Frizzell County Championship Division OneDay 3 ReportSurrey 693 beat Nottinghamshire 240 and 242 by an innings and 211 runs at Whitgift School
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With the honourable exception of Chris Read, Nottinghamshire rolled over and had their tummies tickled as Surrey stormed to an innings-and-211-run victory at Croydon, to consolidate their position at the top of the County Championship. Notts were always on a hiding to nothing after Surrey had posted a vast 693 in their only innings, and duly lost 12 wickets in the day. Only Read, with a plucky and selectorial-nudging 93, provided any resistance, as Notts were bowled out for 242 in the follow-on. Azhar Mahmood was the chief destroyer, and at once stage complete humiliation beckoned at 45 for 6. But Read and the tail showed some late backbone.Middlesex 407 and 141 for 6 lead Kent 477 by 71 runs at Lord’s
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Martin Saggers and Amjad Khan flipped an evenly-contested match on its head, as Middlesex squandered their overnight advantage to slump perilously close to defeat. After resuming on 285 for 6, Khan (78) added a further 130 for the seventh wicket with Mark Ealham, before Saggers wagged the tail along to an important 70-run lead with a brisk 44. Saggers and Khan were quickly into the act with the ball as well, grabbing an early wicket apiece as Middlesex floundered to 141 for 6 at the close. Saggers himself took three of the first five wickets to fall, before Paul Weekes and Jamie Dalrymple carried Middlesex to a dicey 71-run lead.Day 2 ReportSussex 385 v Lancashire 351 for 8 at Hove
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Stuart Law scored 96, and Glen Chapple brushed off his England disappointment with an important 54, as Lancashire fought towards first-innings parity at Hove. They had to cope with the wiles of Mushtaq Ahmed, who took 4 for 111 in 43 overs, and some incisive new-ball bowling from Billy Taylor, but by the close Warren Hegg and John Wood had nudged them to 351 for 8, a deficit of 34. Mark Chilton and Ian Sutcliffe started the day with a 99-run partnership for the first wicket, but when Mushtaq removed Carl Hooper and Chris Schofield in the space of three runs, Law and Chapple added 97 for the sixth wicket to stabilise the innings. Leicestershire 346 and 121 for 6 lead Warwickshire 277 by 190 runs at Edgbaston
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Fifteen wickets fell on the second day at Edgbaston, as Leicestershire had their first-innings advantage blown aside by another devastating performance from Waqar Younis. Waqar picked up 3 for 17 in six overs, as Leicestershire slumped from 98 for 1 to 121 for 6 at the close. Waqar had also saved Warwickshire with the bat. He came in at No. 10 and thumped 61 from 51 balls after his side had slumped to 138 for 7. He found excellent support from Dougie Brown, who finished unbeaten on 56. But that was just the start.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDay 3 ReportGlamorgan 444 and 74 for 2 need another 12 runs to beat Durham 355 and 174 at Cardiff
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Mike Kasprowicz flagellated Durham’s batsmen with career-best figures of 9 for 36, as Glamorgan all but wrapped up victory at Cardiff. It had been an even contest at the start of the day, but Glamorgan eked out a first-innings lead of 89 thanks to a century from Mark Wallace and useful contributions from Alex Wharf and Kasprowicz himself, who lamped 24 from 38 balls. Durham wiped off the deficit with few alarms, but Kasprowicz was unstoppable in his second spell. Bowling fast and full, he skittled Durham’s last nine wickets for the addition of 55 runs, with all but two bowled or lbw. Glamorgan needed a mere 86 for victory and were 12 short at the close.Day 2 ReportSomerset 476 v Northamptonshire 322 for 2 at Taunton
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A magnificent unbeaten 144 from Mike Hussey kept Northants firmly in the hunt at Taunton, after Somerset’s tail had wagged their way to a hefty 476. Steffan Jones and Carl Gazzard had starred for Somerset, adding 102 for the eighth wicket, but their efforts were wiped out by Hussey’s reply. He thumped 19 fours in his 228 balls, and had added 153 with David Sales (84*) at the close.

Brian Lara was named Trinidad’s Cricketer of the Year by Gus Logie, the West Indies coach, at the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board’s 47th annual presentation function last week.As well as his efforts against Australia and Sri Lanka for West Indies this season, Lara also contributed to victories for Trinidad and Tobago in the Carib Beer regional series, making him the clear favourite for the honour. Ravi Rampaul, who holds the record for the most wickets in a regional youth series, was named the Young Cricketer of the Year over the weekend.Logie announced the awards at the function, before which he addressed the club’s up and coming players. He said all eyes would be on the successful young players in the coming season, and warned them of the pressures of making it to the top level.Logie said: “You will have to love it. Love the battle, love the challenges, love to see the momentum shift, and you must not be scared to defy the norm.”

