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After spending enough time hanging out at the Bangladesh nets, you are bound to get friendly with the pace bowlers. First of all, you can only get close to them. More accurately, they will come near the sightscreen to turn and take their run-ups, near where you will be standing. Soon you will exchange smiles, maybe joke a bit about the ducking batsmen and then discuss cricket more freely once they are done. On match days, you end up rooting for them. You have learned of their stories of struggle, being under-appreciated as cricketers and professionals in the general cricketing pattern of the country.Pace bowlers in Bangladesh barely enter the picture. They are under-used in the domestic circuit and even when they get a bowl, it is to 7-2 fields in the longer format and with sweepers back in one-day cricket. Pitches hardly support their cause and as a result, when time comes to trade them in the Dhaka league system, they end up getting less money than batsmen and spinners. Granted, they are of less use than the other lot, but pace bowling is heavily required in Bangladesh’s Test team, which makes many of the bowlers break down quickly as they are hardly used to the physical burden.So when Al-Amin Hossain, part of Bangladesh’s current seam attack, decided to take up cricket seriously five years ago, his mother reminded him that his education should not stop. Hailing from Jhenidah, a small town 200km southwest of Dhaka, meant that Al-Amin quickly understood the significance of a university degree on his life, and how a pace bowler’s career can often go downhill very quickly in this country.He got admitted to Rajshahi University, another 160km northwest to Jhenidah, where is now in the fourth year of studying public administration. His struggle is unique for pace bowlers in Bangladesh, and at the same time he is part of a minority of cricketers across the country who are keeping up with their studies.”Juggling cricket and studies has been really hard for quite a number of years,” Al-Amin said. “But my mother insisted that while I can do what I think is best for me, education should never stop. It was always ‘cricket vs studies’ but I have chosen to do both.”I am in the fourth year, and pulling through somehow. Last year I played an Abahani-Mohammedan match [the Dhaka derby], took the overnight bus, studied all night and then appeared for my third-year exam in the university in the morning just after I had arrived.”Al-Amin’s introduction to cricket was a curious one, and the narrative of his early days suggest why he is a realistic individual. “I was once walking past the Jhenidah Stadium when I saw that they were holding a trial for an Under-15 team. I made the team, and that was my first-ever cricket-ball match. I got 8-3-21-3. My first wicket was getting the batsman out bowled.”But for the next few years I missed the age-level teams. I always overshot the age-limit. I failed the “teeth test” at all levels and it was getting very boring, always getting rejected.”But he did break through. A chance meeting with Sarwar Imran, Bangladesh cricket’s byword for mentoring pace bowlers, led to a berth in the National Cricket Academy and a first-class debut followed. Thirty-nine wickets in the first season brought him to the notice of those that matter, and in the space of less than two years, he was an international cricketer. Though he doesn’t have a big bag of wickets just yet, he has bowled the most of all pace bowlers in the last 12 months.New coach Chandika Hathurusingha has been impressed by his work so far. His somewhat unconventional action offers more variations, recognised as an asset by the management. “Al-Amin has a natural action, though it is unconventional,” Hathurusingha said. “He gives variation of different release points and angles. He can be really good once he gets his body strong.”He makes the batters awkward. I am not so worried about his pace, because he is growing and getting stronger. When I saw him in the T20 World Cup to now, he has got stronger and bowled quicker for long period, sustained the pace. It is a process.”Al-Amin says that despite the lack of international wickets, he has become a more confident bowler. He has hardly looked nervous, except for a moment when he dropped a sitter at fine-leg against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.”I am growing in confidence, which is helping me bowl more overs,” he said. “I have always tried my hardest, and slowly I feel the captain is also finding more faith in me.”I am always trying to repeat what I do well. I am not too keen on the wickets but I have been unlucky at times. I have had about five or six catches dropped off me since I made my debut. I have started to read batsmen better. I now understand batsmen, their strengths and weaknesses. It is different for someone like Mashrafe who does it very well.”Al-Amin is likely to continue taking the new ball alongside Mashrafe Mortaza in the West Indies, with Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain coming in afterwards. While Hathurusingha doesn’t worry much about his pace, Rubel’s experience could come into consideration. But Al-Amin is hardened by rejection from his early days, so that might not be a worry for him or the team management.But his story is important to cricket here. He has taken up one of the tougher skills in Bangladesh cricket, and showed that he is more aware of the bigger picture than many, by sticking to studies. Often found with a beaming smile and constantly discussing something or the other with his team-mates or the support staff, it is also crucial to note that he does enjoy doing the harder things in life.

