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South Africa A 161 for 2 (A Peteren 87*, van Wyk 60) beat Zimbabwe A 160 (Mazakadza 46, Thomas 3-26) by eight wickets
ScorecardIt might only have been a A-team match, but the manner of today’s eight-wicket win by South Africa over Zimbabwe at Bulawayo would have further deepened the gloom inside the already worried Zimbabwe camp weeks before the World Cup.South Africa’s batting stars of the first match – Alviro Petersen and Morne van Wyk – again shone, both notching up easy half centuries as Zimbabwe A failed to impress with bat or ball. The pair put on 139 for the second wicket as South Africa chased down a target of 161 with 12 overs to spare.Both sides made two changes. Zimbabwe brought in allrounder Keith Dabengwa and opener Vusi Sibanda in for Chamu Chibhabha and fast bowler Anthony Ireland, South Africa offspinner Thandi Tshabalala and Vernon Philander for Charl Langerveldt and Johan Van der Wath.After winning the toss, Zimbabwe’s batting again looked frail from the second over when Stuart Matsikenyeri was trapped leg-before by Albie Morkel for 4. Sibanda followed when he was clean bowled by van der Wath for 2 and the slide continued when left hander Friday Kasteni, who looked destined for a big score, had his leg stump uprooted by Morkel.Sean Williams and Hamilton Masakadza put on 63 for the fourth wicket, but the stand ended when Williams miscued a pull shot off Langerveldt to the towering Justin Kemp at midwicket who clung on to a difficult catch. Masakadza and Brendan Taylor briefly looked damgerous before Alfonso Thomas nailed Taylor leg-before for 13 and then dismissed Masakadza in a similar way.Elton Chigumbura, who scored an aggressive unbeaten 61 in the first match, could not reproduce that same form and only managed 15 before he became Thomas’ third victim, caught at long-on by van der Wath as he tried to clear the boundary. Roger Telemachus had earlier on dropped him in the same place off the same bowler.Needing just 3.22 an over, South Africa did not get off to a great start when Bosman fell to Trevor Garwe, brilliantly snared at midwicket by Utseya after he had been dropped off the same bowler by Keith Dabengwa when yet to open his account. From there, South Africa A took firm control of proceedings with van Wyk and Alviro Petersen scoring freely.A huge mix up saw van Wyk run-out attempting a single – his partner sent him back but Sibanda threw in the ball from point in the ball for Taylor to complete the dismissal.But the result was by then a certainty, and Zimbabwe will do well to avoid a whitewash in the final match tomorrow.

145 – The unfinished fourth-wicket stand between Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh. It’s the highest for that wicket for India versus Sri Lanka, beating the 128 that Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir added at Ahmedabad in November 2005.51.80 – The average partnership between Ganguly and Yuvraj. In 19 innings they have put together two century and four half-century stands49.24 – Yuvraj’s average in ODIs won by India. In matches lost, he only averages 22.09.45 – The number of consecutive ODI matches in which Ganguly hadn’t taken a wicket, before the Visakhapatnam match. The last time Ganguly managed a wicket, he took three – against Australia in the VB Series at Sydney in 2003-04, he grabbed 3 for 41.114 – The number of runs Chamara Silva had scored in his nine previous ODI innings before his unbeaten 107 against India.17 – The number of consecutive ODI innings in which Mahela Jayawardene hasn’t managed a half-century. It’s his longest such slump – his previous longest was 15 innings in 2002-03, which, incidentally, included 21 runs from seven innings during the 2003 World Cup. In the 17 innings during the current drought, Jayawardene has managed 314 at an average of 22.43.19 – The number of times a Sri Lankan batsman has scored a century in a losing cause. India hold the record with 39 such instances, while England come in next with 27.

Zimbabwe’s national one-day competition, the Faithwear Cup, will begin on March 22 and will run until March 28. All matches will be staged at Harare Sports Club and the Academy ground.It will be the first major event featuring the revamped sides. The same format that was used for the B competition will be used with Westerns (formerly Matabeleland), Northerns(formerly Mashonlanad), Centrals (formerly Midlands), Easterns (formerly Manicaland) and Southerns (formerly Masvingo) taking part.The national players, who are almost certain to return from the Caribbean after the first round, will play in the Twenty20 event set for Mutare Sports Club from March 30 to April 1.Last year’s Faithwear Cup was marred by dire standards among the sides, with onlookers reporting that many players were of no more than poor club quality. Zimbabwe Cricket has been keen to claim that this year’s tournament will be of a much higher quality.

