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Maurice Tate has been named as Sussex’s All-Time Greatest Cricketer, as voted for by the public. Following closely were Imran Khan and Ted Dexter respectively.Tate was a Sussex man – he was born in Brighton in 1895 – and first represented the county in 1912. He became one of England’s finest bowlers and in recognition of his service to Sussex County Cricket Club the gates at the front of the ground were named after him.His Test career lasted from 1924 to 1935 when he represented England 39 times. He took 155 wickets at an average of 26.16 including one with his first ball at Edgbaston against South Africa. It was in this match that Tate and Arthur Gilligan shared in one of the most famous Test analyses. South Africa was bowled out for 30 in 75 balls. Gilligan 6 for 7, and Tate 4 for 12.Sir Jack Hobbs, who faced Tate on countless occasions, summed him in Wisden: “Maurice was one of the greatest bowlers of all time. It is difficult to find words to praise him sufficiently. I know from experience how difficult it was to play against him.”Tate died on May 18, 1956 and the Sussex and Middlesex teams, as well as a very large crowd at Lord’s, observed a minute’s silence the following day.Christopher Tate received the award on his grandfather’s behalf and brought with him the golden key to the Tate Gates presented to his grandfather’s widow in 1958.

Brenton Parchment, the West Indies opener, has been fined 50 percent of his match fee after running into Dale Steyn, the South Africa fast bowler, during the second day’s play of the final Test in Durban.The charge was laid by Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar, the two on-field umpires as well as the reserve umpire at the close of the second day’s play. Parchment had pleaded not guilty to the offence.A hearing, which was also attended by Clive Lloyd, the West Indies manager, and Dwayne Bravo, West Indies’ captain, was held today after South Africa had completed their innings-and-100-run victory.

Scorecard

Half-centuries from Mohammad Kaif, Piyush Chawla and Praveen Kumar put Uttar Pradesh in a position to press for an outright win after they had shot Bengal out for 149 on the first day. They ended the second day with a lead of 288 with three wickets in hand.Resuming at 128 for 2, UP lost Suresh Raina, who started the day on 55, for the addition of only eight more runs. Kaif got good support from Ravikant Shukla and Chawla, as he added 92 and 86 with them for the fifth and sixth wickets. Kaif fell nine short of a century, while Chawla scored 53. Praveen took the lead close to 300 with an unbeaten 50 off 71 deliveries.
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh suffered two mini collapses, struggling against Mumbai in Dharamsala. They were reduced from 56 without loss to 78 for 4 and then from 156 for 4 to 164 for 7 before bad light intervened and stopped play early. Debutant Hemant Dogra, Paras’s elder brother, had given Himachal a good start in partnership with Manish Gupta, but Himachal went on to lose wickets in bunches, as has been the case with them earlier this season too. Maninder Bisla and Paras resurrected the innings with a 78-run fifth-wicket stand, but they lost three wickets in a hurry again. Murtaza Hussain took four wickets for Mumbai.Earlier Vinayak Samant, in partnership with Hussain, had taken Mumbai from their overnight score of 324 for 9 to 370. Samant stayed unbeaten on 60.
Scorecard
Shitanshu Kotak scored a painstaking century – his 11th in first-class cricket – to secure Saurashtra a 117-run first-innings lead against Maharashtra in Nagothane. Maharashtra lost one wicket in 15 overs before stumps to end the second day 83 runs in deficit with nine wickets in hand.Kotak’s 108 off 277 deliveries was a crucial knock as the second-highest score for Saurashtra was Cheteshwar Pujara’s 35. Resuming at 73 for 2, Saurashtra were in trouble at 100 for 5 when Kotak and Ravindra Jadeja took them past Maharashtra’s 136 with a 59-run partnership. Kotak shared a 55-run ninth-wicket stand with Sandeep Jobanputra, who followed his four wickets with 24 runs.
ScorecardAndhra continued with their slow but solid progress in Visakhapatnam against Baroda as half-centuries from MSK Prasad and B Sumanth took them to 434 for 8. After Andhra had lost overnight half-centurion Gnaneshwara Rao without any addition to their score, Prasad and Sumanth added 115 for the sixth wicket to further frustrate Baroda. Wickets didn’t come quickly even after Sumanth’s dismissal for 72, as Prasad found able partners in Marripuri Suresh, G Shankara Rao and D Kalyankrishna. The seventh and eighth wickets cost Baroda 35 and 30, while Prasad and Kalyankrishna had added 40 for the ninth wicket when stumps were called. Prasad ended the day five short of his century.
Scorecard
Basanth Mohanty took four wickets to put Orissa in sight of a sizeable first-innings lead as they dismissed eight Punjab batsmen for 207 on the second day in Mohali. This is Basanth’s second match and he had taken eight wickets in his first game.In reply to Orissa’s 323, Punjab made a solid start to reach 46 without loss, but lost five wickets in a hurry to be reduced to 91 for 5. The Mohantys – Basanth and Debasis – took two wickets each in that burst. The resistance put by Ankur Kakkar was cut short by Basanth, as he dismissed him for 53. Things could have been much better for Orissa but for the 22 no-balls they bowled. Earlier Orissa’s last two wickets added 50 more to their overnight 273 for 8.Karnataka 0 for 0 trail Delhi 538 (Kohli 169, Manhas 124, Vinay Kumar 5-121) by 538 runs
Scorecard The run fest continued for Delhi in Bangalore as Mithun Manhas became the third batsman to score a century to lift his team to 538 in their first innings. Virat Kohli, 154 overnight, fell early but Manhas made sure the batting didn’t come apart. All three centurions scored their second hundreds of the season. Manhas hit 20 fours and a six in his innings of 124. R Vinay Kumar had to toil for 40.5 overs for his five wickets, while Sunil Joshi bowled 42 overs for three. Bad light brought an early end to the day, as Karnataka faced only one ball.
ScorecardNo play was possible on the second day in Chennai because of persistent rains. On the first day, S Badrinath and M Vijay had scored centuries to put Tamil Nadu in a commanding position against Rajasthan.

