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At least half a dozen of England’s travelling fans were caught up in a scare en route from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, when their train was derailed near the town of Westley in the Free State. Seven coaches were involved in the accident, which occurred at 5pm on Tuesday evening, and though police confirmed that there had been no fatalities, up to 15 people were taken to hospital with injuries.The fans, members of the Barmy Army’s hardcore following, had been at Potchefstroom to cheer England through their defeat against South Africa A. They had been due to meet up with several hundred fellow fans that evening, but were instead ferried down to Port Elizabeth by bus from the town of Vereeniging, along with 400 other commuters.Spoornet, the South African rail authorities, said that the cause of the accident hadn’t been confirmed, although it would be the subject of a detailed investigation. "The scene looked severe," said a spokesman, "but no-one has died in the incident. An internal investigation is being launched to determine the cause."It is not the first stroke of ill fortune to befall England’s supporters this winter, and the tour has yet to get underway in earnest. Last week, the holiday plans of several hundred fans bound for Port Elizabeth were thrown into disarray, following the collapse of the budget airline, CivAir, which had been due to ferry them direct from Stansted Airport in London.

After leading Guyana to three consecutive victories on theirway to the Red Stripe Bowl semifinal last week, Carl Hooperwas moved to bemoan the general standard of the cricket.Nothing he saw in the two semifinals at Kaiser Sports Clubin Jamaica on Thursday and Friday would have relieved hisworries as he considers the players likely to form the WestIndies team for the World Cup in South Africa that is only ayear-and-a-half away. As derided as it is by thetraditionalists, the One-Day game demands as much cricketingintelligence and astuteness as the more protracted version.Because, and not in spite, of all its limitations, itssituations change fast and frequently, testing the wits ofcaptains and players. There is no second innings so there isno coming back.One poor shot, one wide ball, one fumble, one missed chance,one poorly set fielder could mean the match. Test cricket isnot nearly as unforgiving of mistakes.And mistakes there were on Thursday and Friday by thedozens.What would have concerned Hooper especially was that amongthe most culpable were those he is likely to lead onto thefield at the Newlands ground in Cape Town for the World Cupopener against South Africa in February, 2003. Here are buta few examples.In the first semifinal, on a pitch so damp that MichaelHolding’s fingernail made a sizeable scratch on the surface,a couple of deliveries leapt at Leon Garrick in the firstover to strike glove and body.This was a time for care and concentration. Instead, ChrisGayle, the West Indies’ finest young batsman and, on allevidence, one whose appetite for big scores in insatiable,tried to hoist Reon King out of the ground with the fifthball he received. The resulting skied catch to point waspredictable and damning.Gayle’s previous two innings in the tournament had broughthim hundreds and the two before that in domestic countycricket in Jamaica two more. Perhaps he was undone byoverconfidence.It was a crucial mistake.Another 27 overs on, with Jamaica battling to rebuild afaltering innings, Marlon Samuels, another rising youngbatsman, bowed to the pressure of eeking out 15 runs from 57balls. Pulling wildly across the modest leg-spin onSewnarine Chattergoon, he was bowled, leaving captain RobertSamuels and the tail to salvage what they could from theshambles for 75 for five.Shabby Guyanese bowling and fielding and purposeful battingby the experienced Samuels and the fluent Gareth Breeseyielded 107 from the last 15 overs and raised Jamaica’stotal to 191 for nine, still only modest but far more thanhad seemed possible.At 134 for five after 40 overs in reply, Guyana had thematch in hand before Mahendra Nagamootoo, a usually sensiblecricketer with both Tests and One-Day Internationals on hisrecord, chose the game’s most contorted stroke as his bestoption. He was inevitably bowled when he missed his reversesweep.At the other end, his brother, Vishal, backed up so far hewas run out without receiving a ball, another victim ofcricketing lunacy.Onto the second semifinal the next day and there was moremadness, this time on the Trinidad and Tobago side. Theirmajor batsmen simply failed to acknowledge an earlier lessonin proper tactical batting by Floyd Reifer and Ryan Hinds,who breathed life back into a Barbados innings that was allbut lifeless.By sensible, orthodox methods, Reifer and Hinds graduallylifted Barbados’ spirits and punched increasingly largeholes in the Trinidadian balloon.There was no panic, no cross-batted swings, no desperatemethods, just methodical progress to a point from which thetempo could be increased and a challenging target set.A pitch of uneven bounce and variable pace meant drivingthrough the line was a hazard to be avoided. The 220required would have to be reached by careful, orthodoxbatting. So what happened?Andy Action Jackson, so named after his earlier hundred off47 balls against the North Windwards, Brian Lara and DarenGanga all drove expansively and into the hands of off-sidefielders. Lincoln Roberts, pinned down for 32 balls for six,swiped a high catch to long-on.It was the kind of cricket that had plenty of heads aroundKaiser shaking in despair. Hooper’s and the other headsplanning the West Indies World Cup campaign are likely toturn grey if it continues much longer.

