Another weighty contribution from Nick Knight set up a total of 279 for seven for England against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval. Knight made 88 and featured in successive half-century partnerships with Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan, while Alec Stewart completed a half century.Knight kept his position as Trescothick’s opening partner despite the return of Michael Vaughan, who batted at number three on his return to the side at the expense of Owais Shah. For Sri Lanka Chamila Gamage replaced the injured Muttiah Muralitharan.It was Gamage who made the first breakthrough after Nasser Hussain chose to bat first in extreme afternoon heat. Trescothick (39), who produced a booming cover drive to post England’s 50, lost his off stump looking for a leg-side boundary.Vaughan was missed on one by wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara, who couldn’t hold on to what would have been a fine one-handed catch to his right off Gamage. Vaughan looked to pick up from where he left off in the Ashes series, with boundaries off Aravinda de Silva and Dilhara Fernando, but when he had reached 28 he skied a pull at Fernando to Chaminda Vaas at mid-wicket.Much as they had done in Sydney, Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva kept the run rate within reasonable bounds before Hussain (18) was bowled via inside edge and pad by Jayasuriya.Knight soldiered on, providing some relief with a swept six off de Silva, but on 88 he played loosely at Vaas for Sangakkara to hold on to the resultant edge. Knight has made 440 funs in his last seven one-day innings for England. Ian Blackwell was then lbw first ball to leave England teetering at 206 for five.As he has so often done before, Alec Stewart recharged the innings. He and Paul Collingwood added 54 in eight overs to revitalise England, taking 16 off one over from Fernando, including a Collingwood six over square-leg.By the time Stewart (51) and Collingwood (18) were dismissed, England were in sight of respectability.

Pakistan’s first two matches in the World Cup have emphatically underlined the team’s shortcomings, not that it came as a revelation.They brought home the batting’s brittleness more tellingly, exposed the limitations of leadership more harshly and marked ineptness of fielding more prominently.The two matches against front-runners Australia and lowly placed Namibia made it clear that Pakistan’s World Cup campaign may come to an early, pre-Super Six end, if radical changes are not made.If the team crosses the first hurdle, it is certain to stumble by the wayside on the next turn-ignominiously in all likelihood. Nothing is to be done in the areas of captaincy and fielding overnight.Waqar Younis cannot be taught field placing or imaginative harnessing of bowlers; intelligence and acumen are not subject to instant upgradation.Coach Richard Pybus has done the deed in fielding and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) can now think of how best to use the expensive sword.Tour selectors would carry out the task of selecting playing eleven and finalizing batting order in their sterile way; they have already demonstrated a pathetic lack of capacity for grasping a challenge and rising to it. However, even chief selector Wasim Bari, the man who has played a pivotal role in messing up the team, feels that changes in batting order are indicated. But a routine shuffling of the pack would hardly produce positive results.A conventional approach would yield no mileage. Firstly, faults need to be objectively inventoried. The openers have failed. No specialist batsman for one drop is among the World Cup squad.Middle-order suffers from loss of concentration around a score of 20-30 odd runs. Worst of all, star batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq is woefully groping.Juggling with the batting order is not the way out. A radical strategy needs to be devised.Going by Saeed Anwar’s scratchy, hit and miss innings against Namibia, authentic fireworks associated with him in the past are not expected of the stylish left-hander.Exchanging him for Salim Elahi may be useful in so far as he would quickly return to the pavilion instead of wasting time and deliveries in the middle.It would also mean replacing a good fielder with a weak one.The selectors should have tested Anwar on the South African safari. His late recall without properly ascertaining form and fitness for a gruelling one hundred over run was an act of astounding naivety.Saeed Anwar against Namibia was baggage – he could be cabbage against a professional side.The team has thus to wade through the tournament with 14 members. Eleven of them are self-selected for the playing eleven in crucial ties.The main worry is Inzamam. He comes two down at a paltry score accumulated at snail-paced rate and quickly pushes the team down a deeper hole. A batsman of his class cannot be sidelined, most certainly not when Taufiq Umar is the sole replacement option.The suggestion for sending Inzamam at No 3 is going through the motions of change. Considering that the opening stand is qualified to last the first three to four overs on its lucky day, he would be virtually opening the innings most of the time. Why not cast him as opener? If Sachin Tendulkar can face the new ball, there is no reason to think that Inzamam cannot.He will have to be told that he has to lead the batting. Nothing would be lost if he gets out early but he possesses the talent to take any bowling apart; he should be instructed to attempt just that.Inzamam getting out to a low score at No 4 expedites the team’s trip down the slope; failure as opener would prepare the remaining players for a fight without loss of time.His partner is to be selected from among Saleem Elahi, Taufiq Umar and Shahid Afridi, besides Saeed Anwar. One way or the other, they have all failed. Saleem Elahi and Taufiq Umar have struggled to consolidate their place in the playing eleven. But they have been either losing their wickets early or regardlessly prolonging their stay in the middle; they cannot be seriously considered productive players for the abridged version of the sport, not at this point in time at least.Afridi has been a bigger failure, if anything. But the travelling circus of coach and experts has contributed to his miserable run by advising him to settle down first and do the hitting later; it has to be the other way round for Afridi.He is a slogger and there are no grounds for expecting his transformation in to textbook batsman. He should be sent in, with instructions to go for broke. Despite mishandling by the captain against Australia, he remains a handy bowler. Inzamam should adopt the same approach.The pair would be bonanza if it clicks; there would be time for repair work for the later batsmen if it comes apart.Ours is a team without a specialist one-down batsman, thanks to the premature axing of Ijaz Ahmed and ignoring Mohammad Wasim. Experimenting with Abdul Razzaq in that slot proved generally positive in the last World Cup. He can be placed in the same position, current form notwithstanding.Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan can bat at two and three down. There is no need to pack the team with more batsmen in the hope that they would score runs. If Inzamam, Youhana, and Younis cannot deliver and help Pakistan reach a good total or chase a high one, others are much less eligible for hitting either target.Pakistan’s strength is their bowling. That department should be further augmented. With Afridi and Razzaq already in the side, there would be room for another six players.Rashid Latif and Wasim Akram are waging a committed fight; Wasim is determined to produce a memorable swan song. They should fill the next two positions.Azhar Mahmood should be inducted as additional all-rounder. The last three positions can go to Saqlain, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. This would widen the team’s bowling resources and give the captain a chance to replace bowlers who are not at their best on a particular day.A bold and aggressive approach is the only option for Pakistan to retain its chances and self-respect in the tournament. The team has to take the World Cup by the scruff of its neck. Or, turn quickly, tamely and shamefacedly towards the exit door.

