Bermuda sent a sizable crowd into raptures with a five-run win over England that sent the hosts into the final of the 20-20 World Cricket Classic after they had seemed to be on course for defeat.

And West Indies did all they could to throw away a place in the final after seemingly choking within sight of victory, but in the end they stumbled over the finishing line.

Click here for Cricinfo reports.

Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the England cricket board, has told the Royal Gazette that the facilities at the national Sports Centre are as good as those found on any county ground.

The Uganda Cricket Association has named a 22-man squad for the tour by Kenya at the end of May, recalling Charles Lwanga and Richard Okia and bringing in Henry Sebulime, Davis Arinaitwe and Ronald Semanda.

“We have tried to give every one a chance to prove himself before the final squad is named and I am confident all the boys have gained the exposure in the past that could give the neighbours a perfect run for their money,” Robert Kisubi, the national team manager, explained.

Uganda squad H. Sebulime, C. Lwanga, J. Olweny, N. Bibodi, B.
Musoke, F. Nsubuga, K. Kamyuka, K. Legesi, J. Kwebiiha, N. Kishore, R. Otim, E. Issaneez, H. Saleh, P. Ochan, L. Sematimba, C. Waiswa, A. Kyobe, J.
Okello, R. Ssemanda, D. Ruyange, R. Okia, D. Arinaitwe.

Click here for more on the tour

Scorecards and reports from the initial games of the 20-20 World Cricket Classic tournament in Bermuda can be found at the Royal Gazette.

• Bill Athey and David Capel saw England home against India
• Bermuda were too strong for the West Indies
  

Ross Lyons is interviewed by Simon Buckland in the Sunday Times. Lyons, a left-arm spinner, is being touted as a major prospect for Scotland - and not just because of his Kevin Pietersen-like hair:

He will also be part of Scotland’s 14-man squad for the opening Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy ties later this month. “Before all this, without being negative, I never thought I’d get the chance, I didn’t think I was good enough,” he admits. “I’m starting to change my mind about that now.”

The Uganda Cricket Association has received an extra $22,000 from the ICC for the forthcoming 2006/07 season.

UCA that was initially getting $54,000 has now received $76,000 (sh136m) from the ICC as administration grant. The grant is from funds raised for the ICC affiliate and associate member countries during the John Walker Super Series played last October in Melbourne, Australia.

UCA administrative secretary Martin Muyomba revealed that the local body has already received the money that would help in the administration of the game, uplifting facilities at various grounds and financing many underlined projects for the season.

“It is a big boost for us (UCA) and definitely the money will go a long way in boosting many of the projects we have undertaken to assist in the growth of the game to greater heights,” Muyomba revealed.

More on this from Ronnie Kintu at the Sunday Vision newspaper.

Bermuda's women cricketers had their first practice session of the season this week with the hope of eventually forming a national squad.

Bermuda Cricket Board chief executive Neil Speight said: "The board is now in charge of ladies cricket. One of the areas we are looking to get kick-started is having a national squad."

The board hopes to encourage a schools programme having noted the growing interest in women's cricket all over the world.

However women's cricket in Bermuda has had a chequered history.
A women's inter-service league launched in 2004 consisting of teams from Prisons, Police, Post Office and Customs petered out after the latter two pulled out said Paynter, a 36-year-old Police constable.

"We wanted the services to come together as the women didn't do much," she said.

Next they tried to get something at club level.

"We got a response from one or two teams but there wasn't enough to sustain a league."

But she will not be put off as the game is in her blood and her love of cricket has taken her as far as Australia last year to watch a West Indies Test match.

The 20-20 World Cricket Classic gets underway tomorrow in Bermuda. The tournament comprises "classic" teams, made up of former Test and one-day players from the major cricketing nations: West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, India, England, Australia and Bermuda (see the full list of players here).

Eight leading cricket nations will pitch battle for the world's first ever 20-20 World Cricket Classic title in Bermuda during April, 2006. Over 100 of the greatest international cricketing legends will represent South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka, India, England and the host team, Bermuda.

The island paradise of Bermuda, with its sub-tropical climate, stunning scenery and world renowned pink beaches, offers a stunning backdrop to the inaugural 20-20 World Cricket Classic. Just a stone's throw from the Caribbean and West Indies and a favourite destination from the UK, Europe, USA and Canada, the Classic will undoubtedly prove to be an attractive location to combine cricket camaraderie with tourist indulgence.

More information on the event, and how to obtain tickets, can be found at their website.

Two Maltese sides were in action over the weekend and The Times of Malta has a match report:

On Thursday and Saturday, Marsa met Brooklands. In the first match, the visitors won the toss and elected to bat. They totaled 223 runs with A. Platt 58 runs, T. Holloway 39 runs not out, C. Hart 38 runs and E. Woodage 35 runs.

