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Bradley Hodge, Durham’s overseas signing brought in to replace Martin Love,has broken his thumb during a training session less than a week after hisarrival from Australia.Bradley was bowling in a practice session in the nets the day before the NULgame against Notts when he was hit on the thumb.Brad will see a specialist tomorrow, but is likely to be out of action untilthe end of August.Chairman Bill Midgley said: “The Club is looking at the possibility of areplacement, but at this late stage in the season, the options forreplacements is limited.”

After they received a sound thrashing at the hands of the Australians, the New Zealanders admitted that nothing had gone right for them on the day. Stephen Fleming, tired, disappointed and probably wondering how quickly things can change – one day defending champions and the next virtually knocked out – had a few things to say before he picked the pieces up and moved on to the next game.”We didn’t execute well enough and to beat Australia you have to execute in the right areas when you bowl and be thorough with your batting. The fielding was a bit lazy as well. In that sense, we were under par and to beat a side like Australia you probably have to exceed expectations. That didn’t happen today,” said the Kiwi skipper.Australian captain Ricky Ponting, for his part, explained how he never went into a match expecting to win so easily: “You never expect to bowl a side out for about 100. There was some sloppy fielding towards the end of the day but we took the initiative away from New Zealand very early on with some good aggressive opening batting. That laid the foundation and the other batsmen chipped in around them. I’m a bit disappointed that none of the top order batsmen went on to make a big score after they got starts, but all in all it was a very satisfying day for us.”The Australian bowling, while effective, was by no means unplayable on this wicket here at the Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds. Fleming agreed with this while conceding that the Aussies did get the basics right: “We probably made it look very good. They bowled a good line and length but it was still a good wicket to bat on. We probably fell a bit to the pressure as well. When there is a big score on the board you have to be aggressive and when you’re aggressive you push the limits. The limits were too far today and we lost wickets. We had no partnerships, we had no tempo and they dominated the game.”Much credit must go to Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie who bowled with fire and broke the back of the Kiwis. Ponting was effusive in his praise of the duo: “Jason and Glenn bowl very well every game they play. They’re two of the best fast bowlers in the world – that’s what the statistics and the other players will tell you. As a captain, it’s nice to have these two opening the bowling for you. They bowl in the right areas, keep the seam upright and if there’s anything in the wicket they usually get it out of it and that makes my job as captain easier.Man of the Match for his 5/37, McGrath, deflected his captain’s words of praise, saying there was no real secret to fast bowling: “I don’t bowl that quick and I don’t really do a great deal with the ball. What I do is land the ball pretty much where I want to. My accuracy is the key and a bit of bounce to go with it. I don’t think there’s any secret to fast bowling. No matter what pace you bowl at, if you can land the ball where you want – hitting the top of off – 99 times out of 100 then you will take wicket.”In the course of his performance, McGrath joined the club of bowlers who have taken 250 ODI wickets. The New South Welshman believes there’s a bit left in him yet.”I guess 250 was the landmark I wanted to reach. Obviously 300 is the next landmark. Let’s see how the body holds up, I want to play for another two or three years at least so hopefully there’s a few wickets left in me yet,” he said.Once again New Zealand have come into a tournament missing key players due to injury. None more so than Chris Cairns and Craig McMillan. Fleming said this was a worry but tried to look at the bright side of things: “The positive thing is that we’re developing players. This is the second biggest stage and the players are experiencing playing in big games. There a few cricketers back in New Zealand who will be back in the side for the World Cup like Chris Cairns and Craig McMillan. But come World Cup time we’ll have a bigger pool of players to choose from and some idea of how certain players perform under pressure.”And finally, one interesting if not terribly relevant aspect of New Zealand on the field, was their method of throwing from the deep. Even from the shorter boundaries the Kiwis were using a relay method, throwing the ball to man in the circle for him to fire in to the keeper. “We’re just trying new things, experimenting new ways to play the game. We want to know exactly what we want to do and how we want to do it when we hit the World Cup. There are other things we want to try and will do when we get the opportunity,” Fleming explained.

