As serious cricket has yet to get underway in Manicaland, all eyes in recent weeks have been on the dismal performances of the national side in their ODI series against South Africa and England. New coach in waiting Geeff Marsh must be wondering what he let himself in for.Andy Flower excluded – this team plays worse and worse each time. England coach and former Zimbabwe captain Duncan Fletcher must be amazed as he sits in the new multi-million dollar facilities at Harare Sports Club and watches this once proud unit perform like schoolboys. Certainly his leadership qualities and ability to inspire match-winning performances from Zimbabwe players in the eighties would be welcome right now.Excuses for Zimbabwe cricket no longer wash. The problems facing Zimbabwean cricket – political and otherwise – apply equally to all sectors of this oppressed country.The captain appears to have lost confidence. Lengthy field-placement consultations and indecisive drift during the frequent leather chases characterize his leadership. By contrast Alistair Campbell, when forced into duty after Streak’s injury in the third game, injected new urgency and assurance into a close fought contest. Delightful man that Heath Streak is, it may be time to acknowledge that few fast bowlers make good captains and take steps to resurrect both his own and the team’s fortunes.The rest of team Zimbabwe’s problems may be more difficult to fix. Clearly selection changes need to be made. It is impossible to continue arguing the case for the experienced non-performers when a new totally inexperienced side could hardly do worse. Whatever the problems, these oldies cannot be guaranteed a living indefinitely whilst Zimbabwe is deleted off the world computer rankings. If we are to believe Dirk Viljoen’s writings in the Telegraph, the players were desperate for this English tour not to be cancelled. If motivation then is not the problem, perhaps skills are. How many future visits can we expect when visiting teams torch us so effortlessly in our own front yard?It was once argued that as the national team had created the wealth associated with television and advertising income, they deserved the lion’s share of the payout. But that was then. These highly paid professionals are currently in danger of writing themselves out of the script after a series of second-league performances.In a recent interview on South African television Barry Richards rated the Bangladesh Test team lower than his son’s grade side in Perth, Western Australia. He wasn’t much more complimentary about Zimbabwe. The point he was making was that if the ICC continued to award Test status to undeserving countries and then force the top nations to play meaningless series with them, the television market would disappear. Already rumours abound on the sub-continent of television moguls plotting to lure elite players away from the humdrum of conventional cricket into Super-Test circuses.The irony as far as Zimbabwe is concerned is that the wealth the game has generated has built new facilities at Harare Sports Club to rival the best, yet last weekend’s ODIs were played in front of worryingly diminished crowds.

New South Wales tied everyone but Ian Harvey down here today as Victoria finished about 50 runs short of its goal on day one of its Pura Cup cricket match at Punt Rd.The Bushrangers were 6-221 at stumps, with Darren Berry caught behind off the last ball of the day to give Test leg-spinner Stuart MacGill 3-65 from 24.1 overs.Coming in at No.4, Harvey continued his impressive start to the domestic season, scoring 55 off 66 balls with 11 fours.Bushrangers captain Matthew Elliott wanted about 260-270 after winning the toss and praised the NSW attack, which gave the batsmen few loose balls.”They stuck at their task pretty well and made it difficult for us – if they had bowled a lot of rubbish, we would have liked to have capitalised on it,” he said.”I thought we fought back pretty well – just that wicket at the end.”This year we have a ‘happy’ knack of losing the wicket or (otherwise) taking the gloss off….5-220 – I thought that would have been a pretty good effort on that wicket.”The ground was slow, they bowled pretty well at times in the game.”Opening bowlers Nathan Bracken (26 overs, 1-44) and Stuart Clark (24, 1-46) made run scoring extremely tough, while MacGill also impressed.Apart from taking wickets, MacGill’s noted temper briefly simmered in the 60th over when the Blues botched a run-out attempt.MacGill toe-poked the stumps at the bowler’s end when the Blues missed the chance to dismiss Michael Klinger.Victoria was 1-13 off 16 overs after the first hour, setting up a slow day’s cricket.Elliott could manage only two, while fellow opener Jason Arnberger (47), Matthew Mott (35), Brad Hodge (44) and Klinger (27) failed to make the most of theirstarts.The forecast is also not good, with rain likely to settle in over the weekend.Punt Rd does not drain quickly and, with no lighting, there is no chance of extending play if there is a rain delay.

