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A marathon innings of over nine hours saw Martin van Jaarsveld, two runsshort of his career best of 238, still at the crease when the Titanseventually declared their innings closed at 524 for 4.Zander de Bruyn was out early but Godfrey Toyana and Van Jaarsveld then tormented the Western Province bowlers who had toiled hard on a Willowmoore Park pitch that had little to offer for the bowlers.A shock followed for Graeme Smith as he was dismissed first ball of theWPBOL innings. Andrew Puttick and Herschelle Gibbs put on 40, whileAshwell Prince stroked a quick 50. Four quick wickets however left WPBOLon 125 for 5 when bad light stopped play early.2nd day
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Neil McKenzie and Ahmed Omar, the debutant, notched up crucial fifties as the Lions managed to get a lead of 40 in their first innings. With the pitch at Goodyear Park playing true, the Eagles bowlers took another 36 overs to capture the final four wickets. Deon Kruis the star with the ball taking 5 for 40 and was ably assisted by Victor Mpitsang (3 for 35).The Eagles second innings had one small hiccup, the early loss of David Jacobs, but Gerhardus Liebenberg (65) and Boeta Dippenaar got them back on track. Ryan Bailey failed to score but an aggressive Morne van Wyk (59) and Dippenaar (52 not out) saw the Eagles to 190 for 5 at stumps.2nd day
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A brilliant undefeated 173 from Arno Jacobs saved the Warriors as they were bowled out for 349. Andrew Tweedie, the man who wrapped up the Warriors tail, helping himself to four wickets.There were several problems for the Dolphin batting as they faced up to the pace attack of Makhaya Ntini, Mornantau Hayward and Tyron Henderson. Fifties from Imraan Khan and Lance Klusener restored some pride but by stumps theDolphins had struggled to 201 for 7.

Division One

Points TableNottinghamshire clung on for a draw against Surrey after a challenging declaration from Mark Ramprakash left Notts chasing 203. They were quickly in trouble at 43 for 4 and then 90 for 5 but a sixth wicket stand of 71 between David Alleyne and Mark Ealham gave Notts a chance. However, Azhar Mahmood and Nayan Doshi struck back for Surrey and it was left to Ryan Sidebottom and Greg Smith to block out the final 25 minutes of play. Earlier, Rikki Clarke’s 127 and set up the opportunity for Ramprakash to declare and create an exciting afternoon of action.Gloucestershire’s lower order also held out for draw after Sussex had been sniffing the chance of an important win to pull away from the relegation zone. Set an unlikely 317, Gloucestershire made no attempt to reach the target and at 154 for 7 were struggling to even the save the game. Naved-ul-Hasan and Mushtaq Ahmed did the bulk of the damage with five wickets between them but Ian Fisher and James Averis showed admirable resolve to thwart Sussex’s efforts. Michael Yardy’s third century of the season left Sussex facing a tough target and, despite Jon Lewis’s five-wicket haul, it was all Sussex for the final day but, they couldn’t quite force the win.

Division Two

Points TableYorkshire made a decent effort to bowl out Derbyshire on the final day but were halted by a stubborn top and tail performance. Firstly, Derbyshire’s tail extended their first innings, using up valuable time, as Andy Gray (43) and Ian Hunter (40) both played important knocks. Despite not saving the follow-on, Yorkshire now had only two sessions to dismiss Derbyshire again and this time the top order showed more resolve. After slipping to 20 for 2, Steve Stubbings hung around for two-and-a-half hours and Jon Moss struck a half-century. Luke Sutton’s 43 ensured Derbyshire survived with relative ease.Durham surged to their sixth Championship victory of the season as Somerset’s batting folded in stunning fashion. Paul Collingwood’s second century of the match, from 73 balls, resulted in a target of 382 for Somerset and, initially, they went off like a train. But the introduction of Gareth Breese brought the innings to a shuddering halt, then sent it into a dramatic freefall. From 84 for 1 they slumped to 150 for 9 as first Breese and then Mick Lewis, ran through the order. Keith Parsons and Andrew Caddick showed some late defiance in their last wicket stand but Liam Plunkett trapped Caddick lbw to wrap up the match.Leicestershire’s game against Essex drifted to a draw following Aftab Habib’s unbeaten 153, his first century of the summer. He added 178 with Paul Nixon (85) to remove any danger for Leicestershire after they had been 123 for 6 before rain interveneded on the second day. When HD Ackerman declared it left Essex with only a session to bat and Ravinder Bopara eased his way to 48.

