Gauteng became the first South African province to boast an all-African management team this week when Dr Mtutulezi Nyoka, a 41-year-old ear, nose and throat surgeon, was elected to the chairmanship. Nyoka has also accepted a nomination to stand for the presidency of the United Cricket Board at the annual meeting of the body early next month.Nyoka joins Thabo Moseki, appointed recently as the first African chief executive of a provincial, at the Wanderers and together the pair face the considerable task of restoring the country’s biggest, richest and, in recent years, most ineptly administered union to its former glory.Nyoka is hardly unaware that the performances of both himself and Moseki will be scrutinised in fine detail, not least because of the simple fact of the colour of their skins. He is not, however, daunted by the prospect."We live in South Africa," he said. "And I know that in many ways Africans are looked at very differently. But I don’t believe that this will place additional pressure on me. These are trials that I have faced in many other areas and I believe I will cope."The challenge that I face together with Mr Moseki is to try and turn Gauteng around and I look forward to this challenge."Nyoka said that he was committed to the transformation process and believes that this will be inextricably linked to the success of his task.He has said that he hopes to call on the expertise of many of those involved in the old Mean Machine days of Transvaal cricket and he has on hand, in director of cricket, Alan Kourie, a direct link to the past."We have all the resources we need here," he said. "There is no reason to fail."For Nyoka, Moseki and Kourie, though, the priority has to be to turn Gauteng around on the field. As in all sports organisations, success or failure is seen in terms of results. In the case of a province like Gauteng, with its proud, and not so distant, history, the pressure for success weighs heavily.

Yorkshire stalwart Geoff Boycott could switch his allegiance to Lancashire as the Red Rose county seeks to find a replacement for coach Bobby Simpson.The Australian announced this week that he did not want an extension to his two-year contract and would leave at the end of the season.Now Lancashire have put forward the name of Boycott in their search for success.Chairman Jack Simmons said the club needed a change of direction afterunsuccessful seasons with overseas coaches Dav Whatmore and Simpson.Simmons said: “We will consider a new strategy which could involve a directorof cricket who would bring in specialist coaches when he sees fit.”For instance, I think it would be good to have people of the calibre ofGeoff Boycott or Graham Gooch or Mike Gatting coming in, if only for briefspells to help out.”Boycott now mainly works in the media but earlier this year he was engaged by Pakistan to coach players in their national academy and to pass on tips to the Pakistan side preparing to fly out to New Zealand.He was paid £30,000 for 15 days’ work in the country.Lancashire, who have not won the Championship outright since 1934, have had six coaches in the past ten years, though the likes of Whatmore and David Lloyd have gone on to high-profile international posts.

Australia’s final day demolition of England at The Oval to win by an innings and 25 runs and take the series 4-1 has confirmed their lead at the head of the ICC Test Championship table.By wrapping up their seventh consecutive Ashes series more than three weeks ago at Nottingham, the Australians retained the two points earned from their 3-2 victory in the last series between the two sides in England. England remain clear in third position despite losing, not being penalised as they had also lost in that corresponding series four years ago.Although they would have been knocked off the leader’s perch by South Africa with a loss in this series, Australia can not now be headed on the table until at least late November. Even this would only eventuate if South Africa managed to win in Zimbabwe in September; hold on to established points against India by winning at home in November; and if Australia was then beaten by New Zealand at home. If this trio of events fails to occur, South Africa would have to await their twin series against the Australians between December 2001 and March 2002 in order to bridge the gap or overtake their rivals.The first movement in the standings since the end of July is likely to come later this week as the third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India starts at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo tomorrow. Unlike the drawn two-Test series dominated by the bat in 1997/98, both matches thus far have ended in results inside four days.Neither side can improve its position on the table – only their points per series averages can rise – they will nevertheless force their opponents down the ladder if there is a positive outcome from the final Test. An Indian victory would see Sri Lanka slip two places, dropping below West Indies (average of 1.00) and New Zealand (0.93) to assume sixth place on 0.92. A win for the home team on the other hand would push India behind Pakistan (0.73) into eighth on 0.69.The results of the Asian Test Championship, which also starts tomorrow in Multan and which includes the opening matches of the 2001/02 Test season, will not count toward the ICC Test Championship. The matches between Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka take the form of a series of one-off Tests, and they are therefore disqualified from consideration under the rules which govern the operation of the ICCTC.

