MELBOURNE, Dec 28 AAP – Jason Gillespie looked mean and nasty.His figures at the end of the day looked great.Two lively spells from Gillespie and a marathon effort from Stuart MacGill helped Australia make short work of England on day three of the Boxing Day Test, keeping Steve Waugh’s side firmly on track for a baggy green sweep of the Ashes.Resuming at 3-97 in reply to Australia’s first innings of 6(dec)-551, England lost 3-7 in the first hour before being rolled for a paltry 270 – only 20 runs more than Justin Langer made in his epic knock.Allrounder Craig White made an unbeaten 85 carrying a torn side muscle that will prevent him bowling for six weeks and probably rule him out of next week’s Sydney Test.”It’s touch and go,” he said.Asked to follow-on, England openers Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan made a better fist of it, putting on 67 runs only for MacGill to strike through a baffling LBW decision from Zimbabwean umpire Russell Tiffin.At stumps, England was 2-111, still 170 runs behind.Trescothick (37) attempted to sweep a leg break from MacGill that landed outside off stump.The ball hit his front pad still outside the line, but Tiffin raised his finger anyway as MacGill fell to his knees.He may have been in shock.Australia got its money’s worth from 31-year-old MacGill, who was filling the big shoes of injured Shane Warne.He bowled 36 straight overs during England’s first innings, finishing with 2-108, then resumed his work in the 10th over of England’s second innings and bowled out the day.He kept bustling in and landing his repertoire on a good line and length, proving less expensive than feared.He almost struck again in his final over, enticing England captain Nasser Hussain out of his crease as Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails.It was close, but the video umpire said not out.”Stuart bowled really well, he was spinning the ball a lot and looked like he was going to get a wicket a lot of the time,” said Gillespie.”He bowled most of the day, I can’t speak highly enough of him, he bowled really well.”MacGill has sent down a total of 49 overs in the match, including 38 today.But it was Gillespie, snarling like always through his run-up, who did the real damage from the other end.He bowled fast and straight for the outstanding return of 4-25 from 16.3 overs in England’s first innings and picked up 1-20 in the second.Waugh says Gillespie never bowls badly, but sometimes he doesn’t get the rewards.He got his just desserts today.He took care of Mark Butcher (six) in the second innings when Martin Love continued his dream debut by taking a screaming one-handed catch low to his left at first slip.Fiery Brett Lee (2-70) and ever-reliable Glenn McGrath (1-41) joined the wicket-taking action in the first innings, while Waugh gave himself four overs, trapping James Foster LBW to take 1-13.Waugh’s men remained firmly on course for the first Ashes whitewash since Warwick “The Big Ship” Armstrong led his Australian side to a 5-0 triumph in 1920-21.The only bright spot for England was opener Michael Vaughan (55no) beating Dennis Amiss’ record for the most runs by an English batsman in a calendar year – on the same day and ground Matthew Hayden broke Bob Simpson’s Australian record a year ago.Vaughan has made 1,391 runs this year, more than any other Test player except India’s Sachin Tendulkar (1,392).Hayden has been Australia’s most prolific with 1,159.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has announced the South Australian team to compete in the Under-17 Youth Championships in Perth from January 3 to 14.Captain of the side is 16 year old James Harford, who was a team member in the Under-19 Championships recently held in Canberra. James scored three half centuries in six innings during the Under-19 carnival.Ten out of the thirteen players selected were members of the SA team which won the Under-15 National Championships in 2001.The South Australian Under-17 team is:

James Harford (c – Kensington)
John Pratt (vc – Prospect)
Paul Allegreto (Kensington)
Adam Carey (Southern Districts)
Chad Harper (Sturt)
Shannon Hurn (Northern Districts)
Tom Kurzel (Prospect)
Phillip Maddocks (Adelaide)
Logan Pastyn (West Torrens)
Gary Putland (Southern Districts)
Simon Roberts (Southern Districts)
Chadd Sayers (Woodville)
Simon Wiese (West Torrens)

