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ScorecardChris Tremlett and the rest of England’s back-up seam attack were not at the best on the first day•Getty Images

Victoria’s opener Michael Hill made the most of a first-ball reprieve to record his maiden first-class century, as England’s reserve bowlers were made to toil for breakthroughs on the opening day of their three-day warm-up at the MCG. On a sluggish drop-in wicket that offered little of the pace and bounce that is anticipated for next week’s third Test at Perth, Victoria ground their way to 2 for 216 in 74 overs, before a surprising declaration allowed them time to claim the prize scalp of Alastair Cook before the close.By winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Victoria ensured that the focus of the first day would fall on England’s three back-up seamers, Chris Tremlett, Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan, all of whom are in competition for the Test place left vacant by Stuart Broad’s stomach injury. In all, England made six changes to the team that won the Adelaide Test by an innings, with Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Graeme Swann also sitting out the match.Hill stole the show with a gritty innings that surpassed his previous first-class best of 79, and ensured that he’ll at least be on the fringes of the selectors’ thoughts if Phil Hughes, who has been named as Simon Katich’s replacement for Perth, fails to impress on his return to Test cricket next week. Hill’s innings was, however, laced with good fortune, as he survived four clear-cut chances in his first 92 runs, before a scampered single to mid-on brought him his hundred from 234 balls.Tremlett, who is the firm favourite to take over from Broad in Perth, took the new ball for England and could have struck in his first over, when Hill edged his first ball to third slip, only for Matt Prior – playing as a batsman to give Steven Davies his first outing of the tour – to fumble the ball as it flew at him from an unfamiliar angle.Shortly before lunch, Prior’s gloveless hands let him down again, as Hill on 21 smeared Monty Panesar’s first ball of the match at a catchable height to midwicket.On 62, in the final over of the afternoon session, Hill inside-edged a lifter as Tremlett came around the wicket, but Davies couldn’t cling onto a tough one-handed chance. And on 92, Tremlett’s own hands let him down, as Ajmal Shahzad induced a scuffed smear to mid-on, only moments after an inside-edge had bobbled perilously close to his stumps.Despite the let-offs, it was a valuable and attritional performance from Hill, who finally struck his first boundary from his 42nd delivery when Tim Bresnan overpitched. He added two more boundaries in a single over off Panesar, a slog sweep through midwicket followed by a sweetly- timed cover drive, before he nudged Bresnan off his hip to reach fifty off 139 balls. By the time his captain Cameron White declared, he was unbeaten on 105 from 251 balls, with 11 fours.Compared to the rampant show that England’s second string put together at Hobart last month, this was a disappointing performance, although the conditions were not conducive to wicket-taking or heavy run-scoring. Tremlett and Shahzad shared the new ball and conceded their runs at barely two per over, before Bresnan made the only breakthrough of the morning session, as Ryan Carters greeted him with a first-ball cover-drive for four, before his second delivery hit the seam and moved just enough to take a thin edge through to Davies for 16.White reached lunch at 19 not out from 48 balls and looked set for a significant innings. However, shortly after the break, he took on Panesar with a checked drive over mid-off, and skied a simple chance to Shahzad for 23. But David Hussey, who had been an outside bet for a Test call-up until the Australia squad was revealed shortly before tea, looked in impressive form as he racked up an unbeaten 67 from 104 balls, with his only half-chance being a low edge off Shahzad that eluded Ian Bell at gully on 43.Victoria’s new-ball bowlers were a mixed bag. Clint McKay kept things tight from the Members’ End with six overs for nine runs, but at the other, the Victoria debutant Jayde Herrick conceded 22 from four in a spell that was notable only for the enforced removal of his head-band.Neither Andrew Strauss nor Cook looked especially troubled until Cook misjudged a cut off Jon Holland to be caught behind for 27. Holland, a left-arm spinner, toured India recently without playing a Test. Thanks to Michael Beer’s call-up for Perth, he’ll have to wait a while yet to get his opportunity. At the very least, until the teams return to the MCG on Boxing Day.

