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England have survived their first pressure test – but only just. There was nothing at stake but pride in this evening’s encounter with Trinidad & Tobago, but happily for their prospects of scooping the jackpot on Saturday night, that alone proved sufficient to overcome the advance of a competitive T&T team.With four men on their sickbeds and two more – including Andrew Flintoff – looking far from a million dollars, England dug deep and held on for a win that matters more than the academic nature of the contest would suggest. “You always want to win a fixture for England, but what will be, will be,” their captain Kevin Pietersen said.Pietersen has repeated that mantra ad nauseam ever since the tournament got underway, but on this evidence the trance-like assertion that Saturday is just another game might yet stand England in good stead. Their efforts today were stoical rather than spectacular, and yet the will to win proved sufficient in the final reckoning.”It was a good game of cricket,” Pietersen said. “The guys came out and played nicely – hit some sixes, hit some boundaries – and we definitely thought we had [scored] enough. But with four guys sick at home and Freddie (Flintoff) on his last legs, it just a case of getting the boys right for Saturday. He did the job tonight, so there’s no problem.”Pietersen was adamant there would be no concerns about England’s wellbeing come the big night – “There won’t be too many missing the bus on Saturday,” he said – but the timing of the stomach bug that has swept their ranks is awkward to say the least. “Yes, there’s a lot of dosh at stake, but it’s just like any other game,” said Pietersen. “We’re not going to take people on to the park who are not fit to play for England.”Strong words, but surely hollow on this occasion. It’s hard to see the Middlesex duo of Dawid Malan and Steve Finn, who stood in as 12th and 13th men because of the virus, stepping any closer to a share of Stanford’s millions.Having said that, however, few would have imagined back in June, when the 20/20 for 20 was unveiled, that Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel would be among the first names on England’s team-sheet. He was in the thick of the action throughout, with a well-paced cameo of 17 at No. 3, four tidy overs of spin after taking the new ball as an experiment, and run-out to boot.

A missed return catch spoiled his night a touch, but Pietersen was effusive in his praise of a player who could have a critical role in turning his team-mates into rich men on Saturday. “I was going to give him the captaincy in the second half,” Pietersen joked. “The little lad loves it. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and he’s full of confidence. I’m happy with the boy.”Another man who is rarely anything less than cheerful is Patel’s spin colleague, Graeme Swann, whom Pietersen conceded was almost assured of a starting role given the turgid nature of the pitch. If it wasn’t for the fact that money is the root of all evil, it could be said that there is something faintly biblical about the journey he has taken to reach this stage of his career. After seven years in the international wilderness, he is now just three playing hours away from a dividend beyond his wildest dreams.”When the game was first announced I don’t think anyone took it seriously, least of all the players,” Swann said. “I remember thinking that would be incredible if it happened but a lot of people are pinching themselves that they are here, especially in the current financial climate. You’ve got to be humble about it, it’s a privileged position but we haven’t chosen to be selected. When you get picked for England, especially in my position, you just enjoy playing.”Swann’s two overs were not a roaring success, but he held his nerve when it mattered, as Daren Ganga swatted a fast, flat catch down his throat at deep square-leg. “When you’re out there, you forget where you are and what you’re doing, you just get taken away by the competitive nature that you find within yourself,” he said. “Some of the biggest games I’ve played I’ve found to be the easiest. You forget yourself and why and who you are anyway.”The hardest games of cricket I find are on a cold Tuesday in June, when you’re away at Derby and it’s freezing. And there’s nothing on the game. I find those almost impossible to pick yourself up for. But this is massively high-profile and you find yourself so pumped up. So far we’ve not won anything, but if we lose, at least we’ve got a free holiday in 30-degree heat, so it’s a pretty decent spot to be in.”Who, though, will miss out if Swann is deemed to be an essential selection? It’s not a decision that Pietersen is looking forward to making, and James Anderson in particular is bracing himself for the chop. One man, however, whose opinion might be worth gauging is the Man of the Tournament so far. Denesh Ramdin should really have been in the Superstars squad, but instead he has settled for making the lives of all his opponents as tricky as possible.

