Whilst Hampshire were resting after a day in the field against Worcestershire, a significant event was happening at neighbours Sussex, who by defeating Middlesex Gladiators in the day/night match at Hove, gave the Hawks a significant boost to their promotion hopes.Middlesex posted a respectable 247-6 in their 45 overs, but after a bad start losing their first two wickets for 21, the Sharks Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams took them past the winning post with 10 balls to spare and in the course defeated the all time 3rd wicket partnership in the Sunday/NL. Both batsmen gaining centuries.The significance in the Division II Table is that Lancashire are assured of promotion, Northamptonshire are all but there with a vastly superior run rate.Hampshire Hawks need just one victory from their remaining three matches against Lancashire, Middlesex and Derbyshire to ensure First Division National League at the Rose Bowl in 2004.

Percept D’Mark, the event and celebrity management company, has withdrawn its breach-of-contract suit against Sourav Ganguly after the two parties settled out of court.”We have withdrawn the suit as our rights have been given to us and there is nothing left to follow up,” Satish Kishinchandani, counsel for Percept, said. “Whatever information we needed has been given to us and we are satisfied. Hence the decision to withdraw the suit.”Percept had filed the suit following reports that Ganguly had signed up with another player management agency. Ganguly’s contract with Percept states that the first right of refusal at the time of renewal and the right to match any offer made to Ganguly were vested with Percept.

The Christchurch Junior Cricket Association Draw for Saturday is:(All matches to start at 9am)Senior Traditional Two-day Section 1 and 2, second day of two.Senior Traditional One-daySection 1:Es4 v Bwu2 Burn5,Pk4 v Syd5 Beck2,Hsob1 v Bwu3 Hgsc,Sum1 v Es5 Bar1,Horn1 Bye.Section 2:Lpw2 v Bwu4 Ens2,Horn2 v Sum2 Dent1,Syd2 v Hals3 Hals2,Syd6 v Syd7 Syd2,Sum3 v Nb2 Raw2,Stc1 v Mp1 Emc1.Section 3:Bwu6 v Syd8 Burn7,Bwu7 v Stc2 Burn8,Lpw4 v Upr1 Rd1,Es6 v Bwu5 Cla2.Junior Traditional One-daySection 1:Syd17 v Es11 Stal1,Syd14 v Es10 Stal2,Heath1 v Pk5 Hd1.Section 2:Hals5 v Bwu9 Burn9,Horn3 v Es12 Stal3,Sum4 v Lpw5 Ens3,Hals4 v Nb3 Halss1a,Syd15 v Hare2 Cash1.Section 3:Lpw6 v Syd18 Syd4,Bwu8 v Upr3 Rd2,Hals6 v Pk6 Park1,Upr2 v Nb4 Ilam6.Junior ModifiedZone 1:Bwu10 v Hals7 Polo2a,Hals8 v Bwu11 Polo1a,Sum5 v Hsob3 Polo3a.Zone 2:Es15 v Syd21 Sis1a,Syd20 v Mp3 Polo4a,Nb4 v Es16 Southbd1a,Syd22 v Es14 Thor1a,Mp2 Bye.Junior AverageZone 1:Sum6 v Hals11 Brgn9,Lpw8 v Hals9 Brgn8,Heath2 v Lpw9 Brgn7,Hals10 v Sum7 Brgn6,Hals12v Syd35 Brgn5,Syd30 v Syd34 Brgn4,Syd33 v Syd31 Brgn3,Hh2 v Syd32 Brgn2.Zone2:Nb6 v Nb5 Walt4,Pk7 v Syd37 Brgn1,Es24 v Hare3 BurwN1,Syd36 v Es23 Brgn10,Es25 Bye.Zone3:Horn4 v Mp4 Jel2,Mp5 v Hsob4 Jel3,Hare4 v Ricc1 Jel4.KiwiZone1:Syd40 v Lpw10 Brad1,Syd42 v Hh3 Brad2,Sum8 v Hals13 Brad3,Hasl14 v Syd43 Brad4,Heath3 v Syd41 Brad5,Sum9 v Syd44 Brad6.Zone 2:Nb7 v Nb8 Walt1.Zone3:Pk8 v Ricc2 Jel1,Upr4 v Pk9 Jel5,Mp6 v Mp7 Jel6,Horn6 v Tait1 Jel7,Horn5 Bye.

