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Division One

Points TableDavid Hussey struck 157, his third for Nottinghamshire this season, as his side reached 336 on the first day of their match against Gloucestershire at Nottingham. Choosing to field first, Gloucestershire picked up three quick wickets: Jason Gallian, run out for nought, Darren Bicknell and Younis Khan. Tottering on 43 for 3, Hussey was joined by Russell Warren (60) and the pair put on 136 for the fourth wicket to stabalise the innings. Warren fell to Jon Lewis, who then bowled Chris Read first ball as Gloucestershire struck back. Graeme Swann swung freely at the end, striking five fours and a six in his brief knock of 38, but the home side were bowled out in the 82nd over. Lewis ended the day with 4 for 80 from 19 overs.

ScorecardAs Surrey found out during their catastrophic defeat against Northamptonshire on Sunday, not even a Mark Ramprakash century is any guarantee of success in these uncertain times. But it remains one of their few elements of consistency. By the close of an extraordinary day, in which London was engulfed by electric storms and monsoonal downpours and yet The Oval remained bone-dry throughout, Ramprakash had moved serenely to 96 not out, four short of his fourth century of the season.Throughout his Test career, Ramprakash never quite perfected that elusive art of batting in a bubble, in which he could stick to his natural game and remain utterly oblivious to the chaos reigning all around him. But his experiences as an England player in the 1990s appear to have prepared him well for life as a Surrey player in the 2000s. As the autumn of his career approaches, and as Surrey’s situation becomes more desperate by the day, he no longer feels the need to rage against the dying of the light – these days he’ll take it if offered, but otherwise he’ll be quite happy to bat on regardless.Ramprakash’s effort was the cornerstone of a decent first-day total of 299 for 4, to which Scott Newman and the debutant Richard Clinton both made important contributions. But on a hugely lop-sided pitch, where even a miscued six is liable to dent a few bonnets on the Harleyford Road, Worcestershire did well to keep the run rate down to a manageable four runs an over. Two seasons ago, Alistair Brown plundered a similarly short boundary to score a double-century against Glamorgan in the C&G Trophy, and when he resumes on 17 not out in the morning, Worcestershire should be wary of offering up any long-hops from the Vauxhall End.One coming and three goings were the talking point of the morning session, as Surrey won the toss and chose to bat first. On the bowling front, Alex Tudor was fit and ready to resume his first-class career after a lengthy injury layoff, but that was tempered by the news that Brett Lee had been called up by Australia, and would not be available to help rescue Surrey’s season. Meanwhile, the batting was weakened by two notable absentees. Mark Butcher’s dodgy thigh ruled him out of contention, and possibly out of the reckoning for the third Test as well, while Adam Hollioake, of all people, found himself dropped as punishment for his thoughtless dismissal in that Northants debacle.Butcher’s misfortune opened the door for Clinton, the son of Grahame, whose circuitous route to The Oval has taken him via Essex and Loughborough University, as well as 2nd XI cricket for no fewer than six different counties. But it was Newman who made the early running, cracking three consecutive fours off Kabir Ali before edging Nadeem Malik low to Andrew Hall at first slip for 46, as Surrey rattled along to an opening stand of 90 – their highest since mid-May, which is in itself an indictment of their season.The Oval is currently midway through its much-needed facelift, and the builders at midwicket were grateful for their hard hats when Clinton clipped Malik for six early in his spell. He then followed up with a gorgeous straight-driven four, but for a while thereafter, miner’s helmets might have been more appropriate, as Clinton became entrenched on 48 for 31 consecutive deliveries.He eventually reached his fifty with an ugly miscue for four off Gareth Batty, but it was a cathartic moment, and suitably relieved, he cracked five more fours in quick succession. Batty, who has been mentioned in dispatches ahead of the spin-friendly Old Trafford Test, suffered an inauspicious start to his spell, as Ramprakash dumped his fourth ball into the building site for six, but he kept his discipline and was rewarded with a hand in the next wicket to fall, as Ramprakash sold Clinton a dummy, and Vikram Solanki’s accurate return from backward point beat a despairing dive by two feet.By now Ramprakash was flicking wristily through any available gap and dismissing the short ball with sledgehammer cuts, but once again, Surrey’s middle order fell short of solidity. Rikki Clarke’s bright and breezy 36 had included seven fours when when he lost concentration and whipped Andrew Hall to midwicket, where Batty swooped to his right to cling on to a firm two-handed chance, and the game’s other Batty, Jon, didn’t last long either. He had made only 8 when he drove loosely off the back foot at Kabir, and Graeme Hick plucked a sharp edge at second slip.The spectacular forks of lightning that lit up the sky over Vauxhall and Westminster drove the players from the field for 30 minutes in mid-afternoon, and later returned to force an early finish. But none of it could faze Ramprakash, who currently seems to be the one man who can save Surrey’s season.