England v South Africa, 4th Test, Headingley, Day 2

The day started off depressingly for diehard England fans. South Africa, not content with ruining their day yesterday, by reaching 260 when they should probably have been bowled out for half that, pooped the party even further by hanging around for 105 minutes and adding 82 more runs,And when they were finally all out there was one tense over for England’s openers to face before the lunch interval. We’d been here before: on the third evening at Trent Bridge, England had one over to negotiate. That time, Marcus Trescothick didn’t even survive the first ball, and England never really recovered.So this time it was vital that Trescothick and Michael Vaughan saw out that one over – and they did, even collecting 11 runs to make lunch go down that much easier. And though Vaughan departed shortly after lunch, Trescothick and Butcher never looked back. They were helped that the new ball was in the hands of Dewald Pretorius, very much the apprentice to the absent sorcerer Shaun Pollock. And with Monde Zondeki limping off after his batting heroics, South Africa were exposed in the field.England’s two contrasting left-handers ripped into the bowling. Trescothick, out of sorts in the series so far, got those pigeon toes twinkling, and eventually began to rasp out the crunching cover-drive that signifies he is in form. Meanwhile Butcher, who has been in fine fettle all summer, sprinted ahead, clunking cuts, drive and pulls to all parts. He surged to 50 with his seventh four, a ferocious chop off Andrew Hall. There were also seven fours in Trescothick’s half-century, which he reached an over or two later with a couple of prime cuts to the boundary off Makhaya Ntini.By now most of those England fans had emerged from behind the sofa, only to fall back on it in astonishment when Trescothick and Butcher amazed everyone by accepting the umpires’ bad-light offer about an hour after tea. It was a decision that allowed the shell-shocked South Africans to regroup – and also, inevitably, it cost a wicket almost immediately play resumed.Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden CricInfo.Click here for today’s bulletin

Zimbabweans 149 and 255 for 9 dec drew with Rockingham-Mandurah 123 and 135 for 6
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Craig Wishart completed a boundary-laden century and Sean Ervine enjoyed his third impressive performance of the match, to ensure that Zimbabwe finished the stronger in a testing first encounter of their Australian tour, against the grade cricketers of Rockingham-Mandurah.Zimbabwe had resumed their second innings on a ropey 107 for 6, a modest lead of 133. But Wishart, 32 not out overnight, found a solid ally in Ervine, and between them they added 136 for the seventh wicket to push Rockingham-Mandurah onto the defensive. Wishart’s innings was distinctly two-paced. Although he hung around for 235 balls, his innings included 11 fours and six sixes.Ervine’s contribution was a tenacious 51, including five fours and a six, and it was something of a surprise that he was overlooked for the man of the match award after his 41 and 5 for 37 in the first two innings of the match. Instead, that honour was shared by Wishart and Rockingham-Mandurah’s Luke Ronchi, who smacked his second brisk 40-odd of the match to ensure the draw.After being set an improbable target of 282, Ronchi came to the crease with Zimbabwe on something of a roll. Ervine was once again in the thick of things, dismissing Scott Meuleman early on and Craig Simmons for 35. But it was the left-arm spin of Ray Price that really put the skids under Rockingham-Mandurah. He finished with 4 for 55 including the dismissals of Steven Glew and Adam Voges in quick succession. But from 71 for 4, Ronchi’s run-a-ball 47 stalled Zimbabwe’s momentum and saved the match.Day Two bulletin

The imposing form of Western Australia’s batting line-up has South Australian coach Wayne Phillips wary ahead of tomorrow’s ING Cup match at Adelaide Oval.The two sides have already met at the WACA in the season opener of the domestic one-day competition last month, with the Warriors’ batsmen amassing 5-293 from their 50 overs.It set up a 99-run win, which gave WA a bonus point and continued SA’s dismal one-day form from last season, in which the Redbacks won just one of 10 matches and regularly conceded bonus points.The Warriors followed that by posting a total of 280 against New South Wales at North Sydney Oval last Sunday, although the Blues managed to overhaul that total.WA batsmen Mike Hussey and Murray Goodwin have been in sparkling form, the pair both scoring brisk half-centuries against SA and Hussey following that with a century against the Blues at better than a run per ball.And, with WA skipper Justin Langer emerging from an early season form slump with an unbeaten 163 against NSW on the final day of their Pura Cup match yesterday, Phillips said the Warriors would be hard to contain.”The WA line-up is tremendously capable and pretty dangerous with the bat,” Phillips said.”We will need to play in a disciplined way to contain them.”They are a pretty impressive one-day unit.”But Phillips added the Redbacks had improved since their loss to WA, with a confidence-boosting win against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval last Saturday.It was inspired by a brilliant all-round performance by veteran off-spinner John Davison, who belted 59 from 63 balls, then took 5-26.Phillips said Davison, who represented his native Canada at the World Cup this year and notched the tournament’s fastest ever century, had gained plenty of confidence from his World Cup heroics.”He’s a pretty complete package when he’s in form, there’s no doubt about it,” Phillips said.He said his mostly young, inexperienced side was still learning how to approach limited overs cricket and would reap huge benefits from the win over the Tigers.”It’s a general understanding and a general plan about the way they play the game and how best to play one-day cricket,” he said.”We have got a few ideas we’re trying to get the players to learn.”The players certainly enjoyed being part of a winning side.”That’s something that can encourage us and motivate us and that makes us a much more competitive outfit.”WA has named all-rounder Kade Harvey in its squad for what would be his first ING Cup match of the season after off-season knee surgery.SA squad: Greg Blewett (captain), Andy Flower, Mark Cleary, Mark Higgs, Mark Cosgrove, Ben Johnson, John Davison, Trent Kelly, Shane Deitz, Graham Manou, Callum Ferguson, Paul Rofe.WA squad: Justin Langer (captain), Michael Hussey, Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Shaun Marsh, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Callum Thorp, Paul Wilson and Peter Worthington.

