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On a day when the rain again played havoc with the Frizzell County Championship programme, play at all but one of the First Division matches was washed out.The one game that did continue was at Taunton, where Somerset managed to get within 54 runs of Surrey’s massive first-innings 608. Michael Burns (99), Keith Parsons (47) and Rob Turner (56*) were today’s main contributors, while James Ormond and Rikki Clarke each finished with three wickets. In their second innings Surrey closed on 96 without loss, a lead of 150.There was no play at Southampton, Maidstone or Leicester.In Division Two, leaders Essex are in trouble after collapsing to 60 for five against Glamorgan at Swansea, with Michael Kasprowicz taking three for 19. The hosts were bowled out for 311 to take a slender first-innings lead. Mike Powell went on to reach 90 this morning, and there were useful contributions down the order from Mark Wallace and Robert Croft. For the visitors Andrew Clarke ended with five for 54. But Kasprowicz’s late burst left Essex just 32 runs in front with five wickets left.At Lord’s Middlesex closed on 229 for five, still 273 behind Worcestershire. Sven Koenig made 63, and Ed Joyce (43*) featured in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 71 with Paul Weekes (28*), while Andy Bichel and Kabir Ali took two wickets each for the visitors.There was no play at Derby or Northampton.

NAIROBI – Queenslander Jimmy Maher will be given the nod to fill thebatting spot vacated by the injured Darren Lehmann when Australia namesits team to take on Pakistan in their one-day international at Nairobion Friday.Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said the team had not been decided butsuggested Maher would be included to play his ninth one-dayinternational in a late-blossoming career.”We haven’t really spoken about the make up of the side but it’s safe tosay Jimmy Maher will come in,” Ponting said at a press conference today.Andrew Symonds and Nathan Hauritz are likely to be rested along with oneof the four quick bowlers.Ponting wanted the Australians to avoid the pitfall of being a slowstarter but expected the side to get better the longer it playedtogether.”Historically, after a break, it seems to take the Australian team sometime to get back to playing their best in one-day games,” Ponting said.”I don’t think we should expect too much from the first couple of games- we want to work our way into it and play our best when the big gamescome around.”By that Ponting meant the final of this series, which – barringcatastrophic mishaps against the third side Kenya – will featureAustralian and Pakistan.But he would also have one eye on the opening match of the ChampionsTrophy match in Sri Lanka, where Australia would like to beat NewZealand first-up to secure a place in the semifinals.Pakistan captain Waqar Younis admitted the Yousuf Youhana affair hadbeen detrimental to the team. Youhana, one of the best one-day batsmenin the world, was sent home from the tournament for disciplinaryreasons.”Yousuf Youhana is a good batsman and a key member of our side butunfortunately he’s not here so we have to cope with what we’ve got,”Younis said.What Pakistan have got is a fit-again Shoaib Akhtar, who has recoveredfrom a hamstring niggle and is ready to bowl fast in the thin air ofNairobi, which is 1,800 metres above sea level.Meanwhile, Kenyan captain Steve Tikolo, said his side would playpositive cricket as it tries to pull another mighty upset to matchvictories over West Indies and India.Australian squad: Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, DamienMartyn, Michael Bevan, Jimmy Maher, Shane Watson, Shane Warne, AndyBichel, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds,Nathan Hauritz.