All Today’s Yesterdays – May 20 down the years 1944
The Gnome is born. The popular Keith Fletcher was a fine batsman and captain of Essex, and though his Test career was a success, he sometimes struggled to impose himself at the top level. He averaged only 19 after 17 Tests, but then came a steady stream of matchsaving, and occasionally matchwinning, centuries, including 146 at Melbourne as the fraught 1974-75 Ashes tour ended on a high note. The Centenary Test two years later seemed to be Fletcher’s last, but he returned to captain England in India in 1981-82. England lost the first Test and players and spectators were bored to tears as the remaining five snoozed to draws. Fletcher was captain in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test straight after, but was then dumped, this time for good. India wasn’t a happy place for Fletcher: he began his career as England coach there in 1992-93, and after dismissing the threat of Anil Kumble – "I didn’t see him turn a single ball from leg to off. I don’t believe we will have much problem with him" – saw England spinwashed, the beginning of a difficult two-year reign.1943
In Trinidad, one of West Indies’ finest wicketkeepers is born. Deryck Murray was a soothing presence behind the stumps in 62 Tests between 1963 – when he made his debut at Old Trafford aged 20, and snared 24 scalps in the series – and 1980. When he was left out of the Trinidad Test the following winter, locals boycotted the match and the pitch was vandalised. As well as being undemonstrative, efficient, and totally reliable with the gloves on, the boyish Murray turned himself into a useful batsman. Though he never managed a Test hundred, he made 11 fifties, four of them in Australia in 1975-76 when more illustrious batsmen were being blown away by Lillee and Thomson. He later became a significant administrative figure.1965
A shock for the members at Middlesbrough, as Yorkshire were skittled for their lowest-ever total, a pathetic 23, by Hampshire. The side included some big names: Boycott, Hampshire, Close, Sharpe, Illingworth and Trueman, but after a sound start Yorkshire tumbled from 7 for 0 to 13 for 8. Yorkshire had also been 47 for 7 in their first innings, and only a rumbustious 55 from Trueman got them anywhere near eventual first-innings parity. Hampshire needed just 20 to win; they scraped home in eight overs with 10 wickets to spare.1911
A remarkable day at Hove, where Ted Alletson and William Riley added 152 for Nottinghamshire’s tenth wicket against Sussex. That only tells half the story, though, because when the carnage ended Riley was left on 10 not out. Alleston smeared 189 – his only first-class hundred – in 90 minutes of mayhem.1956
Birth of the Australian opener Andrew Hilditch, a qualified solicitor but one who lacked the IQ to cut out the hook, a stroke that consistently brought about his downfall. Both his Test centuries came in the space of three innings, against West Indies and England in a purple patch in 1984-85, but his penchant for the fatal hook shot soon became a standing joke on that England tour of 1985. He played only one Test after that – and he was out twice hooking Richard Hadlee. Hilditch had no reasonable defence, and was dumped for good as Australia turned to Geoff Marsh and David Boon. It was strangely out of character: Hilditch was generally a composed batsman, and a responsible character – he was made captain of New South Wales after only two first-class games. He was also Test cricket’s second handled-the-ball victim: at Perth in 1978-79, Hilditch was the non-striker when he returned a loose throw to the bowler, Sarfraz Nawaz. Sarfraz appealed and Hilditch was given out.2000
Nineteen-year-old Ramnaresh Sarwan’s classy 84 not out, made in his first Test innings against Pakistan at Bridgetown, led Ted Dexter to predict that he would end up with a Test average of 50.Other birthdays
1947 Gopal Bose (India)
1963 Dipak Chudasama (Kenya)
1974 Sajjad Ahmed (Bangladesh)
1982 Imran Farhat (Pakistan)