Aaron Redmond and Neil Broom led Otago’s strong reply to Northern Districts‘ score of 523 with unbeaten half centuries on the second day at Hamilton’s Seddon Park. Both rescued Otago from an embarrassing position at 14 for 3 – with seamer Graeme Aldridge picking all three – to lift the side to 209 without any further loss of wickets. Redmond needs five more to complete a century while Broom was undefeated on 86 at stumps. Earlier, Hamish Marshall scored 119 to propel Northern Districts to a challenging total. Nick Horsley and Simon Andrews chipped in with half-centuries before James Marshall declared.Half centuries by the middle order helped Canterbury pile on a massive 613 for 7 against Wellington on the second day at Christchurch. Michael Papps overnight on 160, fell 12 short of a double hundred but the middle order combination of Ben Rae, Kruger van Wyk and Iain Robertson then frustrated the bowlers. Robertson and Brandon Hiini boosted the total past 600, allowing Chris Harris to declare. Wellington got off to a steady start with the openers adding 55 at stumps.Chris Martin and Andre Adams shared nine wickets between them to give Auckland a 90-run first-innings lead against Central Districts at the Eden Park Outer Oval. Martin claimed his second consecutive five-wicket haul while Adams took four wickets to restrict Central Districts to 224. The visitors were in trouble at 132 for 8 before Gregory Hegglun and Robbie Schaw added 82 to lift the side. Hagglin was unbeaten on 52, with seven fours and a six, when Adams wrapped up the innings. Auckland extended their lead to 167 as they ended the day at 77 for 1. Richard Jones, after his century in the first innings, looked in ominous touch yet again with an unbeaten 57.

Daniel Vettori is one shy of becoming the third New Zealand bowler to 200 one-day wickets. Vettori’s 4 for 23 against Ireland in Guyana last week took his career tally to 199, and he is fifth place in the World Cup with 12 wickets at 20.91 as New Zealand take on Sri Lanka today.”Teams seem to go either one way or the other,” Vettori said in . “They want to either block me or smash me, and that ends up a bit of a balancing act. I’m wondering if the three major sides might try and preserve wickets against me this time, but we’ll have to wait and see.”Chris Harris (203) and Chris Cairns (200) are the two New Zealanders ahead of Vettori in the bowling stakes.Vettori, 28, believed opponents may not prosper with the approach they’ve taken against him in recent times – defend, see him off – as most of New Zealand’s bowlers were in form. “They have tried to see me off in the past but I’m not sure they’ll be able to do that at this tournament with the way Bondy [Shane Bond], Jake [Oram] and Scotty [Styris] are bowling.”You can’t just fend off 20 overs and hope to get your runs from the other 30. If we keep on bowling in combinations like we have been, I don’t think they’ll be able to do that. I think there might be more opportunities on this occasion.”The pitch at the Providence Stadium in Guyana helped England’s seam bowlers against Bangladesh, but when it came their turn to bat, they struggled against Bangladesh’s trio of left-arm spinners. “It’s probably better for me when it’s a bit damp and seaming,” he said. “Shane Warne always used to say that if it seams, it’ll turn and I think there’s a lot of truth in that. It’ll turn damp. But later in the afternoon it’ll dry out and be at its best.”Vettori was excited at the prospect of New Zealand’s semi-final chances – they need a solitary victory from their three remaining matches against Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia. “There’s a good feel within the camp but the big test will be the semifinals; that’s when it’s any team on the day,” he said. “You can turn up and tip out anyone in sudden death. We just want to make sure we’re there, that we have our day.”