Cathartic single
There was a sense of inevitability about Kevin Pietersen’s century. Twenty-one months may have elapsed since he last reached the milestone at Trinidad in March 2009, but from the moment he resumed on 85 not out overnight, there was not a spectator in the whole of Adelaide who believed he’d throw it away. Sure enough, in the fifth over of the day, he patted Ryan Harris into the leg-side, and completed his milestone with an ecstatic leap to the non-striker’s end. From there he settled into a more restrained jog, as he peeled off his helmet and waved to all corners with a broad grin tinged with more than a hint of relief. He was back, but after waiting this long, he was far from finished.The Ego has relanded
One-hundred-and-twenty balls later, however, Pietersen’s reaction was joy unconfined. Having gone to tea on a familiar score of 158 – the total for which he had been dismissed three times in Tests already, including here in 2006-07 and at The Oval in 2005 – he eased past that bogey-number and sprinted for the hills. Xavier Doherty was powerless to intervene, and it was his delivery that was pushed wide of cover for Pietersen to charge through to his second Test double-century. This time there was no restraint. He ran a full 20 metres past the stumps at the non-striker’s end, dropped to his knee in a body-builder’s fist-pump, and lapped up the acclaim like a man who once again believed he was his destiny to dominate all opponents.Over of the day
Ryan Harris has been Australia’s best bowler of the game, which isn’t saying a huge amount. But he delivered a fierce over to Pietersen and Cook in the opening session when Australia were desperate for a wicket. After forcing Pietersen to hop away from a searing bouncer, Harris followed up with another spot-on short ball, which the batsman pulled short of the man at deep square leg. That left Cook on strike and later in the over he inside-edged to Brad Haddin, who leapt for a fine one-handed take.He’s out
If Australia’s afternoon papers had not died a death in the 1970s, those three words splashed across the city’s newsstands would have sufficed to describe the sense of disbelief that greeted the end of Cook’s vigil, just as they were once used to tell of Don Bradman’s dismissals. He was into his 19th straight hour of batting since the third day at Brisbane and his 24th in all for the series, when he finally made his misjudgement, with exactly 450 runs to his series tally. The crowd rose in unison to acclaim a monumental feat of endurance, but with Pietersen into his stride, Australia did not believe that their suffering was over.Pulling power
Shortly after Pietersen brought up his century, the Australians tried bouncing him through Peter Siddle. Three men were set back on the fence – at fine leg, behind square, and in front of square – and Siddle aimed short. Pietersen was in such good touch that the threats didn’t concern him. He hooked one so well that Xavier Doherty didn’t see it at backward square, and he unleased a similar shot from the next ball. Doherty saw this one, but it didn’t matter. It raced over the rope and Pietersen powered to 120.Watson’s wicket
Referrals have been a feature of this game, along with lots of England runs and wickets, but there was no complaint from anyone when Paul Collingwood was lbw to Shane Watson. Somehow, Watson managed to get a ball to cut back on the flat surface, and it struck Collingwood right in front. In a period where batsmen are keen to make an instant t-sign for a review, Collingwood made a beeline for the dressing room.

Match abandoned Victoria 2 for 112 (Finch 42*) v Tasmania 1 for 9
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Aaron Finch was stranded on 42 not out•Associated Press

The weather won again as Victoria and Tasmania were washed out in their one-day fixture at the MCG. Aaron Finch’s 42 not out pushed the Bushrangers to 2 for 112 after their first 20 overs and Tasmania were 1 for 9 when the rain came 4.1 overs into the reply.The highlight of the contest was a leaping catch by Rhett Lockyear at deep midwicket to snatch Brad Hodge’s swipe off Xavier Doherty, who will be in Australia’s one-day squad this week. Hodge left with 20, the same score the opener Glenn Maxwell managed before he was out slashing Ben Hilfenhaus to third man.Mark Cosgrove was caught down the legside from the third ball of the second innings to give Shane Harwood the wicket. The rain leaves Tasmania with a five-point gap over Victoria and New South Wales.