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

A 73-ball hundred from Virender Sehwag and a tempered 97 from Dinesh Karthik opened up a few batting options as the Indians warmed up against ACT XI in Canberra. In a match consigned to a draw a sixth successive failure for Yuvraj Singh, chipping a full toss to the covers, all but sealed his fate for the rest of the series.Sehwag and Karthik added 158 for the opening stand, allowing the Indians to declare at 4 for 281 in the tea break. The hosts, chasing an improbable 315, batted for 17 overs in the final session before deciding to settle for a draw at the start of the mandatory overs.Sehwag hammered 18 fours and two sixes during the course of his 113, one where a wayward attack paid the price in the face of a murderous batsman. Unlike in the first dig, he wasn’t in a mood to wait. He smashed three fours off left-arm seamer Ash Perera’s first over, rocking on to the back foot and smattering the off side hoardings. He was lucky on 16, when Richard Sherlock was slow to take off for a regulation catch at square leg, but made the most of his chance with a string of crisply-struck boundaries.The left-armer’s angle was meat and drink for Sehwag, moving back and slashing wildly, but the right-arm medium pacers proved sitting ducks as well. Adam Ritchard was spanked for 10 runs in his first over, coming after the drinks break, and Ryan Bulger, the legspinner, struggled in the face of the assault. Sehwag, who brought up his fifty in 38 balls, lofted Bulger for a six over extra cover but was lucky again on 92 when he was let off by the fielder at mid-on.He brought up his century with a flick through square, shuffling across and tucking Ritchard for four, and went ballistic soon after – slashing one through point and mowing a massive six over wide long-on. He fell trying to glide Mark Higgs’ left-arm spin, angling the ball into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.Karthik was forced to play second fiddle amid the carnage but managed a few fine strokes of his own. He was let off on 19, when wicketkeeper James Crosthwaite missed a thick edge off Bulger, but was more confident after lunch. He wasn’t afraid to pull, a shot that got him out in the first innings, and reeled off a few straight-drives that suggested he was rediscovering his groove. He fell three short of a century, trying to turn a full one from Bulger to the leg side but being trapped in front instead.Bulger soon had Wasim Jaffer, sent in at No. 3, poking at a legbreak outside off but it was the wicket of Yuvraj that would have worried the Indians the most. Offered a full toss outside off, he chipped to the covers and saw Jonathan Dean pull off a sensational catch diving to his right. Barring injuries, it could probably be his last chance before the one-day series.The game petered into a draw in the final stages. Pankaj Singh picked up his first wicket of the tour, adding one more before stumps, while Irfan Pathan did his chances no harm with the wicket of Chris Rogers, a batsman he could encounter in the third Test in Perth that starts in three days’ time.

