MELBOURNE, March 5 AAP – Poor form and the Pura Cup cricket table demand Victoria scores an outright win over Western Australia in the match beginning tomorrow at the MCG.The Bushrangers and New South Wales are equal second going into the weekend but the Blues are better placed to meet Queensland in the March 14-18 final because they have one more outright win.The Victoria-WA match and NSW’s home game against Queensland, also from tomorrow, will be the last two Cup matches ahead of the final at the `Gabba.Queensland savaged Victoria last week, continuing the Bushrangers’ 20-year drought in Brisbane and maintaining their indifferent form of the past two months.”(It’s) not just because of the mathematics of it – an outright win here would give us a chance with some momentum to go to Queensland,” said Victorian coach David Hookes.”If we got two points here and just fell over the line and NSW lost, and we still made the final, it wouldn’t be the same form going into Brisbane.”It’s probably a reflection on the way we’ve played the season, we’ve struggled a bit since Christmas.”That can be the legacy of having a youngish side.”But the pitch and WA, which is out of contention, will do Victoria no favours in its mission to score six points.Hookes was diplomatic, rather than enthusiastic, about the straw-coloured strip.”The pitch looks good – it’s an irony in the sense it doesn’t look like an easy result wicket,” he said.”It’s probably the sort of pitch you’d like to get from October onwards, not something getting towards the end of the year.”He also observed there seemed to be plenty of feeling between the two teams.”I must say, I don’t think there’s too much love lost between these two groups of players,” he said.”There’s probably been more aggro between these two sides than Victoria and any other side this year.”WA captain Justin Langer did not think there was any particularly bad blood but admitted the Warriors would do nothing to help Victoria reach the final.”We won’t be doing Victoria any favours, they’ve got to win it,” he said.He was also mystified about the WA selectors’ decision to drop experienced players Ryan Campbell and Mike Hussey.”You’d better ask the selectors about that – obviously the selectors were a little concerned about the fact we’ve only won two Pura Cup this year,” Langer said.”I guess it was a message from the selectors that WA cricket needs more out of our senior players.”I was disappointed for them because they’re obviously two good mates of mine and I’ve played the majority of my WA cricket with (them).”I guess it’s always a surprise when senior players are left out.”WA also dropped Callum Thorp while recalling paceman Brad Williams and promoting youngsters Luke Ronchi and Peter Worthington.Victoria will take an unchanged 12 into the match.Squads:VICTORIA: Darren Berry (capt), Jason Arnberger, Matthew Elliott, Shane Harwood, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Mathew Inness, Mick Lewis, Jon Moss, Andrew McDonald, Matthew Mott, Cameron White (12th man to be named).WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Justin Langer (capt), Jo Angel, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Murray Goodwin, Matthew Nicholson, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges, Brad Williams, Peter Worthington (12th man to be named).

Shane Bond, the world’s third fastest bowler is nowonly a few km/h away from becoming a genuine contenderto the big guns, of Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee.Against Bangladesh yesterday, Bond recorded his fastest delivery, clocking 153.6km/h and beating hisprevious best effort of 153.5km/h on June 29last year in the West Indies.Bond has steadily built up speed from his firstTest matches in 2001 which netted him top speeds of142.3km/h and 146.2km/h. In January 2002, Bond clockedfastest speeds of 147.6km/h and 148.2km/h and burstinto the express paceman’s club, onJanuary 26 in emphatic style with a 151.2km/h searingyorker which shattered Adam Gilchrist’s stumps.Jason Gillespie is Bond’s nearest rival for the No 3 spot as last year he bowled at 151.0km/h and153.9km/h in consecutive matches in South Africa.Gillespie however has not gone above the high 140s(km/h) since then and his top speed in the tournamentso far sits at 148.9km/h. By contrast, Bond hasreached 148.6km/h, 151.3km/h and now 153.6km/h in hisfirst three matches and looks to be on the verge ofsomething very special.In his second match against the West Indies, Bond wasin the express lane, during his first spell, bowlingnine deliveries above 150km/h. He ended up with fastestballs of 151.3km/h, 148.0km/h and 146.3km/h in eachspell.When Bond emerged on the international scene, hehad played 19 first-class matches. Hewas chosen after some outstanding bowling in India’s Buchi Babu tournament showed he had overcome back injuries that frustrated the early stages of his career.The extra pace he has gained is most likely theresult of increased experience, confidence andrefinement to his action.A distinct disadvantage however to Bond’s chances ofknocking off either Lee or Shoaib in the pace race,is that he plays half of his matches in New Zealand.The radar guns being used in New Zealand only measurehorizontal velocity which may be fine for