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By all accounts, this third time was the charm. Faced with the memory of the 2003 Second National Championships with its alleged mismanagement, umpiring disputes and other assorted acrimonies, The US National Championships needed a boost that would bring back the halcyon days of 2002 when the tournament was first launched. The looming shadow of American Pro Cricket, about to begin its inaugural season in July, must have provided a further incentive. What was needed was a jolly good show, and this was precisely what was provided in Plano, Texas (a suburb of Dallas).The USACA had evidently decided to put all its eggs into one basket. Both the Eastern and Western Conferences were to be played in one location (Plano, Texas) over the same long weekend in June. The choice was not without an element of risk. Memories of the almost total washout of the 2003 finals in Plano, when most of the matches were cancelled thanks to an unseasonable tornado and its aftermath, must have haunted the tournament organizers; and indeed, the squalls did put in an impromptu appearance this year, interrupting one match and shortening others. That the tournament escaped largely unscathed was due as much to the organizers’ preparations as the weather gods’ uncertain mercies — this time the local cricket authorities had prepared in advance, and were ready for the rain.Selecting Plano as the venue for this experiment was not entirely fortuitous. The North Texas Cricket Association (NTCA) had earned top honours from the ICC as having had the best cricket development program in the world in 2003, and it had not been content to rest on its laurels. In letting Plano try again, the USACA was placing its faith on the NTCA’s being able to live up to this occasion.And indeed it did, in fine fashion. The NTCA organizers, Syed Shahnawaz and Jon Gowan, more than outdid themselves in making sure the tournament moved along smoothly and without any major hitches. They even managed to incorporate a coaching clinic by Greg Chappell, who was present at the proceedings. There was unanimous praise for NTCA and the professional way in which the entire tournament was conducted.The two conferences presented a study in contrasts. In the Eastern Conference, New York dominated the proceedings, with the other three regions reduced to watching themselves being steamrollered by the New York juggernaut. The Western Conference proved to be a far more unpredictable affair, with the winners not being decided until literally the last minute of the tournament.The following match summaries were adapted from notes made by Mr.Vinod Shankar, Mr. John Wainwright, and others who were present at the matches in question. I am thankful for their detailed insights into the proceedings.Eastern Conference
On the first day, New York appeared to have started off on the wrong foot, after conceding 242 runs against possibly the weakest team in their Conference, the North East. But Steve Massiah scored an unbeaten 103 and Staples 88, and New York won comfortably. Simon had scored a century for the North East that went nearly unnoticed after the brutal demolition by Messiah and the NY skipper.The Atlantic region took on the 2003 National Champions, South East Region. They scored 234 runs mainly due to some great hitting by Clain Williams(38*), and Nasser Islam took four South East wickets to have them at 137 for 8 before they finally collapsed.On the second day the rains came, and played their usual tricks with the proceedings. New York destroyed the Atlantic region with some good bowling from Zamin Amin to restrict Atlantic to 168 all out. Owing to the rain delay, New York needed only paltry 85 runs to win the game in 25 overs which they did with ease losing only a solitary wicket in the process.In the other match, South East restricted the North East to 221 mainly due to some quality spin bowling by USA vice captain, Nasser Javed (Charlie) grabbing five wickets. With the rain playing its part, the revised target of 112 in 25 overs proved far too easy for the National Champions.On the third day, New York having destroyed Atlantic previously, completely annihilated the South East, who were bowled out for 92 with all the bowlers chipping in with wickets. New York achieved victory target in 18 overs before lunch, losing four wickets on the way. New York had won all their games in the competition with relative ease and proved that they are well and truly the team to beat in the National Championships.In the other match, The Atlantic Region’s Dawood Ahmed (100 off 109 balls) took his team to 262 runs. The North East never looked to be in the hunt, with only keeper Ranaswamy providing any resistance with a dogged 48. NE finally ended on 162, leaving Atlantic as runners up in the Eastern Conference behind champions New York and sealing a berth in the National Championships.Western Conference
On the first day, South West (LA) faced a newly constituted Northwest Region team who, for the first time, represented all three Northwest Leagues in Washington, Oregon and Northern California, not just the NCCA that the Southwest has been accustomed to facing. The fresh faces, and the energy and attitude they brought with them, introduced a factor into the tournament which was to prove decisive.Butterflies and sheer nerves on the part of the many inexperienced Northwest players had their effect in the early going, and they were soon at 75 for 5, altough they battled to 186. With a fast outfield, true wicket and big names in the South West batting line up, the LA superstars were cruising at 110 for 3. But Mehul for North West took four wickets, and was well supported by excellent fielding and catching to dismiss Southern California for 162.In the other match, the hosts, Central West, won the toss and put Central East (Chicago, Michigan) to bat, and dismissed them for 196. Sushil Nadkarni (44) came in after lunch and started belting the ball to all parts. A collapse in the middle order had the hosts in trouble at 110 for 4, but they avoided further setbacks to take themselves home with two overs to spare.The next day — when it rained – the game between hosts Central West and North West, the two first-day winners, seemed as if it would head to a close finish when North West scored 232 runs in their 50 overs. However the rain seemed to affect this ground a little more than the others, and both teams had to be satisfied with one point each.Elsewhere, Tarun Bhoomireddy scored a century to help South West to 274 from their 50 overs. However Rizwan Uz Zaman, the veteran Pakistani Test batsman, scored 75 runs off just 81 balls. The rain interruption also helped the Central East cause by reducing the target and Central East finally won off the penultimate ball of the shortened match.On the final day, the Western Conference was delicately poised with Central East, Central West and North West in contention for the title and for the top two spots in the National Championships.Central East, put into bat, were in trouble at 130 for 5 before a 100-run sixth-wicket partnership took them to 254. North West would have to bat exceptionally well under tremendous pressure to get close to this total. Amit Dehra brought his team very close as 10 runs were required off the last over. A controversial boundary that looked a lot like a six and some quickly scampered singles later, and North West won with a boundary off the very last ball with Amit Dehra remaining unbeaten on 82. Amit had ensured his team’s qualification to the Nationals as their entire team came to watch the close exciting finish in the game between Central West and South West. If South West beat the hosts, The NW team would be crowned kings of the West.In the match, South West found it difficult to come together as a team and win despite having an array of star names in their line up. Central West stuck to the basics to restrict the SW team to 186. CW were penalized three overs for their slow over-rate and needed to get these runs in 47 overs. However small this total looked, it was far from easy to get as the CW team needed to erase the horrors of chasing a similar total against New York last year to lose out on the National Championship. CW started disastrously but recovered and scraped home CW were under tremendous pressure having lost eight wickets but got home with two balls to spare.However, noone knew who the Western Conference champions were until the net run-rates were calculated. After the calculations were done, the Central West team had just managed to edge out the North West by a net run-rate differential of 0.01. CW had retained the championship they won as underdogs a year ago. But the Northwest Region, as the Cinderella team of the tournament, had proved its worth to join Central West, New York and the Atlantic Region in the US National finals to be played later in the year, probably in Los Angeles.