If it were a boxing contest it would be correct to say that The LodgeSchool dominated the early rounds.It would, however, be just as accurate to say that a few soft jabsdealt them their most telling blows.Lodge ended the opening day of the Cable and Wireless Under-15 againstQueen’s College on 207 for six. But the St John school will quicklywant to forget the manner in which some of their batsmen gifted theirwickets against their St James opponents in the East-West duel at theCable & Wireless BET Sports Complex.Slow full-tosses, supposedly the easiest ball to despatch in the gameof cricket, claimed the wickets of four Lodge boys, including NicholasSquires, their captain, leading batsman and Barbados Under-15representative, along with semifinal hero Andre Gill.Lodge, in spite of the succession of soft dismissals, can feelcontented with their effort after they were sent in on a slowishsurface that gained criticism from some spectators.I am very satisfied, seeing the nature of the pitch. It wasn’t toogood for strokeplay, but the guys applied themselves well, Lodge coachClifton Phillips said.Everybody is really focused and chipping in here and there. I amhappy. The left-handed Squires started the pattern that was mirroredby some of his teammates immediately after the first drinks break whenhe helped leg-spinner Selwyn Atherley’s fourth ball down the throat ofdeep mid-wicket.The pint-sized Atherley won the hearts of many because he was neverafraid to flight the ball and collected a further two wickets, albeitagain with the help of full-tosses.This is something I cannot explain, especially some of the keybatsmen, Phillips said. These things happen in the game, but I thoughtthat the other guys rallied.Gill, who made a face-saving century in the semifinal when Lodge werereeling on 28 for eight against Alexandra, announced his entry bypulling National Sports Council Under-13 medium-pacer ChristopherJordan for six over square-leg and onto the ABC Highway.But when Atherley served him up with a full-pitch in the first ball ofa new spell, he could do no better than hit it back to the bowler.Atherley also removed big Mark Trotman with another full-toss that wasstruck to mid-wicket. Trotman made 39, the same score Pierre Atwellwill resume on this morning.The one key batsman who did not succumb to an air-ball was the giftedShamarh Brooks. He looked a class act in making 23 before off-spinnerNiaz Dokrat deceived him and induced him into providing a returncatch.Following the wicket of Trotman, Nicholas Hughes gave a return catchfrom yet another full-toss to bring Queen’s College back on even keelat 158 for six.They could have applied more pressure had Atherley not missed a returncatch when Atwell was 11. As it turned out, Atwell and opener RioBrathwaite stayed around to feature in an unbroken seventh-wicketpartnership of 49, the highest of the innings.Brathwaite, unbeaten on 26, batted through the first session before about of cramp forced him to retire hurt just after lunch when he was19.The chance Atwell gave was one of three Queen’s College put down.We were set back by a couple of missed chances early in the game. Thatmade the difference, said Queen’s College games master Mike Gaskin.However, I believe the team played well. The bowlers stuck to thetask. They are not accustomed to playing in the field for a whole day.Tomorrow we need to come into the game more positive than we were atthe end of this day.Once we get them out, it is just a matter of first innings lead. Idon’t think that it is going to be a win situation. If they bat forone and a half days, I don’t see why we can’t bat for the remainder ofthe game.