baseball,but in cricket horizontal velocity is not relevant.Incricket varying angles must be catered for toaccurately reflect bowling speeds and this cannot bedone with the equipment employed in New Zealand. Thescanning rate of a standard radar gun does not allowfor the ball’s speed to consistently be captured theinstant it leaves the bowler’s hand so the speeds ondisplay in New Zealand may also reflect an airaffected velocity.The big companies like BBG Sports and EDH have foundunique ways to negate these variables and displayspeeds which represent actual ball velocity ratherthan horizontal velocity.The result of all of this is that Bond’s fastestrecorded ball in New Zealand stands at 146km/h. In thefield of bowling speeds that is a long way from his153.6km/h recorded today by BBG and his 153.5km/h byEDH.Not since Nantie Hayward bowled at 154.4km/h late in2001 has a bowler materialized to threaten Shoaib andLee for the Nos 1 and 2 spots. Bond hasannounced himself as a genuine threat and may soon bea contender for the title of the fastest bowler in theworld.

New Zealand umpire Brent Bowden has been added to the International Cricket Council’s elite panel of umpires.While no official announcement has been made by the ICC, New Zealand Cricket announced the appointment at its annual awards night.Bowden is in Dubai for a meeting of the international panel and will head to Dhaka shortly for the TVS Cup tri-series involving home team Bangladesh, India and South Africa.It is understood that Bowden is one of three new appointments to the panel which has been extended from that first announced last year.Bowden was on the panel of umpires for the World Cup in South Africa and was awarded the fourth umpire’s role for the final between Australia and India.Bowden, who turns 40 on April 11, made his first-class umpiring debut in the summer of 1992/93, and was immediately recognisable for the variations he developed on the traditional umpiring signals, especially as Cricket Max was developed and varied, but also in one-day cricket.He has stood in three Tests and 32 One-Day Internationals.His first Test was the 1999/00 first Test between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park. His most recent ODI was the World Cup semi-final between Australia and Kenya.New Zealand umpiring manager Brian Aldridge said: “We are extremely pleased for Billy [Bowden’s nickname]. He has worked hard for this recognition which is well deserved.”The quality of Billy’s umpiring impressed the ICC during the early stages of [the] World Cup. This lead to umpiring opportunities in later matches and culminated in the appointment.”The appointment has been a goal of Billy’s and is a significant achievement.”

Australian top-order batsman Damien Martyn has been ruled-out of the one-day international leg of the 2003 Travelex Tour of the West Indies due to a finger injury, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) announced today.He will be replaced in the 15-man squad by New South Wales Blues batsman Michael Clarke, currently on tour in the West Indies with the Australian Test side.Martyn, who fractured his right index finger while fielding during Australia’s five-wicket World Cup victory over Kenya on 15 March, missing the Test leg of the West Indies tour, has been undergoing specialist treatment since his return from South Africa in March.A medical review of the injury has discovered that whilst the fracture has healed, joint stiffness will prevent him from batting for another four weeks.Upon learning of the news that he would not be taking part in the one-day international leg of the tour Martyn said: "Having had some time to contemplate the injury, I have been able to come to terms with sitting on the sidelines."Missing the Test series in the West Indies was probably the biggest blow, but as time went by it became apparent that things weren’t going to be entirely right for the one-dayers either."I guess the selectors could have ruled me out of the squad earlier, but they gave me as much time as possible to prove my fitness, which I appreciate."I’m naturally disappointed that I won’t be on the plane to the Caribbean, but it’s important that I allow the treatment to take its course and get things right for good."I’m making steady progress, which is encouraging, and I’m really looking getting myself 100 per cent right for the Top End Tour in Cairns and Darwin," he said.Clarke, 22, made his one-day international debut for Australia in the VB Series match against England at the Adelaide Oval in January, scoring an unbeaten 39 runs from 47 balls, and taking 1-24 from seven overs with his left-arm orthodox spin.Speaking from Barbados, Clarke said: "I feel really sorry for Damien that he still isn’t fit, after what must be a frustrating time on the sidelines."However I’m thrilled to be able to stay on with the Australian side and hopefully play some part in the one-day series."Just being around the senior players on tour has been a terrific learning experience and I’m grateful for being given the chance to continue that."The one-day international that I played in Adelaide in January was the highlight of my career to date, so to I’m really excited that there’s the opportunity for more matches in national colours," he said.