An India A tour is usually an outlet for burgeoningaspiration and steep ambition, and the late-summerEnglish tour could prove decisive for many fringecricketers – something John Wright drove home on twoseparate occasions while helping out at the trainingcamp in Bangalore.In early June, Wright assured theIndia A squad that a lack of consistency inthe national side could cost any cricketer his place. His later comments were moreforceful, almost dismissive of domestic cricketers whoseemed defeatist about fighting their way into astar-packed team. “I have no time or place for playerswith an attitude like that … they need a kicking,”said Wright. “Anyone wanting to get into the team hasto believe that he can take Sachin Tendulkar or RahulDravid’s place.”Wright’s statement may seem mere encouraging rhetoric;Tendulkar and Dravid are already legends in their ownlifetime, and short of a concentrated charge ofexplosives, nothing looks likely to dislodge them fromthe side. But embedded as the two men may be, theline-up itself is far from settled. Potentially up forgrabs are two opening slots, the third fast bowler’sposition, as well as those of wicketkeeper-batsman,left-arm spinner and – despite Anil Kumble’s recent brave statements- legspinner.In the India A squad to tour England inJune-August, there are at least 10 players – out of 16- who could vie for those vacancies. GautamGambhir, Shiv Sunder Das and Wasim Jaffer are allcandidates for the top two slots and, indeed, haveopened for India in the past. The tour will bedecisive for Gambhir in particular; he hasconsistently racked up runs on A tours, and if he doeswell in England, the national selectors would find itdifficult to ignore him further, especially for a slotin which they are constantly making do with ad-hocsolutions.Four fast bowlers – L Balaji, Aavishkar Salvi, AmitBhandari and Irfan Pathan Jr – are realisticcontenders for a place in the pace attack, especiallysince Javagal Srinath looks quite decisively on theway out. Salvi shone with the A team in the WestIndies and, after playing in the TVS Cup, is perhapsthe most likely pick. But if Balaji – after numerousconsecutive Ranji five-wicket hauls – can bolster hisreputation with some sound bowling abroad, Salvi willface stiff competition.Murali Kartik and Amit Mishra too are ex-India caps,trying to winkle out a spinner’s role for themselves.Kartik’s talent is apparent, but in four Tests, he hasbowled only as many overs as Muttiah Muralitharansometimes bowls in a single game. Wickets inrelatively unfriendly English conditions may earn himthe recall – and confidence – he wants. When NewZealand tour India later this year, spin will be highon the selectors’ wishlist, and both Kartik and Mishrawould relish bowling against New Zealand at home.Parthiv Patel will also be under scrutiny. He may befirst-choice Test wicketkeeper at present, but he mustconsolidate his position with his batting, to whichend he has even been pushed up the order for thistour. With Rahul Dravid apparently not wanting to keepwicket any more in one-day internationals, that slotis also open – but the man who fills it must be acanny batsman.The Indian middle order is the hardest part of theline-up to break into. Hemang Badani did retain afairly regular one-day spot for some time, andAmbati Rayudu’s talent may even breach that rarefiedbastion of the Indian team.A tours are far and away the best method to getnoticed. Not only do the exposure and experience addto a player’s repertoire, but sterling performances inalien conditions will speak more eloquently than astring of domestic centuries. Ask Yuvraj Singh andMohammad Kaif, both of whom cut their teeth onage-group and India A tours rather than in the RanjiTrophy.