Helping his team surpass Services’ first-innings total, Sangram Singhmade an unbeaten 215, enabling Himachal Pradesh to declare at 463/5 onDay Three of their Ranji Trophy league match at Una.Batting with a stodgy Rajiv Nayyar, who made 90 off 289 balls, SangramSingh hit 26 fours and four sixes in his 308-ball, 405-minute knock.He was the dominant partner in stands with Varinder Sharma, AmitSharma and Chetan Kumar, none of whom even crossed 20.Services, now effectively unable to push for a win, were 25 for noloss at stumps on Monday, with openers PMS Reddy and K Chawda at thecrease.

The first day of Bangladesh’s New Zealand education, part of a longer learning process for the newcomers to the class of Test nations, was conducted at Victoria Park, Wanganui today in the fashion of show and tell.Bangladesh, consigned to the field throughout the day as New Zealand District Association XI won the toss and batted, showed themselves eager learners who watched the home team closely and surmised.The tourists claimed only three wickets in more than 100 overs and the New Zealand District Association XI, batting at a measured pace, reached stumps at 232/3 thanks to Harley James who, after taking guard in a pool of blood, batted stoicly to make 117 and captain Peter McGlashan who was 59 not out at stumps.James came to the wicket after a handful of overs to take the place of opener Grant Robinson who had left the field shocked and bloodied after being struck in the face from a top edge while trying to hook. The District Association XI was then only six – Robinson had made one from 22 balls – and James found himself taking guard with his feet astride a deep pool of Robinson’s blood.Robinson was rushed to Wanganui Hospital for a preliminary examination which revealed a broken eye socket among other peripheral damage and was then transferred to Palmerston North Hospital, 60km away, for urgent surgery.James is a big man and of phlegmatic country stock. He was not one to let such unsettling events distract him. He set about an inning which for its duration and value became the cornerstone of the home team’s impressive first day effort.He shared partnerships with opener Peter Ingram which carried the District Association XI through lunch without loss and to 77 before the fall of Ingram who batted 151 minutes for 31. The central pillar of the innings was the partnership throughout the afternoon of James and McGlashan, his captain, who put on 127 for the third wicket in 180 minutes.James batted from 11.05am – on Robinson’s unfortunate departure – to a few minutes after five o’clock. He raised his half century in 110 minutes from 94 balls and his century in four hours and 25 minutes, from 281 balls.His total innings lasted 10 minutes more than three hours and he hit nine fours and a six. Nor was this James’ first experience of success against a touring team. He has already to his credit a half century for Canterbury against Zimbabwe and he admits, modestly as countryfolk do, that he has learned the craft of playing long innings.”I’ve had a couple of knocks against Zimbabwe and I got 50 in each game. I seem to pick my game up a bit against touring sides,” he said.”I walked out there today and there was a big pile of blood right where I was standing. Not a good way to go in but we had to just dig in at that stage and see off the new ball and after a bit of time in the middle the runs came.”Obviously we would have liked a few more runs but they had a few good spells of bowling at times and made us work hard for the runs. We had to just wait till something came up.”That’s pretty much the way I bat. A lot of people who know me will say I’m pretty happy doing that sort of thing and spending a bit of time about it so it suited me.”James is a big man, tall and broad whose size and posture speaks attack but he curbed any attacking notion today, respected the bowling and accumulated runs with caution and patience. He became a study for the Bangladesh players who found the conditions at Victoria Park – lush and verdant – almost the polar opposite to those they are used to at home.There was humidity, a legacy of warm showers that swept Wanganui in the early morning, but while the New Zealanders complained of the heat, the tourists politely discussed the cold.Bangladesh hoped to learn by example and they watched the manner in which the New Zealand District Association players accumulated runs on a slow pitch which demanded watchfulness. They learned, according to their coach Trevor Chappell, of the importance of patience, of playing to a plan.At the same time, James studied the Bangladeshis and spoke admiringly of a bowling attack which included a left and right-arm new ball combination, an orthodox left-armer on whom much of the bowling responsibility fell, a leg-spinner and a right-arm off spinner.”They had a couple of pretty handy new ball bowlers,” he said. “I was quite impressed with the left-armer (Enamul Haque) who bowled pretty well throughout the day. Every time they came back he was pretty demanding.”They were hard to get away, putting the ball on the spot all the time. They’ve got plenty of guys there who can get the arm over and mix it up and keep you guessing.”They fielded really well all day. They were keen and enthusiastic all day and they made it fun to be out there.”Chappell presides over this early stage of his team’s cricketing education and said today was a new and valuable learning experience.”I guess the pace of the wicket was pretty similar to what we’re used to,” he said. “It was pretty slow and there was a bit of moisture around in the ground from a fair bit of rain in recent times.”There was a bit of movement in the wicket early in the day but we didn’t make the batsmen play enough at that stage. The bowling wasn’t too great but it wasn’t that bad either. We didn’t bowl a lot of rubbish and we stuck pretty well to the plan of keeping the ball up and making the batsmen play but we didn’t look like taking a lot of wickets.”I was reasonably happy with the way the bowlers stuck at it but we can perform a lot better than that, I’m sure.”We want to try to get used to these conditions as soon as possible. That was the first day and we need to keep improving every day from now.”Left armer Haque bowled 28 of the day’s 100 overs and finished with the wicket of James, lbw, at a cost of 56 runs. Leg spinner Mohammad Ashraful, who bowls an enquiring line and length, took two for 49.