Graham Gooch has described the prospect of Essex playing some of their future home matches at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford as a “win-win scenario”, after their involvement in a joint bid with West Ham Football Club and Newham Council was confirmed by the club chairman, David East, following the submission of the application to the Olympic Park Legacy Company on Thursday.Gooch is a lifelong fan of both Essex and West Ham, having been born and brought up in nearby Leytonstone, and believes that the prospect of a high-profile cricket venue in the East End of London can only be good for the county’s future. “For us it makes complete sense,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “We’re obviously developing our ground at Chelmsford, so it’s not intended to be a home for Essex cricket, but as a county that stretches right down to the city of London, it makes sense for us to try and have a base in the boroughs there.”Two London football clubs, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur, are in the running to take up principal residence at the Olympic Stadium in the aftermath of the 2012 games, having both registered their interest with the OPLC ahead of Thursday’s deadline. However, Tottenham’s late application is widely regarded as a back-up plan in the event that their £400million redevelopment of White Hart Lane fails to materialise.West Ham’s bid remains the strongest contender, not least because the club’s current ground, Upton Park, is just a few miles down the road in the same borough of Newham. Their bid received tacit backing from the Government on Thursday when the application was delivered to 10 Downing Street by three of its players, Carlton Cole, Mark Noble and Scott Parker.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, East stressed that Essex’s part in the bid was low-key at present, and would be subject to the overcoming of certain technical constraints – the most significant of which is the OPLC’s current insistence on a running track around the venue’s perimeter, a problem which a West Ham spokesman suggested could be overcome through the use of synthetic grass. Should those obstacles be surmounted, then the venue would in theory be available to Essex during the football off-season between May and August, and would make an attractive base for Twenty20 cricket in particular.”Our plans are at a very early stage,” said East. “We’ve expressed our interest and have formed part of the bidding process for West Ham, who are seeking to demonstrate that they can operate, not just football, but a multi-sport delivery stadium. There’s a good strategic fit for us, in that we have responsibility for five London boroughs in terms of cricket development, and one of those is Newham. But at this stage we are very tentatively dipping our toes in the water.”Essex and West Ham have forged close links over the years, not least through the exploits of Sir Geoff Hurst, who played 23 times for Essex seconds in the early 1960s, and once for the first XI in 1962, before making his name as a centre-forward for West Ham and earning immortality by scoring a hat-trick for England in the 1966 World Cup final.”There’s been a long tradition between the two professional clubs,” said Gooch, who regularly conducted his pre-season training with the football squad at Upton Park. “And for me personally, it’s a fantastic proposal, because as a lifelong supporter of Essex cricket and West Ham football, it seems a natural tie-up. A joint bid would dovetail nicely, because the months we’d want to use the ground for Twenty20 cricket would be midsummer, when the football season is not on.”A further benefit of bringing cricket to the Olympic Stadium would be the focal point it would provide for cricket in East London, not least the sizeable but largely untapped Bangladeshi community in nearby Tower Hamlets. “We’ve got to look to promote the interests of our club,” said Gooch, “and it would be great to have a visible base where we play some professional matches, and tap into the ethnic communities living there. It’s a win-win for us.”Aside from Gooch, many prominent Essex players have come from East London, including Nasser Hussain (Ilford), Ravi Bopara (Forest Gate) and Varun Chopra, who moved on last season (Barking). However, since the loss of the Ilford Festival, for financial reasons, in 2003, there has been no significant Essex cricket played in Greater London, which is something that East is keen to rectify.”We like the idea of the bid,” said East. “The Ilford festival was our foothold in East London in terms of first-class cricket, so if we were able to find a base back in the area, where we could drop in a few Twenty20 matches and capitalise on a community from which we draw a lot of players, it would be fantastic. That was our motivation behind supporting the bid, but it’s still early stages, and we will pick it up with West Ham as and when they get a green light to proceed, or at least a bright amber light.”East added that he had not been aware of any interest from Tottenham until their bid for the stadium had been made public. “I haven’t given it any thought at all,” he said. “The attraction for us was the clear strategic link [through Newham Council]. At the moment we are where we are, we’ve supported the West Ham bid, and we’ll see what the outcome is.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJonathan Trott guided England’s innings after Steve Davies sparkled at the top•Getty Images

