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	Brad Haddin has already flown home due to an injury and now Ricky Ponting will do the same © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting will make an early departure from the Caribbean as he continues to battle an injury to his right wrist. Ponting will fly out for Australia immediately after it became clear he was unlikely to play in the final ODI of the series against West Indies in St Kitts on Sunday.”Ricky has a tendon injury in his right wrist and he will be flying home to see a specialist in Melbourne,” Justin Steer, the team physio, said. “Given his unavailability for the last match of the series we see this as a good opportunity to have him see the specialist at his earliest convenience.”He suffered the injury while batting in the third ODI in Grenada on Sunday and was ruled out of Friday’s fourth game in St Kitts. Ponting’s absence means Michael Clarke will captain the side as they aim for a 5-0 series whitewash, with Michael Hussey to act as Clarke’s vice-captain.Ponting will be the third squad member to head home from the West Indies mid-series. Matthew Hayden was ruled out before the first Test with an achilles tendon injury and Brad Haddin departed after one ODI as he battled a broken finger.

This is what happens when you are so much better than everyone else, thebiggest challenges come from within.With no-one from world cricket, able to lay a glove on the Australians, theAustralian selectors have taken it upon themselves to challenge them.Their non-selection of Mark Waugh followed by his subsequent retirementthreaten to do more damage to the side than England could ever hope toachieve.In their cricket to date, England have suggested that they would struggle towin a game if they were playing in the Pura Cup. A side already hopelesslymismatched, is stricken with injuries.Australia will defeat England easily regardless of Mark Waugh.If they were to replace him, logic dictated that they do so with ayoungster. To get rid of a 37-year-old for a 32-year-old makes no sensewhatsoever.Mark Waugh was owed better. Only two players have scored more Test runs forAustralia. No-one in the world has more Test catches than him.He has been a stalwart of the side for the last 10 years, playing his last107 Tests in succession. The Australian side is one where the aggregate sumis greater than that of the individual parts.The side was winning well and so there was no case to drop Mark Waugh.From his century on debut against England at the Adelaide Oval, there wasnothing better in world cricket than watching him.His innings stand the test of time.

• The 139 not out at Antigua in 1991 against the might of Ambrose, Patterson,Walsh and Marshall. [Scorecard]
• His 126 at Sabina Park in 1995 which set up the winning of the Sir FrankWorrell trophy. [Scorecard]
• His classic 116 at Crusaders, St George’s Park in 1997 which gave Australiaa famous two-wicket victory. [Scorecard]
• The 115 not out against South Africa at Adelaide in 1998. [Scorecard]
• The 153 not out at Chinnaswamy Stadium in India in 1998. [Scorecard]

Mark Waugh was there for his fans and sadly they can’t be there for him.He should have been allowed to announce his retirement at the end of theAshes, thus giving Australian fans to express their gratitude to him.Fittingly, he could have played his last Test match on his beloved SCG andbowed out like the champion he was.

	Jacob Oram: repelled England at the crucial juncture of the day © Getty Images

For the fifth match in a row, dating back to the visit of Sri Lanka in May 2006, the Lord’s Test has finished in a draw. This possibly says more about the English weather than anything else, for each of the five has involved more than just a token delay for rain, yet this is a habit that goes to the heart of England’s failings since the summer of 2005.The Lord’s Test has been the launchpad for each new home series – a chance to stamp their authority at a ground that, as Michael Vaughan testifies, really does feel like home. Instead they’ve found themselves drifting away at the end of each contest, ruing an opportunity squandered.”We did have a shout,” said Vaughan after the match. “We bowled very well today and created opportunities, but the ball either went wide [of the fielders] or went fast, and we did drop a couple. To win on the day we were going to have to take all our chances and something special was going to have to happen, and we just didn’t do that.”A glance at the honours boards paints a clear picture of England’s apparent dominance in recent Lord’s fixtures. In the last five games, they have racked up 13 hundreds to the visitors’ three, and have outscored them two to one in five-fors as well. But when it comes to the crunch, the coup de grace has eluded them.”It’s always difficult to force a result in Test match cricket when you lose 150 overs,” said Vaughan, and he’s right of course. But England had their opportunity at 78 for 4, with Brendon McCullum on his way to hospital and the untested Daniel Flynn holding the fort. Jacob Oram’s response, however, was such a combination of guts and chutzpah that, by the time he spanked the new ball through the covers to bring up his fifth Test century, New Zealand’s 200-plus lead was not merely matchsaving, it had become a statement of intent in its own right.Oram’s effort was heroic in the fullest sense, because by his own admission, he has been found out by England’s attack, not least Ryan Sidebottom, who produced arguably his best ball of a stellar year to end his resistance shortly after he’d celebrated his hundred. It was the fifth time in a row that Oram had fallen to his nemesis, and he didn’t try to pretend that his innings had been anything other than a struggle.”It’s the proudest moment of my career, and it surpasses anything I’ve done before,” said Oram. “I rode my luck a bit, and there were only small periods of my innings where I felt in real control. Even scattered between the boundaries, there were some balls which snuck up on me, but I’ve battled through the tough times, and I’ve made some strides towards where I want to be in my game.”

