Naveed Nawaz, vice-captain during the A team’s recent tour to South Africa and Kenya, will captain Sri Lanka A during a five-week tour of India later this month.Lanka de Silva, a wicket-keeper batsman, who had been included in the national one-day squad, has been named as his deputy after Romesh Kaluwitharana’s recovery from a hamstring injury.De Silva was put on standby for Kaluwitharana when the one-day squad was picked early this week. However, he is set to play as a specialist batsman in India as Prasanna Jayawardene has been named as the regular wicket-keeper.The Sri Lanka ‘A’ team comprises five other players who went on the tour to Africa – Ian Daniel, Jehan Mubarak, Prasanna Jayawardene, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Rangana Herath and Omesh Wijesiriwardene.It also includes youngsters Tharanga Paranavithana, Thilina Kandamby, Tharanga Lakshitha and Lasith Malinga, who played for Sri Lanka in the Asian Emerging trophy one-day triangular against Pakistan and India.SLC sources said that there maybe changes made to the team during the England series at home which runs concurrently.The team is scheduled to leave for India on November 15, starting with a three-day match against an Indian Under 19 XI at Rajkot and followed by three unofficial Tests at Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai.The team will stay back to participate in the ACF A team one-day triangular against India and Pakistan at Bangalore from December 13-21.SRI LANKA A SQUAD:Naveed Nawaz (captain), Lanka de Silva (vice-captain), Ian Daniel, Tharanga Paranavithana, Nuwan Shiroman, Jehan Mubarak, Prasanna Jayawardene (w/k), Anushka Polonowita, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Thilina Kandamby, Rangana Herath, Chamara Mudalige, Tharanga Lakshitha, Lasith Malinga, Omesh Wijesiriwardene.Hemantha Devapriya (coach), C.J. Clark (physio)

Former Natalian Derrin Bassage will make his Supersport Series debut for Nashua WP against North West at Newlands starting on Friday.MEDIA RELEASE:SUPERSPORT SERIES:WESTERN PROVINCE TEAM VS NORTH WEST:Newlands Cricket Ground 31,1,2,3 November 2003NASHUA WESTERN PROVINCE TEAM:

1) Andrew Puttick2) Lloyd Ferreira3) Ashwell Prince (Captain)4) J.P. Duminy5) Neil Johnson6) Derrin Bassage7) Thami Tsolekile8) Alan Dawson9) Claude Henderson10) Roger Telemachus11) Charl Willoughby12th) Mario OlivierManager / Coach: Peter Kirsten

U.C.B.S.A. BOWL:WESTERN PROVINCE BOWL TEAM VS KWAZULU-NATAL B:Durban 31,1,2,3 November 2003WESTERN PROVINCE BOWL SQUAD:1) Ryan Maron2) Alistair Grey3) Warren Wyngard4) Jonothan McLean ( C )5) Renier Munnik6) Ryan Canning7) Fahaan Berhardien8) Mark de Stadler9) Rory Kleinveldt10) Quinton Friend11) Cyprian Nyulu12) William Hantam

Cricket Manager / Coach: Barney MohamedARTHUR TURNERCEO – Western Province Cricket

Jerome Taylor’s fledgling international career continues to be dogged by injury, and yesterday it was announced that he was returning home from South Africa, having failed to recover from the back strain he sustained against Zimbabwe almost three weeks ago. He has been replaced by Dave Mohammed, a left-arm chinaman bowler from Trinidad and Tobago.Taylor broke down during the first Test at Harare, and managed only 9.4 overs in the match. He has not played since.Sir Viv Richards, the chairman of the West Indian selectors, explained the selectors’ choice by saying: “Judging from the word coming out of South Africa, and having regard for South Africa’s vulnerability to wrist-spinners, and having further regard for their [South Africa’s] recent tour of Pakistan, it was felt among the selectors that a bit of variety would be needed.”So we’re back-tracking from six quicks to five and a wrist-spinner in Dave Mohammed as replacement. This, especially after Dinanath Ramnarine’s successes against them.” Ramnarine, however, was not considered for selection following his recent announcement that he was retiring from cricket in frustration at his continued exclusion from the West Indies team.

