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Ian Botham has hailed Ben Stokes’ “enormous potential” and suggested he may be a better player than he was at the same age.Stokes broke Botham’s record for the quickest Test double-century by an England player in the game at Cape Town – a moment Botham compared to his exploits in the Headingley Ashes Test of 1981 – and, despite being the youngest member of the squad, has quickly emerged as a key figure in a developing side.In statistical terms, the 24-year-old Stokes has some way to go to match Botham. By the time Botham was 25, he had scored six Test centuries (Stokes currently has three), claimed 14 five-wicket hauls (to Stokes’ two) and was captain of the side.But such comparisons are unnecessary. In terms of the aggressive role he plays with the bat and the balance he lends the side by virtue of his all-round skills, there are obvious similarities between the two. Botham recognises that and sees in Stokes a kindred spirit who will be at the centre of every plan England make for much of the next decade.

Botham on…

Nick Compton
“He’s going to have to find a balance. He was left out in the first place as he had no change of tempo. There’s not a lot of point being out there for 70 balls for 15 runs. Tavare, Boycott and Brearley all scored faster than that.”
England’s rise
“This is the most exciting England team since they were world No. 1. England are an emerging side and they will progress quite quickly. They will be competing by the end of this calendar year for No. 1 status. They might not actually be No. 1 because of the way the fixtures work, but they will be up there and ringing the door bell.”
Hashim Amla
“I like his timing. He said captaincy was hurting his batting. But he went out there and showed what character he has by getting 200. If it was hurting his batting before, then God help us now.”

“As a player, he’s probably better than I was at 24,” Botham said. “What I did was yesterday’s news, what he did is today’s news.”He is not a jack of all trades and master of none. He is actually probably master of the three most important assets you need: batting, bowling and fielding.”His bowling can only get better. He has all the attributes: he has pace; he can swing the ball; he can reverse it; he can bowl orthodox. And he is terrific fielder close to the bat, in the covers or midwicket, backward point, on the boundary.”Certainly Botham holds no resentment in losing a record to Stokes. He already feels Stokes is a better player than Andrew Flintoff (who scored five Test centuries and claimed three five-wicket hauls in his career) at a comparable stage – “he’ll take more five-fors” – and suggests that Stokes should be allowed to play his natural game without complication or impediment.”I held that record for 33 years, so it was about time it got broken,” Botham said. “I enjoyed watching Ben Stokes. I have been a massive fan of his since I first saw him on the international scene. I think he has got tremendous, enormous potential to go all the way.”That was one of those moments when you can just say ‘I was there’. When you think back to Headingley ’81, I know there were only about 10,000 people in the ground but I have met three-and-a-half million who say they were. Well, I was there for Ben Stokes.”It was fun. And Ben Stokes will be enjoying it as well. He’ll see it as fun as well. You walk out and you empty the bars rather then fill them and it’s a nice feeling. Then you get out and you see them all going back in for a beer and you think ‘sorry, lads: can’t do it every day.’ And he can’t do it every day, either. That’s what people have to remember. You have to give him the right to fail.”Just let him go. Mike Brearley did absolutely the same with me. There was no leash in any way.”I didn’t think too much. There is too much thinking about the game, too much analysis, looking at computers. I don’t need to look at a computer to know I’ve played a **** shot. It’s not that hard.”But he is crucial to Alastair Cook’s selection policy. If he’s playing, then Cook actually has an option of two other players in his mind. He is the genuine article.”Ben Stokes broke Ian Botham’s record for the fastest double-hundred by an England player•Getty Images

Botham also believes that Jonny Bairstow’s maiden century at Cape Town will give him the confidence to settle into the side and improve his wicketkeeping.”I think Jonny Bairstow offers a lot to English cricket,” he said. “I have always been a fan of his. He was a rough diamond three years ago but you knew those skills were there.”He only put one down one chance and it wasn’t easy. He also had the first stumping for three years by an English keeper in Durban. I think there are more pluses than negatives. He works very hard at his game and he will only get better. I genuinely think he is good enough.”