After attending the First Class Forum meeting at Lord’s, Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me, “The English Cricket Board made it quite clear that it wishes to ensure that eighteen first class counties continue to exist-which pleases Somerset.”The meeting that was attended by representatives of all of the first class county teams and the M.C.C., was a briefing to discuss the cricket programme for the 2003 season, and will inform a decision making meting that will take place in December.Mr Anderson continued, “The consensus of opinion from the players involved in the game is that 4 day cricket with two divisions and three up and three down is a success.”

Bangladesh cricket could take its first step towards the game’s decentralisation at an administrative level by the end of 2015, vice-president Mahbubul Anam said. The long-awaited regional cricket association is set to be launched as a pilot project in one of the country’s eight divisions.Speaking at a discussion seminar called “our cricket at the grassroots,” organised by Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association, Mahbubul said they were looking to develop a local capacity and a separate cricket calendar in various divisions so that cricket is not solely run from their Dhaka headquarters.The BCB constitution defines regional cricket associations as bodies to run cricket in the different administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It states the BCB should ensure that cricket is run across the country through the regional and District Sports Associations (DSA).While the DSAs are formed and run by the government in all 64 districts of the country, the regional cricket bodies haven’t seen the light of day despite being in the works for nearly two decades and being included in the board’s constitution since 2012.Mahbubul admitted that cricket is currently being run on the basis of the game’s popularly rather than a proper decentralised system.”By December, we will separate at least one of the divisions as a pilot project,” Mahbubul said. “It will have a separate calendar. We have to take the facility to the people, but can’t expect the people to come to the facility. We have to build local capacity, without which we cannot run a regional cricket association.””Currently we are running cricket on popularity but we have one of the lowest participation levels in formal cricket. We can’t keep running cricket on passionate organisers. We have to ensure that there is balance between voluntarism and professionalism at the grassroots level.”The seminar invited diverse voices from across Bangladesh, including coaches and organisers from places like Comilla, Madaripur, Rajshahi and Barisal. The programme became a platform for the BCB, represented by Mahbubul, game development committee chairman Khaled Mahmud and game development manager Nazmul Abedeen, to listen to the myriad of issues that are holding back the game’s expansion across the country.Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud, who transformed Rajshahi cricket almost single-handedly, said that facilities were not a problem in his region, but alleged that poor management was the cause behind Rajshahi’s recent troubles in the domestic first-class competition.Badrul Huda, the veteran coach and organiser from Comilla, said that regionally one of the biggest problems was the lack of local leagues. In his district, he said, there was only one league, which was a knockout competition. Mashud said that the league in Rajshahi did not have a relegation system, rendering it meaningless.Cutting out the relegation in a league means that the person seeking councillorship [representation] to the BCB will be guaranteed a vote from a set number of clubs, without risking losing their support. Mashud urged the BCB to stop funding to the districts that do not organise league competitions.Mahmud, also a former Bangladesh captain, said that most of what had been said in the seminar was a true picture of the grassroots of Bangladesh cricket.