ECB Premier Division 1 – (50 overs)Andover 125 (1pt) (M Miller 55, Dibden 5-15, Goldstraw 3-27)
BAT Sports 129-1 (22pts) (Kenway 48, Carson 43, Shirazi 33)
BAT Sports won by 9 wicketsBashley (Rydal) 189 (20pts) (A Sexton 57, Boston 3-26)
Calmore Sports 176 (8pts) (Middleton 3-21)
Bashley (Rydal) won by 13 runsBournemouth 241-7 (22pts) (Webley 86, Swarbrick 47, Cassell 37, Jenkins 3-52)
Burridge 73 (3pts) (Dixon 34, K Wilson 4-25, Kidner 3-13)
Bournemouth won by 168 runsHungerford 165 (5pts) (Rider 70, Berry 5-28, Wheatley 3-34)
Liphook & Ripsley 167-6 (21pts) (Wright 30)
Liphook & Ripsley won by 4 wicketsSouth Wilts 177 (5pts) (Rowe 61, Wade 37, Gillies 3-32)
Havant 178-4 (22pts) (Perry 67, Gover 40, Gillies 35, Rowe 3-32)
Havant won by 6 wicketsPremier Division 2 – (50 overs)Hambledon 213-7 (8pts) (Hobson 55, Magrath 50)
Trojans 214-8 (20pts) (Subnaik 63, Williams 44, Turner 3-34)
Trojans won by 2 wicketsLymington 237 (21pts) (Craft 92, Treagus 35, Ellis 3-44, Frith 3-52)
Sparsholt 195-9 (8pts) (Foyle 39, Gunyon 30, Allen 3-31, Clemow 3-45)
Lymington won by 42 runsPortsmouth 346-6 (22pts) (Cook 163, Prittipaul 109, Curtis 5-64)
Old Basing 99 (2pts) (Dew 6-27, Maru 3-29)
Portsmouth won by 247 runsOld Tauntonians & Romsey 126 (4pts) (I Tulk 41, Baglow 4-20)
Cove 127-7 (19pts) (Short 50)
Cove won by 3 wicketsUnited Services 172 (5pts) (Ainsley 42, Hounsome 40, St Green 4-36)
Easton & Martyr Worthy 173-6 (21pts) (A Birch 57, Sh Green 53)
Easton & Martyr Worthy won by 4 wicketsPremier Division 3 – (50 overs)Alton 160 (3pts) (Ballinger 45, Cambray 4-32)
Hursley Park 161-2 (22pts) (Edwards 46, Halder 44, Miller 32)
Hursley Park won by 8 wicketsBashley (Rydal) II 111 (1pts) (C Yates snr 3-14, C Yates jnr 3-23)
Rowledge 113-3 (20pts) (C Yates jnr 52)
Rowledge won by 7 wicketsFlamingo 189-7 (7pts) (Fengian 64, Brittan 57, Taylor 3-34)
New Milton 190-9 (18pts) (R Beck 58, Bott 53, Fenigan 3-11, McMurray 3-79)
New Milton won by 1 wicketHavant II 214 (6pts) (Harland-Jones 47, Saunders 44, Openshaw 42)
Portsmouth II 215-4 (22pts) (J Moon 114, Sewell 64)
Portsmouth won by 6 wicketsHook & Newnham Basics 266-7 (20pts) (Kaminski 92, Hall 39, Buckingham 35)
Leckford 253 (8pts) (Richmond 93, Kay 44, Rivers 3-52, Poulter 3-57)
Hook & Newnham Basics won by 13 runsLymington II 145 (2pts) (Tapper 48, Jackson 31, Charman 3-17, Adams 3-31, Perry-Lewis 3-32)
St Cross Symondians 149-2 (22pts) (Adams 43, Barrett 42)
St Cross Symondians won by 8 wicketsPaultons 163 (2pts) (James 35, S Marks 3-42)
Winchester KS 169-1 (22pts) (Mullally 67, P Marks 58, Naik 30)
Winchester KS won by 9 wicketsPurbrook 284-7 (22pts) (Hellyer 73, Repsold 58, McKintosh 58, Lowe 3-71)
United Services II 112 (3pts) (Stanley 5-27)
Purbrook won by 172 runsWaterlooville 233-8 (9pts) (Baumann 71)
Gosport Borough 235-8 (21pts) (Adams 102, Edwards 30)
Gosport Borough won by 2 wickets

