The Tasmanian selectors have today named the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers team to play the Redbacks in their first Pura Cup match of the season to be played at Bellerive Oval on Monday 3rd – Thursday 6th November 2003.

ScorecardThe real West Indies finally stood up to be counted again as they levelled the five-match series with a 72-run win in a rain-affected match at Harare. Their comfortable win was down to three magnificent individual performances, top of which was Fidel Edwards, who took the best-ever figures by a debutant with 6 for 22. He blew away the top order as Zimbabwe limped to 150 for 7 in their pursuit of 223 from 32 overs.Edwards produced a deadly display of swing bowling in an inspired spell which destroyed Zimbabwe’s chances of winning after only seven overs. With his first ball in one-day cricket, he produced a superb swinging yorker which uprooted the middle stump of Barney Rogers (5 for 1). In his second over, with consecutive deliveries, he had Vusi Sibanda caught by Ridley Jacobs, the wicketkeeper, for 7 and then trapped Craig Wishart lbw (10 for 3). Every ball was potentially lethal and the West Indian team had their tails well and truly up.Up to this match Zimbabwe had been outclassed, but performed with honour. Now it was back to the bad old days of abject surrender. Mark Vermeulen failed to get behind a rising delivery from Edwards and lobbed a simple catch off the splice to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at gully. Stuart Matsikenyeri then flicked across the line and sent an easy skier to Corey Collymore at mid-on (22 for 5). Edwards’s opening spell read an astonishing 5-1-10-5 – not bad for your first game.When Edwards came off prematurely due to Brian Lara’s desire to make sure of completing 25 overs in case of more rain, the pressure gradually lifted, though Streak failed to score his usual rescue innings. Instead, Tatenda Taibu played what developed into a sparkling innings of 66, while Sean Ervine joined him in a carefree bash at the end to make 37 not out. But it was all meaningless after Edwards’s dream start.The other two outstanding performances came from the opening pair of Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds. Gayle set the pace with an innings of rare power and brilliance, scoring 51 off 34 balls, while Hinds went on to bat through the innings for his highest one-day score of 127 not out.

After Streak put West Indies in, Zimbabwe’s front-line seamers, Streak and Andy Blignaut, called the tune at the start of the match, as they swung the ball sharply under a cloudy sky. But the luck went West Indies’ way, and Gayle decided to ride it. He began with an amazing six over extra cover off Blignaut, following it next ball with a one-bounce four over long-on. Blignaut lost his cool immediately, the next ball swinging way down the leg side for four wides.Streak had bowled his first four overs for just four runs, but he too wilted under Gayle’s assault, his next two overs conceding 28 runs. Hinds joined in the fun with a six that just cleared the midwicket boundary, but so high that it might well have travelled further vertically than horizontally.Gayle raced to his fifty off only 30 balls, but then suddenly exchanged his broadsword for the unaccustomed rapier and paid the price. Trying to dab Ervine through the vacant slips, he was brilliantly caught by Taibu for 51. It was the 16th over and West Indies had already amassed 96 for the loss of only one wicket.Lara came to the crease and as soon as Ray Price came on, Lara looked to target him, hitting him for the longest six of the day over long-on. But in Gary Brent’s next over, Lara fell in a similar fashion to Gayle, for 14, trying to dab a ball through the slips and edging an easier catch to Taibu (124 for 2).Then came a period of consolidation as Ramnaresh Sarwan, needing to impress after three failures, settled in with Hinds. The rate gradually increased as the partnership developed, and Hinds went on to score his fourth one-day hundred off 127 balls as the sky darkened and rain approached.Sarwan, on 47, holed out to Vermeulen on the cover boundary off Streak (231 for 3), but Hinds continued to step up the pace, ruining Ervine’s impressive figures by plundering 17 off his final over. His 127 surpassed his previous one-day best of 125 not out, but the untimely rain prevented an onslaught in the last five overs.About 90 minutes’ play was lost, and when play restarted Zimbabwe’s target, according to Duckworth-Lewis, was 223 off 32 overs. That was always going to be tricky, but Edwards soon made it impossible. This result left both teams with all to play for tomorrow, the final day of an excellent series – weather permitting.

