What a Test Match! We looked down and out after the first day having been dismissed for a paltry 131. The West Indies batted well on what looked like a wearing pitch to take a lead of 216. We seemed to be heading for another convincing defeat and cricket generally on and off the field seemed to be in total disarray going into a new season.What transpired not only made a little bit of history but has given cricket the shot in the arm that it needed and hopefully we will be able to move forward as the game was in a very real danger of collapsing.Credit must go in no small part to Hamilton Masakadza, who at 17 years of age became the youngest centurion on debut, eclipsing the previous record held by Saleem Malik of Pakistan.It was an innings of great maturity, far beyond his 17 years. His strength of mind and good technique make me feel he has a long and fruitful career ahead of him in international cricket.There were many other contributions of note in what turned out to be our highest Test score of 564 for 9 declared.Wishart recording his highest Test score of 94 and Andrew Blignaut reaching his highest of 92. Had the foul weather not intervened on the last day – who knows what might have happened. I believe we would have pulled it off but I guess we will never know.Hamilton Masakadza’s brilliant innings has proven that there is a wealth of talent waiting in the wings. The Zimbabwe Cricket Union’s development program has proved that it is doing a good job, but it must capitalize on this and move from strength to strength. I can only hope that those various politically motivated persons realise the talent that is available and if properly nurtured will render the quota system and its like methods of the past. This will ensure that the Zimbabwean Cricket Team will be represented by 11 players on merit naturally reflecting the “face of Africa”.The game of cricket in Zimbabwe has the capacity to expand to such huge proportions and if properly played and administrated the sky is the limit. There is still a long way to go and many obstacles are still in the way, not least the press, who after Masakadza’s great vigil ran with the headlines: “Masakadza proves Racists wrong”. I find this abhorrent but this is what cricket needs to overcome.South Africa are our next opponents in September. It will be another real test for us but hopefully strengthened and buoyed by where our cricket is heading, we can put on a good show. Who knows what might happen! As the old cliché goes – “Cricket is a funny game”. Isn’t it just!

Retiring Skeggs Foundation executive trustee Steve Davie will be assisting the Otago Cricket Association in the development of a series of events and fund-raising concepts over the new cricket season.Davie, well known for his cricket radio commentary work, has been contracted by the OCA to organise and host a variety of functions, including a 300 Club dinner honouring the five New Zealand players to have scored a triple century in a first-class innings (all five having been Otago representatives) and a luncheon before the One-Day International with England in late-February.Other duties include the establishment of a number of fund-raising events, some of which will be one-off ventures while others will be seen regularly on the OCA’s annual calendar.Davie is excited about his new role.”It’s Otago Cricket’s 125th season so there will be some genuine emotion enveloping the summer’s activities.”I’m looking forward to introducing concepts for the OCA which allow it to develop a stronger financial base. At the same time the public will enjoy some high calibre entertainment,” he said.Since announcing his resignation from the Skeggs Foundation, the highly successful sports trust he developed and nurtured for eight years, Davie has been presented with a number of event management and corporate hosting opportunities, several of which he will take up.

One of the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) new pitch inspectorsbelieves many Division 1 club grounds and facilities need to beupgraded.Vincent Lashley also believes the governing body should help clubsto beef up their facilities."Most of the grounds are in bad state. They are not really good forfielding," he told NATIONSPORT."Our grounds leave a lot to be desired. Some are bumpy and some arevoid of grass in some areas. They need constant management and theyneed someone with dedication to see that these grounds maintain a goodstandard."He was speaking after completing an inspection at the Cable & WirelessBET ground on Sunday’s final day of the sixth round Courts/SuzukiDivision 1 match between the hosts and United Carlton.Pitch inspectors, introduced this season following changes to theDivision 1 competition, have been mandated by the BCA to look at allaspects of the physical condition of clubs. Inspections are carriedout prior to and during matches.Lashley also said the pavilions of some clubs were not up to scratch."There are some which are up to standard, like Carlton and BET, butmost of the clubs still need improvement," he said. "One of the thingsI would like to recommend to the BCA is that they should work incollaboration with whoever constructs these things, and makedimensions for a minimum-sized room for players, especially thedressing areas."He added that it was also important for clubs to have an area whichumpires could utilise.Lashley, a longstanding member of Dover Club, which he said boasted of"fairly nice" facilities, said the BCA should try its best to assistthe clubs wherever possible."I would like to urge the clubs which need help to put some pressureon their parent organisation and look for sponsorship," he said."Don’t be afraid to beg. It will help. Most of the times you won’thave to depend on club funds. The BCA should be able to assist them."Provision for the use of covers at every Division 1 match wasintroduced this season, and Lashley said the clubs had made everyeffort to ensure that they were utilised in the best possible way."Since the grounds people have been informed of the pitch inspectors,they want to do a creditable job in order to gain the respect of theBCA," he said.

