Eagles 318 for 8 (Bosman 74, Deacon 52*) v Dolphins
ScorecardThe Eagles’ lower order recovered well on the first day of the SuperSport Series final at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, hauling themselves back from 163 for 5 to 318 for 8 after the Dolphins had threatened to take early control of the match.After the Eagles had won the toss and batted first, Lady Luck smiled on the their opening pair of Davey Jacobs and Jonathan Beukes, as edges flew past and over the Dolphin slip cordon. Lance Klusener was especially unlucky as 12 boundaries were notched up in the opening 10 overs.At 60 for 0 the Eagles seemed set for a big score but a change in fortunes came when Jacobs was well caught in the slips by Russell Symcox. A second good catch by Symcox brought an end to Beukes’ innings, while Klusener trapped both Boeta Dippenaar (20) and Morne van Wyk (11) lbw. When Ryan Bailey was caught behind off Symcox, the Eagles slumped to 163 for 5.With wickets falling all around, only Loots Bosman retained his composure. He scored 45 in a 57-run partnership with van Wyk and then began to rein himself in, but he was unluckily caught down the leg side off Dale Benkenstein. His 74 included 11 fours, and involved a half-century stand with Ryan McLaren. A patient 30 from McLaren, caught behind off Symcox, brought Cliff Deacon and Dillon du Preez together at 226 for 7.A frustrating two hours followed for the Dolphins as their partnership grew to 69, but the new ball eventually made the breakthrough with du Preez edging Kent to slip for 31. Deacon went to an excellent fifty, his third, finishing not out on 52 at the end of the 90 overs with the Eagles 318 for 8.

ScorecardMansoor Amjad, the 19-year-old legspinner, ran through Zimbabwe A on the first day of their match against Pakistan A at the Country Club in Harare. After winning the toss and putting Zimbabwe in, Pakistan bowled them out for 191. Amjad, who took 6 for 69, was simply too good for the Zimbabweans. Only Neil Ferrera and Mark Verrmeulen resisted, scoring half-centuries at the top of the order. Then Pakistan replied with 73 for 3, and ended the first day of this four-day match in control of things.

New Zealanders might be gripped with rugby fever as winter descends, but an early decision by the New Zealand board in its search for new selectors has created an unseasonal stir on radio. The speed with which NZC rejected Martin Crowe’s application for a position on the four-man selection panel is the hot topic. There are two spots up for grabs after Ross Dykes and Brian McKecknie resigned.Crowe’s motivation for applying was simple; he wanted “to improve the decision making on selection leading into the 2007 World Cup”. Similarly, he states one of his key credentials as “knowing how to plan for World Cups”: New Zealand’s stunning run at home in the 1992 tournament under Crowe’s captaincy springs to mind. Crowe also says he knows New Zealand’s captain Stephen Fleming well, although that is more relevant to the position of coach than that of selector.Two factors count against Crowe becoming a national selector. The first is logical: his roles at Sky, as cricket producer and commentator, create a potential conflict of interest. The second is more petty: he does not get on with John Bracewell, the convenor of selectors and coach. For that matter Crowe reputedly does not see eye-to-eye with Glenn Turner, another panel candidate, either.But should an existing personality clash rule out an applicant with claims as sound as Crowe’s? The retired Test batsman Mark Richardson thought not. He told the newspaper that “Nowhere in the job description for a national selector do I see the need for a ‘must get on with John Bracewell’ clause”. He added: “I’d hope that the process for selecting a player is strong enough to overcome clashes of personality within the panel. But it obviously isn’t”.If would be extraordinary if Bracewell’s power was such that he could influence NZC’s recruitment process. If that was the case then he may as well pick his fellow selectors himself, as coaches of the All Blacks are able to do. Whether it’s happened directly or indirectly, the presence of Bracewell – and possibly Turner, too – appears to have stumped Crowe.Crowe says he subscribes to the school of thought that believes the role of selector is a professional one where any personal issues are left aside. But, he says, “[NZC] are obviously nervous about something”. Perhaps NZC is worried that Crowe’s desire to “keep Bracewell balanced and challenged” will result in the hot-headedness that Bracewell was noted for as a player emanating at selection meetings?Where the potential conflict of interest with Crowe’s roles at Sky is concerned, Richardson believes it is more likely that it is Sky – and not NZC – that would face any repercussions. In fact, as Richardson also points