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BRISBANE, Nov 14 AAP – A crafty trap set by stand-in captain Michael Kasprowicz to snare the prized wicket of Tasmania skipper Ricky Pointing and some aggressive bowling by Andy Bichel put Queensland in the box seat after a poor opening session in the Pura Cup clash at the Gabba.The Bulls, facing a potentially huge run chase when the Tigers cruised at 0-98 at lunch, ran the cleaners through the the visitors soon after with Test pace man Bichel fittingly shutting down Tasmania’s innings on 187 when he shattered tailender Shane Jurgensen’s stumps.At the close Queensland was in good shape at 1-69 trailing Tasmania’s meagre first innings by 118 runs.Tasmania lost 10 wickets for 83 on a pitch that didn’t offer the bowlers much assistance after being hurriedly prepared following Australia’s blowout first Test win over England at the weekend.Whatever was on the lunch menu must have been spicey because there was some extra fire in the Bulls attack when they resumed.”The ball didn’t swing as much as we thought in the first session,” said Kasprowicz, who added he wasn’t concerned after watching Tasmania coast to 98 without loss.”Bic (Bichel) got two wickets after lunch which got us on the right foot.”Leading Queensland for the first time, 13-season veteran Kasprowicz appeared in danger of doing a “Nasser Hussain” after putting Tasmania in and watching them rattle up the runs.But two wickets by Bichel in the space of five deliveries to remove openers Jamie Cox (51 off 104 balls) and Michael DiVenuto (50) in the second over after lunch triggered a stunning turnaround.Cox, playing a record 147th first-class game for Tasmania, the most by any player for one state, looked on target for a big score until he became the first of Bichel’s four victims.When Ponting fell to Kasprowicz’s three card trick, the Tigers were wobbling at 3-113.Kasprowicz shrewdly positioned Scott Brant at deep backward square leg and then tempted Ponting to a rash pull shot with a shortish delivery.As as soon as Ponting hit the ball he knew he was out, Brant barely moving to swallow the catch like a Venus fly trap.The top order collapse continued with big Joe Dawes having Michael Dighton caught in slips by Stuart Law for 13 after Daniel Marsh (1) threw away his wicket cheaply by not offering a shot to a Kasprowicz off cutter.While his chief rival Brett Lee took five wickets in Sydney against South Australia, Bichel did his second Test claims no harm finishing with an impressive 4-46 off 17.2 overs, well supported by Kasprowicz (2-38) and youngster Scott Brant (2-41).

Alan Mullally and John Francis are almost certain starters for the vital Norwich Union League match this Thursday, as Gloucestershire’s Cheltenham College Cricket Festival gets under way.Hampshire Hawks name the eleven that played in the disastrous defeat against Essex Eagles at Southend plus left-armer Mullally and batsman Francis as they face leaders Gloucestershire Gladiators.The hosts have lost twice this season, including a 46-run reverse at the Rose Bowl back in May. But on the back of the events at Southend on Sunday, the Hawks will need to return a similar result if they are to hold any ambition to linking up with the promotion race.Hampshire squad of 13: Neil Johnson, Derek Kenway, Dimitri Mascarenhas, John Crawley, Lawrence Prittipaul, John Francis, Giles White, Nic Pothas (w-k), Will Kendall (capt), Shaun Udal, Chris Tremlett, Alan Mullally, James Tomlinson.

Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has a 50/50 chance of playing in the ICC Champions Trophy after dislocating his shoulder during his side’s 27-run victory against South Africa in the Morocco Cup 2002 final.Jayasuriya fell awkwardly after taking a tumbling catch at mid-on and had to be carried off the field before being transported by ambulance to the local hospital for x-rays.Sri Lanka face Pakistan in the first game of that 12-team tournament starting on September 12, and physio Alex Kontouri will not know the full extent of the injury until after further analysis in Colombo."The bone popped out of his main shoulder joint, but luckily for him it wentback pretty quickly, which saves some of the potential damage that could have been done," said Kontouri."We have to go back to Colombo and do a MRI scan before we will be able fully to assess the injury," he said. "There is no major damage at the moment, but it is a tricky joint so we will have to wait and see.""The worst-case scenario is 12 weeks but hopefully it will be much shorter thanthat," he added. "One thing about him is that he is a quick healer and a gutsy guy, he doesn’t mind playing with pain and if he has half a chance of playing he’ll definitely be there."The good news is that it is his right shoulder so the injury will not affect his throwing or bowling. In the batting department his greatest problem is going to be the horizontal shots like the cut and pull, where he has to elevate his arms."Jayasuriya, although disappointed to have had to watch from the sidelines, was delighted with his side’s performance."It was very unfortunate but I’m glad we achieved our main objective of winning the tournament," he said. "We didn’t get as many runs as we wanted, but we still thought that 235 was a competitive target and the bowlers did really well.”Dav Whatmore was delighted. "I am very pleased to see the way the team responded after the first match,” he said. “There has been a real desire to get out there and compete as well as they can."He reserved special praise for pace bowler Pulasthi Gunaratne: "He improvedwith every game and was confronted with a couple of real pressure situations. For someone who has only played in a handful of games he showed a lot of maturity.Whatmore hopes the win will help Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions Trophy. “Beating Pakistan in our last game was a help and we now have to take our form into that tournament."South Africa captain Shaun Pollock rued the loss of an important toss. "Our best chance of winning the game was to bat first, but we had discussed a strategy for batting second if we lost the toss."We are very disappointed, as we want to win every tournament we participatein. But we didn’t bat very well, losing wickets at vital times and putting ourselves under pressure. But at the end of the day we are looking at the World Cup, which will not be played in similar conditions and we will therefore not be reading too much into this.”Coach Eric Simmons identified South Africa’s batting as the major problemarea. "The batsmen didn’t adapt well to the conditions, making the same mistakes over and again, but there were lots of positives and we can learn from the experience move forward."

LAHORE-Inzamam-ul-Haq (unconquered at 159, 25 fours, 1 six) and Imran Nazir (127) made the most of the placid strip, scoring a hundred apiece and posting an attractive 204 for the third wicket partnership to take Pakistan to a commanding position. At stumps on day one, Pakistan had reached an imposing 355 for 4, and with Inzamam unbeaten, the Black Caps would not be expecting anything but more of the same in the morrow.The Black Caps, flattened by the Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana onslaught, the last 10 overs with the new ball yielding 66 runs, were finally given some reprieve when Youhana threw it away with one delivery to go for close. Needless shot at a time when Youhana, otherwise in cracking form, should have put down the shutters.Before Youhana’s hara-kiri, Inzamam and he, by far the most accomplished Pakistani batsmen, kept one foot firmly on the accelerator, adding 94 runs in a rapid-fire stand for the fourth wicket in only 76 minutes off 112 deliveries.After having made his hundred, Inzamam went after the tiring Kiwi attack with relentless gusto, clubbing Chris Martin and Daryl Tuffy for three fours apiece in one over. This was exhilarating stuff, more so as Youhana too went for his strokes.In this first-ever Test series in May in Pakistan, the Black Caps clearly looked out of sorts due to intense heat, with the mercury touching 38 Celsius at high noon. It