The year 2003 gets into motion to the strident cries of well-meaning people advocating a total cricketing boycott of Zimbabwe for the World Cup. Once more we ask them, "What about the very serious effect such a boycott would have on the game in Zimbabwe? What plans to you have to counter that damage?"At least England look likely to play now – now that their politicians have refused to pay the compensation that they would owe Zimbabwe if they pulled out unilaterally. It looks, then, as if the only hopes of those wanting a boycott of Zimbabwe lie in what they would call `a deterioration of the security situation in the country’. But we hope nobody wants that. Zimbabweans have little enough to cheer them at present, so at least allow us a World Cup that will stimulate the game in this country.CONTENTS

• National League scores and averages
• Updated biography: Gus Mackay
• Detailed first-class career record: Grant Flower
• Letters

Next week sees the start of an innovation, an official one-day inter-provincial competition in Zimbabwe. Normal one-day rules apply, with 50 overs per innings. Provided obstacles can be overcome, some of these matches will be covered from the ground by CricInfo. They are as follows:

Wednesday 15 January: Matabeleland v Midlands, at Harare Sports ClubManicaland v Mashonaland, at Mutare Sports ClubFriday 17 January: Manicaland v Matabeleland, at Alexandra Sports ClubMashonaland v Midlands, at Country ClubSunday 19 January: Manicaland v Midlands, at Alexandra Sports ClubMashonaland v Matabeleland, at Harare Sports Club

The decision by the International Cricket Council not to reschedule England’s cancelled fixture against Zimbabwe has had further repercussions in that English umpires Peter Willey and Neil Mallender have expressed doubts about going to Bulawayo to officiate in the matches there and have been replaced by the ICC.Based on the evidence presented to the ICC by the England and Wales Cricket Board, Willey and Mallender had concerns about their safety if fulfilling appointments in Zimbabwe.Willey was due to partner Dave Orchard in the Zimbabwe versus Australia match in Bulawayo on Monday, 24th February, with Mallender as third umpire. Willey was also to be third umpire for the Zimbawe against the Netherlands game, also in Bulawayo, four days later.Billy Bowden of New Zealand will replace Willey for the Australia match, while Nadeem Ghouri of Pakistan stands in for the Dutch game. Mallender will be replaced by Brian Jerling of South Africa.In announcing the changes, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said: "Both umpires had separately advised the ICC that if the ECB did not send its team to Harare, they would be reluctant to fulfil their appointments in Bulawayo."Since the cancellation of the England match, they have reconfirmed their decisions that they do not want to stand in Zimbabwe."Willey said: "I advised the ICC some time ago of my concerns and indicated that if my employer, the ECB, did not send its team to Zimbabwe, I would be unlikely to travel to the country."Willey has always been regarded as one of the hard men of the game. Most of his international cricket was played against the might of the West Indies when they were at the peak of their powers because it was known that he would not flinch against their battery of fast bowlers. He is also regarded as one of the best umpires around but refused to allow his name to be put forward for the ICC Elite Panel because he did not want all the travel and time away from home that such an appointment would involve.Both Willey and Mallender will complete their other scheduled appointments. Willey is third umpire for the South Africa v Sri Lanka match in Durban on 3rd March, while Mallender will act as third umpire for the Australia v Namibia game in Potchefstroom on 27th February. He will also stand with Asoka de Silva in the Kenya v Bangladesh game at The Wanderers in Johannesburg on 1st March.

The West Indies Cricket Board has re-scheduled the outstanding fixture between West Indies B and India A in the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series, as well as the semi-finals and final.The first round match between West Indies-B and India-A that had been postponed because of the visitors’ late arrival in the Caribbean will now be played at Kensington Oval, starting on Friday."The WICB did not feel it was fair for India-A to forfeit the points for missing the first round match and, now that they have a chance to make it in to the semi-finals for the Carib Beer International Challenge Trophy, we had to shift our dates around," remarked Michael Hall, the Chief Cricket Development Officer of the WICB.The staging of the West Indies B/India A fixture means that the semi-finals and final of the Carib Beer International Challenge will be delayed by one week. They semi-finals will now start on March 28 and the final on April 4.Meanwhile, the WICB has confirmed that Mervyn Jones and Dalton Holder will umpire the West Indies B/India A fixture with Halley Moore, the reserve umpire.

