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Scorecard

An unbeaten half-century from Brad Haddin and strong performances from Ed Cowan and Daniel Christian steered New South Wales to a tight four-wicket victory against South Australia at Adelaide. Chasing a healthy 7 for 251, the Blues were cruising half-way through the innings before Darren Lehmann struck twice and Cowan was run-out for 74.However, Haddin, batting at No. 5, quickly re-floated New South Wales with a 47-ball 56 and secured the victory with four balls remaining. The performances of Cowan and Christian, who scored his first half-century, were also important as they replied to a Redbacks total set up by Lehmann.South Australia were in difficulty at 3 for 49 before Lehmann arrived for a 107-run partnership with Callum Ferguson (64). Lehmann, who won the toss and batted, was dismissed in the 49th over for 86 but his effort with bat and ball was not enough to stave off the challenge of Haddin and Co.

Shaun Pollock has said any team could fancy their chances at the ICC World Twenty20, because of the quick-paced nature of the game.”It’s too fast,” Pollock told the . “It’s a bit of a sprint. If one-day cricket is an 800-metre race, then Twenty20 is 100 metres.”If you get off to a bad start you can lose the game regardless of who you are playing.”The South African team have been called ‘chokers’ in the past, due to their inability to succeed in the World Cup for the 50-over format. However, Pollock indicated that the possibility was less in Twenty20. “I don’t think there’s really time to choke, everything happens so quickly,” Pollock said. After a infamous rain-rule denied them a final berth at the 1992 World Cup, South Africa have stumbled ever since in the World Cup, having twice missed out against Australia – a thrilling tie in 1999 and a lop-sided contest earlier this year in the West Indies.Pollock was also the captain of the team that had a disastrous tournament at home in the 2003 World Cup, which they exited in the first stage. Many critics felt the commitments to organisers and sponsors distracted the players then, something Pollock said has been avoided this time around. “We are very focused on making sure all our commitments are out of the way.”South Africa wrapped all their media and sponsorship obligations in Johannesburg before they left for a training centre in Potchefstroom, where they are undergoing preparations for five days in the lead-up to the tournament. Australia, winners of the 2003 World Cup, also trained in the same centre ahead of their victorious campaign.”We can go off to Potch and prepare for the tournament for five days leading up, where we just focus wholly and solely on cricket,” Pollock said before the team left. “Hopefully that bears fruit in the time to come. Being the host nation, there are always more commitments, so to get them out of the way and be able to concentrate on cricket is what we’ve learnt from last time.”Pollock also said that he would like to move up the batting order as he felt that four overs of bowling would not be enough for him to feel involved in the game. “It would be nice to be put up the order and be able to express yourself,” he said. “That’s the one bonus. If you were only a bowler in this form of the game it would be pretty depressing.”He also expressed his views on the omission of Jacques Kallis from the team. “It’s obviously a big call by the selectors,” Pollock said. “He has voiced some disappointment and you can understand that. “Kallis has been South Africa’s batting mainstay over the years and was the team’s top run-getter at the World Cup earlier this year. “Usually he’s the first or second name put down on a piece of paper when you’re selecting the side, so he would have been very surprised by the fact he wasn’t included,” Pollock said. “Being a home event, he would have loved to play in front of his own home crowd, so that would have added to the disappointment. The big plus from the way he has reacted is that it answers the question about what the guys think of a Twenty20 tournament.”Pollock said Kallis’ displeasure at not being selected was an indication of the team’s eagerness to perform well at the tournament. “If Jacques, after all the cricket he has played and all he has achieved, is disappointed about not being part of it, then you realise it is going to be a special event. We’re going to be really trying hard to try to win it.”

