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16 – The number of times Australia have beaten New Zealand in the last 18 ODIs between the two teams3 – The number of half-centuries for Daniel Vettori in ODIs. Two of them have come against Australia – at Christchurch in 2005 he scored 83, his highest in ODIs103 – The seventh-wicket partnership between Vettori and Jacob Oram – it’s New Zealand’s third-highest for that wicket in ODIs, after the 115 that Lee Germon and Adam Parore added against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1996, and Parore and Dipak Patel’s 111-run stand against West Indies at Kingston.28 – The number of runs Daniel Vettori leaked in his last four overs after conceding just 13 in his first six52 – The number of runs Australia scored in their last ten overs, despite having six wickets in hand after 40 overs15.21 – Hamish Marshall’s average in his last 21 ODIs.51.98 – The average partnership between Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn in ODIs. In 62 innings they have added 3015 runs46.36 – Andrew Symonds’ average in ODIs won by Australia. Of his 25 fifty-plus scores, only one has been in a losing cause18.36 – Glenn McGrath’s bowling average in ODIs against New Zealand. In 27 matches against them he has taken 53 wickets

Division One

Darren Lehmann fell three runs short of Yorkshire‘s highest individual score in his final match for the county, but they are well on course for first division survival as Durham fell to 203 for 6 in reply at Headingley. Lehmann’s mammoth 339, a career-best and his second triple first-class century, had a large part to play in Durham’s increasing gloom, and he was well assisted by Michael Lumb, who fell two short of a deserved century. Lehmann became the first Yorkshire batsman to score 300 since the great Herbert Sutcliffe in 1932 and he faced 403 balls, striking 52 fours and three sixes. Gary Scott and Garry Park each hit 77 but Deon Kruis took three wickets to begin the Durham slide, and Jason Gillespie added two of his own.Darren Stevens became Kent‘s third centurion as they continued to make hay against Middlesex at Canterbury. The home side built on their efforts to reach 603 for 6 before declaring shortly after Stevens reached the landmark. He was unbeaten on 126, and received support from Geraint Jones, who made 59 as Middlesex wilted in the heat. Rob Ferley then heaped on the misery for Middlesex, reducing them from the promising position of 92 for 1 to 136 for 4 in a three-wicket burst which removed Ben Hutton, Owais Shah and Ed Smith.For a full report of Sussex‘s key clash against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge click here.For a full report of Lancashire‘s crucial match against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl click here.

Division Two

Lee Goddard and Graham Wagg’s seventh-wicket stand of 181 lifted Derbyshire to 385 and they had a Mark Ramprakash-less Surrey in some trouble by the close at Derby, having reached 208 for 6.The nineties proved too nervous for both Goddard (91) and Wagg (94) but their fight bodes well for the young pair. Half-centuries from Scott Newman and Mark Butcher added some respectability to the Surrey total, but the mood was not improved when Butcher had to retire hurt on 51.Gloucestershire sealed maximum batting points by coursing to 525, capitalising on their efforts of the first day at Cardiff. Alex Gidman fell eight short of a century, but there were no such alarms for Mark Hardinges, who reached his ton, his second of the season, before falling one run later. Glamorgan‘s Daniel Cherry and Mark Wallace chipped away forcefully at the deficit, putting on an opening stand of 147 before Wallace edged Steve Kirby for 64.Essex built on a solid first day at Grace Road to put them in prime position to claim promotion. James Foster added his eighth first-class hundred before being trapped lbw by Nick Walker for 115 and Andy Bichel provided some lower-order fireworks, biffing 75 from 104 balls with eight fours and four sixes. Bichel then struck two early blows to leave Leicestershire in trouble at 21 for 2, before Darren Robinson (80) and John Sadler dug them out with a commanding third-wicket stand of 109. Sadler remained unbeaten on 71.Monty Panesar ripped through Worcestershire‘s line-up with a five-for to bowl them out for 284, 61 runs behind Northamptonshire, and dent their promotion hopes. He was supported by Jason Brown, who took three wickets, and there were two victims for Steven Crook. The openers Stephen Peters and Chris Rogers increased Northants’ advantage to 85 by the close at Northampton .

