The more I watch one-dayers, the more convinced I am that this is a gamethat revolves how well a side can force the opponents to be on thedefensive. ‘Pressure’ is the keyword, and it plays an important role nomatter what the reputation of a player is.The obvious game plan is to put up a reasonable score on the board andthen try to restrict the other side. It was no different in the secondone-day international played at Cuttack, which, in my opinion, is bestdescribed as a flop show by the Indians.

I think England did pretty well to score 250 after being asked to batfirst. There was some moisture in the wicket, but the Indian seamersfailed to make full use of it. Once again, Nasser Hussain impressed mewith his approach to the game. He played a good hand of 46 though hethrew away his wicket at the wrong time.Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood played excellent cricket. Theyshowed the Indian batsmen the importance of taking quick singles andconverting the ones into twos. It was the run out of Vaughan that gavethe Indians some respite.The target of 251 runs was never expected to be a tall order for theimposing Indian batting line up. All it needed was for one of thebatsmen to play a long innings and India were through. That, however,did not happen, as the three run outs turned out to be crucial inIndia’s defeat.

I must applaud the commitment showed by this English team. Theirfielding was brilliant and this meant that the Indian batsmen wereconstantly under pressure. And once Sachin Tendulkar was unluckily runout, the pressure on other batsmen multiplied manifold and they meeklysuccumbed to it.I have written in previous columns that there is nothing to choosebetween the two teams. Now that the series is tied at 1-1, the remainingmatches are bound to be much closer affairs. I can only wish and hopethat the Indian batting comes good sooner than later as I haveabsolutely no faith in the Indian bowling attack.Nothing seems to be in sync when India is in the field. If the bowlershave to make an impression, they have to get back to the basics.Ganguly, for his part, must back his bowlers with better fieldplacements. The bowlers, meanwhile, will have to remind themselves thatit is important that they bowl on one side of the wicket (and to thefield set for them) if they are to reap any rewards at the highestlevel.Before ending, I must congratulate the England team for their fine allround display which helped them to pull off a remarkable win on Indiansoil.

SHELL SA CRICKET ACADEMY REPORT
Two years have already passed by and it always gives me great pleasure to have been associated with young players who come through our academy and progressed into higher honours. Duncan Brown and Rivash Gobind have gone on to represent the Nashua Dolphins; Hashim Amla, Bongwa Hlongwane and Imraan Khan have been given Nashua Dolphins contracts for the 2001/2002 season. At the completion of the National Plascon Academy 2001, Duncan had the honour of being named the best batsman of this intake.
SUB-UNIONS
Our Shell SA Academy days that were set up in our sub-unions have grown from strength to strength. We have increased the practice sessions from one day a week to two days per week, and the number of sub-unions has also grown. The sub-unions include Pietermaritzburg, Midlands, Umzinto, Zululand, Matatiele/Ixopo, Durban South, Durban North, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Mandeni, Stanger, Port Shepstone and Tongaat. These Satellite Academies have become very successful and we have identified a number of talented young players in theses areas. The success of these Academies can be seen in our results during Michaelmas Week, as well as the growing number of boys that are now being selected in our KZNCU Schools Teams. Here I would like to mention a youngster, Saeed Mhlongo from Stanger, who has gone on to represent KZN Schools A and KZN U19 with great distinction.
JULY CAMP
Our July Camp was once again a great success. Ex South African cricketer Peter Carlstein who is currently a top batting coach in Western Australia, spent two weeks with the boys. Again this was by invitation only, but unlike previous years, with the involvement of our Sub Unions, we were able to invite boys from as far as Ixopo, Matatiele, Howick and Wartburg. As mentioned before these Shell SA Academy Days have proved to be a great success. The boys spent a week with what involved intensive batting and bowling coaching, lectures on Sports Psychology and Sports Physiology and not forgetting a `bit’ of fitness. Two games were also played during each week. The involvement of Peter Carlstein proved a great success.
It was encouraging to note from him that his opinion is that he rates the Shell SA Academy as one of the best he has been involved with. During the two weeks Peter also conducted morning coaching sessions in Zululand, Pietermaritzburg, Port Shepstone and Durban.
It is pleasing to note from an outsider that we are well in touch (this is supported by the great success of Shell SA Academy Days). We have and must once again thank Shell SA for their support and of course all my coaching staff.
The following boys were invited:
I KHAN
K NAICKER
A KADWA
S MHLONGO
T NXELE
K NAGIN
G ADDICOTT
D SAMANATHAN
B MOSES
E SPRINGER
D HORSFALL
D ADDICOTT
R MINNIE
W IRVINE
D BOOTE
R REEVES
U OSMAN
A OSMAN
A CHANDRAPRAKASH
A CHANDRAPRAKASH
V GOBIND
C CHETTY
D PILLAY
P RAMPERSAD
T PILLAY
T JALI
D GOVENDER
V PREMRAJ
N MOHAMMED
T CHIMANE
D MORTIMER
R HILLERMANN
R HILLERMANN
B VERMAAK
K VILAKAZI
W FYNN
C DRUMMOND
A HARGREAVES
N SHAH
F SHAIK
U BHEMNARAYAN
Y MADIKIZELA
R ANDERSON
J PANDOHE
MICHAELMAS WEEK
The 42nd Michaelmas Cricket Week was held at Maritzburg College from 29 September until the 2 October 2001. There were 14 teams participating in the tournament, with KZN Shell Academy being the only development team. Palmerston North Boys’ High School was an invitation team from New Zealand.The Shell Academy won 2 games and lost 2 games. The team performed excellently on the second day to beat Grey College, and cause the biggest upset of the week! Although losing to Pretoria Boys, we were the only team at the week to bowl them out. The win against Palmerston North Boys’ was excellent in a rain-affected match. Despite losing two games, they gave an excellent account of themselves, and didn’t leave the tournament without making a mark.