Andover’s unbeaten start is over after a two wicket defeat by Havant – but they remain top of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League by a four-point margin.They were edged out four balls from the end of an absorbing, rain-affected contest in which Havant just got home, chasing a reduced 124 off 39 overs.Former Havant skipper Paul Gover felt Andover were hard done by.”I was a little sorry for them because they fought and battled all the way – and ended up with nothing,” he said.Andover’s 158-9 on a damp, slow London Road surface owed much to third-wicket pair Ian Gardner (43) and Roger Miller (38), who eased the total to 93-2 after 30 overs.But a three-wicket burst by Mackie Hobson (4-16), aided by Richard Hindley’s tidy 3-37, disrupted the middle-order flow and left Andover defending 155-9.The score was arguably 20 runs short of what Andover would have liked, but when Richard Taylor (2-25) nailed Andy Perry and Hindley in successive balls, Havant were rocking at 1-2.The visitors saw their target reduced to 124 off 39 overs, but continued to lose wickets around Gover’s patient 33.Havant tottered at 75-5, but Yorkshireman Bevis Moynhan (32) struck out to lift the reply to 108 before being suicidally run out by skipper Dominic Carson.Havant eventually lost eight wickets before Carson redeemed himself by steering the 2000 league champions home with four balls to spare.Exciting Western Australia prospect Luke Ronchi smashed five sixes clean out of the Bashley Cricket Ground as the New Forest club went on a 301-run romp against Burridge.Ronchi, 21, sent one six into the Bashley football ground, another into a nursery and three more into the road on his way to a blistering 96 scored off 70 deliveries.”Two of the sixes were among the biggest I’d ever seen at Bashley,” confirmed skipper Neil Taylor, whose side rattled up a massive 301-5 off 50 overs.Ironically, both Ronchi and Neil Thurgood (97) missed out on centuries after their second-wicket stand yielded 138 and eased Bashley to 200-2.Thurgood, yet to score a SL century, played the supporting role in a 62-run start with Andy Sexton (41), while Ronchi typically dominated, hitting nine fours, in addition to his five ‘out of ground’ sixes.Richard Knowles weighed in with an unbeaten 43 as Bashley took the game totally out of reach.Neil Cunningham (50) top scored as Burridge replied with 199-9 – Kevin Nash (3-33) and Neil Taylor (3-25) taking the bowling credits for Bashley.Calmore Sports (171-9) held off a determined rally from Liphook & Ripsley (170 all out) to win by one run at Loperwood Park.Tom Pegler (40) prospered at the start for Calmore, who dipped from 55-0 to 82-5 against Matt Eaton (3-35) and spinner Alan Crawford (2-16).James Hibberd (41 not out) and Mark Boston (30) rebuilt the Calmore innings, which subsided later to 171-1, with Graham Tyler taking 3-36.It looked all over bar the shouting when Christof Bothma (2-18) and Matt Metcalfe (3-33) sent Liphook sliding to 68-5, but South African Alistair Gray (60) and skipper Duncan Berry (37) fought back to take the visitors to 136 before the Cape Town all-rounder became Pegler’s fourth victim.Liphook suffered a spate of run outs before Allan Hurst bowled Tim Wheatley two balls from the end, with the visitors at 170.Former Hampshire pair Lee Savident (79) and Matt Keech (77) led Portsmouth to a 45-run victory over South Wilts at Lower Bemerton.The ex-county duo shared a second-wicket stand of 140 – both eventually fell to Paul Draper (3-19) – as Portsmouth built a tidy 211-6.But South Wilts fell to pieces after early blows by the impressive Naqeeb Ali Mohammed (2-30) and Ben Nolan, and were out of the contest at 46-5.Richard Parker (58) launched a late rally as South Wilts closed at 162-9.

The Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) is pleased to announce the following list of State Contracted Players for season 2002-03:

Player	Club	DOB
Jo Angel	Midland Guildford	22 April 1968
Ryan Campbell	Joondalup	7 February 1972
Sean Cary	Willetton	10 March 1971
Michael Clark	Subiaco-Floreat	31 March 1978
Murray Goodwin	Subiaco-Floreat	11 December 1972
Kade Harvey	Scarborough	7 October 1975
Brad Hogg	Willetton	6 February 1971
Stuart Karppinen	South Perth	13 June 1973
Shaun Marsh	Willetton	9 July 1983
Scott Meuleman	Melville	17 July 1980
Matt Nicholson	Scarborough	2 October 1974
Marcus North	Bayswater-Morley	28 July 1979
Chris Rogers	South Perth	31 August 1977
Luke Ronchi	Perth	23 April 1981
Adam Voges	Melville	4 October 1979
Darren Wates	South Perth	2 July 1977
Paul Wilson	TBA	12 December 1972
Rookies
Andrew James	Perth	2 February 1983
Craig Simmons	Rockingham-Mandurah	1 October 1982
Michael Thistle	Bayswater Morley	5 August 1980
ACB
Adam Gilchrist	Perth	14 November 1971
Mike Hussey	Wanneroo	27 May 1975
Justin Langer	Scarborough	21 November 1970
Damien Martyn	South Perth	21 October 1971
Brad Williams	Scarborough	20 November 1974