Ashley Giles has threatened to take legal action over comments that there is a conflict of interest between his roles as Warwickshire’s director of cricket and an England selector.”I have never used my position as an England selector to tell players that their prospects of playing international cricket will be enhanced if they join Warwickshire,” Giles told the . “I have done everything above board. I have spoken to Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, and believe that I have his full support and I hope that will continue.”But if people start making statements about me they should be careful. If I feel their claims are ruining my reputation and becoming defamatory then I shall seek legal advice.”Derbyshire have become the latest county to complain about the influence Giles can have when he is searching for new players because of his England role.”Along with several other counties, we feel there is a definite conflict of interest,” Tom Sears, Derbyshire’s outgoing chief executive told the . “It is not appropriate that Ashley Giles is a national selector and a county’s director of cricket.”Hugh Morris said he would look into it. We weren’t the first county to raise our concerns and we won’t be the last. Middlesex, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire all share our views.”However, the only major player who has agreed to join Warwickshire is Rikki Clarke, after leaving Derbyshire with a month of the season remaining. The club did make official 28-day approaches to a number of other players, including Gloucestershire’s Alex Gidman, but nothing has come of them.

Simon Jones is likely to miss the rest of the season after damaging knee cartilage which will keep him out of action for up to four weeks. Jones, who was forced to pull out of the England Lions matches against the South Africans last week, will undergo an arthroscopy to clean up the knee as soon as possible.”The plan was to have Simon still playing in September,” Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, said. “Whilst this has not quite been achieved I am delighted with his contribution and the plan will be to rehab Simon in a way to get him back fitter and stronger for the cricket that lies ahead of him.”He has not played for England for three years after a series of abortive county comebacks, but this season marked his best chance yet. He has taken 42 first-class wickets at an average of 18.02 and a strike rate of 30 and his inclusion in the Lions set-up was another positive step before the latest blow. He was overlooked for the Tests against South Africa, but a good performance at Grace Road could have strengthened his claims for an England recall.With the Ashes coming around next year in England, Jones was shaping as a candidate for the winter tours but his latest injury must put that in doubt. If he doesn’t make the main trips to India and West Indies, he may get the chance on the England Lions tours, the first of which is to India before Christmas.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has confirmed the tri-series involving Canada, Bermuda and West Indies in Toronto will go ahead as scheduled after organisers at Maple Leaf Cricket Club, the venue, addressed the WICB’s concerns.Tony Howard, the WICB’s chief operations officer, and Dinanath Ramnarine, the West Indies Players’ Association president and a WICB director, had expressed dissatisfaction with the uneven pitch and the height of the sight screens when they visited the ground in King City last month. But Ranjit Saini, the president of the Maple Leaf Cricket Club, said the problems have now been sorted. “We have also removed the artificial surface close to the main turf strip and inserted new soil,” Saini told .Cricket Canada president Ben Sennik said he was happy West Indies will take part in the series. “This is good news for us … because any series against a Full member is going to go a long way in helping us improve,” Sennik said.West Indies will arrive in Toronto on August 16 and play Bermuda on August 20 and Canada on August 22, with the final scheduled for August 25.

Scorecard

An unbeaten 126 by Douglas Lockhart, supported by Qasim Sheikh’s 92, took Scotland to a commanding position of 286 for 3 on the first day of their Intercontinental Cup game against Canada in King City. It was a bad toss to lose for the home side as their bowlers toiled on a flat pitch at the Maple Leaf North-East Ground.Scotland batted comfortably despite having less than a day to acclimatise themselves to local conditions after their arrival was delayed because of a hurricane in Bermuda, where they had played their previous game.Canada tasted early success when Fraser Watts was trapped lbw by Eion Katchay with the score on 21, before Lockhart and Sheikh took control till tea. Qaiser Ali, the Canada captain, used eight bowlers to force a breakthrough but to no avail. The pair scored five boundaries each before reaching their half-centuries, with Lockhart reaching the mark first.Scotland proceeded to 168 at tea before Sheikh unfortunately fell eight short of a ton shortly after the interval. They had added 173 in 57.1 overs. Debutant Sami Faridi, the chinaman bowler, who was the receiving end of a real pasting by the pair, broke through with one which turned across Sheikh, who edged to the wicketkeeper while attempting to work it to the leg side. Sheikh faced 194 balls and hung around for as many minutes, hitting 11 fours.Canada struck again with the wicket of Richard Berrington but the mainstay, Lockhart, remained till stumps with Neil McCallum. Lockhart faced 211 balls to reach three figures and ensured the advantage remained with Scotland despite the fall of a couple of wickets in the final session.

