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With the aid of some rigid captaincy from Victoria’s Paul Reiffel, Michael Di Venuto (62*) and Scott Kremerskothen (41) have rescued Tasmania fromembarrassment on day two of their Pura Cup clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.A ninety-six run partnership between the pair has salvaged the Tigers after their first five wickets fell for just twenty runs.At stumps, the visitors are still 188 behind Victoria’s first innings total with Di Venuto and Sean Clingeleffer (7*) at the crease.Joined after Shaun Young’s (0) dismissal at seven minutes past two, the pair worked hard to rebuild the Tigers’ innings, staying together for three hours and nineteenminutes. Knowing another wicket could finish their innings well inside the hundred-run mark, the two left handers took their time and batted to stay in rather thancompile runs.Their slow and steady approach frustrated bowlers and spectators alike, with the morning’s strong crowd full of cheering schoolchildren giving way to just a handfulof purists by the end of the day. Their scoring rate of less than two runs an over – at one stage thirty-one deliveries went by without a single run – was tedious to saythe least. Still they soldiered on, with chants of “boring, boring” ringing in their ears.Victorian captain Paul Reiffel did not seem too interested in effecting a succession of bowling changes, retaining faith in Ian Harvey (1/25) and off-spinner JohnDavison () rather than introducing occasional bowlers such as Clinton Peake or Brad Hodge to perhaps break the Tasmanians’ concentration and add a bit of spiceto the proceedings.Although devoid of flair and excitement, the partnership did get the job done for the Tasmanians, who would have been happy to watch an alliance ticking intodouble figures, especially after they had lost three wickets for just one run at the head of their innings.Di Venuto was well rewarded for his patience with a half century which included four boundaries and took 176 balls. All-rounder Kremerskothen was not as lucky,falling lbw to Harvey for forty-one. His innings included four boundaries and lasted 141 deliveries.Harvey nearly claimed another wicket from the very next ball, with wicketkeeper-batsman Clingeleffer appearing fortunate to survive a strong lbw appeal.Having lost opener Dene Hills (0) in the fourth over of the day, the Tigers fell into a hole – four batsmen returning to the pavilion with ducks beside their names.Reiffel (2/22) and young left-armer Mathew Inness (3/19) were the main destroyers, with the pair taking all but one of the day’s wickets.Fresh from his Australia ‘A’ experience against the West Indies last week, the red-haired Inness was in fine form – bowling with typical accuracy and consistency.Reiffel, at the other end, did much the same and the pair had a stranglehold on the Tigers for their forty-one overs.After a rush of dismissals on either side of the lunch break, Victoria failed to drive home the advantage in the second half of the final session. However, given that itstill leads by 188 runs, the home team looks certain to capture first innings points tomorrow morning.Earlier today, the Victorian tail wagged to its heart’s content, with Davison (33) starring in a quickfire fifty-one run partnership with Reiffel (23). Althoughunimpressive with the ball, Davison shone with the bat, smashing four boundaries in his thirty-two minute innings.Controversially selected for this match over talented all-rounder Ben Oliver, Davison was eager to make an impact and ended up doing better than his moreestablished teammates such as Jason Arnberger (0) and Ian Harvey (15).An unbeaten eleven runs from fast bowler Mick Lewis also helped, taking Victoria from yesterday’s 6/250 to a healthy 322.