Pakistan’s controversial paceman could be in trouble againover his bowling action.Although not officially reported by the umpires and thematch referee Denis Lindsay of South Africa, the officialsWednesday viewed video footage of his action for long timein the morning.Shoaib had earlier been reported for suspect action but waslater cleared by a panel of International Cricket Conference(ICC).However, many observers who watched him bowling in the firsttwo matches of the ongoing triangular tournament believedthat all was not well Shoaib’s action.Shoaib played in the first two matches and took threewickets and looked anything but ordinary mortal. He was leftout from Wednesday’s clash against Zimbabwe and the teammanagement described the decision to give him rest and giveothers a chance.

*Sridharan Sharath puts Tamil Nadu on course for victoryAn unbeaten century from Sridharan Sharath saw Tamil Nadu declare at396/5 on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy league match at Chennai onMonday.Sharath, resuming from his overnight score of 12, lost his partner,skipper Robin Singh, but then found able support in TR Arasu (55*).Batting with his usual elan, Sharath made 141 off 252 balls, with 18fours and a six. The pair put on 190 runs for the sixth wicket.Hoping to force an outright victory, Tamil Nadu declared and then hadGoa reeling at 92/4 by the close of play. L Balaji took four wicketsfor 36 runs, and only first-innings hero Kiran Powar was able to staveoff the bowling onslaught.Needing 66 runs just to avoid an innings defeat, Goa will be hardpressed to ensure a draw, let alone an outright win in their firstRanji tie of the season.*Faiq gives Andhra a chance at victoryAfter taking five wickets in the first innings, Mohammad Faiq scalpedfour batsmen in Kerala’s second essay, giving Andhra Pradesh arealistic shot at victory in their Ranji Trophy league match at Cochinon Monday.Andhra Pradesh, overnight on 234/8, lost their last two wickets forthe addition of only 25 runs. Kerala, however, could not capitalise ontheir fine bowling effort. Apart from Sreekumar Nair, who made anunbeaten 46, none of the batsmen could stay at the crease long enoughto post a decent total.Wickets fell at regular intervals and, at the close of play, Keralawere 131/7, with Nair and KN Ananthapadmanabhan at the crease.*Jammu & Kashmir set a steep targetChasing a nigh-impossible 469 for victory, Jammu & Kashmir foundthemselves at 128/3 on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Delhi at the Feroze Shah Kotla grounds in Delhi.The home side, overnight on 46/1, were propelled to a good total of316/4, a score that enabled them to declare and push for a win.Skipper Mithun Manhas, batting first with Pradeep Chawla (52) and thenwith Sohail Rauf (81) made 128 off just 132 balls, with 18 fours andone six.The Delhi batsmen scored their runs in a hurry, with the 316 comingoff 59 overs in just 242 minutes, leaving the visiting bowlinghapless. Jammu & Kashmir were, at the close of play, staring down thebarrel at 128/3. Kavaljit Singh on 54 and Guru Pratap Singh on 6 werethe batsmen at the crease.*Sangram Singh piles on the runsHelping his team surpass Services’ first-innings total, Sangram Singhmade an unbeaten 215, enabling Himachal Pradesh to declare at 463/5 onDay Three of their Ranji Trophy league match at Una.Batting with a stodgy Rajiv Nayyar, who made 90 off 289 balls, SangramSingh hit 26 fours and four sixes in his 308-ball, 405-minute knock.He was the dominant partner in stands with Varinder Sharma, AmitSharma and Chetan Kumar, none of whom even crossed 20.Services, now effectively unable to push for a win, were 25 for noloss at stumps on Monday, with openers PMS Reddy and K Chawda at thecrease.*Punjab take a big first-innings leadBowled out for 318, Punjab took a first-innings lead of 114 runs intheir Ranji Trophy league match against Haryana at Gurgaon on Monday.Ankur Kakkar, batting overnight on 81, fell just three runs short of awell-deserved century, becoming the eighth wicket to fall. Hisdeparture hastened the end of the Punjab innings, which only lastedfive overs more.Haryana, beginning their second innings badly with the fall of oneopener early, then consolidated to some extent. The middle-orderbatsmen, although able to get a start, could not take it further, andthe side found themselves on 173/6 at the close of play on Day Three,with skipper Parender Sharma (21*) and S Vidyut (23*) at the crease.

