Not for the first time, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has opted for another experimental exercise by deciding to put departments and associations together in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship which starts on Saturday with 24 outfits in action.This season’s premier first-class competition, which will be played until Feb 10, features 10 departments and 14 associations divided into four groups of six teams each. Originally, 25 sides were to compete but owing to lack of players, Cricket Management Committee (CMC) the body that runs domestic tournaments, scrapped the PCB XI altogether.With leading players busy on international assignments in South Africa and subsequent camp for World Cup, the championship as usual lacks interest among fans.National Bank, winners of the Patron’s Trophy – the last first-class tournament for departments in the previous season – are expected to be a dominant force once again. They are further boosted by inclusion of Saeed Anwar, the seasoned Pakistan opening batsman, as a guest player.Saeed is unemployed since he parted company with Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) – now renamed as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) – some time ago. Over the years, pressing international commitments hardly allowed the left-hander to play for his former employers.But with the World Cup in southern Africa beckoning, Saeed is eager to prove his critics wrong and fight his way into the Pakistan squad. Therefore, National Bank’s first two matches against Sargodha and Faisalabad in Group-I will be vital for Saeed before the 15-man World Cup squad is announced on Dec 31 – the deadline set by International Cricket Council.This season will see, for the first time, pre-quarterfinals being staged so that unfancied teams, mainly associations depleted by absence of top players who will turn out for their departments, stand a chance of playing at least an additional game.Four teams from each pool will qualify for the last 16 round. One department and two association teams will be relegated to play in the Kardar and Cornelius Trophies, respectively next season.Karachi Whites, the reigning Quaid Trophy champions, are fielding an inexperienced and young side, led by Khalid Latif who skippered the city to double triumphs in the National Under-19 Grade-I competition this season.The five-round preliminary matches, featuring 60 four-day ties, conclude on Jan 17, the pre-quarterfinals are scheduled for Jan 20-23, followed by quarterfinals on Jan 26-29. The semifinals are slated to be played from Feb 1-4 and the five-day final from Feb 6. In all, a total of 75 matches are to be played over a period of 52 days.PCB has furthermore enhanced prize money this season with the new champions to pocket Rs 200,000 and half of that amount going to the runners-up. Besides there will be other cash awards for outstanding individual performances.First round schedule (Dec 21-24):Group-I: Sargodha v National Bank at Sports Stadium, Sargodha (Umpires: Islam Khan and Rasheed Bhatti. Match referee: Khalid Niazi); Wapda v Servis Industries at Gymkhana Ground, Okara (Umpires: Siddique Khan and Aleem Dar. Match referee: Abdul Sami); Lahore Blues v Faisalabad at LCCA Ground, Lahore (Umpires: M. Akbar Khan and Jamil Kamran. Match referee: Musaddeq Rasool).Group-II: Karachi Whites v Bahawalpur at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Athar Zaidi and Iftikhar Malik. Match referee: Shaukat Mirza); Pak PWD v Dadu at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires: Masroor Ali and Khalid Mahmood. Match referee: Sadiq Mohammad); Multan v Allied Bank at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan (Umpires: Shakeel Khan and Tasaddeq Jamil. Match referee: Ilyas Khan).Group-III: Habib Bank v Pakistan Customs at Lahore Country Club, Muridke (Umpires: Asad Rauf and Mian Aslam. Match referee: Shafiq Ahmed); Lahore Whites v Sheikhupura at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Junaid Ghafoor and M.H. Dars. Match referee: Pervez Akhtar); Sialkot v Gujranwala at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot (Umpires: Tariq Cheema and Ehtesham-ul-Haq. Match referee: Azhar Khan).Group-IV: KRL v PIA at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi. Umpires: M. Nazir Jr and Iqbal Butt. Match referee: Khateeb Rizwan); Rawalpindi v ZTBL at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: Waqar A. Mughal and Sajjad Asghar. Match referee: Ehteshamuddin); Peshawar v Karachi Blues at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar (Umpires: Zafar Iqbal Pasha and Kaukab Butt. Match referee: Farrukh Zaman).

