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Surrey are yet again dictating terms after posting an impressive first-innings total in their championship match against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl. After an innings of 55 by Saqlain Mushtaq had extended the champions’ first innings to 418 this morning, the Pakistani off-spin wizard took three wickets and James Ormond four as Hampshire were bowled out for 327, a deficit of 91. John Crawley (82) was the hosts’ top scorer, while John Francis made 59 and Jason Laney 48.Kent are in an excellent position against Lancashire after their captain David Fulton went on to reach 177 at Canterbury. The hosts reached 405, while Lancashire’s academy-bound young fast bowler James Anderson finished with three for 88. The visitors’ batting then turned brittle, as Martin Saggers, Majid Khan and Mark Ealham enjoyed themselves. At stumps Lancashire were 164 for eight, 241 runs behind.Bottom club Yorkshire had a poor first day at Edgbaston, as Warwickshire ended the day on 374 for five. Dominic Ostler (126*) and Tony Frost (103) were the prime movers after skipper Mike Powell had made 58, adding 140 for the second wicket with Frost.Somerset’s miserable season continued at Grace Road, where they were skittled for 191 despite 97 from Michael Burns. Javagal Srinath (four for 60) and Phil DeFreitas (three for 35) were the main beneficiaries. Trevor Ward then made 84 as the hosts took a first-innings lead within the day, closing on 207 for five.In Division Two, there was a clatter of wickets at Derby. In all, 23 fell in a day when the leaders Middlesex lost their last two while adding only one run to their overnight score. Both wickets went to Kevin Dean who finished with six for 59. Then Ashley Noffke had the even more impressive figures of eight for 24 as Derbyshire were skittled out for a mere 137. However, Dean then claimed another four wickets and there four for Jason Kerr as the Middlesex second innings came to a close on 150 to set Derbyshire 306 to win. At the close they had taken 45 off the target, but had lost a wicket in doing so.The last five Essex wickets fell for the addition of 95 runs on the second day of their match against Durham, who were then reduced to 99 for four before bad light brought a premature end to the day. Michael Gough is still at the crease, 41 not out, but Durham trail by 364.Two other sides with an interest in the promotion race are involved in a high-scoring match at Trent Bridge. Paul Franks was undefeated on 57 when the Nottinghamshire first innings came to an end with the total on 404. Worcestershire then got within 42 runs of that total and still have four wickets in hand thanks to an unbroken seventh wicket partnership between David Leatherdale (110) and Steve Rhodes (122) who have shared a stand worth 242 so far.Matt Cassar became the third batsman to score a hundred in the Northamptonshire innings of 592 for eight declared. Having held back the declaration for Cassar to reach his milestone, Northamptonshire then took two Gloucestershire wickets before Craig Spearman (64) and Matt Windows (53) stayed together to the close when Gloucestershire were 149 for two – still a daunting 443 behind.