	It’s the proudest moment of my career, and it surpasses anything I’ve done before – Jacob Oram reflects on his Lord’s century

Oram’s rearguard began with New Zealand at their lowest ebb, with McCullum apparently out of the game, and disaster threatening to make an untimely appearance. Adversity, however, was just what Oram needed to put his form worries to one side. “There was a little bit of pressure coming on us, but it was a chance for me to get in at a time when the team really needed me,” he said. “I’ve died in a bit of a hole recently, so I rode my luck. Today wasn’t 100% technically perfect, but it was a great moment to bring up my hundred, because I knew that I wasn’t at my best.”Such a candid admission merely exacerbates England’s missed opportunity, although for New Zealand’s captain, Daniel Vettori, Oram’s form worries had no bearings on his standing in the side. “He’s first pick in our team,” said Vettori. “Whenever we don’t have him in our side through injury we have to decide whether to pick a batter or a bowler. Maybe his batting hasn’t been as good as he would have liked for a little bit but he came out today and played his natural game. There weren’t too many worries for him, and when he plays like that, he’s as good as anyone.”For Vaughan, there was little he could do by the end of the match except plan for the Old Trafford Test, which gets underway on Friday. With that in mind, he refused to concede that New Zealand had finished this encounter on top.”Full credit to Jacob Oram and Daniel Flynn, they adapted to the conditions and made it very difficult,” said Vaughan. “They played well but we knew we had to give everything today. We had to open up gaps for them to hit into, because we were trying to create opportunities. They’ll say they got out with a safe draw, but we’ll say we didn’t take our chances. I’d have liked to play five full days on that wicket because I thought it was a good cricket pitch.””Both teams will be happy,” he said. “New Zealand will say they got out safely, and very calmly in the end, and we’ll feel we created opportunities to maybe win the game today but we didn’t quite grasp it. But really the game hasn’t gone far enough for either team to say who’s come out further on top. All it proves is that both teams are very hard fought, and the series will be a tough one. Whoever plays the best cricket in the next two games will win.”

