The County Ground was under siege on Saturday morning as members of the public tried to get their tickets for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy semi-final between Somerset and Warwickshire on August 11th.There was a large numbers of personal callers, and four members of staff manning the telephones were hardly enough to cope with the volume of the demand.Chief executive Peter Anderson told me: “Tickets are going very quickly, and if they are not all sold today the remainder will be snapped up early next week.”This is the biggest match that we have hosted at Taunton since we beat Surrey in the Nat West semi two years ago, and we are expecting to win. People who are coming to the game are advised that no alcohol will be allowed inside the ground. Special parking arrangements are in the process of being finalised, and a press announcement will be made regarding this during the week. The advice to everyone is to get to the ground in plenty of time.”In front of the Ondaatje Pavilion, a temporary stand was being erected which is expected to increase the ground capacity for the match by an additional 1,000.The stand will be used mainly by the travelling Warwickshire supporters on the day.

Apart from staging the hottest ever Test match, with temperatures in excess of 38 degrees Centigrade (100 degree Fahrenheit) on each day, the recently concluded first test match of Asian Test Championship established four unique test records that have gone unnoticed by cricket statisticians. The following are the four unique records:1. Pakistan’s record equalling five centuries were made out of a total of 546-3 declared. This total is the lowest ever to include 4 centuries, let alone 5. The previous record was West Indies’ 550 v India at St John’s in 1982-83 – that total included 4 centuries.2. The Pakistan v Bangladesh test match saw the first ever instance of both left-handed opening batsmen scoring centuries in the same innings. Saeed Anwar and Taufeeq Umar provided the 39th instance of both openers scoring centuries in the same test innings, but the first ever by a left handed opening pair.3. For the second time in Test history two separate century partnerships for the same wicket in the same innings were recorded. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana added 123 (unbroken) for the fourth wicket and then Yousuf Youhana and Abdur Razzaq added 165 (unbroken) for the fourth wicket. The first such instance was for the West Indies against England at Kingston in 1959-60. E.D.A.S.McMorris and G.S.Sobers put on 133 (unbroken) for the 3rd wicket. McMorris then retired hurt and then G.S.Sobers and S.M.Nurse put on 110 for the same wicket for West Indies v England at Kingston in 1959-60. However, Pakistan’s achievement is unique in that both century partnerships were unbroken.4. The Pakistan v Bangladesh and the concurrent Sri Lanka v India (3rd Test at Colombo) test matches provided the unique feat of centuries on test debuts on successive days in two separate test matches. Never before has there been such a feat. Taufeeq Umar of Pakistan scored 104 on 30th August, and on the next day, i.e. 31st August, T.T.Samaraweera of Sri Lanka scored an unbeaten 103.CricInfo readers will be interested to note that B.H.Valentine (136) of England and L.Amarnath (118) of India provide the only instance of two batsmen scoring centuries in their debut tests on the same day in the same test match. This rare feat occurred during the 1st Test between India and England in 1933-34. The match was the only test match ever played at the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay. On 17th December 1933, i.e. the third day of this test match, B.H.Valentine resumed on his overnight 79 and went on to score 136 in England’s innings of 438. Later in the day, India batted, and by the close of play, were 159-2 with L.Amarnath unbeaten on 102.