Darren Mortimer (Captain)
East Springer
Riaan Minnie
Devon Pillay
Uzair Osman
Azhar Osman
Tyron Pillay
Rudi Hillermann
Rolf Hillermann
Preshen Rampersadh (Wicket-Keeper)
Camden Chetty
Saidi Mhlongo
Vyash Gobind

Day 1: Pretoria Boys’ High won by 29 runs.
Day 2: Shell Academy won by 1 wicket.
Day 3: Kind Edward won by 106 runs.
Day 4: Shell Academy won by 96 runs.
YOUTH PROGRAMME
Our Shell Academy Youth Programme has continued with great enthusiasm and support from all the schools in KwaZulu Natal. Six squads practice on a weekly basis with age groups comprising of U18, U16, U15, U14 and a Primary Schools Squad. These boys are either invited and or nominated by their schools. These boys were also fortunate to be coached by Eldine Baptiste during the off-season and again his invaluable input has been a tremendous asset to the Academy. The success of the Shell SA Cricket Academy Youth Programme is reflected in our KZN U19 results whereby they are now unbeaten in three years. Our KZN Schools Team all had a highly successful Coca Cola Week.
During the off-season we conducted a very successful training programme with boys from the townships. With the co-operation and the hard work that Linda Zondi, Sakhele Simon and Rodney Malamba have done in these areas, it is very pleasing to see the enthusiasm from these young boys. An example of this is a youngster Toto Chamane who represented KZN Schools B team at the recent Coca Cola Week. With the continued support and hard work from the coaches, this programme can only grow.
On average 250 boys are invited to attend the Academy per month. Out of this 55% are players of colour.
PLASCON ACADEMY
The Plascon Academy, our National Academy, is a definite highlight of our year. Once again we were outplayed by Teams who showed far more confidence and experience than we did. We played 2 three-day games and 2 one-day games and although we did not perform well, we learnt a great deal. The boys realized that in order for them to achieve, they need to lift their game a level. I found this situation was exactly the same as last year.
Last June I saw an unbelievable improvement in not only the boys play, but also their attitude towards games and practices. Again it happened this year and I saw a great improvement in their play and attitude toward practice.
WINTER LEAGUE
For the first time the Shell SA Cricket Academy entered a team into our local Winter League. The boys took a little time to adapt to the much shorter version of the game but once they had adapted we played some really good cricket only to be disappoint ourselves by losing in the semi-finals. If such a competition takes place in 2002 the Shell SA Cricket Academy will definitely enter again and hopefully with the same success.
At the end of February, our Senior Academy Team toured Pretoria and Gauteng.We played one 3-day game and two 1-day games against the Northerns Academy. Unfortunately the 3-day game was interrupted by rain with the odds evenly balanced. We lost the two 1-day games very narrowly. The Northerns Academy had a little more experience than us, which counted during crucial stages of these games.
The Gauteng game we lost the toss were put in on a difficult wicket. We did however post a reasonable score but it was never enough for an experienced Gauteng Colts Team.
The tour proved very successful not only from a cricket point of view but also from a learning perspective. The boys got to know one another and more importantly got to meet boys from other provinces. These are valuable friendships and experiences that hopefully our boys will carry with them for the rest of their life.
Results:
Northerns Academy – 174/10
(Harvey 36/4, Power 64/4)
Shell Academy – 207/8
(Rosenberg 45, Anderson 28)
Northerns Academy – 115/6
(Symcox 16/2, Anderson 24/2)