Close England XI 225 for 5 (Butcher 105*, Jones 4*) lead Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI 181 (Perera 55*, Kirtley 4-41) by 44 runs
Scorecard

Mark Butcher completed his first first-class century of the winter, as England’s batsmen reacquainted themselves with the middle of a cricket ground, after a frustrating week of washouts and waiting. Butcher had been worryingly out of touch during the Bangladesh series last month, but was back to his fluent best as England reached 225 for 5 at the rain-imposed close, a lead of 44.With Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick taking a break from this match, the onus was on England’s Test specialists to come up with the bulk of the runs. And, with the exception of Nasser Hussain, who was unluckily bowled off his thighpad for a second-ball duck, they have so far delivered. Butcher added 93 for the second wicket with Graham Thorpe, whose eye for the gap was as astute as ever, and by the time Freddie Flintoff had walloped 47 from 53 balls, England were in a handy position.After taking their time to settle, Butcher and Thorpe rattled along at more than four an over. But, just when Thorpe looked to be hitting top gear, he allowed himself to get carried away after smearing two boundaries off Dilhara Fernando, and was caught behind in the same over, as he snicked an attempted pull (96 for 2).As England’s captain, Flintoff announced himself in the only appropriate manner – by hoisting his first ball for a six over square leg – and all but trod on his stumps in the process. He thumped three sixes in all, one of which clanged off the corrugated-iron roof of the green hut at cow corner. But, with tea approaching, Russel Arnold turned to the legspin of Bathiya Perera, and Flintoff clubbed his first ball down the throat of Chamila Gamage at midwicket (189 for 3).Butcher reached his century in emphatic style, by hoisting Thilan Samaraweera down the ground for a straight six, although England’s progress was slowed by two run-outs – Chris Read, who was beaten by a throw from point, and Gareth Batty, who was cruelly sent on his way after Butcher’s straight drive had clipped Samaraweera on the way through to the stumps. Before Geraint Jones could make an impact on his representative debut, however, the rains rolled in once again.

In the morning session, England had endured a frustrating half-hour in the field, as Perera converted his overnight 29 into an opportunistic half-century. England didn’t help their cause by missing two catches in the slip cordon, and they watched a host of edges fly down to the unguarded third-man boundary as the President’s XI moved along to 181 in their first innings.Perera took full advantage with an unbeaten 55, although he ought to have added just five runs to his overnight 29, when Geraint Jones fingertipped a diving chance to his right off James Kirtley. Nandika Ranjith was later dropped at second slip by Thorpe – his second miss of the match.Flintoff had earlier persuaded Gamage to fend a sharp chance to Batty in the gully, and Batty himself wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Ranjith, courtesy of Jones, who redeemed himself with another smart stumping.

Gary Kirsten, South Africa’s leading Test runscorer, has been linked with a one-year contract with Sussex for 2004. Kirsten is tipped to replace the former Zimbabwean Test batsman Murray Goodwin, who was unhappy when the county champions could only offer him a one-year contract.Kirsten, 36, has played 95 Tests to date, and has scored nearly 7000 runs, with 19 centuries – all South African records. Yesterday he dropped out of the first Test against West Indies, which starts on Friday (Dec 12), as his wife is about to give birth to their first child. But Kirsten is keen to return and become the first South African to win 100 Test caps, which – barring injury or loss of form – he should do on tour in New Zealand early next year. He has confirmed that he will retire from Test cricket after that series.If Goodwin does leave, as expected, it will mean that his last innings for Sussex will be his 335 not out against Leicestershire at Hove in September – the highest individual score in the county’s history – in the match that sealed Sussex’s first County Championship title.Peter Moores, Sussex’s director of coaching, confirmed that Kirsten was in their thoughts: “There are a few names in the hat, and one of them is Gary Kirsten,” he said. “He’s defintiely our sort of cricketer.”