out, “it may even save NZC from some criticism over selection and tactics that they have taken over the course of the last year from various members of the Sky commentary team”.Crowe says that under his proposal he would retain his full-time producer role – the role of selector being a part-time position – but his commentary commitments would be kept to a minimum; they would be restricted to “calling the game” with less analysis. He would also forgo all writing – primarily his weekly column- and other media comment. He says Sky were happy with this. He would, however, want to be free to “comment on selection/player issues” during on Sky’s cricket coverage. That in itself should not be problematic for NZC as team selection is an everyday media question for Bracewell in his capacity as a selector. Were Crowe to over-step the mark and divulge sensitive matters on air, his days as a selector would be numbered. No problem there, either.NZC has had a panel of four selectors since Dykes, McKecknie and Sir Richard Hadlee were joined by Bracewell when he required the role of convenor as a pre-requisite to becoming coach. Under the revamped panel the curious position of Selection Manager was given to Hadlee, the previous convenor.An even-numbered panel poses the obvious problem of potential voting deadlocks and, with both Dykes and McKecknie departing, the time is ripe to revert back to a panel of three with Bracewell and Hadlee to be joined by one other. That person appears most likely to be Turner and, if chosen, the panel would be perfectly balanced, with a batsman, a quick bowler and a spinner. Unless NZC felt that combination lacked a key selection ingredient, there would be no point in having a fourth member.Turner is probably the most qualified of any New Zealand cricketer for the position of selector, with a distinguished Test career and two previous stints as national coach under his belt. However, he would not receive a unanimous welcome: Chris Cairns, for one, would be an interested observer.Cairns infamously walked out on his team-mates during New Zealand’s ill-fated tour of the West Indies in 1996, and Turner, who was coach at the time, was sacked shortly after. In his book , Turner’s descriptions of Cairns’ behaviour portrays a spoilt schoolkid rather than a professional cricketer.Nine years on, Cairns is in a position of unprecedented privilege where he is effectively able to pick and choose when he plays. He now participates in one-day internationals but little else. When the home ODIs ended in early March, so did Cairns’ season. When he should have been playing for his province or his club passing on his vast cricketing knowledge to others, he was instead sitting in the Sky commentary box. Would Turner be so accepting of this situation?Be it chatter over a pint at the local, radio talk-back or on an on-line cricket forum, team selection is a sure-fire topic of heated debate. Cricket fans can pick their best XI irrespective of whether they loathe or love their fellow would-be selectors. As such it is shameful that, given the privilege of being paid to pick their nation’s premier team, seasoned international players can’t do the same.

Chris Tremlett came as close as is humanly possible to a hat-trick on his international debut, when the crucial delivery – to Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh’s centurion against Australia on Saturday – bounced off the top of the bails and away to safety. But the reprieve galvanised Ashraful into some serious action. He brought up his half-century from a mere 21 balls, and had reached 94 from just 52 by the time he was bowled by a Paul Collingwood slower ball.Such a turn of events had seemed light-years away in the early stages of the innings. Tremlett, who was drafted into the squad as a replacement for the injured Simon Jones, took the new ball and immediately used his 6′ 7″ frame to extract good pace and leaping bounce to complement a tight line. He had conceded just six runs from his first four overs when he speared the second ball of his fifth through the defences of Shahriar Nafees, who could only deflect a rising ball onto his stumps.Tremlett struck again with his next delivery as Tushar Imran feathered a simple chance through to Geraint Jones, and he followed up with another arrow-straight rib-tickler that Ashraful struggled to control and chopped down into his crease. The ball bobbled up and landed smack on the top of middle stump, but amazingly, neither bail was moved.Ashraful was still shaking his head in disbelief as he faced up to his next delivery, and when he aimed an ugly heave at Steve Harmison’s first ball, it seemed he wouldn’t be around for long. But he clearly felt that his luck was in, and two pulled sixes and a hook for four later, Harmison’s first over had disappeared for 19 runs. But that was just the start of the fun.