Shell Academy-141/9
(Harvey 38, Rosenberg 20)
Northerns Academy-142/8
(Pietersen 13/2, Symcox 17/2, Power 26/2)

Northerns Academy-185/9
(Power 27/3, Anderson 36/3)
Shell Academy-176/7
(Smit 34, Bassage 32, Pietersen 24*)

Shell Academy-134/10
(Smit 42, Hauptfleisch 27)
Gauteng Colts-204/7(Hauptfleisch 32/2, Anderson 39/2, Rock 8/1)
Shell Academy-209/8
(Hauptfleicsh 87*, Van Vuuren 44, Anderson 30)

Shell Academy-203/5
(Harvey 69, Bassage 42, Sanders 35, Hauptfleicsh 31)
Gauteng Colts-204/8
(Govender 26/3, Pietersen 41/2)
27 March
Shell Academy-171/9(Gobind 79)
Gauteng Colts-101/10(Symcox 23/3, Anderson 6/2, Dennington 13/2)
During the `off’ season Eldine Baptiste who had recently been appointed the Dolphins Coach for 2001 / 2002 again coached the Senior Academy. Once again his invaluable input helped improve the boys cricketing skills and knowledge about the game. These sessions overlapped into the Dolphins pre-season practice schedule of which the Shell SA Cricket Academy became an integrated part. The boys gained valuable experience practicing with players of the likes of Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes.
Unfortunately with every happy moment there comes a sad one too. We were unfortunate to lose Wayne van Vuuren in a tragic car accident in June. Our thoughts and prayers are with Wayne’s family.
I would like to congratulate Hashim Amla, Imraan Khan and Lucky Dladla on their selection to attend the Plascon National Academy. Hashim has also been honoured as the South African U19 captain. Imraan made this same side as well as captaining the South African Schools. Adrian Penzhorn was selected to tour with the South African Colts side.
At the end of the year function the following Academy Awards were presented:
Academy Player of the Year – Victor XuluMost Improved Player – Saeed MhlongoAcademy Achievers of the Year – Matthew Dennington,Imraan Khan, Russel Symcox, John Anderson
Yet again we have had another very successful year at the Shell SA Cricket Academy. One cannot reiterate the importance of such a great sponsor as Shell SA. I would like to thank Shell SA and especially Linda Ntombela for their ongoing support. To Craig, Odette and all at Varsity College for providing the senior boys with an invaluable education.
I’m also very excited to announce that we will be spreading our wings in 2002, with the generous support from the above two sponsors, we are setting up a Shell SA Senior Cricket Academy in Pietermaritzburg.
Senior Shell Academy Intake for 2002:
Creesan Naicker, Ashraf Kadwa, Victor Xulu, Nqaba Mpofu, Anley Chinnippa, Andrew Perkins, East Springer, Matthew Dennington, Darren Smit, Wayne Madsen, Russel Symcox, Anderson Ndovela
Pietermaritzburg:
Stuart Woodroffe, Yusuf Abdulla, Davelin Samanathan, Ryan Rosenberg, Victor Walker-Randall, John Anderson, Trevor Kunda, Tsia Essack

This is the last issue of ZCO for 2002. We plan our next issue for 3 January, and extend our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all our readers.CONTENTS

• Zimbabwe v Kenya, 3rd ODI – Scorecard | Report
• Club cricket:
  • P.G. Timbers Vigne Cup, Round 4
  • P.G. Timbers Vigne Cup, Rounds 6 and 7
  • Round 5 appeared in our last issue. We apologize for the continued absence of Round 3 and the fact that Rounds 6 and 7 are incomplete, but we are still waiting for the scoresheets from the Mashonaland Cricket Association.
• Interview: Kevan Barbour
• Zimbabwe’s World Cup 15 Preview
• 10 years on: Zimbabwe v New Zealand, Second Test, 1992/93
• Alistair Campbell first-class Career statistics
• Visit the CFX Academy website
• Letters