Close Australia 342 for 6 (Langer 117, Katich 51*; Kumble 4-103) trail India 705 for 7 dec (Tendulkar 241*, Laxman 178) by 363 runs
Scorecard

Think of a man with these following qualities: grit, the will to win, mental strength, and tons of experience. This might have been Steve Waugh’s last Test, but the third day at the SCG was dominated by a man with a near-identical mental make-up – Anil Kumble. Australia had motored to 147 for no loss, in response to India’s 705 for 7 declared, when Kumble struck. Bowling with intelligence and discipline, varying his pace and his turn, Kumble scythed through Australia’s top order, taking 4 for 103 as they finished the day on 342 for 6. It would have been a respectable score in any other context, but chasing 705, with two days still left, it was inadequate. Irfan Pathan, with the late wickets of Waugh and Adam Gilchrist, and Justin Langer, with a manic century, had their moments – but it was Kumble’s day.Halfway through the day, a run-fest seemed on the cards, and the match appeared destined to be drawn. Langer and Matthew Hayden had counterattacked the Indian bowlers from the start, and were cruising along at five an over. Ajit Agarkar and Pathan had been ineffectual with the new ball, and Murali Kartik had been mauled out of the attack, with Hayden smashing him for six fours in two overs just after lunch – four of them being typically powerful sweeps. Only Kumble looked likely to make a breakthrough.Repeatedly, Kumble beat Hayden with his googlies; repeatedly, Hayden swept his legbreaks. Hayden cut him, cover-drove him and smashed him over his head, but when he wasn’t hitting boundaries, he was playing uncertainly, and it was no surprise when he mishit Kumble to Sourav Ganguly at mid-off (147 for 1). Hayden was out for 67; would the tempo slow down now?No. Langer went berserk after Hayden was out, dominating a partnership of 67 with Ponting, which came in just over 12 overs. He charged Kartik and hit him to long-on for a four and a six when he was brought back into the attack, and reached his 17th Test century with a reverse-sweep for four off Kartik’s next over. He swept Kartik for another four the ball after that, and Kartik went on to finish that spell with overall figures of 0 for 62 in seven overs. Welcome back to Test cricket.

But Kumble didn’t give up. His variations in pace were magnificent, and the batsmen were struggling to read his wrong `un. He eventually snared Langer, holding one back just a wee bit as Langer tried his umpteenth sweep and got a top-edge. The ball looped into no-man’s land at midwicket, and Parthiv Patel sprinted as if after a school bus on the day of his final exam, and took a superb tumbling catch (214 for 2). Langer had made 117.The Kumble masterclass continued. He set Ponting up with four legbreaks in a row around the 85 kmph mark, then slipped in a straighter, flatter one which rushed through at 100 kph and caught Ponting plumb in front, stuck on the crease. Ponting was out for 25. Australia were 229 for 3.Waugh walked in to a rapturous reception – even the Indian team lined up to applaud him. Then they got back to the job at hand, as Agarkar came back into the attack and tested Waugh with some short bowling. He was struck on the arm off one such ball, in a similar manner to which he had injured his elbow in the last Test, but he soldiered on.Martyn played a circumspect innings of 7 off 45 balls, which came to an end when he was deceived by the lack of pace on a Kumble ball, and hit it straight back to the bowler (261 for 4). Simon Katich was ill at ease to begin with, as Kartik came back into the attack and there were spinners at both ends. But he began to use his feet well when he settled down, stepping out and driving with confidence, and rocking back and cutting anything even slightly wide and short.Waugh had constructed a typically combative innings of 40 when the spotlight suddenly shifted a generation, to the most inexperienced player in this Test. Pathan came back into the attack, generated some late swing, and induced a prod and an edge from Waugh, which Patel held on to comfortably (311 for 5). The crowd went silent. Then, remarkably, swathes of people began to leave the ground – with Adam Gilchrist walking in to bat.They should have stayed – to watch Pathan dismiss Gilchrist, in the penultimate over of the day, with a ball that Wasim Akram would have been proud of: a yorker that swung in viciously and hit the middle stump, with both bails going up in the air in a smooth synchronised movement. Pathan danced up a little less balletically, and with good reason – it was an unplayable delivery that would have got rid of any lefthander in the world. The tail was in, with Australia still needing 164 runs, at the close, to avoid the follow-on. The last time Australia had followed on was in 1988-89, against Pakistan. This was not the kind of nostalgia Waugh would have expected to encounter.Earlier in the morning, as expected, India had batted on, blazing away in an effort to put on quick runs. Patel hit some crisp boundaries off Brett Lee before being out for an impressive 62, and though Agarkar was out early, Pathan played a positive innings of 13, off 14 balls.Tendulkar, meanwhile, motored on to 241 not out, the highest score by an Indian in Tests overseas, and the second highest, after VVS Laxman’s 281, in all Tests. Ganguly did not, interestingly, declare after India had reached 700, their highest Test score, but after Tendulkar had passed Sunil Gavaskar’s 236 not out, which was, until the 21st century, the highest score by an Indian in Tests. It had been a mythical benchmark that Indian batsmen of Tendulkar and Ganguly’s generation must have aspired to, and it was good to leave history behind, while forging a bright new future.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