The Australian cricket team has donated its $51,000 prize money for beating South Africa today to the Salvation Army’s bushfire relief fund.The Australian Cricket Board said it would match the $51,000, meaning a donation of $102,000 to help victims of the fires that have been burning around NSW fornearly two weeks.After accepting the winner’s cheque at the end of the third cricket Test against South Africa in Sydney, captain Steve Waugh said: “It’s been a great couple of weeks for the Australian team.”But while all this has been going on, the real heroes have been the firefighters saving lives and houses.”The Australian cricket team would like to donate all our prizemoney to the bushfire relief fund.”Earlier this week, Waugh said the team had been prepared to play a benefit match, but that wasn’t realistically possible given the crowded itinerary for the rest of the summer.He said the whole team agreed on the idea of donating the prize money.”We’ve been watching the news every night and quite a few of us have been affected by bushfires in the past.”It’s a small sacrifice from us, it’s not a large amount of money, but we thought it was the right way to go.”Prizemoney is usually divided among team members, which means today’s donation equates to about $4,000 for each of the 13 players who played in the series.

Hawke’s Bay have won the chance to reverse their Hawke Cup-deciding match against Hamilton when the two meet in a challenge in Hamilton at the weekend.After the competition was revamped to remove metropolitan associations from the challenge format, an elimination series was played last summer and in the match to decide the holder of the Cup, Hamilton beat Hawke’s Bay.Now Hawke’s Bay has won the Central Districts elimination series to qualify while Manawatu will have a play-off game with the runner up from Zone One on March 9-11, to decide who will play the Hawke Cup challenge match on March 23-25.Final points in the CD competition were: Hawke’s Bay 38, Manawatu 35, Wanganui 24, Marlborough 23, Wairarapa 19, Taranaki 18, Nelson 13, Horowhenua Kapiti 8.

Shoaib Akhtar is confident that all the hullabaloo over his action is a thing of the past, and now that he has passed the scrutiny of international umpires, especially the Aussie Darrell Hair, in Bangladesh and here in Sharjah, there is no further need to talk about it.

