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An unbeaten half-century from debutant Vikram Atri gave Nottinghamshire theupper hand on the first day of their tour match with West Indies A at Trent Bridge. Atri made a patient 57 as the home side reached 149-3 before the weather closed in.The 19-year-old is a good example of Nottinghamshire’s excellent record inrecruiting British Asians. England batsman Usmaan Afzaal plays for the club,while pacer Nadeem Malik and talented batsman Bilal Shafayat are making their way in the game. Notts also gave debuts to teenagers Samit Patel, and Will Smith in an experimental line-up.Whilst Notts cannot be blamed for fielding the majority of their second team, West Indies A deserve some sympathy. The public reaction to their tour has been non-existent, and playing (and frequently losing) against average teams is not the ideal preparation for the international cricket that must surely be the ultimate aim of the squad. Perhaps a system of England A, Under-19 and Under-21 teams would provide a more stimulating opposition though this would, understandably, be challenged by counties not wanting to lose their stars mid-season.After winning the toss on a cloudy morning, acting captain Wayne Noon opted to bat. Atri, along with Guy Welton (43) – who oozes potential – looked confident against the visiting openers. Marlon Black and Tino Best looked lacklustre, though Best extracted a little pace from a bland strip.Welton cruised into the forties with a succession of front-foot boundaries. His fluency was countered by a more dogged effort from Atri. Welton eventually fell, bowled by a quick one from Best, but Atri and Shafayat saw the Midlands county through to lunch without further alarms.Shafayat (27) and Kevin Pieterson (1) fell soon after lunch. Jermaine Lawsonpicked up both wickets, trapping Shafayat lbw before bowling Pieterson, whofaced only two balls in nearly three quarters of an hour at the crease.Atri opened up a little after he was joined by Patel (11*), stroking ninegraceful boundaries. The West Indian bowlers again looked weary, clearlymissing the steadying influence of giant left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn. Reon King had been left out, with Ryan Hinds making his first appearance on tour.With the weather forecast for tomorrow a little more promising, Notts will probably be content with more batting practice. Trent Bridge was soulless today, with rippled applause echoing through empty stands. It was hardly the stuff of dreams, though it is a day that Atri should remember for the rest of his life.

SYDNEY – Quarantine officials were “knocked for six” this week when theyfoiled two unlucky Sydneysiders’ attempts to import fresh turf and soilfrom London’s historic Lord’s cricket ground.Two packages, complete with certificates of authenticity, arrived atSydney’s international mail centre late on Tuesday night, marked as”sporting (cricket) goods”.The cricket-loving mail inspectors were forced to put personaltemptation aside and confiscate the prized earth.”They [quarantine officials] were quite surprised, ‘knocked for six’ wasthe expression one of them used. They were very surprised to findsomething of that nature,” Australian Quarantine and InspectionService’s (AQIS) NSW international mail manager Craig Hall told AAP.”They can understand the interest of it and how it is an unusual itembut from a quarantine perspective it unfortunately can’t be allowed inthe country.”According to the Lord’s official website, cricket fans were given theopportunity to buy some of the landmark’s turf, which has been removedthis month to make way for an improved and faster-draining outfield.Hall said the sheer size of the turf surprised the AQIS officers.”It is very unusual to get something of this nature, that is for sure,especially as large as this.”The turf itself is in lots of 40cm by 40cm so they are quitesubstantial pieces.”We come across a whole raft of products, everything from differenttypes of exotic foods, fruit, occasionally we get live animals. Everyday is a smorgasbord out here but we rarely come across sportingmemorabilia.”The two separate addressees have been given the chance to re-export thematerial, which will otherwise be destroyed, Hall said.”We have given them the option to send these items back overseas if theywish, at their own expense, or we will hold them for a period of timeand then destroy them.”In the wake of the foot and mouth outbreak in Europe last year, AQISstaff screen 100 per cent of all international mail entering Australiausing X-ray machines and quarantine detector dogs.