As I write the news has just come through that the ICC has confirmed Zimbabwe as the venue for their six first-round matches in the World Cup, thus confirming their claim that their judgement would be based on safety rather than political grounds. Their statement said that they found no good reason to change the venue in terms of security, but they will, of course, be monitoring the situation regularly.Kenya must have been disappointed with their tour of Zimbabwe, especially the last match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Their strong batting line-up never really fulfilled its potential, although Zimbabwe’s bowling was not particularly demanding by international standards. In none of the three one-day internationals was Kenya able to exert any real pressure on Zimbabwe, although when Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe were together in Bulawayo it looked for a while as if they might compile a really competitive total. But a run-out changed everything, and the batting collapsed to give Zimbabwe a relatively easy victory.In this issue we interview Kevan Barbour, who has been appointed to the ICC panel of umpires for the World Cup. He praises the Kenyan players and administrators for their attitude both on and off the field, an attitude that should be copied by players of more illustrious teams worldwide. The Kenyans have always been popular opponents for Zimbabwe, and not just because we can beat them. They have always been friendly, courteous and true to the traditions of the game.Unfortunately, this tour again showed the huge gap between Kenya and the Test-playing countries, apart from Bangladesh. If Zimbabwe, who are struggling against the eight senior Test-playing countries at the moment, can beat them so convincingly, how can anybody say Kenya is ready for Test status? What if they were to play Pakistan, who gave us such a hiding on our own soil and then lost four-one to South Africa?No doubt I will cop a lot of flak from certain people for saying so, but in my view Test cricket is degraded if it is not a true test, a true contest, between two teams in a competitive match. If the result is a foregone conclusion and the weaker team is unable to exert any pressure on the stronger, then Test cricket is devalued – and by this measure even Zimbabwe only just qualifies these days. We have played too many one-sided matches during the past year, and when South Africa hammered us for 600 runs for just three wickets last year it made Zimbabwe’s Test status seem a joke. Only the fighting spirit of the great Andy Flower saved us from one of the greatest humiliations of all time.Bangladesh occasionally have a brief flurry but in the end lose every Test match easily, except for the one against Zimbabwe where the last two days were lost to rain. The ICC should several years ago have started a major programme of home and away tours for both Bangladesh and Kenya with A teams from other countries to prepare them for Test cricket. Had they done so, right now Bangladesh would have been a lot more competitive than they are and would have been spared all their present humiliations.Some believe that after this World Cup Kenya will be awarded Test status, and I would have been all for it, had they been prepared properly. But valuable time has been lost, and it will at best be three or four years before Kenya can be competitive in Test cricket, whatever is done. If Kenya do earn Test status next year, I would be only too happy to be proven wrong, but with the sorry saga of Bangladesh before us, still unable to compete after 16 Test matches, I cannot see Kenya doing much better.Both teams deserve better than to be flung in at the deep end without first being taught how to swim. I am not saying keep Kenya out of Test cricket; I am saying that the ICC should pull out all the stops to prepare Kenya adequately for Test cricket so they will not embarrass themselves when they make the step upward.

A week ago the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins travel to Centurion in defence of the Discovery Health Challenge, leaving empty handed, they returned on Sunday (22nd) to take sweet revenge on Northern Titans by beating the hosts by six wickets in a fourth round Standard Bank Cup clash.Set a stiff target of 247 in the 45 over allocation, Ahmed Amla and Shaun Pollock made short work of the Titans attack labouring in the glorious sunshine. A 144-run partnership between the youthful Amla and the more matured Pollock laid the foundation to a very impressive victory.Amla scored a run-a-ball 90, his highest in limited overs, smashing seven fours and clearing the boundary on a further four occasions. What should have been his maiden limited overs hundred ended when caught in the outfield off the bowling of another veteran Steve Elworthy.Pollock, not called on to bowl, had come in at number three and showed his class by stroking and timing his way to 72 off 77 balls, including five fours and a six off Pierre Joubert,.before he was caught at the wicket.Lance Klusener (35*) and Hamish Amla (31*) took Natal to the six-wicket win with eight balls to spare.The Dolphins had won the toss and on a fairly flat, hard and bouncy pitch elected to bowl first.Three cheep wickets brought Neil McKenzie and Gerald Dross together who put on a 111-run partnership. McKenzie, not as fluent as he has been, scored a hard working 65 off 91 balls on a pitch that came on but generated a fair bit of bounce.Dross, once getting to grips with the pace of the pitch, scored his fourth, but first hundred of the season, going to the three figure mark in 93 balls when he was run out. He powerfully scored eight boundaries and four sixes taking 44 runs off 23 balls faced from Lance Klusener.A flurry at the end of the innings from Kruger van Wyk (29*) and Elworthy (14*) saw Northerns reach a good 246/6.

