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It wasn’t the most exciting of matches, but the win helped Pakistan clinch the Mobilink Cup and reverse the trend of recent losses in Multan. Convincing but not attractive, the unassailable 3-0 lead will be a relief for Pakistan, given their decision to field a young and inexperienced bowling attack.The home side were greatly indebted to Shahid Afridi whose 52-ball 85 not only bailed Pakistan out of a hole – 78 for 5 – but also provided a holiday crowd precious moments to make their presence felt. Equalling Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of 245 sixes in ODIs, Afridi’s knock showcased his increasing maturity of late.”It was a tough situation to come and bat in,” Afridi said after thematch. “We had just lost quick wickets and we needed to rebuildeffectively and post a good total.”Known for his aggressive batting irrespective of the situation, Afridi initially relied more on singles and twos rather than using the long handle. A mishit did bring him his first boundary but Afridi managed to play himself in with plenty of twos, cutting the spinners and driving straight down the ground. From then on, it was all power hitting.”After a cautious start, I played my natural game. There was no pressure on me and the situation demanded quick runs. Fortunately, my attacking ploy worked and it ended up as a positive innings. Zimbabwe have a good bowling line-up and it was not a case of taking them easy. It was merely playing the bowling on merit and even though getting a century would have been a huge honour, I’m happy with my effort in helping Pakistan post a good total.”Zimbabwe could take a lot out of their much-improved bowling performance – before Afridi intervened, that is. Robin Brown, Zimbabwe’s coach, put the failure to contain Pakistan after a brilliant effort by Tawanda Mupariwa down to a lack of experience.”We basically lacked the killer instinct that is required to polish things off,” Brown said following the 37-run defeat. “Obviously (we are) disappointed by the effort we put in, it would take a lot of skills and effort to contain the strong Pakistan line-up, something we are lacking.”Mupariwa, in his first match of the tour, was Zimbabwe’s best bowler, finishing with 4 for 46, his best ODI figures. After the wicket of Younis Khan off his first ball of the day, he added the scalps of Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Yousuf, courtesy of a sharp caught-and-bowled.”It was hard work paying off,” Mupariwa said. “They have an experienced top order and it was something special to get those wickets that early on. The plan now is to work harder and get as many wickets in the next two matches to hopefully make the scoreline look 3-2.”

Zimbabwe’s effort with the bat was rather surprising. Adopting a defensive approach, it seemed batting practice was what the touring side was after rather than overhauling Pakistan’s total. With Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams – promoted to No. 3 – untroubled under lights, and with Pakistan keen to limit boundaries rather than look for wickets, an earnest chase might have spiced things up.After both batsmen made fifties, Zimbabwe required 128 off 17 overs with seven wickets in hand. Instead, they only managed 235, hit only nine fours and failed to clear the boundary even once. Brown, however, dismissed claims of a defensive approach.”I wouldn’t say it was a negative approach. Pakistan bowled really well. They bowled in the right areas and there weren’t that many bad balls,” he said. “Therefore, it made things really difficult for us and although the batsmen were well set, hitting boundaries became really difficult and the asking-rate kept climbing.”There are, however, things to be improved upon,” Brown admitted. “Most of our batsmen have been among the runs. Two of our batsmen scored fifties today. We need to look to get 6-7 fifties in a match and only then will we be able to win. Hopefully, we can learn quickly enough to win the next two matches.”

Ricky Ponting could become the first player to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy twice after he was shortlisted with three other players for the ICC’s major prize. Ponting will compete with Kevin Pietersen, Mohammad Yousuf and Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the Cricketer of the Year award, which will be announced in Johannesburg on Monday.The four players were selected from an extended list of 12, while the nominations for the Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year have also been cut to four. Ponting is the only man with a chance of winning all three titles, which was a reward for another superb year in which he made 1185 ODI runs at 51.52 and 576 Test runs at 82.28. He also led Australia to triumphs in the World Cup, Champions Trophy and the Ashes.Pietersen, Yousuf and Muttiah Muralitharan are also up for the Test player award, with Yousuf’s record of five centuries and 944 runs at 94.40 from his six Tests making him hard to beat. However, Muralitharan had a stellar year with 43 wickets at 11.60 and Pietersen scored 1255 runs at 57.04.The ODI title is an Australian-dominated affair with Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden and Jacques Kallis the four nominees. Hayden’s remarkable return to the Australian line-up brought 1368 runs at 62.18, Kallis scored 1149 runs at 60.47, while McGrath enjoyed his farewell year with 50 wickets at 19.34.
Cricketer of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mohammed Yousuf (Pak)
Test Player
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)
ODI Player
Matthew Hayden (Aus)
Jacques Kallis (SA)
Glenn McGrath (Aus)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Emerging Player
Ravinder Bopara (Eng)
Shakib Al Hasan (Bang)
Shaun Tait (Aus)
Ross Taylor (NZ)
Captain of the Year
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Associate ODI Player of the Year
Ashish Bagai (Can)
Thomas Odoyo (Ken)
Ryan ten Doeschate (Neth)
Steve Tikolo (Ken)
Umpire of the Year
Mark Benson
Steve Bucknor
Simon Taufel
Women’s Cricketer of the Year
Jhulan Goswami (Ind)
Lisa Sthalekar (Aus)
Claire Taylor (Eng)

