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Lancashire have won their Court of Appeal battle over the redevelopment of Old Trafford and can finally press ahead with the rebuilding work to secure their Test match future after what had been termed a ‘day of destiny’.The county have been involved in long-running legal battles with Derwent Holdings, a rival development company, over their plans for Old Trafford which involve working with the Tesco supermarket chain to build a superstore close to the ground.Derwent, who owned the White City retail park near Old Trafford, felt they had a suitable claim to build their own superstore but the case was repeatedly thrown out by various courts until it was taken to the Court of Appeal. The three judges hearing the case took evidence from both sides on Monday before quickly deciding in Lancashire’s favour, and Derwent haven’t been granted leave to appeal again.”This is one of the biggest days in the club’s history,” Lancashire chief Jim Cumbes said. “If we don’t redevelop then 150-odd years of history would have been in danger of disappearing.”With redevelopment, I am confident that Old Trafford can continue as an international cricket ground. Today’s decision means that the work can start and we can get the spades out.”The delays caused by the ongoing court cases meant that crucial funding couldn’t be released to pay for the development. However, the club had already started on significant building work in recent months because they couldn’t afford to wait any longer to hit deadlines set by the ECB if they were to be able to bid for a 2013 Ashes Test.Tesco are backing Lancashire’s plans and building a store in nearby White City while contributing £21million to the cost. Their joint planning application was approved in March last year, and at the same planning meeting Derwent had a scheme to build a Sainsbury’s at the site refused. Derwent argued that Trafford Council applied double standards in refusing its plans.The first part of the redevelopment was completed last year with the opening of The Point, a large red complex to the side of the pavilion, and continued over the winter with the turning of the square 90 degrees to prevent problems caused by the setting sun in autumn while new floodlights have also been installed.

Neil McCallum, the Scotland batsman, will retire from international cricket after the one-day game against Hampshire on Sunday. McCallum, who held a full-time job in teaching through his career, said he could no longer devote sufficient time for the game.He first represented Scotland in 2000 but became a regular only around 2006 and played in a national record 43 ODIs and 11 Twenty20 internationals. The 2007 World Cup and the first two World Twenty20s were among the global tournaments he took part in.McCallum, 33, averaged over 44 in 14 first-class matches, including a career-best 181 against Netherlands in 2007, the third-highest score for Scotland in first-class cricket. Another highlight was the Intercontinental Cup final last year, when his unbeaten 104 helped Scotland take the first-innings lead.”It has not been an easy decision to retire this weekend, but I believe the time is right,” McCallum said. “These days Scotland are training and competing all year round. It was becoming harder to dedicate the correct amount of time to perform and train at an international level. I have been trying to juggle work and family, on top of school, club and regional cricket, as well as the demands of training and competing at the elite level.”Peter Steindl, Scotland’s coach, who worked with McCallum for four seasons praised his attitude. “His dedication and enthusiasm both on and off the pitch has always been a major factor in his success and has been the benchmark for other players to follow,” Steindl said. “He never shirked from putting in the hours preparing, improving his skills and getting fitter.”

