On The Circuit

Surrey have incorporated yoga into their daily training regime on their pre-season tour of Mumbai, India. Yoga has also been used by other players, the most famous being Australia

The Horsham Festival of Cricket will take place from Friday 13 to Monday 16 July and Sussex will take on Durham in the County Championship, a match originally planned for Hove.

The festival is possible after the club found financial backing from EMCEL Filters Ltd. Sussex chief executive Gus Mackay said: "It is a highlight of our home fixture list and I am keen to promote outground cricket in Sussex. We also extend our thanks to our hosts Horsham Sports and Cricket Club and Horsham District Council, who have also contributed to ensure the return of the Festival. It promises to be an exciting match and with the second and third day taking place over the weekend it will allow a greater number of the cricket-watching public to attend."

Hold on to your hats - the Twenty20 Floodlit Cup is back for the new English county season.

Last year the competition involved the four counties with floodlights. This year just two counties, Derbyshire and Essex, have put their names forward, and they will be joined by the PCA Masters. It will be a round-robin affair, played over August and September. If you missed it last year, and how could you, Essex were the winners.

They seem to like their Twenty20 in Essex all right

Charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer throughout the Twenty20 Cup competition in 2007. The Twenty20 Cup zonal rounds take place between June 22 and July 6. At all four of Middlesex

Ashley Giles has been named Warwickshire's vice-captain for the 2007 season although he retains ambitions to fight for his England place after the World Cup. He will provide support for club captain Heath Streak starting with the pre-season tour of Grenada this month.

Giles missed the whole of the 2006 season with a hip injury and although he regained his Test place at the start of the Ashes series he was dropped after two poor matches. He then flew home after the Perth Test to be with his ill wife who'd been diagnosed with a brain tumour. He hasn't played for Warwickshire since the 2005 C&G final at Lord's.

Giles said: "We have a strong squad in place and I know we can be challenging for trophies this year. I hope to pay a big part in the success both in my performance and my leadership."

Leicestershire's squad for the new season continues to take shape after David Stiff, the former Kent seamer, signed a one-year deal and Tom New, their reserve keeper, agreed a two-year extension.

Stiff, who was released by Kent at the end of the 2006 season after making just eight appearances in three seasons, has impressed Leicestershire during a pre-season trail period.

New, meanwhile, is highly rated at Grace Road and has occasionally played as a specialist batsman. However, with Paul Nixon now in the England one-day squad he could have some early season chances with the gloves.

Tim Boon, Leicestershire's coach, was delighted with New's attitude. "Tom has shown a great desire to succeed, whether he is deputising for Paul Nixon or in the side as a batsman alone. There is no doubt that he has considerable potential and I am confident that he can begin to fulfil that in the coming season."

Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, has been interviewed in Cape Town for the job of director of cricket at Yorkshire.

Donald joins Dean Jones among the front runners for the post. Former England and Yorkshire fast bowler Chris Old, who now runs a fish-and-chip shop in Cornwall, has also applied.

Mansoor Amjad, the 19-year-old Pakistani legspinner, as re-signed for Leicestershire as one of their two overseas players for the 2007 season.

Amjad had a brief spell at Grace Road as a replacement for Dinesh Mongia but didn't set the world alight - going wicketless in his only Championship outing - and was forced to return home with a finger injury.

Leicestershire coach Tim Boon said: "I feel we have unearthed a gem in Mansoor, who is totally committed to Leicestershire and desperate to follow in the footsteps of Mushtaq Ahmed and Danish Kaneria."