Mike Burns hit a 112-ball century as Somerset ended an excellent season in style with an exciting 12-run victory over Northants at Taunton.The C&G Trophy winners and Championship runners-up began the day needing victory to be sure of avoiding relegation from the Norwich Union League First Division, but eventually finished in fourth place.They only knew they were safe when, with Northants 239-9, chasing 256 to win, it was announced that arch-rivals Gloucestershire had lost to condemn themselves to the third relegation place.That news lifted the atmosphere and when Steffan Jones shattered the stumps of last man Jason Brown to dismiss Northants for 243, hundreds of supporters poured on to the field to celebrate a memorable summer.After losing the toss, Somerset were given a solid start by skipper Jamie Cox, who cruised to his half-century off 53 balls, with eight fours and a six, before being inhibited by a hamstring strain and requiring a runner.Cox was brilliantly caught one-handed on the long-on boundary by Jason Brown off Jeff Cook for 68. And when Keith Parsons fell for a single Somerset were in some bother at 126-4.They were rescued by an unbroken stand of 129 between Burns and Rob Turner (41 not out). Burns reached his hundred off the last ball of the innings, having emerged from a watchful start to hit seven fours and one six. Cook was the pick of the Northants bowlers with 2-44 from his nine overs.The visitors looked the more likely winners when Mike Hussey (91) and Russell Warren (59) put on 112 for the second wicket in quick time to take the total to 158-1 in only the 25th over.But the introduction of spinners Keith Dutch (3-38) and Ian Blackwell (3-39) turned the game as both picked up wickets regularly and put a sharp brake on the scoring rate.Hussey hit 13 fours in his sparkling innings, while Warren’s runs came off just 56 balls, with three sixes. But after them the Northants batting folded abysmally and only Alec Swann with 31 not out offered any resistance.

North Canterbury’s Woodend School has taken out the South Island Milo Shield final with a comfortable win over Dunedin’s Balmacewen Intermediate.The final, played at Logan Park in Dunedin, was forced into a replay after the first match between the two was tied.Woodend applied the pressure second time around, cruising past Balmacewen’s 117 all out (in 19 overs) by the 22nd over.Woodend will now contest the national final in Palmerston North in December.

Zimbabwe have made a good start on the first day of the second Test against Bangladesh in the MA Aziz stadium, Chittagong. At stumps, the tourists were 236 for 4. Opener Trevor Gripper, unsuccessful in the first Test, hit a scintillating 112, his maiden Test century. He struck 14 boundaries, patiently frustrating the Bangladeshi bowlers.A solid opening partnership of 108 revealed the true nature of the pitch, which is expected to improve in the coming days. Dion Ebrahim and Gripper took full advantage, hitting the Bangladeshi bowlers all over the park. Ebrahim departed for 41 when he attempted a wild shot to a ball from Mashrafe that kept low, missed and saw his stumps in disarray.The Zimbabwean skipper didn’t last long, trapped lbw by Enamul Haque for 14. Grant Flower played some good strokes while Gripper was patience personified. Both dealt with the bowling attack like experts, with a mixture of caution and aggression.Enamul Haque broke through when Flower, on 33, mishit him to Naimur Rahman. Nightwatchman Garry Brent came in to join Andy Flower, Zimbabwe’s most successful player.Gripper’s long, patient innings of 112 at last came to an end as he attempted a risky single, and the stumps were broken by a direct hit from midwicket with Gripper short of his ground.Flower and Brent then took no risks, and at the close the board showed Zimbabwe on 236 for 4.