We need to draw appropriate lessons from Pakistan team’s gratifying but unconvincing performance in Sri Lanka to help remain on track towards building a top-level team.I would like to offer some views to make this rebuilding process truly productive and enduring.Historically, the term rebuilding when used around a cricket team usually has an unsavoury context. It has often been used to rationalise any consistent failure of a team by maintaining that it was in a rebuilding process.I was in the West Indies recently and the conversation with knowledgeable cricket fans was invariably about what was wrong with both Pakistan and West Indies cricket. I tried to explain that “actually we were rebuilding”, to which they shot back, “Maaan, they all say that; look at the West Indies, we have been rebuilding for the last ten years.”This left me wondering about all those statements in recent years by Pakistani cricket management dismissing any losses with remarks that there is nothing to worry about, “we are preparing for the World Cup”. In fact, even the term rebuilding was used several times in this context.In this latest round we are now being made to believe as if the concept of rebuilding has just been discovered, and that we have to persist with it and on top to have confidence in the Board as it rebuilds. The results however tell a different story.In all honesty, the General running the cricket board has also done some good things for Pakistan cricket for which, I am afraid, he has not been given due credit.So, for all its shortcomings, I am resigned to accept the existing system, which in any case is not accessible to my influence or capacity to change.In a good cricket administration the rebuilding is not an event but a process. And a good process does not have to be assigned any labels, rebuilding or anything else.It would be pertinent to begin here with a popular misconception, which is the concept of not changing a “winning combination”. When we win, even if it is against Bangladesh, or a below strength regular competitor, up goes the slogan that not only our cricket has been rejuvenated but also that we have found a “winning combination”. Just because a team has won a match or even a tournament does not make it a winning combination, not to be altered under any circumstances.I have seen matches in the past which were won purely by the efforts of one or two players, especially bowlers, and often in the face of some rank bad performance by some others whose retention in the team should have been reviewed but this never happened with us.The approach to rebuilding should be marked neither by complacency nor panic. Old players who are past their prime should in normal course be eased out before they become deadwood and a liability. And this has to be done irrespective of any past public adulation they may have enjoyed. Indeed, their mythical status often owes to their image building by the Board itself with such appellations that so and so is a “national asset” etc. And unfortunately the label remains in currency long after the player has passed on from being a national asset to a national “heritage”.It creates discipline problems besides making it hard to drop such players. The media also, which is otherwise very knowledgeable and professional, sometimes creates pressures for the Board by lobbying on behalf of players. And there are different, and often conflicting and contradictory, voices speaking for differentplayers. Who does the Board listen to?Now what is the best way to blood in new and young players?To bring them in one by one in phases, so that there are older and experienced players still around to take them under their wings, guide them and facilitate their initiation. Look at what happened when a completely changed and young team was fielded against the Australians resulting in their being shot out in fifties in both the innings.There is another way to bring in new players. They should be introduced when the team is still strong and on a winning streak. It is much easier on the morale of a young player to be initiated as part of a winning team, not a losing team. See how even some of the players with no exceptional talent have blossomed by beinginitiated into the current winning Australian team. I am sure if they had been brought into a losing outfit they would have by now come and gone, never to be heard of again. Even in our own team some of the most successful inductions were done in the glory days of our cricket, under Mushtaq’s and Imran’s captaincyThirdly, if possible we should wait for not too tough a competitor to introduce a new player, specially a batsman, and do so preferably in a home series. Remember some of our best players in the past were introduced in a home series – such as Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, and Inzamam (even though it was a one day series), to name only a few. It is true there were no neutral umpires or TV replays then