Scorecard

If Surrey are relegated, will the public mourn the decline of a side that played exhilarating cricket and finished in the top five every season for the past six years, or rejoice at the fall of English cricket’s dominant force? If Surrey’s footballing equivalent, Manchester United, were to be dumped from the Premiership at the end of the forthcoming campaign, it would send many happy fans to bed with smiles on their faces. But the country’s attitude to Surrey is less clear, and they may yet escape finding out if they push home the advantage their bowlers gained on the second day at The Brit Oval.Worcestershire closed on 281 for 8, 94 runs adrift of Surrey’s first-innings 375. It’s a winning position for Surrey, and a position they must take advantage of. They have four more games to save themselves, and their coach, Steve Rixon, said before this contest that they needed to win three of their remaining fixtures, all of which are against quality sides also somehow caught up in the fight against relegation – two against Lancashire, and one apiece against Kent and Sussex. Rixon’s statement puts pressure on Surrey, who have been strangely incapable of coping with the slightest whiff of a problem. They have gone from a team which, like the Australians, seemed to take a perverse pleasure from seeing opponents squirm, to a team who don’t want to upset anyone. From Margaret Thatcher to Thora Hird.This time, however, they are responding well. Alex Tudor, in his first start of the season, has probably been unaffected by Surrey’s dire form, because he has been so wrapped up in his long road back from injury. If he had something to prove, he didn’t let himself down. It was his devastating spell in the afternoon that accounted for three Worcestershire batsmen, and began to make Surrey believe that Division Two is no place for them.At 159 for 1, with Stephen Moore back in the dressing-room retired hurt and Stephen Peters the only loss after a swaggering 75-ball 74, Surrey were on the ropes, and several of their players might have spent the tea break swapping CVs with the builders in charge of modernising the Vauxhall end of the ground. But Tudor ripped out Graeme Hick, Vikram Solanki and Andrew Hall for the addition of only eight runs. Jimmy Ormond also accounted for Ben Smith in the middle of Tudor’s 15 minutes of catharsis.Later, Tudor snaffled the vital wicket of Moore, who had been forced to leave the field in the rather rosy position of 144 for 1, and then required to return in the weedy predicament of 189 for 6. He had added an important 50 for the eighth wicket with Steven Rhodes before falling for a watchful 76 with only six overs remaining.At 299 for 4 overnight, Surrey had been wonderfully well placed to put the game out of Worcestershire’s reach. But the morning session summed up their season. In the previous six years they would have punished sides, battering them into submission and picking on their fragile confidence and spirit; but now they are too cautious, unsure of how to push home the advantage. Only one Championship win this season tells its own story, and that story must have been replaying itself over and over again in the minds of the incoming batsmen. They lost their remaining wickets with the addition of only 76 runs in just under 30 overs. No signs of asserting any kind of dominance, then. Worse still, their last four wickets melted away for just a single run.Only Mark Ramprakash’s fifth century of the season allowed Surrey to set a competitive target against a side who have the rather fortunate habit of making big scores. They have reached 400 on six occasions this season, once going on to make 500 and another time they passed 600. With scores like these, Worcestershire are hard to beat, and a draw just isn’t good enough for Surrey. They had better hope Tudor’s efforts aren’t wasted by the rest of the attack.

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The left-arm spin duo of Suhrawadi Shuvo and Mehrab Hossain jnr captured seven wickets between them to lead the Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy to an innings and 68-run win over the South Africa Cricket Academy in their four-day match at the Shamshul Huda Stadium in Jessore.The South Africans were left to bat out a little less than two sessions on the final day after Bangladeshis declared their first-innings on 507, but they folded up an hour after tea. Nazmul Hossain trapped Sammy-Joe Avontuur, after which Shuvo claimed three wickets in succession as the South Africans fell to 39 for 5. Wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes scored a 59-ball 54 and added 61 runs for the sixth wicket with Richard das Neves (21) but once das Neves was bowled by Mehrab, the Bangladeshis quickly wrapped things up.Earlier, Naeem Islam, who began the final day on 96, extended his innings to 136 while Mushfiqur Rahim struck an unbeaten 53 off 63 balls to take Bangladesh past 500. Dolar Mahmud, batting at No. 9, ensured some late-order fireworks by blasting three sixes in his 26.Bangladesh were in total command on the third day, as they rode on Imrul Kayash’s 151, which featured 25 fours and a six, to amass 319 runs for the loss of four wickets in 92 overs.Prior to that, the South Africans put up 311 in their first innings after the entire first day’s play was washed out. Reeza Hendricks did the bulk of the scoring with 131 off 188 balls and was partnered by Shadley van Schalkwyk (54) in an 84-run fifth-wicket stand. Nazmul, the right-arm seamer, stood out with figures of 4 for 63.