*Anirudh Singh grafts centuryHyderabad, building a good second-innings total, set Kerala a steeptarget of 327 in their Ranji Trophy league match at Cochin on Tuesday.Resuming at 124/2, Hyderabad’s batsmen did not allow a slide similarto their first innings. With Anirudh Singh playing the anchor role, anumber of small innings contributed to their final total of 334/9declared. Singh made 124 off 231 balls, with 16 fours, falling only asthe eighth wicket. For Kerala, Suresh Kumar took four for 115.Playing out 6.2 overs before stumps, Kerala reached 10 for no loss,with openers V Girilal and MP Sorab unbeaten on seven and onerespectively.*Vijay Bharadwaj wrests Tamil Nadu initiative awayTamil Nadu, looking to build a large first-innings total and then bowlKarnataka out quickly, were thwarted by Vijay Bharadwaj in their RanjiTrophy league match at Bangalore on Tuesday.The visitors’ innings ended on 468, with Robin Singh (58) and AshishKapoor (44) making quick runs and boosting their side’s overnightscore. For Karnataka, Mansur Ali Khan Ludi picked 5-81, including adeadly spell of 6.5-0-19-4.Karnataka started badly, losing both openers for just 16 runs.Barrington Rowland, the first-innings centurion, and Bharadwaj thencame together for a 202-run stand for the third wicket. Rowland made69 off 150 balls and was dismissed with the score on 218.The day ended with Karnataka on 233/3 and Bharadwaj unbeaten on 125off 160 balls, with 22 fours. He was accompanied by Thilak Naidu oneight.*Goa in dire straitsAndhra Pradesh had Goa against the wall at the end of Day Three oftheir Ranji Trophy league match at Vijayawada on Tuesday.Already in a position of strength when they resumed at 184/1, AndhraPradesh made a consistent string of scores all the way down theirbatting order. Skipper MSK Prasad made 96 off 233 balls before beingdismissed with the score on 221. Thereafter, IG Srinivas (52) and RVCPrasad (62) took the attack to the Goa bowling.Declaring at 373/9, Andhra Pradesh then blasted away Goa’s top order.Six wickets had fallen by the close of play, but the scoreboard readonly 57. RVC Prasad returned particularly fine figures of 7-4-8-3, andGoa were facing the spectre of an innings defeat on Day Four.

Rangiora has provided a match for milestones with two more players achieving significant personal bests in the State Championship game between Canterbury and Wellington.Yesterday it was Wade Cornelius who took seven wickets in an innings for the best performance of his five-game career and today it was his Canterbury team-mate Aaron Redmond who achieved his maiden first-class century after six times previously having gone past 50.And Wellington debut bowler Ash Turner picked up a five wicket bag when taking five for 66, including the scalp of Redmond, in Canterbury’s second innings.Redmond’s performance was highly creditable as he shared a Canterbury sixth wicket stand against all teams of 209 runs with Chris Harris, and allowed Canterbury to set Wellington a target of 410 to win with a minimum of 127 overs.Redmond, the son of former New Zealand opener Rodney Redmond who now coaches South Perth, is a graduate of the New Zealand Cricket Academy and last year toured England with New Zealand A. It was on that tour that he scored his previous highest score of 92 at Hove against Sussex.Today’s effort was an important statement by Redmond given the amount of pressure on among the Canterbury side for places. A squad of 13 has been named and after some disappointments last summer, Redmond was keen to make the most of his chances.”It was a case of digging in and being solid. We wanted to grind Wellington into the ground,” he said after finally being dismissed for 101 just after the tea break.Batting with Harris had been a boost because he was always talking with Redmond and was the sort of batsman who enjoyed keeping everyone on their toes.Getting his first century this year had always been a goal and to have it out of the way in the first game was a boost.”I had goal I wanted to achieve and once I was over 50 I definitely wanted to be able to go on and make a century.”I’ll have to re-assess things now,” he said of the goals he set for the year.But today was always going to be a chance to reach the century once he got himself in.”Once I got over 20 I was never going to let it go,” he said.And there will be a phone call home to Perth tonight, although he expects his father will already be aware of the news as he follows the cricket on the Internet through CricInfo.”The first question he’ll ask me is why I got out on 101,” he said.But once out he was already thinking about the job ahead for Canterbury of bowling Wellington out for less than the 410 target they face.And with that sort of target there was more than a fair chance that leg-spinner Redmond’s contribution to the game is not yet finished.