Sri Lanka’s cricketers carried an air of confidence as they entered the Garnet Room of Hotel Taj Samudra on Monday evening, providing further evidence that all is now well within their ranks.The Morocco win has restored the confidence of the Sri Lankans who were despondent following the beating in England.”We have been slowly gaining momentum since the tour of England. The victories against Bangladesh wasn’t any surprise to anyone, but everyone was looking very closely at us in Morocco because the opposition represented a real test,” said coach Dav Whatmore.Sri Lanka beat South Africa in three out of three matches (including the final) and Pakistan once to win the Cup.”The lads came through extremely well with their performances. The next one (the Champions trophy) is a vital competition but the very nature of it makes it a little bit harder. We think we are up for it,” said Whatmore.Pakistan, he said cannot be underestimated. “On any given day you never know the sort of cricket they can come up with. We’ve seen evidence of that many times in the past”.”They can play ordinary cricket and all of a sudden on their day they can really turn it on. The last time they did to us for in the final in Sharjah. They are a very tough machine when they get going,” said Whatmore.”We are keen to play any opposition anywhere in Sri Lanka and we need to put our best foot forward in the first match. You can never underestimate any team particularly in a one off match where if you lose you are out,” he said.One of the key players in Sri Lanka’s success in Morocco was Aravinda de Silva whose return to the one-day side has given the batting a look of solidity that had been lacking.”Any team that can boast of a player who has amassed close to 9,000 one-day runs is an asset to have in the side,” said Whatmore.”In Aravinda’s case it’s no different. He’s been terrific in assisting individuals in his own way. The very fact that you have a guy who has played that much matches and got experience in the side, adds to that area which is difficult to measure the atmosphere in the dressing room and at team meetings. It is a little bit calmer when you’ve got experience in the team. We are fortunate to have a player like that,” he said.De Silva took two man-of-the match awards with sterling batting displaysand will be the player Sri Lanka will look to play the pivotal role in theChampions trophy.During the conference Sanath Jayasuriya admitted that he was more or less certain to be fit to lead Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions trophy tournament.Jayasuriya has been fighting against time to be fit for the all-important event, which the ICC is hosting in Sri Lanka, after dislocating his right arm in the Morocco Cup final three weeks ago.The manner in which he has recovered has amazed team physio Alex Kountouri who had only admiration for the guts and determination displayed by the SriLankan captain.Jayasuriya still feels the pain after a net session. At least he is happy that he can bat with some confidence and display his repertoire of strokes without flinching.But the injury is still sore and after a batting session against the extreme pace, which the Sri Lankan bowlers can offer, it needs to have ice packs on it.

The National Cricket selectors have chosen the following team to representSouth Africa “A” in a four-day-match against the touring Sri Lankan team inKimberley from the 25th to the 28th of October.Dale Benkenstein – Captain (Kwazulu Natal),
Neil McKenzie – Vice-captain (Northerns),
Jacques Rudolph (Northerns),
Alviro Petersen (Northerns),
Boeta Dippenaar (Free State),
Justin Ontong (Boland),
Robin Peterson (Eastern Province),
Andrew Hall (Easterns),
Steve Elworthy (Northerns),
Thami Tsolekile (Western Province),
Monde Zondeki (Border),
12th man: Loots Bosman (Griqualand West).
Northern Titans opener Alviro Petersen and Border fast bowler Monde Zondekiare the two new caps in the team. Twenty-one-year-old Petersen has been inprolific form this season, having scored two centuries in the SupersportSeries. Twenty-year-old Zondeki, who toured New Zealand with the SA Under 19squad in 2000/01 has taken 16 wickets in four Supersport Series matchesthis season.The captaincy reverts to Dale Benkenstein after Neil McKenzie led the teamin the recent series against Australia whilst Benkenstein was in the seniorside playing in the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo

Opener Amit Pagnis scored an unbeaten hundred while Yere Goud made an unbeaten 86 as defending champions Railways prevented Delhi from registering an outright win in the four-day Ranji Trophy elite group match, which ended at Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday. After conceding a 202-run first innings lead, the Railwaymen made 272-2 in their final innings before play was finally called off. Delhi, though, had the satisfaction of gaining one point for securing the first innings lead.In another elite group match at Secunderbad’s Gymkhana Ground, 34-time champions Mumbai completed a rousing fightback beating hosts Hyderabad by 69 runs to claim the maximum of three points. Mumbai, who had conceded a 32-run first innings lead, had earlier set Hyderabad a fourth-innings target of 302 . The hosts, who began the day on 110-5, failed to get there despite a 60 from Anirudh Singh and an unbeaten 78 from Jogram Yadav. For Mumbai, Sairaj Bahatule, Ramesh Powar and Avishkar Salvi claimed three wickets respectively.Fighting hands from Rakesh Solanki (38), Tushar Arothe (42) and Atul Bedade (46), meanwhile, thwarted Punjab’s bid for an outright win against Baroda at Mohali. The visitors, who were set a victory target of 357, made 197-6 in their second essay. They could, however, not prevent Punjab from gaining one point for securing the first-innings lead.Andhra, for their part, managed to get past Himachal Pradesh’s first innings total of 321 and gain one point. Yelhanka Venugopal Rao and MSK Prasad, the overnight not out batsmen, were the heroes; Rao making 130 and Prasad 130 as their team made 455 all out. Himachal Pradesh played out five overs in their second innings, reaching 29-0 before stumps were drawn.The fourth day’s play in the other two elite group matches – between Bengal and Rajasthan, and Assam v Orissa – was washed out. While Assam gained one point for securing the first innings lead, Bengal and Rajasthan ended up with no points after Rajasthan replied with 200-3 to Bengal’s first innings total of 413.Joginder Singh claims six wickets as Haryana beat Madhya PradeshHaryana medium-pacer Joginder Sharma, who claimed six wickets, tore the heart out of the Madhya Pradesh batting as the hosts crumbled to 104-run defeat at the Maharaja Agarsingh Stadium, Rohtak. Yogesh Golwalkar, who made 15, was the top-scorer for the hosts who began the day at 5-2, chasing 172 for win. Only three other batsmen were to reach double-figures, in the second innings. The win ensured two points for Haryana.Karnataka, for their part, went on to secure one point for having gained the first innings lead in their drawn plate group encounter against Maharashtra at the Nehru Stadium, Pune. The visitors, who began the day on 282-4, went on to make 373-5 declared; overnight not out batsman Thilak Naidu being dismissed for 98. When Maharashtra replied for a second time, Abhijit Kale made 91 as his team ended up with 209-5 in 65 overs.At the Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur, meanwhile, hosts Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir ended up with no points after rain washed out the final day’s play. At the end of the third day, Jammu and Kashmir had reached 143-2 in reply to Bihar’s 532-8 declared.

New Zealand Cricket’s sports science medical co-ordinator Warren Frost confirmed today that he had been able to keep up to play with the state of injury recovery of affected international players during their six-week strike.”It was difficult, but not impossible. I had to do it through the right channels,” he told CricInfo.With so many players in various stages of rehabilitation, and with the international season getting even closer, it was regarded as a vital time in their build-up.Frost will be working with the players over the next week to assess where they are at.”When they came back from Sri Lanka [for the ICC Champions Trophy], they were given programmes to last them through until the end of October,” he said.”It will be a good opportunity for the players to show they can be trusted to do the work.”Frost said that Chris Cairns was progressing well from his knee surgery and was bowling in the nets. He could start playing again “fairly soon”.Andre Adams, who suffered a stress fracture in his back during New Zealand’s tour to Pakistan bowled 10 overs in two spells of five last weekend.”He is still feeling a little weak, but you always get that when coming back from a first significant injury. There is a psychological step as well as a physical step to take when you come back.”It was necessary for the player to get his confidence up, Frost said.Paul Hitchcock had an elbow problem for which an MRI scan was done and he was bowling and throwing again and was progressing well.Frost said he had not had as much contact with James Franklin but he was bowling again, and he would be speaking with him soon.Otago left-arm Shayne O’Connor had his recovery upset slightly by a shin problem but he was now bowling again and playing club cricket in Alexandra.Frost was also confident that left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori was continuing to advance from his position last season.”Daniel is tracking along really nicely. He has spent so much time working on his fitness that he knows what to do by now,” Frost said.

The Central Districts primary schoolboys’ tournament (six District teams) was held last week at Wanganui.Tournament winners Nelson received the Harry Findlay Cup. Harry Findlay is a long-serving cricket administrator based in Hawke’s Bay with particular interest originally in the primary school area. Findlay is the principal of Richmond School in Napier.The following teams have been chosen to represent Central Districts at the Central Zone Tournament with Wellington at Palmerston North from January 12-14.Central Districts Green: Brady Barnett (Nelson), Thomas Beaumont (Nelson), Kane Hughes (Taranaki), Bud Jackson (Nelson), Aiden Jones (Wairarapa), Joel Macklin (Wairarapa), Josh Poole (Marlborough), Dean Robinson (Taranaki), Liam Rukuwai (Hawke’s Bay), Steven Smidt (Hawke’s Bay), Zeb Walden (Manawatu), George Worker (Manawatu). Coach: Tony Pothan. Manager: Jim Cotterell.Central Districts Gold: Matthew Ball (Manawatu), Latham Berry (Wanganui), Sam Broadmore (Taranaki), Callum Coker (Wanganui), Regan Cotter (Wanganui), Andrew Gargiulo (Nelson), Nick Hooper (Marlborough), Zachary Lewis (Taranaki), Bronson Meehan (Hawke’s Bay), William Meehan (Hawke’s Bay), Tristan Palmer (Nelson), Joshua Rurawhe (Wanganui). Coach: Scott Larsen. Manager Jack Rurawhe.