Canada suffered another setback after going into their final warm-up match against North West at Manzil Park, Klerksdorp desperately hoping for an improvement in form.John Davidson opened the innings with Ishwar Maraj, taking on the pinch-hitter role. He got the innings off to a bright start, taking 18 off the fourth over, and making 30 out of a first wicket partnership of 37 before edging a catch to slip.Desmond Chumney had another disappointment, making just 4 before he was caught behind and he was quickly followed by Maraj (15), who was lbw, and Billcliff, also lbw for a duck. Joe Harris was bowled first ball, leaving Canada on 53/5 in the 14th over.Canada’s batting line-up has proven frail over the last year, and today was no exception. Fortunately it has some depth, and Fazil Samad and Nicky De Groot put together a useful partnership, Samad playing his usual aggressive style with De Groot more cautious, taking on the sheet anchor role. They took the Canadians past 100 in the 25th over. Samad had reached 46 off 60 balls before he was caught, and the partnership had yielded an invaluable 85.This brought in Asish Bagai, recovered from his injury, who provided valuable support and in partnership with De Groot took the total past 200. De Groot reached an excellent 50 off 110 balls in the 48th over with a well-struck boundary, but was out next ball. He and Bagai had added 68. Nicholas Ifill came in at 9 and saw out the last two overs with Bagai. Canada finished on 215/7, with Bagai making a creditable 40*.In the absence of Sanjay Thuraisingam, Davis Joseph and Ashish Patel opened the bowling for Canada, and made a good start. Patel in particular bowled accurately, bowling his first four overs for just 6 runs, before Henderson hit two boundaries in his fifth over. This prompted a change, with Ifill the replacement; he was greeted with delight by Jacobs who smashed three consecutive boundaries in his first over.John Davidson replaced Joseph at the other end and showed the benefits of playing southern hemisphere cricket in the Canadian winter by immediately picking up a good length and line. De Groot replaced Ifill, and was immediately struck for a big six by Jacobs. After 15 overs North West were 62/0, well up with the run-rate after a slow start.Henderson and Jacobs progressed steadily, taking their partnership to 89 before Davidson caught Jacobs off the bowling of de Groot. Ifill, returning after his disastrous initial spell, had Mohammed lbw for a duck. But unfortunately he was unable to stem the run flow and after another expensive over, Patel came back, starting with a maiden, and continued his good work conceding only a single off his next over.Joe Harris kept ringing the bowling changes, but North West maintained steady progress, led by Henderson who reached his 50 from 88 balls with a boundary off Ifill. After 33 overs, North West were 144/2.Henderson made 77 before being run out by Billcliff, but at that point North West only required 32 runs from 10.4 overs. Arno Jacobs was batting confidently and took North West to victory as Ifill conceded 17 runs from the 44th and final over.So Canada went down to defeat again, although there were signs of some adjustment to South African conditions. There were positive notes. Sattaur, Bagai and de Groot all batted well, and the fightback from the depths of 53/5 was commendable. Both Davis Joseph and Ashish Patel bowled well. Joseph conceded just 30 runs from his 10 overs, and Patel only 17 from seven. The failure of the upper order, however, is a cause for concern, and finding a fourth or fifth bowler who can keep the runs down will be a challenge.Canada meet Bangladesh on February 11 in their first match of the World Cup.