Sri Lanka completed formalities shortly before the scheduled luncheoninterval on the fourth day, bowling out Bangladesh for 184 to secure theirtenth consecutive victory on home soil; and their first win without theservices of Muttiah Muralitharan since the off-spinner started his career in1992.The tourists, led by 17-year-old Mohammad Ashraful, who confirmed hispotential after a lean period since becoming the youngest ever Testcenturion last September, kept the Sri Lankans at bay for the first hourbefore a collapse that saw six wickets fall for 17 runs.The right-handed Ashraful scored 75 from 120 balls, hitting 12 boundaries,adding 68 runs for the fifth wicket with Alok Kapali (23), whose all-roundperformance on his debut Test drew praise afterwards from coach MohsinKamal.But mid-way through the morning off-spinner Thilan Samaraweera dismissedboth players within the space of eight minutes: Kapali was brilliantlycaught by Jehan Mubarak diving to his right at short leg off bat-pad, whilstAshraful was unfortunate to have also adjudged to have been caught at shortleg off pad only – the luck, not for the first time in this game, not goingBangladesh’s way.Left-armer Sujeewa de Silva, replacing Chamila Gamage, who beat the batrepeatedly during his brisk opening five burst, quickly nipped out TapashBashar (3), courtesy of a stunning airborne catch by Upul Chandana in thegully, and then Fahim Muntasir (1) with a curling yorker.Samaraweera wrapped up proceedings, as the close in fielders snapped up twomore catches: Manjural Islam (0) and Talha Jubair (0) both completing apair.Sri Lanka’s celebrations were muted at the end, the captain and coachadmitting that the victory, though a welcome after a series of defeats, wasof little relevance; the most important aspect of the series being theemergence of fast bowler Chamila Gamage and the batting of Michael Vandort,the Man of the Match here after scores of 61 and 140.”The results from England are still fresh in the mind and it was importantto comeback against Bangladesh as strongly as possible,” said coach DavWhatmore. “A lot of people will say that this is what we are expected to doagainst Bangladesh, and we are painfully aware of that, but you have to pickup the pieces somewhere.”Sanath Jayasuriya, back smiling again, said: “We may have won this seriesbut you can’t say that everything is going our way yet. In these conditionswe know we can do it, but we need to prove ourselves outside Sri Lanka andthere is a lot of hard work to be done in all departments of our game.”He admitted that defeat in England had affected morale: “The truth is thatEngland badly affected our confidence – we didn’t perform up to our ownstandards and it was very disappointing for the whole team. Slowly we haveto get back our old confidence.”The captain, originally uncomfortable with the selector’s experimentation inthis series, was especially delighted by Gamage’s bowling: “Chamila (Gamage)has shown his potential in this match – I think he can compete on theinternational stage.””I’m also impressed with the performance of Michael Vandort,” he added. “Hegrabbed his opportunity in this game and showed that he can score runs inthe top order.”For Bangladesh it was a familiar tale, coach Mohsin Kamal admitting that itwas hard to keep the players positive as the defeats stack up. This wastheir 12th loss in 13 Tests and the 11th consecutive innings in which theyhave failed to pass 200.”It is hard to lose continuously as half of cricket is played in thedressing room,” said Kamal, after his first series in charge, “but the guysjust have to be positive when they are there preparing themselves.”But he remained upbeat about the future: “We got some youngsters in the sidefor this match and they showed that they have a lot of talent – they justneed more experience in Test and four-day cricket.”He singled out the bowlers for special praise: “The bowlers did well, especially yesterday when they were under pressure – they bowled beautifully inthe morning, restricting the Sri Lankan batsmen.”I was also really pleased with the performance of Ashraful. He was under alot of pressure to score runs after not getting runs in the side matches andnot playing in the first Test. He has shown his ability.”Bangladesh can, at least, seek some comfort in the fact that they are notalone in finding it difficult to adjust to the demands of Test cricket: SriLanka had to wait 14 matches before their first victory, Zimbabwe took 11games, India 25 and New Zealand a staggering 45 – Bangladesh will surely notwait that long.

Most of the attention in Zimbabwe cricket this last week has been centred on their performances in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.CONTENTS

• International cricket:
  • Zimbabwe v India
  • Zimbabwe v England
• Africa Cup
• Provincial cricket reports – Vigne Cup
• Interviews: Gus Mackay and James McMaster
• Letters

After a long break, we hoped the team would be fresh and ready to go, but unfortunately it didn’t work out like that. The engine is running in fits and starts, with the bowling being the most disappointing area. We have seen our team play brilliantly, but apart from a brave run chase against India – led of course by the incomparable Andy Flower – they did not play to the high standards we know they can obtain. Assessments of the matches against India and England are included in this issue.In one way I feel this tournament could have been organized better. That regards the fixture list. Long before the group matches were concluded, Australia and Sri Lanka are in the semi-finals, South Africa are virtually assured of a place, and the only match with any real significance is that between England and India for the remaining semi-final place.That means there are quite a number of meaningless matches, mostly involving the minnows Bangladesh, Kenya and Holland, remaining before the semi-finals start. The crucial matches between the two strongest teams in each group were played early on, when they should have been used as likely deciders, as England v India will be. Perhaps the fixtures were drawn up in this way to stimulate early local interest in the tournament, or perhaps it was done to put less pressure on the likely semi-final teams. Perhaps they just came out of the hat that way.In future, I would suggest that the weakest team in each group – which would include Zimbabwe – get their matches over with early. The likelihood is that the bigger guns will beat them, and each of the final group matches will be in effect a quarterfinal, with a semi-final place dependent on the result. This will sustain interest, which will otherwise be lost in a series of dead matches.Closer to home, this issue includes a report on the Africa Cup competition held in Lusaka recently, after an interview with manager Kish Gokal, and reports on the Vigne Cup and provincial cricket. Gus Mackay, recently appointed general manager of the Mashonaland Cricket Association, talks about his job in a major article. We also include an interview with Australian James McMaster, a strong ZCO supporter, who is visiting Zimbabwe for the first time and has some interesting observations to make.

Somerset Second Eleven recorded a resounding victory over Worcestershire at North Perrott in their opening championship match of the season on Friday.Once again it was all rounder Pete Trego who did the damage, taking 5 for 60 as the visitors slumped to 143 all out to give the Somerset second string a victory by an innings and 60 runs.The young all rounder from Weston super Mare ended with match figures of 11 for 113 to earn himself a recall to the first team for the NUL opening match against Yorkshire Phoenix on Sunday.

Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy Quarter FinalSomerset v Worcestershireat The County Ground, Taunton17 July 2002
(reserve day 18 july)Gates open 8.30 a.m.
Play starts 10.45 a.m.Ticket prices for the above match are as follows:Adult £15.00Junior (under 16) £10.00Tickets will be available to Somerset County Cricket Club Members on a first come first served basis until Friday 5 July and thereafter available to the general public. TWO PER MEMBER.All postal applications made by Members must be accompanied by the appropriate slip in the membership book and a SAE.All postal applications made by non-members must be accompanied by a SAE.Telephone orders with a credit card will have a handling charge of £1.50 per application added. For telephone orders please call 01823 272946.

SYDNEY – Australian captain Steve Waugh today criticised the points systemin the new International Cricket Council Test championship as “stupid” andclaimed every Test should count.The championship, which started with last week’s Test between England andPakistan at Lord’s, will pit the 10 Test playing nations against each otheron a home-and-away basis over a five-year period.Two points are awarded for a series win and one for a draw.If a team wins the first three matches of a five-Test series, the last twowould effectively count for nothing while a team winning a series 5-0 wouldget no more points than one triumphing 3-2.Waugh today admitted he didn’t fully understand the system, but rejected thesuggestion Tests could be vulnerable to match fixing if they weren’t worthany points.”I wouldn’t think it would leave it open to match fixing, but I think it’sstupid,” Waugh said.”We pride ourselves in every Test match being special and what’s the pointof playing if they don’t count for anything?”They still count for our personal pride and the team. I must admit Ihaven’t looked at the championship specifically and seen how it works, butI’m surprised those Test matches don’t count, they should count.”That’s what it’s all about, that’s why you’re the number one side, becauseyou can perform I guess when other people don’t expect you to.”With 10 teams having to be accommodated in a packed international schedule,Waugh even suggested the days of the five-Test series were numbered.”I think eventually they might even go back to four. Four Tests might be themost convenient number, I don’t know,” Waugh said.”With five, you definitely sort out the best team, in three sometimes youget the feeling `I’m not sure whether the best side is actually on top atthis stage’ and you’re just getting to know the opposition really well.”Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed said it consideredplaying five Tests in each country rather than three in this summer’shome-and-away series against South Africa, but felt the additional workloadwas too much.”Five here and five in South Africa is pretty much ridiculous,” said Waugh,who along with Speed admitted Australia probably would ultimately play afive-Test series against South Africa.”Ten Tests in a row against the same side and I think you’re on automaticpilot by about the seventh Test, I don’t think too many people would bewatching it, you’ve got to keep it special and not overdo it.”Waugh welcomed tomorrow’s much-anticipated release of the ICC AntiCorruption Unit’s report into alleged matching fixing.”We want to know what’s going on and people want the game cleared up, so assoon as it comes out the better,” Waugh said.He wouldn’t comment on a claim by former England all-rounder Ian Botham thatup to a billion dollars had been wagered on a single Test, but Speeddescribed the claim as “a frightening thought.”Waugh also today called for any technological advances aimed at assistingumpires to be trialled at lower levels of the game.The technology issue will be raised at the ICC’s annual cricket committeemeeting in London tomorrow at which former Test captain Allan Border willrepresent Australia.Speed said the ACB supported technology provided it improved the game andintroduced a level of certainty while Waugh didn’t want the game to become”too Americanised” with each decision referred to a video replay.”They (the umpires) are going to make errors on occasions and I think we canlive by that, that’s the way it’s always been,” Waugh said.”But if there’s a decision where there is a line involved with a stump or arun out, I think that’s fine.”If they’ve got the technology to show where a ball has carried for a catchthen use it, but I think at the moment it’s unclear and it’s caused morecontroversy than the issues that it solves.”