Kim Garth and Isobel Joyce starred in Ireland Women’s eight-wicket victory over Netherlands Women in the first of two Twenty20 games that were played at Kampong in Utrecht. Nertherlands chose to bat but were in trouble straightaway, with Garth bowling Miranda Veringmeier for a duck with the second ball of the innings. She struck again one over later to remove Caroline Salomons for 6, and when captain Helmien Rambaldo fell for 4, Netherlands were teetering at 13 for 3 after four overs.Esther Lanser stood tall amid the wreckage, however, making 55 from 48 balls to give her team some respectability and take them past 100. But with only two other players reaching double-figures, Netherlands could only manage 106 for 8 in their 20 overs. Garth added the wicket of Denise Hannema to finish with figures of 3 for 6, and also ran out Esther de Lange for good measure, while Isobel took 2 for 21.Ireland lost Clare Shillington early but Ceceila Joyce and Isobel added 81 together before Cecelia was bowled for 35. But Isobel made sure there were no more hiccups, remaining unbeaten on 48 and seeing Ireland home with 16 balls to spare.Ireland Women made it two in two after beating Netherlands Women by 13 runs in the second Twenty20 game at Kampong in Utrecht. Batting first, Clare Shillington and Eimear Richardson added 51 at a run-a-ball before Richardson departed for 15. Shillington was the next to go, lbw to Esther de Lange for 33. Cecelia Joyce and Kim Garth then added a further 51, before Cecelia was run-out for 29 in the 19th over as Ireland ended up with 115 for 3.Netherlands got off to a better start this time, with the openers adding 35 in under six overs. But Esther Lanser and Helmien Rambaldo fell within two runs of each other and the scoring rate dropped thereafter as Caroline Salomons and Violet Wattenburg struggling to get the ball away. Still, at 74 for 3 in the 16th over, Netherlands were in with a chance but the introduction of legspinner Elena Tice put paid to their hopes of evening the series. She dismissed Veringmeier, Carlijn de Groot and Wattenburg in successive overs to finish with figures of 3 for 12 and Netherlands could only limp to 102 for 7.

Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of England’s five-match ODI tour of India, which gets underway next month, after it was confirmed by the ECB that he is to undergo surgery to correct a long-standing shoulder problem.Morgan’s absence will be a big blow to England on the slow and spin-friendly tracks of India, where his unique ability to create and work gaps in the field would have been invaluable. He was withdrawn from the squad for the home series against India ahead of the second ODI at the Rose Bowl earlier this week, after feeling “acute” pain during the Twenty20 international at Old Trafford.”After seeing a specialist today it has been confirmed that Eoin will require surgery to his right shoulder with the likelihood of repairing a chronic SLAP lesion,” said the ECB chief medical officer, Nick Peirce. “We have managed the injury to date with a conservative program but Eoin has now reached the stage where surgery is most appropriate progression of his treatment.”Following the operation Eoin will undertake a rehabilitation programme ruling him out of all cricket for approximately 12 weeks. The recovery period is anticipated to see him return to full fitness ahead of England’s tour of the UAE commencing in January.”Morgan initially developed discomfort in his shoulder during the Ashes tour in the winter, but until the pain flared up during the Twenty20, it had not been a significant hindrance to his batting. The bigger problem areas had been diving and throwing from the outfield.”It’s obviously a massive loss,” said England’s captain, Alastair Cook. “He’s an outstanding player. It’s gutting news for Eoin that he has to have this operation and miss a substantial amount of cricket and an important tour. But as always, it gives someone else an opportunity.”Eoin’s been a hallmark of our batting, a fantastic middle-order finisher,” added Cook. “But someone else now gets the opportunity to do that, and if we can develop more people in that role it can only strengthen our team. We want to keep improving as a team, and need a good squad to do that.”Earlier this year Morgan suffered a finger injury during the one-day series in Australia but continued to play on after suffering the blow. By the time he was sent home two days before the end of the tour, the damage was serious enough to stop him heading to the World Cup. However, he did eventually join the tournament after Kevin Pietersen suffered his hernia.Late last month Morgan made his international captaincy debut when he led England against Ireland in Dublin and has also begun to settle himself in the middle-order of the Test side.

Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, has put down the narrow defeat to the Warriors in the opening game of the Champions League Twenty20 to “sloppy fielding” and “poor execution”. There were a couple of dropped catches, misfields and a missed run-out in the Warriors’ chase of 173 and the bowlers, too, erred at the death during a late onslaught by the batsmen.”I thought at the halfway stage that 172 was a pretty good score,” Vettori said. “Our batsmen maintained a standard, and at the halfway stage, I thought we could win. We were in a good position till the last few overs, and then some sloppy fielding and poor execution cost us the match. There were a few half-good overs and the match slipped.”The Warriors stole a couple off the final delivery of the high-scoring match to seal a three-wicket win. “It was a tricky wicket,” Vettori said. “When I say tricky, you had to get the length right. If it was a little full or a little short, you got hit; most wickets fell to length balls.”In a see-saw game, Royal Challengers were on top when Warriors were reduced to 82 for 4 in the 12th over. Johan Botha and Ashwell Prince then staged an excellent recovery to put their team in the ascendancy but the Warriors only sneaked through in the end after a couple of more twists.”We needed 13 off 7, that last ball was going to be important. Thirteen off the last over with more than two a ball is quite tough. Nicky [Boje] came in and hit the first one for six, and that took a lot of pressure off us for the last over,” Botha, the Warriors captain, said. Botha smashed 42 off 24 balls and added 73 in quick time in the company of Prince, who made 74.”When I came in I just wanted to get a little bit of a partnership going,” Botha added. “Once I got to about 10 or 15, I said I’m going to keep playing [like that]. It looked like it was my night, really. I kept going, there were a couple of top-edges. One went for the six, the other fell short of the fielder. When it goes for you, you’ve got to run with it. As soon as we got some momentum, things started to flow nicely.”

Western Australia 218 and 1 for 22 trail
ScorecardA series of lower order partnerships allowed Victoria to set Western Australia 362 to win the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG. The Warriors lost Marcus Harris to Jayde Herrick before the close, which arrived at 1 for 22.WA had hoped for early breakthroughs and a slimmer chase when day three began, and the Bushrangers slipped to 5 for 80 then 6 for 145 after the loss of Rob Quiney, to keep the window open.However the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade maintained his outstanding run with the bat to carve out 60, and the allrounder Glenn Maxwell made a fighting 72 to frustrate the visitors.

Mohammad Sami starred with both bat and ball to earn Karachi Blues a big lead against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Sami hit an unbeaten 61 off 46 deliveries to lift Karachi from 236 for 7 to 338. He was supported by Tanvir Ahmed, who made 41. Sami clubbed seven fours and four sixes before Abdur Rauf ended the Karachi innings. Sami led the way with the ball as well, demolishing the top order with a three-wicket burst. Faisalabad never recovered from 22 for 3 and, despite Zeeshan Butt’s 92 and the 26 byes conceded by Karachi, were bowled out for 231, a deficit of 107. Karachi reached 13 without loss by the end of the day.State Bank of Pakistan took control as Saad Altaf and Mohammad Naved blew away Habib Bank Limited for 144 at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. The duo shared nine wickets between them to earn their side a 60-run lead, with only opener Shan Masood (52) and Khaqan Arsal (40) managing to resist for Habib Bank. But for their sixth-wicket stand of 66, Habib Bank would have struggled even more, having been reduced to 65 for 5. Altaf ended with 5 for 63 while Naved had 4 for 24. State Bank consolidated their position in the second innings with Rameez Raja’s aggressive fifty helping them to 77 for 2, an overall lead of 137. Opener Waqar Orakzai remained unbeaten on 7 off 63 deliveries.Sialkot were in danger of sliding to an innings defeat against Rawalpindi, managing 97 as Mohammad Rameez ran through their line-up at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Rameez picked up five wickets, including the top three, as no Sialkot batsman managed more than 20. He was supported well by the other Rawalpindi bowlers, who gave Sialkot no respite as their innings lasted only 31.5 overs. Babar Naeem’s century had earlier taken Rawalpindi just past 400. Last man Sadaf Hussain contributed a quick 20. Rawalpndi enforced the follow-on after Sialkot collapsed but the visitors started much better, reaching 63 without loss at stumps.Abbottabad were struggling against Islamabad, having lost six wickets for 191 in pursuit of the visitors’ 337 at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. All Abbottabad batsmen except opener Fawad Khan got starts but no-one made more than 36 as they lost regular wickets. In contrast, Islamabad stretched their first innings to 337, riding on Zohaib Ahmed’s 80 and No. 10 Fakhar Hussain’s unbeaten 39. Resuming on 254 for 7, Islamabad added a further 83 runs. Khalid Usman was the most successful bowler for Abbottabad with 3 for 53.Mohammad Talha ripped through the Pakistan International Airlines line-up with a career-best seven-for, earning National Bank of Pakistan a narrow lead at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Talha put PIA under pressure right away, striking four times early. Fahad Iqbal and Anop Santosh made fifties to get the innings back on track. PIA were 238 for 8, needing 11 to take the lead, but Talha ended the innings on the same score, finishing with 7 for 77. Umaid Asif had earlier been responsible for taking NBP from 203 for 9 to 248 with an unbeaten 41. NBP ended the day on 14 for 1, losing Khurram Manzoor in the first over.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited consolidated their strong position against Water and Power Development Authority at the National Ground in Islamabad, taking a handy lead of 123. Despite the early loss of Imran Nazir for 4, Sharjeel Khan, Yasir Hameed and Haris Sohail chipped in with fifties to take ZTBL comfortably past WAPDA’s 197. Imran Khan mopped up the lower order, taking 5 for 61 while Zulfiqar Babar ended with three wickets. WAPDA reached 11 without loss at stumps.