Sarandeep Singh has done nothing wrong after making his Test debutagainst Zimbabwe at Nagpur in November 2000 where he claimed sixwickets. The young Punjabi off-spinner though finds himself out of thenational team. Sarandeep Singh should have been the one to playagainst Australia but sadly due to a quirk of fate, Harbhajan Singhgot the nod ahead of him. What followed in that series is a part ofcricket folklore.Having said that, no credit should be taken away from Sarandeep Singh,for he has done what he is supposed to do – claim wickets. Nationalselector Madan Lal is more than impressed with this young bowler’sperformance in the domestic circuit, “Sarandeep Singh should play forIndia very soon, the boy has taken a lot of wickets, what else can weask him to do?”Earlier this year, Sarandeep bowled exceedingly well in the IraniTrophy against Baroda claiming eight wickets. He has followed that upby picking wickets in good numbers, playing for his adopted state NewDelhi during the current Ranji season; the shift from Punjabnecessitated as he is employed by ONGC which is based in the Indiancapital. The young spinner is also excited by the opportunity thisgives him to be with the legendary Bishen Singh Bedi.Sarandeep Singh, who flew in very late on the eve of the three-daymatch against England in Hyderabad, picked up five English wicketsgiving away 98 runs on day one, a feat witnessed by the five nationalselectors. In an exclusive interview to , Sarandeepsaid, “I was very nervous flying in to Hyderabad, I did not have anychance to prepare for such an important match in my career. I knewthat nothing other than performance would do me any good in my effortsto make a comeback into the Indian team.”I kept thinking about it, planning how to bowl against the Englishbatsmen. I decided it would be a good thing to bowl a good line, as Ihad not seen the wicket. When I saw the pitch on the match-day, itlooked a good pitch for batting. There was a little bit of turn andbounce early on as the pitch was fresh.”Soon it became very easy for the batsmen, the pitch was definitelyslowing down and I had to think of new strategies. I tried changing myline a bit and also varying my pace. You can get easy wickets indomestic cricket by bowling on one side of the wicket but againstinternational batsmen, you have to do that extra bit. They don’t giveaway their wickets that cheaply.”Sarandeep was thankful to Board President’s XI skipper Jacob Martin,who bowled him in short spells. Martin also made sure that his bowlersbowled from both ends, and by the end of the first day Sarandeep hadclaimed five wickets while Murali Kartik had three.When asked about how he felt being left in the wilderness after a gooddebut, Sarandeep replied in a voice filled with sadness, “Reallynothing is in my hands. I had hoped to play against Australia, butthen it is all for the selectors, all I can do is keep giving goodperformance and hope for the best.””I always send my best wishes to Harbhajan Singh for he isrepresenting the country. I believe in working hard and performingwell. I am working on my batting too; if I could contribute 30-40 runsin the lower order, it will brighten my chances of winning an Indiacap. It is going to be a challenge to bowl with Harbhajan Singh andAnil Kumble, they are such great bowlers. I will give more than my 100percent for India,” he added.About his stint at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, he said,”I had never seen Erapalli Prasanna before I went to the NCA. It was agreat experience for me to spend time with him. He taught me about theimportance of bowling on different types of wickets, to be mentallyprepared always as most of the game is actually played in the mind. Ilearned new tricks and understood the importance of having a strategybowling to different batsmen. I was taught to never bowl what thebatsman thinks that you are going to bowl. Prasanna is my idol.”Sarandeep Singh might soon be playing for India, if one goes by whatMadan Lal says. Given the fact that the tracks in India will favourspinners and the distinct inability of most of the English batsmen totackle spin, the coming days should finally bring good news for thishumble lad from Amritsar.

