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Australia’s Nick Haydar fashioned his side’s thrilling one-run win over South Africa in a league match played at the Guru Nanak College Ground, Chennai on Sunday.With the Proteas needing two runs for victory, Haydar managed to run out South African captain Rory Field for a duck, leaving South Africa stranded on 279 all out. Earlier, Haydar had made 91 off 84 balls with the aid of eight fours to guide Australia to 280/5 in 40 overs.Haydar’s effort along with a 72 from opener and wicketkeeper Chris Backstrom and a 95 from Mr Extras were the major factors in helping Australia raise a challenging total. For South Africa, Ragunathan Naidoo claimed 2-58 from eight overs.When South Africa replied, Riaan Liebenberg (35), Petrus Le Roux (49) and Peter Van de Berg (57) all made handy contributions to get their team to within one run of victory with two wickets in hand.But Haydar spoiled their party by dismissing De Berg and Field off consecutive balls to seal a nail-biting win.

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

											

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."

Pakistan got back into their winning ways with a commendable 28-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second game of the Morocco Cup Wednesday.Pakistan, beaten by South Africa Monday, earned their success through a disciplined performance that displayed their firepower with the bat, athleticism in the field, and bite and penetration in bowling.Put into bat by Sanath Jayasuriya, Pakistan rode on excellent half centuries from Saeed Anwar,Inzamam-ul-Haq and Man-of-the-Match Younis Khan to post an imposing 279 for five.Waqar Younis’s men restricted Sri Lanka to 251 for eight after they had made a breezy start by putting on 82 for one in the first 15 overs. Pakistan were, however, fined five per cent of their match fee for slow over-rate.Saeed’s return to his majestic best or Inzamam’s ability to carry the innings through or Younis’s and Abdul Razzaq’s whirlwind finish with a ruthless slaughter of Sri Lankan bowlers in the death overs was no big surprise because they all are well capable of doing this.Usually lethargic and lazy fielders were on their toes throughout the 50 overs. They backed their bowlers by cutting off ones and twos, held all the catches that came their way except Inzamam, who dropped Upal Chandana when the ball was lost in the sun, and Imran Nazir who grassed a sitter of Atapattu in the fifth over.Also impressive was Pakistan’s bowling in the absence of Shoaib Akhtar. After Jayasuriya (36 off 33) took the attack to Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, the young guns in Sami, Razzaq and Shahid Afridi rose to the occasion and bowled intelligently, according to the field.Sami’s inclusion gave the attack the option that was missing in the absence of Shoaib Akhtar. Sami bowled almost regularly at 143kph that made it difficult for the batsmen to adjust and throw their arms around. Shahid made full use of a bouncy track by bowling to a teasing line and length while Razzaq was as mean as ever to end up with three for 36.It was this young trio that tightened the screws around Sri Lanka when they conceded 111 runs from their 30 overs. Such was the accuracy of the three that when Chandana hit Shahid was a six in the 35th over, it was the first boundary in 81 balls. For a change, it was Wasim and Waqar who got the hammering. The two old war horses gave away 133 runs between them, with the skipper being hit away for 77 after grabbing five for 38 only a couple of days back.In the batting, there was purpose, planning and strategy evident from the way they handled spin king Muthiah Muralitharan. None of the batsmen took chances against him and concentrated on keeping their wickets intact but missed no opportunity to punish bad balls.Saeed showed his class and wristy elegance with some exquisite stroke-play. But he must be regretting the opportunity of missing his 20th century, his first in two years, when he was bowled by Chandana while trying to manufacture a single after having hit a six and four in three balls. Saeed scored 70 off 77 balls that included seven boundaries and a six.Inzamam played the role of the most seasoned player with perfection while contributing 63 off 95 balls that included five fours and a six. But it was Younis Khan’s clean hitting that helped Pakistan collect 99 off the last 10 overs, including 55 from the final five overs. The best stroke of the match also came from the willow of Younis when he swept fast bowler Dilhara Fernando for an incredible six over square-leg. Younis slapped five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 39-ball 56.Together with Razzaq, who scored 29 off 11 balls with two fours and as many sixes, Younis put on 50 runs for the unfinished sixth wicket from 22 balls. The two were also responsible for spoiling Chaminda Vaas’s figures when they hit him for 35 runs in his last two overs, including 25 in the final over of the innings.

