The England fast bowler Andrew Caddick today underwent an MRI scan on hisinjured back in Adelaide.England physiotherapist , Kirk Russell, said afterwards: “The scan hasrevealed long-standing wear and tear consistent with a fast bowler ofAndrew’s age which is continuing to cause him pain. He will have a steroidinjection into his back in Perth tomorrow and his fitness will bere-assessed at nets on Wednesday. At this stage, he has not been ruled outof the 3rd Test.”
Matt Swarbrick blazed a magnificent 143 as Bournemouth kept leading ECB Southern Electric Premier League duo BAT Sports and Havant within their sights with a nine-wicket mauling of South Wilts at Bemerton.Swarbrick simply savaged South Wilts’ depleted attack, dominating Bournemouth’s first double-century opening partnership for 15 years as the Sports Club maintained third place in Division 1.Ironically, he was bowled by Dorset team-mate Tim Lamb – so depleted was the South Wilts attack that the Dorset wicket keeper had to bowl 7.3 overs – one short of Luke Ronchi’s season’s best 144 for Bashley against Calmore Sports the previous week.But, by the time he was dismissed, Bournemouth were 217-1 and well on course to pass South Wilts’ 229 all out.His opening stand with teenager Tom Webley, who carried his bat for a patient 70, was Bournemouth’s Southern League highest since Richard Scott hit 164 in a 231-run partnership with David Nesbitt in 1987 …. ironically, also against South Wilts !Bournemouth scored two immediate blows after Swarbrick had won the toss on a strip that provided assistance to the bowlers during the morning session.Left-armer Mark Mixer (3-55) had Jamie Glasson caught behind and then Tom Caines, a Dorset occasional several seasons ago, was run out at 13-2.Paul Draper (65) battled away and, after support from Jon Nash (23), Rob Wade (30) and Lamb, was fifth out at 138-5.By then, Jo Wilson’s on-the-spot bowling had begun to take effect – the balding Liverpudlian finishing with 5-66, including the scalps of Lamb (48) and Russell Rowe (23) as South Wilts slowly sank to 229 all out.When South African left-armer Shaun Adam suffered a back injury, South Wilts were left high and dry with barely any penetrative bowling.And how Bournemouth – and Swarbrick in particular – cashed in.The Dorset opener peppered the Bemerton boundaries on the way to a SL best 143 – his previous highest was 138 against Winchester in 1996 – as Bournemouth romped home in 42 overs.Somerset hopeful Webley, anxious to spend time in the middle, was happy to hit a circumspect 70.South African Christof Bothma returned a season’s best 5-33 as Calmore Sports crushed Andover, the early season pace-setters, by 139 runs at Loperwood Park.Bothma, who spent last summer at the South African Academy near Johannesburg, ripped out Andover’s entire top order to have the visitors reeling at 20-4.There was no way back for Andover, who had earlier dismissed Calmore for 225.James Hibberd maintained the pressure for Calmore, who eventually bowled the visitors out for a disappointing 86.Calmore’s 225 was based around a second-wicket partnership between Mark Boston (35) and skipper Tom Pegler (79), who was able to play after missing his flight to a cousins wedding in Denmark.Pegler was eventually seventh out at 201.Although Gareth Tate (5-41) worked his way through the lower order, Calmore’s 225 was always too many.Bashley (Rydal) had to settle for a draw at Liphook & Ripsley, where the relegation strugglers finished at 197-7, 23 runs behind the visitors’ 220-9.The saturated Ripsley Park strip was hardly conducive to quick scoring and Bashley’s total owed much to second-wicket pair Neil Thurgood (89) and Graham Pardey (33), who added 113 in 37 overs.Luke Ronchi, with 45 off 36 balls, enlivened proceedings, but Bashley’s later batsmen perished in the pursuit of quick runs – Alan Crawford finishing with 5-61 and Tim Wheatley 4-62 before the visitors closed at 220-9.Hampshire YCs all-rounder Chris Wright (50) gave Liphook hope, but his dismissal at 94-2 effectively ended any prospect of a positive result.South African Alistair Gray didn’t appear to appreciate the need to hasten the pace and went on to bat the best part of the Liphook innings for an unbeaten 82.Spin duo Dale Middleton (3-74) and Andy Sexton, who earlier hit 21, bowled in tandem for long periods before Liphook’s reply ground to a halt at 197-7.Former Hampshire left-arm spinner Raj Maru was the inspiration behind Portsmouth’s 59-run win over relegation-threatened Burridge, who are back in bottom place.Maru hit a league best 74 and later took 4-47 as Portsmouth moved into a highest-ever fourth spot on the log.Maru and Geoff Pike (52) shared a century opening partnership as Portsmouth, with subsequent support from Lee Savident (28), Michael Barnes (25), Warren Swan (21) and Steve Mitchell (21), moved on to 241 all out.Simon Creal toiled away for Burridge, finishing with a career-best 8-81 off a marathon 20 overs.Burridge were seldom in the hunt, Jo Dixon (56) top scoring in an all-out total of 182 (Ben Thane 31) – Maru completing a fine match with 4-47 and Savident taking 3-21.