Herschelle Gibbs has been found guilty of breaching Cricket South Africa’s Rules of Conduct during a domestic game in Cape Town. The reprimand came less than a week after Gibbs was arrested for alleged drunken driving.Clause 1.4 of the rules states that players shall not use crude or abusive language nor make offensive gestures.Gibbs appeared before Cricket South Africa’s disciplinary commissioner Michael Kuper after match referee Barry Lambson complained against his conduct for an incident that occurred during the Pro20 match between the Dolphins and Cobra on Match 26 at Newlands.”Gibbs was severely reprimanded for his actions when he appeared in Johannesburg today,” a statement from the board read.Gibbs is currently out on bail for R500 for the drunken driving charge and is scheduled to appear in court on June 27.

A dismal day for Zimbabwe cricket was capped by confirmation from the West Indies that the proposed A-team tour had been cancelled. The news comes within hours of a damning ICC report into Zimbabwe cricket being leaked by the BBC.Although the West Indies Cricket Board told Cricinfo yesterday that no decision had been made, it now emerges that Bruce Aanensen, the WICB chief executive, had already written to the Zimbabwe board to notify them that the tour was off.”I regret to advise that in spite of our best efforts and your unstinting support, we are now advised by the CARICOM Secretariat that after careful consideration of a wide range of views they regretfully have to change their position and advise the WICB that the tour should not take place,” he said. “You will appreciate that we have to be guided by the wishes of the heads of government. Our apologies to Zimbabwe Cricket for any inconvenience caused by this late decision.”Lovemore Banda, the ZC media manager, told The Herald that the decision was “regrettable”, adding that the “training squad will remain in camp as we have aZimbabwe A tour to South Africa at the end of July. We will also continue talking to other boards about A tours as part of our on-going programme to expose our young side to top-level three or four-day cricket.”Although the WICB statement indicated that CARICOM had changed its position, Cricinfo revealed last week that a senior official said it had never given the board the all clear.Furthermore, the WICB had been unable to raise a side after WIPA, the players’ association, advised its members that there were serious security issues surrounding the tour. The WICB had been trying to find players but had struggled to do so, and had even been unable to name a team captain.Despite repeated assurances that a squad was about to be named, with West Indies set to land in Harare on July 1 and play the first four-day match on July 4, it became increasingly obvious that the trip was doomed.Until now, the only sides refusing to tour Zimbabwe on safety or moral grounds have been white, and this has been seized on by the authorities as evidence of what government sources have variously described as “racism” and “colonialism”. But that West Indies are now unwilling to tour raises serious concerns about the future of the country as a destination for tours of any kind.