Australia and India have been without doubt the top two teams in this World Cup with Australia holding a slight advantage over India after their win in the head-to-head clash involving the two teams. No wonder, then, that I am looking forward to an India-Australia final with the fervent prayer that Australia’s one bad day in the tournament should come at Wanderers on March 23, 2003.In my estimation, Ricky Ponting’s men quite simply possess too much firepower at the moment for Sri Lanka and this means the men from the Emerald Isles will find it extremely difficult to upset the defending world champions at Port Elizabeth on Tuesday. India, similarly, hold far too many aces for Kenya’s comfort and this means that their place in the final too is as good as sealed.If the clash between India and Australia materialises as expected it would provide a fitting finale to what has been a bowlers’ World Cup. You don’t have to look far to notice this indubitable fact. Looking at the success of the Indian bowling department would more than suffice. Indeed, who would have thought ahead of the World Cup that Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Nehra and Harbhajan would prove more potent than our famed batting line-up!

In fact, all the fast bowlers are having a merry time, claiming a lot of wickets. But I have heard quite a few experts say that the spinners, in comparison, have not enjoyed much success in this World Cup. I don’t think this is the case. If we look closely, the only two attacking spinners in the tournament – Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh – have both had a good tournament so far. Sadly, Shane Warne’s controversial departure without bowling a single ball has meant that the image of the spinners has taken a beating despite the fine showing by the duo.Now this does go a long way towards underlining the impact that Warne has had on this wonderful game. The `King of Spin’, as I would like to address him, was the one man who brought back attacking spin bowling to one-day cricket. With his absence, we are not only missing a great leg-spinner but also a charismatic individual who would have kept the flashbulbs occupied. Definitely, Warne would have bowled a lot many overs and his very presence would have proved tremendous for this World Cup.

It was interesting to note that Pakistan did not use Saqlain Mushtaq in all their games, and I thought that Daniel Vettori too was slightly under-bowled in the tournament. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, meanwhile, have been playing under the shadow of the prolific pace trio, which certainly is a new phenomenon in Indian cricket.I must have mentioned in one of my previous columns that the two Australian spinners, Brad Hogg and Nathan Hauritz, spent some time with me at the MRF foundation a few years ago. Both of them are blessed with oodles of ability. It, then, came as no surprise to me to see Hogg succeed at the World Cup. All Hogg needed was the infusion of a healthy dose of confidence and playing at the highest level for Australia seems to have done the trick for him.Looking at the two semi-finals, I think that the toss will play a big role in the first clash between Australia and Sri Lanka. If Sri Lanka can put up a big score, and then put pressure on the Australian batsmen, they might get into a position from where they could aim for a place in the final. But all that looks highly unlikely, as Australia have the resources to put it across Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka’s best chance would lie in Chaminda Vaas finding the opportunity to have an early tilt at Ponting. I have noticed that Ponting has been shuffling across his stumps early in his innings in an attempt play through the mid-wicket region. Against quality opposition this flaw in technique can prove fatal.The early dismissal of Ponting, if achieved, could derail the Australians, as their middle-order does not seem assured enough. I, for one, would certainly have had a Steve Waugh in that batting line-up, for he is one man you can rely on in an absolutely hopeless situation. Unfortunately, all Australia are left with is Michael Bevan.India’s amazing run of success, meanwhile, has to be attributed to the wonderful team spirit they seem to have forged. It is indeed heartening to find the boys in such good cheer while also looking focused and confident of their ability to win against any opposition. With this being the case, I don’t see the Kenyan bowlers causing the Indian batsmen any trouble in the second semi-final, a day-nighter to be played at Durban on Thursday.Collins Obuya, their biggest weapon in the middle overs, can expect to find the going tough against the likes of Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh. The Indian bowling too at this present juncture is far too good for the Kenyan batsmen.Having said that, it is a lacuna in our bowling that would constitute my only worry in the event of an Australia-India final. The fact the we are employing just four frontline bowlers means that we could find ourselves badly exposed if even one bowler were to crumble under the relentless pressure that the aggressive Australian batsmen are bound to exert. In the circumstances, I feel it would not be a bad idea to field a fifth bowler in Anil Kumble in the final.