Hampshire’s Charlie van der Gucht is back playing cricket – just 13 months after suffering horrific injuries in a road accident last summer.And he even celebrated with a wicket as he helped the Hampshire Academy take another step towards the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2 championship with a 32-run win over Old Tauntonians & Romsey.Van der Gucht, 22, broke both his legs and was on a life support machine after being hit by a taxi in Twickenham last July.But, little more than a year after his accident and after courageously battling his way back – and landing a 2.1 history degree at Durham University in the process – the left-arm spinner took his first positive step towards a comeback in the professional game.Van der Gucht bowled a full 12-overs and finished with satisfying figures of 1-34.”I was really pleased with the way things went, but it was obviously very tiring, particularly the fielding aspect,” he confessed.”It was the first time I had stood around for three hours and I came off from fielding totally drained – but nonetheless pleased.”Playing again was an important physiological barrier to overcome, but I’ve done it and now I’m looking forward to next week’s match (against United Services) with the Academy team.”The Hampshire youngsters certainly had their work cut out beating a tenacious OTs side.Although three of the top order failed, Irfan Shah (55) gave the innings momentum before becoming Max Smith’s third victim at 94-4.Martin Bushell (60) shared key middle-order partnerships with David Wheeler (31) and Tom Burrows (34) as the Academy advanced to 233 all out, Nick Wood (3-56) and Jeremy Ord (3-59) sharing the spoils.There was even an opportunity for Van der Gucht to bat, but he was run out for four.”Batting really was weird. It was the first time I’d held a bat for some time and I got myself run out when I fell over after my spikes got caught in the pitch,” he laughed.Charles Forward (60) fired OTs’ response and with Smith (49) his partner, took the reply to 104-3 before Wheeler’s direct-hit throw ran the latter out.Van der Gucht bowled his 12 overs in mid-innings, having Keith Trodd caught by Luke Merry.”The first eight overs were fine, but the last four were a physical drain.”But it was something I had to get through,” he said.The Academy gradually chipped their way through the batting after that, the Romsey club finishing with a creditable 201-8, and van der Gucht returning home knowing that he had taken his first positive step on the comeback trail.