It looks like the days of rumblings and grumbling are over. At least for the time being.The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) appear to be on the same page when it comes to contracts for players. In a brief conversation yesterday, Dinanath Ramnarine, president of the WIPA, told SunSport his organisation was satisfied with the pace of negotiations with the WICB as they look towards new retainer contracts. The last contracts expired at the end of last month.”We are working on new retainers and I can report that at the moment there are no major issues,” Ramnarine said. “We are satisfied with the way things are going and we remain optimistic.” Efforts to get a reaction from Barry Thomas, the WICB’s acting chief executive, were unsuccessful.In recent years, the players and their employer have been embroiled in a number of embarrassing public stand-offs which led on some occasions to the players withdrawing their services.However, since assuming the post of WICB president, Julian Hunte has struck a conciliatory note with WIPA. He appointed Ramnarine as a non-executive member of the board, so that WIPA, according to him, “can now be part of the solution instead of continuing to be perceived as part of the problem”. Hunte has also gone beyond Ramnarine’s formal appointment to bonding with the players themselves.The West Indies have a long list of assignments in the coming months. Next month they are expected in Zimbabwe for a series of one-day matches. They will play three Tests and three ODIs in South Africa between December and February. The Tests will be at Port Elizabeth (December 26 to 30), Cape Town (January 2 to 6) and Durban (January 10 to 14).The West Indies will host Australia and Sri Lanka between March and June, but the various boards have not outlined the itineraries as yet.

After a few months of relative calm, infighting inside Zimbabwe Cricket appears to have broken out again with news that Crispen Tsvarai has quit the interim executive and also stepped down as chairman of Bulawayo Metropolotan Cricket Association.Tsvarai’s decision is reported to have come after what sources inside ZC described as “a serious fallout” with Peter Chingoka, the board’s chairman, and Ozias Bvute, the managing director, at a meeting last week.It was also reported that Bruce Makovah, the chief selector, has stepped down from his post although the reasons are not clear. He is not believed to have travelled with the side to India for the Champions Trophy, leaving Kevin Curran, the coach, in sole charge of picking the team.

This past year has been quite a voyage of self-discovery for England’s one-day cricketers. It all began last November amid the vapid indifference of the Bangladesh tour; progressed to Sri Lanka and the ignominy of that 88-all-out debacle at Dambulla and a double washout in Colombo, and blundered blindly on through a rain-ruined Caribbean venture and a miserable NatWest Series campaign. And yet, by some miracle, the team has landed up in the final of the Champions Trophy, and are now favourites to secure their first global title, at the fourth time of asking.If it’s all a bit much to take in, then at least England can take comfort from the fact that their opposition will be feeling equally disorientated. West Indies have spent much of the past year being kicked from pillar to post and back again – by England’s cricketers on the field, but perhaps more damagingly by a legion of former Caribbean legends in the press-box, none of whom has required a second invitation to voice their scathing opinions. And yet, in the last gasp of an exhausting season, Brian Lara and his beleaguered team have earned themselves a chance at redemption. It’s enough to bring a tear to the eye.Two improbable contestants then, but one tasty final in prospect – and an unexpectedly fitting conclusion to a season in which England and West Indies have crossed swords so often, it is a wonder there is any steel left on either team’s blades. But there is no risk of this being written off as just another encounter, for it has been an eternity since either team made it to a final of this magnitude. England lost out to Imran Khan’s cornered tigers, Pakistan, at Melbourne in the 1992 World Cup, and though West Indies reached the final of the inaugural ICC Knockout in 1998-99 (in the days before it was as widely recognised as a mini-World Cup) they have not been seen on the big stage since 1983, when India’s bits-and-pieces heroes shocked them at Lord’s.Tomorrow, at least, the pain of defeat for the vanquished should be offset by the sense of achievement in simply reaching the final, not least for England, whose vanquishing of the Aussies at Edgbaston seems likely to enter the annals as one of those rare beasts – an “I was there” one-day match. But though they are undoubtedly the form team of this tournament, England cannot afford to be complacent about tomorrow’s challenge: this year’s Test tally may be 7-0 in their favour, but in one-day cricket, West Indies have won four matches to three, and it was they who secured the bragging rights by reaching the final of the NatWest Series in July, where they lost out to New Zealand in a one-sided final at Lord’s.England’s failure in that competition still sticks in Duncan Fletcher’s throat, and yesterday, he insisted that the only way his team would receive the recognition they deserve this year would be through victory, and victory alone. “Going through to this final is important for us,” he said. “When we beat West Indies and New Zealand in the Test series they were regarded as being rubbish and on the way out, but now people must appreciate that England have been improving and suddenly got our act together in the one-day game.”There can be little doubt about that now, after a 2-1 victory over India in the NatWest Challenge that was more emphatic than the scoreline suggests, and two handsome wins against Australia and Sri Lanka. The cornerstones of England’s success have been fairly easy to spot – Andrew Flintoff, the world one-day player of the year, towers above all comers, while Steve Harmison continues to translate his aggressive line in Tests into a frugal bat-jarring length for the limited-overs game.