Scorecard
Fifteen wickets tumbled on the second day at the MCG, to better the 13 on the first, and at the end of it all Tasmania were in a commanding position, leading Victoria by 337 runs with two second-innings wickets intact. Their advantage was built by a strong bowling performance led by Jackson Bird, who took 5 for 35, as Victoria were routed for 94 in their first innings, conceding a lead of 123.Victoria began the day on 3 for 18, with Bird having taken three wickets in four balls on the first evening. He went on to scalp two more – both David Hussey and Cameron White were caught behind – to reduce the hosts to 5 for 55. Xavier Doherty then dismissed Rob Quiney, whose 33 was Victoria’s only double-figure score until then, without another run being added to the total.Andrew McDonald contributed 26 but the tail didn’t fight, and Victoria were dismissed before lunch for their lowest Sheffield Shield total since the 91 against New South Wales in 2004-05.Tasmania’s attempt to build on their lead did not have a happy beginning, though, and they were 46 for 4 after Evan Gulbis was dismissed for his fourth consecutive duck. James Faulkner, however, resisted with a half-century and he put on 65 for the sixth wicket with Mark Cosgrove, who made 36 off 34 balls and helped wrest the momentum. Both of them were dismissed in quick time but wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt scored 46 off 40 balls to lead Tasmania to 8 for 214.Jayde Herrick took 4 for 68 for Victoria, boosting his season tally to 26 to overtake Ben Cutting (23) as the season’s top wicket-taker.