Scorecard
Sri Lanka A secured a tremendous advantage by putting up 335 for 2 against Bangladesh A on the opening day of their first four-day match at the Colts Cricket Club in Colombo. Malinda Warnapura and Thilan Samaraweera struck unbeaten hundreds in a partnership of 313 for the third wicket.After choosing to bat, Sri Lanka A got off to a disastrous start, losing both their openers for 22. Fast bowler Nazmul Hossain removed Mahela Udawatte in the third over for 5 and then had Michael Vandort caught for 10 in the seventh.However, if Bangladesh thought they would seize the day, they had another think coming.Once Warnapura, the nephew of Sri Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapurna, and captain Samaraweera got together it was all one-way traffic. Warnapura struck 177 off 291 balls with 11 fours and a six. Samaraweera last played a Test for Sri Lanka against England in 2006 and today he accumulated 129 off 232 balls.Bangladesh used seven bowlers but only Hossain met with any success. Khaled Mashud, one of Bangladesh’s most experienced Test cricketers, was playing for Bangladesh A after being dropped from the World Cup squad.

Wasim Akram has urged Australia not to pull out of their scheduled tour of Pakistan despite further unrest in the lead-up to next month’s elections. Australia have a tentative plan to play three Tests and five ODIs in Pakistan starting in mid-March but the visit will not go ahead unless a Cricket Australia security delegation decides the players will be safe.Despite further bomb attacks in Pakistan this week, Akram believes Australia’s cricketers would have nothing to fear. “I think everything will be fine after the elections,” Akram told the . “Things will settle down.”Australia should play in Pakistan. They will be safe there, and there will be so much security around them. It is not sporting figures who are being targeted.”After the assassination of the former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto in late December some Australia players were concerned about proceeding with the tour. However, Stuart MacGill was one who remained keen to go ahead with the visit, provided the unrest in Pakistan eased after the February 18 elections.

ScorecardLuke Wells battled more than two-and-a-half hours for 54•Getty Images

Somerset wrested back the initiative in dramatic style at the close of a rain-affected first day against Sussex. Resuming on 105 for 2 after the third of the day’s interruptions for rain, Sussex lost four more wickets as Somerset’s seam attack fully exploited the conditions, getting plenty of swing and finding movement off a wicket with grass left on it.Somerset had bowled tightly throughout the morning and afternoon but, despite two wickets in two balls from Lewis Gregory, saw countless deliveries beat the bat or drop just short of the slip cordon.The breakthrough came as Sussex were starting to edge in front after Luke Wells and Chris Nash had brought up a gritty 50 partnership in 23 overs. Craig Overton got a ball to cut back off the surface and trim Nash’s bails as the batsman was left in two minds whether to cut or leave.

New contracts for Gregory, Overtons and Bates

Somerset have acted to secure the services of three of their brightest talents on new three-year contracts. Lewis Gregory and twins Craig and Jamie Overton, who have all received England call-ups this year, have signed with the club until the end of 2018. Jamie has been invited to help England with their preparations ahead of this summer’s Ashes series and will meet up with the squad on Monday, where he will bowl in the nets ahead of the first Test in Cardiff.
Somerset have also extended the contract of wicketkeeper Michael Bates, who was released by Hampshire at the end of last season. Bates was originally signed by Somerset on a one-month deal and has already made an impact with the gloves. Matthew Maynard said that the challenge for Bates now was to score runs and the contract extension would give him the opportunity to do that.