Former Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore is all set to be hired as the director of India’s National Cricket Academy, according to an official statement released on Friday.Whatmore, 53, is holding discussions with NCA chairman Ravi Shastri, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a press release. “Ravi Shastri, after taking over as chairman of the National Cricket Academy, is in discussion with Dav Whatmore for appointment as director, operations, at the NCA,” Shah said.However, sources close to Whatmore confirmed that the appointment had been finalised. Shah later confirmed that Whatmore’s appointment was all but certain. “It’s almost confirmed,” he told Cricinfo. “We need to get a bit of details and paperwork completed. We need to go through a few procedures before officially ratifying the appointment.”Whatmore, who played seven Tests for Australia, had been widely tipped to succeed Greg Chappell, who quit as India coach after the World Cup debacle in April. Recent reports have suggested that Whatmore is the front-runner for the West Indian coaching job, one which has been vacant since fellow Australian Bennett King resigned in April. King’s assistant David Moore coached West Indies on the summer tour of England and to the just concluded Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.India are still without a coach and have been managing with stop-gap arrangements since Chappell’s exit. Chappell, however, has returned to India to take over as adviser to a local cricket academy in the western state of Rajasthan. Whatmore guided Sri Lanka to World Cup triumph in 1996 and helped Bangladesh reach the second round in the Caribbean this year. It included a shock first-round win over India.

Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Jaffer missed out on the opening day of thefitness-specific camp for the batsmen which kicked off in Bangalore at the NationalCricket Academy (NCA) today. Tendulkar, who has been allowed to miss the start of the camp ”for personal reasons”, is scheduled to join on June 10 while Jaffer, who is already in Bangalore, has been diagnosed with flu and is unlikely to attend the camp.The nine batsmen who were present and Sreesanth, the lone bowler, underwent an indoor training programme on the first day, one that began with a yoga session in the team hotel. The players then moved into the indoor training facility at the NCA where they underwent drills to enhance core stability, associated with the torso and spine regions, and shoulder stability. There were multi-stage fitness tests too (also called bleep tests) and skinfold measurements, an indicator of the fat composition in the body.Physical trainer Gregory King is overseeing the camp, one of the three to be conducted ahead of India’s tour of Ireland and England. Sreesanth was expected to attend the first two days of the camp – since his selection for the Afro-Asia Cup Twenty20 match meant he missed out on the bowlers’ camp in Mysore. His fast-bowling partner VRV Singh, who had a viral attack last evening, was admitted to a local hospital but is expected to be discharged tomorrow.Four Indian batsmen – Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh – who’re currently involved in in the ongoing Afro-Asian Cup, are expected to join the camp after the three-match series concludes tomorrow. The batsmen present at the camp on the first day were Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman,Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Mongia, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Kaif and S Badrinath.This camp follows one that was held specifically for the bowlers, in Mysore from June 4 to 8. It will be followed by a conditioning camp from June 13 to 16 at the NCA, and will be attended by players selected to represent India in the tours of Ireland and England. These teams will be selected, in Delhi on June 12.

Andrew Flintoff has been made available for Lancashire’s Twenty20 squad for the finals day at Edgbaston this weekend.Flintoff, who returned to action after ankle surgery this week, batted and bowled during the County Championship fixture against Sussex at Liverpool, and has been included in a 16-man Lancashire squad.Lancashire’s first match will be against Gloucestershire in the first of the semi-finals, and their captain, Mark Chilton, was excited at the prospect of taking part in the day.”Everyone at Lancashire is looking forward to the chance of winning a trophy, particularly the Twenty20 Cup which is so popular with both players and spectators.”Andrew Flintoff looks like he is back after bowling some overs in our Championship match this week, and could be a key player for us on Saturday.”James Anderson has also been released from England duty and will turn out for Lancashire before returning to the national squad ahead of the third Test against India at The Oval.

Martyn Ball has shocked Gloucestershire by announcing his retirement from professional cricket after 19 years with the club. Despite signing a new one-year deal last summer he as opted to take up a role with the US-based property development company Ginn Europe.Ball, 36, admits it was a huge decision to leave the sport behind but felt the time was right. “I’ve had 19 fantastic years playing first-class cricket and Gloucestershire has become a major part of my life,” he told .”But this marvellous opportunity has come along and I have had to make a decision. There has been a lot of soul searching but, in my mind, I know this is the right time for me to announce my retirement.”I’ve seen people stay too long and end their careers full of bitterness and resentment and I didn’t want that for myself. This way, I’m going out on my own terms and with my reputation intact.”Tom Richardson, the chief executive, praised Ball’s efforts with the club. “He has made a significant contribution, especially during the past eight seasons when our team has collected nine trophies.”His efforts in these one-day competitions cannot be underestimated although the statistics will not always show the depth of Martyn’s contribution.”Ball is also set to leave his position as Professional Cricketers’ Association chairman but still hopes to put something back into the game. “I want to be able to come back in the future and help out Gloucestershire in any way I can.”In a career spanning 193 first-class matches he took 389 wickets at 37.74 and scored 4633 runs at 19.22. However, it was in the one-day game where he really shone and his 288 wickets came at 30.47 while he was a brilliant slip fielder. He’d also adapted well to Twenty20, playing 29 matches and taking 27 scalps at 24.48.His highest honour came when he was called up to England’s tour of India in 2001-02 after Robert Croft’s withdrawal from the trip following the 9/11 attacks. He didn’t make the Test team, but did line-up in a warm-up fixture and came as a sub in the second Test, at Ahmedabad, catching Sourav Ganguly off Andrew Flintoff.