With their leader restored at the head of the pack, Australia’s pacemen have stared down a pitch promising sore backs and nothing more. While the game’s frontline spinners twirled potential records in their minds, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz did well not to baulk at the damage the deck would do to theirs.Instead McGrath, used in five neat five-over spells, led Australia to a 228-run lead on the first innings and reaffirmed his status at the top of the bowling heap. Until he ran through India’s high-quality batting line-up with 4 for 55 there were concerns that, at 34 and stepping back tentatively from ankle surgery, this could be the tour he ended on the scrap heap.McGrath helped Australia roll over the Indian top order, but they were forced to toil through the lower half, and he added only one wicket to his three on the second day. Forcing Harbhajan Singh to bunt a slow offcutter to Darren Lehmann at cover was nothing to compare with the two daggers he slipped through Aakash Chopra and Rahul Dravid on Thursday, but the method showed another old trick. The rest of the bowlers chipped in with wickets as well, but it was the olden-day work of McGrath, confident and assertive once more, that was the most impressive. He could even start sledging again soon.Throughout his career McGrath’s delivery, actions and haircut had stayed much the same. Like the heavy bowling boots he recently discarded, they were unfashionable but worked. Very well. For this Test, his 98th, he has tried lighter, hi-tech shoes and updated his mop to a style worn last summer by many of his team-mates. In everything but bowling the gangly McGrath has generally been a bit off the pace. In his defence, he missed last season’s catwalk.For almost a year the oohs and aahs came from ankle operations and recovery delays instead of Bay 13 and Yabba’s Hill. Missing both home series against Zimbabwe and India, he bowled for New South Wales late in the season like a county trundler. Doubters said he was too old to make it again. For a short time McGrath agreed.Before returning in Darwin against Sri Lanka he considered quitting, then delayed mortality in his comeback innings with five wickets. Still he was – insultingly, for he has more wickets than any Australian fast bowler – considered only a match-by-match proposition. On arriving in India he was nominated for the tour game and the whispers continued. Was it a bowl-off with Brett Lee? Or an opportunity to lube his joints? Whatever the reason, his head was down while the feet of Gillespie and Kasprowicz were up. The new ball stayed in his hand. Body willing, he will hold it until Nagpur, when he will become Australia’s first fast bowler to reach 100 Tests.By then he might also have created another milestone. If McGrath remains scoreless (as he did in the first innings here) until he strikes off another six victims, he will have 450 wickets – equal to his haul of Test runs. As a hard-practising batsman it would be one record he chooses to ignore.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, has welcomed the Indian government’s decision to grant tax exemption for major sporting events in the country, saying that it removes any hurdles that might have come between India hosting ICC events in future. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in India in 2006, and Indian officials are also contemplating a bid for the 2011 World Cup, possibly in conjunction with the three other Test-playing nations in the region.”The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and the ICC worked very closely to obtain the tax exemption,” said Mani, in an interview to Indo-Asian News Service. “It would have been unfortunate, to say the least, if India had not been able to host the Champions Trophy. I am very grateful to the Prime Minister of India for personally intervening in this matter; this demonstrates the importance of cricket to the people of India.”With Australia and New Zealand considering a joint bid for the 2011 World Cup, Mani added that an Asian bid – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka had hosted the event together in 1996 – would have a strong chance of success. Saying that the decision would only be made over the next year and a half, Mani insisted that he agreed in principle with the Asian Cricket Council’s request to allot every third World Cup to the region.”The request – not a demand – of the ACC is reasonable,” he said. “After all, four of the (ICC) 10 full member countries are from Asia. On the principle of rotation, due weightage has to be given to this; I do not think that this will be a major issue.”With venues like Sharjah, Dubai and Singapore now struggling to attract matches, Mani suggested that they could also be part an ICC event held elsewhere in Asia. “The World Cup requires at least eight venues to host the matches,” he said. “There is no reason for these venues not to work closely with the subcontinent to host ICC events.”

Dear Reader,I’d like to share some thoughts and feelings about Pakistan’s new team and the happenings during our first outing at Sharjah last week.Based on Pakistan’s recent performance in World Cup 2003, we went to Sharjah’s 4-Nation Cherry Blossom Cup, as underdogs. We were to face Zimbabwe, a Super Sixes qualifier and the two losing World Cup semi-finalists, Kenya and Sri Lanka – all rated above us.For future team-building plans and giving a rest to out-of-form senior players, we opted for a newer look but talented Pakistani team.I am indeed proud of the boys for performing so diligently and helping us return home unbeaten from the tournament. We had confidence in the abilities of the youngsters and they have not disappointed us at all.First of all, I would like to congratulate and thank all Pakistan supporters worldwide for this win. We have been receiving comments and prayers from all parts of the world wishing us to perform well in Sharjah and I hope the results have made everyone happy.However, we are keeping a close eye on our mistakes too as there is still need for a lot of improvement to become a cricketing power to be reckoned with. Complacency can be our biggest