Close Auckland 213 for 3 (Vincent 115*) trail Canterbury 443 (Papps 130, Harris 103, Fulton 68) by 230 runs
ScorecardLou Vincent served a reminder to the New Zealand selectors in his first outing since being dropped from the national one-day side. Playing for Auckland against Canterbury, he ended the second day unbeaten on 115, scored off 119 balls. He emulated the performance of Chris Harris, the Canterbury captain, who scored 103 after being dropped from the international side, helping Canterbury reach 443.Aaron Barnes, the Auckland medium-pacer, did the damage in the Canterbury innings with career-best figures of 4 for 55 off 29.5 overs. Kerry Walmsley took 3 for 66. For Auckland, Mark Richardson contributed 41 as they ended the day on 213 for 3.Close Central Districts 350 and 1 for 0 lead Otago 209 (Mason 5-62) by 142 runs
ScorecardNot even a debilitating virus that swept through the Central Districts players at Pukekura Park could prevent them from taking control of the match against Otago. After scoring 350 in their first innings, Central Districts reduced Otago to 89 for 7. Jordan Sheed and Neil Rushton lifted the score to 169 for 9, and a useful 33 by Brad Scott helped the team finish with 209. Michael Mason took 5 for 62 for Central Districts, his best figures of the season. In the two overs before stumps, Central Districts were 1 without loss.Close Wellington 250 and 115 for 7 (Bell 60) lead Northern Districts 125 by 240 runs
ScorecardIn a match that seemed destined for an early finish, Wellington made good use of their 125-run first-innings advantage. Northern Districts had a poor start and were 54 for 7 before Mark Orchard and Bruce Martin added 70 runs for the eighth wicket. Orchard ended on 39 not out after 192 minutes of batting. James Franklin took 4 for 34, including the last two wickets off successive balls.But Wellington struggled with the bat in their second innings. After their openers had added 48, they lost six wickets for the addition of only 35 more. Martin, the left-arm spinner, took wickets off successive balls, and though Franklin denied him the hat-trick, he was out soon after.Martin had 4 for 30 and Gareth West 2 for 5. The solitary innings of defiance was provided by Matthew Bell, who scored for 60 off 110 balls.

