England’s chairman of selectors, David Graveney, has admitted that Headingley hero Mark Butcher would probably not have played in the npower Ashes series if England’s first choice players had been fit.”If there had not been so many injuries, he wouldn’t have played,” conceded Graveney. “But we had a good idea of his form because there are so many Surrey lads in the squad and overall he has been our most consistent player this summer.”The pressure in the last innings of a Test match is awesome and you can assess the magnitude of the achievement by the fact that we have only reached a target like that twice.”But Graveney, talking to the BBC, supported the comments of Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, who said yesterday that a lot of work remains to be done before England are able to realistically expect to beat Australia.”You can say that we have been unlucky in one or two respects but we are playing against the finest side in the world and we have been found wanting,” MacLaurin told BBC Radio 5 Live.”One or two players have been injured but that does not disguise the fact that we have to look at our game in this country right from grassroots through to the county level and make it much more professional.””It just shows how quickly things can change in sport, in this case in a matter of hours,” said Graveney. But he reiterated the view that no-one should get carried away with the Leeds win, or let it disguise the disappointing result for England from the series as a whole.”If we are being honest, our performances have not been good enough and even on the first day of this Test, our bowling was probably the worst it has been all season.”

The England team management today announced the availability of Englandcontracted players to their counties for the rest of the domestic cricketseason.Available for all remaining domestic fixtures: Darren Gough, Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard (all Yorkshire), Alec Stewart (Surrey) and Michael Atherton (Lancashire.) Graham Thorpe (Surrey) and Dominic Cork (Derbyshire) will also be available subject to fitness.The England team management has also requested that counties rest the following players in order to give them an extended break before this winter’s tours.Craig White: available for Yorkshire’s NUL match against Kent tomorrow but to be rested thereafter.Andrew Caddick and Marcus Trescothick: available to Somerset for their NULfixture at Northampton this Thursday and the C and G Trophy Final thisSaturday, but to be rested thereafter.Nasser Hussain: to be rested by Essex from all domestic cricket until theend of the season.

When the West Indies women’s cricket team arrives in Sri Lanka at the end ofthis year to play three one-day matches and one Test, they will take on SriLanka in one ODI at Asgiriya, which is increasingly being considered as aHoodoo for Sri Lanka teams."Sri Lanka has struggled at the venue but we shall do our best to brake thistrauma and hopefully start a precedent for our national team to win thematches thereafter," said Gwen Herat, President of the Women’s CricketAssociation of Sri Lanka Lanka (WCASL)."With lots of new comers bidding for places in the team, this might be achallenge but with experienced players like C. Seneviratne, T. Ekanayake, S.Sivanathan and H. Abeysinghe the girls should do well."Several World Cup 2000 players will be retained in the team after trials."This is the beginning of our trek to the 2004 world cup in South Africaand they have to bear in mind and be dedicated towards achieving success. Wehave great sponsors in Singer Sri Lanka and Lanka tiles and we shall strivenot to let them down," she said.Herat is keen for the team to tour England despite the economic strain thatit would entail. The national had already been invited to tour Pakistan."This team needs tougher competition than Pakistan and England can supplythat," she explained. "In fact at the world cup 2000 in New Zealand, H.Abeysinghe was picked woman of the match against England.""The girls need a lot of motivation and regular physical training and thistoo will be looked in to along with psychological and mental attitudetowards the game. It is important they have a clear vision and not play theway they did at the world cup 2000."Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are the finalistscompeting for the World cup in 2004.Practices start on 17th September at 2:00pm at SSC Grounds. Rohan Fernandowill train the pool and will be assisted by Vanessa Bowen. In mid-Novemberthe teams will be picked and a former test cricketer will train them untilthe West Indies arrive.

