Amjad Khan called up by England

Kent fast-bowler Amjad Khan has been called up by England to replace the injured Ryan Sidebottom in the squad for the scheduled two-Test tour of India.

Born in Denmark, Khan will join Kevin Pietersen's squad if they decide later on Sunday to return to India following last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. That decision will follow scrutiny of the latest security reports from the country.

Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid will also travel with the squad but has not officially been added to it.

Sidebottom is not among those currently preparing in Abu Dhabi for a series set to start in Chennai on Thursday, having suffered a side strain during the aborted one-day leg of the pre-Christmas tour.

Khan, 28, was awarded British citizenship in 2006 - following a breakthrough season for Kent a year earlier.

Hick to call it a day

Former England batsman Graeme Hick announced on Tuesday he will retire from county cricket at the end of this season.

The 42-year-old Zimbabwe-born player, who last played for England in March 2001, was one of the most prolific batsmen of his generation and has scored 136 first class centuries.

During a career which began in 1983 Hick scored 41,112 runs in 526 matches at an average of 52.23, with 294 scores of 50-plus in first class matches.

Aussies in shock over Pattinson's England call-up

The Australian cricket community was caught by surprise on Saturday at Australia-raised paceman Darren Pattinson's bolt from obscurity to the England Test team.

The 29-year-old Nottinghamshire bowler was a surprise choice to replace his injured county colleague Ryan Sidebottom in the England side for the second Test against South Africa at Headingley on Friday.

Although born in Grimsby, northern England, Pattinson grew up in Melbourne and his Australia-born younger brother, James, has represented the Australia Under-19 team.

Cricket officials from his home state Victoria admitted surprise that Pattinson, who is contracted with Cricket Victoria, was not an Australian citizen and even eligible to play for England.

"We didn't realise he wasn't an Australian citizen and didn't have an Australian passport,"

Victorian general manager of cricket operations Shaun Graf said.

"He actually only had a British passport and hence when he came home from playing overseas a couple of times he needed to get a visa which is a little bit strange."

Pattinson's opportunity only evolved when Cricket Victoria received an offer to play with Nottinghamshire, Graf said.

If Pattinson kept his English origins quiet while he was playing in Australia, it wasn't for fear of being sledged.

Bopara into record books with double ton

Essex 350 for 5 (Bopara 201*, Foster 61) beat Leicestershire 232 (Nixon 62, Boyce 57) by 118 runs

Young English talent overcame imported South Africans as Ravi Bopara etched his name in the record books at Grace Road, with a breathtaking 201 off 138 balls, to guide Essex into the Friends Provident semi-finals. Bopara's stunning innings lifted Essex to a mammoth 350, which proved well out of reach for Leicestershire.

It was the highest score by an Essex batsman in one-day cricket, beating Graham Gooch's 198 against Sussex in 1982, which came in a 55-over game, and only the eighth double century in List A cricket. He added 190 with James Foster after the top order had been trouble at 37 for 3 against the new ball.

This innings came in front of Geoff Miller, the national selector, and Bopara has done everything the England hierarchy have asked of him since a disappointing winter where he was dropped from the Test and one-day teams. He is back in the one-day squad for the series against New Zealand, and his form means he must be next in line should the selectors decide changes are needed to the Test team.

Bopara was in charge throughout his innings, reaching his double century with a six over long-on, his tenth, off the penultimate ball of the innings. The breakdown of his innings shows how he pressed the accelerator in dramatic style during the closing stages.

His first century took 85 balls, remarkable in itself given Essex were tottering when he came in, but his second arrived off a blistering 52 balls. His final fifty was even more destructive, taking just 16 deliveries as Leicestershire's attack was sent to the cleaners.

Leicestershire found themselves in similar trouble to Essex at 53 for 3, following two early wickets for Alex Tudor, but no one was able to come near matching the heroics of Bopara. Matthew Boyce and Paul Nixon added 104 to keep their heads just above water until David Masters, against his former club, had Boyce caught behind off a top edge.

Nixon followed five runs later, bowled by James Middlebrook, and Bopara capped a memorable day with two late wickets in two balls. The only surprise, given his earlier success, was that he didn't finish with a hat-trick.