Alistair Campbell was perhaps rather reluctant to take on the mantle of Zimbabwe cricket captain again, but he saw it as a duty to Zimbabwean cricket, with no other obvious willing and capable candidate for the post in the absence of Heath Streak. He spoke to ZCO about his temporary reappointment.The position regarding the post of national captain is decided each July by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union board. In July 2001 Heath Streak had been reappointed by the board, which was quite taken aback by his resignation in October.Then followed an unsatisfactory season: Brian Murphy was appointed as Streak’s successor, but had hardly started the job when he was sidelined by a hand injury. Stuart Carlisle stood in for him until he returned, only to be beset by another injury, which eventually forced him out of cricket for the rest of the season.Carlisle continued in the job therefore for the rest of the season, but was appointed on a tour-by-tour basis, uncertain how long he would hold the job and feeling he did not have the confidence of the selectors.At their meeting in July 2002, the ZCU board had perhaps a three-way choice. They could continue with Carlisle, they could return to Murphy, or they could look elsewhere, which would mean returning to a senior player who had already held or been offered the job.They decided against Carlisle, perhaps also because he is not a leading international player and a loss of form might make his place in the team difficult – which in fact was to happen at the start of the 2002/03 season. The problem with Murphy was perhaps that during his absence Raymond Price had bowled superbly in Test matches and the reappointment of Murphy would mean either dropping Price or playing two specialist spinners all the time.So they decided to sound out the senior players in the hope that one of them might relent. Reportedly Andy Flower and Alistair Campbell were approached and found unwilling, on a long-term basis at least. Heath Streak was won over and he agreed to return to the post.Then came the fateful accident in Colombo, during the wasted week that Zimbabwe were required to stay in Sri Lanka after being knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy. According to Alistair Campbell, he was riding in a rickshaw in Colombo when apparently a car went through a red robot, forcing the rickshaw driver to take evasive action and rammed into a tree, overturning the vehicle with Heath at the bottom. “Everything landed on top of him and he was scraped along the kerb. Thankfully the injury is in his left shoulder, not his bowling shoulder, but he’s had an operation and had pins put in it. He’s likely only to start bowling again in the middle of December, and hopefully will be fit and raring to go for the World Cup.””At the beginning of the season (the ZCU) wanted me to do the vice-captaincy job,” says Alistair. “I declined, but said that if Heath Streak was injured I would take over. But I thought that might be one game, if it happened, but it turned out to be quite a serious shoulder injury, so, good to my word, I said I would take over this Pakistan series and the Kenyan one-dayers when I was asked.”According to Alistair, the mood in the team to face Pakistan is very good, despite Streak’s injury. “We’ve got a very good work ethic, a very good sense of professionalism at the moment under Geoff Marsh and Kevin Curran, and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve just come off Logan Cup and there have been some good performances there, and it’s been good to get into the longer game. We’re playing at home after a long gap, the grounds are looking fantastic at both venues, and we know the opposition are very good. It’s going to be a test, but something we’re looking forward to.”Who does Alistair regard as the key Pakistan players, those who will receive most attention from the Zimbabwe team think-tank? “No one can forget Shoaib Akhtar,” said Alistair. “I think he’s a match-winner in his own right and he’ll be one to watch. But they have some very good cricketers. They are a side fully of match-winners, and if you just go through their bowling they’ve got Shoaib and Waqar Younis, who are very good, and then Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Zahid are very good young fast bowlers. Sami bowls quicker than you think and swings the ball. Then obviously Saqlain Mushtaq speaks for himself as well, a world-class off-spinner.”Then their batting is full of stars as well. They’re obviously missing a few of the so-called veterans, like Saeed Anwar and Wasim Akram, who’ll be here for the one-day series, but we’ve played against guys like Hasan Raza before when he was supposedly a 14-year-old and looked very good, so if he’s progressed then he must be quite a good player now. Then obviously you have your Yousuf Youhanas and Inzamam-ul-Haqs; we’ve played them before and they’re premium performers at world level.”So it’s going to be tough, really tough. But we’re playing at home, we’ve had a good break over the winter and played some good cricket leading up to it, so the guys are fit and raring to go. We’re very happy Wasim Akram won’t be here for the Test matches, but he will be here to hunt us down for the one-day games. Wasim is an awesome performer, because I’d have like to play against him at Test level, as he’s just about to retire; it would have been nice to have one last battle against him, but that’s not to be.”Zimbabwe has a particular game plan to use against Pakistan, but of course Alistair cannot divulge it. He does say, though, that he recognizes the need to strike early, before Pakistan have the chance to dominate, but without Heath Streak in top form this may be an area where Zimbabwe will struggle, especially if Douglas Hondo is not fit in time for the First Test. “They respect us as a dangerous team,” he said, so nothing can be expected by way of complacency.Alistair himself has batted with remarkable consistency this season for Mutare Sports Club in the national club league and for Manicaland in the World Cup, even if it does stop in the nineties, where he has been dismissed several times. He didn’t claim any particular incentive, either positive or negative, but said, “I’m feeling good and I hope it augurs well for the future. They say you peak at 30, and I’ve just reached 30, so I’m making a conscious effort to enjoy the last four or five years of my career. My mind has been my greatest enemy, but at the moment my mindset is right, my mind is clear, and we’ll see what happens.”Zimbabwe cricket followers will be hoping this new-found application will extend to the coming series, when he will add to his list of centuries, which is so meagre for one of his ability. Alistair acknowledges that Zimbabwe’s batsmen should be aiming to average around 40 in Test cricket, so perhaps he has had a look at his current average of 36 and decided it needs a major boost before it is too late.