New Zealand’s cricketers are going to have to have their calculators in their pockets while playing in the State Shield one-day series this summer.Bonus points have become a reality of the January domestic one-day fest, and they will take some getting used to.If a team achieves a run rate of 1.25 more than the opposition, whether batting first or chasing, it will receive a bonus point.However, there are fish hooks in the system. The calculation of 25% is based on the target of the team batting second.And when the Duckworth/Lewis system becomes involved school certificate maths are not likely to be enough to work out the requirements for bonus points.In order to make the worth of the bonus point more manageable, four points will be awarded for a win. A tie or no result will be worth two points.In the State Championship, teams could also find themselves going out to bat in wet weather, after having left the field for rain.An addition to Law 3.8 states: “If conditions during a rain stoppage improve and the rain is reduced to drizzle, the umpires must consider if they would have suspended play in the first place under similar conditions.”If both on-field umpires agree that the current drizzle would not have caused a stoppage, then play shall resume immediately.”Shadows on pitches from the stadium or permanent objects will be disregarded by umpires in the future.New Zealand Cricket umpiring panels this year are:International: Brent Bowden, Doug Cowie, Steve Dunne, Tony Hill, Dave Quested, Evan Watkin.NZC A Panel: Robert Anderson, Gary Baxter, Mike George, Barry Frost.NZC Reserve Panel: Jeremy Busby, Kathy Cross, Dave Ellwood, Glenn Holdem, Rob Kinsey, Wayne Knights, Kevin Manley, Craig Morris, Ross Murdoch, Dave Paterson, Tim Parlane, Ian Shine, Mel Spencer-Smith, Graham Wilkinson, Peter Wright.Code of Conduct Commissioners are:National: Nic Davidson (Christchurch).Auckland: Fred Thorpe, Andrew Gilchrist, Greg Jones, Rhys Harrison QC.Canterbury: Judge Graham Noble, Peter Doody, Lee Robinson, Robert Vincent (Timaru), Keith Hales (Rangiora), Tony Sullivan (Greymouth).Central Districts: Jock Sutherland (Nelson), Blair Robinson (Napier), Gary Spooner (Wanganui), Terry Killalea (Waikanae), Mike Ryan (Palmerston North), Jock Blathwayt (Carterton), Stephen Harrop (New Plymouth), Chris Clark (Marlborough), Roger Downey (Horowhenua).Northern Districts: Gerald Bailey (Hamilton), David Wilson QC (Hamilton), Graeme Mathias (Whangarei), Dean Clarke (Cambridge), Peter Lewis (Rotorua), Wayne Callaghan (Gisborne), Alan Vale (Taupo), David Small (Tauranga), Richard Blackwood (Pukekohe).Otago: Jim Barrie (Clyde), Ted Tempero (Oamaru), Ian Folster (Invercargill), John Henderson (Dunedin).Wellington: Tim Castle, Ross Crotty, Robert Armstrong, Wayne Chapman, Mike Gould.

The third day’s play at Bloemfontein has seen the Indian bowlers putup a much-improved display. Javagal Srinath, in particular, wasimpressive, but with South Africa having gained a handsome lead, Indiawill have to fight the good fight if they are to get on top again.Many of India’s woes stem from the fact that the Indian captain andhis bowlers were unimaginative on a placid wicket on Sunday. After aheroic and magnificent innings from Sachin Tendulkar and VirenderSehwag, I had expected the Indian bowlers, who have usually done wellabroad, to rise to the occasion. But Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, twoof the four frontline bowlers, disappointed hugely.Srinath, in contrast, bowled a good line and length, but then again, Icould not understand why he did not come round the wicket whilebowling to Gary Kirsten. After putting 379 on the board, Indiarequired quick breakthroughs, but Srinath’s hesitancy to come roundthe wicket meant that Kirsten batted with minimum fuss. The seniorSouth African opener went on to play another of his efficient inningsbefore throwing his wicket away to an uncharacteristically loose shot.