Key to captain England A against New Zealand

Test batsman Robert Key will captain the England Lions, as the national 'A' side is now known, against New Zealand in a four-day tour match at Hampshire's Rose
Bowl ground next week, it was announced here Tuesday.

The decision to have the 28-year-old Key captain a 12-man squad featuring eight players with Test or one-day international experience, comes a day after he scored 178 not out for Kent against New Zealand at Canterbury.

Also included in the team is pace bowler Matthew Hoggard, who earlier this year was dropped from the senior England side after they lost the first Test on their tour of New Zealand before going on to win the three-match series 2-1.

The first Test of a three-match series between England and New Zealand starts at Lord's on May 15.

England Lions squad to play New Zealand: Robert Key (Kent, capt), Ravi Bopara (Essex) Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Steven Kirby
(Gloucestershire), Matt Prior (Sussex, wkt), Graham Onions (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).

Wright Keen To Improve

Luke Wright smashed a career-best score to inflict further damage on MCC on Saturday at Lord's and break his mould as a one-day specialist.

All-rounder Wright's previous impact on the match between the 2007 county champions Sussex and a representative XI containing aspiring England players had been to deliver the ball which poleaxed tail-ender Steve Kirby.

And his impact on cricket in general had come in limited-overs action, for which he has gained international recognition.

So his knock of 155 not out, which comfortably surpassed his previous first-class high of 100 against Loughborough University four years ago, in Sussex's 474 for five, represented the perfect start to the 2008 season.

"I just want to try to build on what has happened in the winter and kick on again this summer - this is a good start,"

said Wright, whose England caps came on the back of his exceptional Twenty20 form last summer.

"It is time to concentrate improving my form in Championship-mode, try to break in as a top-six batter and be a true all-rounder.

"Just to be with England is so special but once you get a taste you want to keep playing."

England's hierarchy believe Wright has the potential to improve as a fast-bowling option and he has certainly bowled with pace and hostility in this season curtain-raiser.

A shoulder injury, for which he has received injections, has stymied his pre-season appearances but he looked the part with the ball against the MCC, who trail by 440 runs going into the final day.

His bouncer hurried Owais Shah into a mistake yesterday and another short ball had another decisive effect on the match when Kirby was felled attempting to rock out of the way.

Kirby, 30, was knocked unconscious and passed out again after being escorted to the pavilion.

Thankfully, however, after a night of monitoring in the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, Wright's former Leicestershire colleague was released, fed by Lord's famous kitchen and sent home to rest.

"I have seen Kirbs today, we've had a little hug and he's fine about it,"

Wright added.

"I am sure I will get a few back at some point.

"I know him really well, since being a kid, so I am sure we will have a drink and a laugh about it at some point now he's okay.

"I had never seen anything like that in cricket, so it shook me up quite a lot at the time.

"Once he got off the pitch I thought that was it but to go and see him in the changing room - and him being out on the floor - was obviously quite scary."

Voges Fills In For Hussey

Nottinghamshire have signed Australia batsman Adam Voges as cover for absent compatriot David Hussey in the early part of the season.

Hussey surprised the county by signing up for the Indian Premier League and so the club have brought in the 28-year-old Western Australian on a short-term contract to fill the unexpected gap.

"Hussey's decision to sign for the IPL was unexpected,"

said director of cricket Mick Newell.

"We had an agreement with him and were looking forward to seeing him for the whole season, and had to decide whether we wanted him to be a part of our future plans.

"He has assured me that he is still very keen to play for Notts and is expected to arrive at Trent Bridge later in the summer."

Voges, who had played a single one-day international and two Twenty20 internationals, hit the headlines in 2004-05 when he hit his maiden one-day century for Western Australia off just 62 balls, at the time the fastest in his country's domestic history.

And Newell added:

"I'm confident Voges will prove a more than capable replacement.

"He's got an excellent pedigree and should be more or less a straight swap. The aim is for him to slot in at number four in four-day and one-day cricket.

"He's played international cricket for Australia and has a good record with the bat.

"He wants to make a role for himself in county cricket and will have that opportunity with us."

Yasir Arafat returns to Kent

Kent have signed Yasir Arafat as their overseas player for the 2008 season. Arafat has received clearance from the Pakistan board, and is expected to be available for the entire season unless on international duty.