North Zone need an almost improbable 378 runs on the final day to win their Duleep Trophy encounter against West Zone at the Nehru Stadium, Pune.On Thursday, West Zone’s two bowling stars, Irfan Pathan Junior and Sairaj Bahatule, removed the remaining two North Zone first innings wickets for the addition of just seven runs. The visitors eventual total of 238 gave West a healthy 158-run first innings lead. Pathan claimed four wickets while Bahatule claimed five.The West second innings got off to a steady start; openers Wasim Jaffer and Connor Williams (29) adding 68 before the latter was out. Jaffer celebrated the news of his inclusion in the Indian squad for the West Indies with a second successive 50 before being dismissed for 58 off 84 balls. Skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar also made a significant contribution, toting up 45 off 97 balls before falling to Ashish Nehra, another man who was savouring the news of his re-admission in the Indian Test squad.The other top-order batsmen, however, struggled before Nayan Mongia gave vent to his anger at being dropped yet again, by making a fiery 76 off 76 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. West Zone, then, declared at 273 for nine, leaving North 432 to seal an outright win. Ashish Nehra, who claimed 4-55, was the most successful bowler for NorthNorth, made a steady start, reaching 54 for no loss in the 12 overs before stumps with Akash Chopra batting on 25 and Vikram Rathour on 26.

Pakistan produced a near perfect display of one-day cricket to level the tandard Bank One-Day International series with an emphatic 182-run win overSouth Africa at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.Winning the toss on a pitch that was always going to suit them better than the one in Durban, Pakistan made their intentions clear with Shahid Afridi setting the tone of the innings in the first over.The South Africans’ short-lived joy at the early wicket of Afridi for 13 off eight balls, turned into despair as Saleem Elahi and Abdur Razzaq set about the bowling with a record second-wicket partnership of 257 in 40 overs.Things might have been different had Lance Klusener held on to a fairly easycatch at third man when Saleem Elahi was on 34 and the Pakistan score 66, but that did not deter the batsman from taking full advantage of his second chance.In complete contrast to the innings in Durban, he batted magnificently, recordind his third hundred in four innings, surpassing his highest score of108. By the time he was caught at cover for 135 off 129 balls, including 19sparkling boundaries and the highest score by a Pakistan batsman against SouthAfrica, the damage had been done. When asked about his innings all he could say was “Happy”.Abdur Razzaq was a surprise coming in at number three, where he has had limited success, and played a marvellous chanceless career-best innings of 112, his first hundred in this form of cricket. Using 120 balls to score his runs he recorded 13 fours and two sixes.With the remaining batsmen throwing caution to the wind, Inzamam-ul-Haq managed a quick 36 off 22 balls to leave Pakistan on a massive 335/6, the highest score ever by any team against South Africa, and also the highest at St. George’s Park.When the slaughter was complete, the bowling figures were in tatters with none of the South African bowlers able to maintain an economy rate of less than six per over. Makhaya Ntini and Allan Donald had some success with two wickets apiece.South Africa needed to break the record for a team batting second and winning, improving on the 330 scored by Australia at the same ground after South Africa had posted 327.A good start was imperative and Herschelle Gibbs provided it. A 57-run partnership with Graeme Smith ended when Waqar Younis, after having a good LBW decision turned down, replied by clean bowling Gibbs for 40 in the eighth over.The wicket seemed to inspire him and he proceeded to bowl two excellent maidens in a row including the wicket of Smith for 18, who seemed to run out of patience charging down the pitch to drag the ball into the stumps.Neil McKenzie became the Waqar’s third wicket when an in-swinger trapped him right in front for four.Mohammad Sami, picking up three wickets, once again used his pace to cause problems for the South African batsmen. Boje, on the pull, was caught at long leg. Rhodes played outside a ball to be bowled and Kallis chased a wide one to be caught behind.South Africa had in the space of 10.3 overs gone from 57/1 to 100/7 and Pakistan were well on the way to a well-deserved win.Pollock and Klusener resisted for a short period before Afridi, who had Mark Boucher caught behind, bowled Pollock with a wrong ‘un and had Donald caught behind. Bowled out for 153, South Africa had recorded their lowest score against Pakistan in 12 home internationals.The only positive for South Africa was the increased confidence of Lance Klusener. Ending the night undefeated on 29 he seems to returning to the form he showed during the 1999 World Cup.Pakistan must rate this as one of their best performances in recent years, and a total turnaround from the performance in Durban. Their batting was near faultless and once Waqar Younis found his rhythm it filtered through to the rest of the team.It was an emphatic win that should make them favourites for East London on Friday night before they move on to the quicker pitches in Cape Town and Paarl.