England resume their VB Series campaign against Australia at Hobart tonight with the mental boost of their comprehensive victory in the final Test of the Ashes series earlier this week.After twice beating Sri Lanka in the first leg of the series before Christmas, Monday’s Test win has set the seal on a revival from England’s nightmare start Down Under.It is an added bonus for the tourists knowing that a below-strength Australia have just suffered their first defeat of the tournament, at the hands of Sri Lanka yesterday.While Australia will be without Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie for tonight’s game in Hobart, Glenn McGrath is expected to return after the side injury that ruled him out of the Sydney Test and yesterday’s game against Sri Lanka.”If the reaction I feel is the same as it has been in the past two or three sessions I am confident I will play,” McGrath said after a run-out in the nets today. “I am 90%-plus in fitness terms and feeling pretty good.”England’s opening batsman Marcus Trescothick is in no doubt about the psychological boost of the Sydney win on the England camp.”Winning this game isn’t about getting a hold over them, it’s more for us that we gain confidence and know that we can beat them,” said Trescothick.”Beating them in the last Test was a big improvement and a big psychological boost for the whole team, even those not down the ground, watching us on TV, knowing we can play better than them.”You could see the difference when you took 800 Test wickets out of that side. The guys coming in are still pretty useful cricketers but they are not of the calibre of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.”Trescothick is confident that he will eventually emerge from the first lean spell of his international career, in which he managed just one half century in the Ashes series.”This is a chance for all of us, although I am not viewing the potential absence of those three players for a chance to get runs. Whether they are playing or not, I have got to be scoring runs and I back myself to do it sooner or later,” he insisted.Michael Vaughan, made man of the Ashes series for his magnificent batting displays, is in doubt for tonight’s match with knee and shoulder injuries, while Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison has shin splints.Nonetheless Trescothick believes England are in good shape for the run-up to the World Cup, of which the current series is the last stage.”It is hard to judge how you are doing when you are playing a side of Australia’s calibre every week – it is not a true reflection of how good you are,” Trescothick said.”I am pretty sure if we were playing most other countries at the moment we could give them a good run for their money. But we still have to compete with Australia because in six or seven weeks we play against them in the World Cup and we have to learn how to beat them.”Meanwhile Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting has not minced his words about yesterday’s 79-run loss, in which his bowlers were carted all over the park by Sri Lanka.”It was not really an Australian team that took to the field, I think,” he said. “Our performance was not up to the high expectations we have of the team and we have spoken about that and we will speak of it again before tomorrow.”Ponting will be leading Australia on his local ground, the Bellerive Oval, for the first time.

CAPE TOWN, Feb 21: Prediction of the outcome of a one-dayer especially when there is not much difference between two teams is risky business. Taking this factor into account, no one here is sticking out his neck to foretell the result of Saturday’s crucial Group ‘A’ clash between Pakistan and England at the Newlands.The match is equally important for the survival of both Pakistan and England if they harbour aspirations to make it to the Super Six stage.It is more vital for England who can not afford to lose any points, after having forfeited four against Zimbabwe by refusing to play in Harare citing security fear in the politically unstable co-hosts. And above all, their next two matches are against all-conquering Australia, already assured of a place in Super Six with the added satisfaction of taking points into the next stage, and India who revived their challenge for the next stage with a comprehensive victory over Zimbabwe in midweek.A loss for Pakistan will be a disaster but not catastrophic as they could still squeeze into the next round by winning all the remaining three matches. However, their position could become precarious if the weather plays tricks in their remaining matches.Yet instant version of the game is not all that teams likely to win should succeed as things could go wrong as the unfancied New Zealand and West Indies proved against the hosts and second favourites South Africa that had left Shaun Pollock and his colleagues at the mercy of their opponents and the real possibility of an early ouster from the tournament.The Pakistanis for the past two days have been taking nets very seriously and every player seems to mean business and Waqar Younis’s boys were determined not to repeat the mistakes made again Australia.There are no injury problems and the Asian giants are in a happy position to field their strongest lineup unlike England, who are troubled by niggling injuries to skipper Nasser Hussain – who missed the Namibia match – Ashley Giles and Ian Blackwell.But England coach Duncan Fletcher, hopes that the trio were getting better and expected to be considered for the vital encounter.”We have had few injury problems but I am confident the players will be fit” he told a press briefing on Friday.Well aware of the potential of Pakistan team the Zimbabwean-born coach admitted that they were a side to fear and capable of beating the best when on song. “Pakistan are a real threat to any team. They have class players but we are not overawed by the occasion” he added.Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis appeared more confident that the boys had learned from the past mistakes and were keen not to repeat them against England as a slip could prove fatal.”We did not do well against Australia especially in the middle overs and threw the early advantage. We have to bowl better besides the batting has not clicked. I am hoping our premier batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana to strike form tomorrow which will definitely put them on right track in the competition,” Waqar hoped.Waqar said England were always a competitive side as they have some good all-rounders and warned that opener Marcus Trescothick was a dangerous batsman who could turn a match on its head.Teams (from):ENGLAND: Nasser Hussain (captain), James Anderson, Ian Blackwell, Andrew Caddick, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Ronnie Irani, Nick Knight, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Craig WhitePAKISTAN: Waqar Younis (captain), Saeed Anwar, Taufiq Umar, Saleem Elahi, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq.Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Brian Jerling (both South Africa).TV umpire: Steve Bucknor (West Indies).Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).

Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 85 runs to complete 9000 ODI runs
Virender Sehwag (IND) 103 runs to complete 2000 ODI runs
Dinesh Mongia (IND) needs 96 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Javagal Srinath (IND) needs 118 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Anil Kumble (IND) needs 158 runs to complete 1000 ODI runsZaheer Khan (IND) needs 5 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket club
Harbhajan Singh (IND) needs 10 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket clubMarvan Atapattu (SL) needs 96 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Hashan Tillakaratne (SL) needs 117 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsSanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-clubAravinda De Silva (1028) needs 56 runs to become the second leading WorldCup run-getter, current record holder is Javed Miandad (1083)

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.

Durham County Cricket Club’s Frizzell County Championship fixture againstWorcestershire on 14-17 May will be played at Grangefield Road, Stockton CC.The game will give Head Groundsman, Dave Measor, every chance to prepare aworld class pitch for the npower Test Match between England and Zimbabwe on5-9 June 2003.Durham County Cricket Club Chairman Bill Midgley said: “We are delighted tobe playing at least one of our games at an outground in the south of thecounty this season.”Tickets for the npower Test Match are on sale now priced at £25 for adultsper day for the first four days and £10 for U16s for the first three daysand £5 for the Sunday. Call the Ticket Hotline on 0191 387 5151 orTicketmaster on 0870 90 90 190 or visit www.CricketTickets.net.

43.3 overs West Indies 249 for 1 (Hinds 103*, Lara 75*) beat Australia 247 for 8 (Lehmann 107, Gayle 5-46) by nine wicketsWavell Hinds scored a magnificent 103 not out, his second century in three days, and Chris Gayle emulated Viv Richards’s feat at Dunedin in 1986-87, with five wickets and a half-century in the same match, as West Indies cruised to a nine-wicket victory over Australia in the seventh and final one-day match in Grenada. The icing on the cake was applied by Brian Lara, who cracked Darren Lehmann for three consecutive sixes to rampage to victory, and Australia’s all-conquering tour had ended in abject defeat.