enemy and we are aware of its suicidal nature.I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to our coach Javed Miandad. His presence lessens any captaincy pressures I have on my shoulders.Everyone must have noticed the discipline on the field, especially among the batsmen. The way they built their innings, whether chasing or setting targets; everything was done most professionally because of our mentor and coach. His presence at the `analyst seat’ encourages everyone, especially the youngsters, to become salient parts of game plans. The sharpness in fielding, again goes to the training sessions we had under Javed Miandad’s supervision.As the captain, I am lucky to not only have Javed Miandad as my coach, but also fortunate to have received valuable inputs from the selection committee chairman, Aamer Sohail. He has a very good insight of the finer elements of cricket. Aamer Sohail played an important role in making strategies for different phases of the games.One prominent aspect of our performance was the ability to chase targets in two important games, against Sri Lanka and the final against Zimbabwe. On both occasions, we achieved our targets proficiently without any hiccups and with many overs to spare.The fifties scored by Mohammad Hafeez, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan and Taufeeq Umar during these two target-chasing wins were remarkable efforts.The explosive unbeaten fifty by Abdul Razzaq in the first game against Zimbabwe can be better termed as the launching pad for our performance in the entire tournament. We were tottering at 203/7, when he hammered his way to an unbeaten 76 to enable Pakistan amass seventy-five runs in the last thirty-five balls. This innings actually put us on the right path towards winning this championship.In batting, both Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan came of age, showed complete dedication and accepted their responsibilities of being the anchors and heads of our batting line-up. Among the youngsters, Misbah-ul-Haq and Faisal Iqbal pitched-in with useful contributions.The revelation of the tournament was Mohammad Hafeez. His well-crafted fifty against Sri Lanka tragically ended with run-out, otherwise he would have gone on for a much bigger innings. His thirty-six against Kenya and his economical bowling spells with valuable wickets at crucial stages has helped us tremendously in drafting our match plans. If he does not fall into the trap of complacency, Mohammad Hafeez has shown the class to meticulously serve Pakistan in the future.We were struggling a little against Kenya, when Shoaib Malik stepped up up with a gem of an innings, 76 in 58 balls. Shoaib Malik also had a good tour with both bat and ball.Batsman Naved Latif is a gritty player, but has a few small technical flaws which need to be rectified in nets, before giving him a longer stint at international level.Like always, there was little help for medium pace seam bowlers in Sharjah, but overall, newcomer Naved-ul-Hasan bowled quite well. He did not get many chances to bat in the tournament, but the way he assisted Shoaib Malik against Kenya, we have see in him genuine all-rounder abilities.Another find of the tour has been Umar Gul. His beautiful `line `n’ length’ was unruffled by the presence of top world-class batsmen like Atapattu, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara, Wishart, Grant Flower and others. He bowled with complete confidence, except for one over against Kenya, which hopefully he will remember, so as to improve for the better in the future. God Willing; Umar Gul is going to be a valuable asset of Pakistan cricket team.Building our bowling line-up for the future required us to try a new spearhead fast bowler. We used Mohammad Sami for this purpose and he did not disappoint us. Sami was not only explosive, but also accurate. He needs to keep working hard on his fitness. God Willing; Sami is going to win many important games for us in the future, just like he did in Sharjah.Danish Kaneria bowled very well with good control on a good line and length and his variety is quite deadly. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez ably assisted Danish with their accurate off-spin.It was nice to see our team manager, Haroon Rashid being very particular about behavioural discipline both an and off the field, which resulted in Mohammad Zahid and Naved Latif sitting out one game. Many feel it was harsh, but please do remember, no player is bigger than the game and as a basic principle of a cricket team, discipline needs to be applied without reservations in order to set proper precedents.Unfortunately Mohammad Zahid was the only player not to get a game during this tour, but he is very talented, young and will indeed get good chances in the near future.The next seventy days bring us much bigger challenges; in Sri Lanka against New Zealand and the hosts, and in England against the home side.We would need to further improve on our recent performances, rectify our mistakes and enhance our talents. We are quite capable of meeting expectations and are preparing hard to face the strong Kiwis, Sri Lankan and English sides.I am looking forward to all of your prayers, support and encouragement to help us along.With best regards,Rashid Latif