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan captain and coach, has joined a growing number of board critics, urging his county’s president, Pervez Musharraf, to take strong action against the PCB.Miandad held the board responsible for all the controversies to have dogged Pakistan cricket in recent times, including the latest Mohammad Asif drugs scandal, and wants Musharraf, also the Patron-in-Chief of the PCB, to hire technocrats.”I was in the US in the last few days. And I can’t tell you what feelings the Pakistanis there have about the cricketing affairs of the country,” Miandad told . “Every day there is a new controversy in the board and it is due to the non-technocrat persons handling the affairs of the country’s most important game; it is the right time for the president (Musharraf), to remove the entire board immediately and bring technocrats.”The game of cricket is also a source for creating national unity but unfortunately the defeats and back-to-back controversies are causing great disappointment among Pakistan cricket fans, which is not good.”Asif, the fast bowler, has been officially suspended by the PCB for testing positive for a banned substance during random drug tests conducted during the Indian Premier League. This is his second drug offence after both he and Shoaib Akhtar failed a dope test before the Champions Trophy in 2006.Miandad added that the board was too lenient on the pair initially after their bans were overturned by an appellate tribunal appointed by board. He implied the latest scandal, plus Shoaib’s repeated acts of indiscipline, wouldn’t have occurred had the board acted otherwise.”Both Shoaib and Asif had been rightly banned for two and one year (respectively) for positive dope tests in 2006,” he said. “But the same PCB monarchy influenced to get both of them free by its own appellate tribunal with the desire that they (bowlers) will help them win the 2007 World Cup. But all these efforts produced nothing positive; instead they encouraged the players and both remained active in more indiscipline cases after that.”Miandad is among a growing number of former Pakistan players to slam the board for its mishandling of the Shoaib-Asif scandal, including Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Ramiz Raja, Zaheer Abbas and Aamer Sohail.

Taking an early lead can always stand a team in very good steadand India have done well in going to the top of the table in theNatWest tri-series after the first round of matches. There isstill a long way to go – each country plays each other threetimes before the final at Lord’s on July 13 – but it must besaid the performance of this team has been heartwarming. I, forone, cannot see India being the team knocked out before the titleclash.The strengths and weaknesses of the three teams were all palpableon the eve of the competition and none of the sides had a reallysmooth build-up in the warm-up games. But India have been thefirst to shrug off the dubious qualities and play to theirstrengths. This, as well as the fact that the team management hasdone a bit of tactical thinking, has seen them make a dreamstart.True, they still have to maintain the momentum, and to thisextent the path ahead will be that much more difficult as Englandand Sri Lanka try to fathom their frailties and then exploit it.But with the kind of start they have made, India can afford toeven falter a bit and yet make the final. The only fear is thatthey will, as they have done so often, do the early running, peaka little too early and then crumble at the final hurdle.As I said in my preview, this is a contest between three fairlyevenly-matched sides. Despite India having won both their matchesand Sri Lanka losing two out of two, the competition still doesnot have a clear-cut favourite. With two sets of matches – sixmore league games – still to be played, there is still time forSri Lanka to regroup and show that they can win tournamentswithout the services of Muthiah Muralitharan. There were glimpsesof the old Sri Lankan magic in both the games and their bestcould still lie ahead.England with one win and one loss, have a lot going for them.They are a good all-round side and while their victory over SriLanka was convincing, their loss to India was narrow. It was amatch in which they were in a winning position more than once,but full marks to India for their gritty fightback, first withthe ball and then with the bat.

