South Africa plodded through the fourth day of the Bulawayo Test againstZimbabwe to finish with 300 on the board for the loss of just two wickets.A toothless attack on a placid pitch was met by ponderous batting, andalthough South Africa’s first four batsmen all scored fifties, they stillfinished the day 119 runs behind Zimbabwe in a match almost certainly doomedto be the dullest of draws.It was a day without pressure for either side: Zimbabwe’s bowlers wereunable to exert any real pressure on the South African batsmen, who in turnwere content to take things as they came rather than attempt to pressurizethe home side.Heath Streak’s tactics at the start of play were open to question, as hechose to begin with the seamers of himself and Travis Friend. Streak oncurrent form is no longer a great bowler, and on this benign pitch both werepredictably innocuous.Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten appearedcompletely at ease and had certainly played themselves in well by the timeStreak finally resorted to left-arm spinner Raymond Price at one end. Withthe ball often turning sharply, many felt there should have been spin fromat least one end from the start.Gibbs ran to his fifty, off 91 balls, with three boundaries in an over offthe wayward Friend, together with four leg-byes. This finally persuadedStreak to resort to Paul Strang, whom many had considered to be his trumpcard, for the 20th over of the day.With his second ball Strang made agallant effort to catch a ferocious straight drive by Gibbs and damaged afinger so badly that he had to leave the field, unable to grip the ball.Fortunately it was no more than badly bruised and he returned to the fieldjust before lunch.Gibbs brought up the hundred for South Africa with a drive for six offPrice; he was scoring at about twice the rate of his partner. The pairadded 117 before Gibbs (74) played forward to a turning ball from Price andedged a catch to the keeper. To his credit, he walked without waiting forthe umpire’s decision.Kirsten batted with such skill and apparent ease that it came as a surprisewhen he was dismissed for 65 after lunch. He moved down the pitch to Pricewho, perhaps seeing him coming, tossed the ball wider and Andy Flower easilystumped him. South Africa were 162 for two.The scoring rate slowed to about two an over as Neil McKenzie joined Kallis.Strang was unable to bowl much with his sore finger, and Price kept thebatsmen wary with the occasional dangerous ball. Throughout the match itwas clear that the older the ball became, the harder it was for the batsmento score.Kallis reached a rather laborious fifty off 158 balls shortly after tea,immediately after the token target to save the follow-on had been reached.McKenzie was a little faster, but there appeared to be no effort to win thematch, which was still possible for South Africa had they scored quickly andput Zimbabwe in again in the hope that they would collapse – as Australiawould probably have done.Long dull spells were broken by occasional quality strokes, and both batsmenwere unbeaten by the close, Kallis with 81 and McKenzie 74. Perhaps a tokenattempt will be made to liven up the match on the final day, but it seemsthat everybody has by now understandably lost interest.

" We will reverse the result"- said Mahbubul Anam, after Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe in April 2001, when the side was defeated in both Tests and all three one-days. This raised debates among the journalists present there, who took his words as much as true. It meant Bangladesh is going to thrash Zimbabwe in all five matches waiting to be staged in home grounds."Reversing the result" was a metaphorical use by Mr. Mahbubul Anam and perhaps we all are quite aware of that. Bangladesh stands at the bottom in the Test team ranking and Zimbabwe positioned itself as the ninth strongest Test nation – just over us. Someone having the least knowledge about cricket would recognize the reality that there is a gulf of difference in the standard between these two nations.As for our African foes, they got the Test status nine years before and had played a good number of matches since then. They have a batsman like Andy Flower who’s batting genius is unquestionable. He will be a sheer worrying matter for Bangladesh as our bowling is below the average and the mighty Zimbabwean can throw a monkey wrench in the works of even the greatest of bowlers of his time. Look at his average, look how he bats under pressure and look at his consistency.In the very recent practice matches our batsmen failed to show that they can hang on to the wicket. If someone stayed in case, he was seen hesitating to go for shots. This happens when the confidence is volatile. Our players cannot synchronize both things that are absolutely vital in playing Tests – staying in the wicket and taking advantage of the loose ball as much as possible. Think about the Test in Multan, where we watched the horrendous selection of balls by our prominent batsmen.One thing is transparent – the tracks of Bangladesh are going to benefit the batsmen without a shred of doubt. The Dhaka pitch is a bowler’s killing ground. Only the spinners could get some favor. Our batsmen are less accustomed to play leg-spinners and mind that Paul Strang is a very good leggie. As to deal with the leggies we have already displayed a shocking feat (Crushed against Danish Kaneria’s not-so-harmful deliveries).Actually we have to restrain our hopes a bit. Hoping for a win against Zimbabwe is going to be a premature optimism. It will be praiseworthy if Bangladesh pulls off a draw out of their opponents in the Tests and a win in the one-day series.