An emotional Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya couldn’t hide his disappointment as Sri Lanka lost their last game under his leadership and were knocked out of the Sharjah Cup.Sri Lanka were clear favourites to qualify having not lost to Zimbabwe for two and a half years but were defeated by four wickets after a lacklustre batting display."It is obviously a very disappointing end on my last tour as Sri Lanka captain," said Jayasuriya afterwards, who was playing his 300th one-day game."We didn’t bat well at all and it was never going to be easy to defend such a total. The wicket was slow but there should be no excuses – five of the top order made starts but no-one went on."The 33-year-old confirmed on Sunday that he would be standing down after this tournament and he took the opportunity to thank coach Dav Whatmore and his players."I would like to thank Dav and all the players who have supported me during the past four years. I have really enjoyed my captaincy and will to continue giving my 100% as a player."Zimbabwean captain Heath Streak hailed the performance of his bowlers, who restricted Sri Lanka to 193, and middle order batsman Grant Flower, who guided the side home with an unbeaten 61."This was a great performance today," said Streak. "We had got one or two departments working beforehand but today we pulled it all together.""We knew it would be very hard chasing four or five runs per over against their spinners and we always needed to contain them in the first innings."He now believes his side having nothing to fear in the final against Pakistan: "We should play with confidence. We have nothing to lose as underdogs and should just go out there and do our best."

Claire Taylor and Laura Newton registered the top batting scores of the day as they joined together to ensure The Super Strikers beat The V Team by 9 wickets at King’s College, Taunton in the opening round of Super Fours, the competition for elite women’s cricketers.Taylor raced to an unbeaten 85, from as many balls, and Newton finished on 80 not out in an unbeaten partnership of 157 with both England batters hitting twelve fours.Laura Spragg, the young England and Yorkshire bowler, returned the best figures of the day, also for The Super Strikers, taking 4-24 despite early resistance from England opener Kathryn Leng.Over the hill at King’s College and under the watchful gaze of Marcus Trescothick, youngsters Lydia Greenway and Caroline Atkins impressed with an unbeaten partnership of 67 – finishing on 54 and 31 respectively – as Knight Riders beat last year’s Super Fours champions, The Braves.The Braves and England Captain, Clare Connor, was dismissed early by England’s record-breaking wicket-taker and Vodafone Player of the Year, Lucy Pearson. Connor was caught at slip by Helen Wardlaw and was the first of Pearson’s four victims in her first spell of bowling since cutting down Australia in Sydney in February.Speaking after the opening round of matches, England Head Coach, John Harmer said Perhaps the fiercest competition will be for the place of England’s ‘keeper with Taylor adding a competent performance behind the stumps to her stylish innings and Jane Cassar (Knight Riders) showing a sharpness of old as both attempt to push Mandie Godliman (The Braves).