Nashua WP cricket selectors have named a strong team to play Easterns in the Supersport Series final at Willowmore Park starting on Friday.

MEDIA RELEASE:Competition:SUPERSPORT SERIES FINALNASHUA WESTERN PROVINCE VS EASTERNSWillowmoore Park Cricket Stadium, 1-5 November 2002Western Province Team:1) Gary Kirsten2) Herschelle Gibbs3) Graeme Smith4) Jacques Kallis5) Ashwell Prince6) Neil Johnson ( C )7) Thami Tsolekile8) Claude Henderson9) Alan Dawson10) Quinton Friend11) Charl Willoughby12TH man) J.P. DuminyCricket Manager:  Peter KirstenARTHUR TURNERCEO – WPC

											

The number of Hawke Cup challenges each summer will be reduced if a recommendation to a forum of district associations of New Zealand Cricket is accepted this weekend.The reduction will affect the South Island which until this year had two challengers.However, with only eight districts, five in Canterbury and three in Otago – compared to eight in Northern Districts and seven in Central Districts – it has been recommended that the winners of the Canterbury and Otago elimination series play off to decide the South Island challenger.Up until this year there had been five annual challenges, one from each of the zones, and the fifth from a play-off between the second-placed sides in Northern Districts and Central Districts.Manawatu is the Hawke Cup holder at the moment.The thinking behind the reduction of challenges is to free up more resources for associations across the board.

Two partnerships, both involving Jon Dakin, saved Leicestershire’s blushes after they had declined to 88-6 in mid-afternoon, the first, with Neil Burns, yielding 59 and the second, with Carl Crowe, putting on 92.There was some early life in the pitch, which had spent the first two days under the covers, and Ed Giddins soon had Iain Sutcliffe lbw with an inswinger before finding Darren Maddy’s outside edge with one that left him.Ben Smith and Aftab Habib brought about a partial recovery that ended when Smith chipped Martin Bicknell tamely to mid off. Bicknell followed up by having Habib and Darren Stevens caught in the gully and Daniel Marsh lbw.Bicknell’s burst of four for five in 11 balls left Leicestershire dismally placed but Burns and Dakin counter-attacked boldly, their 50 partnership containing 11 fours, six of them to Dakin whose first 24 runs came entirely in boundaries.When Ian Salisbury came on Burns immediately drove a full toss to mid on but Crowe quickly established himself, playing skilfully wide of mid on. Dakin, meanwhile, controlled his aggressive instincts as Leicestershire moved steadily out of trouble.Giddins returned to have Crowe caught at cover, Dakin caught at mid-wicket hooking, and James Ormond caught behind to finish with 5-48 as Leicestershire were dismissed for 246. Surrey raced to 46 without loss in the seven overs remaining, Nadeem Shahid being missed at slip by Habib when 17.

SYDNEY – Matthew Hayden has gone top of the PricewaterhouseCoopersratings of Test cricketers for the first time.After scoring 119 runs in his seven-hour innings in Sharjah last week -more than the Pakistan team scored in the whole match, Hayden hasclaimed the top place from team-mate Adam Gilchrist.India’s Sachin Tendulkar is in third, Pakistani Inzamam-ul-Haq fourthwhile West Indian Brian Lara rounds out the top five.Australia’s Damien Martyn has moved three places to number 10, whileAustralian captain Steve Waugh is in 18th as his average slipped below50 to 49.39 after scores of 31, 0 and 0 on his current tour againstPakistan.