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Dion Ebrahim and Brendon Taylor made patient half-centuries as Zimbabwe A inched towards the first-innings lead in their game against South Africa A at Bulawayo. Ebrahim’s unbeaten 84 off 213 balls held the innings together and Zimbabwe A finished the second day on 263 for 7, just nine adrift of the South African total.After Douglas Hondo had helped restrict the South Africans to 272, the top-order batsmen stitched together some useful partnerships. The 72-run stand between Taylor (68) and Ebrahim put them in a comfortable position, but Paul Adams picked up the wickets of Taylor and Tatenda Taibu to peg them back.Zimbabwe A lost two more wickets soon after, and were in trouble at 172 for 6, before Mluleki Nkala helped revive the innings. Nkala, who smashed five fours in his 44-ball 33, added 54 with Ebrahim and the pair helped Zimbabwe A to wrest the initiative by the end of the second day.

ScorecardTasmania began under pressure before they pulled ahead with a state-record ninth-wicket partnership and then dominated South Australia with five wickets in the hour before stumps at Bellerive Oval.Resuming in trouble at 7 for 240, Michael Di Venuto, who was last out nine short of his century, and Xavier Doherty added an invaluable 119 before Doherty departed. While Shaun Tait was attacked after his four wickets on day one, Paul Rofe returned the economical figures of 3 for 50 from 38 overs.South Australia were travelling comfortably in reply until they lost 5 for 37, with Damien Wright and Doherty each picking up two wickets. Callum Ferguson was the last to fall in the final over when he edged Brett Geeves.Dan Marsh, the Tasmania captain, said their plan was to put pressure on South Australia’s young batsmen. “You just want to keep it as tight as you can,” he said. “Especially when there’s two of them in together you can build up a lot of pressure that way.”

Pool A: Border 278 for 8 dec and 240 for 7 (Bradfield 52, Smith 70, Tshbalala 3-46) lead Free State 138 (Hinkel 4-25) by 380 runsFree State were bowled out for 138 by Border after Warwick Hinkel took 4 for 25 and engineered a collapse. Two scores in the thirties from Corne Linde and Christo Feris saved the Free State team from total embarrassment.Batting for a second time Border raced to 240 for 7 at the close with Carl Bradfield (52) and Michael Smith (70) setting a 123-run platform for the rest to launch from. Michael Matika, the hero of the first innings was still at the crease on 49 when time was called. As in the first innings Thandi Tshabalala was the main wicket taker with 3 for 46.Eastern Province came back strongly in Port Elizabeth as they took a 100-run lead over Western Province with Bob Homani scoring an undefeated 72 in the second innings. Earlier Western Province had been bowled out for 228 with Ryan Canning and Farhaan Behardien both scoring fifties. Lyall Meyer took 4 for 52, and helped keep the Western province lead to 50 in the first innings.Pool B: Griqualand West 414 for 5 dec (Brooker 115, McLaren 69,Bossenger 88*) and 81 for 1 lead North West 350 for 8 dec (Khan 78, leRoux 58, Coetsee 65, Arthur 3-104) by 145 runsGriqualand West continued on their merry way scoring a massive 414 for 5 when the declaration came after 85 overs in Potchefstroom. Wendell Bossenger took his score from 64 to 88 to maximise the bonus points on offer. North West emphasized what a good batting pitch Sedgars Park had produced by also participating in the run-fest in totalling 350 for 8 in the 85 overs. Alarm bells rang at the start of the innings, when they lost two wickets, but soon Imraan Khan (78), Werner Coetsee (65) restored order. Juan le Roux (58) made sure that North West finished only 61 runs behind on the first innings.In a bid to make a game of it Griquas raced to 81 for 1 off 18 overs to extend the lead to 145 runs when bad light once again stopped play.