Shane Warne’s prizemoney allocation for Australia’s World Cup win has been defended amid claims the banned leg spinner did not deserve it.Warne is set to receive up to $15,000 from Australia’s victory despite not bowling a ball in the tournament and being banned from cricket for one year for failing a drug test.Warne was in South Africa for 11 days and will collect the cash through a pro-rata system adopted by the players for the 55-day tournament.His allocation – believed to be between $10,000 and $15,000 – has come under fire from Australian cricketing great Neil Harvey and is likely to anger large sections of the public.But Warne’s manager and brother Jason said the banned star deserved his share of Australia’s $3.36 million windfall.”From my own point of view it’s a tough one, but how far back do you go? He’s already being punished enough as it is, but do you go back and make it retrospective?” Jason Warne said.Jason Warne said his brother’s input into Australia’s victory could not be quantified.But he said it was a “bit harsh” to strip Warne of his stake given his involvement in team planning and training and World Cup promotions.”He is already missing out on income for the next 12 months and you’ve got to draw the line somewhere,” Jason Warne said.”The (anti-doping) committee drew the line in the sand when the suspension was started from February 10.”You can only go by what’s done and what the players decide.”How can you say he didn’t have any input into the games?”He was there to help Brad Hogg bowl in the nets and he was there for the structuring of the team plans which is an important part of it, so I suppose he has earned his stake in the money.””You can’t shift back his suspension and ping him both ways. That’s a bit harsh.”Australian Cricket Board public affairs general manager Peter Young said the Australian team wanted the payment system and adopted it specially for the World Cup.Young said each of the Australian players were paid the same “day rate” for every day they took part in the successful cup campaign.Warne is not the only member of the squad to benefit despite playing no games.His replacement Nathan Hauritz will also profit immensely, as will fast bowler Nathan Bracken, who replaced the injured Jason Gillespie.Gillespie played four matches.Young could not say how much each player would receive.But The Daily Telegraph newspaper said Hauritz would earn about $270,000, Bracken about $130,000 and Gillespie $180,000.