At Universals Sports Club. Old Hararians 197 (R E Butterworth 65, S M Ervine 64) beat Universals 69 (D T Mutendera 14, N B Mahwire 14; S M Ervine 3-6, N Chari 3-40) by 128 runs.At Eaglesvale High School. Harare Sports Club 313 (T R Gripper 119, G M Croxford 75, Taylor 68) beat Takashinga (formerly Winstonians) 169 (T Taibu 60, T R Gripper 4-20, G Johnstone-Robertson 3-16) by 144 runs.At Old Georgians Sports Club. Old Georgians 268/5 (C N Evans 100, A J C Neethling 97) beat Alexandra Sports Club 267/6 (D A Marillier 131*, R Liddell 84) by 5 wickets.Defending champions Old Georgians opened their defence of the MashonalandVigne Cup First League title with a five-wicket win over last season’s runners-up Alexandra Sports Club at Old Georgians. Elsewhere Old Hararians and Harare Sports Club posted crushing victories over Universals and Takashinga.Alex batted first at Old Georgians and enjoyed a solid opening partnership of Douglas Marillier and Ross Liddell before the latter was dismissed for 84, caught by Gus Mackay off the bowling of Ian Coulson. Marillier, who has had stints with the national team, was unbeaten on 131 as Alex made 267 for the loss of six wickets off their allotted 50 overs.There were no significant figures from the Old Georgians bowlers. Iain Coulson took two wickets for 38 off 10 overs while Mackay finished with 2/57 off nine overs.In reply Old Georgians reached their victory target for the loss of five wickets with an over remaining. Craig Evans led the scoring with 100 whileAndre Neethling weighed in with 97.National league champions Old Hararians beat Universals by 128 runs in the second match at Universals. Old Hararians, who finished at the bottom of last season’s Vigne Cup, batted first and were dismissed for 197 after 48.5 overs. Opener Ryan Butterworth top-scored for OH with 65 runs, while Sean Ervine was the second best scorer with 64.Shiraz Adam led the Universals attack with four wickets for 35 off nine overs. Ali Shah took three for 32 off 8.5 overs.Universals were dismissed for a mere 69 in just 22 overs. Sean Ervine took three wickets for six runs off four overs. Nyasha Chari also took three wickets but was more expensive conceding 40 runs, 20 of them wides, off eight overs. There were only two batsmen from Universals to score double figures, DavidMutendera and Blessing Mahwire, who both scored 14 batting at number two and three.The last match, between Harare Sports Club and Takashinga (formerly OldWinstonians), initially set for Harare Sports Club, was moved to EaglesvaleHigh School because of some upgrading work at the national ground. Young wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu left Bulawayo on Friday evening having gonethere with the national team but his presence could not save Takashinga froma crushing 144-run defeat.Harare Sports Club piled up 313 runs for the loss of just four wickets in 50 overs as the inexperienced Takashinga attack failed to trouble the HSC batting. Opener Trevor Gripper was the HSC top scorer with 119 while Guy Croxford added 75 runs.Facing a required run rate of over six an over, Takashinga were bundled out for 169 in 40.3 overs. Gripper came back to haunt Takashinga with the ball, taking four wickets for 20 off seven overs.Taibu was the only successful batsman for Takashinga, scoring 60 runs. Harare Sports Club also fielded Brighton Watambwa who withdrew from the Zimbabwe team for the first Test against South Africa a week ago because of a knee injury. He bowled 10 overs, conceding 35 runs (six no-balls) without taking a wicket.

Scott Styris has taken an unusual route to recovering his place in the CLEAR Black Caps one-day team.The Northern Districts all-rounder left today for Sydney where he will play the first five weeks of the Sydney grade competition for Gordon.ND operations manager Pat Malcon said today that the spot in Sydney had been arranged very quickly over the last week.”Scott thought Sydney’s competition starts a month before we start playing cricket in New Zealand and felt that if he wants to start the season firing he should take the chance,” he said.Former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon had helped set up the chance for Styris who is recovering from knee surgery to an injury which forced him out of the national side midway through last summer.”It is a unique way of preparing, but it will give him a good chance to try it out,” Malcon said.There is also a chance that long-serving ND bowler Alex Tait may have a delayed start to the summer.He is in with a chance of selection for the Northland golf team for the national amateur inter-provincial golf tournament, the Tower-sponsored event, which is played in late-November and if selected for the golf team he won’t be available for ND until the one-day series after Christmas.

Sixteen young English Test hopefuls have arrived in Adelaide to spend four months at the Australian Cricket Academy, and were given an early indication of what the future holds from Rod Marsh.The former Australia wicketkeeper, the first director of the English NationalAcademy after 11 successful years at the ACA, was appointed by the England and Wales Cricket Board to help develop players more effectively for international cricket.”They’re here to toughen up,” Marsh said. “If they don’t get tough they might as well catch the first plane out.”The pressure will be so intense that unless they perform at their absolute best they will never play for England,” Marsh told Channel Ten Sports News.Australia raised themselves from the cricketing doldrums to become world-beaters through their own academy, which has produced the likes of Shane Warneand Ricky Ponting.The 16 English players selected for the first academy, which has replaced the winter A tour, are in for a month of tough fitness training.There are barely any net sessions before their first game on November 22, against the Tasmania 2nd XI.Marsh has brought in two Australian coaches to help train the England prospects.The great fast bowler Dennis Lillee is joined by Terry Jenner, who nurtured Shane Warne and will advise England’s slow bowlers.Surrey’s Alex Tudor welcomed the news that former Australian captain Ian Chappell will also provide specialist coaching.”With men like Chappell around we can only get better,” said the 24-year-old, who made his Test debut in 1998 but has since been plagued by injury.

Despite a five-wicket haul by Kerala left-arm spinner Mani SureshKumar, Andhra Pradesh took the first-innings lead in their RanjiTrophy league match at Cochin on Sunday.Y Venugopal Rao, coming in at the fall of captain MSK Prasad, added 70runs for the fourth wicket with Illa Srinivas (22). No partnershiplasted quite so long after the fall of Srinivas with the score on 133,although Venugopal Rao plodded along slowly making 76 off 220 balls.Once Venugopal Rao fell with the score on 180, Kerala must havesniffed a chance of bowling their rivals out. The lower order,however, defied the bowlers, with Hemal Watekar (24) and KhatibSahabuddin (27*) taking their side past the 200-run mark.At stumps, Andhra Pradesh were 234/8, with Sahabuddin and MohammedFaiq (6*) at the crease.