could have been worse, but breeze in the earlier part of the day and overcast conditions at close definitely made things slightly less intense. So did water breaks after every 10 overs. But it were the Pakistani batsmen who made them all hot under the collar, with some spectacular strokemaking.In a bid to conserve energy, captain Stephen Fleming kept on rotating his bowlers. He used six of them in all, but none was to get him another breakthrough after the first two wickets, when Afridi went first ball and Daniel Vettori accounted for an in-form Younis Khan, until McMillan got Nazir much later. Martin then got him the scalp of Youhana at the close.However, by the time McMillan got Nazir, 200-odd runs had already been added for the second wicket, and Inzamam was in full cry at 98.Inzamam reached his 16th Test hundred by viciously pulling Vettori through mid-wicket for a four. And then went on a rampage, racing to his third score of 150-plus. He looked in terrific form as he belted the ball to all parts of the ground. A good sign for Pakistan, as he was finding it difficult to make a sizable score this year, with the exception of 99 against Sri Lanka in the Asian Test Championship in a lost cause.But in making this hundred, he looked every inch his domineering self, a class act indeed for whom vagaries of form were only a temporary aberration. Inzamam required 191 balls and 239 minutes, with 14 fours and one six, to post his fourth hundred against the Kiwis. The next 50 runs he made off just 49 deliveries with nine fours. The Black Caps must have rued the dropped chance off him, albeit a difficult one, by Lou Vincent in covers off Vettori.Before that, Imran Nazir had reached his second Test hundred in only his sixth Test, in the process proving a point to the selectors and critics alike. The 20-year old destroyed the Kiwi attack in his typical swashbuckling style. He needed just 171 balls to reach the landmark, and when he was eventually out to a breathtaking one-handed catch at mid on by Richardson off Craig McMillan, he had made 127 (204 balls, 291 minutes, 18 fours, 3 sixes).As Imran and Inzamam plundered runs off a hapless Black Caps attack, it seemed that they would make many more than 204, the highest third wicket partnership at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore eclipsing Englishmen Ken Barrington and Mike Smith’s partnership of 196 runs way back in 1967. The Black Caps attack seemed resigned to the rough treatment, and the runs were being gathered at will.Inzamam clobbered Brooke Walker for a six over long, and then swept him to fine leg and pulled the next delivery to mid-wicket for two fours to go into the 90s and bring up Pakistan’s 250 at the same time. Imran also flicked him delicately to the long-leg fence for 19 in the over.But soon after Imran got out; at 261 for three there was to be no respite for the Black Caps as Youhana, already enjoying the best of form, strode to the middle.All this when the day had not started well for Pakistan, as Shahid Afridi was dismissed on the third ball of the morning by Daryl Tuffey when he went fishing the very first delivery he faced and ‘keeper Robbie Hart took his first catch within minutes of making his debut. In walked Younis Khan and along with Imran started to develop a good partnership. Both played some fine shots. Younis got a life on 17 by Matt Horne off the bowling of Chris Martin. He made only 10 more, when he was given caught at first slip by Fleming off Vettori; the television replays showed that it was off the pads. The stand yielded 56 runs.Earlier, Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis won the toss and decided to bat first; all-rounder Wasim Akram was left out of the eleven with leg-spinner Danish Kaneria given an opportunity as the pitch was expected to be spinner-friendly. New Zealand also played two spinners in Vettori and Walker; the Kiwis also included Mark Richardson, who will partner Matt Horne as opener.

The first day’s play in the three-day tour match between MCC and Sri Lanka has been washed out by steady rain. The match, now reduced to two days, will start on Friday.The wash-out is just the latest of numerous disruptions that Sri Lanka have had to endure during preparations before and in between the three Test matches. The game against MCC is their last before the third and final Test, which starts at Old Trafford next Thursday.MCC have picked what is effectively an England hopefuls team, which was nominated by the national selectors. Five members of the MCC side have already played for England, while another three were members of the ECB Academy squad in Australia last winter.