England are to delay announcing their side for the 2nd Test Match againstAustralia in Adelaide until tomorrow morning.The Hampshire batsman John Crawley, who suffered heavy bruising to his righthip during England’s match against Australia ‘A’ in Hobart at the weekend,will undergo a fitness test at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow prior to Englandnaming their starting line-up.

A century from Nasser Hussain and a partnership of 145 for the fourth wicket with John Crawley put England into a commanding position after the first day of the first npower Test against India at Lord’s. India had enjoyed early success in taking three wickets, but they then had to toil on an increasingly flat pitch so that, by the close, England were solidly in control at 257 for four.Mark Butcher opened the innings with Michael Vaughan in the absence of Marcus Trescothick with a broken thumb. Trescothick’s absence accounted for a much slower scoring rate than usual, but the openers faced considerable movement with the new ball, with Ashish Nehra in particular getting the ball to go up the slope. He sometimes actually got too much movement, as when he bowled a big wide that had wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra scrambling across to prevent more extras.Zaheer Kahn was accuracy personified so it was not until his fifth over that he conceded his first run. By that time he had accounted for Michael Vaughan who was trapped right in front before either he or England had opened their account.Nasser Hussain took some to get going with his emphasis on survival, but he gradually began to extend his ambitions with a searing square drive off the bowling of Zaheer. Butcher too began to appear more comfortable and this pair reached a fifty partnership, albeit off 108 balls.They appeared set to go through until the interval, but Anil Kumble, bowling the penultimate over before lunch, found a ball that turned onto Butcher’s pad off the inside edge of the bat and Wasim Jaffer stretched out to his right at short leg to hold onto a smart catch. Butcher was out for 29 at exactly the wrong time from the side’s point of view.Graham Thorpe announced himself at the crease by square driving his first ball through the off side for four, while Hussain was content to remain until the interval at which point he had 37 and England were 76 for two.Just as England had lost a wicket in the second over of the day, so they lost another in the second over after lunch. Zaheer was the bowler again, finding a peach of a ball that went down the hill enough to beat Thorpe’s tentative push and clip the off stump.Once more, Hussain had to rebuild the innings, this time in company with John Crawley. He went to a necessarily laborious fifty from 128 balls, but it was punctuated with some quality strokes producing nine fours. Crawley, meanwhile was batting with a certain freedom and fluidity that was good to see in a player returning to Test cricket after a lengthy absence.After Thorpe’s dismissal, the afternoon proved to be a good one for England. The 101 runs added in the session came from 30 overs, with both batsmen gaining in fluency. Crawley was particularly successful through the off side, off both back and front foot, while Hussain went about his business in a thoroughly professional manner so that by tea he was on 82 and Crawley 48 out of a total of 177 for three.Hussain had scored a century against India during the NatWest Series final on this ground just ten days ago and now he repeated the feat with what, it has to be said, was a much better innings. His third Test century against India and his eleventh in total came from 192 balls with 17 fours – some caressed through the off side, and others thumped back past the bowler.He received excellent support from Crawley in a partnership that was blossoming into one of sizeable proportions. After the initial movement, the bowlers were struggling to contain the batsmen to the extent that Nehra was operating with a sweeper on the cover boundary in an attempt to stem the flow of runs.Saurav Ganguly’s options were becoming limited with his attack toiling on what was now a flat pitch so he resorted to the somewhat occasional off-spin of Virender Sehwag. As so often happens in these circumstances, it was Sehwag who made the breakthrough. The partnership was worth 145 and Crawley was on 64 when he cut at a ball that bounced a little more than he expected and he chopped it to Rahul Dravid at slip.This was the cue for extended applause as Alec Stewart made his way to the middle in his 119th Test – a record for England. With his radiantly proud parents looking on, Stewart eased himself into his task of keeping his captain company through until stumps.That task was accomplished as Hussain managed to keep his concentration just about intact to close on 120 with Stewart still there on 19 and both ready to press home England’s hard-won advantage on the morrow.