ScorecardLee Daggett did his best to bowl out Bangladesh A, with four wickets for Warwickshire, but they clung on eight wickets down to stave off defeat. Darren Maddy’s unbeaten hundred had earlier given his side a handy advantage at Edgbaston allowing them to declare on 361 for 9.Tim Groenewald added 78, while sharing a useful stand of 108 with Maddy, as Nazmul Hossain ended with five wickets. The home side declared with a lead of 109, but there appeared little chance of a positive result. However, they nearly claimed the win.Bangladesh had just about erased the deficit, Nazimuddin reaching 39, when wickets began to tumble but Rajin Saleh’s 100-ball 21 helped them salvage the draw.Bangladesh A now head to Leicestershire for another three-dayer which starts this Wednesday.

Bangladesh chief selector Rafiqul Alam has said five pace bowlers were picked for the one-day series in Australia because of the weather conditions in Darwin, the venue of the three matches. “It’s always hot in Darwin. The humidity though is nothing like it is here and we expect bouncy pitches. On the other hand, we have five practice games and some practice sessions before the series,” he told the Dhaka-based .Alam, announcing the 15-member Bangladesh team on Sunday at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, said the selectors didn’t want to risk picking wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim after he failed a fitness test. “We took some more time to declare the team because of injury problems. Mushfiqur, who hardly had any problem while keeping and batting, looked uncomfortable when throwing the ball,” he said.Mushfiqur, along with batsman Alok Kapali, pacemen Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hossain were all recovering from injuries.”We have recalled Dhiman Ghosh after his impressive performance in England with the Bangladesh A team,” he said. Ghosh last played in the five-match one-day series in Pakistan in April and has scored 94 runs in 11 ODIs.Admitting the opening pair was still a concern for Bangladesh, Alam said: “Nazimuddin had his chances but he was not up to the mark. Mehrab Hossain jnr looked impressive against the new ball and that’s why we considered him as the third opener. Shahriar Nafees kept his place as well due to his good record and previous performances against Australia.”The main target for Bangladesh would be to close the gap against Australia during the series.Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, said the focus will be to stay competitive in the series. “My opinion is that we fought against the top-ranked sides in the last two tournaments and there were signs of improvement in our performances. We want to play good cricket and challenge the world’s best team”.Coach Jamie Siddons believed the team will “be competitive if the wickets suited them”.The Bangladesh squad which will fly to Australia in the early hours of August 14 and are scheduled to play five practice games before the three one-dayers.

Joubert Strydom has decided to end his term as the South African chairman of selectors to pursue his business interests. Strydom was part of the selection panel for four years before heading the committee in August last year.”I had the privilege of enjoying something that I would never have reached,” Strydom told . He presided over the controversial row between Norman Arendse, the president of Cricket South Africa (CSA), and Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, over the transformation policy in team selection before the tour of Bangladesh earlier this year.That was preceded by another selection controversy, this time over Jacques Kallis’ omission for the ICC World Twenty20 and a three-ODI series in Bangladesh last year, prompting the allrounder to quit as vice-captain and reconsider his future. Kallis later said he would remain committed to South Africa and Strydom was appreciative of that. “I’ll always be grateful to Jacques for the way he handled the situation and for his attitude towards me during a difficult time,” Strydom said.South Africa moved to second place in the ICC Test rankings behind Australia during his tenure. The team also remained undefeated in all the Test series they played, and Strydom attributed the team’s success to the policy of persisting with senior players.”It has been proven during the past year or so that we throw away some of our older players too soon,” Strydom said. “Neil McKenzie showed it and Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers showed how important it was to persist with players and not to throw them to the wolves after a couple of poor performances.”CSA will elect the selection panel for the next season at its Annual General Meeting on August 8.”We fully understand these reasons (for Strydom’s resignation),” Gerald Majola, the board’s chief executive officer, said. “CSA would like to thank Joubert for his positive contribution to the progress of South African cricket and the Proteas. CSA wishes him well for the future.”