The Pakistan A team is soon to arrive in Colombo where they will play threeunofficial Test Matches and three One-Day matches. The Sri Lankan coach,Hemantha Devapriya, who played first class cricket for Colts Cricket Club asa wicket keeper batsman and joined the rebel tour of South Africa in 1983,is looking forward to the three-week tour despite the inclement weatherwhich has marred preparations.Devapriya believes that members of the final A team squad, which is topicked from a 27-man training pool shortly, have a chance to push for placesin the senior team. “It’s a good opportunity for these youngsters to putpressure on the national side. The players are very keen to perform and thenational players will have to be on their toes. With a triangular and Testseries so soon after they have a great opportunity to further theircareers.””There is plenty of talent in the side including many players who haverepresented Sri Lanka in the national level before like Tilan Samaraweera,Avishka Gunawardene, T.M. Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Lanka de Silva, AkalankaGanegama, Indika Gallage, Dilhara Fernando, and Prasanna Jayawardene.”The selectors are keen to unearth a partner for Muralitharan and a middleorder batsman,” he revealed. “It is up to the players to prove themselves.”Pakistan too has named a strong 15-man squad. Ten members have representedPakistan at international level and some played in Sri Lanka last yearduring the Under 19 World Cup.”We are looking forward to win, but you know, the “A” team concept is notonly about winning,” he said. “We want to give the players a chance toimprove their skills. The main idea of the A team is to give exposure tothese youngsters and provide them a chance to prove themselves.”The players have had some match practice in Mercantile Cricket Tournament,but team practice has been restricted because of the poor weather in SriLanka recently. Most of the training has taken place indoors. Indeed, theconditions have been so bad that the first Test Match on June 13th will nowbe played in Dambulla, which is situated in a dry zone.”During the last few weeks we haven’t been able to train outdoors as muchas we would have liked to. We have been restricted to practicing indoors andhave been having very short practice sessions. It’s been verydisappointing.”Interestingly, the tour represents a significant turnaround in policy, asSri Lanka’s cricket authorities have decided to move away from thetraditional preference for preparing slow spinning tracks, surfaces whichhave discouraged the faster men from really bending their backs.”The selectors, the board and everyone is keen that we play on goodwickets,” revealed Devpriya. ” We want a little bit of grass and some bouncein the wicket to give some encouragement to the faster bowlers. In fact, wehave been preparing on some grassy surfaces as well. I am sure that thecurators can provide the fair wickets that we need.Pakistan arrive in Sri Lanka on June 10th and the First Test Match inDambulla will be played June 13th.

• It was the 1725th ODI in cricket history.
• It was the 200th match on English soil. England became third countryafter Australia (385) and India (219) to host 200 or more matches.
• Neil Mallender and George Sharp were officiating in their second and23rd match respectively.
• The two wickets in this match has taken Shane Warne’s wicket tally to28 in 17 matches on English soil – most by an Australian. Warnesurpassed Dennis Lillee’s tally of 27 wickets from 17 matches.
• Damien Martyn’s figures of 5-0-45-1 (RpO 9.00) are the worst by anAustralian in a five over spell against Pakistan. The previous recordwas held by Terry Alderman who conceded 39 runs in five overs whilecapturing one wicket at Brisbane on 11-02-1990.
• Waqar Younis (6-59) was capturing six wickets for the second time insuccession. He had returned the figures of seven for 36 againstEngland at Leeds just two days back. Waqar became first bowler in ODIhistory to capture six wickets in two successive matches. Waqar hasnow taken six wickets in a match on five occasions. No other bowlerhas performed this feat more than once.
• Waqar’s aggregate of 13 wickets in two successive matches is a new ODIrecord. The previous record was of 11 wickets which was held by threebowlers – by Waqar himself (in 1990) ,Australia’s Garry Gilmour (in1975) and Pakistan’s Azhar Mahmood (in 2000).
• The catch of Matthew Hayden was 100th for Rashid Latif as wicketkeeperin his 101st match. He became second Pakistani after Moin Khan (191)and 13th keeper in all to reach this landmark.
• Adam Gilchrist’s 29 ball fifty was the fifth fastest for Australia inODIs. This was the second occasion Gilchrist was racing to his fiftyoff less than 30 balls. The other occasion being against India atMargao on 06-04-2001. The following table lists the fastest fiftiesfor Australia :