Three of the top four teams, Northerns, Gauteng and Easterns, had to settlefor shared points as the two Standard Bank Cup matches scheduled for the wetJohannesburg area were abandoned without a ball being bowled.PointstableEasterns v Northerns Match abandoned due to rain
ScorecardGauteng v Free State Match abandoned due to rain
ScorecardNortherns and Easterns shared the points at Willowmoore Park while Gautengand Free State did the same at the Wanderers.KwaZulu-Natal 272 for 4 (Pollock 134*, Amla 54) beat EasternProvince 194 (Bradfield 41, Klusener 2-28, McLean 2-38, Kent 2-40) by 78runs
ScorecardAt Durban, KwaZulu-Natal at last completed a match without any raininterruptions. Shaun Pollock, having been given permission by the nationalselectors to bat but not bowl, surprised everyone when he strode out forNatal batting at No. 3. Just 111 balls later, he had scored his second and highest one-day century. His 134 not out included 13 fours and four sixes. Hashim Amla scored 54 with Lance Klusener, who has been recalled to the national team, unlucky to be run out for 17 two overs before the end. A target of 273 was always going to be a daunting task for Eastern Provincewho were eventually bowled out for 194 with an over to spare. Carl Bradfield,back in the team after resigning as captain, scored a fluent 41 while therest of the batting crumbled against a useful attack. Klusenershowed just why he had been recalled. taking 2 for 28 in 8.5tight overs. Nixon McLean and Jon Kent also took two wickets each.Griqualand West 252 for 7 (Afridi 72, Bosman 36, Albertyn 2-44)beat Boland 235 for 7 (Davids 122*, Afridi 2-29) by 17 runs
ScorecardA whirlwind 72 off 32 balls from Shahid Afridi lifted Griqualand West to 252for 7 against a shocked Boland attack at Kimberley. Afridi posted eight fours and five sixes in his 52-minute knock, and helped his side reach the hundred in the 12th over. A dramatic decrease in the runrate, after the departure of Afridi, saw Griquas reach 252 for 7 at the endof their 45 overs. Henry Davids fought a lone battle for Boland, but even his maiden one-dayhundred was not enough to take his side home. With no real partnershipsdeveloping and the next-best score 22 from Ersamus Hendrikse, Bolandwere never in the hunt.Border 174 for 2 (Kreusch 106*, Pope 47*) beat North West172 for 8 (Celliers 40, Graham 4-32) by 8 wickets
ScorecardAt East London, Border restricted wooden-spoonists North West to 172 for 8,with Liam Graham taking 4 for 32. Grant Celliers (40) and Davie Jacobs (32) werenot able to build on fruitful starts as wickets fell around them. In need of a bonus point, Border made a disastrous start, losing both openerswithin the first seven overs. This brought Steven Pope and the captain,Justin Kreusch, to the crease. Batting at a run a ball and striking 17 superbboundaries, Kreusch went to his maiden one-day hundred, while Pope made surehe kept his end going with 47 not out. Victory in 34.3 overs ensured thatBorder still have an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals.

ScorecardDay 1
Bulletin – Zimbabwe made to battle on opening day
Verdict – Rafique holds the keyDay 2
Bulletin – Streak caps off Zimbabwe’s day
Verdict – Zimbabwe slow off the markDay 3
Bulletin – Ashraful takes the fight to Zimbabwe
Verdict – A basement battleDay 4
Bulletin – Blignaut’s hat-trick takes Zimbabwe close to victory
Test hat-tricks
Verdict – Blignaut’s big finishDay 5
Bulletin – Zimbabwe complete the formalities
Verdict – Definitely maybe an oasis

Scorecard

Two men who started this series on the periphery of things grabbed the limelight on an enthralling opening day’s play at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. First, Umar Gul – a late replacement for Shabbir Ahmed – bowled a magnificent spell that reduced India to 147 for 7, and then Yuvraj Singh, in only his third Test, stroked a glorious 129-ball 112 to take his side to 287. By stumps, Pakistan had knocked off 61 from the deficit, for the loss of Taufeeq Umar.India’s innings, after Rahul Dravid won the toss, had three distinct phases – dominance, collapse, and eventual recovery to a total that was nevertheless somewhat below par. For a 90-minute spell either side of lunch, when Gul’s control of line and length fetched him splendid figures of 5 for 31, it appeared as though they might not reach 180, but Yuvraj and Irfan Pathan – who showed genuine class with the bat – evened up matters with a 117-run partnership characterised by some stunning strokeplay.After Aakash Chopra departed for 4, trapped in front by Mohammad Sami, Virender Sehwag took up where he had left off in Multan. A slashed six over point off Shoaib Akhtar set the tone, and he followed up with some beautiful off-drives as both Sami and Shoaib failed to make use of favourable conditions on a green-tinged pitch.The complexion of the match changed after the drinks break, by which time Gul had come on to replace the huffing-and-puffing Shoaib. He got Sehwag with one that pitched just outside off stump – Kamran Akmal, deputising for Moin Khan, took a regulation catch – and then delivered a real knockout punch. Sachin Tendulkar was struck high on the pad in front of the stumps, and Simon Taufel lifted the finger, though there was some doubt about whether the ball might have gone over the stumps (75 for 3).VVS Laxman played one withering square cut off Shoaib, but otherwise appeared ill at ease, and when Gul tempted him with one outside off, he nibbled it through to Taufeeq at second slip (94 for 4).Yuvraj was quickly into his stride with a nonchalant flick for four off Gul, but India’s innings was in tatters soon after. Dravid had rarely been troubled during his 33, but when he flashed at a fairly wide one from Gul, Inzamam-ul-Haq took a fine low catch at slip (125 for 5). Parthiv Patel didn’t trouble the scorers, bizarrely choosing to shoulder arms to a straight one from Gul (127 for 6).