Chris Harris might be New Zealand’s leading One-Day International wicket taker but his desire to be a serious bowling option for the Test side has seen him develop a new bowling style.The 31-year-old has been working during the winter on a new action which sees him bowling with his left foot on the ground, instead of his familiar left-foot-in-the-air style that he has used throughout his career.The new style results in him bowling quicker and produces more spin. Harris started out as a medium-slow inswing bowler who then developed a leg roller option.While those two options were effective in one-day play, it is the Test arena which still beckons for him.”I have been seriously working on it. After last season I enquired of the selectors where they saw me and I was told to be considered for the Test team I needed to be a wicket-taking option,” he told CricInfo today.Harris is eyeing a role for himself similar to what Colin Miller fills for Australia.”I wouldn’t have changed otherwise,” he said when confirming his desire to become more of a Test regular.Harris has played 19 Tests for New Zealand but his 15 wickets have been at a cost of 66.93 compared to his 164 ODI wickets at 35.95.Making the change hasn’t proved easy.”After 25 years of bowling in one way it is pretty hard to change. It has been pretty tough but I am getting their slowly,” he said.He will not be trying his new style in one-day cricket in Sri Lanka next month and it is more likely to be the New Zealand domestic season before it is unveiled.”It could be that in the future I could bowl both styles during one-dayers but that would depend on conditions,” he said.Harris was happy with how his one-day summer finished up last season, and especially after the treatment he received during the home series when Andy Flower unleashed his reverse sweeping on Harris.”That’s not happened to me before. But I was happy with the way I came back against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. I just went through a little phase when things didn’t go too well against Zimbabwe,” he said.NZC’s director of player development Ashley Ross, who has been working with Harris said that Harris’ delivery style meant he wasn’t getting as much power into his bowling as he could.”His lower body power was not being transferred to the trunk and the bowling arm. He always released the ball with his left foot in the air and he was getting his power from a very small portion of his body.”His new style will be more efficient and while it is hard to quantify, he has probably picked up 20km in speed, and bowls more at Nathan Astle’s speed.”By bowling medium pace leg rollers he is also working at utilising the extra power on the side of the ball to bowl a genuine leg spinner.”Once he has it worked out he will have more variety in his bowling.”Chris is a very talented guy and he will have to see how it happens in the heat of battle,” Ross said.Shayne O’Connor had a similar problem, but not to the same degree, and like Harris, once his left foot was in the correct place he had a lift in the speed he could bowl.Harris also has another change coming in his life. He and wife Linda are expecting their first child in two months.

Following his comments regarding the possible relocation of Somerset County Cricket Club to a new out of town site Chief Executive made the following statement at The County Ground on Tuesday.”As a result of the meeting with the Chief Planning Officer, Somerset County Cricket Club has requested that the planners try to identify a suitable relocation site for the club.”Mr Anderson went on: “The position of the council has always been neutral and until they knew whether or not the club wished to move they would not identify a suitable site. The Somerset strategy has been that there is no point in going to the members until we know where we might be moving to if a buyer could be found.”The Chief Executive concluded: “What I am now thinking of suggesting is that we go to the members offering them the same deal that was available four years ago and asking them if they would be prepared to move should it become available again.”

ECB Premier Division 1BAT Sports 156-3 (37.1 overs) (Carson 53 n.o.) v Havant
Match abandoned as a drawBurridge 198-7 (21pts) (Hawkins 51, Jackson 41, Francis 39, Wheatley 2-34)
Liphook & Ripsley (rain reduced target 155 off 28) 102-9 (6pts) (Jansen 25, Wright 21, Godwin 4-29, Ancell 3-22)
Burridge won by 57 runsSouth Wilts 82-8 (36 overs)(Caines 21 n.o., Woodhouse 21, Warren 3-18) v Bournemouth
Match abandoned as a drawMatches postponed: Bashley (Rydal) v Hungerford, Calmore Sports v AndoverPremier Division 2OT & Romsey 172-7 (22pts) (Smith 49, Rapley 25, K Trodd 22, Ball 3-39, Mariner 3-48)
Sparsholt 81 (5pts) (target 124 off 25) (Richings 35, Ord 6-33, Wood 4-18)
Old Tauntonians & Romsey won by 48 runsMatches postponed: Easton and Martyr Worthy v Lymington, Portsmouth v Cove, Trojans v Old Basing, U.S.Portsmouth v HambledonPremier Division 3All matches postponed
Flamingo v Bashley (Rydal) II, Havant II v New Milton, Hursley Park v Portsmouth II, Leckford v Alton, Lymington II v Winchester K.S., Paultons v Hook and Newnham Basics, Rowledge v Gosport Borough, St.Cross Symondians v U.S.Portsmouth II, Waterlooville v Purbrook