England certainly have looked more impressive than Sri Lanka andat the moment the odds must be on them making the final. But itmust be admitted that neither Sri Lanka nor England have caughtthe eye as India have.Their performance has been a revelation. The batting has clicked,the bowling has risen to the occasion and the fielding standardshave improved. What is most heartening, however, is the teammanagement’s readiness to go in for strategic changes. Twospinners against England but only one against Sri Lanka showsthat John Wright, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid are in a moodto ring in the changes if necessary and not go in with a fixedattack of three seamers and one spinner or two seamers and twospinners, come what may.They have also stuck to their gameplan of having Sachin Tendulkarat No 4 with Ganguly and Sehwag available to open. It certainlywas an encouraging sight to see Tendulkar walk in on Sunday withthe Indians tottering at 26 for two. The modest target of 203 hadseemed far away at that stage but Tendulkar’s brilliance sawIndia snatch back the initiative. It was the great man who ledthe fight back before Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh built uponit to seal the victory.The young one-day specialists Kaif, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Mongia andAgarkar have already proved that they can deliver and have doneso in the NatWest series again with Yuvraj’s success with theball being a bonus.As for Agarkar, whatever his dismal record in Test cricket, whenit comes to picking the limited-overs squad, he should be amongthe early choices. I have never ceased to wonder why and how suchan immensely gifted youth has not really done justice to hisability and potential.

With the experienced trio of Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkarquickly into their stride, the batting has bloomed. Ashish Nehradid reasonably well in the one game he played against Sri Lankawhile the bowling of Zaheer Khan and Agarkar against England wasan object lesson in how to bowl at the death. It is also good tosee Ganguly bowl a lot more than usual. In English conditions, hecould have a major role to play.The one question mark hangs over the spin bowling. Anil Kumble in20 overs has conceded 89 runs without taking a wicket or bowlinga maiden. Harbhajan Singh in ten overs against England conceded50 runs without taking a wicket or bowling a maiden. The figuresby themselves are enough to cause major concern. What’s more,they have rarely troubled the batsmen, and the cavalier andobviously pre-meditated manner in which Nasser Hussain treatedHarbhajan does not bode well for the off-spinner. But then he hasalways been a fighter, loves a challenge and one would not besurprised if he bounces back before the tournament is over.

Wasim Akram is set to topple another record Monday when he becomes the highest capped player in One-day Internationals by usurping former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s 334 appearances.But the 36-year-old veteran, who is already going great guns, has set his sights on next year’s World Cup – which is going to be his last assignment.”Every match in which I have wore the Pakistan colour is a memorable one. Despite all hiccups and turbulence in my career, it was worth playing for the country,” Wasim said Sunday.Wasim is already the leading wicket-taker with 463 wickets, almost 90 more than his closest rival and compatriot Waqar Younis.”I never played for records. My ambition was to take wickets. But naturally it is nice to have so many wickets in the bag. It makes me prouder when I look back at my career and recognize that I have done something for the country,” he said.Wasim had three tenures as captain and now believes he has to concentrate on his fitness and stay focussed for the World Cup.”I enjoyed captaining the country. It was an honour. But now in the twilight of my career, I don’t think I can afford extra pressures. I need to concentrate on my fitness and form because these will be the two factors that will keep me motivated to carry on.”Yes, there was a time when I was not enjoying the game. I don’t deny that I even thought of calling it a day. But then I am lucky to have sincere friends, especially my wife Huma, who lifted my morale and helped me get back on track.”If you ask me what I desperately need now, then the answer is to win the World Cup. I know how it feels to be a member of the World Cup winning team. If I ever think of a return of my achievements, then it’s the World Cup. I know the people want it desperately and so do I,” he said.Wasim was the Man-of-the-Match in the 1992 World Cup final. He led Pakistan to the final in the 1999 event where his team lost a lopsided match to Australia.”Pakistan is a multi-talented team and in my books, it is the favourite for next year’s tournament. The boys are working hard on that mission. But we need a bit of luck and support of our fan club to realize the dream,” the former captain added.Most one-day appearances (before the start of Morocco Cup):334 – Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Mohammad Azharuddin (India).325 – Steve Waugh (Australia).295 – Sachin Tendulkar (India).283 – Salim Malik (Pakistan).278 – Aravinda de Silva (Sri Lanka).273 – Allan Border (Australia).269 – Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka).268 – Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan).265 – Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka).