Surrey County Cricket Club is very pleased to announce that Alec Stewart MBE has been awarded a Testimonial in 2003. Alec made his County debut in 1981 and was the Club’s Beneficiary in 1994.Paul Sheldon Chief Executive Surrey County Cricket Club stated:”Alec has shown tremendous loyalty and service to both England and Surrey County Cricket Club over the past two decades. The Club is delighted to mark Alec’s career and achievements by making this well deserved award.”Alec Stewart stated:”Playing for Surrey throughout my career has been a fantastic privilege. I have been lucky enough to play with some great players and particularly to be a part of the huge success the Club has achieved over the last six years. I hope that I can continue to contribute both on and off the pitch in years to come.”Richard Thompson Chairman of Cricket Surrey County Cricket Club stated:”A Testimonial is only awarded to a player whose contribution is exceptional, in Alec’s case it could not be more appropriate.”

Somerset Second Eleven enjoyed the best of the second day of their rain interrupted championship match against Glamorgan today at the County Ground in Taunton.After winning the toss Glamorgan asked their hosts to bat first, a decision that they may well have regretted as the day wore on and the wicket became easier paced.Scott Cunningham, a triallist from Yorkshire, was the star turn for Somerset. Coming in at number five the right handed batsman shared in two century partnerships, putting on 115 for the 6th wicket with James Hudson (74) and then adding 102 with Martin Dobson (48) for the seventh.Cunningham eventually moved to his own century and remained unbeaten on 125 when Somerset declared on 351 for 9. In all the young man from Yorkshire faced 217 balls and hit 17×4’s.For Glamorgan former Millfield School pupil Dean Cosker took 4 for 44.Glamorgan faced a testing twenty overs before the close of play and lost their first wicket with the score on 12 when Pete Trego claimed one of the openers LBW in the fourth over.The match continues tomorrow

Somerset Sabres return to one day action tomorrow when they travel to Birmingham to play against Warwickshire Bears in the NUL Division One National League.Over the years Edgbaston has not been a very happy hunting ground for Somerset, and on the last occasion that the two sides met on April 28th in the zonal round of the Benson and Hedges Cup Warwickshire were the victors in a rain affected match.The Sabres will be heartened by the inclusion of their two England players Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick, and the return of fast bowler Richard Johnson who has been missing from the scene for several weeks recovering from injury.However Steffan Jones is still not fully fit, so doesn’t make the trip to the midlands. Instead, Steffan will be playing in two club matches over the weekend to see how he fares before knowing whether he will be fit to play in the championship match at Bath on Wednesday.The full Somerset Sabres squad is: Marcus Trescothick, Jamie Cox, Peter Bowler, Mike Burns, Keith Parsons, Ian Blackwell, Rob Turner, Keith Dutch, Richard Johnson, Andy Caddick, Simon Francis and Matt Bulbeck.Earlier today Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "It’s great to have Caddy, Tresco and Johnno back in the team, and apart from Steffan we are at full strength."What were his thoughts going into the game at Edgbaston I asked. Kevin told me: "Warwickshire are on the back of a good win in the Bensons and will either be on the crest of the wave as a result, or will be shattered like we were when we played a couple of days after winning the C and G last season."He added: "However we have had a good break and everybody is ready for the next game tomorrow."Veteran batsman Peter Bowler was in no doubt about the importance of the game tomorrow when I spoke to him earlier this week. He told me: "This is a must win match for us. We can’t afford to lose another. With the competition being played over 16 matches not many teams can recover from three defeats on the trot."He concluded: "However it’s not all doom and gloom. The general feeling of confidence is good, and hopefully the win over the Yorkshire Cricket Board will give us the lift we need."