West Indies have received a boost ahead of their vital home series against South Africa, which gets underway at the end of the month, with the news that Tino Best in on his way back from injury.Best’s exuberant personality and impressive pace earned him recognition as one of West Indies’ brightest young prospects, was forced home early from their tour of England last summer, after pulling up with a back strain during the first Test at Lord’s.Initially it had been hoped he would return in time for Champions Trophy later in the year, which West Indies won, thrillingly, by two wickets in the semi-darkness at The Oval. But the problem proved more serious and he was forced to remodel his action, with the help of Wendell Coppin, a former Young Barbados and Young West Indies fast bowler, who is also the personal coach of Best’s Barbados and West Indies team-mate, Fidel Edwards.And now Best is back, with no reported loss of pace. He has been recalled to the Barbados squad in place of the emerging paceman Jason Bennett, ahead of the ninth round of the Carib Beer Series, in which they take on the leaders, Jamaica, in Kingston. Barbados certainly need Best’s services, as they are bottom of the six-team table. Barbados are further boosted by the return of Ian Bradshaw, the hero of the Champions Trophy, who has been on leave since the end of the VB Series.

Sulieman Benn might not yet be back to full fitness, but he’s doing a splendid job with the ball.The tall, left-arm spinner proved to be a handful for the Windward Islands here over the weekend and his seven wickets were the most by a Barbados bowler in their easy seven-wicket victory at the Arnos Vale Playing Field."I bowled relatively well and was backed up with some good fielding. I’m pretty pleased with my performance," he said.He played a supporting role to Ian Bradshaw and Ryan Hurley in the first innings when he took two wickets, but was Barbados’ spearhead in the second with an impressive five-wicket haul.Benn is still recuperating from a knee injury he sustained last November and there were times when moving around in the field, he appeared to be slightly uncomfortable."I’ve just come back off an injury, so there will be a little stiffness there, but I’m feeling good and okay to go for the whole season," he said.Since his return, his approach to the wicket has also had a change."I’ve got a different approach to the wicket because of back injuries and soreness to the back in the past. I altered the approach to the wicket and it is easy on the back. It helps me get the ball in the areas more consistently."Both captain Courtney Browne and coach Hendy Springer acknowledged the work of Benn."In the second innings, he was the last bowler used, but he wasn’t ruffled," Browne said. "He wasn’t worried about not bowling earlier. When he got the ball in his hand, he stuck to the task. His job was to get the guys out and he said he was going to do it."Springer added: "As I said earlier this year, although he had an injury, he was recuperating and some of the games he missed were because we were keeping him in cotton wool to represent Barbados and he did Barbados proud in this game."