Western Australia 7 for 197 (North 75*, Griffith 3-40) beat Tasmania 9 for 193 (Watson 63, Harvey 3-49) by three wickets
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An unbeaten 75 in 96 balls from Marcus North helped guide Western Australia to a tense three-wicket win over Tasmania at Perth, a result which means that Western Australia leapfrog New South Wales to head the ING standings, while Tasmania’s fourth straight defeat effectively ends their one-day ambitions for the summer.WA looked set for an easy win when they restricted Tasmania to 9 for 193 and then cruised to 1 for 82, but the dismissal of Ryan Campbell for 42 (82 for 2) triggered a mini collapse during which four wickets fell for 38 runs. Then North was joined by Brad Hogg and the pair put on a crucial 68 runs for the sixth wicket. By the time Hogg fell for 26 the game was as good as over, but the margin of victory was further reduced when Kade Harvey tried to end the match in style but was caught behind for 0.Earlier, forgotten Australian allrounder Shane Watson’s stubborn 63 off 90 balls minutes on a lively WACA pitch helped Tasmania to respectability, and even though the wicket had a strong tinge of green, their score was always going to be hard to defend.Wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer (48 off 80 balls) provided a handy foil to Watson’s innings, but Tasmania were tamed by a well-disciplined WA attack with allrounder Kade Harvey (3 for 49) taking three wickets in four balls near the death.The rot set in quickly for the Tasmanians with openers Michael Dighton (6) and Michael Di Venuto (10) dismissed in the first four overs. Jamie Cox fell for 7 soon after a 45-minute break for rain before Watson and Daniel Marsh (22) mounted a fightback of sorts. However, Hogg deceived Marsh before Watson and Clingeleffer put on 70 for the sixth wicket.

New South Wales 7 for 296 (Phelps 136, O’Brien 49*) beat South Australia 9 for 288 (Cameron 66, Lehmann 63) by 8 runs
ScorecardDarren Lehmann, after having his customary nerve-settling cigarette in front of the Drummoyne Oval grandstand before going out to bat, kickstarted the most important week of his career today with a half-century for South Australia in the ING Cup match against NSW.Lehmann’s smooth 63 from as many balls wasn’t enough to give the Redbacks a win, though. With his team needing 12 runs from seven balls for victory in reply to NSW’s 7 for 296, and with four wickets in hand, Lehmann pulled a long hop from Stuart MacGill down the throat of Dominic Thornely on the square-leg fence to allow the Blues to sneak home by eight runs.”It was 50-50 at that stage,” said NSW captain Steve Waugh. “We only needed one wicket, really – Darren Lehmann was the key. It was the crucial ball of the match, it was either going to be six or out. That was really the turning point. We were going to win or lose it with Stuey because they were going to try to hit him for six. That was the gamble I took and it came off.”Australia’s Test squad to tour Sri Lanka will be named on Friday and Lehmann desperately needs a string of eye-catching scores this week in back-to-back games against the Blues to book a seat on the plane. Otherwise, his Test career is most likely over.He was furious with himself when he fell to MacGill at such a crucial moment. “If I’d hit that half-tracker for six, we win the game so it’s pretty disappointing,” said Lehmann, whose team had earlier needed only 27 runs from five overs to win. “It just spun and bounced a bit.”SA and the Blues start a Pura Cup game at the SCG on Tuesday, when national selectors will be keeping a close eye on Lehmann, who hasn’t played a Test since early October because of a left Achilles tendon injury. He’s undoubtedly in the twilight of his career but with Australia playing crucial Test series in spin-friendly Sri Lanka and India this year, Lehmann remains an invaluable commodity because, alongside Simon Katich, he’s still the best player of the turning ball in the country.Earlier today, the unheralded Matthew Phelps ended his run-scoring drought for the Blues, broke Greg Blewett’s finger and left Lehmann with a bruised foot to set up a bittersweet triumph. It was bitter because the Blues entered the game already out of the running for this year’s Cup final, which they won last year, but sweet because any win is a good win – especially with Steve and Mark Waugh counting down the days to their retirements.Queensland’s thumping of Western Australia last Friday night ended any chance the Blues had of making the final. A perennial fringe player, Phelps blasted 136 from 140 balls to be the only NSW batsman to register a half-century. Phil Jaques (43), Steve Waugh (14) and Mark Waugh (20) all made premature exits before youngster Aaron O’Brien smacked a late 49 not out from 55 balls.