For Marsa, Martin Llewlyn, Alan Kyle and Sam Dhandapani took a wicket each. In a great run chase John Grima top scored with 74 runs for the locals. He was well aided by Sam Dhandapani, 26 runs, Nowell Khosla 34 and Alan Kyle 20. The effort of the Marsa batsmen fell short by seven runs and the visitors won the game.

The Arizona Republic reports on the upcoming season for the local expats, and gives an insight into cricket in America.

But on weekends from September to April, hundreds of devoted cricket players gather for competition, camaraderie and a recreational link to their native countries across the globe.

With 12 Valley teams, including the Scottsdale Cricket Club, and one in Tucson, the Arizona Cricket Association has close to 200 players representing more than a dozen cricket-playing nations. That includes Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

They also make comparisons with baseball

Batsmen try to keep the ball from striking wickets, or wooden posts, and attempt to hit the ball off the field. A batsman scores six runs for hitting the ball over the boundary on a fly and four for rolling one out.

Despite those differences, cricket and baseball, as played by weekend warriors, share common traits in the intensity of the play and the sore arms and other injuries that can keep players in pain for days afterward.

Kothari describes twisted ankles, cuts and strained hamstrings that punctuate the six-hour matches.

"I've broken my thumb before," he said. Only the wicketkeeper wears a glove.

More here.

Although the date for their match against Middle Eastern Cup champions, Bahrain, remains unknown BTTW's Asian sources say there is no mystery as to why the Maldives won the recent ACC Emerging Nations tournament tournament in Bangkok where they beat Thailand.

Factors ranging from the class of captain, Moosa Kaleem, benefactor of a cricket upbringing in Sri Lanka and Malaysia; team practice five days a week - under floodlights if necessary - compared to the more part-time Thailand and Bhutan as well as the support of the sports-minded Maldivian government, led by cricket fanatic & President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Ronnie Kintu

The Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) has confirmed that
the annual Castle Lager league will start in May with
nine clubs taking part at Lugogo, Kyambogo, Nakawa and
Entebbe ovals.

The league would this time be played alongside the
traditional Luswata and Mawanda knockout tournaments
and would take a duration of seven months ending in
November.

“We have come up with a new format that would make the
season more interesting, competitive and involving for
all the clubs,” newly elected UCA organizing secretary
Junior Kwebiiha revealed.

According to the 2006 calendar, the Coca Cola annual
schools cricket championship would be played August
19-26 while the secondary school girls championship
sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will
take off in December.

UCA is also set to participate in the inaugural Africa
Women World Cup qualifiers set for South Africa in
September after the national men team has toured
Malaysia.

The U-15 and U-17 boys teams are set to take part in
the regional championships while the senior team would
again compete in the Africa Cricket Association (ACA)
championships that would have the top two teams play
at the 2011 World Cup qualifiers in a country to be
confirmed.

The local season would climax in December with the
inauguration of the twenty-twenty overs championship.

Meanwhile, Richard Sempa, the new honorary secretary
for the association travels to South Africa for the
Africa Cricket Association (ACA) annual general
meeting and would also attend a development seminar.

Children in Beijing into cricket? 'Are they heck!' © ACC

"The ballooning of the World Cup derives from one fact alone: the delusion of expansion. From well-intentioned beginnings, this has now become an outright menace. The error is right up there at the start of the ICC's mission statement. It will lead, it says, 'by promoting the game as a global sport'. It should change its mission statement."

An intriguing tale from the USA of an expat from India who arrived six years ago and turned to one of the country’s homegrown sports – baseball.

When Amartya ''Marty" Ray, a cricketer from Calcutta, moved to Boston in 1998 to attend college, he didn't even know what a home run was. Today, at age 26, he is coordinator of fan and neighborhood services for the Red Sox.

"Growing up in India I knew baseball was a sport. 'I knew the Yankees were 'the best team. But I didn't even know what teams they played for. I didn't even know who the Red Sox were.

"The natural tendency was to compare it to cricket. 'My first thought was, 'This is odd. This is very odd.' The field has weird dimensions. The foul balls didn't make any sense to me. Then I thought, 'What's up with the gloves? They can't catch a ball with their bare hands?'"

The Nigerian Cricket Association has announced a new initiative to switch the initiative from competitions to youth development.

Dr. John Abebe, the chairman of the Nigeria Cricket Association, said:

“We realised the imperative of de-emphasizing on running competitions. Those who play cricket were getting past their prime and the lack of successors was all too glaring to see.”

The United States Cricket Association's conversion from the second tier - cricket's political outcast - to the mainstream looks to be gathering pace.

The USACA is about to be named as host of the Third Division of the ICC’s World Cup Qualifying Series slated for next year.