Paul WilsonPaul Wilson has been recruited to the Western Warriors from South Australia. The 30 year-old former Southern Redbacks pace-man has taken 125 wickets in 40 1st class games at an average of 29.79 and, 99 wickets from 52 limited overs matches at an average of 23.75 – economy rate of 4.05.Craig SimmonsCraig Simmons is the first Rockingham-Mandurah player to be awarded a State Contract. A promising opening batsman, Simmons was a key member of Australia s successful Youth World Cup team last season.From last season’s list of State Contracted Players, Rob Baker, Geoff Cullen, Brad Oldroyd, Gavin Swan, Peter Worthington and Rookie Beau Casson have so far not been offered a contract. Simon Katich has been listed with the NSW Blues.Luke Ronchi and Adam Voges have been up-graded from Rookie to Senior status.Additional ContractsOver the next few weeks the WACA will give consideration to the addition of up to 3 State Player Contracts and two Rookie Contracts.

The Irish 14 man squad for the ICC trophy in Toronto has been announced. It is:

W.K.McCallan (Cliftonville) (Capt)

D.J.Curry (Limavady) (Vice Captain)

P.J.Davy (Pembroke)

M.D.Dwyer (The Hills)

R.L.Eagleson (Carrickfergus)

D.Heasley (Lisburn)

Dominick Joyce (Merrion)

E.C.Joyce (Dublin University/Merrion)

P.J.K.Mooney (North County)

A.G.A.M.McCoubrey (Ballymena)

J.A.M.Molins (Railway Union)

A.D.Patterson (Cliftonville)

M.W.Patterson (Cliftonville)

A.R.White (North Down)

Four Nominated Substitutes to be on stand by:

G.J.Neely (Donemana)

M.A.Gillespie (Strabane)

A.T.Rutherford (Brigade)

C. Armstrong (North County)

Coach: K.R.Rutherford (New Zealand)

Short of genuine class, the West Indies selectors have depended mainly on current form in choosing their squad for the first of five Tests in the Cable & Wireless Series against India, starting at Bourda in Guyana on Thursday.They have also deemed that age and previous record, two usual considerations, are luxuries that cannot be afforded at one of the most difficult periods in the history of West Indies cricket.The upshot is the recall of opening batsman Stuart Williams, 32, and wicket-keeper Junior Murray, 34, more than three years after their last Tests, on the 1998-99 tour of South Africa, and the inclusion of leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo, whose previous two Tests were in England in August 2000 and in Australia in January 2001.Adam Sanford, the 25-year-old fast bowler who had played a solitary first-class match for the Windward Islands prior to the 2002 season, is the only newcomer in the 13 announced yesterday.He is the eleventh contender chosen in the past five years as the desperate search for worthy successors for Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh continues.Like Williams, Murray and Nagamootoo, his choice is based on form in the recent Busta Cup, in which his swing and control snared 41 wickets for his adopted Leewards.A native of Dominica, he can claim to be the most authentic West Indian in the team as a descendant of the Carib Indians, one of the indigenous tribes Christopher Colombus encountered when he first landed in the New World.Merv Dillon, Marlon Black and the giant Cameron Cuffy are the other three fast bowlers in the squad and one is almost certain to be omitted.Williams, whose earlier 28 Tests brought him the moderate average of 24.26 and inevitable dismissal, reclaimed his place on the irrefutable evidence of statistics.His 974 runs in the Busta Cup, at an average of 97.40, were a record for the annual first-class tournament and included scores of 195 and 252 not out against Guyana, pertinently led by West Indies captain Carl Hooper.He replaced Daren Ganga, the 23-year-old Trinidadian who, like Williams before him, failed to make use of the several chances offered him by selectors seduced by his sound technique. He averages 20.85 from his 15 Tests all overseas in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Sharjah.Murray’s four hundreds in a weak Windward Islands batting team in the Busta were as much a factor in his return as his wicket-keeping.It is ironic that he comes back to resume a career of 31 Tests instead of Ridley Jacobs, who took over from him in the series in South Africa three years ago in a shuffling for the position that had also included David Williams and Courtney Browne.Jacobs, actually two months older than Murray, is dropped or the first time after 37 Tests. He previously commanded his place through reliable, if unspectacular, keeping and dogged left-handed batting at No. 7 that brought him the only West Indian hundred in last year’s home series against South Africa.The incessant grind of the modern game appeared to have taken its toll on Jacobs in the last two series in Sri Lanka and against Pakistan in Sharjah where his standards behind and in front of the stumps perceptibly waned.Nagamootoo is preferred as the leg-spinner in the squad to Dinanath Ramnarine, who held the spot for nine of the last 12 Tests.His record in this season’s Busta of becoming the first bowler to claim 50 wickets in the annual regional tournament was a powerful recommendation that could not be denied. His left-handed batting is a useful supplement.Ryan Hinds, the 20-year-old Barbadian left-hander who made an impressive debut in the two Tests in Sharjah in February, is retained as the youngest member of the squad.But, with an established middle-order boosted by the return of Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, he may have to wait a while for another chance.Squad:Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Stuart Williams, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Junior Murray, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Adam Sanford, Marlon Black and Mahendra Nagamootoo.