England’s winning momentum showed no signs of abating as they took the opening one-day international at Chester-le-Street by 24 runs, but at least they were made to work a little harder by Pakistan. Steve Davies led the batting effort with a powerful 87 off 67 balls, his first international half-century, and was backed up by a composed 69 from Jonathan Trott as England piled up 274 for 6 in a match reduced to 41 overs by a wet outfield. For once the visitors’ batting didn’t implode as some spirited contributions kept them alive but they couldn’t find the major stand required.There are 12 ODIs between now and the start of the World Cup for England to finalise their plans but conditions in Durham during early September are a million miles away from anything they’ll face in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, this is a strong one-day unit being put into place and one of the few areas still containing some uncertainty, the wicketkeeper-opening batsman, was a success here with Davies’ impressive effort.His only previous ODI came as an emergency replacement for Matt Prior at last year’s Champions Trophy when he faced Australia in the semi-final at Centurion. Here he timed the ball beautifully all around the wicket and was especially strong square through the off side whenever he was offered width during a lively 37-ball fifty. Unlike Craig Kieswetter, who often looked hyperactive at the crease and lost control of his shots, Davies remained still and composed until he fell cutting at Saeed Ajmal.In their current frame of mind it would have taken a monumental effort from Pakistan to chase down the runs, but they at least gave themselves half a chance. Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal added 62 for the first wicket, Pakistan’s best opening stand in any international since the Headingley Test against Australia, before Graeme Swann’s usual party trick of a first over wicket when Hafeez was well caught at deep-square leg.Despite all the allegations circulating in recent weeks players have insisted the matches will be played in the right spirit, but for a moment tensions nearly boiled over during Stuart Broad’s second over. Kamran pulled out of his stance and pointed angrily towards Trott at mid-on then Andrew Strauss became involved before Billy Doctrove stepped in. The heated moment appeared to pass by the end of the over, but feelings were clearly running fairly high.England’s fielding wasn’t quite at its best as Kamran was given two lives in two balls when he was missed by Strauss at point and Trott at long-off. This time the home side had breathing space, but Andy Flower and Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, will have noted the errors.Michael Yardy reasserted England’s control when he had Mohammad Yousuf lbw coming too far across the crease and Swann won his duel against Kamran when the wicketkeeper couldn’t clear long off having made his first half-century of the tour.Umar Akmal hit 43 off 33 balls before trying to scooping Broad over the keeper and Asad Shafiq showed some spirit as he clubbed Tim Bresnan for four boundaries. But Shahid Afridi could barely middle the ball during a painful 25-ball innings and when he carved to cover it really was the end for Pakistan’s slim chances.It was England’s efficient batting display which set up the victory and they’d been led off in style as the new opening duo of Davies and Strauss who added 78 in 12 overs. Mohammad Irfan’s much-anticipated introduction into international cricket didn’t quite go to plan as his first over was dispatched for 15. However, it was still a touch harsh when he was whipped out of the attack after one over and his replacement, Umar Gul, didn’t do any better as his two-over burst cost 22 and he finished with 67 off six overs.Shoaib Akhtar was the only paceman to offer any control and was unlucky not to claim success in an opening five-over burst that cost just nine runs. He received very little support, however, and despite his parsimonious efforts England had 63 on the board at the end of his opening spell. Davies was dropped at short cover on 21 when Afridi could hold a stinging drive and Strauss continued to show impressive intent – no doubt aware that scoring heavily off the spinners will be key in the World Cup – as he launched Ajmal over long-on for his second six, Ajmal, though, claimed revenge when Strauss missed a mighty sweep and he was given a send-off by the bowler for his troubles.With Trott playing himself in and working the ball for ones and twos the onus was on Davies to keep the tempo high which he did successfully until he tried to cut Ajmal 13 short of his hundred.Pakistan were unlucky not to strike again shortly afterwards when Doctrove failed to spot Trott’s edge off Ajmal on 26 and then lost the services of Irfan who limped off midway through his sixth over.Paul Collingwood fell trying to take advantage of the batting Powerplay and Eoin Morgan edged a cut off Afridi, but Trott registered his first boundary off his 54th delivery when he back-cut Shoaib.Trott then brought up his fifty from 64 balls and immediately stepped on the gas with the confidence of a man who is in the form of his life. A few lusty blows from Ravi Bopara ensured the momentum was all England’s and they never really looked liked losing. It says everything about the last two weeks that there was even a sense of gratefulness just for something resembling a contest.