The RETRAVISION Warriors will be bolstered by the return of Ryan Campbell and Michael Hussey for their crucial ING Cup clash against Queensland.Campbell missed the Warriors rained-effected match against Tasmania with a groin strain. Hussey missed the match due to commitments with the Australian one-day team.The Warriors can guarantee a home final if they can overcome the Bulls. WA is on top of the ladder with 29 points from eight games. Queensland is third with 22 points.WA will be without Michael Clark due a recurrence of stress fractures in his spine. Clark had a screw inserted into his back this morning.Fast-bowler Ben Edmondson had been included in the ING Cup squad for the first time this season.The day-night match will be played at the Gabba.The Retravision Warriors 13-man squad.
Justin Langer ©, Ryan Campbell, Ben Edmondson, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Aaron Heal, Michael Hussey, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, John Taylor, Darren Wates and Paul Wilson.Two players will be omitted before the match.Radio Fremantle 107.9FM will broadcast ball-by-ball coverage of the match.

Day 3 of 4
ScorecardWhile the other two Pura Cup games were affected by rain, a fightback by Western Australia and a strong start by South Australia made for an intriguing final day’s play at the Adelaide Oval. Ben Cameron and Mark Cosgrove put on an unbeaten 64-run partnership to take their team to 1 for 106, only 232 adrift of the target. But the day’s honours went to Darren Wates and Brad Hogg, who fought tooth and nail to gain the upper hand after Western Australia had lost 7 wickets for 116.The day had begun with Western Australia on 3 for 62, and the situation deteriorated rapidly when Paul Rofe dismissed Marcus North and Ryan Campbell off successive deliveries. Shaun Tait then swung into action and removed Murray Goodwin (6 for 83).A wicket and two hours later, Wates and Hogg had put on 119 runs and their team was in a position to dictate terms. Hogg, given a life before he had scored, stroked 10 fours in his 75 (8 for 235) before being dismissed, but Wates soldiered on. Last week, Wates had displayed a penchant for hard hitting during the ING Cup final, and here, with only the tail for company, he struck out again and scored 99 before being run out one short of what would have been his first hundred.Cameron and Cosgrove then took over, and shrugging off the loss of Shane Deitz, scored at four and a half an over to give South Australia a palpable chance of victory.

South Africa 296 and 277 for 6 (Rudolph 121*, Kallis 71, Gibbs 61) trail New Zealand 595 by 22 runs
Scorecard

Jacques Rudolph led the South African fightback with a spirited 121 not out, but New Zealand struck vital blows late in the day to seize the initiative. Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis chipped in with breezy half-centuries, but the loss of four quick wickets – three of them to Chris Martin – left South Africa precariously placed, still 22 runs in arrears, by the close.The turning point came in the 72nd over of the day, 11 overs from the end. Kallis and Rudolph were sailing along, and their 146-run stand had allowed South Africa to entertain hopes of saving the match. But with the scoreboard showing 249 for 2, Craig McMillan managed some reverse-swing with his bubbly medium-pace, and beat Kallis with one that came in late. The ball kept a bit low, thudded into the pads, and Asoka de Silva upheld the appeal. Kallis thus missed out on his opportunity to equal Don Bradman’s record of six hundreds in consecutive Tests.More importantly, the momentum had shifted, and within the span of eight balls, Chris Martin had swung matters back New Zealand’s way. Gary Kirsten misread a straight one, and trudged away after a forgettable 100th Test. The first ball Neil McKenzie faced was full on leg stump, and he tried to scoop it over the infield. Michael Papps leapt up and grabbed it in stunning fashion.South Africa had lost three wickets for one run, and Martin hammered one more nail into their coffin in the penultimate over of the day: Mark Boucher poked nervously and the edge flew to first slip (272 for 6). Martin had taken four wickets in nine overs, and ten in the match, the best figures for a New Zealander against South Africa. Barring some lower-order heroics tomorrow, Martin’s bowling will have decided this Test.However, before the procession late in the day, South Africa’s top order had hit back hard. Gibbs wasn’t prepared to bide his time, and went after the bowlers with ferocity. By lunch, he had raced to 46, as nine fours whistled away. Two fours and a six followed after lunch, before he was rapped on the pads by one from Jacob Oram and given out. The TV replays, however, showed the ball to be missing leg stump (103 for 2).