In the recent fifth and final Test at Kingston (Jamaica), South Africa failed to chase a victory target of 386 runs in the fourth innings. In the history of cricket, only two teams have successfully chased a target of more than 386 runs. India made 406 for four to win against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 1975-76 and Australia made 404 for three to beat England at Leeds in 1948. Incidentally, India also holds the record for highest fourth innings total – to tie a match (347 against Australia at Madras in1986-87) and – to lose one (445 against Australia at Adelaide in 1977-78).How has Pakistan done in a fourth innings chase?Pakistan’s record of chasing a target in the fourth innings has remained dismal throughout. In fact, they even failed to reach targets as low as the 146 set by South Africa at Faisalabad in 1997-98 and 159 set by Australia at Sydney in 1972-73. The only time Pakistan could reach a fourth innings target of over 300 runs and win the match was at Karachi against Australia in 1994-95, recording a narrow one-wicket victory. On scrutiny one finds that 14 of Pakistan’s 67 defeats could be attributed to their batsmen’s inability to reach the target set by the opponents. The details in chronological order are:

A month ago, the name Raymond Price did nothing much for the cricket fan in India. But today, after the Test series with the Zimbabweans, the name comes with a huge PRICE tag. The only specialist spin bowler who was part of the touring Zimbabwean side, he had a huge responsibility on his shoulders, for it is a well-known fact that both the Nagpur and the Delhi pitches favoured spin, for the sheer nature of the wicket is such that favours turn.In the First Test, Price made a mark as he was the only bowler to give the Indian batsmen problems. He claimed a five-for and made a statement that he was not a bowler to be taken lightly. It is another matter that Zimbabwe lost the Test match, but for Raymond Price, the Nagpur Test was one he can keep recorded in his mind.The Second Test at New Delhi had a track that was crumbling from day one. A promising track for spinners, and Price could look forward to getting turn on the pitch. In both innings, he captured five wickets, but what was most satisfying for Raymond was the fact that he got the little master Tendulkar out in both the innings and also in the First Test. So, in effect, Tendulkar had become Price’s bunny!"It was like a lifetime dream really, just to be able to bowl to Sachin, leave alone trying to get him out. You sit and watch a lot of the guys who come here from all over the world, and they struggle, like say Shane Warne, and that is because the Indians play spin so well. They are good with their hands and they wait for the ball so well. For me, I just wanted to do the best I could and work hard, and do the best I could for the team, hoping that I would be able to leave India pleased with my performance. Not so much about taking wickets – obviously taking wickets is good – it’s more the effort that you put in."The Indian experience is one that Raymond Price will take back with him and treasure over the years. Not only did he perform well; he was just overwhelmed with all the attention received."I really enjoyed India. Cricket here is such a passion, as compared to home where soccer is the biggest passion, but here cricket it is unbelievable, they treat you so well. It is fantastic to come here and I have really enjoyed it. Obviously I have learnt a lot, and have enjoyed playing cricket on these pitches because they turn quite a bit and they are really helpful to me."Visiting a country that favours spin, Price was the only specialist spinner in the side. Bowling is also all about partnerships and he was missing a spin twin. Even though the seamers supported him well, having another specialist spinner in the side would have helped."Brian Murphy is there, but he has injured himself. He and I are really good friends, and I would love to play a Test with him, joke with him, enjoy ourselves a little bit. But our seamers I felt did a good job here, on wickets that don’t help them. My team-mates did a fine job. Yes, it would have helped to have another spinner, especially on the last day when the wicket was really turning."All in all, the Test series did not go in favour of the Zimbabweans, at least not on paper. But they showed a lot of character in the Second Test, proving that they are not a pushover team by any stretch of imagination. They are fighters and will give the opposition a tough fight. In the end, the result showed two-nil in favour of India but it could very well have been one-all. But that is cricket; things do not always go the way they should."Obviously I was really sad to lose because you always want to win. But we played competitively, which is always good for the game and the spectators. And people back at home know that we played hard and we came close to winning in the Second Test. It is sad that we lost; we should have squared the series one-all, but life does not always go your way, and hopefully the next time we are in that position we will win."At the age of 25, Price has a long way to go and the road ahead is winding and long, but with a clear-cut plan in place, there can only be a positive outcome. The feeling that one gets when one is part of the playing eleven is one that is often taken for granted, but one that people like Price hold close to the heart."I’d like to play cricket for Zimbabwe for as long as I can. It has been my dream to play cricket for a living, to be able to play for your national