Auckland maintained their topsy-turvy course through the Shell Trophy competition when they raced away to a bizarre four-wicket victory over Central Districts on the Eden Park Outer Oval today – succeeding with the unlikely task of scoring 366 to win on the last day.After losing the first day to rain, Central Districts so dominated the second and third days, scoring 589 runs for the loss of seven wickets, declaring both innings closed, and apparently shutting Auckland out of any chance of victory.In between the two mountains of CD runs, Auckland managed a humble 224 for eight wickets, declared.It was this declaration, obviously made with the agreement of Craig Spearman, the Central captain, that eventually left Auckland so much time today to score so many runs.For most of the day Auckland batted with a certain amount of resolution on a pitch that had flattened out nicely, but seldom showed any conviction they could win.In fact Auckland charted the kind of course that might be devised by a homeward bound sailor with several over the eight on board.Auckland started with its usual ritual suicide, losing John Aiken for nought in the first over.Tim McIntosh and Richard King soberly repaired that early damage, and in the second hour of play actually carried the attack, with some success, to the Central bowlers who had for so long been the kings of the castle.Then, even when their total with 119 for one, Auckland took another step backward when McIntosh was out to the last ball before lunch.King by then was 66 not out, and so full of strokes he suggested he might lead a long, solid charge for victory.But Auckland do not take the easy, or obvious path. Blair Pocock scored runs, while King fell into a hole. Dion Nash tried to improve things while King tried to untangle his technique. But he was only 98 not out – 32 runs in the session – when Auckland rather limped to tea at 198 for three wickets.Auckland had scored only 79 runs between lunch and tea, 168 were still needed from the remaining 31 overs.So Auckland tried to make life really difficult. King was out immediate after tea, 265 minutes over his 98 – and regret at his missing a century was mixed with the feeling he might have been the sheet anchor that slowed the Auckland chase.King went at 200, Nash got weaving with a brisk 40, but he left at 228 for five. The match was really in the balance, tilted slightly toward Central Districts, for even if their bowlers had lost their first innings precision the new-ball might change the course of the last hour or so.By the time of the new ball, and immediately afterward, it was Central Districts cranking out the lifeboats. Andre Adams is a noted hitter of the ball. Kyle Mills is in such a rich vein of runs he looks as good as any all-rounder in the land.Auckland needed 113 runs from 20 overs, five wickets in hand, when the new ball arrived. It left, frequently and quickly, destined for and sometimes over the boundary.Adams was the master of the side-on shots, whisking away fours to midwicket like magic. Mills drove with imperious power, and rare accuracy for a man who seldom has batted in the top half of the innings.By the time they had scored 123 together in 101 minutes the Auckland winning rate had dropped from about seven to two runs an over – Adams hit himself out and left it to Mills to complete the win with a signature straight four that went away like a tracer bullet.Adams’ 62 came from 47 balls, nine fours and two sixes. Mills’ 90 not out took 78 balls, 14 fours and two sixes.So ended a match which showed much of the charm and some of the bizarre trends of this maddening game. And the fitting, last and appropriately off-beat after-the-win comment came from Tony Sail, coach of this curious crew.Sail deliberated for a few seconds, and then said that “when the top order contributes some scores we are a good side.”After winning a match after being outplayed for two of the three days “good” does not seem quite the appropriate adjective for this Jekyll and Hyde collection.

March:
Cambridgeshire 269 (RJ Rollins 83, NT Gadsby 58, DG Wilson 50no).
Hertfordshire 53-2.Bovey Tracey:
Wiltshire 141 (PM Warren 5-16). Devon 91-3 (NA Folland 63no).Thame:
Shropshire 277-6 (MJ Marvell 141no). Oxfordshire 27-1.Dean Park, Bournemouth:
Dorset 272 (M Swarbrick 149; KE Cooper 5-57).
Herefordshire 86-1 (NW Round 50no).Grantham:
Lincolnshire 296-6 (JC Harrison 117, RWJ Howitt 64), Bedfordshire 32-1.

