickets remaining, but Sri Lanka wrested back the initiative with Muralitharan bowling his heart out, taking the crucial early wicket of Mathew Sinclair (55). He then snared Jacob Oram (16) and the injured Daniel Vettori (0) in quick succession before lunch to have New Zealand tottering at 139 for 7.However, Muralitharan, who was searching for the one wicket he needed to complete 450 Test wickets, was unable to prise out Hart or Wiseman. Both put together 40 precious runs and occupied the crease for 28.1 overs to give Sri Lanka less time to chase whatever total that New Zealand eventually set.Chaminda Vaas finally broke through, as Hart feathered a legcutter into Romesh Kaluwitharana’s gloves, but by then Sri Lanka’s window of opportunity had been closed (179 for 8). Muralitharan then claimed his 450th Test wicket, as Daryl Tuffey (1) skyed a sweep to Jayasuriya at deep square leg, before Vaas wrapped up the innings as Wiseman (29) edged to first slip.At the start of play, Stephen Fleming and Mark Richardson tried to be positive but soon faltered. Richardson was the first to depart. He added only four runs to his overnight 51 before edging Prabath Nissanka to Kaluwitharana (109 for 2). Sinclair (0) was next deceived by Muralitharan’s arm ball (110 for 3). It marked the end of a dismal series for Sinclair, who scored only 21 runs in four innings.Suddenly it was game on. Sri Lanka attacked with Muralitharan and bottled up the other end with medium-pace bowling. The batsmen lost their way, scoring only five runs in the 44 minutes after the fall of Sinclair. The pressure increased and Vaas, varying his pace intelligently, deceived Scott Styris (1), who lobbed up a catch to Muralitharan at mid-on (115 for 4). New Zealand had lost three wickets for just six runs.Fleming added 21 with Oram before being scalped by Kumar Dharmasena, the offspinner, as he edged a catch to Kaluwitharana. It was Dharmasena’s first wicket of the match. Fleming had scored 33, with three fours (136 for 5).Muralitharan then swung the match emphatically towards Sri Lanka, trapping Oram lbw with an arm ball, and then bowling the injured Vettori behind his legs shortly before lunch (139 for 7).But Sri Lanka could not mop up the tail quickly enough, and the match meandered to a soporific draw with the series ending in 0-0.

Jacques Kallis starred with bat and ball as South Africa built up animpregnable position against Zimbabwe on the second day of the First Test atHarare Sports Club. He hit an unbeaten 157, his eighth Test century, out ofa massive South African total of 600 for three declared, and then took awicket in his first over as Zimbabwe lost four wickets for 143 by the close.Kallis made most of the early running, hitting anything loose with power andtime to spare, while Gary Kirsten dug a deep foundation as he set his sightson 300 or more. The Zimbabwe bowling was more accurate than on the firstday, but on an easy-paced pitch never looked threatening. At least theywere able to keep the score within reason, though, as South Africa addedonly 40 runs in the first hour and Kallis found runs harder to come by afterhis bright start.There were few signs that South Africa were disturbed by this sudden policyof accuracy until, immediately after the drinks break, Kirsten slashed at aball from Douglas Hondo that was well outside the off stump, and edged acatch to the keeper for 220. South Africa were 455 for two after twopartnerships of 256 and 199.Kallis was prepared to take no risks with his century in view, whileMcKenzie played himself in. Zimbabwe’s fielding was also much keener, andRaymond Price made the ball spin sharply at times, so South Africa wererestricted to 68 runs in the session.In the first over after lunch, McKenzie leapt down the pitch to hit Priceover his head for four, a declaration of South Africa’s intentions. At lastthere was an intriguing battle on the field on even terms as Price troubledhim at times, while the batsmen was determined to attack when theopportunity presented itself.Kallis, grimly watchful through the nineties, finally reached his eighthTest century off 231 balls, and then began to open up. He joined McKenzie,who reached his own fifty, in launching an assault on Price, hitting him forseveral big leg-side sixes. Zimbabwe’s luck remained minimal, with the oddmis-hit evading the fielders and a close lbw appeal against McKenzierejected, but they continued to fight with much greater determination thanthey had shown on the opening day.Finally Fortune decided to smile, and a top-edged pull by McKenzie (52) offTravis Friend was finally held by Douglas Hondo running in from long leg;582 for three, and the third wicket had added 127. Kallis lost a ball fromPrice on to the roof of the new ZCU president’s stand, while Lance Klusenerhad a few fresh-air swings before pulling Friend over the stands at widelong-on. At this point, with the score 600 for three, Shaun Pollock decidedenough was enough and applied the declaration, tea being taken early.Kallis batted 257 minutes and hit 14 fours and five sixes.When Zimbabwe batted, Andre Nel enjoyed the gift of a wicket with his thirdball in Test cricket: Alistair Campbell (0) aimed an appalling hook at abouncer moving well away outside off stump, and only succeeded in edging acatch to the ‘keeper. Dion Ebrahim for his part showed no fear of Pollock,taking nine runs off his first two overs, and Hamilton Masakadza also tookon the pacemen positively, the latter enjoying two escapes off Pollock, atgully and second slip. He was to waste them, however, by chancing a run toMcKenzie, who anticipated well at mid-off to run him out for 13; 43 for two.Kallis came on to bowl and immediately had Craig Wishart (0) caught low atfirst slip. Andy Flower was quickly under way, keeping it simple as alwaysand punishing the loose ball, while Ebrahim brought up a creditable fiftywith a cover-driven four off debutant left-arm spinner Claude Henderson.Flower, so proficient against spin, made it his aim to hit Henderson out ofthe attack on a pitch taking turn, but Ebrahim (71) donated his first wicketin Test cricket by charging down the pitch, head in the air, to be stumped.Flower then played safely until the close, finishing on 54 not out,accompanied by night-watchman Price. Only Wishart of the four men gone wasnot guilty of a soft dismissal. Their last six wickets need to find 258more runs to avoid the follow-on, difficult but by no means impossible.