That decision might have gone against South Africa, but there were two others that went their way. Rudolph offered no shot to Daniel Vettori when the ball appeared to be headed towards the stumps, while Kallis – on 16 – was palpably out when Scott Styris struck him on the pads with one that pitched outside off, cut back, stayed low and crashed into the front pad. The front foot wasn’t too far forward and everyone, bar the umpire Aleem Dar, was convinced.Both Jacques made the most of their reprieves. Kallis was in glorious touch right from the first ball. The first four he hit was a imperious straight-drive that burnt the grass as it zipped along. He continued in majestic vein, including a mighty six of Vettori, and brought up his fifty in 69 balls.Rudolph wasn’t as aggressive, but put away the loose stuff without any fuss. He pulled with confidence and was selective about his driving. He left most of the wide ones alone, as if making up for his first-innings dismissal, but didn’t miss out on the half-volleys. Neither batsman allowed Vettori to settle, and used their feet when it was tossed up.Rudolph reached his third Test century with a lashed pull, and continued in confident fashion while others fell around him. He wasn’t troubled by the reverse-swing late in the day, and even creamed a few gorgeous fours when edges and appeals were flying at the other end. Having come in for the second ball of the innings, after Smith had been bowled by Martin, he stroked 20 fours and a six in his unbeaten effort. Yet he will have to do even more if South Africa are to stay afloat.With the ball still new, New Zealand will smell blood tomorrow morning. They are now overwhelming favourites to go one up, with one to play. As for Martin, he just couldn’t stay out of the record books. When he batted, he was bowled third ball for 0 – his ninth consecutive scoreless innings in Tests, a record.

Maurice Odumbe, Kenya’s former captain, has enlisted the services of one of Kenya’s top criminal lawyers as he attempts to prove his innocence in the case filed against him by the International Cricket Council. The inquiry into allegations of match-fixing is due to start in Nairobi on May 19, and will be presided over by Ahmed Ebrahim, a Zimbabwean judge.Ishan Kapila, who will defend Odumbe, is the son of Achhrro Kapila, who represented Jomo Kenyatta in a famous pre-independence trial in 1953, after he was accused by the British government of being one of the chief instigators in the Mau Mau freedom movement.The ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit will serve Odumbe the papers within the next week. He is alleged to have received payments from at least one Mumbai bookmaker in 2002, so that he could coerce his team-mates into underperforming in matches. If found guilty, Odumbe – who has been the face of Kenyan cricket, along with Steve Tikolo – faces a life ban.

Australia 207 for 3 (Ponting 91, Martyn 74*) beat Zimbabwe 205 for 9 (Taylor 59, Taibu 57) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Although they probably had to work harder than they expected, in the end Australia cantered to victory over Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the first match of this rearranged one-day series at the Harare Sports Club. A third-wicket partnership of 144 between the captain, Ricky Ponting, and Damien Martyn ensured that the Aussies clinched a clinical victory with more than ten overs to spare.Tatenda Taibu won the toss and bravely decided to take first strike on an excellent batting pitch. A solid fifty from the young opener Brendan Taylor laid the foundation of their innings, while a more dashing fifty from Taibu himself took his team past 200.Tight Australian bowling restricted Zimbabwe from the start, with just 20 runs coming from the first ten overs. Only one wicket fell, however, that of Stuart Matsikenyeri for 8, flashing at Jason Gillespie outside off and caught behind. Gillespie bowled a tight line and made the ball lift sharply, and returned an opening spell of 7-4-7-1.The first boundary came as late as the eighth over, when Vusi Sibanda, who had been in woeful form against Sri Lanka, drove Gillespie through the covers for four. Australia missed several chances in the field, with Michael Clarke the culprit twice, dropping hard chances at third slip and gully, including Taylor when 6. Three run-out chances also went begging.Taylor survived the early onslaught, but was never able to bat freely. Even so, his 59 off 101 balls was a fine effort from a 19-year-old – but he may find he has less opportunity for his favoured front-foot drives through the off side now the Aussies have had a good look at him.Glenn McGrath, on his return to international action after an ankle operation, conceded 11 runs in the first over of his second spell, but he finally broke through with a yorker, removing Sibanda for 18, which made it 46 for 2 in the 20th over.