First Division

Third day
Andrew Gale led Yorkshire to 525, way past Surrey‘s declaration total and in reply Surrey ended the day trailing by eight runs, having slipped to 56 for 2, including the wicket of Mark Ramprakash for 14. His hundred hundreds hunt stretches to another match, then; his next opportunity will now be against Somerset at Whitgift School next week. Gale’s 150, meanwhile, was his third first-class century, the 100 brought up with a straight single. Jacques Rudolph reached his hundred with the third ball of the day but was later trapped fairly high but playing no shot to Usman Afzaal, who bowled unchanged throughout the morning at The Oval. Rudolph and Gale helped Yorkshire save the follow-on – the mark coming with a straight six from Gale off Afzaal – in a stand worth 206, before pushing on to gain the lead. The powerful Tim Bresnan was left stranded on 84. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan could be out for a few weeks after retiring hurt from batting with a hamstring injury.Marcus Trescothick and Ian Blackwell gave Somerset the edge heading into the final day after their batting efforts helped to set Kent 271 at Tunbridge Wells. Charl Willoughby bagged three wickets and limited Kent to 134 for 5 after Trescothick made a big century, but Joe Denly was making a good fist of the chase. He was unbeaten on 64 and his side require a further 137 with 5 wickets in hand. It’s anyone’s game, but Somerset will be favourites.Fourth day
For John Ward’s account of how Sussex earned their first win of the season against Nottinghamshire click here.

Second Division

Third day
Glamorgan will in all likelihood be asked to follow on at Swansea after Johan van der Wath and Nicky Boje bowled them out for 278, still 253 adrift. van der Wath combined with David Sales to dismiss the openers Gareth Rees and Matthew Wood as Northamptonshire worked their way through a stubborn Glamorgan line-up. Michael Powell and Jamie Dalrymple made fifties but Northamptonshire are still very much in with a chance of the win despite rain scooping out a huge wedge of the second day.Leicestershire‘s batsmen manoeuvred their side into a dominant position heading into the final day against Essex at Chelmsford. Hylton Ackerman converted his overnight 90 to a century, then Paul Nixon made his second fifty of the game – he was left on an unbeaten 92, as three wickets fell for seven runs. Claude Henderson also struck a half-century as Leicestershire set Essex a daunting 445. Before the close, the home side lost Tom Westley to close 69 for 1.Warwickshire‘s game with Middlesex looks to be meandering towards a draw at Edgbaston, after Middlesex moved in sight of parity with Warwickshire, who are still to bat. Billy Godleman and Owais Shah closed the deficit to 17 runs – Godleman with 56 not out, Shah unbeaten on 46 – with Ed Smith Middlesex’s only faller.

The lengthening shadows of September brought down the curtain on another first class cricket season at the County Ground, and for followers of the Cidermen there is nothing left other than to reflect on the season past and look forward to better things ahead in 2003.The club may have been relegated in both the County Championship and the NUL, but there was a breathtaking victory over Kent in the semi final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy when against all odds Somerset won themselves a place in the Lord’s final, where despite disappointment in defeat was hard not to enjoy the occasion.There were also some memorable performances. Ian Blackwell’s hundred in the only championship victory of the season when he bludgeoned a Yorkshire attack which included several England bowlers is one that comes to mind. Incidentally, that was the last time that Marcus Trescothick played a four day game for the county.England boss Duncan Fletcher’s presence at the Yorkshire match probably played a major part in `Blackies’ selection for the ICC Trophy where he made a considerable impact to earn a call up for the one day squad to play in Australia, as well as a place in the Academy `Down Under’this winter, and everybody is delighted for him. The only down side for supporters is that if he becomes an England regular we will see less of him at the County Ground.Matthew Wood has come of age and those who were fortunate to watch him fall tantalisingly close to a double century against Kent, only missing out to the finger tips of David Masters will know that he is a talent that we will be watching for many years to come.Paceman Simon Francis has also developed considerably during the season after being thrown in at the deep end early on through injury to the established bowlers. Indeed it was the former Hampshire man who turned the semi final match against Kent with a superb run out that will be talked about for many years to come.Keith Parsons played a vital part in the C and G run, and was quite rightly named `Man of the Match’ in the quarter final against Worcestershire when he played a superb innings and took vital wickets.Matt Bulbeck happily returned to the first class scene and played a full season for the first time for several years, and showed that he was back to his old form taking a career best in the final game against Lancashire.Sadly the side has suffered more than it’s fair share of injury in 2002, compared to last year when the whole season was virtually injury free, and this has resulted in key players being missing at vital times.Away from the first team Somerset Under 19’s won the ECB Two Day competition when they beat Hampshire in one day, and Neil Edwards has been selected to go to Australia this winter with England Under 19’s, all of which has to be good for the future of the club.No it wasn’t all bad this summer, and when the 2003 season gets underway in 193 days time there will no doubt have been some changes, but the same fanes who witnessed the relegations in 2002 will all be back at the County Ground to follow the fortunes of their beloved Somerset and looking forward to getting involved in promotion battles.