Somerset, who were runners up in Division One of the county championship in 2001, travel to Hove on Wednesday to face Sussex, the Division Two champions last season, for their opening first class match of 2002.Since the introduction of the two tier championship the counties have not met. The last time that Somerset played at Hove was in July 1998 and on that occasion they had to settle for seven bonus points in a high scoring draw, the feature of which was Adrian Pierson’s maiden century.The following season when Sussex came to Taunton the Cidermen scored 503 for 8 declared in their first innings, thanks to centuries from Jamie Cox and Piran Holloway, and were victorious by 8 wickets.Over the years Somerset have generally come off second best from their visits to the south coast. Of the 83 matches played away, Sussex have won 39 times compared to 19 Somerset victories, with 25 matches resulting in a draw.With fast bowler Steffan Jones fully recovered from the ankle injury he sustained last Monday at Millfield, Somerset coach Kevin Shine has named his strongest available side to make the journey.The full squad is: Jamie Cox, Matt Wood, Mike Burns, Peter Bowler, Keith Parsons, Ian Blackwell, Rob Turner, Keith Dutch, Richard Johnson, Matt Bulbeck, Steffan Jones and twelfth man Simon Francis.Kevin Shine told me: "With Steffan Jones being declared fully fit after bowling in the nets today we are going into our opening championship match with a strong side. The boys are desperate to get going and are champing at the bit."How were Somerset going to approach the match, I asked. The coach told me: "We will approach it in the same way that we have all of our matches this season, and play it hard. Sussex are a strong side and were the outstanding team in the second division last season. They have got a good attack with Lewry, Robinson and Kirtley, and they also have a strong batting line up with Montgomerie, Adams and Goodwin."Who would open the bowling I asked the coach. He told me: "We will probably open with Matt Bulbeck and Richard Johnson, who complement each other, and then Steffan will probably bowl from the same end that `Johnno’ does."After hearing about his selection Matt Bulbeck told me: "I’m very happy to be playing against Sussex. I’ve worked very hard right through the winter and it’s starting to pay off. Now I hope I can concrete my place in the team."All rounder Ian Blackwell, who enjoyed a career best season in 2001 told me: "Everyone is looking forward to the game. We are going to Hove looking for a result. There will be high expectations from us after all doing so well in the pre-season matches. Everyone is fit, including Matt Bulbeck, and we are going there looking forward to knocking them over."Keith Dutch, another player who enjoyed considerable success in 2001,told me: "We have started off well in our pre-season games and scored lots of runs. It will be interesting to see what kind of a pitch we get. I have never played a championship match at Hove so I’m really looking forward to it."
The youngest Test centurion in the history of the game is undergoing a bad patch. Mohammed Ashraful, the diminutive all rounder, who notched up a swashbuckling 114 in his debut against Sri Lanka last year, is passing his hard days after his rose-rimmed beginning.The next Test he played was against Zimbabwe where he failed to make a mark, neither with his willow nor with his occasional leg-spin. Ashraful was dynamic in his approach against Sri Lanka when he found that memorable hundred against them, but later he was found too smart in his style when it came to deal with the great bowlers of the game. He forgot that all big innings don’t come from belligerent stroke play like he did in Colombo – sometimes an attacking batsman has to go to the shell for survival.Often we saw Ashraful gifted his wicket while attempting a risky shot completely unwanted at that moment. He pulled off once in the moment of crisis (That 114), but such success wasn’t repeated for the next 4 Tests he played. From his the next few innings, we can reckon his 33 in the Test against Zimbabwe in Chittagong to be a first-rate innings.There is another Sri Lanka tour again and Bangladeshis will be glad to see if Ashraful carried off another ton just like before. The kid is talented they know and can deal Murlitharan with skill. Mindful that Sri Lankans were rather lenient while Ashraful was on his way to the three-figure mark (I am not belittling his success). The Lankans knew that they were going to wrap up Bangladesh soon, so they focused at the other end where wickets were falling at regular interval.All I want to say that Ashraful is yet to have the experience to bat under real pressure. He must learn to get rid of his superfluous smartness, because often it causes his debacle. He must be working on this flaw in the upcoming tour!