Wapda made a steady start to their Quaide-Azam Trophy quarterfinal against PIA Tuesday crawling to 219 for five on the first day at the Rawalpindi Stadium.Opener Atiq-ur-Rehman (67) and Hasan Adnan who scored an unbeaten 56, kept Wapda going albeit slowly after they had been put in to bat first.Off-spinner Shoaib Malik took two wickets for 58 runs while fast bowler Mohammad Zahid and slow left-armer Asif Mujtaba had one each.PIA suffered a huge setback earlier in the day when Test speedster Fazle Akbar limped off the field with a thigh strain.ScoreboardWAPDA (1st Innings):Adil Nisar run out 32Atiq-ur-Rehman c Ghulam b Asif 67Tariq Aziz lbw b Zahid 18Hasan Adnan not out 56Shahid Mansoor lbw b Shoaib 4Sabir Hussain c Faisal b Shoaib 4Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan not out 29EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, NB-5) 9TOTAL (for five wkts, 85 overs) 219FALL OF WKTS: 1-60, 2-92, 3-146, 4-162, 5-176TO BAT: Zahid Umar, Kashif Raza, Waqas Ahmed, Aqeel AhmedBOWLING (to-date): Fazle Akbar 4.1-0-16-0; Umar Gul 19-7-50-0; Mohammad Zahid 12.5-0-39-1; Asif Mujtaba 20-5-52-1; Shoaib Malik 29-9-58-2PIA: Kamran Sajid, Ghulam Ali, Faisal Iqbal, Asif Mujtaba, Bazid Khan, Yasir Hameed, Moin Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Zahid, Umar Gul, Fazle AkbarUMPIRES: Siddique Khan and Rasheed BhattiMATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan

There might be some outstanding performances to come on the field to make the World Cup of 2003 memorable for all the right reasons. However, there is every indication at this point to suggest that it is doomed to go down in the history books as the one that fell foul of all the ills of modern sport.There has yet to be a corruption scandal – praise be for that – but the start of the competition has been marred by the political posturing over security in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and now there is a drugs revelation.The Australian Cricket Board has confirmed that Shane Warne has been sent home after failing a drugs test.The leg-spinner has been tested positive for a diuretic – a substance that is often used as a weight-reducing drug. Warne will fly back to Australia immediately to undergo further tests. The initial one was a routine test carried out by the ACB.Warne has been on a fitness campaign for just over a year and his weight has come down steadily so that he looked to be in good shape. He suffered a shoulder injury during the one-day series against England that threatened his participation in the World Cup, but he overcame it well. Despite some soreness, he has been back in action ahead of schedule and was hoping to mark the end of his one-day international career in style.ACB chief executive officer James Sutherland announced the news at a press conference with the words: "I am here today to announce that Shane Warne has expressed his wish to stand down from the Australian World Cup team and will return to Australia today to complete further drug tests and face a hearing under the ACB anti-doping policy."This follows Shane’s advice to us that the Australian Sports Drugs Agency have told him he has tested positive for a diuretic on samples he provided in Sydney last month."Shane notified the ACB yesterday as soon as he received the news and he believes the failed tested is because of a flu reduction medication he took in Sydney last month."The ACB has referred the matter to the ACB anti-doping committee based on our belief that he may have committed an offence under the ACB anti-doping rules. The hearing will take place in Melbourne as soon as possible."There has been a testing programme in Australian cricket since 1998 and all the players have been informed about the intricacies of that policy.Sutherland went on to say, "We commend Shane about his approach, including coming forward as soon as the information was made available."We have advised the ICC of the situation and have applied to the technical committee for approval to replace Shane in the World Cup squad committee."Warne himself commented: "As James has said, I was shocked and absolutely devastated that the test sample indicated a presence of a prohibited substance. It’s not finalised until my B sample."I’m shocked because I have not taken performance enhancing drugs. I did take a fluid tablet before my comeback game in Sydney and didn’t know it contained any banned substance."I have decided to return home in the best interest of the team and address the situation personally which the ACB are supportive of."I want to repeat, I have never taken performance enhancing drugs and am confident it will be cleared up soon."My previous tests have always come back negative. I have spoken to my team-mates and they are supportive."Australian captain Ricky Ponting had to contend with the situation immediately prior to the important match against Pakistan at The Wanderers. He admitted that the news about Warne was not ideal preparation."It’s been a little disappointing for it to happen the way that it has. We just have to get on with things. We’ve got a big game of cricket and we’ve got to keep this completely out of our minds."Sport is littered with cases of players being caught for taking prohibited substances designed to help performance. Equally disturbing is the large number found guilty of taking prohibitive substances that are not designed to enhance performance and taken in all innocence. Nevertheless, if the scourge of drugs is to be eliminated or at least controlled in sport, there has to be a policy of zero tolerance.Shane Warne could well fall into the category of innocent victim of that policy. So far, he has followed the correct procedure and it must be hoped that one of the game’s living legends will not have his career tarnished by these revelations. He might not have always been an angel and, of course, he has yet to be proved guilty in this instance, but there are plenty who have committed worse crimes against the good name of cricket and got away with them.