Four overs later, Peter Trego struck in his opening over to end a two-and-a-half hour vigil from Wells, who hit an elegant 54 off 122 balls, frustrating the Somerset bowlers in between the showers.Wells lived dangerously early on. Almost run out without facing in the first over, he edged a number of boundaries through the slip cordon during the morning session before starting to score runs on both sides of the wicket as the afternoon went on. He admitted after close that it was a pitch he never felt comfortable on, with the rain delays meaning he had to play himself in each time.Trego struck again in his third over as Craig Cachopa played forward and got an edge through to Jim Allenby at first slip. Trego’s figures by this stage were 3-2-4-2. The momentum firmly shifted Somerset’s way as they claimed a fourth wicket towards the close of play when Ben Brown edged Alfonso Thomas to Trescothick at slip for 9.Somerset had won the toss and put Sussex in. After surviving a tight, but never penetrating, opening spell, Wells and opening partner Ed Joyce started to look increasingly comfortable and score runs on both sides of the wicket before the first of the day’s interruptions for rain at 47 for 0 from 15 overs.One over after the resumption, Gregory struck with consecutive deliveries. First, Joyce got an edge through to Michael Bates behind the stumps, attempting to pull, for 28. Matt Machan then prodded at a good-length ball and edged to Allenby.It was a much tighter spell from Somerset, which saw them concede 25 runs from 8.2 overs before the rain returned with some force to bring an early lunch and leave pools of water on the covers and puddles on the outfield.Somerset’s director of cricket, Matthew Maynard, was impressed with the way his charges had gone about their business. “The way that we bowled today was very reminiscent of the way we bowled against Hampshire,” he said. “We were very disciplined with good skills and the ball was swinging but they didn’t try to get too greedy and try too many things, we just kept on trying to hit our lines.”I don’t think that we got our rewards in the first session but just said to keep on hitting good areas and going past the bat and hopefully find the edge which is what happened and we are in a good position after day one.”Wells pointed to the quality of batting still to come in the Sussex line-up and said that if they could scrap out a total between 200 and 250, it would be very competitive on this surface.

England v South Africa, second Test, Lord’s, Day 1

English batting collapses are supposed to be a thing of the past. According to his recent eulogies in the national press, Nasser Hussain had brought a new steel and determination to their game. English cricket was no longer a world-wide joke. Well, the rest of the world was smirking today, as England produced a nightmarish performance straight out of their Ashes scrapbook.Today was supposed to be the start of a brave new era, but it was more like a trip back to those dark days that Hussain inherited and then banished. Barring the Ashes, he just about turned things round, and Vaughan will now have to try to turn this game around. Like Hussain’s mission of four years ago, it already looks a lost cause.To be fair to Vaughan, the 73 England captains before him can’t have had such short notice to prepare for their first Test in charge, but not many have had a worse start either – not even Chris Cowdrey in his only Test against West Indies at Headingley in 1988. Despite captaining this summer’s one-day internationals, Vaughan has been thrown in the deep end, just as he was on his Test debut in 1999.At least England didn’t plumb the depths of 2 for 4 today, but similarities will nonetheless be made with that infamous day in Johannesburg. It was against South Africa and Vaughan made 33, the second-highest top score. But the difference this time is that Vaughan is not a blameless subaltern, but England’s field marshall.Whatever he says will not excuse a dismal performance. Admittedly there was a bit in it for the bowlers early on, but that’s nothing new. There was simply no plan. Alec Stewart, Andrew Flintoff, Vaughan himself, and to a lesser extent, even the top-scorer Darren Gough, were all to blame for their dismissals. The dressing-room may now be a more relaxed place without Hussain reading the riot act at every interval, but today’s poor display will not be lost on anyone in it.It was a big day for the (latest) ex-captain too, and unfortunately, he had a stinker. Hussain lost his middle stump to a loose drive, and his fortunes were summed up by a dolly of a drop at cover, where Vaughan himself would usually be fielding. Ironically, the lucky recipient was the other captain, Graeme Smith, who has so far proved himself to be a clear-thinking and brave leader.It took a lot of guts to bowl first after such a batsman-dominated first Test, and the gamble paid off beyond his wildest dreams. Smith, it was assumed, would be cowering in Hussain’s mere presence during this series? That has turned out to be a joke too.Click here for today’s bulletin