Somerset youngster Gareth Andrew made a dream debut for the Sabres in their opening match of the season at the County Ground in Taunton, but despite his impressive performances with both bat and ball his side still went down to Durham Dynamos by seven wickets.After Saturday’s victory over the same opposition in the county championship, this result will be a bitter disappointment to the Cidermen, who were without the strike force of Richard Johnson and Nixon McLean, who were both being rested in readiness for the game at Derbyshire on Wednesday, because of minor injuries.All rounder Keith Dutch was selected along with debutant Andrew, and Steffan Jones and Keith Parsons were both recalled to the team.With the weather threatening from the start it was no surprise that when Durham won the toss they elected to field first.The Sabres innings got off to a bad start when they lost Mike Burns with the score on 4 when he was bowled by South African Dewald Pretorius who was making his Durham debut.Marcus Trescothick and Jamie Cox took the Sabres onto 71 before Cox was out for 19 in the 13th over, followed shortly afterwards by James Bryant who failed to score.Parson received a warm welcome when he went out to the wicket and batted confidently for his 35 runs,before he was caught by Danny Law off Vince Wells.Trescothick was once again showing just what a talented player he is and delighting the crowd with an array of attacking shots, until he chanced his arm once too often and was caught by Michael Gough off Wells for 74.When Andrew went out to bat Somerset had slipped to 183 for 7 and looked in danger of being bowled out cheaply, but the young man had other ideas. He got off the mark with a leg glance to the boundary off Indian Test star Javagal Srinath, and from that moment he looked very much at home in the big arena.Along with Keith Dutch the young all rounder added 35 for the eighth wicket before he was caught by Gary Pratt at mid on from the bowling of Pretorious for 22.Dutch brought some late cheer to Sabres fans before he became another of Pretoroius for a hard hit 39, and by the end of the innings Somerset had moved onto 233 for 9.For the visitors Pretorious took 4 for 31 from his 9 over spell.The Durham reply seemed to be going along steadily enough until in the sixth over Andrew, who opened the bowling from the Old Pavilion End tempeted Gough to edge a catch to wicket keeper Turner, to claim his first wicket in the game at this level.Better was to follow when in the same over Vince Wells gave a hard chance to Trescothick at slip where the England man made no mistake. The youngster from Glastonbury had taken two wickets in one over and the ground was buzzing.More wickets could have so easily followed but it just wasn’t to be. A couple of chances went down, and by the time the players left the field because of the rain Durham had recovered to 112 for 2.When the player returned with a revised total of 215 to chase the visitors made no mistake, and thanks to a third wicket stand of 164 between Gary Pratt ( 101 not out) and Nicky Peng they reached their target for the loss of three wickets with 8 overs to spare.After the game Gareth Andrew told me: “I never dreamt that my debut would be as good as this. It just couldn’t have been better, it was just ideal. I felt nervous when I went out to bat and nothing can prepare you for that, but once I got off the mark a lot of positivity went through me. I felt even more nervous when I started my opening spell with the new ball, but once I got my first wicket I felt fine. Today was a dream debut for me.”

Malcolm Gray, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has expressed concern at the increasingly aggressive on-field behaviour of the Australian players, and stated that the ICC would scrutinise the incidentsthat took place during Australia’s ongoing tour of the West Indies.Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Gray indicated that the match officialsshould have taken stern action against the errant players. “From all of thereports we got it appeared…that the behaviour of the players was quiteover the odds. It’s something that we don’t want in the sport and that inthose circumstances, greater action and more sterner action should have beentaken.”Gray was especially worried that the Australians were building a reputationas poor sportsmen. “Australians are not liked around the world,” Gray said.”The messages we were getting was that the Australian public and theAustralian press felt it was way over the top…this time the Australianpeople believed the actions were beyond the pale.”Gray stressed that the onus was on both the ICC and the national cricketboards to ensure that player behaviour improved across all teams. “In termsof process it is an ICC matter, in other words the umpires, referees and soforth,” he said. “However, in terms of the longer-term problem, it really isup to the national bodies to develop within their teams a change inculture.”The four-Test series between Australia and West Indies were marred byon-field altercations, which reached a head when Glenn McGrath charged atRamnaresh Sarwan and exchanged heated words in the fourth Test in Antigua.Both players were reprieved by Mike Procter, the match referee, who decidednot to take any punitive action.

The post-match pitch invasion at Old Trafford at the end of the first NatWest Challenge game is likely to prompt the England & Wales Cricket Board to call on the government to pass special legislation to combat the problem.Several hundred spectators ran onto the ground at the end of the game waving flags and banners, with the stewards left as helpless bystanders.”We’ll be looking at the legal situation with the Home Office in the very near future,” confirmed David Clark, the Corporate Communications and Events Manager at the England and Wales Cricket Board. “Two years ago they told us to use the legislation which covered aggravated trespass, which they believed would do the job, but there is clearly confusion with every Police Authority we work with. There’s also confusion among the Crown Prosecution Service as to whether that legislation is appropriate. It’s clear from the experience we’ve had so far that it’s not appropriate.”The government has so far refused to introduce legislation designed to prevent invasions of this kind, leaving ground authorities and the police only able to invoke minor sanctions against offenders.Clark was, however, keen to stress that the invasion at the end of the game should not hide the progress that has been made with crowd control. “We’ve not had any problems for two years, we’ve successfully changed the culture and people have stayed in their seats and stayed off the outfield.” But he added: “This was a real test for cricket to see how far it had come in two years and it’s a huge disappointment that we haven’t been successful here in enabling the game to finish in an orderly way with the players and match officials leaving the field in a safe and secure manner.”Jim Cumbes, Lancashire’s chief executive, was disappointed at the scenes, especially as he had arranged extra security aimed at preventing any invasion. “If they have a will to get on, you just can’t stop them,” he admitted. “It was high spirits, but you always get concerned that there’s someone among them who acts with malice. We would have had to have had literally hundreds of stewards or the police to keep them off.”