Nearly seven weeks after the retainer contract issue was said to be resolved, West Indies cricketers are still playing without one in place and without even a match tour contract to boot.As Brian Lara and company currently prepare for the third Test on Thursday in St Kitts, they don’t know how much money, if any at all, they are entitled to for the recently concluded tour of Zimbabwe and this ongoing one versus India. And despite several requests by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are yet to indicate a date for settlement of the controversial matter.Amid great fanfare back on April 26, Ken Gordon, the WICB president, announced that a year and a half of difficult negotiations was finally settled. Following protracted contract and sponsorship negotiations that dated back to November 2004, the new retainer agreement was heralded as a landmark one that was supposed to include eight to ten players on a one-year retainer starting back on May 1. It is yet to materialise.Both Gordon, who is reported to be currently in Germany for the 2006 World Cup, and Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president, had heaped much praise on the attainment of a retainer accord following disagreements over the final terms, a conflict that threatened to disrupt the start of the Zimbabwe series when the newly-formed WICB Cricket Committee headed by Clive Lloyd issued two ultimatums for the conclusion of negotiations.”This is history for West Indies cricket,” Ramnarine had commented, “It is great that we have reached this point in West Indies cricket at this stage. It is one of the steps that we need to put in place to help our cricket forward.”Instead, the process seemed to have come to another stutter despite frequent reminders to the Board from the WIPA. Yesterday when contacted by the , Ramnarine was not as ebullient as on that occasion. “I’m disappointed,” he admitted, “I thought we had gone past this stage but it seems the Board is not prepared to move forward. But we are going to hope that good sense prevails and that we can finally meet with them for the purpose of securing a final resolution on this issue”.On the last of “numerous” communications with the WICB on the finalisation of the retainer issue last Thursday, Ramnarine stated that the Board responded the following day acknowledging the receipt of the correspondence and saying they would respond “in due course”. The players who are without a retainer or match tour contract are said to be “very displeased and very dissatisfied with this sort of treatment.”The worst case scenario is we should have, at least, had match tour contracts. If someone gets injured, how are we gonna be dealing with that?” Ramnarine asked rhetorically. “We have given the Board dates to meet because we want to resolve this issue without making it another public battle again because the public is totally fed up of this situation. So hopefully as I said, good sense prevails.”Earlier this year, Gordon said that anyone who prevented the finalisation of retainer contracts did not have West Indies cricket’s best interest at heart.

Yorkshire edged to a two-wicket win against Nottinghamshire with one ball left, as Richard Dawson made six from the first two deliveries he faced. Ian Harvey was at his Twenty20 best, smashing 74 from 32 balls, but when he fell Notts fought their way back into the match. Chris Read had earlier top-scored for Notts, making 43, after the top-order had been dismissed by Tim Bresnan.Leicestershire held their nerve to seal a three-run win against Durham at Grace Road. A target of 152 was within Durham’s reach but Jeremy Snape produced another fine spell of offspin, taking 3 for 24. Charl Willoughby also kept a lid on the scoring rate, conceding 17 runs from his spell. HD Ackerman was the mainstay of Leicestershire’s innings with 56, but no one else reached 20.Phil Weston guided Gloucestershire to a five-wicket win over Worcestershire with 73 from 55 balls. Mark Alleyne helped him add 46 for the sixth wicket as they had two balls to spare. Zander de Bruyn led Worcestershire’s recovery from 24 for 3, making 76 off 59 balls. Steve Kirby had the impressive figures of 2 for 15 from his four overs.The Flower brothers played a major role in Essex’s 43-run win over Sussex at Chelmsford. Andy was the main contributor to the Essex total of 151 for 5, making 59, then Grant chipped in with three important wickets as Sussex never threatened the target. Ryan ten Doeschate boosted Essex’s total with 42, and his runs proved important in the final outcome.

Australia’s stand-in captain, Adam Gilchrist, and Sri Lanka’s Australian coach, John Dyson, were heavily critical of the drop-in pitch at the Marrara Oval, after the Darwin Test finished inside three days for the second year running."I don’t think the wicket was quite up to Test standards," said Gilchrist, who led Australia in the absence of Ricky Ponting. "It is pretty obvious when a Test finishes like this. With the quality of batsmen around in both teams it is not quite there. With the type of pitch, the result becomes a lottery. If you get a good hour in a one-day match it changes the game, but in Test cricket it doesn’t. So the better team generally wins."I think we executed better with our bats than they did," added Gilchrist. "Both teams bowled really well in the right areas. We probably deserved to take the match in the end because we were able to play ourselves a little bit better when it was up for grabs."Gilchrist added that if Darwin were to maintain its Test status, the authorities would have to make improvements to the pitch. "It was not so much the seam and swing, it’s just the variable bounce," he said. "All you ask for in a good cricket pitch is consistency in bounce. It is difficult with drop-in wickets to know what you have to do. But they’ve had drop-in wickets now for many years at the MCG and they’ve got it right.""This is only the second time up here, so it’s early stages," he continued. "But I hope the authorities will take it up and talk about how this pitch wasn’t up to standard. You’ve got to make improvements if you are going to make Test cricket attractive here. Darwin has the facilities and it is up to Test standard. But the most important ingredient is a good cricket pitch."Dyson also added his opinions to the debate. "When Australia gets bowled out twice for 200 that should tell you something about the wicket. When a Test match finishes in under three days it also tells you something about the wicket. There were seven class batsmen in either team and they got bowled out twice. The highest score in the game was 207. In a good game of Test cricket you are expected to go into the fifth day. You can draw up your own conclusions from that.""It’s not very often that Australia gets bowled out twice for 200 in a Test," admitted Dyson. "I don’t think either team batted particularly well in either innings, because it is a difficult wicket to bat on. It seamed a heck of a lot. The scores indicate that. The wicket was a seaming wicket and a lot of the players were good enough to nick the seaming ball.""Australia knew the wicket was favourable for their type of bowling and they bowled exactly the way they should," added Dyson. "Look at our seamers. Apart from Vaasy [ChamindaVaas] they are not in the same class. But we still knocked over the world champions twice for 200."Sri Lanka’s captain, Marvan Atapattu, added that the run-out of Kumar Sangakkara was a major turning point of the final day. "Had it not happened it would have been better. Sanga is batting well at the moment. I think losing him by way of a run-out was a crime at that time. Normally Sanath runs very well. It was one of those days where he didn’t judge his runs 100 percent."