Let it not be forgotten that the series had been done and dusted after four games, but there was still plenty pride at stake. Ricky Ponting himself had described the final three matches as a series within a series. But now, after 21 victories in consecutive matches, Australia have lost three in a row to the same team for the first time since the Texaco Trophy series against England in 1997.Australia, Lehmann excused, were off the pace throughout the match. They began their innings in a tangle, as Lara manipulated his spin bowlers to wonderful effect, and they finished in a heap. Hinds and Gayle became the first West Indian opening pair to post three figures against Australia in one-day cricket, and Hinds and Lara compiled a second, even more vigorous, century partnership in the same innings.Australia were visibly shattered by the end. Their fortunes were summed up by two men – Ricky Ponting, the man of the tour, who was unable to lead his team in the field after being clattered on the right hip early in his innings, and Jason Gillespie, who snarled and glared his way through ten economical overs, but dropped the most outrageous sitter at long-off when Hinds was on 76. With Lara at his bat-flinging best, it was hardly a match-turning moment, but it was the sort of chance that the World-Cup vintage Australians would have gobbled.They had been all at sea in the first 15 overs of the match. Unsettled by Lara’s unorthodox tactics, which involved a solitary opening over from the offspin of Marlon Samuels, Matthew Hayden (8) clipped Merv Dillon straight down the throat of Dave Bernard jr on the midwicket boundary (a replica of his dismissal on Friday), before Adam Gilchrist played back to Samuels with uncertain footwork and inside-edged onto his stumps for 5 (18 for 2).

Had it not been for a quick-footed contribution from Lehmann, Australia would have been even deeper in the mire. Lehmann is an unlikely understudy for the ultra-athletic Michael Bevan, but he used the crease well to nurdle the spinners and clip the quicks off his pads. He limited himself to four fours and one out-of-context six in his first 70 runs, before unfurling his reverse-sweep and booming drive to crack six more fours in 20 balls. He found good support from Andrew Symonds (48) and Brad Hogg, who played a number of air shots early on, but eventually began connecting with his deft sweeps and flicks, finishing with an important 53 from 58 balls.The final total was some 30 runs more than West Indies might have hoped to concede, after their domination of the early exchanges. But it mattered little when Hinds and Gayle came together at the start of West Indies’s reply. As usual, it was Gayle who made the early running. He nearly kneecapped umpire Doctrove at point with a blistering cut shot in the second over, before resuming his feud with Brett Lee, cracking him for a pair of fours in the fifth over. Gayle, who suffers from a heart complaint, tired visibly after his early exertions, and at one stage had to take several minutes’ rest and a drink of water before continuing. But continue he did, raising his fifty with a mighty six over long-off, as Symonds’s first over disappeared for 13 runs.But Symonds soon had his revenge, though not before Hinds had thumped him for a six of his own, as Gayle was deceived and bowled by a yorker-length quicker ball (116 for 1). Gayle’s innings had lasted 68 balls with one six and eight fours, but there was no respite for Australia, as Lara strode to the middle. Hinds cranked up a gear, slamming Brad Hogg over long-on for the second six over his innings, and was deservingly named Man of the Series in the post-match presentations.For Australia, a five-week break cannot come soon enough. They have been on the road virtually non-stop since November, and with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to follow, they shouldn’t have to exert themselves too much in the next few months. West Indies, on the other hand, are riding the crest of a wave, and Sri Lanka are likely to find the going pretty tough when they arrive next week.

Rashid Latif, the Pakistan captain, has been fined 20% of his match fee due to Pakistan’s slow over-rate in the third one-day international of the NatWest Challenge at Lord’s. According to Times.com.pk, a Pakistan-based web newspaper, Sami-ul-Hasan, the media manager of the team, also confirmed that the rest of the side were fined 10% of their match fee by Gundappa Viswanath, the match referee.The report stated that in 227 minutes of playing time, Pakistan bowled only 48.3 overs, as against the requirement of 54 overs. Despite being given a 13-minute allowance for various stoppages in play, Pakistan were still found to be three overs short.

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

Chris Tremlett returns to fitness after missing the National League day/night match at Hove on Tuesday.Hampshire Hawks take to Taunton this Sunday the same team that won the vital Sussex Sharks encounter in style and add Tremlett and Will Kendall to the squad to play Somerset Sabres.Both Robin Smith and Nic Pothas remain sidelined, although both are very close to full fitness.Hampshire Hawks squad to play Somerset Sabres at Taunton – Sunday 10th August (1pm start): James Hamblin, Simon Katich, Derek Kenway (w-k), John Crawley (capt), John Francis, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Lawrence Prittipaul, Will Kendall, Shaun Udal, James Bruce, Chaminda Vaas, Chris Tremlett, Alan Mullally.