Kenya left for the Caribbean today to start a ten-week tour during which time they will participate in the domestic Carib Beer Series. They start their campaign against the West Indies ‘A’ team at St. Kitts on January 9.”It’s going to be a great tour for us since we will play in all the Carribean islands during the eight weeks,” said Andy Moles, Kenya’s new coach. “It is a long tour and there are opportunities for both the younger players and the established ones to show what they can do at a different level of the game, in a different environment.”The team, which includes three junior players, will be without the country’s leading bowler Thomas Odoyo, who underwent a successful knee operation in December. “I’m sad to have to miss the tour but I have to save my future career,” said Odoyo. “I hope Alfred Luseno who takes my place in the team will be a good replacement and will learn a lot during the tour.”Kenya squad Steve Tikolo (capt), Martin Suji, Peter Ongondo, Maurice Odumbe, Hitesh Modi, Brijal Patel, Lameck Onyango, Alfred Luseno, Kennedy Obuya, Maurice Ouma, Francis Otieno, Collins Obuya, Ravindu Shah, Rageb Aga.

Nepal U19s 157 for 9 (Gauchan 51*) beat South Africa 156 (Manjeet 4-15) by one wicket
ScorecardOn the fourth day, the Under-19 World Cup really came alive. As if Australia’s collapse against Zimbabwe wasn’t enough of a surprise, along came the lowly Nepalese, who held their nerve in a thrilling finish to beat the highly fancied South Africans by one wicket with two balls of the match remaining.Nepal had showed glimmers of their potential in their opening fixture against England, where they lost by eight wickets despite setting a competitive total of 192. But forewarned was not forearmed for South Africa, who batted first and were restricted to 156 in their 50 overs. And even that total owed everything to a late rally from their No. 9 Keegan Africa, who clubbed 52 not out from 62 balls after South Africa had slipped to 62 for 7.Nepal shared their wickets around, although the pick of the bowlers was Manjeet, who tore through the top of the innings with three early wickets, as South Africa crashed to 11 for 4. He later added Godfrey Stevens for 29, to complete the highly impressive figures of 10-4-15-4. He was ably backed up by Paras Khadka, Shakti Gauchan and Lakpa Lama, with two wickets each.Nepal began their reply with a wobble as Kaniska Chaugai fell for a fourth-ball duck, but after 30 overs they were in a strong position on 95 for 4, with Gauchan going strong on 29 not out, and several capable batsmen to come. But although the run-rate was never an issue, wickets kept slipping away, until 32 were needed from the last nine overs with two men still standing. Crucially, one of these was Gauchan, and he steered his side to victory with a cool unbeaten 51.

Former players and cricket officials from Karachi have voiced disappointment about the city not being allocated a Test match against India, and have vowed to lodge a protest over the decision.The final itinerary was announced on Saturday, and Karachi and Peshawar will only host one-day matches for security reasons.Hanif Mohammad, the former Pakistan captain, said he was saddened by the decision. “I am disappointed – the Indians should have been bold enough to play in Karachi which is the premier centre of the country.”Sirajul Islam Bukhari, the secretary of the Karachi City Cricket Association, told the AFP agency that, “The PCB had knelt down before India and by not including Karachi as the Test venue have taken dictation from the BCCI.” But the Indian Board said that the decision to drop Karachi and Peshawar over security fears was taken on the Indian government’s advice, following a visit by a three-member delegation which assessed security in Pakistan last week.A suicide-bomb blast outside their team hotel, which killed 12 people, forced New Zealand to abandon their tour in May 2002. Bangladesh played a Test and a one-day game in Karachi and one Test in Peshawar last year, but South Africa and New Zealand refused to play at both venues because of security concerns.Bukhari said that his association’s officials will meet the provincial governor to lodge a protest, but he ruled out a boycott of the one-day game scheduled for Karachi on March 13. “Boycott would be a drastic decision,” he admitted, “and in the best interest of the country we would not boycott the only match given to Karachi.”

Australians 484 for 6 and 250 for 4 (Symonds 119*, Langer 63*) lead Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI 166 (Gunawardene 70, Lee 4-29) by 568 runs
Scorecard