Shane Warne has announced his retirement from first-class cricket while ending his eight-year association with the county side Hampshire. Warne, 38, had been a regular with Hampshire since 2000 and led them from 2004. Dimitri Mascarenhas will succeed Warne as captain.Both sides reached a mutual agreement after prolonged discussions between Warne and Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman. Warne’s diverse business interests, his participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – where he is captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals – and his need to spend time with his children in Australia meant he would not be able to commit time to Hampshire over the coming seasons.”This was not an easy decision to make,” Warne said. “But due to some exciting business opportunities I had to make this call. My eight years with Hampshire have been a wonderful experience, memories that will last with me forever, and likewise the friendships that have been formed at the club.”Unfortunately I am retiring from all first-class cricket but will participate in the IPL with the Jaipur franchise as captain and coach. Good luck to all involved at the Rose Bowl. I wish you all the best.” Warne will be joined in the Rajasthan Royals by the Hampshire players Mascarenhas, one of his best friends, and Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder.”I know this will be a major disappointment to many fans of both Hampshire and Shane but, after much discussion and soul-searching, it has become clear to both of us that Shane can no longer make the commitment required to continue to lead Hampshire,” Bransgrove said. “After the commitment and loyalty he has shown to this club over the past few years, I can only wish him all the success and happiness he deserves.”Hampshire Cricket has been hugely privileged to have enjoyed the unstinting loyalty of this living legend since 2000. The most effective and entertaining bowler of all time, Shane was also a brilliant leader and strategist. As our captain, his influence was instrumental in the development of Hampshire into one of the country’s top sides and he enriched the game wherever he played.”Warne took 276 first-class wickets at an average of 25.59 for the county and scored 2040 runs. He retired as Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker after the Ashes early last year, but Muttiah Muralitharan surpassed the mark of 708. Warne is undoubtedly one of the game’s greats and in 2000 was named among the five Cricketers of the Century

Each match has its unique way of making you rise to the occasion, said Sachin Tendulkar at a press conference before the Irani Cup at Chennai. As it turned out, it was Sourav Ganguly who provided him with the necessary inspiration, by putting Mumbai in to bat when he had the strongest batting line up in the country – save for Tendulkar’s absence – at his disposal. What little green there was in the wicket, was matched only by the look in the eyes of Rest of India’s batsmen as Tendulkar and Sairaj Bahutule ground a tired attack into the damp Chepauk dirt.There’s no doubt that people pay to watch Tendulkar bat, and the best value for money is available at the MA Chidambaram stadium. In six Tests at the ground Tendulkar has failed to score a century only twice. He’s scored more Test runs here than at his home ground, the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, and his average at Chennai is a better-than-Bradman 102.No wonder then that the green seats of the pavilion terrace had enough bottoms on them to raise a steady din all day. Clattering away on bucket-seats with an old pair of drumsticks, an irritatingly energetic young supporter made it amply clear that he cared not a damn what happened to the game. He merely wanted to watch Tendulkar bat all day.That Tendulkar was nowhere near his best had no effect on the enthusiasm of supporters. Every defensive push to mid-off was cheered, every clip off his ample thigh was watched all the way to the fine-leg fielder and every boundary was roaringly acknowledged. Overwhelming support notwithstanding, all was not well with Tendulkar. He cursed himself for repeatedly failing to make contact with his favourite paddle sweep. Even as he sailed passed the milestone of 17,000 first-class runs, this was nowhere near vintage Tendulkar.The Chennai crowd didn’t care though. Sections of the stands were actually packed, waiting for the Tendulkar hundred. If he reached the landmark before stumps, another would follow the next day, they reckoned. When he survived two vociferous shouts for lbw off successive Zaheer Khan deliveries, the crowd booed Zaheer for appealing and one cynic suggested that the lbw rule did not apply to Tendulkar on this ground.For most of the day Tendulkar was pleased as punch with the crowd. But there was one period shortly after tea that tested his patience. Every little flutter of cloth, every old man walking around looking for coffee, every flag-waving lout, every tiny thing in the crowd caused him to stop play. When a nattily dressed woman in a bright pink top and the latest fashion in sunglasses walked across to the press box to have a word, Tendulkar backed off. Not because she was a pretty face, which she is, but because Meena Dalal, treasurer of the Women’s Cricket Association of India, was distracting him.”The women’s season is just about to kick off,” said Dalal. “But equally importantly, talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India are going well and our association is likely to merge with them by 2005. That’s just what women’s cricket needs.” Not minutes after she’d said that, the Rest of India side got what they needed. A quick delivery from Zaheer reared off a length, surprised Tendulkar and kissed the outside edge of the bat on the way to Rahul Dravid behind the stumps.He had spent over four and half hours at the wicket for 94, but Tendulkar was finally gone. All at a sudden, Ganguly’s decision to field did not look so bad. As if someone had pulled the plug at the cinema, the stands emptied out. “The story’s over, what’s left now? You guys might as well pack up and leave,” said one man as he walked past the press box. Not the most appropriate thing to say, but then again, not too far from the truth either.