Kelston Boys’ High School will play Wellington College in the final of the Gillette Cup and Epsom Girls’ Grammar will play New Plymouth Girls’ High School in the final of the Yoplait Cup, in Palmerston North tomorrow.Today’s games in the national secondary schools’ cricket finals were again rain affected after the first day’s play was washed out.Games were transferred to artificial pitches this morning and games reduced, through more than one rain interruption to be 41-over affairs for the boys and 38-over matches for the girls.Kelston Boys’ won the toss and batted first against Otago and scored 190 for six wickets in their overs. Blayne Fraser scored 35 and Dusan Hakaraia 46 while Otago Boys’ bowlers Willie Lawson took two for 39 and Ben McCormack two for 47.In reply, Otago Boys’ were 163/9 when their overs ran out with McCormack scoring 30 and Paul Matthews taking four for 29 for Kelston Boys’.St Paul’s Collegiate of Hamilton won the toss and batted first against Wellington College. They scored 146/6 in their innings with Dave Richardson scoring 55 and Rik Fourie 23. James Hill took three for 30 and Kushendra Selvamaheswaram two for 34 for Wellington College.Wellington College did not need all their overs to score 147/3, with Hill 45 not out, Liam Chrisp 41, Justin Lampard 25 and Jay Newdick 20, and take a seven-wicket win to make the final.Napier Girls’ High School won the toss and put Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in to bat. They scored 116 in 38 overs. Rosamond Kember scored 23 and Catherine Bristow also scored 23. Alana McFarland took three for 19 for Napier Girls’.Napier Girls’ struggled with the bat and were all out for 47. Morgan Walsh took four for 10, Catherine Bristow three for 10 and Amy Hodgson two for 19 for Epsom Girls’.Burnside High School won the toss and batted first, making 137 all out. Kate Saunders scored 20, while Anita Waugh took two for 18, Courtney Sim two for 25, Amy Pope two for 25 and Taryn O’Neill two for 33.In reply, New Plymouth Girls’ struggled to 42 for one after 20 overs, but a 98-run partnership for the second wicket between Toni Street (63) and Rachel Priest (37) helped the team reach 139 for five wickets with an over to spare. Andrea Brown took two for 20 and Tracey Watts two for 25 for Burnside.