Matthew Hayden, the former Australian opener, has said it is practically impossible to completely eradicate corruption from the game of cricket.”The investment the game places in protection strategies to mitigate against corruption is minuscule compared to the vast geographic areas the game is played in and the level of illegal gambling activity,” Hayden told the . “It really is a runaway train.”Hayden said the only the way to counter the threat of gambling was for every individual player and administrator to decide to personally uphold the integrity of the game. “We play a great game, and as players we are honoured to uphold its integrity as a product.”Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, who testified against some of his team-mates before Justice Qayyum’s commission, said the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) was a toothless body that could not be counted upon to uncover fraud within the game. “The ACSU does not have the right to conduct raids or arrest people, what they only do is to ask players to avoid suspicious people.”The ACSU was formed in 2000 in the wake of the match-fixing scandal that ended former South African captain Hansi Cronje’s career. Its main purpose was to help ensure there would be no repeat of the Cronje case but Latif says it has largely failed in this regard.”These ex-policemen [ACSU officials] may have been very good in their field, but cricket is a different ball game altogether and only a cricketer can see an irregularity during a match.”

ScorecardDimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal hit unbeaten half-centuries as Sri Lanka A finished the day at 142 for 1 after South Africa A had been dismissed for 345.Coming together after Rusty Theron had dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne for four, Karunaratne and Chandimal shared an unbroken 112-run stand for the second wicket. While Karunaratne hit ten fours in his 78 off 148 deliveries, Chandimal hit seven fours and a six in making 58 off 123.The strong start must have pleased Sri Lanka after they allowed South Africa to add 110 runs to their overnight score of 235 for 6. Dean Elgar, resuming on 118, shared two useful sixty-plus stands, with Vernon Philander and Theron, to take South Africa close to 350. Elgar was the last man out after scoring a marathon 174 off 384 deliveries, hitting 12 fours. Janaka Gunaratne was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka, finishing with 3 for 60.

Bermuda fast bowler George O’Brien was injured on Monday after he was reportedly attacked by a man wielding a machete. He was struck on the upper arm but was said to be in stable condition.Daily newspaper the reported the wound sustained by O’Brien went down to the bone and required surgery. No arrests had been made until Monday night.”It appears that the victim, a 25-year-old St. George’s man, was involved in an argument with another man who assaulted him with a bladed article,” the newspaper quoted a police spokesman as saying. “As a result the victim sustained a laceration to his arm. The suspect is apparently known to the victim.”The 25-year-old St. George’s man was taken to the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre for treatment before being taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. Inquiries into this incident are underway.”O’Brien was supposed to participate in a St George’s Cup match, but was ruled out as a result of the incident. “I would just hope that George recovers from this injury,” said St George’s club president Neil Paynter. “That’s my main concern. As far as Cup match is concerned, I think that will take care of itself. I just wish George well and hope that he makes a speedy recovery.”O’Brien has represented Bermuda in nine ODIs, grabbing 15 wickets at an average of 27. He has also bagged a five-for in first-class cricket.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA sterling allround performance by Andre Russell helped West Indies A recover from a treacherous start batting first to deliver a comfortable win against Ireland in Belfast.When Devon Smith opted to make first use of the Civil Service Cricket Club pitch, he would not have expected to be reduced to 28 for 4 by the 12th over. But a hard-working middle-order stand between Assad Fudadin and Kevin Stoute changed West Indies A’s fortunes before Russell’s scintillating half-century set up a match-winning total. Russell struck four sixes and six fours to finish on 64 from just 31 balls and take the tourists to 251. It was then left to the bowlers to complete the good work