'No curse' says champion

Tetley's Shield

First day of four, including tomorrow

England A v The Rest

(EDGBASTON): England A have scored 272 for 2 in thjeir first innings. Today: 11.0.

The Rest won toss

ENGLAND A - First innings

M A Butcher not out 129

J E R Gallian c Hollioake b Silverwood 106

M P Vaughan b Tudor 10

A McGrath not out 1

Extras (lb15, w2, nb9) 26

Total (for 2, 78.2 overs) 272

Fall: 1-237, 2-271.

To bat: *A J Hollioake, M A Ealham, W K Hegg, P M Such, G Chapple, A J Harris, D W Headley.

Bowling (to date): Silverwood 16-4-63-1; Brown 19-5-56-0; Tudor 15.2- 4-39-1; Hollioake 9-1-45-0; Solanki 5-2-18-0; Cosker 14-2-36-0.

THE REST: J S Laney, D L Maddy, C J Adams, *M R Ramprakash, B C Hollioake, R J Warren, V S Solanki, D A Cosker, A J Tudor S J E Brown, C E W Silverwood.

First-class matches

Third day of four

Yorkshire v Lancashire

HEADINGLEY: Lancashire, with all second-innings wickets standing, are 105 runs behind Yorkshire. Today: 11.0.

Lancashire won toss

YORKSHIRE - First Innings 289 (B Parker 85 no, M J Wood 81; G Yates 4- 46).

LANCASHIRE - First Innings 482 (G D Lloyd 225, I D Austin 83).

YORKSHIRE - Second Innings

(Overnight: 34 for 1)

M D Moxon c Fairbrother b Flintoff 10

M J Wood lbw b Martin 21

*D Byas c Haynes b Green 39

R A Kettleborough lbw b Martin 1

B Parker c Lloyd b Martin 36

C A Chapman c Fairbrother b Martin 80

A G Wharf c Green b Watkinson 5

G M Hamilton run out 49

G J Batty b Austin 18

R D Stemp b Austin 16

M J Hoggard not out 1

Extras (b2 lb14 w4 nb2) 22

Total (115.3 overs) 298

Fall: 1-32 2-39 3-47 4-79 5-127 6-144 7-238 8-280 9-282.

Bowling: Martin 30-9-53-4; Green 24-8-77-1; Flintoff 10-6-11-1; Austin 25.3-8-65-2; Watkinson 10-3-32-1; Yates 14-4-41-0; Titchard 2-0-3-0.

First day of three

Cambridge Univ v Leicestershire

FENNER'S: Leicestershire have scored 430 for 3 in their first innings. Today: 11.30; tomorrow: 11.0.

Cambridge University won toss

LEICESTERSHIRE - First Innings

V J Wells c House b P S Jones 27

I J Sutcliffe b R O Jones 99

A Habib not out 169

D I Stevens lbw b How 27

J M Dakin not out 88

Extras (b5 lb7 nb8) 20

Total (for 3, 92 overs) 430

Fall: 1-61 2-229 3-278.

To bat: *J J Whitaker, P A Nixon, D J Millns, J Ormond, M T Brimson, G J Parsons.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: E T Smith, J R Ratledge, *A Singh, W J House, R O Jones, Q Hughes, M W Dawson, P S Jones, D R H Churton, J W Freeth, E J How.

Oxford University v Hampshire

THE PARKS: Hampshire, with all first-innings wickets standing, are 235 runs behind Oxford University. Today: 11.30.

Oxford University won toss

OXFORD UNIVERSITY - First Innings

R D Hudson lbw b Connor 9

J E Haynes lbw b Udal 9

C G R Lightfoot lbw b Milburn 44

*M A Wagh b James 15

B W Byrne lbw b James 2

J A G Fulton c White b James 6

P G Morgan c Whitaker b Connor 60

C Patel b Milburn 35

A P Scrini not out 11

J M M Averis b Milburn 6

D P Mather not out 5

Extras (b7 lb18 w12 nb4) 41

Total (for 9 dec, 92 overs) 243

Fall: 1-10 2-60 3-83 4-95 5-105 6-107 7-206 8-218 9-233.

Bowling: Connor 16-2-57-2; Milburn 18-8-35-3; Stephenson 10-2-29-0; Mascarenhas 13-3-35-0; Udal 18-11-26-1; James 16-6-36-3; Whitaker 1-1-0-0.

HAMPSHIRE - First Innings

G W White not out 7

*J P Stephenson not out 0

Extras (nb2) 2

Total (for 0, 1.2 overs) 9

To bat: M Keech, K D James, W S Kendall, P R Whitaker, A N Aymes, S D Udal, A D Mascarenhas, C A Connor, S M Milburn.

Third Test

First day (no play yesterday)

West Indies v India

GEORGETOWN (Guyana): India scored 194 for 2 on Thursday in the first innings of the final Test.

India won toss

INDIA - First Innings

A D Jadeja c Browne b Bishop 8

N S Sidhu c Hooper b Walsh 36

R S Dravid not out 71

*S R Tendulkar not out 62

Extras (b3 lb5 w1 nb8) 17

Total (for 2, 90 overs) 194

Fall: 1-32 2-68.

To bat: M Azharuddin, N R Mongia, A Kumble, S Joshi, D Ganesh, A Kuruvilla, B K V Prasad.

Bowling (to date): Ambrose 18-11-16-0 (nb3); Bishop 15-5-31-1 (nb2); Rose 16.4-4-44-0 (nb1); Walsh 16.2-6-45-1 (nb1); Hooper 5-1-13-0; Chanderpaul 19-6-37-0 (nb1 w1).

WEST INDIES: S L Campbell, S C Williams, S Chanderpaul, B C Lara, C L Hooper, R I C Holder, C O Browne, I R Bishop, C E L Ambrose, F A Rose, *C A Walsh.

Umpires: G Sharp (Eng) and E Nicholls (WI).

Cycling

Johan Museeuw, the world champion, is out to disprove theories of a jinx when he lines up in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race tomorrow.

Bad luck has blighted the Belgian World Cup holder's three previous Cup races this season, crashing during the Milan-San Remo sprint finish, colliding at a crucial time in the Tour of Flanders, and suffering a five punctures in the Paris-Roubaix.

His mishaps were reminiscent of past misfortunes that have been suffered by world champions who have subsequently worn the rainbow jersey in the classics over thepast decade. "I don't believe in [a curse] ... and even if it was true the jersey would still be worth it," he said.

Museeuw, who has won the World Cup series for the past two years, nevertheless feels it will be difficult to win the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race, a testing 262km (164 miles) ride in hilly southern Belgium.

"On paper this race suits me the least," Museeuw said. The in-form Frenchman, Laurent Jalabert, feels at home on hilly courses, however, and is the hot favourite to complete the Belgian "Ardennes double" after having romped to victory in Wednesday's Fleche Wallonne classic.