Division One

Kent v Middlesex, Canterbury
Kent have kept faith with the squad that travelled to Chelmsford for theNational League clash with Essex on Sunday. David Fulton and Min Patelcontinue their recoveries from eye and back operations respectively, whileAmjad Khan remains sidelined by shin problems. Ben Gannon, left out ofMiddlesex’s rain-affected draw with Lancashire, could replace the legspinnerImran Tahir, depending on the state of the Canterbury wicket.Lancashire v Essex, Old Trafford
Andrew Flintoff is struggling with an arm injury and may miss out, but GaryKeedy should keep his place after figures of 6 for 68 against Middlesex lastweek. Kyle Hogg is still out with a torn calf muscle. Carl Hooper will makehis Lancashire debut after receiving clearance to play from the England &Wales Cricket Board. Darren Robinson is ruled out of Essex’s team with acalf injury, which means Rav Bopara, 18, is set for his first appearance ofthe season.Surrey v Leicestershire, The Oval
Rikki Clarke replaces Alex Tudor, who faces a scan on his troublesome knee.Ian Salisbury is also named in the 12-man squad after recovering from afinger injury, but Graham Thorpe is overlooked for the third consecutivechampionship match. Virender Sehwag, Darren Stevens and Charlie Dagnallreturn to Leicestershire’s team, and Phil DeFreitas has shaken off a backproblem.Division Two

Durham v Worcestershire, Stockton
Injury problems continue to dog Durham’s season, withPaul Collingwood (shoulder), Dewald Pretorius (thigh), Mark Davies (lung)and Nicky Hatch (Achilles) all unavailable. Javagal Srinath is recalledafter being rested for the near-embarrassment against Durham UCCE last week.Graeme Hick and Nantie Hayward return for Worcestershire – they both optedout of the tied tour match against Zimbabwe. Steve Rhodes returns at theexpense of Jamie Pipe, while the South African allrounder Andrew Hall makeshis championship debut.Gloucestershire v Hampshire, Bristol
Gloucestershire have named an unchanged side after their six-wicket victoryover Glamorgan strengthened their position at the top of the SecondDivision. Hampshire are expected to rest Wasim Akram, with James Tomlinson,another left-arm seamer, taking his place. Tomlinson, 20, has been draftedinto the squad from Cardiff UCCE, as cover for Ed Giddins who is recoveringfrom a rib injury.Northamptonshire v Yorkshire, Northampton
Mike Hussey, Andre Nel, David Sales, Phil Jaques, Jeff Cook and Toby Baileyare all recalled by Northamptonshire, after that embarrassing midweek defeatagainst Cambridge UCCE. Neither Gerry Brophy or David Paynter are retained,despite both scoring centuries in that match. Chris Silverwood misses outfor Yorkshire, after an elbow injury flared up during the heavy defeat by Derbyshire.Somerset v Glamorgan, Taunton
Peter Bowler and Aaron Laraman return to the Somerset side at the expense ofKeith Dutch and Keith Parsons, who sat out that shock defeat by Scotland inthe National League. Jonathan Hughes, who scored a century against Somersetin a pre-season friendly, will make his first appearance of the season forGlamorgan. He replaces Andrew Davies.