Sourav Ganguly has completely dissociated himself from the Indian team’s scheduling mess which forced the squad to spend two days in Harare on their way to Bulawayo for the first match of the Videocon Cup triangular tournament.Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, had termed India’s late arrival at Bulawayo, less than 24 hours before their match against New Zealand, as surprising. But Ganguly said that they were only following the schedule provided to them. “That’s the itinerary we have been provided with. We just followed the schedule which we were given,” Ganguly said. Ganguly’s statement puts the blame squarely on the BCCI’s shoulders. The board was reportedly unhappy with the attitude shown by some of the players before their departure from Mumbai. “We were not aware of it till we landed in Zimbabwe,” said Ganguly. “I don’t know who did it, the board or anyone else, but when we landed in Harare it was told to us that we were going to go to Bulawayo today [August 25].”When asked for his opinion on the BCCI’s comments regarding the late arrival of some of the players before their departure to Zimbabwe, Ganguly said that he was held up because of personal reasons. “I didn’t have a discussion with the board on this and perhaps that’s the question which they can answer best. But I came in the evening because that’s what I was told. I didn’t receive any official intimation,” said Ganguly. “I came late because that was my wife’s birthday on 22nd. I had to stay back to be with her for at least some time.”Ganguly also added that he wanted to look ahead to the triangular tournament rather than dwell on the issues that have arisen over the last few days. “We can’t bother about it as we have a game tomorrow,” he added. “There could have been a lot of things but they are best left to the past. We can only draw some consolation from the past where we played immediately on arrival and did well. One instance was in Toronto in the 1990s and then against England in Mohali in 2001 we played a Test within 72 hours of arrival from South Africa.”He blamed the poor approach by the players and the inability of the batsmen to convert starts into centuries as the major causes for India’s dismal one-day form. “We have not done well in ODIs and that’s a fair criticism. We are aware of it and need to change the process. I believe that players need to be a lot more determined. They need to change things around,” said Ganguly. “If you look at the past, we did well because a lot of hundreds were scored by our batsmen. Now we are making 40-50 and not converting them into big scores. It is an area of concern. Obviously it is how we approach [the situation] and it must be the mind. We have also to address the issue of how we play in the finals.”Ganguly lauded New Zealand as a quality one-day side but did not criticise Zimbabwe’s dismal run in international cricket. “New Zealand are a good one-day side, have always been. We have had a few successes against them and they against us so it would be a keen game tomorrow [August 26]. Now that we are here we have to live up to the challenge. A few guys are coming from South Africa so they know the conditions. The ones coming from Sri Lanka would have to adapt quickly. Zimbabwe have had a poor run lately in international cricket but they can only get better.”

Queensland Cricket has quickly objected to using drop-in pitches at the Gabba despite accusations from the Brisbane Lions, the ground’s co-tenants, that the surface has contributed to player injuries. Leigh Matthews, the AFL coach, would like temporary wickets brought in to keep the ground firm for his charges, but Graham Dixon, the Queensland Cricket chief executive, said performance was the main reason for dismissing the idea.”The technology surrounding drop-in wickets is adequate but it does not compare to the conditions produced by a permanent block,” he said. “The two instances where drop-in wickets are used regularly – at the MCG and in New Zealand – are due to the weather conditions that make it hard to prepare. The conditions in Brisbane are vastly different and we prepare wickets in the normal manner.”Dixon said if temporary pitches were able to replicate the performance of a permanent block he would be open to discussions, and he also dismissed comments the square was being prepared before the Lions’ match against Port Adelaide at the weekend. “It has always been the case that the curator Kevin Mitchell Jnr does not do any work on the block until after the Lions’ final training session of their season,” he said.In a busy off-season day for grounds, the WACA has announced a new head curator following the departure in June of Richard Winter, who moved to the MCG. Cameron Sutherland, who has worked for nine seasons on the South Perth pitch at Richardson Park, will start work in September.Tony Dodemaide, the WACA’s chief executive, said applications were received from around the world and Sutherland was selected for his skills and knowledge of local conditions. “Perth is renowned for it’s unique pace and bounce,” Dodemaide said, “and we’re confident that Cameron will lead his quality team in producing pitches that reflect the ground’s heritage and high standards.”

Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini were among five players named as South Africa’s Cricketers of the Year at a function in Gauteng on Monday. The other three chosen were fast bowler Andre Nel, so honoured for the second time, and batsmen Boeta Dippenaar and AB de Villiers, who were first-time nominees.Kallis and Ntini joined Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Ken McEwan and Clive Rice in being named a Cricketer of the Year for the fourth time.Colin Bryden, the editor of the , said both players were automatic choices following outstanding performances. Kallis has moved to the top of the South African all-time lists of Test runs and centuries scored. Ntini recently returned 13 for 132 against the West Indies in Trinidad, the best match figures by a South African in Test cricket.Nel, with his aggression and wicket-taking ability, had been able to complement Ntini and Pollock well. De Villiers, one of the most promising newcomers to Test cricket anywhere in the world, averaged 53.72 in his first season at the highest level.Dippenaar, who has been a member of the national team since the 1999-2000 season, finished the season on a high note when he was Man of the Series in the one-day games against the West Indies. Bryden confided that narrowing the candidates down to five was particularly difficult because many players had impressive performances.Among previous nominees, South African captain Graeme Smith finished the season strongly, while wicketkeeper Mark Boucher made a stirring comeback to the national side after being dropped early in the season.Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp and Charl Langeveldt weren’t too far behind in terms of performances. At the domestic level Lance Klusener, Hashim Amla, Tyron Henderson and Adam Bacher had displayed fluent form.