Scorecard

Sussex are probably fed up of watching Stuart Law bat on their home patch. His masterful 156, which pushed Lancashire to a valuable lead of 129, completed a hat-trick of centuries at Hove and it was a class above anything else on display in this match. Even though the pitch is offering precious little for the bowlers, Lancashire are now in a position to push for their second Championship victory of the season.It was hard work for Sussex to prize out wickets on a slow surface that nullified the threat of a limping Mushtaq Ahmed. To put Sussex’s disappointing first innings into context Gary Keedy, the nightwatchman, batted throughout the morning session as he registered his career-best in a 160-run stand with Law after Lancashire started on a precarious 67 for 4. Sussex fought back during the afternoon as Andrew Flintoff collected another failure, but Luke Sutton combined in a watchful stand of 89 and Lancashire’s deep batting order frustrated Sussex during the final session.Law, though, batted on a different level. His average against Sussex is 70 and in 17 matches against them (for Essex and Lancashire) he has 1613 runs. With such a record, Sussex were asking for trouble when they dropped him on 18 – a tough chance to Chris Adams at slip – and he was offered a second life when Jason Lewry spilled a much simpler opportunity at mid-on when Law was 101. It showed the class of Law that he was able to so easily switch between Twenty20 and four-day cricket.His first Championship century of the season came off 173 balls and was punctuated by silky cover drives, deft cuts and neat placement. He was happy to bide his time against pace and spin and almost everything went along the deck, barring a lofted slog-sweep off Ollie Rayner after he’d passed three figures. “I’ve been coming down here a while and have always had some good tussles with Mushtaq,” he told . “It hasn’t been going well in the Championship this season and it was about time the batting knuckled down so it was a good effort today.”However, Law’s batting prowess is well known. The same can’t be said of Keedy, who has an average of 11. He has previously performed valuable nightwatchman roles, but never quite with this success. It helped him that Mushtaq was clearly not a full fitness while Corey Collymore was below-par in the first session. Keedy has limited scoring areas, but used them well as he clipped off his pads and punched through the off side.His 157-ball innings passed his previous best which was 57 against Yorkshire in 2002. Mushtaq eventually extracted him from the crease, as Michael Yardy stayed low to take a good catch at silly point. After appearing flat during the long fifth-wicket stand, Sussex suddenly found a spark. Rayner, tossing up his offspin, bowled Steven Croft which one that didn’t turn much and beat the outside edge.Flintoff marched out at No. 8 – the position many would argue suits him these days – and drove his second ball just wide of Rayner for four. He was clearly itching to dominate, but didn’t enjoy facing a twin spin attack. Rayner and Mushtaq tied him down, then trying to break free Flintoff came down the pitch and clubbed straight to midwicket. Shortly after heading off he was back in the nets, but it’s time in the middle he really needs.Importantly from the match situation, Sussex were right back in the contest with Lancashire still behind by 21. However, Sutton showed the composure that Flintoff lacked and helped take them into a lead alongside Law. Mushtaq eventually claimed his second to end the partnership, but Glen Chapple is far better than a No. 10.Chapple wasn’t afraid to use his feet against a tiring attack and Law brought up his 150 shortly before the close. The Sussex bowlers were a weary bunch, none more so than Mushtaq. He has hinted that this might be his final season, despite a contract than runs until 2009, and many more days like this could well sway his mind.