It was a day for the new boys at Old Trafford

England v Zimbabwe, 2nd Test, Chester-le-Street, Day 2 After writing Zimbabwe off yesterday, when they'd had quite a decent day in the field, I felt a bit of a heel

England v Zimbabwe, 2nd Test, Chester-le-Street, Day One Thousands of northern prayers were answered when Chester-le-Street's first day of Test cricket dawned fine

There is justifiable pomp and ceremony going on up in Durham at the moment as the raring-to-go Riverside revs up for its first taste of Test cricket

Lt-Colonel John Stephenson, the secretary of MCC from 1987 to 1993, died yesterday at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire

Surrey v Sussex at The Oval Scorecard When Saqlain Mushtaq claimed three early wickets at The Oval to reduce Sussex (chasing a distant 406) to 85 for 4, the odds were on another efficient mopping-up operation and another routine victory for the

Richard Johnson, the uncapped Somerset fast bowler, is the one new name in England's squad of 12 for the second npower Test against Zimbabwe, which starts at Chester-le-Street on Thursday (June 5)

Mark Butcher celebrates his hundred © Getty Images Mark Butcher's seventh century put England in a commanding position on the second day of the first npower Test at Lord's

We were promised demonstrations on the first day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Lord's, but the only scowls on the way down to the ground from the tube station were on the faces of the touts, who must have caught a cold on a match where

The spectators who ran the gauntlet of the demonstrators at Lord's received about two-thirds of the overs expected today, and about one-third of the excitement

It was an unfamiliar-looking Australian side - no Adam Gilchrist, no Darren Lehmann, no Brett Lee (so no Lee in the Leeward Islands) - but by the end of this match, at the beautiful Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia, the tale was rather more familiar

Essex v Surrey Scorecard Before this season Martin Bicknell had made just one first-class century

England start favourites for the first npower Test at Lord's, which starts - weather permitting - at 10.45am today

Alec Stewart, England's most-capped player, retained his place in England's 13-man squad for the first Test against Zimbabwe, which starts at Lord's on Thursday (May 22)

Not many Englishmen come out on top in Australia these days, but an unlikely one managed it this week

The Zimbabweans earned a day off by winning their first tour game with a day to spare - but they had to put in a spot of overtime to do so

Glamorgan, the defending National League champions, strolled to their second win in as many days, overhauling Kent's 192 for 9 with 8.4 overs to spare

It was another hard day at the office for Brian Lara and his not-so-merry men, as Australia romped to 320 for the loss of only three wickets by the close of the first day's play in the third Test at Bridgetown

The annual appearance of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is supposed to herald the start of summer and the beginning of a new cricket season

Contrasting centuries from Brian Lara and Daren Ganga gave West Indies a handy lead by the end of the third day at Bourda