Jeremy Snape and Jack Russell revived Gloucestershire’s second innings atBristol today in the low-scoring CricInfo Championship Division Two game withWarwickshire.The pair came together with Gloucestershire on 100-5 in the 45th over andwith a lead of only 41. But by the premature close they had taken the score to 157-5, with Snape on 42 and Russell on 15, and put the game back in the balance.Bad light and rain wiped 35 overs off the day’s play, with 27 of them lost in the last session.Alan Richardson, Dougie Brown and Neil Smith claimed a wicket apiece in themorning as Gloucestershire lost Dominic Hewson (11), Kim Barnett(21) and Matt Windows (14) in reaching 85-3.Warwickshire’s victory hopes were raised further when Mark Alleyne and ChrisTaylor were then removed in successive overs after the interval.Alleyne cut a Brown delivery to Mark Wagh at third man, to fall for ten, thenTaylor gave a legside catch to wicket-keeper Keith Piper off Richardson for33.Warwickshire had to do without seamer Melvyn Betts in the afternoon sessiondue to illness and the rest of their attack were frustrated by Snape and thetypically obdurate Russell.The scoring rate was only just above two an over, but Snape and Russellbriefly broke the stranglehold with a boundary apiece off Vasbert Drakes inthe 56th over.Snape took two more boundaries off Richardson in one of the three-and-a-half overs possible, the second of which brought up the half-century stand.Richardson finished with 2-40 from 20.3 overs, while Brown has 2-17 from 15 overs. Off-the-field, Gloucestershire have been dealt another injury blow ahead of next Saturday’s Benson & Hedges Cup final with Surrey at Lord’s with news that vice-captain Tim Hancock broke a bone in his right hand during fielding practice.Hancock has not been selected for Gloucestershire’s last three Championship matches, but he is a key member of the one-day team and has no chance of being fit for the Lord’s showpiece.Gloucestershire are also expected to be without pace bowlers Mike Smith (groin) and Jon Lewis (back) for the game due to injury.

In-form Kent took advantage of excellent batting conditions and Richard Johnson’s shock call into England’s Trent Bridge Test squad to run up 381 for four on the opening day of this CricInfo Championship match in Canterbury.The 26-year-old Somerset seamer was summoned just after lunch as cover for the injured Chris Silverwood having sent down just eight overs in the match.Already without the services of Andrew Caddick, Johnson’s departure at 2.30pm left Somerset another seamer light on what is a superb St Lawrence wicket.Not surprisingly David Fulton cashed in; the first man to 1,000 runs this season, the Kent opener finished unbeaten on 160 which represents his fifth Championship century this summer and his sixth in all first-class cricket.The right-hander featured in an opening stand of 91 with Rob Key, who also reached four-figures for the season before he went for a suicidal single with his score on 50.Key was later rewarded with his county cap in a presentation by Kent patron, HRH the Duke of Kent, as was Ed Smith whose contribution amounted to eight before he hooked into the hands of square-leg.Fulton teamed up with Australian international Andrew Symonds to add a further 90 for the third wicket before the Queenslander played fatally across the line, having hit 56 from 70 balls.Not to be outdone, left-hander Matthew Walker joined in the run spree with a fluent 81 as his contribution to a fourth-wicket partnership that added 175 in 57 overs.The pair looked like seeing Kent through to stumps until Walker drove back a low return catch to spinner Keith Dutch two overs from the close and in the time added on for the Duke’s tea-time presentations.