Central Zone, riding on Gagan Khoda’s unbeaten 246, piled on theagony for South Zone on the second day of their Duleep Trophymatch at the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Stadium in Goa on Friday. Resuming at178 for two, Central Zone lost only one wicket the whole daywhile amassing a total of 469 for three. This was in reply toSouth Zone’s first innings total of 141.Khoda was in his elements. He struck the ball crisply and showeddeep concentration and total determination. By close, the 26-year-old righthander from Rajasthan had faced 416 balls and hit 29 foursand five sixes. Khoda, who played in two ODIs against Bangladeshand Kenya in 1997-98, was at ease against the reputed South Zoneattack which included Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, SunilJoshi, Aashish Kapoor, Vijay Bhardwaj and Venkatapathi Raju.Khoda and the other overnight batsman Md Kaif took the score to282 before the latter was caught by wicketkeeper Naidu off Kapoorfor 69. He batted three hours, faced 179 balls and hit seven foursand a six. The third wicket partnership between Khoda and Kaifadded 176 runs off 57.3 overs. That was South Zone’s only successof the day for Khoda and Yere Goud then came together to sharean unbroken fourth wicket stand of 187 runs off 54.2 overs. Atstumps, Goud who got a century in the last match against champions NorthZone was on 75 compiled off 163 balls with eleven hits tothe ropes. South Zone who are already in arrears by 328 runsface another tiring day in the field on Saturday.

The sky might be falling in on the Australians ahead of the Cardiff Test, but Michael Clarke is determined to retain a positive outlook. On a day in which Brett Lee was ruled out of the first two Ashes Tests with an abdominal injury and Australia’s training session was curtailed by heavy showers, the vice-captain maintained that his side’s preparation for the Ashes series had been “spot on” and even compared the new-look squad to the great Australian teams of the past decade.The Australians had hoped to carry their momentum from Worcester into Cardiff, but encountered problems before the first training session at Sophia Gardens had even begun. By far the most serious development on Monday was Lee’s abdominal tear, sustained during the England Lions practice game, which will at the very least rule him out of the Cardiff and Lord’s Tests. Depressing, too, was the local weather, which severely interrupted Australia’s morning training session, but had cleared by the time Andrew Strauss’s men arrived at the ground.Despite the tourists’ trials and tribulations, Clarke adopted a brave face when addressing the media on Monday. “What we learned in South Africa was when we are at the top of our game, confident and playing good cricket we’re as good as any team I’ve been a part of for Australia,” Clarke said. “We certainly feel that if we’re at the top of our game we can beat any team in any conditions. I feel our preparation has been spot on. It’s just about, over the next couple of days, getting your head right and making sure you’re mentally ready for what’s going to be a wonderful series.”Mental preparedness aside, Australia’s most immediate priority will be to configure a new-look bowling line-up in the wake of Lee’s injury. Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Stuart Clark would appear to be certain starters, leaving Ben Hilfenhaus and Nathan Hauritz to duel for the final berth. Neither have overpowered in their tour matches to date.The Sophia Gardens wicket is expected to assist the spinners after day three, but Hauritz’s returns of 2 for 260 from 68.2 overs against Sussex and England Lions will have done little to inspire the confidence of selectors. Hilfenhaus, meanwhile, claimed three wickets on a flat Hove pitch last week – albeit at a cost of six runs per over in the second innings – and made a steady contribution to Australia’s recent series victory in South Africa, but whether that will guarantee him entry into the XI for the Cardiff Test remains uncertain.”I think the fond memories of (the) 2007 (Ashes series) and also our recent tour of South Africa … will hold us in really good stead for Wednesday and throughout this whole series,” said a defiant Clarke. “I’m very positive, I’m very confident that we can win this series. I’m confident we’re playing good cricket already and I think we will continue to improve throughout this tournament.”We’ve got our own identity. We proved that in South Africa. It’s nearly two years now since Warney and Glenn (McGrath) retired. It’s been a long time. It’s great they’re still spoken about because they are and will always be legends of cricket, but I think as a team we’re continuing to gel. We’ve performed well in South Africa and got to know each other very well.”Clarke, though, was wary of a resurgent England following their 2-0 home series victory over West Indies. Despite this ostensibly being a battle between the first and fifth on the ICC Test rankings, the Australian vice-captain is bracing for a tight contest.”I always say that England are a very hard team to play against, but they’re even harder in their own conditions,” he said. “They’re coming off some good cricket against the West Indies, they’ve got some confidence and I’m certain it’s going to be a wonderful series. I hope this series in similar to 2005, but I hope the results are a little bit different. I didn’t mind 2007 either. That was a nice result.”