Things could only get better after the disastrous one-day domestic summer in New Zealand.And to a certain extend they did.The annual CricInfo New Zealand survey of the State Shield has revealed an upturn in trends, all the more important because the members of the New Zealand team were available for only two rounds of the Shield this year.This has meant that what improvements there have been have been achieved by the lower echelon of players.That will need to continue next year when most of the international players will again by involved in games with India in the warm-up to next year’s World Cup.There are still some disquieting trends; the inability of Otago to be more competitive, the inability of players in the areas below the opening partnerships to post big stands and the seeming inability for players to register individual centuries in the two rounds of games.Against that, it must be said that to have an improvement this year, when pitches were not all that they could have been, was highly encouraging and a good sign for continued improvement.Wellington were the big movers in performance levels during the State Shield domestic one-day series this summer.Their Shield win saw them improve their placing on the overall standings by 3.8%. With Canterbury dropping from their lofty perch with a 1.5% decline, the margin between the two rivals is now just over 10%, compared to 16% last year.Northern Districts were the other significant mover with the second best winning ratio in the competition since 1993/94 when the two rounds of play was introduced. They have a winning percentage of 59.1.Otago recorded a 0.5% improvement but still linger well below other sides with their winning ratio of 28.0.Auckland and Central Districts both suffered declines in performance this year.Win/loss records in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Played Won Lost NR %—————————————————-Auckland 93 36 55 2 39.7Canterbury 107 72 33 2 68.2Central Districts 91 37 52 2 41.7Northern Districts 104 61 42 1 59.1Otago 89 24 63 2 28.0Wellington 100 57 42 1 57.5Total 292

There was a significant improvement in scoring levels achieved during the State Shield this year. The greatest lift came in the number of sides reaching 250-plus. This was up from six last year to 13 this year, and this in a season marred by frustrations with rain and the subsequent effect on pitches. As a result there two more teams that reached more than 270, which occurred in five matches.This may have been attributable in part to the best bowlers in the one-day game being tied up in Australia with the New Zealand team, however, the best batsmen were also in Australia which makes the achievement all the more impressive from a batting perspective.Innings score ranges in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

-200 200+ (240+ 250+ 270+ 300+)————————————————————–1993/94 45 23 6 2 2 11994/95 33 35 14 9 3 11995/96 27 41 11 10 7 11996/97 28 36 12 9 7 11997/98 26 40 21 19 7 -1998/99 25 43 10 6 4 11999/00 31 33 12 8 7 12000/01 34 24 11 6 3 22001/02 31 28 16 13 5 1Total 280 303 113 82 45 9

Batsmen did seem to be still struggling to achieve centuries however. With one extra game played this summer there were only two extra centuries and with only seven through the whole programme that must still be a concern.Total individual centuries in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Matches Centuries————————————-1993/94 34 31994/95 34 131995/96 34 81996/97 32 131997/98 33 141998/99 34 31999/00 32 92000/01 29 52001/02 30 7Total 292 75

While the number of centuries may be down, there is clearly a much greater appreciation of the need for better scoring from openers in the competition. There were five century opening stands, one short of the record, and up from only two in the previous summer. While there were 14 half-century stands which was up from seven. The average opening partnership also increased from the lowest since recordings began in 1993/94 of 22.3 last year to a more robust 29.9.Opening partnerships in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Matches Average 100+ 50+————————————————1993/94 34 33.5 4 151994/95 34 31.1 2 151995/96 34 30.8 5 141996/97 32 35.1 6 151997/98 33 27.8 1 151998/99 34 35.1 6 161999/00 32 30.6 5 122000/01 29 22.3 2 72001/02 30 29.9 5 14Total 292 36 123