"We are delighted that Yasir is coming back to play for us again,"

Graham Ford, Kent's director of cricket, said.

"He made an immense contribution to the playing squad last year and I know he is keen to repeat his performance for the club again this year."

Arafat was one of Yorkshire's overseas players along with Andrew Hall last season, but the rules this season allow for only one overseas signing. Arafat was Kent's second highest wicket-taker during their successful campaign in the Twenty20 Cup, and also played for Pakistan during the ICC World Twenty20. He subsequently made his Test debut against India in Bangalore, and picked up a five-for on debut.

Fit Flintoff Bowling In The Nets

Andrew Flintoff has returned to the nets "fit and strong", according to Lancashire cricket manager Mike Watkinson.

But after previous attempts to regain full fitness ended in further injury to the England all-rounder, Watkinson has called for the 30-year-old to be managed carefully to avoid another breakdown.

Flintoff was pictured bowling apparently unhindered in a nets session in Sharjah on Wednesday, ahead of his county's participation in the ARCH Trophy - in which they will play the UAE, Essex, Sussex and Yorkshire over the next eight days.

It is the first time he has bowled outdoors since a fourth ankle operation in October, raising hopes that he could make a full return in time for the start of the domestic season.

But a cautious Watkinson said:

"He's fit and strong and that's all you can ask for. It's the forces of bowling which seem to catch many people out and he's not the first to suffer injury as a fast bowler on very hard surfaces.

"He was fit and strong last time around and suffered a bit of a setback, so I think we've got to manage his workload. His enthusiasm and confidence are sky high at the moment, so I wish him well with it."

News of Flintoff's improving fitness will be a particular boost for anyone with a vested interest in the England team, given the loss of form of Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard - both of whom have been dropped for the second Test with New Zealand which starts tonight.

But Watkinson will resist any attempt to rush him back into the national set-up, and admits he will play only a limited role in the middle east.

"He probably won't play in every game and if he plays in three games he'll probably only bowl in a couple of them because we don't want to do too much, too soon,"

he added on Sky Sports News.

"We've got a programme established working closely with (England bowling coach) Kevin Shine at the ECB.

"Let's hope his progress is gradual and it means we get a fit, strong bowler at the start of the season."

County team-mate Dominic Cork has also called for a patient approach.

"A lot of English cricketers like to be rushed back into the side. Take your time - he's got a long time left in his career, he's obviously had problems,"

Cork said.

"I think with the medical staff here, and himself, he should make a sensible decision that will hopefully last a long time."

Watson To Return To Hampshire

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson is to return to Hampshire this summer for their Twenty20 Cup campaign.

Watson helped the Hawks win the 2005 Friends Provident Trophy during his previous stint at the Rose Bowl.

Hampshire Chairman Rod Bransgrove is delighted to have the Queenslander back.

"Watto was an instant hit with members and fans of Hampshire when he was here in 2004 and I, for one, am very excited at the prospect of seeing him here again this summer,"

he said.

This year's Twenty20 final is set to take place at the Rose Bowl in July.

ODI stars back for NSW in Shield final

New South Wales will be boosted by the return of four Australian Test and one-day internationals for the Sheffield Shield cricket final against Victoria starting here on Saturday.

Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark and Brett Lee were Monday named in a 13-man NSW squad after playing for Australia in this month's tri one-day series loss to India.

Making way for their return are Peter Forrest, Usman Khawaja and Matthew Nicholson.

NSW - Simon Katich (captain), Nathan Bracken, Beau Casson, Mark Cameron, Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark, Phillip Hughes, Phil Jaques, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Grant Lambert, Stuart MacGill, Dominic Thornely.

David Hussey Gets IPL Green Light

Nottinghamshire have given David Hussey the green light to compete in the Indian Premier League.

The Australian was snapped up by the Kolkata franchise for US$625,000 million at the recent IPL player auction.

His participation in the Twenty20 league meant he would have to miss 13 matches for Notts.

However, the county have given Hussey the go-ahead to play in India.

"It has all worked out well. I'll head straight to England after the India series,"

Hussey told the Herald Sun.

"I'm very happy it has all been sorted out amicably. I look forward to getting back to England after the India series."

The IPL runs from April 18 to June 1, meaning Hussey will miss five County Championship matches and eight Friends Provident Trophy clashes in England.