Division One

Points TableEssex remain hot favourites to win the National League Division One, but they squandered a chance to increase their eight-point advantage as they let Gloucestershire off the hook at Cheltenham. Gloucestershire were bowled out for 182, with Darren Gough and Grant Flower sharing six wickets, but even then they were let off the hook – they had been 118 for 6 before Malinga Bandara and Martyn Ball put on 59 for the ninth wicket. On a dry and crumbling track, Essex lost their way from the first ball when Flower was bowled by James Averis. At 49 for 7 a three-figure score seemed unlikely but Andre Adams, batting with a runner because of a toe injury, clubbed 46 to see them to 122.At Colwyn Bay, Lancashire moved into fourth spot with a convincing eight-wicket win over Glamorgan, with Dominic Cork doing the bulk of the damage with four wickets – all lbw – for 37. Set 174 to win, Lancashire eased home with nearly 14 overs to spare, Mal Loye hitting an unbeaten 79 off 95 balls.

Division Two

Points TableIt was a bad day for the division leaders as Sussex suffered a three-run defeat at the hands of Derbyshire, a result which will give Warwickshire renewed hope. Michael di Venuto’s unbeaten 129 off 131 balls formed the basis of Derbyshire’s 232 for 3, and Sussex’s chase appeared well on course as they started briskly, but they lost their last three wickets for six runs as time ran out.The match of the day came at Taunton where Yorkshire came within two runs of an astonishing victory. Somerset had looked odds-on winners after posting 345 for 4, Matthew Wood smashing a 105-ball 129 off 105 balls and Ian Blackwell 114 off 61. Yorkshire set off at a pace, with Matthew Wood (52), Phil Jaques (66) and Ismail Dawood (57) all keeping them in the hunt. With 38 to win off two overs and 25 off one, the game seemed over, but a brutal 27 off 10 balls from Deon Kruis took the match to the wire with five needed off the final ball – Kruis could manage only two.

More than 16,000 people voted in our Super Series Poll, and here are the results of Test and one-day Super Series teams. The 11 players with the highest votes haven’t actually made it to each side, as we had to take the balance of the team into account. A team with nine batsmen is hardly going to beat the Australians, so we let go of a batsman to bring in a bowler wherever necessary. None of the batsmen who polled the highest votes for the Test side were openers, so we had to include Virender Sehwag and Graeme Smith (openers with the highest votes) in the side. Inzamam-ul-Haq, who aggregated the seventh highest votes, lost out.Rahul Dravid topped the Test votes and Andrew Flintoff topped the one-day votes, with Muttiah Muralitharan coming second in both, followed by a bevy of batsmen. Ironically, the two men who topped the captaincy votes in the Test XI actually failed to make it to the side:Michael Vaughan and Inzamam. Smith had the third-highest votes, and is your notional captain.In the one-day side, Inzamam won the captaincy by a massive margin, and found a place in the side as well. Shahid Afridi suffered: he won more votes than Shoaib Akhtar but he missed the final cut because the only available slot by the time his name was reached was of a specialist bowler. He could still, if Inzamam so desires, be a super sub.

So here they are, the Super Series sides that you have picked. Do you think the ICC can match this?Rest of the World Test team

Rest of the World ODI team

Sachin Tendulkar has told a reporter that what is said in the dressing-room should not be made public.Speaking to India’s Outlook magazine in the aftermath of reports last week that Greg Chappell had asked Sourav Ganguly to step down as India’s captain, Tendulkar expressed the view that such conversations should remain private.”It’s difficult for me to speak on the issue. But such talks should not come out of the dressing-room and if it comes out then it’s not right. Dressing-room discussions should remain within the dressing-room only,” he told the magazine. “[The Indian board] should speak to the players after they come back. We would get the real story once they talk to the officials [after returning home].”Tendulkar, who is recovering from surgery on his elbow, has to inform the Indian board on Wednesday if he is fit to play in next month’s ICC Super Series.