As well-intentioned as the International Cricket Council’s Test Championship may be, it is a sad fact that it seems to have given some permanence to the notion of the two-Test series.New Zealand have just had their programme to India this year confirmed and it includes two Tests only and involvement in yet another tri-series of one-day internationals with India and Australia.New Zealand have also agreed to a five-match one-day series with Pakistan as compensation for their bomb-aborted tour last year.The Test match still to be played to make the series count as a Test Championship series will probably now not be played because under the new shape of the Championship, one-off matches can contribute to the Championship placings.But useful as the two-match series may be when it involves lesser nations of the world against the bigger fish in the game, the three to five-match series are the contests that truly challenge the strengths of the nations concerned.In a perfect world they allow for a spread of conditions, an assessment of opponents’ strengths and weaknesses and a build-up in form and performance by participants as they hone themselves to the requirements for victory.The two-match series against relatively even opponents is barely a contest.If you get a weather-affected series such as that which afflicted both New Zealand and India last summer, the series is almost a non-event as a true contest of skill. This series was in contrast to what was a much more fulfilling contest four years earlier in New Zealand when some marvellous cricket was produced, this despite rain causing the first Test of the series to be abandoned without a ball bowled.While the Zimbabwes and Bangladeshs may be happy to play a reduced quota of matches against all nations, just for the chance to play against some of the sides who have so far barely paid them lip service in the Test arena, the other countries of the world are capable of much closer contests.As it stands in the forthcoming summer, New Zealand will play two Tests against India (away), two against Pakistan (home) and three against South Africa (home).Before the onset of the two tours in a summer in the mid-1990s that would probably have been a reasonable Test match programme, but nowadays the constant exposure to one-day cricket has only heightened the desire for more Test match play.One-day cricket is no place for a spin bowler to ply his trade and the more two-Test series there are, the fewer are the opportunities for spin bowlers to settle into the long and intriguing spells that make them such fascinating performers in Test cricket.The same applies to batsmen. If they slip into a form trough, the likelihood is greater that they will be exited from the side far quicker by failing in the shorter Test series than if being allowed to work on their problem area, or bowler, in a longer Test series.It is not without some coincidence that the growing need to have one-day cricket played between three nations, rather than two, has forced countries to look at these two-Test series.There is so much one-day cricket being played that it is in constant need of titivation, and the tri-series is but another variation in this regard.It is to be hoped that Test cricket can regain its stature against the greater number of nations and the demands of the one-day monster can be constrained.But such is the pressure on the game’s finances, the sad fact does seem to be that Test match cricket is shaping as the poor relation when it comes to fixture planning. And ultimately that cannot be good for the game overall.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has promised to implement the recommendations of the inquiry panel which was set up to look into the causes for Bangladesh’s miserable performance in the World Cup. Ali Asghar, president of the BCB, stated: "We have the report and we will correct the loopholes."Bangladesh went through the entire World Cup without registering a single win. They lost to Kenya and Canada, and their only points came from a rained out fixture against West Indies. The inquiry committee was scathing in its criticism of the board and the team management.”The truth remains that there was noticeable inadequacy and complacency on the part of both the [present and past Bangladesh Cricket] Boards,” the committee said in its report after an inquiry lasting nearly three months. “[This had been] adequately reflected in the quality of our team’s performance. The sooner things are put right, the sooner cricket will improve.”The report said that Khaled Masud, the captain who has since been dropped from the team, “fought with the manager on the issue of tickets, and there were instances where he spent nights out of the hotel.”In particular, the night before the Kenya match, [Masud] was seen outside the hotel at well past midnight, and this obviously contributed to the deterioration of his ability as a player and it is no wonder that he dropped three regulation catches against Kenya the following day. It appears that his conduct and captaincy do raise questions about his motives.”However, Asghar rejected suggestions that Mashud had deliberately underperformed. “Both the International Cricket Council and the BCB had found no basis to carry out further investigation into his role.”The report added that there was no consultation among the captain, physio and trainer over the team line-up. Bangladesh’s Pakistani coach Mohsin Kamal, now succeeded by Australian Dav Whatmore, had a communication and language problem with the team. “One gets the impression that the selection of the coach, to say the least, was poor and gives the impression it was more a political choice rather than a selection of an able and competent hand.”Following interviews with Kamal and his assistant Ali Zia, the committee concluded that “neither of them was really competent, dedicated, sincere or committed enough to perform their duties. The fact is, they were being paid well and were quite happy.”Whatmore, whose first assignment with the team will be an overseas series against Australia in July, was under no illusions about the task at hand. “Taking charge of the team is a privilege, but I am not day-dreaming nor want anybody to do so,” he said after signing the contract with the BCB last month.

The Indian team will prepare for their home series against New Zealand with a camp at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Stadium at Bangalore. According to a report by the Press Trust of India, the month-long camp, to be held in August, will be attended by all the probables. The list of probables will be announced later.The report also indicated that Greg Chappell was likely to assist John Wright, the Indian coach, in the batting and fielding departments during the preparatory camp.New Zealand arrive in India on September 23, and will play two Tests and a triangular one-day tournament which will also feature Australia.

National League Division TwoDivision Two table Northamptonshire 206 for 6 beat Somerset 202 for 9 by four wickets
ScorecardPhil Jaques and Mike Hussey, Northants’s Australian pair, continued their sparkling form as they led the charge to a four-wicket win against Somerset at Wantage Road. Jaques and Hussey have been at the fore of Northants’s impressive season in the National League, and they put on 104 for the second wicket to set them on their way to a ninth win. Chasing Somerset’s 202, in which Carl Gazzard top-scored with 42 and Jason Brown took 3 for 28, Jaques hit 73 from 95 balls while Hussey scored a more sedate 53 from 79. Gazzard, the Somerset wicketkeeper, took five catches in all, including Hussey off Steffan Jones, but neither he or the bowlers could prevent Jeffrey Cook smashing a cameo 29 from 20, including five fours, as Northants got home with nine balls to spare.