Gloucestershire were indebted to contrasting innings from Ian Harvey and KimBarnett as they edged out Worcestershire by 21 runs in the Benson & Hedges Cup match at Bristol.Harvey’s sparkling 92 from 64 balls was a limited-overs best for theAustralian, while Barnett made an anchor role 85 from 141 deliveries ina Gloucestershire total of 263-8.Half-centuries from Philip Weston and Anurag Singh led a spiritedWorcestershire reply, but 90 were needed from the last ten overs and itproved beyond reach as they finished on 242-7.Gloucestershire’s fourth win from four games assures the holders of a placein the quarter-finals, but Worcestershire may now need to win their gamewith Warwickshire tomorrow to qualify.The Gloucestershire innings was revived in dramatic fashion by Harvey andBarnett, whose parternship of 126 required only 18 overs.Harvey dominated it with some scintillating strokeplay for the good-sizedcrowd to enjoy. His half-century came from 39 deliveries and he surpassedhis previous best one-day score of 88, made against Sussex last year in theB&H quarter-finals.A century was within his grasp when umpire Nigel Cowley – to Harvey’s cleardisappointment – upheld an appeal by wicket-keeper Steve Rhodes for a catchoff David Leatherdale.Barnett and Jeremy Snape then added 66 in quick time before both departed inthe same Alamgir Sheriyar over.Sheriyar finished wth 4-19, but Stuart Lampitt, Matthew Rawnsley andLeatherdale went for more than 50 runs in their spells.Philip Weston and Anurag Singh gave the Worcestershire reply an excellentstart with a partnership of 150 in 35 overs before the former was caught inthe deep by Chris Taylor off Martyn Ball.Singh, who had survived two chances to Snape and Barnett, finally perishedto a catch by Jon Lewis at long off from the bowling of James Averis.Worcestershire’s hopes then rested with Graeme Hick, but when he chipped acatch to Snape at mid-wicket, there was no way back.

Big picture

New Zealand continue to slide in the rain•Associated Press

Amid monsoon torrents, relocated matches and stomach bugs, New Zealand have so far only sunk further into their rut in Sri Lanka. The second ODI was stopped by rain just as it was building to a climax, but in the following matches, the visitors have been thoroughly outclassed. They have not been helped by the toss, which has fallen against them in two of the three matches, forcing them to contend with a wet ball after the evening rains arrived. But given their poor record in the recent past, the team will be sick of excuses.New Zealand’s batting has been competent at times, and their fast bowlers found decent movement in the fourth ODI in Hambantota, but they are yet to put on a complete performance in the series. New Zealand have also spoken of the soft middle order of Sri Lanka, but have not taken more than three wickets in an innings. They will hope for better luck and more consistency for their quicks if they are to put Sri Lanka’s less experienced batsmen under pressure.Having secured the series, Sri Lanka don’t have much to gain from the final ODI apart from momentum and form ahead of the Test series. Each of Sri Lanka’s big three batsmen have been among the runs, and Test bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath have also enjoyed the series. They are likely to rotate a few of the fringe members in the squad for some game time.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WWWLL
New Zealand: LLLLL

Players to watch

Dinesh Chandimal played and missed plenty of times in his 43 on Saturday, but there were also sparkling strokes amid the nervy ones. He is in the Test squad, but does not have a place in the middle order. If he opens the batting again in the fifth ODI, and is successful, he could put pressure on Test opener Tharanga Paranavitana who has the least secure spot in the batting order.Tim Southee got the ball to move so far in the air and off the seam in the last match, Sri Lanka’s top order had no hope of edging it. If Southee is luckier, he could be the bowler to bare the hosts’ middle order by dismissing the top four quickly.

Pitch and conditions

The forecast predicts rain in the evening, and if the series so far is anything to go by, the teams can expect the final match to be interrupted at some point. In that scenario, the toss is important once again, and the team who wins it will likely want to bowl first. However, as New Zealand proved on Saturday, there is still plenty for the fast bowlers in the Hambantota pitch at night.

Team news

Sri Lanka will be keen to give their youngsters a pressure-free dead rubber in which to hone their skills, meaning Akila Dananjaya could be in line for an ODI debut. Expect Shaminda Eranga to get a match as well.Sri Lanka (probable): 1. Upul Tharanga, 2. Dinesh Chandimal, 3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4. Mahela Jayawardene (c), 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Lahiru Thirimanne, 7. Jeevan Mendis, 8. Thisara Perera, 9. Shaminda Eranga, 10. Akila Dananjaya, 11. Lasith MalingaAdam Milne could not produce the kind of pace he is capable of in the last ODI, and he may get another chance to impress on Monday. There is a small chance Tom Latham will return to the top order as well.New Zealand (probable): 1. Rob Nicol/ Tom Latham, 2. BJ Watling (wk), 3. Brendon McCullum, 4. Ross Taylor (c), 5. Kane Williamson, 6. James Franklin, 7. Nathan McCullum, 8. Andrew Ellis, 9. Tim Southee, 10. Trent Boult, 11. Adam Milne

Stats and trivia

– Dinesh Chandimal averages 53.39 outside Asia from 25 matches, but only 17.05 in it, from 21 games.- New Zealand have not won an ODI series against top eight opposition since November 2009.

Quotes

“One day cricket, especially with the rule changes, suits allrounders better. We bat deep, and guys like Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews aren’t just half-bowlers. They are actually very good bowlers to have in your side.””We’re getting pretty used to staying switched on through rain breaks. It seems to happen three or four times every game.”