side. I would like to play till I can hold my place in the national side. You do have family commitments, but I would like to play on; I just love it. Just hope that the game carries on being good to me as it has done so far."Much to the amazement of a lot of cricket lovers in India, Price was sent back home after the Test series. Apparently he is not considered to be a one-day player. Obviously disappointed, but not in a negative frame of mind, Raymond Price knows that there will be a time for him and a place in the shorter version of the game. For now he would have to leave the stage for he has played his part in Test cricket very well indeed. An encore performance, without a doubt, I am sure a few Indian batsmen would agree."The selectors have their reasons for not having me for the one-day side. There are a few areas of my game that are not strong enough to vie for a one-day spot as yet. My fielding is not 100% yet, and it is not where it should be either. There are a couple of things I need to work on once I get back, before I play one-day cricket. I would have loved to have played in the one-day series, but I have to wait for my chance and make sure that I am ready for it. Hopefully I will grab it with both hands and carry on playing for a long time. I hope that our team does really well; it will be good for us, and the people back home, and for cricket as a whole."With a firm shake of the hand, he left to pack up his bags and get ready to leave on that jet plane that was heading home, taking back with him a bag full of cricketing memories that was the `Indian experience’.

An amazing, unbroken, seventh wicket partnership of fifty-five runs between Jimmy Maher (52*) and Andy Bichel (40*) has seen Queensland scramble home in a Mercantile Mutual Cup thriller against the Tasmanian Tigers here at the ‘Gabba ground in Brisbane tonight. The Bulls’ win came after a fluctuating contest in which the advantage tilted from one side to the other around a series of annoying stoppages for rain.In a game in which batting was made treacherous as the result of days of heavy rain in Brisbane, the Tasmanians were held to a moderate 8/134 from thirty-nine overs after being invited to bat by rival captain Stuart Law. It looked to have given the home team a decisive advantage by the time it began its chase. But the complexion of the match changed several times during the evening, particularly after the Queenslanders crashed to scorelines of 3/2 and 7/67 at different moments.The Bulls opted to take into the evening session a reshuffled batting line-up but the strategy proved far from successful. Regular opener Matt Hayden (16) was joined by wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe (0) at the outset but the wicketkeeper-batsman was dismissed from the third ball of the second over for a duck. Lee Carseldine (0) then joined Hayden and immediately headed back to the dressing room given out lbw without playing a shot. Queensland was suddenly reeling at 2-0, the tight medium pace of Shaun Young (3/16 from six overs) having accounted for both wickets. Late inclusion Clinton Perren (0) joined Hayden but, on the other side of a short rain delay, edged a ball to the waiting slips cordon and incredibly became the third player to be sent back to the pavilion without a run against his name.The regular opening pairing of Hayden and Maher finally restored some sanity to the innings with a defiant stand of forty-three before the former was run out. More handy runs were added to the total by Maher and Law (11) before a series of bowling changes turned things back Tasmania’s way again. Medium pacer Scott Kremerskothen (1/33 from five overs) continued his reign as the competition’s leading wicket taker by snaring the prize scalp of Law in the seventeenth over.Debutant Brendan Nash (1) then became yet another of the match’s run out victims as he set about trying to inspire the acceleration in the run scoring that the Bulls required by this stage to overhaul the revised target of 119 off twenty-eight overs. He pushed a little too hard as it turned out, trying to take a risky second run to Young at fine leg following a misfield.When James Hopes (0) fell lbw to Adam Polkinghorne (1/22 off four overs) only minutes later, the Tasmanians looked to have the game – one crucial to their Mercantile Mutual Cup hopes – in the bag.Yet, with Maher still at the crease and the hard-hitting Bichel joining him, the Bulls were about to inspire another twist. Maher reverted to the role of anchoring as Bichel launched a sizzling attacking spree, charging bowlers, spraying shots around the ground liberally, and even nearly claiming the jackpot of $210,000 for hitting the advertising signs at long off. In the twinkling of an eye, he combined with Maher to bring the game back under the control of the Bulls, and chalked up the winning runs with a hit to third man with some ten deliveries still remaining.Maher’s innings – which helped in no small measure to break the Bulls’ sapping one-day losing streak – was also a beauty and ended in a fitting display of emotion when he embraced Bichel enthusiastically at the conclusion of the game.Earlier, Bulls’ paceman Michael Kasprowicz (3/22 off eight overs) made a welcome return to form as he helped put the skids under the Tasmanian top and middle order. Around a defiant innings from former Queensland Colts captain Shane Watson (28*), the Tigers were never really able to engender significant momentum into their display with the bat. In the end, the visitors’ inability to mount one or two sizeable partnerships proved crucial.