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.

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.

Zimbabwe wrapped up their first Test victory at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo 15 balls into the afternoon session of the fourth day, beating Bangladesh by an innings and 32 runs. Their pacemen did the damage, despite bowling too many loose deliveries, and their only serious obstacle was opener Javed Omar, who carried his bat through the innings for 85, the first player to do so on his debut for over 100 years and only the third in history.Play started 25 minutes early due to the early stoppage on the third evening, with Bangladesh 91 for two. Javed Omar, helped again by too many inaccurate deliveries from Zimbabwe’s pace bowlers, soon moved from 47 to the second 50 of his Test debut.Aminul Islam, though, was not content to feed off the diet of leg-side balls coming the batsmen’s way and, lashing at a short ball from Streak outside the off stump, he was caught for 11 by Ebrahim running in from third man. Akram Khan scored a laborious eight before flicking Andy Blignaut behind square leg directly at the same fielder who made a very sharp chance look easy. Naimur Rahman (six) soon followed, pushing a return catch to Mluleki Nkala, and Bangladesh were 129 for four, still 71 behind, and with Khaled Mashud not expected to bat with a broken ankle.The tail was now in, and Mushfiqur Rahman made only two before being caught in the slips off Brighton Watambwa, while Hasibul Hussain (six), determined to do or die, managed both before snicking the third ball he faced to third slip off Heath Streak. Mohammed Sharif (eight) lasted just 12 balls before being out to a sharp catch in the gully by Grant Flower off Blignaut, when perhaps the tail-enders should have made more effort to support Javed, who was approaching a debut century.Last man Manjural Islam (six) also showed little desire to knuckle down and see Javed through to his century, and after being dropped by Andy Flower, a very difficult chance off a skied hook, he pushed a return catch to Blignaut, leaving the opener stranded on 85. He did, however, have the consolation of entering the record books and winning a rare Man of the Match award for a player from a team that had just suffered an innings defeat.Bangladesh, despite their innings defeat, were not humiliated, while Zimbabwe were perhaps flattered by the margin of their fourth victory in 49 Tests. They would be wise to seek more consistency in all departments of the game in the second match due to start at Harare Sports Club on Thursday.

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.

Auckland Aces may be one of the smallest fish in the Champions League T20 and the side that has traveled the furthest to compete, but as Sialkot and Hampshire discovered in the qualifiers, their bite can be just as fearsome as that of the bigger predators around. Auckland had failed to qualify for the Champions League main event in 2011, but have turned the disappointment of that failure into determination. They arrived in South Africa two weeks before the qualifying round to acclimatise and prepare after a wet New Zealand winter, and two emphatic victories first up suggests the extra investment was a worthwhile one.Auckland have the advantage of not having to surrender any of their best players to the IPL sides, and the explosive top order that was the bedrock of their HRV Cup success has already shown glimpses of form in South Africa. In Martin Guptill and Azhar Mahmood, Auckland have two of the more under-rated strikers of the ball, and although Lou Vincent only played a limited role in the HRV Cup because of injury, he has been a vital cog in the Auckland machine for years. Colin Munro, Anaru Kitchen and Colin de Grandhomme also pack plenty of firepower through the middle, with de Grandhomme having been elevated to the international Twenty20 side after he showcased a zest for finishing powerfully in the domestic competition.The bowling is spearheaded by Kyle Mills, and though it is not an attack that will daunt their Champions League opposition, it has the variety to expose an array of flaws. Left armer Michael Bates made a name for himself as a death-bowling specialist, but proved penetrative at the top of the innings in the last HRV cup, while Mills and Andre Adams have enough experience between them to defuse most crises. Azhar Mahmood is another steady seam option, and Ronnie Hira provides miserly left-arm spin as well. Like de Grandhomme, both Bates and Hira also earned international call-ups on the back of their HRV Cup performances. The bowling is supported superlatively in the field, and Auckland can claim to be among the best domestic fielding sides in the world.