Further down the order, however, things were not so impressive. The number of century partnerships for all wickets actually decreased to 12, the lowest since the first summer of recording in 1993/94 with 12.Century partnerships for all wickets in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Matches Partnerships——————————————1993/94 34 121994/95 34 131995/96 34 151996/97 32 221997/98 33 171998/99 34 191999/00 32 162000/01 29 132001/02 30 12Total 292 139

The average team scores offered some interesting statistical phenomena. Wellington, the champions this year, actually performed less impressively with the bat and scored an average of 4.1 runs less per innings than they did last year. That may be a reflection of their potency of their attack, and especially their lowly dismissal of teams like Central Districts in some games.CD actually managed an impressive lift in their overall scoring by 11.7 runs per innings, although their 180.7 was still the lowest of all sides.Canterbury dropped 4.6 runs per innings while Auckland dropped 1.9. Northern Districts managed a 7.9 runs per innings increase. Otago too, despite their lack of success, continued an upward trend with their batting performances being the only team to average over 200 per innings with 201.8.Average team scores in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Average———————————————————————-1993/94 153.5 194.2 172.1 193.3 173.9 180.8 178.61994/95 199.5 197.6 205.6 204.4 186.2 199.0 198.91995/96 191.0 238.5 159.2 197.3 180.0 226.5 200.51996/97 179.8 193.8 207.6 210.5 189.0 199.1 197.11997/98 188.0 206.0 234.5 194.2 218.9 228.8 212.11998/99 174.9 220.5 202.0 199.4 203.2 205.1 198.11999/00 188.8 218.5 185.5 201.0 193.7 180.1 194.92000/01 199.3 187.1 169.0 185.9 196.6 196.2 188.52001/02 197.4 182.5 180.7 193.8 201.8 192.1 191.1Average 185.8 202.6 190.6 198.0 193.3 202.0 195.7

As was indicated by the decline in the value of all batting partnerships, the average value of wickets throughout the competition, continued a decline which began after the peak of 28.12 in 1997/98. It has now reached 24.67, with only Wellington (27.05), Auckland (25.63) and Northern Districts (25.08) managing to score the annual average.Average value of wickets in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Average———————————————————————-1993/94 20.19 31.50 23.45 23.43 20.13 32.60 23.171994/95 26.76 27.26 33.16 26.95 20.23 22.60 27.161995/96 21.65 39.20 17.49 26.45 21.42 26.64 25.071996/97 26.54 33.60 25.60 25.00 21.97 27.38 26.501997/98 22.65 29.08 31.85 24.56 28.80 31.93 28.121998/99 24.98 32.66 24.93 25.73 26.38 25.64 25.671999/00 28.21 36.42 20.12 26.63 22.78 20.46 25.362000/01 24.16 26.74 23.80 23.83 23.28 27.63 24.902001/02 25.63 24.19 23.24 25.08 22.74 27.05 24.67Average 24.47 30.70 24.53 25.30 22.32 26.65 25.62

Auckland and Canterbury (706) and Central Districts (707) have lost the fewest wickets in the all-time records of the competition but apart from Canterbury the figures do not reflect a dominance in batting performance.Auckland in the past season lost 11 more wickets than in the previous season while Canterbury lost six more. CD lost one fewer, ND lost seven more, Otago lost five fewer and Wellington remained the same.Total wickets lost in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Total——————————————————————–1993/94 76 79 95 99 95 80 5241994/95 82 87 62 91 92 84 4981995/96 97 73 91 97 84 102 5441996/97 61 75 73 101 86 80 4761997/98 83 85 81 87 76 86 4981998/99 77 81 81 93 97 96 5251999/00 87 66 83 83 85 88 4922000/01 66 77 71 78 76 71 4392001/02 77 83 70 85 71 71 457Total 706 706 707 814 762 758 4453