Herschelle Gibbs, for his part, was at his belligerent best. The youngSouth African opener has great hand-eye co-ordination and is one ofthe finest of natural stroke-players around today. If Sachin lent thesparkle on Saturday, it was Gibbs who shone on Sunday.A century partnership at the top of the order is always a huge boostto any team, and the fact that Gibbs and Kirsten have put on threecentury partnerships in the last three Tests has definitely helpedtheir side in posting huge totals. I cannot help but speculate howmuch it would help India to have a opening pair like theirs.With the regular Indian bowling proving to be bland, I was surprisedto see Sourav Ganguly take a long time before finally introducingSachin. The little champion is a minor magician with the ball and, asthe tri-series final at Durban proved, the South Africans also havegreat difficulty in reading him. On Sunday too they had theirproblems, handling the little champion’s brand of leg-spin. I onlyhope that Sourav shows greater faith in Sachin during the rest of thematch, for it might prove crucial on a pitch that is expected toassist the slower bowlers during the last two days.Talking about slower bowlers, India definitely misses Harbhajan Singha great deal. He was one bowler who could have taken the mickey out ofthe South Africans. The home team batsmen haven’t read him at all, and amazing bag of tricks and variations of flight wouldhave made a world of difference to the Indian attack.

Let me then move on to the most pleasant task of talking aboutSachin’s great innings on Saturday. India were in the doldrums whenthe little master launched his brilliant offensive. Even a singlemistake from the great man, and a total of even hundred might havebeen beyond us. But Sachin kept his head, used his imagination,finding boundaries where none existed. It was a clever innings, andonly the genius of the man made it possible. I loved the way in whichhe deliberately kept guiding the ball over slips and to the third-manboundary. If you were to ask me, I would rate this knock as hisfinest, even above his great knock at Perth in February 1992. The factthat it gave India a chance to win the first Test of an away seriesmakes it a very precious knock indeed.I also liked the way in which Sachin guided Virender Sehwag. It wasgood to see him welcome the young man with a smile. Sachin also walkedup to Sehwag at the right moments during the magnificent partnershipbetween the two, and the young man gave his idol an attentive ear.

Sehwag’s hundred proved that he was a worthy entrant to the ‘redhandkerchief club’. The courage and concentration that he showedduring his first innings would have pleased both Jimmy Amarnath andSteve Waugh, founding members of and, indeed, on the board ofdirectors of that exclusive club. Sehwag has a reputation for beingone of the most attacking batsmen in Indian cricket, but the way inwhich he picked and chose the balls to hit showed a maturity andadaptability that was laudable in an young man playing his first Test.When the Indians play their second innings, all the batsmen will haveto show a similar maturity and commitment if we are to make ourelectric performance on the first day count. The South Africans havealready built up a handsome lead and will be hoping to build on it andpile on the pressure. The remaining days are going to test thecharacter of the Indians and their ability to save the Test, if notwin it.

Jonty Rhodes, who will be joining the South African one-day squad in Australia in the New Year, took 65 off the Eastern Province Jumbos to steer the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins towards a four-wicket victory in the Standard Bank Cup on Wednesday night. At SuperSport Park, Northerns Titans beat Free State by five wickets.Rhodes shared in a 78-run third wicket stand with Ahmed Amla (39), as the Dolphins made light work of a Jumbos’ total of 180 all out in just 43.4 overs. The victory takes the Dolphins to the top of the Standard Bank Cup log.At SuperSport Park, Martin van Jaarsveld’s unbeaten 73 enabled the Titans to overcome amid-innings wobble to cruise to victory over the Free State Eagles with more than three overs to spare.