England went one-up in the National Bank Test series when achieving a 98-run win over New Zealand at Jade Stadium in Christchurch today, but not before some heart-stopping moments inspired by New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle.If fairy tales were part of cricket, New Zealand would have achieved a world record target of 550 runs today, but they gave it a good shot, or Astle gave it 74 good shots, the number of scoring strokes he played while scoring 222, at world record pace, to give England a fright by scoring 451.In reality, New Zealand lost this Test by failing to take vital catches, England captain Nasser Hussain 52 in the first innings and Graham Thorpe on four in the second innings.They went on to score 106 and 200 not out respectively.Then New Zealand were dismissed for a paltry 147 in their first innings which left them 81 runs short.The catching and fielding from both sides during the game was below par, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said the catching had never been as bad during his five years as captain, while some of the batting was ordinary and on other occasions out of this world.It allowed Hussain to claim afterwards that it had been a great Test match, and in terms of individual performances, there were efforts to rank with the stars – Hussain’s first innings century in difficult conditions, Thorpe’s double century, Andrew Flintoff’s maiden Test century, and Astle’s world record double century, the fastest of all time by 59 balls.It was an improbable target but New Zealand gave it everything, although some of the top order batsmen struggled.Matt Horne looked out of touch for his four, Lou Vincent played ordinarily in his three-ball innings for a duck, Mark Richardson survived a leg before wicket decision that looked plumb only to be given out on 78 caught off his shoulder.Fleming was undone by an inside edge for 48 while Craig McMillan exercised a poor option by hitting a return catch to Andy Caddick to be out for 24.Adam Parore wasn’t around long enough before failing to lift his bat far enough out of the way of a steepling ball from Caddick which he played onto his wickets while Daniel Vettori pulled the ball around to mid-wicket to offer an easy chance.Caddick bowled superbly in the conditions to have six wickets for 122 runs, although his figures took a mauling from Astle as he twice lost balls when hitting them onto the rooves of the grandstands at the ground.Matthew Hoggard, who took seven for 63 in the first innings, had one for 142 in the second, being mauled even more severely by Astle.The tragedy of it was that New Zealand lost Chris Cairns to a patella tendon injury and he will play no further part in the Test series.The challenge will be for New Zealand to find an attack capable of bowling the side back into the Test series.Hussain said he had been thinking that Astle and Danny Morrison had denied England a Test victory on their last tour here, in Auckland, and could it happen again?”He struck the ball brilliantly. We mixed it up but wherever we put it, he hit it for six.”It was a magnificent Test match. It was littered with great things throughout.”Hussain said although the target was 550 he never took anything for granted because cricket was a game that comes up and bites you.He had been delighted with the disciplines of his bowlers, even in the face of Astle’s onslaught. Caddick had bowled superbly under the conditions with a flat wicket and used his height well.”What the win has shown is that we’ve got a bit of character.”But there’s nothing between these two sides and we will have to practise and play at our best to win the series,” he said.Fleming said the challenge was ahead of New Zealand now.”It will be difficult, a lot has happened in this Test. We will have a completely different make up because of the injuries.”We were confident coming into the match. That hasn’t changed and we are still after the respect we want, no matter who we play.”Our confidence has taken a dent but we haven’t under-estimated anybody,” he said.Fleming said he had never seen Astle hit the ball so well, or anybody for that matter.Fleming also added that Cairns had not intended to bat but with Astle going so well he thought it was worthwhile to see what might be achieved.Had he not batted it can only be wondered at what special moments in the game would have been missed out on. That would have been a tragedy for the game.
North Zone made virtually sure of retaining the Duleep Trophy on Saturday. While the only team which seemed to have a chance to overhaul their points tally, South Zone, lost to East Zone by four wickets at Agartala, North Zone took a major step towards winning the title at the Feroze Shah Kotla when at stumps on the third day, Central Zone were 370 for eight off 103 overs in their first innings in reply to the home team’s 690 for eight declared. Even if North Zone were to get no more than five points for the first innings lead, they will take their tally to 23 points from their four matches – a figure no other team is in a position to overhaul.Resuming at 81 for one, Central Zone put up a good fight but in the pace of the imposing North Zone total, it was a hopeless cause. They suffered an early blow when their skipper and that prolific run getter around the domestic circuit Amay Khurasia was caught by Dinesh Mongia off Harbhajan Singh for 51. Khurasia who was in a punishing mood since he came in on Friday evening faced only 36 balls and hit nine fours and a six.Jai P Yadav and Md Kaif then shared a third wicket partnership of 103 runs off 25.2 overs before the former was out for 78. The in form MP opening batsman faced 103 balls and hit 12 fours and a six. Kaif and Raja Ali then carried the total to 227 when the former was caught by Mongia off Rahul Sanghvi for 61. In a stay of 2-1/2 hours, Kaif faced 139 balls and hit six fours and two sixes.Sanghvi also got rid of Ali (29) but a fighting knock by Yerra Goud sustained the Central Zone innings till close of play. The 29-year-old Railways right hander received some support from the tail. D Bundela (11), RJ Kanwat (17) and wicketkeeper Abhay Sharma (14) all stayed with Goud for some time as he raised his personal score as well as the side’s total. By stumps he was unbeaten on 67. He has so far faced 160 balls and hit ten fours. Left arm spinner Sanghvi was the pick of the bowlers and finished with four for 47 off 25 overs. Off spinner Harbhajan Singh was rather expensive conceding 123 runs from 30 overs for his two wickets.