Zimbabwe remain in contention for a place in the World Cup Super Sixes after they overcame a courageous Dutch team by 99 runs in Bulawayo. Favourites before the start, Zimbabwe put the game beyond the reach of the Netherlands by posting 301 from their 50 overs after they were put in.The weather in Bulawayo had not been very good over the previous few days, but the morning of the match between Zimbabwe and the Netherlands dawned hot and sunny.There was always the chance of rain later on, though, and for that reason Zimbabwean captain Heath Streak would have preferred to bowl had he won thetoss. Roland Lefebvre called correctly, though, and he chose to bat on a good, if somewhat slow, batting pitch. Grant Flower was unavailable for Zimbabwe, rested as his injured finger was still troubling him.Craig Wishart opened the Zimbabwe batting with Mark Vermeulen, restored to the team in the absence of Grant Flower. He sought to dominate from the start, driving Edgar Schiferli to the cover boundary in the first over and would have secured another had a straight drive not hit the stumps at the bowler’s end.He drove Roland Lefebvre for two boundaries off successive balls and so assured did he appear that a sequel to his 172 not out against Namibia looked a possibility. However he fell for 21 off 22 balls, superbly caught off a thick edge by wicket-keeper Jeroen Smits, courageously standing to the stumps to Lefebvre, and a superb cameo came to an abrupt end.Andy Flower began slowly, and uncharacteristically missed a few runs offdeliveries that would normally be meat and drink to him. He offered a hard high chance to slip, which was missed, when on 4; he promptly celebrated with two off-side boundaries and a leg-glance for four in the same over from Tim de Leede.The Dutch bowling was quite accurate but without the threat posed by the topinternational attacks that Zimbabwean batsmen have had to face. They managed to bowl 20 overs in the 70 minutes before drinks.Opener Mark Vermeulen was again visibly nervous to start with, but slowly found the confidence to play some of his booming drives. He was just beginning to dominate when he chose the wrong ball to cut from Feiko Kloppenburg and dragged the ball on to his stumps; out for 27, and Zimbabwe were 82 for two.Guy Whittall has not been in good form recently, but he came in at number four with obvious determination to put things right, and to do so with positive strokeplay. He quickly ran to 24 at a run a ball, pulling and driving powerfully, including a straight six off Jacob-Jan Esmeijer.Flower, working the ball around the field in contrast to Whittall’s moreflamboyant strokeplay, reached his fifty off 55 balls. Almost immediatelyafterwards, Whittall’s promising innings was cut short at 30 by a brilliantdiving catch at deep midwicket by Bas Zuiderent as he pulled Kloppenburg.At times, though, the Dutch ground fielding was disappointing, with severalerrors allowing the Zimbabweans extra runs. But, apart from their early drop of Flower, their catching was better, as Flower found to his cost, when on 71 he sliced a ball into the gully where Esmeijer took a smart catch. Zimbabwe were now 165 for four in the 35th over.This was not necessarily a major handicap for Zimbabwe, as it brought theaggressive Andy Blignaut to the wicket. After a relatively quiet start, hebegan to unleash his full power on the hapless Dutch bowlers, pulling anddriving fiercely. His fifty came off 32 balls, but the Dutch adopted thepolicy of bowling straight to deep-set fields and cleverly had him caught on the leg side for 58. In the 45th over, Zimbabwe were 245 for five.Streak was soon hitting powerfully, but lost Ebrahim for 32, swinging acrossthe line to be bowled by de Leede. Doug Marillier (1) was trapped lbw, swinging across a straight full toss from Lefebvre, but with Tatenda Taibu as his partner Streak hammered 44 off 22 balls and took Zimbabwe past 300 before falling to a catch in the deep off the final ball of the innings.Kloppenburg and Schiferli, the Netherlands’ opening pair for this match, have not enjoyed much success with the bat during this World Cup tournament, but they came out determined to give it a go in pursuit of their unlikely target of 302.Their most productive strokes were high hits over the infield, which broughtthem several boundaries during the first few overs. Andy Flower failed to sight a low chance at slip, and the Dutch approach seemed to take Zimbabweunawares. Finally Streak broke through with a yorker to hit Schiferli’s legstump after he had scored 22 from 27 balls. The opening pair had put on 41together, the Netherlands’ best start of the tournament.This put an immediate brake on the scoring, and Kloppenburg (18), his rhythmbroken, holed out to mid-off in a half-hearted attempt to hit Douglas Hondoover the field. Hondo bowled a fine spell and the batsmen found itdifficult to get him away.Daan van Bunge joined Ben Zuiderent and both played in more orthodox fashionthan their openers, van Bunge hitting two stylish boundaries and Zuiderentlofting Brian Murphy for a huge six. But in the next over they attempted arash single and Zuiderent was run out for 15, reducing Netherlands to 80 forthree.Worse was to follow, as Netherlands’s top batsman Tim de Leede, who has had a disappointing tournament so far, missed a well-flighted full toss from Murphy that hit him on the foot and was adjudged lbw for 1. Luuk van Troost came in and immediately hit a four and a six as Netherlands made a final desperate bid to come back into the match.A bright partnership followed that had the Zimbabweans somewhat troubled, until van Troost (26) finally drove a low catch off Murphy that was well picked up by Hondo at deep mid-on. Van Bunge (37) soon followed, beaten and trapped lbw by Whittall, and Netherlands were on the ropes at 128 for six off 32 overs.With the rain keeping away and the crowd growing, Henk Mol and Lefebvre at least decided to go down fighting hard. Lefebvre scored 30 off 23 balls in a stand of 42, and Mol 22; the tail did their part and the Netherlands were able to pass 200 for the first time in the tournament. Brian Murphy, with three for 45, returned the best figures.