Andrew Flintoff has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2005, as the 143rd edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack prepares to hit the bookshops tomorrow.The award, which was instituted two years ago and has previously been won by the Australian duo of Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne, was a reflection of Flintoff’s towering performance in last summer’s Ashes, a series that the editor, Matthew Engel, unequivocally describes as “the greatest”.”We took soundings from writers and commentators in all the cricketing countries, and there were only two people in it, Flintoff and Warne,” said Engel. “Our cover picture sums up the year as we saw it. Flintoff and Warne are shown embracing after the Ashes series – but the one is just a fraction above the other. We felt in the end that 2005 was the year when Freddie touched greatness.”Both men were ineligible for Wisden’s more traditional honours list: the Five Cricketers of the Year, which dates back to 1889 and is the oldest honour in cricket. By ancient custom, no-one can be chosen twice for this list, but each of the five recipients did nonetheless play their part in the Ashes: three for England, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones and Kevin Pietersen and two from Australia, Brett Lee and the captain, Ponting.’The Five’ invariably stir a debate among the cricket-watchers of the world, but as Engel points out, the criteria for selection is steeped in Wisden’s traditions of editorial independence. “The Five have never been the world’s top five,” he explained in The Times this week. “The choice is based on their influence on the English season, and successive editors have cut themselves enough slack to pick players who just happen to appeal to them. It has always been accepted that there is room for whimsy, idiosyncrasy or downright eccentricity. Cricket followers like that.”Cricket followers also liked the events of last summer, when England regained the Ashes after an 18-and-a-half-year gap, in a cliffhanger of a series that will echo down the ages. “It was a triumph for the real thing,” Engel wrote in his typically hard-hitting Notes by the Editor. “Five five-day Test matches between two gifted, well-matched teams playing fantastic cricket at high velocity and high pressure with the perfect mix of chivalry and venom. Here was the best game in the world, at its best.”To mark the occasion, Wisden has revved up its traditional coverage and introduced a special 72-page Ashes section – plus 12 colour plates. The coverage includes “Notes and Quotes” from each Test, reviews of the media by Quentin Letts and Malcolm Knox, afterthoughts by John Woodcock, Simon Hughes and the former Australian captain, Mark Taylor – and even an analysis of how the Ashes changed the English language.And several of the articles in the Comment section also derive directly from the Ashes:

Subhash Dixit, a former India Under-15 captain, died after falling from the sixth floor of a building in Kanpur on June 9.Dixit, a resident of Kanpur, had left home for practice at the Green Park stadium; he went to a nearby shopping complex, from where he jumped. Dixit, 22, is believed to have been frustrated by his inability to make the Uttar Pradesh team for the Ranji Trophy.Dixit was captain of the Indian team during the Under-15 World Cup in 2000. He had also captained the Uttar Pradesh Under-15 and Under-19 teams. He was unemployed at the time of his death and came from a poor family. His father and one of his two sisters suffer from mental disability.Following his death, friends and fans of Dixit held protests in the city on Monday, demanding a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Dixit’s family. According to PTI, the protestors blocked traffic by putting the deceased cricketer’s body on the road, and only relented when police and civil officials reached the spot. They handed over a memorandum to the Additional City magistrate.Placards criticizing the UPCA (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) were on display. The protestors alleged that none of the Association’s officials met Dixit’s family to express their sympathy.A group of people also attacked Shashikant Khandekar, a former selector for the Uttar Pradesh side, at his residence on Sunday evening.The UPCA announced a cash relief of Rs 1 lakh for Dixit’s family. In addition, the association said it would name the state Under-17 cricket tournament in his memory.

Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chief executive, has criticised South Africa’s decision to pull out of the Unitech Cup following a bomb blast in Colombo on Monday. South Africa’s withdrawal came after an independent security assessment by a Dubai-based firm said that “the current risk to the team is at an unacceptable level”.”I am amazed at their decision to return home,” Mendis told AFP. “The government put in place presidential-level security for the team, yet they were not convinced. They took advice from a Dubai firm which is even more surprising. I did not see anyone from this firm in Colombo, yet they prepared a security report within 24 hours sitting in Dubai.”The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) issued a statement fully supporting the decision while saying that it was an extremely difficult one to make. “This has been a very tense last three days” said Tony Irish, the Chief Executive Officer of SACA. “Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and I have been in constant contact with the team in Colombo while the process necessary for making the decision has taken place. It has been a very difficult time for the players, especially having to deal with the uncertainty of the situation.””At the end of the day, you have to rely on what the security experts say and base the decisions on that. The team’s security consultants, Nicholls, Steyn and Associates, have been very thorough and the independent ICC security consultants concurred with their security assessment. One cannot underestimate the difficulty of this decision, but it does show that Cricket South Africa places the emphasis on where it should be, namely the safety of the players and the national team.”

Scorecard
Essex ground Yorkshire into the dirt and then reaped late dividends as they gained complete control at Headingley. Essex’s dominance was highlighted as Darren Gough, sent in as a nightwatchman, came within seven runs of registering a century against his former team. His 93 took 104 balls and contained 11 fours and three sixes and he was the dominated partner in a stand of 140 with Andy Flower. Not that Flower was a slouch, he just went about scoring in his own fashion, and eventually fell to Tim Bresnan after facing 426 balls. The torture didn’t end their for the Yorkshire attack as James Foster piled in with 92 before his dismissal signalled the declaration from Ronnie Irani. Yorkshire’s weary openers – Matthew Wood and Phil Jaques – having chased leather for over five sessions, then fell to Andre Adams in quick succession before Yorkshire could finally retreat to the dressing-room to lick their wounds.
Scorecard
Jason Brown gave Northants a potentially vital first-innings lead of 52 as he finally got among the wickets after a barren start to the season. Brown, who toured Sri Lanka with England in 2001 and was touted as a contender for a Test spot earlier in his career, had picked up just six wickets this summer until today’s haul. He continually chipped away at the Somerset batting and each time a partnership threatened to develop he struck. His key strike was removing Sanath Jayasuriya, who was dangerously poised on 55 and is starting to find his feet in county cricket. Ian Blackwell’s big-hitting 59 was also nipped in the bud by Brown before he mopped up the tail. However, some lusty blows from Richard Johnson kept the deficit down to manageable proportions. Gareth Andrew’s late removal of Bilal Shafayat means Somerset are not without hope entering the third day.1st day

Leicestershire took the honours on a turgid opening day at Derby as runs came at less than two and a half an over. All the Leicestershire attack was frugal and the wickets were shared around. Michael Di Venuto – normally a very aggressive batsman – took 196 balls over 76, but the flimsy Derbyshire batting would have completely folded without his contribution. After choosing to bat they subsided to 61 for 4 with David Masters claiming a brace. There were useful contributions from the lower order, especially Graeme Welch who made 42, but they could never break the shackles. The situation could have been better for Leicestershire if Paul Nixon hadn’t missed two chances – one off Di Venuto and one off Welch – but neither batsman really cashed in. On a pitch already showing signs of variable bounce Derbyshire took a rare attacking option, late in the day, when they declared to give Leicestershire a couple of overs to face. They survived and Derbyshire’s attack will have to be as thrifty as Leicestershire’s on the second day.

The proposed series of one-day matches between India and West Indies planned for North America is back on, although all the games are now likely to take place in Canada and not in the USA as originally intended.It is reported from Canada that a deal was done between the Indian board (BCCI) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) when their respective chairmen met during the ICC executive meeting at Lord’s this week.The series, which is likely to be played in Toronto in September, had been reportedly scrapped and the boards were said to be looking at alternative venues in the Far East. The sticking point was that the grounds in the USA had not received ICC clearance, but there are no such issues in Toronto which has already hosted one-day games.There are other issues which could prove a stumbling block, not least that the West Indies players are said not to have been consulted about their participation in the series which they need to be as it falls outside the ICC’s Future Tours Programme. The WICB, which is heavily in debt, will have to make separate financial arrangements with them.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

