The one-off Twenty20 international between England and India in Taunton was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

A round-up from the latest Championship matches where rain wipes out play across most of the country.

The Australia A batsmen undid all the good work of their bowlers as they crumbled to 113 for 8 against India A, still 22 runs short of avoiding the follow-on by the end of the second day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Justin Ontong, the Cape Cobras' new signing, will lead the team in the 2008-09 season, succeeding Justin Kemp, who is no longer available because of his involvement with the Indian Cricket League.

Yorkshire have been granted planning permission for a new pavilion at Headingley in the latest part of the ground's redevelopment.

Durham have unveiled plans for a £45million development of Chester-le-Street which will increase the capacity by 4000 seats to 20,000 and includes the installation of floodlights.

Arjuna Ranatunga, the interim committee chief of Sri Lanka Cricket, is adamant that the tour of England in April and May 2009 will still go ahead as planned, despite opposition from several senior players.

Tyron Henderson, Middlesex's South Africa allrounder, has signed a new one-year contract with the club.

South Africa's one-day nightmare against England has at least crystallised two things in coach Mickey Arthur's mind: the need for inaction on one front and action on another.

The second Champions Twenty20 League will take place next year between September 25 and October 11, and will feature 12 teams, four more than the first edition to be held between December 3-10, 2008.

After comprehensively beating the Zimbabwe Board XI in the four-day games, the Pakistan Cricket Academy took their winning form to the one-dayers, as Mohammad Talha and Yasir Shah shared seven wickets between them to bowl out Zimbabwe for 124 in Harare.

The problems facing Zimbabwe Cricket as it struggles to retain players was highlighted with the announcement of a 44-man list of contracted players.

Ali Brown is being released by Surrey at the end of the season.

Angus Fraser has confirmed his interest in running for the newly opened position of managing director at Middlesex, the club at which he played his entire 18-year career.

Surrey are still hopeful that Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, will be able to play their final two Championship matches of the season. Akhtar arrived in the UK yesterday, but was found to have the wrong type of visa, preventing him from taking the field against Kent at Canterbury.