But there have been other factors as well. Paul Collingwood, who epitomises the team ethic that permeates the squad, has not allowed himself to get frustrated by a lack of opportunity in Test cricket, and instead has passed the time by turning himself into the best infielder in the world. Andrew Strauss and Ashley Giles have carried their confidence across from the Test arena, and though Michael Vaughan’s overall form has been a cause for concern, his iron-willed 86 against Australia was the clearest proof yet that he is a captain and a player who will bow to no-one.But talking of captains, there is one player who will relish tomorrow’s opportunity perhaps more than any other man on the field. It has been Lara’s misfortune to preside over an era of perpetual decline in West Indian cricket, and the rewards for his efforts have been few and far between. Tomorrow, however, he has the opportunity to deliver to the Caribbean their first piece of silverware since Clive Lloyd lifted the World Cup in 1979, and it is unlikely that he will be stepping back to let his young guns hog the limelight.Lara’s participation was in doubt after the semi-final against Pakistan, when he was struck a fearful blow on the back of the neck as he swayed into a 92mph bouncer from Shoaib Akhtar. Though he was soon passed fit, the warning signs are there that, at 35, his reflexes may not be what they once were. Harmison and Flintoff will have taken careful note, and it is unlikely that his innings will pass without one or two testers from the bowler’s half of the pitch.All year, Lara has insisted long and loud that West Indies is a team, not a group of individuals, and finally that argument is beginning to be taken seriously. With stars such as Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the depth and variety of the batting is the envy of many, more highly-rated sides, and though the bowling lacks the explosive menace of yesteryear, there is a solidity to the endeavours of Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore that ensures that few sides can ever take them apart.The main man, however, is also one of the youngest on show in this tournament. Dwayne Bravo is one of those players with the ability to make things happen, as demonstrated by his pinpoint throw to run out Yasir Hameed in the semi-final victory over Pakistan. He made his mark during the Tests with runs and wickets in a losing cause, but he is a winner at heart and tomorrow at The Oval might just be his stage to prove it. That’s if a certain other allrounder doesn’t get there first, of course.England (probable) 1 Vikram Solanki, 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Andrew Strauss, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Alex Wharf, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve Harmison.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Ryan Hinds, 9 Courtney Browne (wk), 10 Ian Bradshaw, 11 Corey Collymore.