Ajit Agarkar made just 2 before edging Shoaib behind the stumps – the only success for Pakistan’s ineffectual spearhead – but his dismissal set the stage for a remarkable rearguard action. Yuvraj was especially ruthless on the radar-less Sami – hooking, cutting and square-driving him for four fours in an over.Pathan got going with a sumptuous off-drive off Shoaib for four, and there were also two quite magnificent square-drives when Sami pitched it in the slot. Yuvraj continued to bat in imperious fashion, slamming Danish Kaneria for six over long-on, and then sweeping him over deep square leg for six more. By tea, it was Pakistan under siege, as both Yuvraj and Pathan struck the ball with a fluency that made a mockery of the supposedly bowler-friendly conditions.Yuvraj was dropped by Akmal off Sami – a sharp chance low to his left when he had made 97 – but Pakistan made the breakthrough soon after, when Pathan slapped a half-volley straight back to Kaneria. He departed having made an excellent 49, with his parents watching from one of the enclosures.A misfield at cover gave Yuvraj his century, and he celebrated with a disdainful pull for four when Shoaib returned for a new spell. But Sami, shockingly wayward in conceding 117 from 23 overs, got rid of Lakshmipathy Balaji, and Yuvraj was finally out, sweeping Kaneria down to Imran Farhat at deep midwicket, as India folded for 287 in just 64.1 overs.Balaji sneaked one through Taufeeq’s defence late in the day, but India knew that they would have to bowl extremely well on day two to wrest the initiative back from a rejuvenated Pakistan side that had rediscovered its appetite for the big occasion. After four days of one-way traffic in Multan, the series had finally become the contest that we all hoped for.

Brett Lee, who was forced to return home from Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka, will undergo minor surgery on his ankle on March 23. Lee suffered the injury during the tour match against the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI in Colombo, and underwent further evaluation by specialists, with diagnostic scans, in Sydney this week.He will be operated on for posterior impingement of his left ankle by Kim Slater at Castlecrag Private Hospital in Sydney, and will then undergo a lengthy rehabilitation process, though it is not yet known for how long he will be sidelined.”Obviously I have been bowling with some discomfort for a little while now, and despite receiving plenty of treatment on the ankle, it was still causing me some trouble,” said Lee. “After consulting with my surgeon and the Australian team support staff, the decision to have the ankle operated on and try to resolve the problem once and for all is the sensible option.”Lee hoped that a long-term solution would put an end to his injury woes. “While it’s disappointing not to be playing right now, I need to make sure the ankle is right so that I can look to be playing in the longer term, rather than trying to apply a short term fix,” he said. “After the operation, I will be doing everything I can with rehabilitation to get back to 100% fitness and hopefully playing for Australia as soon as I can.”Trevor Hohns, the chairman of Australia’s selectors, stressed the importance of Lee taking the rehabilitation process seriously. “Brett is a player we regard as a long-term prospect for Australia, and in that sense we need to make sure he is fully rehabilitated so that he can continue his career over a long period,” he said. “The most important thing for Brett is that the injury problem is addressed and he has ample time to heal properly, so that when he returns to competitive cricket, he is fully fit and injury-free.”Lee faces a battle to be fit for the tour of India later this year, as Australia – fresh on the heels of a superb series victory in Sri Lanka – bid once again to conquer what has been called their “final frontier”.