Balls    Batsman (Score)    Opposition  Venue             Date18       SP O’Donnell (74)  v SL        Sharjah           02-05-199026       WB Philips (53)    v NZ        Wellington        26-03-198628       TM Moody (56*)     v BD        Chester-le-Street 23-05-199928       AC Gilchrist (76)  v Ind       Margao            06-04-200129       AC Gilchrist (70)  v Pak       Nottingham        19-06-2001

• Steve Waugh now has aggregated 812 runs (ave. 54.13) in 23 matches onEnglish soil – most by an Australian. He surpassed brother Mark’s runaggregate of 782 (ave. 43.44) from 19 matches.
• The tenth wicket partnership of 31 runs between Damien Fleming andJason Gillespie was Australia’s best for this wicket against Pakistan.This obliterated the previous highest of 13 between Simon O’Donnelland Terry Alderman at Melbourne on 1984-85.
• Wasim Akram by conceding 68 runs in his 10 overs recorded his secondworst figures in his career spanning 16 years and 318 matches. Akram’sworst performance also came against Australia when he conceded 70 runsoff his 8.5 overs at Brisbane on 08-01-1989.
• Waqar Younis won his 15th Man of the Match award – second insuccessive matches.

Yorkshire have Michael Vaughan, Craig White and new pace sensation Steve Kirby in their side to play Leicestershire at Grace Road. But the champions-elect are not taking anything for granted as their challenge for their first championship title since 1968 continues.”Obviously there is a lot of talk about the championship but my aim is to make sure everyone concentrates on the next game,” Yorkshire coach Wayne Clarke said.”At the moment we are going well and there is a lot of confidence and ability in the squad but we’ll just concentrate on one session at a time.Essex travel to Glamorgan at the other end of Division One.Essex appear to be doomed to life in the lower division next season, but Glamorgan still have realistic hopes of staying up. They beat Surrey in the last round of games, but remain in the bottom three.Their coach, Jeff Hammond, admits they have a tough month in front of them if they are to stay up.”We’ve got Essex, Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Surrey to come and that’s a hard road home,” Hammond warned. “But if we can play well in all those games and don’t drop a game we will have a good chance of avoiding relegation.”We have been working on a few disciplines and it has taken a while for them to hit home but I think we are starting to play well now. We are still a game behind the top sides and another thing is that we have lost over 1,100 overs of playing time to the weather this season.”Hammond is waiting on news of Robert Croft. The off-spinner is currently with the England squad but will make up a spin duo with Cosker if released.Lancashire and Northampton battle it out elsewhere in another match that could have a crucial bearing on the final relegation places.Meanwhile, it’s top against bottom as Sussex travel to bottom placed Derbyshire in Division Two. Captain Dominic Cork and overseas player and vice-captain Michael Di Venuto miss out for the hosts in a game that Sussex are strong favourites to win.Gloucestershire entertain Nottinghamshire at Bristol. Both teams retain slim promotion hopes, though Gloucestershire have a 16-point lead over Notts. Worryingly for both sides, three of the four teams above them have a game in hand.Elsewhere Worcestershire travel to Warwickshire, the fourth placed club, desperate for the win that would help them into a promotion position.

Steve Waugh, laughing off an English newspaper that depicted him as a prawnon a barbecue, has begun his fourth Ashes tour by revealing it might not behis last.Waugh and his twin, Mark, turn 36 on Saturday but the Australian captainadmitted his previously nominated retirement date of the 2003 World Cup wasnot set in stone.”I’m not absolutely sure this is my last,” he said before the Australianone-day squad’s fitness and net sessions on the picturesque Worcestershireground ahead of Friday’s tour opener.”Look, I’d like to go to another World Cup and try and retain our trophy andI may go beyond that – or I may go before that.”I love playing cricket and playing cricket for Australia. Wearing thatbaggy green is something special, so I want to soak that up as long as Ican.”The Mirror newspaper superimposed the heads of Waugh, Glenn McGrath andShane Warne atop three sizzling prawns on a barbecue beneath the back pageheadline: “Let’s throw a few prawns on the barbie … and watch Englandclean up the Ashes.”Waugh would not be baited.”They don’t look like Aussie prawns, they’re not big enough,” he told apacked press conference.”It’s a nice look, thanks very much – something to show the kids when I getback home.”With Test regulars Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Michael Slater, Justin Langerand the Waugh twins all over the age of 30, a changing of the guard inAustralian cricket is only a few years away.More than half the current one-day and Test players will not be back inEngland in four years, so an extension to Waugh’s career would have obviousbenefits to an evolving squad.He claimed his sights on tour were set no farther than next month’s one-daytournament against England and Pakistan, but his eyes lit up when talkturned to the Tests, which begin on July 5.”I’ve got a gut feeling this series is going to be very competitive, veryclose, it will be exciting and we’re here to play aggressive and positivecricket and win every Test match,” he said.”Getting that urn at the end of the series is very important to allAustralians.”Asked the highlight of his Ashes career, Waugh said: “It hasn’t come yet.”Meanwhile, the ACB is yet to decide whether Australia will wear coloured orwhite clothing in the three-day fixture against Worcestershire.