Hats off to the dynamic Aussies and their great captain Steve Waugh for winning the 7th successive Ashes series. The honour came when Australia crushed England by 7 wickets to win the 3rd Ashes Test at Trent Bridge with more than two days to spare and take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five match series. It was also Australia’s 19th victory in the last 21 tests played between the archrivals.Winning seven successive Ashes series is a record equalled only by the England side of 1884-90 when Ashes campaigns were often of less than five tests. While England face a quandary to try break the Aussies winning streak albeit for face saving, the victorious Aussies have set their sights firmly on matching the achievement of Warwick Armstrong’s 1920-21 Australians, the only team in Ashes history to win a series 5-0.Disappointed with his team’s dismal performance, England coach Duncan Fletcher now appears to be most worried about a ‘complete white wash’ that stares England in the face. In his opinion it would inflict huge damage for the future and being without Nasser Hussain, a shrewd captain whose tactical acumen and man management had helped England win a few series before the Ashes, was a major disappointment.This may not be entirely true because Mike Atherton who led England, was an accomplished batsman as well as a much more experienced captain than Nasser. What makes the actual difference is the Australians are a more experienced side with a professional approach and pride as their symbol. They simply played a higher class of cricket.After losing the battle without really putting up a stiff fight, England is facing the wrath of criticism. Failure in piling up competitive totals is considered to be the major cause of defeat. Unarguably possessing an effective bowling arsenal, England did not bat well enough to make Australia take a second new ball and without enough runs on the board they could not possibly register a win over such a competent opponent. Now, while some of the former England players and critics were out to rip them, the vanquished were searching for a place to hide.Former opening batsman Geoff Boycott remarked, that what the team needed most was a batsman capable of grafting all day, in short, a player like himself. “Our batting is getting worse no better, so many people talk about batsmen being able to play shots. Our problem is that we cannot stay in. The first thing I look for in a good batsman is his ability to defend. Has he got a good defensive technique?”Discussing individual players, Boycott opined that all rounder Craig White and Ian Ward should be dropped with Ramprakash given a final warning. He, however, did not suggest the replacement of veteran wicket-keeper batsman Alec Stewart at this stage. His former colleague Ian Botham, however, disagreed and recommended Essex keeper-batsman James Foster be brought in for the 4th Test at Headingley next week.Offering comments on the team’s performance, former England captain David Gower slammed Ramprakash on the way he threw his wicket away in 2nd innings of the 3rd Test. Considering that the new recruits, if commissioned for the Headingley Test, would be in for a torrid time, Gower did not recommend any wholesale changes in the team at this juncture.Former Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson who terrorised England batsmen in the mid 1970s accused the England players of having glaring imperfections in their technique. With England’s repeated failures, he did not visualize anything but a ‘whitewash’ for Australia.In his rough and tough language Thomson remarked, ‘there must be some young blokes out there with hidden potential that you can just take a punt on rather than picking guys who have been tried and tested for years but are a waste of time.’News trickling down from England’s cricket circles reveal that Australia’s historical triumph in the series has left a familiar question hanging in the air, ‘where does English cricket go from here’? England’s stand-in Captain Mike Atherton, who has been involved in all the last seven Ashes series defeats, picked up the courage to say, ‘the loss is disappointing. It has been a long time (since England last won the Ashes in 1986-87). Over the period I have played, it is obvious Australia have had the upper hand over us. They have had a succession of very good teams over the last 10 years and beaten us comprehensively’.Atherton further added that ‘ there was no great mystery behind Australia’s three huge victories this summer. It is a mixture of reasons. You can look at a lot of things but the bottom line is that Australia have played much better cricket than we have’.Skipper Steve Waugh having injured his calf muscle while batting in the last test, Vice Captain Adam Gilchrist shall be leading Australia in the 4th Test at Headingley. Waugh was the only member of the present Australian squad to have experienced Ashes defeat, way back in 1986-87 and is said to have used that to motivate the team.A day before the 3rd test Waugh addressed the team saying, ‘fortunately no one here other than me knows what it is like to lose an Ashes series and that is the way I want to keep it’. Steve Waugh is a man of philosophical thoughts on cricket. In an article contributed to CricInfo a few days back he highlighted the following points:

• Any sustained success has to be based on the combined effort of the team rather than relying time and again on the same individuals.
• If some one fails it is up to the other to step up and fill the void.
• Players must be flexible enough to recognize different situations and adapt to them to take control of key moments.

Whether England succeeds in saving the next two tests or not, Australia has clinched the ashes series with excellent performance and overwhelming grace. The urn that contains the historical and invaluable Ashes is theirs, whether it remains in the Lord’s Museum or elsewhere. Well done Australia, keep it up. The standards of cricket that you have set will go a long way in helping other nations to improve.

It was a day of slow progress by Yorkshire batsmen as they reached 179 for five from 85 overs at stumps at the AMP Oval. On a slow pitch they were tied down by some accurate Surrey bowling, the most economical of which came from Saqlain Mushtaq.He conceded 13 runs, including three boundaries, in his first two overs and then found his line and length to bowl the next 31 for only 33 runs with just one hit for four. The Pakistan spinner was unlucky to finish without a wicket despite beating the bat time and again, finding considerable turn off the pitch.David Byas, in particular, found him difficult to get away, managing only 24 runs in two hours at the crease. When he did attempt to go for his shots – during Surrey’s double spin attack, with Ian Salisbury being brought on – he was soon dismissed, bowled by the leg-spinner while attempting a sweep.That was the fifth wicket to fall, half an hour before bad light ended the day’s proceedings with, perhaps, time left for just one more over. Anthony McGrath remained unbeaten with 69 from 194 balls. It was his first fifty of the season having missed about six weeks of it through injury.Twenty overs were lost from the day’s play earlier after rain had fallen steadily during the lunch break and when play resumed at 2.45pm Surrey were quick to claim two wickets. Martin Bicknell took them both in successive balls with the total on 99.Matthew Wood, who had batted so well for his 110-ball fifty, with five boundaries, was snapped up at first slip and Vic Craven was trapped lbw.During the rain-shortened second session Yorkshire added 31 to their lunch score to reach 123 for four.While this match may not be much more than of academic interest to Yorkshire who have already won the Cricinfo Championship title, it is vitally important for Surrey in their attempt to avoid relegation.Having been asked to bowl first on a cloudy morning, the London side began reasonably well, claiming two wickets for 64. Bicknell, in the 13th over, had Chris Taylor lbw for seven with the total 34 and ten overs later, Ed Giddens, having changed ends, had Michael Vaughan edge to second slip for 11.Wood, meanwhile, scored steadily. He drove Saqlain for four to extra-cover in the first over from the off-spinner and in his next over he took another boundary, this time with a drive to mid-wicket.He reached 44 with a straight hit for four off Ben Hollioake who conceded another boundary in that over, his first, when Anthony McGrath square cut him. At lunch Wood was on 46 and McGrath, who was 17, later progressed to 29 by tea. In the final session he added a further 40 to his score.