On paper Pakistan and Sri Lanka are ‘even stevens’ andSunday’s Khaleej Times Trophy final is between two wellmatched sides loaded with explosive individuals capable ofchanging the fortune of the match.In earlier two league outings the honours have been shared.Sri Lanka outplayed Pakistan in every facet of the game towin the first match by seven wickets.Pakistan evened the score by winning the second encounter bythe identical margin although faced a much stiffer target.Will it be Sanath Jayasuriya holding aloft the trophy forthe second successive time or Waqar Younis leading Pakistanto victory stand for the first time since taking theleadership mantle is anybody’s guess?Pakistan, rightly considered as the most unpredictable side,are good enough to beat the best on their day if perform totheir talent. But in recent times the Pakistanis have becomechokers specially when competing in the finals.The Sri Lankans on the other hand are better organized thantheir more talented rivals and have the psychological edgeover Pakistan having beaten them in last April’s final.While Pakistan rely on individuals brilliance for victorythe Sri Lankans work as a unit hoping everyone to chip inwith useful performances.Both teams rested their best players for Friday’s tie butwill be at full strength. Champion off-spinner MuttiahMuralitharan will be back to tantalize Pakistani batsmenprobably at the expense of Prabath Nissanka. So will bedemon pace bowler Wasim Akram and classy Saeed Anwar forPakistan. All-rounder Azhar Mahmood and off-spinner ShoaibMalik are likely to make way for the two battle-hardenedveterans.As the pitch is expected to be batsman-friendly a highscoring final is predicted.Teams (from):Pakistan: Waqar Younis (captain), Saeed Anwar,Inzamam-ul- Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi,Shoaib Akhtar, Abdur Razzaq, Naved Latif, Rashid Latif,Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Mahmood.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), AvishkaGunawardena, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardena, RusselArnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Romesh Kaluwitharana, KumarDharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Charith Buddhika, MuttiahMuralitharan, Prabath Nissanka, Dulip Liyanage.

New Zealand might have been struggling in Brisbane against Australia today, but the New Zealand Academy were untroubled in beating the Queensland Academy.Brendon McCullum and Jamie How went for their target of 121 runs from the outset bringing up their 50 runs off only 53 balls. How showed he was just as capable as McCullum at scoring quickly.By the time 10 overs were up the Academy had 59 runs on the board. However, the arrival of Matthew Anderson at the bowling crease bore immediate reward when How drove in the air to mid on where the catch was held with How having reached 30.Chris Harris joined McCullum due to other commitments later in the day but the batsmen were scoring so well, he was to be untroubled.McCullum was in charge, hitting 10 fours in his 50, achieving the milestone off 50 balls.The 100 came up off 98 balls, in 72 minutes.McCullum finished with 57 off 63 balls and Harris chimed in with 33 off 25 as only 20.2 overs were needed to complete a nine-wicket win.New Zealand’s Academy director Dayle Hadlee said: “The size of the victory was surprising given the position of the QAS at the conclusion of the first day.”The NZCA bowlers utilised the conditions more consistently by bowling a fuller length, the fielders out-performed the visitors and the batsmen scored more consistently and played more positively on a pitch that was familiar to them.”The game completes the 2001 Academy intake’s playing programme.