and we may have had the advantage of having a few “nationalistic” umpires, but the argument still holds.I shall conclude this article with two suggestions for the Board. One relates to the team and the other to the Board.Firstly about the team and especially the batsmen. I shall begin by saying that Miandad is potentially the best coach we can have. And I compliment the Board for appointing him. It was sad he had to leave just before the 1999 World Cup, because certain players got so carried away about the sudden resurgence of the team, to which Miandad had indeed contributed, that they thought they could get rid of him and claim credit for the likely win at the World Cup themselves. And they engineered his exit. I would not name any names. Miandad may not have been a very personable man but he always gave his very best to the team and the country. I think he is an ideal coach, for the batting at least.But I am going to suggest something else. Anyone who has listened to Ian Chappell doing commentary cannot help being terribly impressed by his extraordinary insight into the game. When he is giving expert comments on the batting, each ball is analysed with remarks as comprehensive, insightful and penetrating as an essay. I would suggest the Board dig out videos while he was commenting on Pakistan batsmen. And give them to our batsmen for guidance, particularly to those who are still playing. Indeed other players who have just joined in and have not been to Australia can also benefit.At the same time we should show our players videos of cricketing greats from others countries specially batsmen with excellent technique such as Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Barry Richards. I hear Barry Richards had a very effective technique to play swinging and seaming balls. I have omitted Viv Richards and Brian Lara, because of their unique talent allowing them to play unconventional shots that may be hard for others to copy.It might also be a good idea to give our players some lessons in psychology. Now there have been numerous books written to help sportsmen with the techniques of peak performance and optimal experience. Anthony Robbins’ books on peak performance can be very useful and on optimal experience, I highly recommend the book “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.Lastly, a word of advice to the PCB. I would say if the team is to be rebuilt, so should be the Board. Please reform and restructure yourself. I know a beginning has been made, for the first time, but it needs to be carried through. Every one’s responsibility has to be delineated and made autonomous as far as possiblespecially that of the Selection Committee. And there is no need for the Chairman to be getting involved in team selection or to address the media so often. We continue to hear different and even discordant voices on selection. This has to be remedied.And finally one more thing. Pakistan cricket has gone through so much controversy and strife, that I would advise the Chairman not to appoint people to sensitive positions who may have been playing cricket until very recently, and may have some scores to settle. I am not referring to any specific individuals; it is just a general advice.Good luck to the team and the Board.Ed: Touqir Hussain is former Ambassador of Pakistan to Japan

In glorious summer sunshine, Hampshire Hawks lost their first ECB National League Division II clash for 5 games when they were defeated in the last over by Nottinghamshire Outlaws. Failure to post a decent score after being asked to bat first was the crux of the situation on a slow wicket at The Rose Bowl.Robin Smith missed the match after pulling a hamstring the previous Sunday, but the Hawks welcomed back Chris Tremlett after a month off injured, with Ed Giddins being left out of the side.Hampshire struggled early on, using the same strip that three days earlier had been used for the NWS One-Day International, their first run off the bat came in the fourth over. Kenway and Katich toiled against the acurate seam of Smith and Logan, before the former edged to wicket-keeper Read.Hamblin sent in as pinch-hitter managed just 4 in 14 balls. Skipper Crawley joined the Australian in a 61 run partnership, but both fell in quick succession. John Francis was joined by Nic Pothas as they upped the tempo,Francis hitting a hugh six off New Zealander Daniel Vettori, before the bowler gained his revenge next ball by bowling him. Pothas batted throughout the remainder of the innings for a run a ball 45, but the total of 208 seemed woefully short.A 51 opening stand set the tone for the outlaws, and despite a mid innings mini collapse, they seemed to be always in charge, and a flurry at the end by Chris Cairns and Chris Read saw the visitors home with two balls to spare.Chris Tremlett proved how much Hampshire had missed him recently, bowling economically in his 9 overs spell. Prittipaul and Udal took two wickets apiece.