Perhaps one of the most telling figures, and one of the most encouraging is the climb in runs scored per over. CD, the champions from last season were the only team to decline. The overall average increased by 0.16 to 4.41 runs per over. Interestingly, Canterbury achieved the biggest increase with a lift of 0.31 runs per over. They are still the historical leader in the survey with their runs coming at an average of 4.53 while Wellington is back on 4.37. Auckland also achieved an outstanding change with a 0.28 lift in their annual figure. Otago too, increased by 0.19 to 4.54.Runs per over in Shell Cups and State Shield (1993/94-2001/02):

Auck Cant CD ND Otago Well Average———————————————————————-1993/94 3.62 4.13 3.89 3.92 3.79 3.81 3.871994/95 4.05 4.37 4.20 4.38 3.79 4.39 4.201995/96 3.98 5.16 3.38 4.29 3.87 4.58 4.251996/97 4.04 4.92 4.62 4.42 4.11 4.36 4.421997/98 4.20 4.86 4.74 4.24 4.51 4.77 4.571998/99 3.63 4.34 4.46 4.38 4.38 4.45 4.271999/00 4.13 4.53 4.10 4.43 4.07 4.24 4.262000/01 4.40 4.08 4.13 4.36 4.35 4.25 4.252001/02 4.68 4.39 4.11 4.37 4.54 4.36 4.41Average 4.06 4.53 4.18 4.30 4.14 4.37 4.27

Portsmouth look to have secured their premier division status after parents agreed to take control of their troubled colts section.But cricket development manager Les Randall has refused to be part of it and quit the club.Randall had earlier been asked to leave the club by officials in a dispute which had left the colts without both training and matches for the past three weeks.The disagreement threatened Portsmouth’s place in premier division one with league rules stating a club must have a functioning colts section to earn accreditation.But fears of demotion to the Hampshire League have been allayed after parents voted to form a committee.In a meeting at Drayton Park on Friday night, proposals were accepted to create a committee containing seven parents and a manager from each of the four age groups to oversee the running of the colts.The decision will see coaching sessions and matches start up once again from today.But Randall has declined to be part of it.A parent said: ‘We were keen for Les to agree to the proposals and run the colts section again.’We hope he will reconsider his decision but, whatever happens, we thank him for his incredible work to date in establishing such a strong colts section.’In the meantime, what we need now is to get the colts back playing cricket as soon as possible.’As part of the new regime, two senior players will be on hand to offer help and advice at every coaching session.A general meeting has also been scheduled for July 1 to adopt a formal constitution.In the meantime, coaching will take place at Drayton Park from 6-7.30pm on Mondays (under-11s), Tuesdays (under-13s) and Wednesdays (under-9s). Under-15s will meet at St Helens on Fridays from 6.15pm.Randall said: ‘I have parted company with the club and would like to thank the parents and colts for the support they have given me at all times. It has been greatly appreciated.’It is true I was invited to take a role in the running of the new section but turned it down.’Colts enquiries can be e-mailed to [email protected]

Flying high after the series triumph over the mighty Australians, the Indian cricketers are now aiming to set right their dismal record abroad, during the coming tour of Zimbabwe.As the probables engaged themselves in fitness and fielding drills at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, where the six-day conditioning camp began yesterday, skipper Sourav Ganguly said on Monday that a series victory over Zimbabwe would set right a “lot of things.””Our aim is to win a series abroad which will set right a lot of things,” Ganguly said and emphasised the need for India to play competitive cricket and as a team to the hilt.The Indian captain warned against any complacency, saying that Zimbabwe should not be taken lightly. “They are a good side and have home advantage…the last time we lost a Test match which we should have won. Our team is working on the fitness part since it has a hectic international schedule ahead,” he added.Coach John Wright said the focus was on fielding, catching, running between the wickets and improving the fitness levels of the players. He was interacting with players to find the reasons for India not performing well overseas.”We have to play the same way as we did against Australia. If we play up to our potential, we can beat good sides,” he said.The Indian team is to be announced in Bangalore on May 17.