Group BA sustained bowling effort from Haryana carried them into the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals as they beat Gujarat by 140 runs in Surat. The result also condemned Gujarat to the Plate League next season, as they finished bottom of the group.With Baroda falling to Bengal, Haryana needed an outright win to go through while Gujarat needed a win to stay in the Elite League. Ashish Hooda gave Haryana the perfect start by having Jaisal Karia caught behind for 19 in the second over the day. Harshal Patel and Sachin Rana then picked up an early wicket apiece to leave Gujarat reeling at 49 for 4. Bhargav Merai and India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel knuckled down to take Gujarat past 100 but India legspinner Amit Mishra trapped Parthiv leg-before to end the 55-run partnership.Haryana were now into the lower order and they were not about to throw away their opportunity,. Pratharesh Parmar was dismissed by offspinner Jayant Yadav for 4 and Manprit Juneja was bowled by Mishra for 1. When Merai, who had battled to 47, was caught off Mishra, the writing was on the wall. The ninth-wicket pair of Ashraf Makda and Mehul Patel frustrated the bowlers for 8.3 overs and 21 runs, but Yadav cued the celebrations by snaffling Makda (16) and last man Ishwar Chaudhary in the same over. He finished with 3 for 37, while Mishra took 3 for 25.Bengal narrowly missed out on a spot in the quarter-finals despite beating Baroda by nine wickets at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. A ten-wicket win would have seen them match Haryana’s total of 14 points and they would have gone through on the basis of a better quotient. But they lost Arindam Das chasing a mere 36 for victory and his dismissal meant Haryana would move on to play in the quarter-finals.The loss marked the end of what had been a promising campaign for last year’s beaten finalists, Baroda, who needed only a point to progress. Unfortunately, their batsmen failed to show up when it mattered most, with five zeros and a 2 littering their scorecard. Rakesh Solanki was the only batsman to offer any resistance, and once he was out for 59 in the first over of the day, Baroda quickly capitulated, losing their next four wickets for 32 runs. Dinda, who had taken three wickets on the previous day, took another two to finish with 5 for 66 while Sourav Sarkar took 4 for 32.Needing just 36 for their first win of the season, and to avoid losing wickets to make the knock-outs, Bengal managed the first, but not the second.Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, both of whom have qualified for the next round, played out a draw in Chennai. Amarjeet took four wickets as the hosts tumbled for 208 in the second innings, with Yo Mahesh top scoring with 58 while Malolan Rangarajan made 48. MP did manage to reduce Tamil Nadu to 61 for 4, but since they conceded a 179-run lead, it meant Tamil Nadu were never in any danger.”We didn’t take advantage of the seamer-friendly conditions after winning the toss on the first day,” Madhya Pradesh coach Mukesh Sahni said. “We could have batted and fielded better. Our approach was a little defensive too. “There is now time for us to rectify those mistakes in time for the knockout stage.”

Love is in the air at The County Ground in Derby and it is helping to secure Derbyshire’s financial future. There are few more quintessentially English settings for a wedding than a cricket ground and Derbyshire have taken full advantage with 15 receptions or civil ceremonies taking place in 2011 and 24 already booked this year.Derbyshire might be routinely derided as one of the weaker first-class counties but they are in better financial health than many, recording their fifth profit in six years as they announced a surplus of £20,211 for 2011.Wedding guests are even encouraged to hold their functions while a Championship match is in progress, although no statistics are available to show whether a blushing bride has ever felt overshadowed by the beauty of a Wes Durston cover drive.Derbyshire, who lost £187,037 in 2010, have continued a general trend of improved county financial results despite the economic downturn, an improved financial picture that is influenced to some degree by an additional grant from the ECB this year of up to £300,000 this year towards ground improvements.Nevertheless, Derbyshire have reduced their financial dependency on the annual ECB handout from 71% to 50% in three years to contradict their reputation as one of the county game’s ailing counties.Recent ground investments include the addition of a permanent marquee, a 1,800-seater stand and the turning of the playing square through 90 degrees so that floodlit matches are no longer disruoted by the setting sun. And if you imagine the ground is normally empty, Friends Life t20 attendances increased in 2011 by 33%, from a low base perhaps but the highest percentage increase among the 18 counties.Keith Loring, the chief executive, said: “In many ways a small profit of around £20,000 is the perfect result for the club because it demonstrates that we have maximised our spending on the team whilst running a profitable business.Derbyshire have also gained financially by reducing their reliance on non-qualified England players, so benefiting from the ECB’s performance-related payments. They plan to field a maximum of three non-qualified players in 2012 and two, the new captain Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes, have plans to become English qualified.Derbyshire’s improved financial position came despite a troubled season on the field in 2011, with the former head of cricket, John Morris, sacked in mid-season after concerted criticism from his players, and the captain, Luke Sutton, retiring from first-class cricket after admitting that he had been treated for depression and anxiety.Fifteen first-class counties posted a loss in 2010 with debts among the nine Test match counties estimated at close to £100m.