The four clubs chasing the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 bounty should all cash in with big wins tomorrow.Unbeaten leaders Alton chase a ninth successive win against South Wilts II at Lower Bemerton, while second placed Ventnor should be too strong for Hook & Newnham Basics, even though Andy Whyte is missing.Trojans, whose one-run defeat by Winchester KS last week was an untimely blow, will fancy their chances at Leckford and Rowledge ought to be too strong for Waterlooville.Flamingo will remain anchored to the basement unless they win at Southsea, but Hambledon will do well to get anything from their visit to New Milton, even though Lee Miller is injured.

Michael Vaughan’s first day as Test captain hardly went according to plan, but he was forthcoming and honest with the media in the evening, as he discussed England’s batting debacle. Here’s what Vaughan and Mahkaya Ntini – South Africa’s hero with the ball – had to say after the first day’s play.Michael Vaughan
On a disastrous first day as captain “It was just a day to scrap to one side, because nothing went to plan. We’re up against it, and that’s an understatement.”I believe in being open about things. Today there’s no point in lying and saying the conditions didn’t suit us and we were unlucky. We just weren’t good enough. Sometimes it’s best to front up and say that today, my first day as England captain, didn’t quite go to plan.”We were going to bat anyway so there are no excuses there. The cloud came over, there was a little bit of drizzle, they put the ball in the right areas and it just did enough. We’re pretty honest in the dressing room – we didn’t play well enough as a batting unit.”Every time we snicked it, it went to hand. Every shot we played seemed to go down their throats; it was just not a good day to remember, really.”On whether he had confronted the team in the dressing room “I don’t think shouting and screaming is going to change the fact that we only got 170 and they’re near our total for one down. We’ve got to turn up tomorrow and try to have a better day, but it’s going to be very difficult, because I know from experience that when you get near someone’s total it becomes a lot easier to bat.”On rumours of Nasser Hussain’s imminent retirement “But he’s playing in the game, and he looks enthused in practice. He didn’t score too many today, but that’s just part of batting. Nasser will do what’s best. I’m just delighted to have him in the team for his advice and his knowledge, plus the fact that I think he’s a very good batsman.”Makhaya Ntini
On what the five-wicket haul means to him “It was one of my dreams, one of my ambitions. This is my first Test at Lord’s and I wanted to leave a mark for the new generation and for the black community. This is one of the greatest tours to come on.”On the issue of racism, which has plagued South African cricket“The people back home can see there is no colour issue. It’s about howtalented you are. I represent everyone in South Africa. Everyone in South Africa is behind the South African cricket team.”On Michael Vaughan falling to the pull shot “I was not really surprised. We had our plans.”On the 55-run last-wicket stand “It was good to see that. It shows the pitch is getting slower and that should be an advantage to our batters.”