against a shell-shocked Ireland team.In a flash Russell and Gavin Tounge combined to remove openers Gary Wilson and Paul Stirling before adding Rory McCann soon after. David Bernard then saw the back of Kevin O’Brien thanks to a flying catch from Smith, diving to his right. It left Ireland wobbling at 46 for 4 and it was only Andrew White who kept fighting. He was joined by Alex Cusack and the pair added 72 in almost 15 overs to revive Ireland’s hopes. Cusack’s share of the stand was only 15 as White kept going on an ultimately futile mission.He passed his fifty in style, pulling Frudadin for four through square leg but Cusack’s dismissal eventually ushered in the final rites. It was, of course, Russell who made the breakthrough, trapping Cussack in front. John Mooney then fell in similar fashion to Anthony Martin before Russell castled White to end an excellent knock. Russell cleaned up the lower order to finish with 6 for 42 as the tourists finished Ireland off for 201.It could have all been so different for Ireland if not for the 94-run stand for the fifth wicket between Fudadin and Stoute. Beginning slowly they were content to build the partnership by working the ball around and picking off the occasional boundary when available. Stoute was the more positive of the two, and collected the first six of the day when he deposited Albert van der Merwe over the long on boundary. He followed it up two overs later with another handsome drive down the ground and a four three balls later to bring up a crucial fifty off 56-deliveries.Eagleton returned to the attack and struck immediately when Stoute spooned a catch to mid on off to end a match-reviving stand. There was then another minor wobble when Chadwick Walton and David Bernard fell in quick succession but Frudadin stayed strong, anchoring one end while Russell went ballistic at the other.After a careful first 12 balls Russell launched Jones for a six and a four down the ground before repeating the dose to van der Merwe. Somewhere in the carnage Frudadin reached a patient half-century before being run out. In total his innings lasted 101 deliveries – hardly the ‘power hitting’ of contemporary limited-overs cricket but a crucial innings for his side.In the last five overs West Indies A made 63 runs, with Russell banging four fours and two sixes and Gavin Tonge belting four boundaries of his own as the pair added 42 in 27 balls. It was an assault from which Ireland never could recover.

Munish Arora, the Singapore captain, has said the outcome of the ICC enquiry into the incidents that marred the finish of the World Cricket League Division Five game between Nepal and USA in Kirtipur was a major setback to cricket in his country. The Singapore Cricket Association had claimed the crowd disturbance and the consequent revised target formulated by the technical committee had resulted in a back-door entry for Nepal into Division Four at Singapore’s expense.The inquiry, conducted by top ICC officials Dave Richardson, David Becker and Ravi Sawani, ruled against SCA’s claims earlier this month. “The damage has been done enough for cricket in Singapore,” Arora told Cricinfo. “The Singapore team is badly hurt by the decision. The way the team performed in Division Five, there was no doubt we could possibly advance further in ICC tournaments but the decision has really put our cricket back by a few years.”The match was disrupted in the closing stages by the unruly home crowd, with USA set for a facile win that would have brought Nepal below Singapore in the league standings. As it transpired, the 45-minute delay caused by the crowd disturbance meant the target was revised significantly enough to lift Nepal’s net run-rate above Singapore’s by a slender margin, giving the home side a fortuitous entry into Division Four.The ICC, in its enquiry report, made recommendations that the proposed mandatory safety standards being introduced by the ICC security task force considers including sanctions against the home board when the home crowd interrupts a match, particularly when it benefits the home team. The investigation covered all aspects of the controversy including the net run-rate calculations, the reactions of the match officials and the nature of the security-related issues which arose during the match.The Cricket Association of Nepal has already accepted a directive to not host further international cricket at the venue until remedial measures were carried out, including the reconstruction of the boundary wall that was damaged by stone-throwers looking for projectiles to hurl into the ground.