The final of MRF Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament got underway at the MAChidambaram Stadium, Chepauk in Chennai on Tuesday. At close of play on the first day, New Zealand ‘A’ were on 231 for the loss of three wickets. The highlight of the opening day was a dashing century by the New Zealand ‘A’ opening batsman Mark Richardson.Earlier in the day Rohan Gavaskar won the toss for Cricket Association of Bengal XI and did not hesitate to put New Zealand ‘A’ to bat first. Richardson and skipper Matthew Bell gave New Zealand ‘A’ a sound start adding 80 runs for the first wicket off 26.3 overs. For once the tall, well-built Shib Sankar Paul failed to give the early breakthrough for CAB XI. The left-handed batsman Richardson was particularly aggressive of the two opening batsmen, smacking boundaries on either sides of the wicket.Matthew Bell’s vigil at the crease came to an end when Saurasish Lahiri trapped him in front of the wicket. Bell compiled a patient 22 off 75 balls with the help of three boundaries. After the departure of the skipper, the run rate slowed down considerably against the spin attack of Lahiri and Utpal Chatterjee.Richardson and Matt Horne added 38 runs off 21 overs to take New Zealand ‘A’ score to 118 in the 48th over. Horne was caught by Chatterjee off the bowling of Laxmi Ratan Shukla after making 15 runs off 55 balls.Lou Vincent joined Richardson in the middle and the run rate got a little fillip that it badly needed. Vincent was in a positive frame of mind, going for his shots to accumulate runs. The two batsmen added 81 runs off 30 overs for the third wicket to take the New Zealand ‘A’ score to a respectable 199 runs in the 78th over.The thirty-year-old batsman, who plays for Otago in New Zealand, got to his well-deserved hundred in the mean while. Before being caught by Jaiswal off the bowling of Shukla, he made 112 runs off 252 balls, striking the ball cleanly for 17 boundaries. It was a good hand from Richardson ensuring that New Zealand ‘A’ got off to a solid start.By close of play Lou Vincent got to his half century and remained unbeaten on 54 off 113 balls, a knock punctuated with nine boundaries and a six. Hamish Marshall is unbeaten on 11 off 32 balls and has added 42 runs for the fourth wicket partnership so far. Shukla was the best of the bowlers picking up 2/50. New Zealand ‘A’ will be looking forward to post a huge total tomorrow, on a pitch that is full of runs. Lou Vincent will have to carry on with the good form that he has shown so far.

Women’s cricket in New Zealand got the thumbs up from both the convener of the national selection panel Lesley Murdoch and the national coach Mike Shrimpton.The pair were speaking at the announcement of the CLEAR White Ferns team to tour India in Christchurch today.Shrimpton, who has just been on a tour around several centres in New Zealand, said he was heartened by what he saw occurring in the advance of women’s cricket.”The young players who have been selected will ably fill the gap left by the players who have retired,” he said.Shrimpton said there would be ample opportunity on the tour of India for the younger players to step up.Murdoch backgrounded each player selected for the tour and paid special tribute to the captain of the side, and the captain at last year’s CricInfo Women’s World Cup, Emily Drumm.She said New Zealand was the luckiest country in the world to have Drumm as the leader of the side.Drumm said the tour was a really exciting time for women’s cricket, it was a new era and a chance to blood new players.”They deserve the chance. India is a hard place to tour but it is important to give our players the chance to perform,” she said.What New Zealand needed from the tour was to develop a strong game plan and to perform well in India.Drumm also hinted that she might look to bowl more often herself, something she has not often done in recent years.India would be a good test for the team and while they haven’t played a lot of international cricket lately they “can really bite you if you don’t take them seriously,” she said.Murdoch also said that she was expecting Rachel Pullar to make a big move this year towards the status of a world-class all-rounder, something she believed she was well capable of achieving.And Haidee Tiffen was shaping as a player capable of stepping into the substantial shoes left by the world’s outstanding batsman Debbie Hockley.