ScorecardGareth Roderick’s hundred gave Gloucestershire a total that proved just enough in the end•Getty Images

Outstanding fielding made the difference as Gloucestershire made it two wins in as many games in an exciting finish to a wonderful Royal London Cup game at Grace Road.Leicestershire had looked dead and buried when they subsided to 128 for 5 chasing 316 to win, before a partnership of 96 in 13.3 overs between 20-year-old Aadil Ali (84 from 86 balls) and 21-year-old Michael Burgess (49 from 44) dragged the Foxes back into the game.Rob Taylor then hit an unbeaten 42 from just 23 balls, leaving Clint McKay required to hit three off the last ball to win the game. The Australian drove David Payne hard towards extra cover, but Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger pulled off a fine diving stop and a run-out, restricting the hosts to just a single.Gloucestershire beat Derbyshire off the final ball in their previous game and Klinger said it was “nice” to win some tight matches for a change.“We lost our discipline a bit towards the end with our bowling, and we knew they could bat all the way down, but David Payne bowled a tight last over,” said Klinger, who had earlier lost one of his bowlers, James Fuller, who had to be withdrawn from the attack after bowling consecutive beamers – the second time this season the young pace bowler has had to be withdrawn from the attack.”James does not mean to bowl beamers, but it is the second time he’s done it this season and it gives me something else to worry about,” said Klinger.Gloucestershire scored quickly from the start after being put in by Foxes skipper Mark Cosgrove. Gareth Roderick, initially in company with Chris Dent and then with Klinger, paced his innings superbly, taking full advantage of some loose bowling and fielding by the hosts to go to his century off 114 balls.Geraint Jones took up the attack in style, hitting a List A career-best 87 off 61 balls in his 205th appearance before being caught at long-on off McKay, comfortably the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with 2 for 31. Benny Howell kept the momentum going with an unbeaten 28 off 17.Cosgrove, Angus Robson and Ned Eckersley all gave their wickets away cheaply after getting in, but youngsters Ali and Burgess – the latter making his home debut – played without apparent nerves, and Ali looked unfortunate to be given out caught behind off after a half-hearted appeal.Taylor hit out strongly but lost the strike off the final ball, and Klinger’s excellent fielding saw the visitors home.”We know we’re going in the right direction, and it was tough not to get over the line, but the bottom line is we have to get results. Even so, we’ll take alot of confidence into the match against Yorkshire on Monday,” Burgess said.

Zimbabwe will wait until the last minute before naming their starting line-up for their first four-day match against South Africa A in Harare which starts on Thursday after a flu virus struck most of the squad.Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Edward Rainsford, Tawanda Mupariwa and Graeme Cremer are all suffering. Sources have indicated that only Cremer and Rainsford are serious while the rest could play. It is thought the players were infected as the team travelled from Bulawayo to Harare last week.In the event that Cremer is not available, left-arm spinner Keith Dabengwa or legspinner Tymicen Maruma are likely to replace him. Mupariwa, who did not play against India A is most likely to take up Rainsford’s slot.A change in the batting order seems imminent with left-hander Terry Duffin sure to replace the out-of-form Mawoyo who failed to make an impression in the twomatches against India A. Duffin and Sibanda should open the batting with Hamilton Masakadza dropped to No. 3. Tatenda Taibu, Stuart Matsikenyeri and Elton Chigumbura are set to complete the batting order.Zimbabwe face an uphill task against South Africa A as their neighbours have sent a strong squad for the two first-class matches.