England’s tour of Pakistan is still on despite Saturday’s earthquake which left tens of thousands dead.The England board (ECB) has been liaising with its Pakistan counterparts (PCB) as well as the two governments over the weekend. “We send our condolences to the Pakistani people who have been affected by the earthquake,” Colin Gibson, the ECB’s communications director, told the BBC. “At this stage there is no indication the tour is in any doubt or the tour schedule affected in any way.””At this stage the tour is on,” Pakistan daily Dawn quoted Asad Mustafa, the PCB’s logistics manager as saying. “We are hopeful that, God willing, everything on the tour front will be sorted out by the time England land in Rawalpindi.”A PCB official also revealed that both boards were considering the idea of fund-raising matches to help victims of the disaster. Abbas Zaidi, PCB Director, told AFP, “The tour will not be hit by the quake, instead the ECB has conveyed us to find ways to raise funds through cricket matches. Both boards are discussing ways and means to help the victims in this need of hour.”The cricket world is sad over the loss of so many lives in Pakistan and the ECB has shown its concerns and we are planning to dedicate a one-day match in Lahore to raise funds for the victims.Saturday’s earthquake is now thought to have killed up to 40,000 people, flattening whole towns in northern Pakistan.Zaidi added, “All the cricket playing countries are also worried and there was a minute’s silence at the ICC (International Cricket Council) meeting in Sydney, Australia on Monday and ICC is actively planning to raise funds.”Zaidi said the Shaharyar Khan, PCB chairman, will meet his England counterpart David Morgan in Sydney and will discuss the matter further. The PCB official said there are also plans to hold an international fund raising match for the quake victims.”Cricket is followed by everyone in Pakistan and it will get their minds off this tragedy,” Rameez Raja, a former chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board told the BBC. “Cricket can be a healer.”England are due to arrive in Pakistan on 26 October and their first match takes place at Rawalpindi on October 31, an area within the earthquake zone. The final two ODIs, on December 19 and 21, are also scheduled to take place there.

Lloyd Mash, the opener who made his first-class debut against West Indies on Friday, has replaced Brad Hodge and will play his first Pura Cup match against Queensland starting on Friday. Mash collected 44 against West Indies, hit four sixes in an over during a hastily-arranged Twenty20 match with the tourists, and is the only change to the side that sits on top of the table with New South Wales.Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, expected the Bulls to provide a stern test for his side after their perfect start to the domestic interstate summer. “We have had two very good away wins in Perth and Hobart and we’re confident that if we can execute our game plan we can come away from Brisbane with another good result,” he said.The fast man Shane Harwood missed the tour match with a back injury but returns to the squad and the bowling attack will be chosen from Mick Lewis, Gerard Denton and Allan Wise. Hodge is tipped to make his Test debut against West Indies in Hobart on Thursday.New South Wales will consider a Pura Cup debut for Stephen O’Keefe after he was named in the 12-man squad to play Tasmania at the SCG beginning on Friday. O’Keefe, a 20-year-old allrounder, has taken 12 wickets at 17.25 with his left-arm orthodox spin in Sydney grade games this season.Brad Haddin, who is recovering from a finger injury, faces a fitness test later this week but has also been picked in the initial squad. Simon Katich will lead the team after he was dropped from the Test side last week.Victoria squad Jason Arnberger, Michael Klinger, Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Jon Moss, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Mick Lewis, Gerard Denton, Allan Wise.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Greg Mail, Simon Katich (capt), Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, Brad Haddin (wk), Grant Lambert, Stephen O’Keefe, Matthew Nicholson, Stuart Clark, Doug Bollinger.

In Bloemfontein, the Eagles stumbled as the Warriors completed acomfortable eight-wicket win. A career-best and unbeaten 119 from Justin Kreusch, from 127 balls, set up the Warriors’ run-chase, with Tyron Henderson making 62 not out from just 31 balls. The Eagles’ innings started off well with the top-order of LootsBosman (49), Cliff Deacon (57) and Davy Jacobs (52) setting a solidplatform, to end with the respectable total of 260 for 8. Lyall Meyer tookthree of the Eagles wickets. Carl Bradfield (44) and Kreusch got theWarriors off to the right start with a partnership of 130 but it was thepower hitting – four boundaries and four sixes – from Henderson thatclinched the win for the Warriors.The Titans moved within two points of the leaders, the Eagles, with a satisfying seven-wicket win over the Lions. Set a meagre target of 223, the Titans eased to the win in 37.4 overs with Goolam Bodi falling two runs short of what ought to have been a deserved 100. The 141-run partnership with Martin van Jaarsveld (65) sealed the win over their nearest rivals and neighbours. The Lions innings was saved from disaster with a very good 74 from Andrew Hall but, with wickets falling at crucial stages, they could onlymanage 222 for 7.

The trial of Sharad Ghai, the former chairman of the Kenyan Cricket Association, is due to finally get underway in Nairobi on January 25.Ghai, who was ousted in May, is accused of stealing $3.3 million from the KCA during the LG one-day series played in Kenya in 1999. He denies the charges.

Points table
Australia swept to a convincing nine-wicket win over the hosts Sri Lanka, thanks to a classy allround performance from Moises Henriques. England’s bowlers, meanwhile, performed excellently to restrict Bangladesh to just 155. India’s openers blitzed their way to 284 for 9, crushing West Indies’ hopes of a semi-final place while Pakistan clinically dispatched Zimbabwe out of the tournament with a straightforward win.
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