Shoaib Akhtar Photo © CricInfo

“Forget about my action, let us get on with the game,” Shoaib said, feeling supremely confident that he had left the controversy behind him. “I’ve been through three examinations by the University of Western Australia’s department of Human Movement, and in each of their reports they’ve said that it is the overextension of the arms and joints which creates the illusion. And the ICC’s circulation of that report has helped my case,” he added, displaying the overextension in both his arms for the benefit of the journalists present at the briefing.He felt reassured because his manager [Yawar Saeed] had spoken to Hair after the second Test against the West Indies, and there was no report against his action. As for Michael Holding helping him, he said he didn’t go through the modification programme because there was nothing to modify.”I’ve never modified my action… It cannot be modified,” Shoaib said. Talking about Holding’s suggestions to him on the nets here, he said that the former West Indian pace ace had pointed out that his left arm was falling away. Holding’s advice was to keep it straight and close to his body, which Holding thought would add to his pace and momentum.”Mr Holding is a very senior cricketer and when he says something, one has to listen to him”, Shoaib said.That was routine stuff compared to the shocking statement that he had never tried to cross the 100-mile barrier. Having captured the imagination of cricketing aficionados all over the world with his express pace in the 1999 World Cup, at around 97 mph, Shoaib had bowled the second fastest recorded delivery after Jeff Thomson’s 99-mile thunderbolt in the late 1970s. Afterwards, he was blamed for sacrificing the team’s interest for personal glory by aiming for the 100-mile mark at the expense of accuracy.But Akhtar, having been through a long and tedious rehabilitation programme after a variety of injuries which resulted from his body not standing his relentless quest for pace, has obviously learnt his lessons. He is consistently more accurate now than he has ever been in his career, and is taking wickets as well.”Now I’m aiming to contribute to the team’s cause. It’s too early for me to think of 350 or 450 wickets. I don’t have such thoughts. I just want to take wickets, and even if I take two or three wickets in every innings, I want them to help the team, to come at a juncture when the team benefits,” he said.He especially thanked the PCB and its chairman, Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia for standing by him through a very difficult period in his career, when he struggled with twin problems of a spate of injuries and unending controversy regarding his action. “There was nothing personal in it. The PCB chairman thought that I’m an asset to for the Pakistan team, and that is why he backed me up. I am really grateful for all the support that I got from him and the Board”, said Akhtar.

The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) stadium witnessed anothermasterly knock from Sachin Tendulkar, who scored his 28th Testcentury on Saturday. On a batting paradise, Tendulkar was incomplete command throughout the day.Speaking of the wicket, Tendulkar said, “It was a slow track andcracks had developed because of which the ball was not coming onto the bat. The ball kept low at times, though I never felttroubled during the entire innings.”He explained why he had decided to restrain himself. “We were ina good position and I never felt the need to go for big shots,”he said.Tendulkar’s unbeaten 137 (275 balls, 18×4) has seen him go pasttwo Australian legends – Steve Waugh and Allan Border – in thelist of top century-makers in Tests. Only the peerless Sir DonaldBradman, with 29 hundreds, and Sunil Gavaskar, with 34 hundreds,now stay ahead of him. A happy Tendulkar termed the VCA stadiumas one of his happy hunting grounds, before quickly adding, “Itwas just another hundred. That is always a good feeling.”Speaking of the Zimbabweans, the master batsman praised left-armspinner Ray Price, who he felt maintained a good length allthrough the day. “I feel Price was the pick of the bowlers,” hesaid.As for his team, he felt they had made good progress on the day,adding that a first-innings lead of around 250 would prove morethan useful. Knowing Tendulkar, he would be hoping to stay aroundon Sunday and ensure that this is achieved. A double-ton alongthe way for the master would prove the icing on the cake for themillions of Indian spectators who are bound to follow the actionon Sunday.