Ireland have signed Jesse Ryder, a 22-year-old New Zealand allrounder, as their second overseas player. Ryder, who plays for Wellington, has been with New Brighton in the Liverpool League.He has a solid first-class record with 2344 runs at 44.88, which has been enough to earn him a New Zealand A place, and bowls brisk medium pace. He is seen as an ideal replacement for Andre Botha, who picked up a finger injury against Somerset on Sunday.”Jesse is a quality player, and one that I’ve heard glowing reports about,” said coach Phil Simmons. “He is a fine striker of the ball, and will bat at number three in our line up. He’s an exciting talent, who just missed out on selection for the New Zealand World Cup squad.”Ryder joins South African paceman Nantie Hayward in the Ireland side for the Friends Provident Trophy. Roger Whelan, a right-handed batsman and seam bowler, replaces John Mooney, who is unavailable due to work commitments.Ireland squad for Gloucestershire and Essex Trent Johnston (capt), Jeremy Bray, Kenny Carroll, Peter Gillespie, Nantie Hayward, David Langford-Smith, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’ Brien, William Porterfield, Jesse Ryder, Andrew White, Roger Whelan, Gary Wilson

As preparations for a World Cup go, this is one of the more unusual ones – entering an Under-16 boys’ league. But that’s what Bermuda women have done, as they aim to succeed in the qualifying tournament in Pakistan this November.The Bermuda board has entered the side into a men’s evening league alongside the national under-16 boys’ league ahead of the qualifiers for the 2009 World Cup in Australia. There are two spots up for grabs among eight teams, including South Africa and Pakistan.The move comes following a recommendation from Ann Browne-John, the former West Indies women coach, who suggested that the women needed to compete regularly.The Bermuda coach, Allan Douglas, told The Bermuda Sun: “This is just what we have been looking for. Cricket for women is very new to Bermuda and so this will give us the opportunity to show the public that we are serious and play serious cricket.” Douglas co-ordinates two practice sessions a week, as well as one gym visit.One of the rising stars of Bermuda is 15-year-old Reuna Richardson. A spirited allrounder, she had this warning for the boys: “They’d better watch out because I think we can show them up. I think they will be surprised.”But she knows that qualification in Pakistan will not come easily. “I think about it a lot. I’m a bit nervous. I think it’s going to be hard. We are going to have to do a lot of work between now and then to get better.”

Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh – ignored for the tour of Ireland and England – and VVS Laxman have been downgraded in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) revised list of contracted players.The one-year contract is from October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007. A board release said that the “gradation was based on the performance of the players in the previous season”, (October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006). That explains why an in-form Zaheer Khan remained in Grade C while Irfan Pathan, who had a great season in the period considered but out of the team currently, was pushed from Grade A to B.Newly-appointed ODI vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have been promoted from Grade B to Grade A, where they join Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. The number of players in Grade A has been reduced from eight to six.Ajit Agarkar has retained his Grade B contract while Mohammad Kaif, earlier in the same category, has been omitted from the list. Kaif’s absence from any of the lists came as a surprise, considering that he had managed 330 runs in six Tests (at 47.14) in the mentioned time-frame.Gautam Gambhir, Sreesanth, Wasim Jaffer and Suresh Raina remain in Grade C with the newly-inducted Munaf Patel.The announcement of the new contracts was delayed by close to nine months owing to differences between senior players and the BCCI over their share of television revenue. The BCCI was keen on doing away with the gradation system and reduce match fees following India’s dismal World Cup campaign.In addition to match fees and a cut in the BCCI’s profit, the BCCI gives an annual retainer of Rs 50 lakhs to Grade A players, Rs 35 lakhs to those in Grade B and Rs 20 lakhs for those in the final category.Grade A: Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Grade B: VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar.Grade C: Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer, S. Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Suresh Raina and Munaf Patel.