Somebody call Amnesty international. Cruelty reached new heights on the second day of the tour match against Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI, as the Australians built a lead of 568 runs, after dismissing their opponents for 166 in 36.2 overs. Brett Lee took the morning’s honours, crashing through the top order to take four wickets, and then Andrew Symonds turned the competition for a Test berth into a full-blown battle with a sparkling unbeaten century that gave his team the momentum to score 250 for 4 in only 50 overs.In the first innings, Simon Katich and Darren Lehmann cracked rapid hundreds, while Symonds, their competitor for the sole middle order slot, managed an unbeaten 45 in the limited time he had. In the second innings, under Ricky Ponting’s `everyone gets to play’ policy, Symonds made pretty good use of his promotion to No. 3 by smashing 119 with 18 fours and a six that cleared the ground. For the second time this game, the ball was lost.Symonds shared a 141-run stand with Justin Langer, who struggled to score 63. Shane Warne then turned up and scored 31, but Symonds kept applying more and more pressure on the hapless bowlers, and he tonked 15 boundaries on his way to 90, before cautiously scoring singles to reach his hundred. It was a comprehensive performance by the batsmen, who followed up the work of the bowlers earlier that day.The Australians had made an overnight declaration at 484 for 6, and let their bowlers loose first thing in the morning. Lee wasted no time, trapping Russel Arnold with his first ball, and yorking Saman Jayantha with the fifth. The double-blow exposed a soft underbelly, and the bowlers were on to it like vultures. Sanjit Fernando struck three fours before Michael Kasprowicz slipped one through, and Lee then removed Sanjeewa De Silva and Thilan Samaraweera, who average over 50 for Sri Lanka. In seven overs, Lee decimated the top order, but would have had prettier figures if not for eight no-balls.A cavalier attitude to batting cut short Gunawardene’s Test career three years ago, though the same quality held him in good stead today. Unaffected by Lee’s onslaught, he took Kasprowicz apart. By lunch, Gunawardene had crashed his way to 59, with 52 coming through boundaries. When he was finally out for 70, leg before to MacGill, the team fell into a crevice. MacGill picked up two other wickets, but the innings was ended by Shane Warne, who had Ruchira Perera stumped to pick up his first wicket in Australian colours since January 25, 2003.Then came the Australian batsmen, and more misery for the Sri Lankans.

A report in the Birmingham Post claims that Warwickshire are in talks with the city council regarding the feasibility of them building a new stadium in conjunction with Birmingham City FC.Warwickshire have made no secret of their frustration with restrictions on development at Edgbaston, particular the repeated refusal of applications to install permanent floodlights on the ground. All previous attempts have been thwarted by local residents.A move away from Edgbaston would free them of such restrictions, and by entering into a ground-share arrangement they would be able to build a far better stadium that were they to try and finance it on their own.The Birmingham Post article says that the talks, which are at an advanced stage, involve selling St Andrews (Birmingham City’s home) and Edgbaston and building a new, 60,000 seater stadium in central Birmingham (the Eastside district), which would benefit from a roof and (moveable) athletics track. The idea is to host the Commonwealth games as well as national and international cricket all year round.Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire’s chief executive, admitted that the county had contributed to the feasibility study, but downplayed the likelihood of the plans coming to fruition. “We thought that it was only right to ensure that we looked at the possibility in a responsible manner. But the city council are talking about a multi-sport arena with a capacity of around 60,000 and which could cost £150 million.”I don’t think it would be sensible to play county cricket in a stadium of that size. If it is going to be a multi-sport venue, with football as the main sport, it would be difficult to marry that up with county cricket. I think that, realistically, the only cricket that could be played at the stadium is international cricket. We would not own the stadium and we would have to rent the stadium to stage international matches there."

Scorecard

“At 10 for 2, I’ve done it for you,” said Nasser Hussain earlier this week, in response to the various calls for his removal from the side. Well, at 35 for 2 and with his head on the chopping block once again, Hussain rose to meet the vultures with a glorious unbeaten hundred, adding 108 for the third wicket with Andrew Strauss and 139 more with Graham Thorpe, as England overcame New Zealand to win the first Test at Lord’s by seven wickets.In a match of sustained drama, Hussain provided a climax that rivalled Steve Waugh’s epic career-saving century at Sydney two winters ago – and the denouement, like Waugh’s, was pure theatre. With nine runs required for victory, Hussain produced a lofted drive off Chris Martin to go to 98, then brought the scores level and the house down off the very next ball, with a crashing cover-drive that took him to his 14th Test hundred. One more cover-drive later, it was all over, and the celebrations could really begin.Up until that thrilling climax, it had been a typical Hussain innings – one that ended in triumph but flirted with disaster throughout; not least when, in a deliciously ironic twist, he ran out Strauss, England’s golden boy and the man tipped to replace him in the team, just as Strauss seemed destined to complete the second century of his debut Test. But in harness with his old ally Thorpe, Hussain overcame his embarrassment and dug in to provide the final and decisive act of a wonderfully fluctuating Test match.It was only in the final half-hour of the match, when New Zealand took the new ball in a last roll of the dice, that Hussain finally pulled out the stops and began to middle his shots. Up to then, he had been seeing the ball more like a peanut, and owed many of his 103 runs to the fleet-footedness of Thorpe, who managed to turn any old inside-edge onto the box into a quick single. But as Mark Richardson had already demonstrated, the style of his runs did not matter. Context and content were all that mattered.As with so many of his innings down the years, Thorpe’s contribution was immense but understated. He finished unbeaten on 51, having first guided a crestfallen Hussain out of the doldrums after the run-out, and then, with the runs required ticking down, he served up the singles and turned down the big shots to give his old mate every chance of reaching his hundred. Five years ago, on New Zealand’s last visit, Thorpe had been widely criticised for leaving Alex Tudor stranded on 99 not out, but today he was altruism personified.The day had begun inauspiciously for England. They resumed on 8 for 0, still needing another 274 for victory, but that prospect looked pretty distant as Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher both fell cheaply inside the first hour. On 2, Trescothick mistimed a drive to be caught by Daryl Tuffey, reaching to his right in his followthrough (18 for 1), before Butcher squirted Martin’s fourth delivery to Stephen Fleming at second slip for 6 (35 for 2).