Colts Cricket Club won the Premier League Trophy on Sunday after completinga comprehensive eight-wicket win over Sinhalese Sports Club at MaitlandPlace with over a day to spare.SSC had been on the back foot ever since the first innings when they werebundled out for 216 and were unable to pull themselves back into the gamedespite two brilliant innings from Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 137 in thefirst innings and 99 in the second, just missing out on his fourthconsecutive hundred.SSC had begun the day 99 runs in arrears with six wickets remaining. Theystarted positively with Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraeera extending theirfifth wicket partnership to 154.But Chaminda Vaas then trapped Jayawardene lbw and the wickets started totumble, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara picking up three wickets with hisoff-breaks to round off an impressive all-round performance and win the manof the match award.SS slipped from 192 for four to 234 all out, to leave Colts needing to scorea paltry 40 runs to win the game. Despite the loss of two early wickets,they breezed to that in just 7.2 overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMan-of-the-Match Prenelan Subrayen triggered a collapse that brought nine wickets for 39 runs•ICC/Getty

South Africa knocked England out of the Under-19 World Cup by overcoming some significant challenges to seal a comprehensive victory: they were playing their first game in Townsville whereas England had prior knowledge of the conditions, and they were sent in to bat when it was hardest. Their batting unit, however, survived the new-ball examination to compile a competitive score through determined accumulation rather than flashy strokeplay.Defending 244, South Africa’s bowling unit did not let their disciplines slip, even though England had a century partnership for the second wicket and were thebetter-placed side after 25 overs. From 102 for 1, offspinner Prenelan Subrayen triggered a collapse that brought nine wickets for 39 runs. Two England batsmen accounted for 108 runs, extras for seven more, and they were dismissed for 141 in the 41st over.Townsville finally ran out of sunshine and there was an even cover of high cloud as Quinton de Kock and Chad Bowes took guard against Reece Topley and Jamie Overton. De Kock took most of the early strike before chasing at a wide ball from Jamie Overton and edging behind. Bowes was more fluent, moving forward to punch the fast bowlers and flicking through and over square leg whenever the ball was on his pads.Bowes and Gihahn Cloete steered South Africa past the new-ball danger and built a platform for the rest of the innings. They added 65 before both were dismissed in successive overs, in the 18th and 19th.At 82 for 3, Murray Coetzee and Theunis de Bruyn, two batsmen from Pretoria, were faced with a tricky situation but they fought through it. Coetzee, however, was lucky to survive an edge against Craig Overton in the 20th over, when Ben Foakes dived to his left but couldn’t hold on. That drop came while a convoy of numerous trucks were passing the Tony Ireland Stadium, with their horns blaring.Their partnership for the fourth wicket was worth 96 when de Bruyn was bowled for 54. South Africa were well placed for 270 when Coetzee and Shaylin Pillay were milking singles and finding the boundary but lost direction in the end. Pillay attempted a scoop that landed in the keeper’s hands and South Africa were eventually dismissed for 244 off the final ball.Their defence began on a promising note when Lizaad Williams bowled Daniel Bell-Drummond, who’s had a poor tournament, off the inside edge and celebrated in a manner similar to Shahid Afridi. He would celebrate like that once again, while England were imploding later in the innings.Ben Foakes and Alex Davies, however, gave England a superb chance. Their 100-run partnership was slow, but with nine wickets in hand, an asking rate of just over six for around 25 overs should not have been a problem. Foakes, however, was dismissed for 54 by Subrayen just when he had begun to accelerate. Jamie Overton was promoted ahead of his more accomplished twin to bring down the required rate but scored only four runs. He too fell to Subrayen. England were suddenly 112 for 3.Calvin Savage, who didn’t take a wicket until the end, created pressure through economical overs, and when he did pick up the eighth England wicket, his emotion was reminiscent of Dale Steyn’s.Only Davies, who was also out for 54, and Foakes made it to double figures for England. South Africa’s pressure in the field was relentless and their encouraging shouts to each other in the field grew louder with each step towards the next round of the Under-19 World Cup.