In an enthralling contest which ebbed and flowed throughout, Nathan Astle’s unbeaten 115 proved to be the crucial difference as New Zealand clinched the Videocon Cup with a six-wicket win at Harare. Set a challenging 277 for victory, New Zealand got off to a stunning start, as Stephen Fleming (61) and Astle put together 121 in 18.1 overs, and then rode on that momentum despite a few wobbles against the spinners.Astle’s matchwinning effort overshadowed a couple of fine Indian batting performances – Mohammad Kaif played the outstanding hand for the second time in three games with a beautifully paced unbeaten 93, while Virender Sehwag finally got some batting form back with his first half-century in 16 ODIs.The last time the two sides met in a final, Chris Cairns had struck a magnificent century to make light of a stiff target. This time, he was the supersub, sitting in the pavilion and ready to walk out if the need arose, but as it turned out, his contribution wasn’t even needed, thanks primarily to an astonishing onslaught at the start of the run-chase.India’s bowlers have often stumbled in finals, but it appeared they might have finally got their act together when Irfan Pathan started off with a maiden. The next five overs went for 62, however, as Fleming and Astle rocked the Harare Sports Club with strokes all around the park, taking full toll of the bowlers’ proclivity to bowl on both sides of the wicket. Fleming was especially severe on Pathan, spanking him for five fours in his third over. Astle hammered boundaries square of the wicket on both sides, and Sourav Ganguly was forced to run for cover, spreading the field out after two power plays.India’s seamers leaked 137 from 18.1 overs, but the introduction of spin staunched the runs immediately. Sehwag nailed two wickets in one over, Harbhajan Singh bowled a tidy line and length, and even Astle found run-scoring far more difficult than he had earlier.However, India had one power-play still to use, and when it was finally taken in the 24th over, New Zealand made use of it to get back their momentum – Jai Prakash Yadav was tonked for 14 in his only over. India fought back with their spinners – Yuvraj Singh was almost as effective as Daniel Vettori had been for New Zealand earlier – and the asking rate even climbed to 6.4 in the last ten overs. However, with wickets in hand, and Astle around to provide the steadying hand, the result wasn’t in much doubt.India’s start had been pretty impressive too, but from 155 for 1 the batsmen, save Kaif, lost their way, finally being all out four balls short of 50 overs. After missing New Zealand’s last match, Shane Bond and Vettori both returned to the line-up, and as expected, they were the two class acts in the attack: Vettori bowled with guile, varied his flight and pace cleverly, and deserved his returns of 2 for 35. Bond bowled an incisive first spell, but was clearly below par when he returned, finally hobbling off three balls short of his complete spell.Sehwag provided the early impetus to the innings, but the crucial steadying hand in the middle and the late charge came from Kaif, who batted with all the fluency he showed in Friday’s match, but was even more impressive for the manner in which he read the situation and played according to its demands. When Sehwag was firing away, Kaif played second fiddle sensibly, When Sehwag fell, Kaif took on the mantle of batting through to the end, and when wickets fell in a heap towards the end, he took on the role of main striker, belting three fours in a four-ball sequence off Styris and Bond to help the innings get the momentum it was quickly losing.Kaif’s innings ensured that the early contributions of the openers, especially Sehwag, wasn’t wasted. Struggling for form before this match, Sehwag got into groove early, slashing a couple of fours off Bond, and then carried on from there, taking full toll of the width on offer. Ganguly was all at sea against Bond, but found the lesser pace of Kyle Mills much more to his liking. He fell against the run of play after an innings played in two halves – his first 22 balls fetched him a single, his last 22 got him 30 – but Kaif joined Sehwag in what was the best passage of the innings for India. The 81-run stand came in less than 12 overs as both batsmen made full use of Fleming’s decision to use all the power-plays at a stretch.After 24 overs, India were 153 for 1, a run-rate of 6.37, with Sehwag on course for a hundred. Vettori then stepped in, taking two wickets in an over, including that for Rahul Dravid for a second-ball duck, to peg India back. India continued to lose their way thereafter. Kaif kept his cool to guide the team to a competitive total, but that wasn’t enough to prevent India from sliding to their 12th defeat in their last 16 finals.Speaking of his side’s victory, Fleming said: “It was a great match, a great win and a great series. The all-round strength of our team was what mattered in the end.”Ganguly highlighted his team’s fielding as the weak part of their performance: “We got off to a good start, but couldn’t sustain it. Virender Sehwag put us back in the game for a while with three wickets but our fielding was not up to scratch.”India now face Zimbabwe in a two-Test series, with the first starting on September 13.