The Twenty20 Cup returns on Friday for its fifth year with the promise ofmore thrills and spills, plus a few surprises along the way. The 72 groupmatches start tomorrow and culminate in the finals day at Edgbaston onAugust 4.Leicestershire’s task of retaining the title for the third time in fiveyears will be made more difficult by the loss of Darren Maddy to grouprivals Warwickshire, but Paul Nixon and Stuart Broad will ensure theteam-spirit that has guided them to every finals day is evident again.Nixon, the most experienced Twenty20 player in the world, said that thesecret to a successful campaign is about playing with freedom: “It’s allabout us expressing ourselves and showing no fear. Our success has beenbased on having effective game plans and players thriving on theresponsibility they are given within that plan. We face that same challengeagain this summer, but the guys have every reason to believe we can besuccessful again.”Surrey have sold over 100,000 tickets this season and are counting onanother successful campaign lead by their reality TV stars, Mark Ramprakashand Mark Butcher. With James Benning and Alistair Brown intheir midst, the leading big hitters in Twenty20, Surrey are set forcapacity crowds and should be in the running for a successful charge tofinals day, for the fifth year in a row, despite poor form this season. As their captain Mark Butcher says: “It’s a great chance to play in front of some packed houses.”Many counties are reporting unprecedented ticket sales for their groupmatches. Darren Gough’s return to Yorkshire has ensured a sell-out crowd atHeadingley for the clash against Lancashire on June 25. Essex will also behanging out the ‘house-full’ sign for all four of their home fixtures atChelmsford.The World Cup singled out Nixon and Ravi Bopara as big game players, andTwenty20 certainly helps with that.As the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship looms in September, there isadded incentive for home-grown players to shine as well as overseas stars tobrush up their skills. Lancashire have bolstered their squad with thesigning of Sanath Jayasuriya.Justin Langer, the competition’s leading run scorer with 464 from eightmatches, will aim to bring Twenty20 glory back to Somerset, who won thetitle in 2005 with Graeme Smith at the helm.While of course aggressive hitting is what everyone comes to see, theplayers now talk more of aggressive bowling. As Butcher says: “Take as many wickets as you can early on. Then slot as many out of the park as possible.”As usual there will be some novel attractions on offer around the country.For Northamptonshire’s match against Worcestershire on June 22 there will bea ‘Monty Zone’ complete with a lookalike competition. The hot-tub returns toGrace Road for the opening match of the competition, and there will also bea ready made patio area complete with pizza delivery.Warwickshire have introduced a Ladies Day at Edgbaston on June 26, includinga game between the England A Ladies and an Invitational XI in a match on themain square. A Pimms reception and beauty bus will also be at the ground. Itcould only happen in Twenty20.

Division One

Harbhajan Singh took 4 for 64 to bowl Worcestershire out for 217 on the third day against Surrey at Guildford, forcing them to follow on. Surrey’s last two only added a further 22 to their overnight 347, but their bowlers quickly tore into Worcestershire’s top-order; Matt Nicholson removed his compatriot Phil Jaques and Vikram Solanki before Harbhajan took over. Steven Moore, the Worcestershire wicketkeeper, stood in Surrey way with a combative 58, but his wicket prompted an inevitable slide from the lower-order who collapsed to 217 all out. Following on Worcestershire moved to 46 without loss, still trailing by 106.Read John Ward’s full report of Yorkshire’s third day against Kent at Scarborough.Hampshire continued to rule the rod over title-chasers Sussex, who barely recovered from their overnight 65 for 6 to make 145 at The Rose Bowl. Luke Wright’s 46 added a touch of respectability. Hampshire’s reply was by no means flawless, at 83 for 3, but John Crawley’s unbeaten fifty took them to 113 without further loss. They will aim to quickly erase the deficit on Saturday morning and march on to a steady lead.

Division Two

Justin Langer and Simon Katich, former Australia team-mates, set up an enthralling finish to Derbyshire and Somerset’s match on the third day at Derby. Katich declared Derbyshire’s first innings on 94 for 2, 246 behind Somerset who increased their lead by 84 before setting the home side 331 to win in 98 overs. Somerset’s last five smashed 160 runs before lunch with Craig Kieswetter stroking an impressive 52 from 43 balls. Derbyshire then added 94 in 31 overs – Katich declaring after a brisk 29 – before Somerset, batting for the second time in the day, cracked 84 in 20 overs. Bad light forced the players off early, but an intriguing final day is in prospect with Derbyshire requiring a further 329 runs on a wearing pitch.Northamptonshire made steady progress against Nottinghamshire at Northampton after rain washed out the first day. Three fifties from the top four helped them past the 200-mark, but Notts struck back in the evening session to restrict them to 264 for 7. Stephen Peters, David Sales and Alex Wakely struck the half-centuries, while Robert White fell just short, with 46. Last week may have been one for the old-timers – but Mark Ealham added his own contribution today, with four wickets.A wet outfield meant there was no play between Glamorgan and Leicestershire at Abergavenny, nor at Bristol for Gloucestershire’s match against Essex.