The West Indies women are preparing to play their first day-night game in international cricket on Tuesday in the second one-dayer against Pakistan.Ann Browne-John, coaching the West Indies, said that the team had discussed and prepared themselves for cricket under lights. "We have had a lot of discussion about it," Browne-John said. "I have tried to discuss with them all that they should expect and all that we will expect to happen in the day-night game, and hopefully once they put their heads to it, they will be successful."West Indies beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the first one-day international, after the Pakistan women struggled to 142 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs. The coach was effusive in her praise.”They did just as I expected, they played very efficiently. They bowled well and very, very economically,” Browne-John said. "Pakistan never got a chance to dominate the bowling and once they had bowled out Pakistan for a low score, then I knew it was going to be a matter of time before we won the game, because they really batted sensibly."

Brian Lara is likely to miss the first three one-day internationals against England, after being advised to rest for ten days to recover from a fracture to the little finger on his right hand.Lara regained his world Test batting record with a phenomenal unbeaten 400 in the fourth Test in Antigua, but the feat was all the more impressive seeing as he was still suffering from an injury he sustained during the first Test in Jamaica.But Lara’s 13-hour epic took its toll, and persistentpain forced him to seek medical attention during the final day’splay, during which time Ramnaresh Sarwan stood in as captain.Sarwan will be in charge again as the one-day series gets underway on Sunday, although Lara will nonetheless be travelling to Guyana with the rest of the squad.

Among those few fans who give a toss, all eyes will be on the toss when Australia play Zimbabwe in Harare this evening. If Australia bat first no record looks safe; if they bowl it should make for swift and excruciating viewing.Much will depend on the zest of Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting. On the eve of his team’s departure for Zimbabwe 12 days ago, he made ruthlessness his motto. “One thing I’ll stress to the players,” he said back then, “is that we’re there to play the best cricket we possibly can. If that means the games are over pretty quickly then so be it.”Since then, the two scheduled Tests have been abandoned – due to fears of a mismatch, not a miscarriage of justice – and the Australians have appeared increasingly queasy about playing against what amounts to a fourth-string Zimbabwe XI. Ponting, in particular, has softened his take-no-prisoners stance, suggesting that slaughtering minnows is not such wonderful sport after all and that teams such as Zimbabwe should be rubbed out of mainstream international cricket. Several players are reportedly irritated that the three one-dayers were not scrapped too.”The ICC has drawn a line between Test cricket and one-day cricket to maintain the value of Test cricket,” said Tim May, chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association. “The players’ association does not see or agree with the ICC view.”Still, from disagreement may well come dismantlement, disdain, disaster. Should Australia bat first and heed Ponting’s instructions to play their best possible cricket, the worst possible carnage seems inevitable. Highest team total in a one-day international is up for grabs; Sri Lanka’s 5 for 398 against Kenya in 1995-96 is the present record, while Australia’s personal best is the 2 for 359 they helter-skeltered against India in the last World Cup final.And Zimbabwe’s weakest link, despite the fact they were skedaddled for 35 against Sri Lanka on this same ground one month ago, would seem to be their attack. In five matches they dismissed only 22 Sri Lankan batsmen. For the Australian series they have brought in two 19-year-old quicks: Waddington Mwayenga, who has one previous ODI (figures 9-0-74-0) to his name, and the left-armer Ed Rainsford, who has none. Both were left out of today’s game and a largely unchanged side retained.The chances of Australia becoming the first side to crack the 400-run barrier do not seem altogether remote. Manage that and the heftiest ever victory margin – currently the 256 runs by which Ponting’s men knocked off Namibia in the last World Cup – looks a formality.The one great unknown is how quickly the Australians can click into top gear after nearly two weeks of fishing, trekking around game parks and watching TV. But as Adam Gilchrist joked in his newspaper column this morning: “To be honest, the boys shouldn’t find the adjustment too hard as it feels as if white balls are about all we’ve seen this trip – golf balls.”Australia plan to rotate all 14 players during the three matches. They will name their first-up XI just before the start of today’s game.For those interested, Fox Sports 2 will broadcast the wreckage live from 5.20pm (AEST). For everyone else, as they say in the trade, please look away now.