The three day friendly between Somerset and Glamorgan ended in a drawafter Glamorgan challenged Somerset to score 386 in 53 overs onthe final afternoon.The home team had a brief assault on the Glamorgan bowlers, butthey settled for the draw with their score on 260-4 with 8 overs remaining.The highlight of the day for Glamorgan was an aggressive century fromDarren Thomas. The 28 year old all-rounder arrived at the crease afterDavid Hemp had hit an attractive 70, and Thomas was soon into his stridewith some firm drives on both sides of the wicket.Fellow seamers Alex Wharf and David Harrison also played some bold strokesin the April sunshine, but it was Thomas who became Glamorgan`s third centurionof the game, after Jonathan Hughes and Matthew Maynard who both reached threefigures in the Welsh county`s first innings.Soon after reaching his deserved century, Thomas was caught on the mid-wicketboundary by Keith Dutch, and Steve James promptly declared to leave the WestCountry side the task of scoring 386 at seven and a half an over to win the gameon what was an excellent batting wicket.Openers Rob Turner and Matthew Wood began in breezy style, before Turner was magnificentlycaught one-handedly by Steve James off Robert Croft`s bowling. Piran Holloway thenlaunched a few lusty blows of his own, but Somerset lost a couple of important wicketsas Andrew Davies clean bowled Matthew Wood, and then James Bryant holed out trying to hitRobert Croft for a fourth six. Despite a few more blows by Aaron Laraman, Somerseteventually opted for the draw.