Dion Ebrahim tried a few risky shots, but made only 8 from 16 balls before he was bowled by a full-length ball from Brad Williams. Zimbabwe were then 64 for 3 in the 23rd over – they had wickets in hand, but were well short of a satisfactory run rate. But Taibu soon picked up the rate, quietly at first, until he lofted Andrew Symonds powerfully for four over mid-on. Taylor also tried to score more quickly, but when he had reached 59 he stepped back to drive Darren Lehmann through the off side, only to be well caught low down by a tumbling Ponting (125 for 4).Symonds turned from his usual offbreaks to medium-pace, and Taibu pulled him superbly over square leg for six. Mark Vermeulen was looking for runs from the start, and after 40 overs Zimbabwe had reached 141 for 4. For a while they dominated, Vermeulen lofting Symonds for another six over long-on, and Taibu swinging him to long leg to reach his fifty.Then Australia broke through. First Vermeulen (20 from 15 balls) tried another big hit, off Michael Kasprowicz, and skyed it over the covers for Ponting to take a fine catch running back. Symonds then missed a hard chance at cover from Alester Maregwede (1), off Gillespie, but Kasprowicz struck when Taibu drove another catch to Ponting in the covers and was out for 57. Mluleki Nkala ran himself out first ball, setting off for a unilateral single.That left Zimbabwe at 184 for 7 in the 46th over, with four wickets having tumbled for 16. The lower order scrambled some quick runs, with Tinashe Panyangara again batting confidently for an unbeaten 14. But the eventual total of 205 was never likely to test the Australians, however uninspired they might have felt entering this match.Australia had an early shock on their way to the target, losing Matthew Hayden to the first ball he faced. Panyangara pitched a little short and Hayden tried to pull without gauging the pace of the pitch. The ball came off the splice and lobbed towards square leg, where Tawanda Mupariwa ran in to complete the catch. Australia were one run – a wide – for one wicket.Adam Gilchrist started his innings with uncharacteristic caution, but thenbegan to open out. He was just looking dangerous, with 26 from 49 balls, whenhe pulled Douglas Hondo fiercely to midwicket, only for Sibanda to plucka superb catch off his bootlaces.He was replaced by Martyn, who batted capably in the company of theconfident Ponting. Australia’s captain, who dominated almost from the start, pulled well, a stroke his partners found difficult to time, and ran to his half-century from 61 balls. Martyn took 69 balls to reach his, and both then batted with increasing freedom and power. There was a bit of manipulation at the end in an effort to give Ponting his century, but he fell for 91 to a brilliantdiving catch by Sibanda at long-on. It was still enough to win him the Manof the Match award.

Viv Richards has expressed his “sadness” at the state of West Indies cricket, and clarified that there was no rift between Brian Lara and himself. Speaking to the , he said, “In any organisation, things are not always going to run as smoothly as you would like – and cricket selectors or decision-makers are no exception. But Brian is still a batting phenomenon who has served his people well, and you will never take the genius out of his batting.”But it was not all about Lara. Richards had plenty of time for England’s latest pace-ace, Steven Harmison. “The last time I spoke to Beefy [Ian Botham] before the Test series in the Caribbean, his parting words were along the lines of, ‘Watch out for Harmison, he’s going to make the difference’ – and sadly for West Indies cricket, he was correct.” Richards may not be a selector anymore, but he certainly thinks he knows someone who would make a good selector. “I knew Beefy had always championed Harmison’s cause, but it just goes to show that he would make a good selector.”After a couple of words of praise for his old Somerset teammate, Richards trained his sights squarely on Harmison. “There can be no doubt that England have unearthed a diamond,” he said. “From what I saw in the West Indies a few months back, this particular guy is the real deal. Some of the English guys were calling him Baby Amby because his action has similarities with the way Curtly Ambrose used to bowl for us.”Richards thinks Harmison has made great strides in the recent past. “Having seen him earlier in his career, I would say he was not bowling in the right channels on a regular basis. But if England need a wicket now, the captain can throw the ball to Harmison as his No. 1 strike bowler. It’s no good being 6ft 5ins and bowling at a good pace if you cannot land the ball consistently in the right zone, but that is what Harmison did in the Caribbean and he got his just rewards.”Gracious in defeat, Richards saluted Harmison’s effort. “Although it was painful for us to be on the receiving end, you can only admire the way this individual bowled and the marvellous results he achieved. Yes, he did surprise a lot of people outside his own camp. But hats off to him for the way he has worked at his game.””When you think of all the fast bowlers around the world, Harmison’s performance against us was up there with the very best. He is England’s main man, he’s made a huge difference to the attack.” Now that is fulsome praise, coming from a man who led a series of pace batteries that were right up there with the best.