Habib Bank opener Saleem Elahi hammered a brilliant 115 off only 97 balls, helping his side surpass Allied Bank’s competitive 266 with two overs and three wickets to spare in the first match of the sixth round of One-day tournament (departments). This is test discard Elahi’s second consecutive century in the tournament, after he thrashed 170 (142 balls, 22 fours, 1 six) in Bankers’ winning campaign against Pakistan International Airlines in fifth round.After adding 115 for the first wicket with Taufeeq Umer (39 off 63), the right-hander Elahi compiled a useful 73 for the third wicket with Ijaz Ahmed (51 off 49, 4 fours 2 sixes) to take his side across 200-run mark by the 32nd over.The fall of a few wickets in quick succession after that endangered HBL’s chances of victory. However, they managed to squeeze through on the basis of an unbeaten 14 off 21 from wicket keeper Tahir Rasheed, batting at number 9.Batting first after winning the toss earlier in the day, Allied Bank were boosted by a 125-run second wicket partnership between Mohammad Nawaz and Aamer Hanif. Getting together at 12 for 1 in the third over, they took the score to 137 by the 28th over, thus, laying a sound foundation for a big score.Nawaz made 67 (85 ball, 6 fours) and Aamer contributed with 57 (76 balls, 3 fours), before both getting out within the space of 7 runs. After their departure, the task of scoring quick runs was taken over by Aaley Haider (25 off 26, 3 fours) and Taimur Khan (39 off 52, 4 fours). However, the real acceleration was provided by former test player Mohammad Akram, who collected a quick-fire 35 off 24 ball, hitting 4 fours and a six.HBL skipper Akram Raza remained the most successful bowler, getting 3 for 48.Imran Farhat, fresh from his trip to Sharjah, took 2 for 21 in five overs. Asadullah Butt and Sajid Shah bagged one wicket each.Saeed Bin Nasir stroked a magnificent 106 not out to help Khan Research Laboratories crush Agricultural Bank by a comprehensive margin of 9 wickets in the second match of this round, played at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.The right-handed opener hit 12 boundaries in his 111-ball innings, while adding 144 to for the first wicket with Saeed Anwar Jnr and another 62 with Mohammad Wasim for the unconquered second wicket, overhauling the victory target of 205 in 38 overs.Saeed Anwar Jnr made 78 off 87 balls and hit 10 boundaries, whereas Wasim remained unbeaten on 17 off 32 balls.The morning session saw a magnificent collective effort by the KRL bowlers, containing ADBP to 205 in 46.3 overs, after they had elected to bat first on an apparently batting-friendly track.Naeem Akhtar, the right-handed pace man, grabbed three wickets for 53 to inflict real damage on the ADBP batsmen, after a fine 77 off 99 by the middle order batsman Majid Jahangir had taken them on course to a big total. Naeem was ably supported by Jaffar Nazir and Saeed Anwar Jnr who grabbed two wickets for 34 runs each.In the third match of the day, played at Sheikhupura, Pakistan International Airlines surpassed the 178-run target set by National Bank to win comfortably by 6 wickets.After losing two wickets for just 16, PIA looked in real danger of squandering their chance of winning the match. But then a 50-run partnership for the second wicket between Ghulam Ali (32 off 36, 4 fours) and skipper Asif Mujtaba (28 off 49, 4 fours) brought a much needed order in their ranks.However, the dismissal of both within a space of 20 runs, once again made things a bit shaky for PIA. It was then up to an unbeaten 95-run stand between Yasir Hameed and Moin Khan for the fifth wicket, which ensured a comprehensive victory for their side.Moin, the former captain, stroked a fine 51 off 49 balls, and Yasir made 50 off 64 to take their side through in only 34.1 overs.Earlier, it was fine display of spin bowling from Shoaib Malik (4 for 39) and Saqlain Mushtaq (2 for 38), restricting NBP to 177. Only Qaisar Abbas (38 off 73) and Naumanullah (37 off 75) could take their individual scores into 30’s, with the remaining batsmen failing to show any worthwhile performance against an experienced PIA attack.In the last match, Pakistan Customs went down by 3 wickets against Wapda, despite a valiant hundred by Nasim Khan at number 3 position.It was really a commendable effort by the left-hander, considering that none of the other Customs batsmen could score even a fifty, the second highest being 32 (41 balls) by Nisar Abbas, batting low down the order.Requiring 232 for victory, Wapda seemed to be cruising along at 132 for 2 by the 30th over, after Rizwan Malik (67off 95 balls) and Sheraz Butt (27 off 53 balls) had batted with utter caution. However, the next ten overs saw them slumping to 179 for 6, needing the remaining 53 at around five an over.Rafatullah Mohmand and Shafiq Ahmed batted with responsibility at this critical juncture to ensure that the ultimate honours went to their side. Shafiq Ahmed remained not out on 25 off 26, hitting one four and a six, whereas Rafatullah missed his half-century by just one run in a 47-ball innings, before being out at the total of 224.