In the circumstances, therefore, it was quite right that the Man of the Match went to Strauss, whose second Test innings was a performance of such sang froid that victory appeared a formality while he was at the crease. As Middlesex captain, he is familiar with the conditions at Lord’s, and in the morning session he produced an imperious display that befitted his status, moving along to 52 not out with the pick of his strokes a brace of sumptuous cover-drives.Strauss did have his awkward moments, however. Vettori managed to hit him under the grille of his helmet as he missed a sweep, and after lunch he suffered a dose of the jitters as Jacob Oram and Scott Styris repeatedly tucked him up from around the wicket. But a couple of loose deliveries from each bowler was all the medicine he needed, and he was well on his way again, when disaster struck.Hussain had added just 10 runs in an hour, and had even been missed by Brendon McCullum off a Chris Cairns no-ball, when he dropped the ball at his feet and hared off for a quick single, screaming “run, run, run!” as Strauss hovered uncertainly. Hussain belatedly realised the run was not going to happen, but by then Cairns had swooped from point, and McCullum had flicked off the leg bail. Strauss meanwhile had crossed, and left the ground to a standing ovation while Hussain was left to ponder the error of his ways.Fortunately there was a friendly face coming out of the pavilion. The Hussain-Thorpe partnership has been central to several of England’s greatest wins of the past decade, most notably Edgbaston 1997 and Karachi 2000-01. Together they rebuilt the innings, to ensure that Lord’s 2004 can be bracketed with those triumphs.

England v New ZealandEngland (possible) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Geraint Jones (wk), Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, Anthony McGrath, Ian Blackwell, Rikki Clarke, Darren Gough, Stephen Harmison, James Anderson.
New Zealand (possible) Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Gareth Hopkins(wk), Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori, Ian Butler.

In a thrilling encounter at Utrecht, Ireland beat Holland by 10 runs in another rain-affected match to draw level with Scotland and Holland on the points table. The ECB XI are two points clear at the top, but they still have Scotland and Holland to play, meaning the championship is still wide open. The Irish victory was set up by a superb allround performance by man-of-the-match Trent Johnston, who hit a rapid 49 from 30 balls, then took 3 for 44 as Holland fell just short of their target.Persistent rain delayed the start of the match for some time, and when play did start Ireland got off to a poor start, losing Jeremy Bray (8) and Jason Molins (13), who has just recovered from a hamstring injury, in quick succession. Andre Botha was run-out for 24 after some excellent fielding on the boundary, but Andrew White and Trent Johnston swung the match firmly back into Ireland’s favour with their aggressive batting.Johnston’s innings included a clutch of sixes, but he fell one short of his half-century when he was caught by Tom de Grooth off the bowling of Tim de Leede. White also fell short of his milestone, caught and bowled by Luuk van Troost for 40. Kyle McCallan was run out for 12 after he attempted a single to a misfield, and JJ Esmeijer took two wickets in the last three balls, as Ireland finished on 181 for 9 after their 31 overs.Naseer Shaukat, who took 5 for 30 in Holland’s second innings in Ireland’s Intercontinental Cup victory prior to the championship, immediately put Holland on the back foot again here, removing Tom de Grooth early, caught behind by Steve Ogilby.Darron Reekers was then bowled by Botha for 17, but Daan van Bunge and Bas Zuiderent fought back, taking Holland to 100 for 20 after 20 overs. Then came the vital breakthrough as Johnston bowled van Bunge for 50. In the next over Paul Mooney had Zuiderent caught by Molins for 36, and despite good innings from de Leede and Edgar Schiferli, two wickets each to Johnston and Gordon Cooke kept Holland in check, and Ireland squeezed home.