Scorecard

England were skittled for 50, their lowest one-day total, as India humbled them by 10 wickets to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series. In bowler-friendly conditions at Silchar, England had no answer to Jhulan Goswami, who tore through the line-up with a career-best 5 for 16 as only Jenny Gunn reached double figures. Despite England’s difficulties with the conditions India had no problems knocking off the runs, reaching their target in under 15 overs.The day started badly for England – who only had 11 fit players – when Charlotte Edwards lost the toss and it never threatened to get any better. Edwards was the first to fall, in slightly unfortunate circumstances as the ball bounced off her arm on to the stumps; the innings then became a procession. When Beth Morgan was bowled by Goswani, England were 18 for 6 and the scoreboard resembled an international phone number.Gunn and extras at least reached double figures, with Gunn managing the sole boundary in the innings, but a recovery was never on the cards. Goswami completed her ten-over spell – claiming Nicky Shaw as her fifth victim – before Neetu David chipped with a couple to hurry the innings to its conclusion. The England attack could not even manage a consolation wicket as Karu Jain and Jaya Sharma picked off the runs with ease.Edwards, England’s stand-in captain, spoke to Cricinfo and was clear about where the match started to go wrong: “From about 8.30 when I lost the toss. The conditions we pretty difficult and they bowled very well.”The matches have been starting early because of fading evening light, making batting tricky first up. “That does mean that there has been a lot of dew around which has made batting difficult,” explained Edwards. “But credit to their bowlers who were very good. Goswani is an excellent opening bowler and she produced a brilliant spell. She put the ball in the right place and found plenty of help from the pitch.”And Edwards was quick to defend her team over the batting collapse. “It was nothing to do with out strokeplay. We have just talked about it between ourselves and said that we could not have done much about it. It isn’t as though we went out their and swung across the line, we just came up against quality bowling, in conditions that were seaming around, and the luck didn’t go our way.”After winning the opening match of the series England are now out of the contest with one game remaining, but Edwards is adamant that the tour has been a great learning experience. “A lot of the team are on their first trips to India – I’m on my second and am still learning – and they have all really enjoyed themselves. We have just let ourselves down in the last couple of matches.”

North Division

Andrew Flintoff smacked 27 from 23 balls to take Lancashire to a thumping eight-wicket win over Scotland in Edinburgh. Scotland, inserted by Lancashire, slumped to 21 for 5 with James Anderson and Glen Chapple nipping out the top-order. Scotland didn’t help themselves, however, with three farcical run-outs, though Majid Haq at least managed to lift their total to something resembling respectability, with 23 from 64 balls. Tom Smith trapped him lbw to pick up 3 for 14 from 10 overs. A target of 74 was never going to trouble Lancashire, though they did lose Mal Loye and Gareth Cross. Flintoff, however, was in no mood to hang around, cracking four fours and lifting a six to take his side home in the 12th over.Derbyshire were bowled out for just 94 on a wet day at Headingley as Yorkshire romped home by 25 runs. In a match reduced to 24 overs due to rain, Yorkshire themselves slipped to 47 for 4 and it was only Adil Rashid’s 36-ball 41 which gave them a total that was vaguely competitive. Set 120 from 24 overs, Derbyshire crashed to 27 for 4 with Tim Bresnan grabbing two early wickets, but it was Anthony McGrath who shone with the ball, taking 3 for 16 in four overs as Derbyshire were dismissed in the 23rd over.

South East Division

A fine allround performance from Essex earned them a 14-run win over Sussex in another rain-interrupted match at Chelmsford. Essex piled up 291 for 8 from 50 overs, with Grant Flower cracking 75 from 90 balls; Ravi Bopara 59 from 71 and Ryan ten Doeschate a blistering 61 from 53. Sussex were set a revised 156 from 24 overs and Matt Prior looked to be taking them close with a brisk 50, before falling to ten Doeschate. Murray Goodwin smacked 29 from 18 but it was too little, too late.Tim Murtagh continued his excellent form for Middlesex who beat Kent by a slender six runs at Lord’s. That Middlesex reached 177 for 8 was largely thanks to Billy Godleman’s 43 from 69 balls, and he received good support from Andrew Strauss (33) and Eoin Morgan (29). With rain interrupting proceedings Kent were set a revised target of 173 from 33 overs, and were going nicely with Martin van Jaarsveld (58) at the crease. But Murtagh tore into the lower order to leave Kent requiring 12 from the last five, and they were bowled out off the last ball of the match.