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
M Vijay’s 266 became the highest individual score in Irani Cup history•Fotocorp
There were no glorious uncertainties on the third day of the Irani Cup at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as, expectedly, Rest of India’s batsmen piled on the runs against Rajasthan. M Vijay continued to enjoy himself, reaching the highest individual score in the tournament’s history, beating a 22-year-old record held by Praveen Amre, to pretty much ensure the Ranji champions would be denied the Irani Cup for a seventh year in a row.As early as Saturday morning, when the openers Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane were utterly at ease against Rajasthan, the discussion in the press box was about when Rest of India will decide to declare, and at what score. The majority view was that Rajasthan would be in the field at least till tea on the third day; it turned out that Rest of India batted for almost an hour after tea, till the lead stretched to a mammoth 354.Worryingly, for Rajasthan, the odd ball stayed low making it difficult for the batsmen, and one from left-arm spinner Gajendra Singh took off from the rough, spinning past the outside edge and the wicketkeeper’s shoulder. It was by no means a difficult track to bat on yet, but was promising to become one as Rajasthan looked to bat out the best part of two days.That also meant the day wasn’t an absolute cruise for the Rest of India batsmen, as it had been on Saturday. Vijay began with a couple of wristy square-leg boundaries, and within the first half-hour had reprised the two signature shots of his innings: an off-drive between the bowler and mid-off, and a carve through cover for another boundary. But there were a few false shots as well, like the Chinese cut for four off left-arm quick bowler Aniket Choudhary and several missed shots with the ball going through to the keeper.Just before the first drinks break of the day, Vijay brought up his third double-hundred, with a drive for four to long-on. The stream of drives through the V continued, and he also guided several wide deliveries to the third man boundary as he neared his previous personal best of 243. He was put down by Sumit Mathur at long-on on 220, and looked plumb lbw to Mathur on 258 but he persevered, not showing too many signs of tiredness. He was hobbling soon after as a delivery sneaked between his pad and thigh and painfully struck him on the knee. It wasn’t long before he finally holed out to long-on, walking off for 266.Like each of the other batsmen before him, S Badrinath also helped himself to a half-century, and with lunch around the corner, he looked good for his first first-class hundred since last December. Instead, he was done in by a shortish ball from Deepak Chahar which kept low.That didn’t affect Rest of India too much, as Dinesh Karthik joined the half-century party, with a 56 that included ten boundaries. He used his feet to the spinners, and was forceful on the cut against anything short. He was looking to defend a delivery from the offspinner Madhur Khatri off the front foot, but it spun past the inside-edge and he was gone lbw for 56.Rajasthan’s bowlers finally got some respite late in the day, as Cheteshwar Pujara declared with 16 overs remaining. Rajasthan had waited half a day to get their first wicket on Saturday, but Rest of India needed only four deliveries as Ishant Sharma got one to swerve away and take Ankit Lamba’s outside edge to Dinesh Karthik, who took over the keeping duties from Wriddhiman Saha for the second innings. On the evidence so far, Rajasthan have given little reason to believe the Irani Cup won’t be as comprehensively one-sided as it has been over the past few years. Taking the game to the fifth day itself will be an achievement for them.