IndiaSourav Ganguly c Marshall b Oram 31 (44) (72 for 1)
Virender Sehwag c Vincent b Vettori 75 (65) (155 for 2)
Rahul Dravid lbw b Vettori 0 (2) (155 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh c Bond b Mills 20 (32) (185 for 4)
Venugopal Rao c McMillan b Oram 8 (16) (203 for 5)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni lbw b Styris 11 (16) (230 for 6)
Jai Prakash Yadav c McCullum b Oram 0 (2) (231 for 7)
Ajit Agarkar c Mills b Bond 6 (5) (255 for 8)
Irfan Pathan c Vincent b Oram 10 (7) (272 for 9)
Ashish Nehra c Oram b Mills 0 (2) (276 all out)
New ZealandStephen Fleming c & b Sehwag 61 (66) (121 for 1)
Hamish Marshall lbw b Sehwag 3 (3) (125 for 2)
Scott Styris st Dhoni b Sehwag 37 (41) (183 for 3)
Craig McMillan c Dhoni b Yuvraj 13 (14) (206 for 4)

Tasmania, the ING Cup leaders, have named an unchanged line-up for the match against Victoria at Bellerive Oval on Saturday.With two away wins already in the bag, including a narrow victory over New South Wales, Tasmania will play their first home game of the season. Daniel Marsh will lead the side and the impressive new wicketkeeper-batsman David Dawson retains his place.Tasmania Daniel Marsh (c), Michael DiVenuto, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Luke Butterworth, David Dawson, Michael Dighton, Xavier Doherty, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Scott Kremerskothen, Damien Wright.Three Tasmanian selections will also play the ACT in one-day Cricket Australia Cup matches from tomorrow until Thursday.

Hamish Marshall’s unbeaten 155 in the New Zealand Academy’s game with Tamil Nadu Districts in Chennai is a significant step in his burgeoning career.His effort ensured the side complete control in its first game in the MRF Buchi Babu Invitation Tournament as it reached 382-8, a lead of 223 runs.The twin brother of James Marshall, Hamish has been the later developer of the two. However, he was always seen as a potential international. Three years ago, he was called into New Zealand’s Youth World Cup team when Michael Papps returned home injured.He won a place in the final of that tournament and a season later was playing for Northern Districts. While he took time to adapt, he was persevered with by the ND selectors and in 13 first-class games before the Academy tour to India, he had scored 418 runs at 20.9.His best score was 58 against Central Districts in last summer’s Shell Trophy competition.His Northern Districts coach Chris Kuggeleijn was delighted with news of his innings.”What that will do for his confidence is great. It is great to see someone doing well over there, not just because he’s from Northern Districts, but because we want to see New Zealand cricket do well.”Hamish could be anything he wants to be. He hadn’t really blown the world away in his last season but you can’t push young guys, just keep working with them.”You can see the potential is there, and what he does in the field is tremendous. He is a great fielder.”Watch him in four years time, who knows how good he will be?”I’m looking forward to catching up with him when he comes back. He might just have got the monkey off his back and gone from a promising player to a good one.”I’ve got a lot of faith in him and, in fact, in all the young players in our side. They can play three times better than what they did last season,” Kuggeleijn said.Yesterday he faced 223 balls when batting for much of the day and hit 19 fours in his innings. He came to the wicket with New Zealand 50/3 and added 83 for the fourth wicket with Jacob Oram, who was dismissed for 54.Aaron Redmond then dug in with Marshall during a 153-run fifth wicket stand. Redmond was next out for 71.New Zealand also maintained a good scoring rate with its 350 posted in 100.3 overs.