Dareen Veness, the Head of Injury Prevention at Somerset County Cricket Club, and Fitness Instructor Andy Hurry were busy at the Academy Fitness Centre at the County Ground this morning, “Plotting the next set of fitness tasks for the Somerset players” they said.Darren told me, “The idea is to get the players stronger, but not bigger -we’re not after beach lifeguards. We want stronger joints and muscles, and to get that we need a power lifting programme for them.”He continued, “Some of the players are heading towards this already, like Steffan Jones and Joe Tucker. Steffan is really good, he’s not afraid of trying anything if it’s going to help him. Matt Bulbeck and Carl Gazzard are both a couple of weeks ahead of all of the others and have been like “guinea pigs” for us.”Fitness instructor Andy Hurry, a former Royal Marine who joined the club at the start of last season told me that he was going to introduce some yoga exercises, “To help with relaxation and flexibility in the players.” Darren added ,”The more pressure that we put on them the more that they need relaxation.””All of the players have had a few days off for Christmas, but they will all be back in next week,” they told me.In fact several of the players have been into the Academy over the Christmas break, including Marcus Trescothick who was in training on Christmas Eve, and as we spoke veteran Graham Rose was hard at work on one of the fitness machines.Both Darren and Andy told me how impressed they were with the attitude that the players had towards their fitness routines.Andy said, “The main aim is to change their lifestyle. Look at someone like Mike Burns, he’s a natural athlete and incredibly fit, and Peter Bowler, who is thirty eight is as fit as a twenty five year oldhe was a revelation to some of the youngsters and a great example for them to follow.”Darren concluded, “Most counties would struggle to integrate it like we have been able to, and a lot of it has been due to the more senior players like Peter Bowler, Graham Rose and Mike Burns who have led from the front, and helped us to drip feed it in.”As I left the Academy Fitness Centre the pair continued with their plotting and planning, all of which will help to make the Somerset players even fitter and stronger than they were in 2001, and hopefully lead them onto even greater things on the field in 2002.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Monday defended itsdecision to reduce Riazuddin to a TV umpire in theforthcoming Test series against the West Indies at Sharjah.”The recommendation of National Umpiring Council wereimplemented. The council comes under the Cricket ManagementCommittee,” director of the PCB Brig Munawwar Rana said fromLahore.Riazuddin was not given a field umpire’s posting despitebeing Pakistan’s representative in the International CricketCouncil (ICC) panel of umpires. Riazuddin has got the mostforeign assignments as compared to his compatriot Mian Aslamwho has been given the first Test.The second Test will be supervized by Shakeel Khan who was aTV umpire for the second Test against England in 2000 ontourists protest.Riazuddin was also not given any of the three one-dayinternationals for which Saleem Badar, Asad Rauf, NadeemGhauri and Aleem Dar were named.The PCB official admitted that it might hurt Riazuddin’sfuture postings by the ICC, but stressed that the board onlyimplemented the council’s recommendations.The chairman of the CMC, Iqbal Qasim, said Riaz was notgiven the Test just to give others an opportunity.”The ICC is to constitute an elite eight-umpire panel fromApril. Others have been awarded an opportunity to show howgood they are in decisions making,” he said.The official, when inquired what was the criterion forrecommendation, repeated that the PCB only implemented therecommendations.The spokesman said the PCB will bear all the expenses of theTest series. “The PCB, being the host board, will bear allthe expenses. This is the most comprehensive answer I cangive,” he said when inquired of the details and break-up.Interestingly, the PCB has already announced that theSharjah series will be a “no profit no loss” venture withthe marketing department yet to reveal its home work and theboard to audit the expenses.

Queenslander Martin Love celebrated Valentines Day with a double-century as his state unearthed another pugnacious left hander with a penchant for big scores against South Australia here today.Love compiled 202 before retiring hurt with a groin complaint as the Bulls amassed 5-503 declared in their first innings in the top of the table Pura Cup clash at Adelaide Oval.In reply, the Redbacks were 1-133 at stumps on the second day after entering the encounter two points behind the Bulls on the cup table.Love was superbly supported today by newcomer Brendan Nash, a short, nimble left hander with a yearning for cross bat shots similar to that of the most famous of all Queensland lefties, Allan Border.Nash recorded his maiden first-class century and then flayed a Redbacks bowling attack which wilted in 38 degree heat before finally being dismissed for 157.Love and Nash featured in a 296-run partnership for the third wicket – a record for any Queensland pair against SA – that only ended when Love limped injured from the field.The Bulls veteran came to the crease yesterday after his side lost a wicket on the first ball of the match and departed 521 minutes later with Queensland in complete control at 2-434.Love’s innings was punctuated by majestic strokeplay that returned 21 fours, complemented by some late big hitting from Nash (15 fours, two sixes).The Redbacks replied with haste on a perfect batting pitch, rattling up their initial 50 in just 45 minutes as opener Ben Johnson cut loose.But Johnson lost momentum after reaching his half-century – he was dropped on 50 by acting Bulls skipper Jimmy Maher at first slip from Ashley Noffke’s bowling and then bowled by Joe Dawes two runs later.Johnson’s fellow opener David Fitzgerald posted his half-century late in the day and was not out 59 at stumps, but SA’s hopes again hinge largely on the contribution of acting captain Greg Blewett (17 not out).