With his England career now firmly behind him, Kevin Pietersen will return to his roots in Kwa-Zulu Natal this winter having signed to play for the Durban-based Sunfoil Dolphins in their Ram Slam T20 campaign.Pietersen, who was educated at Maritzburg College and emigrated from South Africa in 2001, played two first-class matches for the Dolphins in October 2010 in the build-up to England’s successful Ashes campaign but has never yet played in the country’s T20 competition.”I’m very excited to return to Durban in a few weeks’ time and contribute towards the Sunfoil Dolphins’ cause,” Pietersen said. “Having grown up in KZN it is obviously a place that means something quite special to me and to have the opportunity to play there again is something I’m really looking forward to.”Pietersen, who scored a national-record 13,779 runs across all formats for England in the course of a nine-year career, has not played for England since being sacked in the aftermath of 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2013-14.Clamours for a recall intensified earlier this season following England’s ignominious group-stage exit at the World Cup, with Pietersen warming to the theme with a career-best 355 not out for Surrey against Leicestershire at The Oval.However, Andrew Strauss, the incoming director of England cricket, closed the door on that prospect in a face-to-face meeting in May, before confirming this week that England had “moved on” from Pietersen in the wake of their 3-2 victory in the recent Ashes.South Africa’s Ram Slam will be the fifth domestic T20 competition that Pietersen has featured in, following stints with Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League, Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League and Surrey in the NatWest T20 Blast.”The Ram Slam T20 looks to be an exciting tournament and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the action for the first time this summer,” Pietersen said. “The Dolphins have some talented individuals and hopefully I can contribute towards the team’s success during my time with them.”Lance Klusener, the Dolphins head coach, believes that Pietersen can help his team win back the title they last held in 2013-14. Pietersen will be available for five Ram Slam matches in a two-week spell from late October until mid-November.”It’s very exciting to have a player of Kevin’s ability join us for a portion of the Ram Slam T20 tournament,” Klusener said. “We’ve won the tournament before and hopefully his presence will aid in us challenging for the title once more.”

ScorecardMitchell Johnson picked up 5 for 31•Getty Images

Mitchell Johnson ran through Queensland and collected five wickets as Western Australia finished their Matador Cup campaign with a comfortable consolation victory. Adam Voges was also in fine touch in the 39-run win, scoring 81 and picking up three wickets with his part-time spin, but the match was effectively a dead rubber with neither side having any chance of progressing.Queensland’s young new-ball pair of Billy Stanlake (4 for 37) and Mark Steketee (3 for 45) were impressive Voges steered the Warriors to a solid total of 9 for 240 after he won the toss and chose to bat. Contributions also came from Michael Klinger (48) and Mitchell Marsh (46), and Ashton Agar struck two sixes in a late cameo of 21 not out from 10 balls.The quality of Johnson made it an extra tough chase for the Bulls; Johnson had openers Charlie Hemphrey and Usman Khawaja both caught behind cheaply, before Joe Burns and Nathan Reardon steadied with a partnership of 94 runs. Both men scored 54 but both also fell to the spin of Voges, who also trapped Michael Neser lbw and finished with 3 for 20.Voges outbowled the specialist Agar, who struggled to contain Queensland and went for 46 off his nine overs, and did not claim a wicket. But the Warriors had enough firepower in their attack as Johnson got rid of Peter Forrest and Chris Hartley, and then claimed the final wicket to finish with 5 for 31 and secure the 39-run victory.Western Australia were without fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile due to a minor injury to his left shoulder. The fast bowler Jhye Richardson, 19, debuted in place of Coulter-Nile and bowled six overs for 0 for 34.