Even the Indian women would not have imagined that England would succumb so meekly in this five-match women’s one-day international series. At the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad, India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, thereby closing the door on England. A thumping 113-run win settled the issue, with India outplaying England in every department of the game.England won the toss, but little else for the rest of the day, and put India in to bat on a flat track. Early in the day, there was palpable movement in the air for England’s seamers, but the Indians were upto the task. Jaya Sharma (9), back at the top of the order, was the first to go, and Anju Jain (8) followed her to the pavilion. At this stage, India were in a spot of bother at 31/2. Skipper Anjum Chopra, however, steadied the ship; her innings was not pretty, and far from her best, but it served its purpose.Not attempting anything fancy, Chopra saw off the accurate medium-pace of Lucy Pearson. The left-arm seamer ended with an impressive first spell of 7-2-10-1. Having done all the hard work, however, Chopra was unable to make a big score and fell on 12 (50 balls).The fall of Chopra’s wicket brought Mithali Raj and Mamatha Maben together. A 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket ensued, with Maben and Mithali playing sensibly throughout. Knocking the ball into the gaps and collecting singles for the best part of their partnership, the pair did not miss out when the loose ball was on offer. Mithali, usually a free-stroking bat, was not at her best, but managed 38 (71 balls, 4 fours) before falling to the spin of Clare Connor.In the presence of Arundhati Kirkire, who played some innovative cricket, Maben brought up her half century. The Bangalore all-rounder, who last played for India way back in 1993, when the team travelled to England for the World Cup, had been unable to find a place in the Indian team until this series. Maben also suffered a serious setback in 2000, when she dislocated her shoulder on the opening day of the CricInfo Rani Jhansi Trophy. The domestic season of 2001, however, saw her stage a strong comeback, scoring consistently throughout the year. Making a half-century in just the third game after her comeback, she has justified her selection, something that took eight long years to happen. Maben remained unbeaten on 56 (86 balls, 5 fours).Kirkire’s almost run-a-ball 34 (4 fours) ended in the last ball of the Indian innings. The Maben-Kirkire pair had added 75 for the fifth wicket and taken India to 191 in 50 overs.Attempting to chase a challenging target, England never appeared to be in the running. Caroline Atkins and Arran Thompson made 21 apiece, but no other batsman looked at all comfortable out in the middle. The Indian seamers kept a tight line from the very outset, cutting out England’s chances of getting a flying start. The loss of wickets at regular intervals continued to be a problem that dogged England. With no partnerships materialising, the visitors were soon at sea, with the score reading 70/9 after 37 overs. It was only a matter of time before the last wicket fell, on 78, bringing the match to a close.For the Indians, seamer Sunita Singh sparked off the collapse, ending on 10-3-9-2. The Western Railways seamer will be especially happy with her effort given that the wicket was so good for batting. Singh was well supported by the off-spin of Nooshin al-Khader (2/24). Towards the end of the innings Mithali Raj, brought on to bowl her very slow floaters, turned out to be the surprise package, scalping three wickets for four runs off 4.3 overs.After the match was over, Mithali, delighted to receive the Woman of the Match award, had this to say. “It feels great to do well in my home ground, in front of all those who have supported me. When I came in to bat, we had lost both openers and the captain, so I needed bat sensibly. As vice-captain, it was my duty to take the team out of the situation it was in, and that is what I did,” she said.Chopra was less restrained and began by congratulating her players for the series win. “Mithali and Mamatha batted really brilliantly to get us into such a good position. Don’t forget Arundhati Kirkire’s knock; that too came at just the right time,” she began. The skipper went on to add, “It was a planned batting effort. We wanted Mithali to bat out the full 50 overs, while players at the other end took the initiative. When we came on to bowl, things were a bit tight initially, but Sunita and Nooshin gave us the breakthroughs and things became much easier,” she said of the comprehensive victory.Clare Connor, utterly disappointed at the result, began by saying, “We didn’t expect to be beaten so easily. But there is a fair bit of the tour to go yet. We will now be focussing on the Test, where we can regain some pride by putting in a good showing.” The England captain went on to spell out some of the areas that let the team down. “We really did not build any partnerships, and that is something you have to do in any form of the game to succeed. We also lacked the freedom to play shots, something we hope to sort out soon.”Judging by her remarks, as well as the showings thus far on the tour, England clearly have a few things to sort out before the one-off Test at Lucknow.