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond is to play for Warwickshire in August.Bond, who secured another five-wicket bag today, his second of the two-Test series against the West Indies and the second of his brief Test career, is to replace South African Shaun Pollock while he takes part in an international tri-series for his country.After a four-month lay-off Bond was keen to maintain the momentum he has gained since returning for the West Indies tour to bridge the gap of non-activity New Zealand faces before it plays in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka in September.His contract involves him playing three four-day matches in the County Championship and one one-day match in the Norwich Union League.In his six Test matches since making his debut against Australia in November last year, Bond has taken 26 wickets at 25.19.New Zealand Cricket operations manager John Reid said: “New Zealand Cricket has agreed to allow Shane the opportunity to play some cricket for Warwickshire because we believe it will provide him with excellent preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September.”The TelstraClear Black Caps first match in the ICC Champions Trophy is against Australia in Colombo on September 15.”This is a knock-out tournament. We must win that first match if we are to progress so we want Shane to be in the best possible condition for that match,” said Reid. “After a four month injury lay-off he needs to maintain the momentum he has developed during the current tour of the West Indies.Bond’s manager, Geoff Allott, supported New Zealand Cricket’s decision: “As the West Indies series has progressed Shane has started to find his rhythm again and, in terms of his preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy, he will benefit far more from match-play for Warwickshire than he would back in New Zealand where his preparation would be restricted to indoor net bowling.”Bond will return to New Zealand after the West Indies tour and the New Zealand Cricket medical team will be conducting a thorough assessment of his physical fitness, before confirming his availability for Warwickshire.”Shane’s re-introduction to cricket after his foot injury has been well managed and we want to ensure this continues,” said Reid.Under his contract with Warwickshire, Bond will have a managed workload where he will be restricted to bowling a maximum of 20 overs per day.

Any hopes Hampshire Hawks had of gaining promotion to Division I of the Norwich Union League were thrown into disarray as they suffered a fifth successive defeat away to Northamptonshire Steelbacks, to languish well away from the top three.Being put into bat on the slow wicket and overcast conditions, Hampshire lost three early wickets to the seam of Darren Cousins, including that of Mascarenhas who suffered a first-ball dismissal for the second day running.The conditions were not ideal for fluent strokeplay and the sides came off for 20 minutes after a heavy shower, which meant that again Duckworth/Lewis would have a say in the matter.Three overs were sliced from the innings as John Crawley and John Francis shared 40 runs together before Crawley, playing his last match before joining the England team in Nottingham, stretched forward to the off-spinner Jason Brown and was well stumped.Nic Pothas, as he had done the previous day held the innings together but only Will Kendall offered him any support with 14 as the innings fell apart.The Steelbacks started well despite a few scares with Alan Mullally being particularly difficult on the track. But they had survived to 20 without loss after eight overs before more rain descended on the County Ground.Five overs were lost, leaving the home side to score a reduced 122 to win. But they had reached 52-0 halfway through the 15th over before the heavens opened once more and there was no further chance of play.It was not too difficult to surmise that the Steelbacks had won on a Duckworth/Lewis countback, although the 16 run D/L result flattered Hampshire.