Last evening’s zonal club match under lights at Newlands saw the Western Gladiators squeak home by one wicket against the Academy Panthers off the last ball of the match.The final over began with 6 runs needed to overtake the Panthers total of 219/6 (scored in 45 overs). Wickets fell off the first two balls and 4 runs were still required with the last pair at the crease when Ryan Bailey ran in for the final delivery, which UCT captain Ryan Ten Doeschate dispatched into the Railway Stand to grab a thrilling victory for his team. Ten Doeschate’s cameo innings of 36 not out off 32 deliveries saved the day for the Gladiators, who lost wickets at regular intervals after a 98-run 2nd wicket partnership between Graeme Smith (63 off 48 balls) and Andrew Puttick (52 off 81) had put them firmly on the road to victory.Earlier a fine innings of 95 not out by matriculant J-P Duminy (121 balls 5 sixes and 3 fours) had rescued the Panthers from a parlous 46/3. He received able assistance from Ryan Bailey (28), Dominic Ridley (27) and Faizel Simon (24). Opening the innings, Alistair Gray (who later took 3 for 38 off 9 overs with his legbreaks) scored 23.Panthers 219/6 lost to Gladiators (222/9) by one wicket.Gladiators 8 points Panthers 2 bonus points (thanks to the narrowness of the defeat).

Andhra Pradesh registered a tense five-run win over Tamil Nadu in their Ranji one-day match at Visakhapatnam on Saturday.Winning the toss, Andhra Pradesh decided to bat first and a third-wicket partnership of 95 runs between AS Pathak and Y Venugopal Rao formed the backbone of a final total of 260 for six. Pathak made 50 off 81 balls, while Venugopal Rao made 68 off 96 balls.Captain MSK Prasad scored 58 off 60 balls, but the real boost in the scoring rate came from RVC Prasad’s blistering 42 off 26 balls, with four fours and two sixes.Tamil Nadu lost Sridharan Sriram and Hemang Badani early, but Sridharan Sharath’s responsible knock kept his side in the hunt till the very final over. His 82 off 120 balls was well supported by skipper Robin Singh’s 50 off 56 balls.SV Saravanan’s 37 off 34 balls further down the order included some quick running, but Andhra Pradesh bowlers held their nerve to restrict Tamil Nadu to 255/7.

Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar Monday said the West Indies would be no pushover but admitted that he would be disappointed if his team didn’t win the Test and one-day series.”I will not repeat my prediction of a clean sweep against Bangladesh. But I will be disappointed if we don’t win the Test and one-day series against the West Indies,” Mudassar said on the eve of his team’s departure.Mudassar said the West Indies was not being taken seriously by the game’s pundits which was a dangerous thing to do.”West Indies strength lies in their bowling. They may have been bashed in Sri Lanka or some other place, but conditions in Sharjah are absolutely different,” he said.The West Indies, currently the whipping boys of international cricket, will be without Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan because of injuries.”West Indies might be without Lara and Sarwan. But we will also be without Wasim Akram who is an outstanding bowler and who could have made better use of the old ball. I don’t have a bowler who can replace him,” he said.Wasim bowled 20 balls in Dhaka before turning with a hamstring injury. He was overlooked by the selectors for the Sharjah series but Mudassar said door was open for the left-hander to join the team for the second Test starting Feb 4.”I have seen marked improvement in his bowling in the last two days. He is making speedy recovery and I sincerely hope he joins the team before the second Test,” he said.Pakistan named a four-man pace attack led by Waqar Younis who is probably the only bowler who is in form. Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Zahid and Shoaib Akhtar are all injury-prone and staging comeback after a layoff.”I am a bit concerned but I am confident Sami and Shoaib will come through. Sami is a bowler who can do anything anytime though he was a bit rusty in the last one-day international.”Shoaib looks fit to me and is also bowling well. But I agree that there are question marks since the fast bowlers will have to do a lot more bowling than they have been doing recently.” Mudassar has, however, pinned his hopes on spin duo of Saqlain Mushtaq and Danish Kaneria.”Going by the trend, the series should be dominated by the spinners and I believe Danish has a major role to play,” he said.Danish, he continued, had come out of age and was bowling brilliantly. “Although he cannot be compared with someone like Shane Warne, but he gets more bounce than Warne because of his height. He is a keen cricketer who has improved his overall cricket.”Mudassar said it was premature to say on the combination of the team for the first Tests, be admitted that Shahid Afridi was a serious contender to open the innings with Taufiq Umer.Meanwhile, paceman Mohammad Zahid’s comeback to international cricket was abruptly halted when he couldn’t depart to Sharjah with the team.According to highly placed sources, the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) failed to arrange visa for the fast bowler who last played for Pakistan three years ago.Sources further said Zahid might also miss the first Test. “His visa has gone into security clearance. Probably the confusion is because of his namesake. But it is highly unlikely that he would be able to join the team before the first Test,” sources said.Squad: Taufiq Umer, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq (vicecaptain), Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif (wicketkeeper), Waqar Younis (captain), Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, Saqlain Mushtaq, Faisal Iqbal, Naved Latif, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Zahid.