Chris Cairns has provided the most encouraging news for New Zealand cricket interests in England in the last few weeks. He showed his developing preparedness for the one-day campaigns coming up in India and Pakistan in his most recent outing for Nottinghamshire.In a National Cricket League match against Sussex, which Notts won by 71 runs, Cairns hit 91 not out off 72 balls, then took 3 for 48 off nine overs. In the County Championship match against Kent, which preceded the NCL game, he took 3 for 59 and 0 for 14 in the nine-wicket loss. However, earlier in another NCL game against Middlesex he hit 14 and took 1 for 78 off nine overs. Notts lost by 37 runs. In the preceding county match against Surrey, a game Notts lost by an innings and 211 runs, his 27 overs yielded 2 for 133. He scored 26 and nine with the bat.Craig Spearman has had a quiet time of it with Gloucestershire, scoring one and 37 in a drawn county match against Glamorgan while he scored 37 in a four-wicket NCL win over Worcestershire.Stephen Fleming has also had a quiet time of it with 0 and one in his last two NCL matches while in the last county game Yorkshire played he scored 31 and 35 in a five-wicket loss to Worcestershire.Playing in the second division of the Surrey Championship, Luke Woodcock took 5 for 51 in a losing draw for his Purley side against Streatham and Marlborough.In the Lancashire League, Rob Nicol has had scores of 32, 43 and 56 in Rishton’s last three losses while he has taken 2 for 20, 4 for 38 and 0 for 18 in those games. He has now scored 805 runs at 32.20 and taken 35 wickets at 36.17.Neal Parlane’s BAT Sports team is still first in the Hampshire league and in the last two matches Parlane has scored 32 and 48 in his side’s wins. His brother Michael has not been quite so successful in the East Anglia League for Swardeston. He scored 22 and took 2 for 40 in a 15-run victory over Cambridge Granta.Their former Northern Districts teammate Hamish Marshall helped his Gerrards Cross team to a 173-run victory over Wokingham by scoring 150.Warren McSkimming’s productive time with Lytham in the premier division of the Liverpool and District League continued with 30 not out and 3 for 48 in a seven-wicket win over Newton le Willows while last weekend he scored 60 in a six-wicket win over Bootle. Brendon Donkers, in the same league, for Leigh, scored 10 and took 2 for 40 in a drawn game with Ormskirk.James Marshall, for Formby in the first division of the same league has had scores of 16 and 130 in his side’s two drawn matches while Aaron Barnes, for Colwyn Bay, has scored 23 and 42.The Dutch season has been completed with former New Zealand representative Shane Thomson’s VRA side winning the competition. In the last two rounds of games, Thomson scored 59 and 12. Andre Adams, for HCC which finished fifth, scored 49 and 38 while having respective bowling figures of 5 for 31 and 2 for 25.Greg Todd scored 1 and 56 not out for his Hermes DVS side while taking 1 for 32 and 3 for 27. Tama Canning’s stint with VOC ended with him scoring 16 and 6 and taking 0 for 20 and 1 for 34. Darron Reekers, with Quick Haag, hit 64 not out and 124 while taking 2 for 30 and 1 for 46.Jarrod Englefield, whose Rood en Wit have still to play a promotion-relegation match, scored 47 and 3 in his last two appearances.Women’s player Sarah Burke has been luckier than the men’s Roon en Wit side. They won the women’s league with Burke taking 4 for 16 off nine overs in the penultimate match and scoring 15 in the last game.

Ridley Jacobs, who did much to save West Indies’ bacon in the epic first Test at Harare, spoke out after the match about his relief at being able to stave off defeat. Jacobs, who made 60 not out, and No. 11 Fidel Edwards survived the last 11.5 overs, in gathering gloom, with the Zimbabwean fielders crowded around the bat, searching for a rare victory after losing their last 11 Tests.”That was the toughest time,” said Jacobs of his last-ditch stand. “When you look on the scoreboard and you see there are more than 11 overs to go and you’re batting with the last man, you start getting worried. But I told him to play straight and stay strong, and we got the job done.”Jacobs told the BBC that Andy Blignaut, the Zimbabwean allrounder, had been the toughest to face. “It’s been a long time since I faced that kind of pace. I was just telling myself to hold on, take the blows and bat it out.”And he admitted: “Everybody at home probably thought we would play much better than we did. But we have an opportunity now to play another Test match and to perform better. We need to go back to the drawing board to revisit everything we need to do to win a Test.”The home hero was Raymond Price, the left-arm spinner, who became only the third Zimbabwean (after Paul Strang and Adam Huckle) to take ten wickets in a Test. But, he admitted afterwards, “I would have given all ten of those wickets to get that last one.”Price went on: “Our goal is to get up from the bottom. We’ve had enough of being in the same category as Bangladesh. We’ve had enough of being called minnows. We hate to lose, and we don’t like drawing – you should see our guys play tiddlywinks.”The second Test of this short series starts at Bulawayo on Wednesday (Nov 12).