New Zealand’s harder attitude is proving the key difference in the National Bank One-Day International Series with India and their five-wicket win in Christchurch today has given them a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series.Again the pitch at Jade Stadium, proved like all but Napier’s in New Zealand this summer, to be what New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming described as “challenging”, although there was nothing to suggest that more batsmanship could not have netted India far more than 108 in their innings.New Zealand showed in their chase, which took only 26.5 overs, that sometimes a positive approach can work wonders and that is what has helped this side into the rare position of being 3-0 up against a top-level rival.One over of attack from Nathan Astle demonstrated the difference in attitude. He took 22 from Javagal Srinath’s third over, with five fours and a two. Astle had told skipper Fleming over the lunch break that he was going to have a dip and Fleming was delighted.It certainly left no chance for the sort of capitulation that saw New Zealand lose seven wickets when chasing the same total in the first match of the series in Auckland.Astle’s assault wasn’t the New Zealand record for hitting, that is held by Lance Cairns who took 26 off an over bowled by Vinod John in Colombo in 1983/84, but it is thought to be the second best by a New Zealand batsman.There was some encouragement for New Zealand in Astle’s hitting and also the lengthy stay in the middle by Craig McMillan.McMillan has scratched around the practice nets and match strips throughout New Zealand this summer in a bid to find something approaching form.Signs were in Christchurch tonight that he might have found the missing link. Not that it was a situation resolved with an innings of earth-shattering brilliance. Rather it was an innings where a few boundaries hit around cricket’s compass lightened the load that is borne with repetitious failure.It was an innings where the sure knowledge that he was on top of his problems would have seen him unbeaten at the end. That wasn’t to be as he drove a ball from Ajit Agarkar to Mohammad Kaif in the covers to be too easily dismissed to leave New Zealand 92 for five wickets. He had scored 22 off 45 balls, but probably most important of all, he spent 76 minutes in the middle.India’s batting, by comparison, is crumbling in a heap. This pitch was not one responsible for a score of 108.This was an innings played out by batsmen lacking not only form, but also substance. The Indian confidence has clearly evaporated and it is difficult to wonder how they can possibly regain it before they head for home.New Zealand’s bowling was accurate but it was not menacing. Daryl Tuffey was treated to the respect to which he is now entitled. He became the best New Zealand performer against India with his performance of two for 11 from his 10 overs while Paul Hitchcock achieved his best figures in an ODI with three wickets for 30 runs.The danger for New Zealand, as they look to the World Cup is that they figures they are achieving are being inflated by the lack of application of Indian batsmen who seem more intent on surviving this tour with body and soul intact and ensuring their passage to South Africa.There can surely be no other reason for the inability to at least work the ball around for at least a score of 180.In the history of one-day contests in New Zealand there has never been such a poor run of results by one side. The previous one was the 1993/94 series when New Zealand were mesmerised by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis when they were in their prime, but even they managed scores higher than what India are achieving.Another problem for India is that with the low scores, it’s bowlers are not getting an opportunity for consistent bowling under pressure. In this game Srinath bowled eight overs, Zaheer Khan bowled nine and Ajit Agarkar 8.5, but that was about all. They are forced into more defensive mode without the opportunity for bowling at a large total.At least one thing working in India’s favour was an improved fielding performance, although anything would have to be better than the Napier episode.It was yet another disappointing match in a series which is failing to live up to the expectations of entertainment, and the hope has to be that India can find suitable inspiration from the surroundings they will find in Queenstown to keep this series alive until at least a little further down the road.