Day 3 Gauteng 286 and 73 for 2 require another 385 runs to beat Easterns 405 for 4 dec and 338 for 9 dec (Z de Bruyn 88, Toyana 63, Cullinan 65, Mathebula 5-56) v
ScorecardEasterns extended their lead to 457 before declaring their second innings on 338 for 9, with Zander de Bruyn following his century in the first innings with 88 in the second. In the process, he became the only batsman to exceed 1,000 runs for the season. Daryll Cullinan’s 65 also moved him into the second spot behind de Bruyn with 839 runs for the campaign. Brian Mathebula, in only his second first-class match, recorded his first five-for after bowling with far more discipline than he did in the first innings. At the close, Gauteng had reached 73 for 2.Eastern Province 432 lead Boland 324 by 108 runs
ScorecardNo play due to rain.

New Zealand’s opening two-day practice match against a Sri Lanka BoardPresident’s XI petered out into a predictable draw as the visitors battedthroughout the second day.The Kiwi’s, replying to the President’s XI 258 yesterday, scored 396 in107.5 overs before the match was abandoned immediately after the fall of thefinal wicket.Opener Matthew Richardson, who added 88 for the first wicket with Matt Horne(48), top scored with a patient 106 from 117 balls, an innings that included18 boundaries.There were also half-centuries from skipper Stephen Fleming, a brisk 69 from91 balls with 13 fours, and allrounder Scot Styris, who was last man out for64 from 81 balls having hit seven fours and two sixes.Seamer Dinusha Fernando was the pick of the nine bowlers used by skipperRomesh Kaluwitharana, claiming three wickets in the afternoon to finish withthree for 66 from 20 overs.New Zealand will play another two-day warm-up match at the same venuestarting Monday before the first Test on April 25.

Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicketkeeper, says he is looking at remaining in cricket beyond next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean. Gilchrist, 34, who requires 41 more dismissals to usurp compatriot Ian Healy at the top of the Test wicketkeeping list, had previously indicated that he might quit the game after the tournament to spend more time with his young family.Exhausted after a year of near non-stop cricket, Gilchrist headed home from Bangladesh last April and wondered how much longer he could maintain his packed playing schedule. “If you had sat me down after Bangladesh and asked me how much time I had left in the game, you probably would have gotten a different answer to now,” Gilchrist told . “I’m not keen on making any big statements, but right now I am looking to keep playing.”I have voiced the opinion that I think there is too much cricket being played at the moment but, after a three-month break, I am dead keen for the [Australian] summer to start and the Champions Trophy, the Ashes and the World Cup to begin. Beyond that, you never know if your physical game or the skills are still going to be there but, if they are, I can’t see why I would stop. The schedule is pretty clear for a while after the World Cup.”Since making his debut in 1999, Gilchrist has not missed a Test. He has scored 5124 Test runs at 48.80 with 16 centuries in 85 Tests and is tied for third with Rod Marsh on 355 dismissals. Fitness permitting, Gilchrist may become the first wicketkeeper in Test history to claim 400 dismissals.”I will go to my grave saying that my job is to keep wickets,” Gilchrist said. “The keeping has been really pleasing lately. There is still plenty of motivation for me to keep playing. I can’t see any value in playing just one form of the game, either.”Gilchrist’s batting has been under fire since England’s regaining of the Ashes last year. Since Andrew Flintoff unveiled his highly effective around-the-wicket, at-the-body line throughout last year’s Ashes series, Gilchrist has averaged 26.88.”I might have fallen short of my own standards with the bat, but I still am doing quite well compared to the other keepers over the course of history,” he said. “That’s not to say that I won’t be working hard to get the batting right. My century [144 against Bangladesh in Fatullah] recently was one of my better ones, and has given me a lot of confidence.”I’m thinking about facing [Flintoff] again the same way I thought of it in the ICC Super Series. I am just really looking forward to getting back out there against the likes of Flintoff and [Stephen] Harmison and enjoying the challenge in the Ashes series later this year.”