With the shortest day now in the past and the turn of the year in sight, thoughts at Somerset County Cricket Club are firmly focussed on the 2003 season and trying to ensure that all possible measures are taken to enable the club to gain promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.The club has already made three impressive signings in West Indian fast bowler Nixon McLean, South African top order batsman James Bryant and promising young allrounder Aaron Laraman from Middlesex, each of whom will strengthen the Cidermen’s bid for success next summer.In the days leading up to Christmas officials at the club spent a considerable amount of time on the telephone to South Africa trying to get the latest information on two of their new recruits.The Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "Somerset are trying to make an assessment as to whether Nixon McLean’s contract with the club for 2003 will be affected by a possible recall to the West Indies team. If he is recalled the West Indies are due to play Australia and Pakistan at home with matches scheduled to take place up to the end of June 2003."Nixon McLean is currently in very good from in South Africa where he is playing for Natal. Last season he was one of the leading bowlers on the domestic scene and this year in his four matches he has taken 16 wickets at a cost of nearly 23 runs each.McLean told me: "I have a contract with Somerset County Cricket Club which I hope to fulfil. Joel Garner was a hero of mine and I was thrilled to bits to be given the chance to fill his enormous boots."He continued: "My contract with Somerset is attractive because it states that it will be me and not Andrew Caddick who bowls with the wind, and it will always be me who bowls into the end with the most grass!"In reality the likelihood is that because McLean is already playing in South Africa, where the World Cup is due to take place in spring 2003, he may well be recalled for that competition.Beyond the World Cup it is difficult to predict, but officials at Taunton will certainly be watching West Indian team developments very carefully over the next few months.The signing of batsman James Bryant by Somerset is looking better and better with each day that passes by.Referring to the Eastern Province batsman Mr Anderson told me: "Respected observers of the game in South Africa have been contacting me to say that the signing of James Bryant is a very shrewd move indeed. He is said to be technically a very good batsman, and his second attribute is that in the field he is on a par with Jonty Rhodes," all of which is very good news for Somerset supporters.

Test batsman Vangipurappu (V.V.S.) Laxman will lead the India A-Team that will take part in the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series.Laxman, a regular member of India’s Test team, was omitted from India’s squad to the 2003 World Cup squad. He will lead a 15-member India A-Team with four other Test caps.Apart from Laxman, the squad that arrives in the Caribbean on Thursday, February 6, includes batsman Hemang Badani, left-arm spin bowler Murali Kartik, fast bowler Tinu Yohannan and wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra."After being unable to make it to the Caribbean in time for their first match, we are pleased that India-A will be coming as our international invitee this year and we look forward to them adding some excitement to the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series," remarked Michael Hall, the Chief Cricket Operations Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board.India A faces Barbados at Lucas Street in Barbados, starting on Saturday, February 8, before they revert to their original schedule of matches starting with the third round contest against Leeward Islands in Nevis, starting on February 14."The WICB will advise at a later stage when India A will play the match against West Indies B they missed because of their delayed arrival," Hall added.The West Indies first-class championship, renamed the Carib Beer Cricket Series this year, has over the last few years seen the participation of the A Teams of other Test-playing nations. England A was the first international invitee two years ago and Bangladesh followed up last year.Squad: Vangipurappu Laxman (captain), Hemang Badani, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Akash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Abhijit Kale, Murali Kartik, Amit Mishra, Rakesh Patel, Ajay Ratra, Ambati Rayudu, Avishkar Salvi, Connor Williams, Jai Yadav and Tinu Yohannan; Ashok Malhotra (coach), Ajay Jha (manager).