Midlands Division

A slick 111 at close to a run-a-ball from Robert White anchored Northamptonshire’s chase against Warwickshire at Northampton, before Lance Klusener’s brisk 26 took the home side to a four-wicket win. Warwickshire set Northamptonshire a challenging 294 after Darren Maddy (77), Ian Westwood (65) and Jonathan Trott (60*) formed a powerful trio in the middle-order. Northamptonshire were soon in trouble too, slipping to 60 for 3 before White – who reached his hundred from 107 balls – turned the match around, and the hosts ran home with seven balls to spare.Ireland promised much but failed to play with enough conviction, falling to a 56-run defeat to Nottinghamshire at the picturesque Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin. Kevin O’Brien led Ireland’s new-ball attack very impressively, picking up career-best figures of 4 for 31 from his 10 overs and troubling most of Nottinghamshire’s top-order. Indeed, the visitors were 6 for 2 when Mark Wagh shouldered arms to a sharp off-cutter. However, Adam Voges – who also had an excellent day in the field – struck 60 from 83 balls to guide Nottinghamshire to 217 for 9. Ireland never got going in reply, stumbling to 60 for 5 as Mark Ealham showed the benefits of bowling stump-to-stump with 4 for 39. Andrew White carved 30 from 40 and Kyle McCallan was unbeaten on 20, but there was little else for the home crowd to cheer.

South / West Division

Fifties from Matthew Wood (91*) and David Hemp (50) lifted Glamorgan to 174 for 4 before rain forced a draw against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Wood and Hemp put on 119 for the first wicket, both hitting nine fours, but Marcus North (3 for 32) nipped out Mike Powell for a duck, Tom Maynard for 1 and Jamie Dalrymple for just 8 to prompt a mini-collapse before the rains came tumbling.Daryl Mitchell struck an unbeaten 48 for Worcestershire whose match against Somerset dribbled into a draw at a rainy New Road. Mitchell hit four fours in his 70-ball innings to rescue Worcestershire from a disappointing 55 for 5 and lift their total to 154 for 8 before the rain ended proceedings. Worcestershire were again without Simon Jones who failed a fitness test on the stiff neck which has kept him out of their last three matches.

As I made my way to the Wankhede Stadium this morning, most of my thoughts centered on how Michael Hussey would bat.It was the first time I was going to see him, Ponting and Symonds at a live game, albeit just a practice match. However, a few hours later with Shane Watson hogging the bowling I began to feel drowsy in the comforts of the air-conditioned press box.So I decided to take a stroll and found myself in the middle of around 100 raucous fans (there were only about 500 in all) intent on proving that Indians could sledge too. Their favoured target: Ponting. “Remember 434” they chanted, “Gibbs is back” they roared. Ponting had fallen for 24, a sharp low catch at point. “It wasn’t out, fight with the umpire” quipped the jeer leader, no doubt aware of Ponting’s run-ins with officialdom. Someone even brought up that touchy matter of Ashes defeat last year and they chorused “Flintoff, Flintoff Flintoff”.Most Australians received a curious mixture of jeers and cheers from the crowd. Brad Hogg kindly showed them how to bowl a chinaman and was applauded like he’d hit a hundred. Minutes later he was subjected to cries of “Hoggy is a doggy”. But the moment Adam Gilchrist made an appearance, the crowd adored him. “Gilly, Gilly you are the best. Gilly should be captain, Ponting resign,” they cried. And when Gilchrist accepted the adulation with a casual wave of his hand, the 50-strong crowd went into raptures. After all he was Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s idol. When Ponting acknowledged their presence with a smile and a wave, their jovial hostility vanished. Simply recognise their antics and they’d be on your side.The crowd wanted entertainment and when Symonds provided just that by hoisting several into the stands, they began to concentrate on the cricket. Soon there was an invasion of school children, a majority of whom pressed close against the railing, standing on each other’s toes while the rest of the stands remained empty, to get the closest glimpse of the Australian team. One kid went up to Graeme Vimpani, Australia’s media manager who was sitting among the fans and talking about playing with Shane Warne and Paul Reiffel in Victoria, and asked “Where (sic) Matthew Hoggard?” probably meaning Hogg, an innocent mistake from a nine-year old.When the Australians took the field the crowd got after Glenn McGrath in good humour. “Sachin, Sachin, Sachin,” they cheered to which McGrath seemed to mime “Sachin who?” after which he acted out an edge to the wicketkeeper. Come October 29 in Mohali he’ll be aiming to do exactly that.