Division OneKent v Leicestershire, Canterbury
Scorecard
Paul Nixon added another half-century to his first-innings 113 not out, asKent were reminded of exactly what they will be missing this season.Leicestershire had been set an unlikely target of 387, and were in somestrife at 27 for 3, when Nixon bounced to the middle. But he added 75 forthe fourth wicket with Darren Stevens, before Damien Brandy chipped in witha half-century of his own. Martin Saggers, Alamgir Sheriyar and Amjad Khanall picked up two wickets, but Phil DeFreitas and Jeremy Snape batted out tothe close.Lancashire v Nottinghamshire, Old Trafford
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Chris Read, widely touted as Alec Stewart’s successor in England’s one-dayteam, did his chances no harm at all by guiding Nottinghamshire to a draw onthe final day at Old Trafford. Notts were still more than 200 runs adriftwhen Peter Martin (5 for 54) embarked on an inspired spell of seam bowling.But Read dug in for a 91-ball 57, and by the time he was eighth man out,Lancashire’s prospects of an unlikely win had evaporated.Middlesex v Sussex, Lord’s
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Middlesex produced the highest score of the match to record a tensethree-wicket win at Lord’s. It was a performance far removed from theirinept first-innings display, and Middlesex’s captain, Andy Strauss, led theway with 83. Ed Joyce and Paul Weekes both made vital contributions as well,but all three fell to Sussex’s James Kirtley, who was the pick of thebowlers with 4 for 87, all lbw. Kirtley took the new ball and dismissedJoyce and Weekes in the same over to set up a tense finish, but Ben Huttonand Simon Cook batted sensibly to inch Middlesex to their first victory inthe top division of the championship.Warwickshire v Essex, Edgbaston
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Ashley Giles and Ronnie Irani produced a brace of stunning performances- as captains and players – to transform a soggy mess of a match into athrilling tie. They agreed to forfeit one innings each, after the best partof two days had been lost to rain, which left Essex needing 381 to win.Irani led the way with a rollicking 87, adding 132 for the fifth wicket withAndy Flower, but Giles (5 for 115) matched him every step of the way. Essexstill needed 81 to win when Irani was sixth man out, but sensiblecontributions all down the order ensured the tightest finish imaginable.Division TwoHampshire v Glamorgan, Cardiff
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Matthew Maynard continued his majestic start to the season, by convertinghis overnight 63 into his 53rd first-class century. But that was the solehighlight of another drab rain-hit day in Cardiff. After Glamorgan hadreplied well to Hampshire’s impressive 531 for 7 dec, there was no prospectof a result, and play was called off at tea. Wasim Akram grabbed his seventhwicket of the season, but the pick of Hampshire’s attack was Chris Tremlett,who returned figures of 3 for 101.Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire, Wantage Road
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Jonty Rhodes cracked a delightful 128 from 131 balls century to giveNorthamptonshire one or two jitters at Wantage Road, but in the end theweather had the final say as the match descended into a battle for bonuspoints. Rhodes cracked 55 runs in just five overs before lunch, before JackRussell and Mark Alleyne secured Gloucestershire secured their full quota ofbatting points with a 72-run stand for the sixth wicket. By the time MartynBall had added two more wickets to his five in the first innings,Gloucestershire had won the day, but not the match.Somerset v Durham, Taunton
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Somerset bounced back from the disappointment of last week’s eight-rundefeat against Gloucestershire, cruising to a six-wicket win over Durham.Needing another 119 runs for victory with eight wickets in hand, PeterBowler’s unbeaten 67 ensured there would be no mishap after Steve Harmisonhad removed Jamie Cox in the first over of the day. Bowler added 89 for thethird wicket with James Bryant (51), before Richard Johnson, his confidencesky-high after a maiden first-class century last week, biffed three sixesand a four in seven balls to seal the win.

Carl Hooper, the former West Indian captain, is expected to sign forLancashire next week, as a replacement for the injured Harbhajan Singh.Hooper, 36, had been expected to play against the Australians in the currentTest series in the Caribbean, but he retired abruptly after being replacedas captain by Brian Lara. It was not the first time Hooper had left theinternational stage – he emigrated to Australia in 1999, only to return ascaptain in 2001.Jimmy Adams, the man whom Hooper replaced as captain, defended his decisionto play county cricket ahead of Tests. “Test cricket is highest level of the game,” said Adams, “and if for whatever reason you don’t feel up to it, then leave it alone.” Adams also speculated that the way the captaincy issue had beenhandled was a significant factor in the decision.In all, Hooper played 102 matches for West Indies in a 15-year career,scoring 5762 runs at 36.46, with 13 centuries and 27 fifties. He also took114 wickets with his offbreaks, which are sure to come in handy on thespin-friendly Old Trafford wickets.