Arshad Azam produced a fine all-round performance to help Dawn Group reach semifinals of the Abdul Quddoos Sheikh Memorial Multinational Cricket Tournament here on Sunday.Arshad, who took three for 19 and then scored 93, played a pivotal role in Dawn’s four-wicket victory over Haseen Habib in the quarterfinal tie at Aga Khan University Ground.Aga Khan University (AKU) Staff and National Bank Head Office also qualified for the semifinals after defeating Nissan Motors and Faysal Bank respectively.Summarised scores of quarterfinals:*At Aga Khan University Ground:Dawn Group beat Haseen Habib by four wickets.HASEEN HABIB 197-8 in 25 overs (Abrar-ul-Haq 64, Fawwad Barry 43, Immaduddin 31, Irfan Qureshi 22; Arshad Azam 3-19, Mohammad Javed 2-25, Abdul Hameed 2-42);DAWN GROUP 201-6 in 22.5 overs (Arshad Azam 93, Abdul Hameed 31; Mohsin Akhtar 2-28).AKU Staff beat Nissan Motors by 79 runs.AKU STAFF 222-5 in 25 overs (Adnan Jaffri 66, Shahid Hussain 50, Aslam Jindani 31; Nisar Khan 3-40);NISSAN MOTORS 143 in 21.1 overs (Saeed Ashraf 38, Nisar Niazi Khan 29, Shahzad Sultan 21; Amin Noorani 2-18, Rahim Suleman 2-19, Adnan Jaffri 2-24).*At NBP Sports Complex:National Bank Head Office beat Faysal Bank by six wickets.FAYSAL BANK 170-8 in 25 overs (Shariq Hameed 40, Asim Imtiaz 36, Tahir Raza 32; Saeed Azad 2-31, Aamir Rizwan 2-32);NATIONAL BANK HEAD OFFICE 171-4 in 22.4 overs (Umair-ul-Haq 47 not out, Wasim Arif 33, Mukhtar 24, Mumtaz 22; Abuzar 2-28)

Wellington paid the price for poor batting in the first innings of their State Shield semi-final match with Northern Districts and suffered a four-wicket loss at the Basin Reserve.ND reached Wellington’s paltry total of 137 with 11 overs to spare.ND now meet Auckland in the State Shield final at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on Saturday.In perfect conditions and on yet another seemingly benign pitch typical of New Zealand’s summer, Wellington’s total of 137 was never going to be enough to defend and while ND suffered a few hiccups along the way, they knocked off the required runs with relative ease.Wellington’s top order never got going. Following a partnership of 48 for the second wicket between Chris Nevin (24 off 35 balls) and Richard Jones (37 off 73 balls), the innings floundered. Only James Franklin (34 from 82 balls) showed any further resistance.A disappointed Wellington captain Matthew Bell was quick to concede this was the cause of his side’s loss.”We just didn’t perform well with the bat today. If your top order can’t score runs consistently you will always struggle”.The ND bowling was also very much on song. Ian Butler bowled with genuine pace and plenty of venom throughout and was rewarded with three wickets for 15 runs from his nine overs.Left-arm spinner Bruce Martin bowled with guile and was prepared to flight the ball and entice the batsmen out of their crease. Martin bowled 10 overs and took two wickets for 22 runs. He caught and bowled Nevin with his first ball and then had Neal Parlane stumped.Graeme Aldridge who bowled his nine overs for one wicket for 31 runs and Mark Orchard with two for 32 runs from his 10 overs, also chimed in well for ND.ND had no real problems knocking off the 138 it needed for victory. James Marshall (32 off 46 balls) played a handy innings at the start, Michael Parlane (32 off 48 balls) played some typical bludgeoning shots and David Kelly (30 not out off 70 balls) batted intelligently.They did suffer a hiccup in the 31st over when they were on 114. Matthew Walker got a double breakthrough when he removed Parlane and Joseph Yovich (0).But Kelly and his skipper Robbie Hart steered their side home and on the basis of today’s performance, they thoroughly deserve to be in the State Shield final.