Former England fast bowler Frank Tyson said in Mumbai on Friday that the cricketing potential in India was immense and he was happy to come back on a 15-day coaching assignement to help Mumbai fast bowlers and coaches.Speaking to PTI, Tyson, who was instrumental in helping former Indian bowlers like Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey and Sairaj Bahutule under the MCA-Mafatlal Bowling Scheme in 1991, said he would concentrate on fast bowlers as there was very good talent in the country and the important thing was to tap it properly.”I will focus mainly on the bowlers apart from spending about 15 hours with the Indian coaches. What I will be doing is to teach them (coaches) how to coach the ten best shots, different types of bowling and so on”, he added. After his stint here, Tyson, who is 71, will leave for Pune to help the trainees at the Maharashtra Cricket Academy (MCA).

Scorecard
The tournament gets underway in Castletown•ICC/Cricket Europe

Italy got to a winning start in the European Under-17 Division Two Championships with a thumping victory against Belgium on the opening day. The Belgians had beaten Italy in the final of the previous edition of the tournament, but this time they were not given a chance by the clinical Italians.Captain Roshendra Abeywickrama set up the win with an accomplished 76 off 98 balls and he was supported well by Abdulla Al Noman Chowdhury and Jakub Peret who struck 30s. Italy finished with 214 for 5 in their 40 overs. Abeywickrama continued to torment Belgium with the ball, removing Shamin Shah for a duck early. Mohammad Adnan struck a double blow after some resistance from Robert Sehmi after which there was no respite for Belgium. They slid to a sorry 76 all out in 21.4 overs.
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Hosts Isle of Man made a confident start to the tournament with a 66 run victory over Germany in Tromode. Openers Adam MacAuley and Carl Wagstaff built a solid platform with their 91 run stand after which there was no looking back. MacAuley struck a pleasing 53 off 68 balls as the hosts reached 180 in their 37 overs. Germany’s reply came unstuck against some persistent bowling from Robert Hester who finished with four wickets. Opener Krishna Cholleti resisted with 34, but it was not enough as Germany slid to 114 all out.
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Spain were made to work hard by Switzerland before sealing a 38-run win in Crosby. Himesh Parikh and George Gaillet questioned Spain’s decision to bat first by reducing them to 51 for 4. Charlie Cook then turned the tables with a 46-ball 59 to turn the heat back on Switzerland, as Spain finished with a respectable score of 176. Switzerland’s reply was stunted by a fiery spell from Ben Girling who scalped six wickets. Ali Saleem tried to hold one end up, with 43 off 73 balls, but without support from the other end, as his side were bowled out for 138.
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France steamrolled Gibraltar by 222 runs in St John’s in the most one-sided match on the opening day. Gibraltar lost the initiative almost as soon as they invited France to bat after winning the toss. William Smati and Avishka Liyanaarachchi cashed in with lively 60s and received good support from the rest of the cast as France amassed 278. Zain Zahir’s opening burst reduced Gibraltar to 9 for 3 and ended the match as a contest early. Zika Ali then came on to run through the middle and lower order and finish with dream figures of 5 for 3 in four overs as Gibraltar were shut out in the 22nd over for 56.