All-rounder Jacques Kallis followed his bowling heroics on day one with an equally accomplished batting performance on day two, steering South Africa into a commanding position against Sri Lanka in the opening Castle Lager/MTN Test at Wanderers on Saturday.Sri Lanka’s bowlers had fought back during the afternoon after a woeful morning performance, claiming five wickets for 47 runs either side of lunch, but Kallis then wrestled back the initiative with an unbeaten five hour 75.Adding 68 runs with Mark Boucher (38), 80 with skipper Shaun Pollock (38) and then 49 with Andrew Hall (31*), Kallis helped the home side overhaul Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 192 and build a healthy 186 run lead by the close of play.Kallis’s painstaking innings means that the right-hander has not been dismissed in a Test match for 903 minutes, a run that stretches back eight months and includes scores of 61* against Australia, 75* and 139* against Bangladesh in addition to today’s effort.Sri Lanka had the started the day desperate to make early inroads but captain Sanath Jayasuriya was left frustrated as his bowlers – particularly Dilhara Fernando and Ruchira Fernando – bowled waywardly, wasting a rare opportunity to bowl on a well-grassed pitch offering the quick bowlers seam movement.Not only did the bowlers fail to put the ball in the right areas but they conceded a staggering 62 sundries, including an unacceptable 31 no balls, that left them within touching distance of the 71 world record sundries conceded by West Indies against Pakistan at Georgetown in 1987-88.Openers Graeme Smith and Gary Kirsten took full toll with a 133 run stand in just 30.2 overs. Smith was particularly aggressive – even against off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan whom he hit out of the attack with three boundaries in an over – scoring 73 from 92 balls, his second Test fifty.Eventually, Jayasuriya threw the ball to his inexperienced fourth seamer, Hasantha Fernando, in exasperation. The move brought instantaneous success as the medium pacer conjured up a wicket with his second ball in Test cricket as Smith edged to first slip.The wicket brought Martin van Jaarsveld (3) to the crease, who was gifted a surprise chance to state his credentials after Herschelle Gibbs pulled out of the Test minutes before the two captains tossed yesterday. But there was no fairytale for van Jaarsveld as a well-directed inswinger that knocked back his middle stuck.After lunch, Sri Lanka continued their fight back as South Africa lost three wickets in the space of 11 balls: Hasantha Fernando ended Kirsten’s three hour resistance when the left-hander skewed a catch into the gully, Ashwell Prince (3) miscued a hook to be caught at backward square and Neil Mckenzie was trapped lbw first ball by a Chaminda Vaas inswinger.South Africa were 180 for five and Sri Lanka had pulled themselves right back into the game. However, Sri Lanka, not then helped by the enforced removal of Perera from the attack after three warnings for running on the pitch, struggled to make further inroads as Kallis ground on remorselessly.Muttiah Muralitharan eventually snared Boucher down the leg-side on the stroke of tea but the off-spinner was generally played well and with Dilhara Fernando continue to hand out sundries, South Africa’s long batting order frustrated the Sri Lankans till the close.Shaun Pollock was delighted with his side’s performance: “It was a really pleasing day after a flutter in the middle. The depth in our middle order came through again. We have got to be happy with the way we countered Murali. For him to pick up only one for 82 is a feather in our cap.”Ominously for Sri Lanka he wants his batsmen to carry on tomorrow and a forlorn Jayasuriya admitted afterwards that his batsmen needed to do something special in the second innings.”This was a very disappointing day for us after reducing South Africa to 180 for five,” said Jayasuriya. “Unlike South Africa we didn’t put the ball in the right areas. To lose Ruchira from the attack and have Dili concede so many extras was frustrating.””Tomorrow we have to knock them over very quickly and then the batsmen have to occupy the crease for a long time. We need to be positive bit the top five have got to make big scores – we cannot rely on the lower order.”

The Tasmanian Cricket Association is pleased to announce that young South Australian batsman, Luke Williams, will be joining the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers for season 2002/2003.Williams who has been a prolific run scorer in underage competitions and ACB Cup level is 22 years of age.He toured England with the Australian Under 19’s in 1998 and held the record for the highest individual score for South Australia at Under 17 level, of 225 not out with an aggregate of 530, achieved in the 1996/97 season carnival. This record was his for four seasons until it was eclipsed by Callum Ferguson during last season’s Under 17 competition.Williams made his first-class debut for South Australia in late 2000/2001 but had limited success in the two games he played.Cascade Tasmanian Tigers Coach, Brian McFadyen said, “Luke is a long term investment for Tasmanian cricket taking into consideration his age and his prolific record at underage and ACB Cup level.”He added, “Williams is an ambitious, modern cricketer and we are excited about adding him to the other young players within the squad who we envisage will be the core players for Tasmania in the future.”