Pakistan outclassed United Emirates (UAE) by a huge margin of 208 runs in their second match of the Khaleej Times Under-15 Asia Cup at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Monday.Opener Suleman Ali blasted eight fours and four sixes in scoring 91 off just 77 deliveries as Pakistan amassed 322 for six in their quota of 40 overs after winning the toss, according to details available here.Hosts UAE, in reply, were restricted to 114 for five.Besides Suleman, Salman Akbar also excelled in making 63 off 59 balls. His knock was laced with six hits to the fence.In was a great recovery by Pakistan youngsters after Fayyaz Ahmed and skipper Fazal Mohammad Khan had perished without a run on the board.Suleman, named Man-of-the-Match, and Adnan Raza (29 off 39 balls, two fours, two sixes) shared a third wicket stand of 81. Salman then joined Suleman in adding 114 for the fourth wicket before the latter was stumped.Pakistan’s innings ended on a high note as Sardar Nawaz slammed four sixes and as many fours in an unbeaten 59 off mere 23 balls. The unfinished seventh wicket partnership between Sardar and Owais Ahmed (24 off 12 balls, three fours, one six) realized 68.On Sunday, Pakistan achieved an easy 10-wicket victory over Oman. Meanwhile, fast bowler Omar Khaliq has been ruled out of the Under-15 Asia Cup with a groin injury. He will be replaced by paceman Zain Shahnawaz who will leave for Dubai on Tuesday.Omar sustained the injury during Pakistan’s 10-wicket victory over Oman in the opening match of the Super League in Abu Dhabi.Pakistan will play Sri Lanka on Dec 18 in Sharjah.ScoreboardPAKISTAN UNDER-15:Fayyaz Ahmed lbw b Qasim 0Suleman Ali st Farhan b Sharan 91Fazal Khan c Farhan b Qasim 0Adnan Raza c Farhan b Pranav 29Salman Akbar b Sharan 63Raza Ali Dar run out 28Sardar Nawaz not out 59Owais Ahmed not out 24EXTRAS (B-2, LB-2, W-19, NB-5) 28TOTAL (for six wkts, 40 overs) 322FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-0, 3-81, 4-195, 5-224, 6-254.DID NOT BAT: Mansoor Amjad, Nasir Ahmed, Mohammad Jamshed.BOWLING: Qasim Zubair 7-1-40-2 (2w); Sufiyan Javed 4-0-35-0 (2nb, 7w);Wasim Bari 2.5-0-22-0 (2nb, 1w); Ramveer Rai 4.1-0-23-0 ((1w);Pranav Arora 7-1-50-1; Rameez Shahzad 2-0-25-0 (3w);Sharan Kumar 6-0-41-2 (3w); Owais Hameed 4-0-29-0 (2w);Prashant Rao 3-0-53-0 (1nb).UAE UNDER-15:Sharan Kumar b Nasir 2Farhan Siddiqui c Adnan b Raza 15Ramveer Rai b Mansoor 33Owais Hameed lbw b Jamshed 10Shehan Dharmasena run out 15Rameez Shahzad not out 7Qasim Zubair not out 0EXTRAS (B-1, LB-4, W-23, NB-4) 32TOTAL (for five wkts, 40 overs) 114FALL OF WKTS: 1-22, 2-69, 3-71, 4-106, 5-108.DID NOT BAT: Prashant Rao, Sufiyan Javed, Pranav Arora, Wasim Bari.BOWLING: Nasir Ahmed 6-1-24-1 (1nb, 5w); Mohammad Jamshed 7-1-20-1 (10w); Sardar Nawaz 3-1-12-0 (1nb); Raza Ali Dar 6-2-13-1; Mansoor Amjad 6-1-16-1 (2nb, 1w); Suleman Ali 4-1-10-0 (3w); Fayyaz Ahmed 4-0-7-0; Salman Akbar 4-1-7-0 (4w).MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Suleman Ali

3 Year fixed term contractAttractive package inc. carThe England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body for cricket from playground to Test arena.As County Development Officer you will support the Herfordshire Cricket Board in the achievement of its development plan, particularly where it relates to the promotion and development of cricket in schools and clubs for both children and young adults.For this role you must have experience of cricket development at grass roots level and have a sound knowledge, appreciation and understanding of cricket. A self-starter with energy and enthusiasm, you will need to have good administration skills and be an excellent communicator.For an information pack and application form please contact Natasha Mason, ECB, Lord’s Cricket Ground, London NW8 8QZ.Tel: 020 74321 171. E-mail: [email protected] date for completed applications is 29 January 2002