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 16 down the yearsJuly 15| July 171973
When he was captain, nobody in world cricket had as much on his plate as Shaun Pollock, who was born today. Captain, premier strike bowler, lower middle-order counter-attacker, and possessor of one of cricket’s more ginger tops, Pollock was the real deal from the moment he came in against England in 1995-96, and cracked 66 and took 4 for 34 on his one-day international debut, at Cape Town. He is the pivot of South Africa’s side, the definitive allrounder in a team of them. He averages over 30 with the bat, and thrashed a Bothamesque, 95-ball first Test hundred from No. 9 against Sri Lanka at Centurion in 2000-01, a match in which his bowlingaverage dipped below 20. A masterful wicket-to-wicket bowler, his average, when he passed the milestone, was the lowest of the 41 men to have taken 200 Test wickets. His father Peter and uncle Graeme were pretty good as well. All he has to donow is find a way to beat those pesky Australians.1910
A fearless Aussie is born. Stan McCabe loved mixing it with the fast bowlers,and in the first match of the 1932-33 Bodyline series he walloped 187 not out in the first innings. No other Aussie managed even a half-century. McCabe was a batsman of the highest class, a brilliant hooker in particular. At Trent Bridge in 1938 he saved the match with ablistering 232 so good that it had even Don Bradman drooling. When McCabe returned to thedressing-room, The Don said simply: “If I could play an innings like that, I’d be a proud man, Stan.”According to the Wisden 100, it is the greatest Test innings played at Trent Bridge. McCabe died in Syndey in 1968.1895
At Taunton, Archie MacLaren completed a mighty 424 for Lancashire against Somerset, the highest score in first-class history at the time. It remained the highest in first-class cricket in England for 99 years … until Brian Lara shattered that, and a few other recordsbesides, in 1994.1981
The first day of an immortal Test. There was nothing miraculous for Englandat the start, just 90 overs of solid frustration as Australia ground themdown on a typically bowler-friendly Headingley track. At the close the Aussies were 203 for 3, with John Dyson having made a fine 104. Wisden CricketMonthly said he batted “like a Woodfull”. England were under the coshalready.1927
An MCC president is born. John Warr would rather be remembered forthat than his Test bowling average – it was 281. And his strike rate was awicket every 584 balls – or 97 overs. Both were the worst in Test historyuntil West Indian legspinner Rawl Lewis kindly plumbed new depths. InWarr’s defence, he was still a Cambridge undergraduate when he was pickedfor those Tests, in Australia in 1950-51. Most students struggle toget up before midday to brush their teeth, let alone to bowl to Hassett,Harvey and Miller on an Adelaide shirtfront. Warr later captainedMiddlesex – cue the famous Brian Johnston joke that “Warr’s declared”,whereupon an old woman in the crowd wakes up and enquires, “Who against?”1983
Against New Zealand at The Oval, Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare became the first England openers toscore a century in the same Test innings for 23 years. And – shock, horror -Tavare’s was the quicker: his 109 came off 255 balls, Fowler’s 105 off 303.Mind you, it was Fowler’s maiden Test hundred, so you can understand hiswatchfulness. Allan Lamb cracked 102 not out as well, as Englandeased home by 189 runs.Other birthdays
1920 Anwar Hussain (Pakistan)
1936 Venkataraman Subramanya (India)