Fitzroy R.S. de Mel, a highly respected umpire of the Board of Control forCricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) met with an ill-fated train accident whicheventually took his life on Wednesday evening.Initial reports indicate that de Mel who was returning home from work wasinvolved in a heated argument with another person, who is alleged to havepushed him from the Lunawa Railway Station platform when the train hadstarted to move. He was accompanied by his wife at the time of his death.De Mel (66) was employed as the assignment officer at the BCCSL, havingjoined the establishment in 1992 after he decided to retire from activeumpiring in the mid-eighties.He donned the white coat for 30 years and during that time, officiated infirst-class and representative matches and unoffical Tests.De Mel was highly respected in his field and played an active role evenafterwards being vice president of the Association of Cricket Umpires andScorers Sri Lanka (ACUSSL). He was made a life member of the association in1994 for his services to cricket and was also a member of the ACU ofEngland.During his time as an umpire, De Mel was employed in the Survey Departmentwhom he represented at cricket and later, in the Mahaweli Authority. De Melwas also a notable actor in dramas, the most famous of which was in HenryJayasena’s ‘Hunuwataye Kathawa’.His funeral took place on Saturday afternoon at the Anglican Church inLunawa, Moratuwa.

To say that cricket in this country tends to be a bit wary of change is to make one of the great understatements of all time. However, from the organisation of the national team down to grass roots level, changes are being made. One of the most radical is taking place on the south coast, where Hampshire are in the process of launching a public offer for investment in the company that operates its new ground – the Hampshire Rose Bowl.Chief executive Graham Walker feels that the investment opportunity will appeal to a wide spectrum from the hard-nosed businessman to the Hampshire cricket enthusiast who wants to take an active role in helping the club achieve it’s ambitions.”We know from talking to our own members that there is a significant level of interest in investing in the club,” he said. “Each of our existing 4,839 members is now a shareholder, but there is a preparedness by both existing members and potentially new members to become significant investors in the business going forward.”The actual investment will be in Rose Bowl PLC, of which Hampshire cricket is but one part. The business is more than just cricket, however. It includes the golf course, driving range, fitness centre, as well as a hospitality and outdoor event catering business which has just been acquired. The whole site consists of 150 acres, with some 40 acres available for additional commercial development, so it does have prospects.Walker is not looking for a bit of loose change here. “We’re hoping to raise £5 million, with a minimum of £2.4 million. We obviously did this after a great deal of consideration and we think it is the way forward. It allows us to accelerate our plans in terms of the development of the site as an international venue, and allows us to finish the job.”When the time is right, the company is likely to be floated. That will be a first for cricket, for although Durham formed as a limited company, like Hampshire, they are essentially a cricket club whereas Rose Bowl PLC will offer a much wider portfolio of interests. They are talking about a major leisure and entertainment venue with many attendant opportunities at the one venue.”Rose Bowl is more robust from that point of view, with the catering interest as well. That has already written a million pounds worth of business outside of the Rose Bowl complex at places like the Southampton Boat Show, polo at Windsor, rugby at Twickenham where we provide catering services.”One thing investors will be interested in as the background of those involved, and Walker is proud of a c.v. that includes ten years running the commercial marketing operation with the Football League, and more recently chief executive of Sale Sharks – the rugby club that he sold to new investors, and was commercial marketing director of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. So he is not exactly wanting in a track record.Coupled with chairman Rod Bransgrove’s successful business background, everything appears to be in place to give the project a good start. Certainly the confidence is there, and there is no consideration of failure. It is just that the success of this public offer will determine the pace at which the Rose Bowl project can be completed. Not whether it will or it won’t be completed, just when. It is the sort of confidence that should rub off on English cricket as a whole.The offer opens at 10 am on Monday, 4th March and is open until 31st March. For a prospectus and further details, contact Graham Walker at The Hampshire Rose Bowl, Botley Road, West End, Southampton SO30 3XH or telephone 023 8047 2002.