West Indies captain Carl Hooper arrived in Antigua Monday looking fit and ready and promising a good World Cup.Buoyed by their recent success in the shortened version of the game in recent months, Hooper said it would be folly for teams to underestimate them."We have a very good chance of doing well. We have been playing good One-Day cricket for the last year now and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t continue. I expect us to play well in this World Cup," Hooper said after his arrival from Australia to join the team for an extensive two-week camp."I expect that we will go through to the second round. I think that over the last three months we have shown we have got the measure of teams like New Zealand and India – certainly in One-Day cricket."The West Indies captain added that it would require a total team effort for the regional side to win the Cup they last lifted in 1979."I don’t think we can highlight one or two individuals," he said. "Obviously, there are some key guys in the side but, as we have shown in the last couple of months, the young players are coming through and they are beginning to score heavily.One worry"I see no reason why that shouldn’t continue."He had one worry."Our one concern over the last couple of months has probably been the bowling," he said."Looking back at that last series in India, we probably have been going for a little bit. There have been high scores."Having said that, the wickets were extremely good. We have got a chance to put that right in the next of couple of weeks and then in South Africa."Hooper is returning to the West Indies team after missing the recent tour of Bangladesh because of a knee injury that required surgery, which was performed in Australia."I had both legs done about five weeks ago and they have recovered well. I’ve been back to training for two-and-a-half weeks now so, hopefully, I’ll put in the final touches before we head off to South Africa."It was not anything major. I had a good doctor. He came highly recommended and he did a good job. It was my first time under the knife. It was comfortable and everything went smoothly and the rehab work has been good," he said.Hooper returned to the nets during the last ten days in South Australia, but was restricted to practising with a bowling machine."I’m looking forward to the camp. I had almost six weeks’ break so that would have done me good, but we have got a lot of cricket coming up. We have got the World Cup, the Aussies and the Sri Lankans, a lot to look forward to."

Derbyshire have signed Damien Wright, an allrounder from Tasmania, as their second overseas player for next season.Wright, 28, was recommended by Michael Di Venuto, the captain and fellow Tasmanian. To date, Wright has a batting average of 20.55, and has taken 120 wickets at 34.48 since his first-class debut in 1997. He has also represented Australia A, and played twice for Northants last season.David Houghton, Derbyshire’s director of cricket, said, “He is a talented pace bowler, and dangerous lower-order batsman, who really fits the bill for us.”Meanwhile, Wright added: “I’m really looking forward to a full season of county cricket with Derbyshire.”

In a big blow to a team already wracked by injury, Jason Gillespie has been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at Melbourne. Gillespie, the most impressive of the Australian bowlers in this series, suffered an injury on the final day of the second Test at Adelaide, and was unable to take the field after lunch on that day.Errol Alcott, the Australian team physio, said, “Jason has strained his right groin and although the medical staff is confident it will resolve over the short term, we felt it was prudent for him to miss this Test match.””I’m pretty disappointed at missing this Test,” said Gillespie. “To play any match for Australia is a huge honour. I knew I was a chance of not playing but once you find out you won’t play it hits you harder than you realise. It’s now a case of getting things right for the rest of the summer as we have plenty of cricket left to play.”I obviously won’t be out on the field with the lads in Melbourne, but I’ll probably travel down there for treatment with Errol and be around the ground each day. So far I’m progressing well and I’m pleased with the improvement that’s occured over the last few days.”Australia were without three of their four first-choice bowlers during the first two Tests of this series – Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee were out injured, while Shane Warne is serving a one-year ban for taking a banned diuretic. Lee is expected to return for the Melbourne Test, but Gillespie’s injury will dampen some of Australia’s joy at his return.

More of England’s home Test and one-day matches are likely to be available to subscribers to satellite broadcaster BSkyB if a joint bid for TV rights is accepted by the England & Wales Cricket Board.At present, Channel 4 has rights to all but one of England’s home Tests, while BSkyB covers one Test, all ODIs and almost all domestic matches.It is reported that BSkyB has submitted two bids. One would give it exclusive rights to all England’s Test and ODI matches, as well as a possible international Twenty20 tournament. The other would have it share rights with Channel 4, but with more Tests on BSkyB than is the case now.A report in the Guardian last week indicated that Channel 4 were keen to retain some coverage, but with cricket still attracting what are seen as relatively small audiences, they are believed to be receptive to idea of diluting their commitment.That would suit the ECB. Although a deal with BSkyB would net it more money, there are deep fears that moving all England cricket behind a subscription service would erode the public’s awareness as well as reducing the worth to sponsors and advertisers. So a compromise would appear to suit everyone.The current deal expires at the end of the 2005 season. The ECB had hoped to have the new three-year contract done and dusted by now, but departures of senior officials have delayed the process. One of the key roles – that of commercial director – has still to be filled, and David Collier, the new chief executive, has only been in his role for a month.