John DysonOn Sri Lanka’s day
I thought we had a fantastic partnership this morning between Mahela [Jayawardene] and Vaasy [Chaminda Vaas]. I’m very happy with how the day has gone. We are not too badly placed. We were expecting to get between the 350 to 400 mark.On Jayawardene’s innings
It was a magnificent innings. I can’t think of a single chance that he gave – he just batted beautifully. He was aggressive in his approach and he ran really well between the wickets.On the pitch
It is very difficult to read the pitch. You have a look at it on Day One and form an opinion about how it is going to play, but it can play completely differently. So far, I think the pitch has played very well. It seems similar to the one for the Australia series. One very important factor down here is that it is very difficult to predict the weather. If it comes out hot and sunny, then the character of the wicket can change. But if you get a lot of rain in the night and it is cloudy in the morning, then somehow it seems to play better.On the prospects for the third day
We will go into tomorrow morning with the plan to catch a few wickets and put them under some pressure. You are only ever one ball away from a wicket, and it is just a matter of forcing enough pressure for a mistake. It is not surprising that they got off to a start like that, because the pitch played well and they have some good players.Mark BoucherOn South Africa’s morning
Obviously it is not nice to lose your captain, the man that makes all the decisions. It was always going to be tougher this morning in these conditions and because our guys haven’t played much cricket in the last two months, so there were maybe a couple of stiff bodies. Having said that, I didn’t think we bowled too badly, they just came out and played a little bit more aggressively today. We thought that if we could knock them over for under 350 we would be in with a good chance to dominate the Test match, but things don’t always go to plan in Test cricket.On South Africa’s chances
I thought the guys [the openers] fought back really well. We are not out of the game and we can bat well and try to score 550 to 600, which we have done before. We can’t worry about what is in the past – we can’t control that any more. We have now got a good foundation.On playing spin
We said at the beginning of the series that if you go out there and wait for a ball to spit, you are fighting a losing battle. You have got to go out there with a game plan, and if the ball is in the area to hit you have to hit it. They did really well out there and had a nice balance between attack and defence. The last time we came here we did not play spin too well and we have looked a lot into playing spin in the subcontinent. It is still early on and the ball is going to start turning and bouncing a bit more.On tomorrow
We are not going to worry too much about the outcome of the game at this stage, we are just going to take it session by session.

New Milton realise a ten-year dream this season with a move to their new ground at Fernhill to the north of the town.The development is the first phase of an ambitious long term strategy to co-locate a number of sports onto the attractive parkland setting.The ground is in a quiet, secluded area, providing two cricket pitches and a modern, well equipped clubhouse. The main ground has been prepared to a high specification, and the Club is now able to offer facilities for representative and festival matches, as well as league cricket.Net practice facilities have been laid on, with New Milton-based Academy all-rounder David Wheeler passing on a few tips to local youngsters.Captain Steve Watts, paying tribute to the New Milton Town Council, said: "I cannot believe that there is another Council which provides so well for its sports community."In addition to the new cricket ground they have built a superb football stadium, supported the Bowls Club, and redeveloped our former ground at Ashley as a centre for rugby."They consulted us at every stage of the development. In return we have been able to make a major contribution towards the Clubhouse and the ancillary cricket facilities through grants and fundraising."The ground was formally opened by Ian Wooldridge, the highly acclaimed Daily Mail sports writer, on July 24, 2002.

Defeats for Cove and Lymington have established Portsmouth as firm favourites to win the Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 championship.Overnight leaders Cove were shot out for 72 and beaten by five wickets by Trojans at Stoneham Lane, while Lymington plunged to 81 all out and a promotion-ending fourth successive defeat against Old Tauntonians & Romsey.The results swept Portsmouth – easy ten-wicket winners over Sparsholt – into a commanding top place with three matches to go.Jamie Donaldson (3-27) and Pat Douglas (4-7 in 11 overs) routed Cove for a dismal 72 on a typical Stoneham wet top.But the Thames Valley League bound visitors took five wickets before Nigel le Bas (24) guided Trojans to the brink of victory.Left-hander Neil Stotart (59) and Charles Forward (42) provided the platform from which Max Smith’s undefeated 71 swept Old Tauntonians & Romsey to a powerful 246-8 (Glyn Treagus 3-37).Lymington, rocked by an initial burst by Mukesh Morjaria (4-31), sank to 81 all out, with clean shaven Geoff Stotart taking 4-22.New leaders Portsmouth made short work of Sparsholt, who were shot out for 108 (Bill Gunyon 33).Hampshire’s Lawrie Prittipaul took 3-19 before cracking a quick-fire 79 not out.Steve Green produced a stunning all-round performance, hitting 77 before returning figures of 6-30 in Easton & Martyr Worthy’s 58-run win over Hambledon.Easton rattled up 226-5 (Ian Butcher 41, Andy Birch 31) before Green’s left-arm spin reduced Hambledon from 53-0 to 168 all out (Mark le Clerq 38).Relegated Old Basing were skittled for 61 and beaten by nine wickets by United Services.