The Champions Trophy, a biennial extravaganza organised by the ICC, was started with the intention of spreading the game to all corners of the globe. The inaugural competition was held in Dhaka in 1998, and the knockout format inevitably produced some thrilling fare. The carnival moved on to Nairobi and Sri Lanka in the next four years, and the fourth edition will pan out over the next two weeks in England. Though form might suggest otherwise, history favours India and South Africa, two teams that have never failed to reach the semi-final stage. Strangely enough, Australia have floundered in this tournament and have never made it past the last four. The Czech tennis player Ivan Lendl once said “Grass is for cows” when asked about his record at Wimbledon. Dare one say it, but will the Aussies soon be muttering about how “Knockouts are for boxers”?

The Champions Trophy down the years

Wills International Cup in Dhaka, 1998South Africa came into this tournament with an enviable record. After Brian Lara’s heroics had shunted them out of the 1996 World Cup, the team led by Hansie Cronje won 45 of their next 59 matches, and started as one of the favourites here. Jacques Kallis sparkled with both bat and ball, with his 5 for 30 ripping through West Indies in the final. A rollicking 113 in the semi-final against Sri Lanka – when the next highest score in the match was 30 – was also equally vital. West Indies rode on the efforts of Mervyn Dillon and Philo Wallace, the beefy Barbadian opener, and surprised many by beating both Pakistan and India to reach the final. Australia were done in by Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliance – not for the first time that year. His 141 and 4 for 38 singlehandedly dumped them out.ICC Knock-Out in Kenya, 2000Chris Cairns chose the perfect moment to pull a rabbit out of the hat, as his explosive century helped New Zealand to their first victory in a major one-day final. Cairns missed the semi-final against Pakistan, another thrilling run-chase, and played in the final despite a dodgy knee. But had it not been for Cairns, New Zealand would surely have struggled to get past a buoyant Indian side. Sourav Ganguly had recently been appointed captain after the match-fixing imbroglio, and he nearly made the tournament his own. With 348 runs in four matches – Saeed Anwar was second on the list with 209 – he piloted the batting with some intoxicating strokeplay. Two other Indians burst on to the international stage in this event. Yuvraj Singh’s stunning 84 on debut thwarted Australia, while Zaheer Khan arrived with his heady mix of swinging yorkers and bubbly aggro. Ganguly’s hundred in the semi-final did South Africa in, while his 117 in the final seemed to have sealed it. But then Cairns sneaked in through the back door.ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, 2002For the first time, a Test-playing nation was chosen as the venue for staging the Champions Trophy (Bangladesh weren’t part of the Test family in 1998). Also, unlike previous years, the teams were divided into four pools. Eventually, the rain ruined what had been an entertaining tournament, and forced Sri Lanka and India to share the title. Sri Lanka proved yet again that they were close to unbeatable at home, as their phalanx of spinners engineered a crushing seven-wicket win over Australia in the semi-final. India, who had recently triumphed in the NatWest Series in England, continued their purple patch, with Virender Sehwag emerging as one of the stars of the tournament. South Africa, not for the first time, choked when the semi-final was all but wrapped up. With 70 required, Herschelle Gibbs retired hurt after a dazzling 116, and the rest crumbled in he face of some inspired Indian bowling and fielding. And the bowling hero? Sehwag, of course.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body for cricket from playground to Test arena. Its Performance Department is responsible for identifying and developing the most talented young cricketers in the country, and the development and implementation of national development and coaching programmes.In order to continue the substantial progress made to date, the ECB is seeking to engage a part time Physiotherapist to support the World Class Potential programme during the summer of 2003.The role will ensure provision of full physiotherapy support to the England U19 and contribute to the physiotherapy support of the England U17 players so as to ensure their physical preparedness for their competitive programmes.Applicants fulfilling the following criteria will be considered:

• Qualification as a Chartered Physiotherapist and at least 2 years clinical experience
• Certificated Resuscitation Course within last 3 years
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Competency in use of ICT including; world processing, database, spreadsheets and internet

• Experience of working in First Class or International cricket in UK or overseas
• Working experience of the demands of preparing and developing elite young cricketers

If you would like further information about this position please telephone, e-mail or write requesting an information pack to:Julie Page, ECB, Lord’s Cricket Ground, London NW8 8QZTelephone 020 7432 1261, Email [email protected] date for applications is 16 May 2003ECB is fully committed to developing policies to promote equal opportunities.