How they qualified

Auckland won eight of the ten matches they played in the HRV Cup, and were effectively frontrunners for the entire competition. They had lost their last round-robin game to Canterbury, but regrouped beautifully to bury the same team by 44 runs in a one-sided final.

Key player

Martin Guptill was the HRV Cup’s top runscorer, and he carried that form into New Zealand’s home summer, in which he made five international fifties in a row. Brutal down the ground and almost as quick to dispatch short bowling, Auckland will almost invariably be competitive when he has a good day. He does tend to fall over to the offside, making him a candidate for LBWs on seaming pitches, but Auckland will expect him to overcome that weakness and provide the fillips they have grown accustomed to from him at the beginning of the innings.

Surprise package

Ronnie Hira‘s forte is his parsimony, but he topped the wicket-taker’s list in the HRV Cup with 14 scalps – most of which came when batsmen looked to attack him. He can also sustain a good strike rate over short bursts, and is one of the best fielders in a side littered with quick movers.

Weakness

Auckland’s batsmen have flourished against pace, but with precious little high quality spin going around in New Zealand’s domestic circuit, oppositions may want to test them with slow bowling early in their innings. The middle order in particular is limited in its range of strokes, and if spinners can force the batsmen to hit to less-favoured parts of the ground, they may expose flaws in their techniques.

A gripping final day in the second Test between West Indies and SouthAfrica seems certain after the home side, chasing 232 for victoryand a 1-0 lead, closed on 32-1 after dismissing the tourists for 287 in theirsecond innings.Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald and Jacques Kallis tried desperately toengineer a breakthrough in the 11 overs the West Indies were required toface at the end of day four and it was Kallis who succeeded by trappingWavell Hinds (2) lbw in the seventh of those overs.Chris Gayle played with his usual freedom, despite the pressure of theoccasion, cutting and driving Donald for a pair of boundaries in his thirdover to reach 18 not out while nightwatchman Dinanath Ramnarine survived,somehow, to reach 11.The day began superbly for the tourists who had fought back from 38-2 onday three to reach 130-2 at the close, a lead of 74. Daryll Cullinan andHerchelle Gibbs again began positively when play began on day four,collecting 42 runs in the first hour as Carl Hooper attacked in search ofearly wickets.The third wicket stand had reached 149 before Cullinan aimed a wild slogat Ramnarine’s leg spin but succeeded only in carving the bowler to BrianLara at cover to depart for an otherwise brilliant 73 from 178 balls. Butenormous credit must go to Hooper’s ingenious field placings and tacticsthat saw the normally fluent Cullinan score just six boundaries.Gibbs departed in the fourth over after lunch after five hours and 50minutes at the crease and, once again, it was cunning and guile thatdefeated him as Courtney Walsh persuaded him to shove the umpteenth “ribdelivery” to square leg where substitute Shivnarine Chanderpaul held a neatcatch diving forward. Gibbs faced 275 balls in his 87 and was also limited,by his standards, to 11 fours.A period of such intense pressure then followed that South Africa scoredjust 10 runs in the hour after lunch and a mere 45 in the afternoon sessionas Walsh produced a spell of 6-5-1-1. When he made way for Merv Dillon thewicket followed first ball as Lance Klusener (5) lashed out a Dillon’s wideloosener and edged to Gayle at slip.An out of form Neil McKenzie’s excruciating sojourn finally came to aend when Dillon flicked an inside edge to give Ridley Jacobs the catch andsend the batsman on his way for 25 scratchy runs from 134 balls.Mark Boucher produced a typically aggressive counter-attack but on 38 heattempted to pull a Dillon delivery that kept low, nipped back and rattledthe top of middle stump.The final three wickets, usually so productive for South Africa,scrambled just 23 more runs as the irrepressible, ageless Walsh pounded infrom the pavilion end for over after over to finish with 6-62 in 36 overs,as inspiring a performance as one could see in Test cricket.The home side may have been less well placed by the close had Cullinanheld a sharp catch at slip off the bowling of Pollock when Gayle was on 17and Ramnarine carved a Kallis delivery toward Boje in the gulley but thefielder failed to pick the flight of the ball and never moved.Although the pitch is playing almost as well as it has throughout thematch, 200 runs on the final day – with tension and nerves bound to play apart – seems certain to produce a thriller.