A Happy New Year to all our readers and to all genuine cricket-lovers everywhere. It has not been a happy New Year, though, for Zimbabwean or South African cricketers, struggling unsuccessfully overseas, or indeed for Bangladesh, overwhelmed yet again in a manner that should wake up the ICC to the fact that they did far too little to prepare their latest full member for the realities of Test cricket.For Zimbabwe, the First Test match against Sri Lanka went pretty much as could be forecast. Sri Lanka batted first and their grossly talented batsmen built up a huge total against an innocuous Zimbabwe bowling line-up. Then, aided as usual by umpiring errors that really did no more than hasten the inevitable, they failed twice with the bat, following on to be beaten by an innings.Incredibly, Zimbabwe set a record by being the first Test team to play in Sri Lanka without a specialist spinner. Captain Brian Murphy, out of form and confidence, felt he had no alternative but to stand down – and there was no other specialist spinner in the touring party! Surely the experienced Paul Strang should have been there, with Raymond Price a good alternative. Instead Zimbabwe had to rely on a four-man pace attack, backed only by two part-time spinners in Trevor Gripper and Grant Flower. Perhaps this was what persuaded them to take what at this distance (and in the absence of any discussion of the issue in the match reports) seems to be the incredible decision to put Sri Lanka in to bat on winning the toss. However justified it may have seemed at the time, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and this decision proved indigestible.The present trend of play in Zimbabwe cricket suggests we can hope for no better in the two remaining Tests. Sri Lanka have an awesome array of talent, especially in batting, and Zimbabwe have found the island the hardest place of all to tour – so far they have lost every single match they have ever played against the home side there. Four years ago, as I have mentioned before, they almost did achieve the near-impossible by winning a Test match there, only to be robbed by craven umpiring.If they play their best, and the home side does not, it is just conceivable they might be able to match Sri Lanka in one match, although they are without several of their experienced players on this tour. But to play their best they need to show more spirit than they have done for a long time. Just occasionally Zimbabwe surprise us with an unexpected victory, but things look very bleak at the moment.Further evidence that they could do better, with the bat at least, comes with the statistic that in both innings of the First Test, five batsmen passed 20. Yet not a single one reached 50. They did the hard work, but then got themselves out when they should have been setting their sights on a really big score.Back home, Bryan Strang, whose accuracy would have been invaluable on this tour, has in disenchantment announced his retirement from Zimbabwe cricket. He fought his way back to fitness after a hamstring injury in August, only to be overlooked by the selectors yet again, even for the Zimbabwe Board XI. He has now had enough, and is looking to find a job and play out his career overseas, in England or perhaps for a provincial side in South Africa.Bryan is a mercurial character and may change his mind, as he has done before. He has not always been easy for the administrators to get on with and he has sometimes been his own worst enemy, but Zimbabwe cricket cannot afford the loss of another experienced player with much to offer. Player dissatisfaction, some of it perhaps self-imposed, is surely a part of the team’s current failures, although it is impossible to say how much. But it is an issue that needs to be recognized, tackled and resolved.A New Year is also a time for looking back, and we can spare a moment for what might have been in Zimbabwe cricket. Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson both walked out on the country just over a year ago, while several months ago Trevor Madondo, our most talented black batsman, sadly died of cerebral malaria. Updated profiles of all three are included in this issue, along with one of Bryan Strang.ZIMBABWE A IN KENYAThe Zimbabwe A team has just returned from an unsuccessful tour to Kenya, although they did fight back to win the last two one-day matches once the series had already been divided. Alistair Campbell, who was there, talks about that tour in this issue and he reveals how Kenya’s distinctive game plan took the Zimbabweans by surprise.THE JUSTIN ONTONG AFFAIRSouth African cricket, battered by the Australians as their players appear to have lost their spirit as well as their quality pace attack, is embroiled in another controversy as their board president vetoed the team chosen for the Third Test against Australia, insisting that coloured player Justin Ontong replace white player Jacques Rudolph in the selected team.This is an issue that also causes controversy in Zimbabwe, but here I am only going to comment on the situation as it concerns the young all-rounder Ontong. Playing for one’s country for the first time, being selected as one of the eleven best, should be a source of tremendous personal joy and sense of achievement. Is that still possible when the player knows that he is in the team, not because his ability demanded it, but because the colour of his skin got him in?How can Ontong be expected to take a real pride in his selection under these circumstances? The decision to put him in the national side because of the colour of his skin has stripped him of the dignity and worth he would deserve as being officially rated as one of his country’s eleven best. Surely he must feel demeaned by his inclusion under such circumstances, especially as he failed as a player in the warm-up match against New South Wales immediately before the Test.The `quota system’, supposedly designed to combat racism, actually exacerbates any that is there. White players omitted in favour of black or coloured players of lesser quality will naturally resent it; so will their team-mates, who want to play in the strongest possible team. The policy hits at team spirit and demeans the individual promoted on race rather than merit.By all means spend extra money to help the disadvantaged, but when it comes to selection on merit, surely all unprejudiced people must agree: the best team must be selected. It only causes trouble to put race or age or privilege or lack of it ahead of sheer merit. Ontong has become a Test player but at the same time, knowing he was not there on merit, he has become a victim.

The women’s State League did not escape the attentions of the weather today, although there was frustration as fine weather broke out in Masterton but play was still not possible.Covers on the Queen Elizabeth II Park in downtown Masterton leaked and no play was possible in the Central Districts-Northern Districts game, and so bad was the damage to the pitch that it was doubtful there would be play tomorrow.In Wellington at the Petone Recreation Ground, Auckland won the toss and batted first but got off to a disappointing start as Wellington made the most of their chances to have Rebecca Rolls run out for 11 after a superb throw by Jane Hunter-Siu, Emily Drumm out for 13 and Kathryn Ramel out for 16.Helen Watson and Ingrid Cronin-Knight put on 30 to get Auckland to 104/4 off 30 overs before the rain came in and forced the abandonment of the game.

The second day’s play began badly for India, the Zimbabwean tail wagging merrily and pushing the score on to 287. Travis Friend was the party-pooper-in-chief for the Indians, making an unbeaten 60. As the day proceeded, however, things looked decisively up for the home side. Opener Shiv Sunder Das made his second Test ton, Rahul Dravid made an unbeaten half-century, and India reached 209/2 – still 88 behind.One cannot ascertain whether Das has a marked preference for oranges, but he certainly likes the ‘Orange City’ of Nagpur. In the 66th over of the day, Das leaned back and punched a Trevor Gripper off-break through the covers to bring up his second successive ton at Nagpur. The victims the first time around were Zimbabwe as well, so perhaps it is just the bowling then, and not the venue. Dravid, who amassed 200 when these teams clashed at the same stadium the last time around, was happy to pick up an unbeaten 57.It was on November 25th 2000 that Das brought up his maiden Test hundred. Stuart Carlisle will have bad memories of that match, but this one is shaping up to be just as bad. With Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly still to come, on paper, the best of the Indian batting sat in the pavilion for the entire day. Das, with his knock of 105 (203 b, 19×4 ) has made sure that Zimbabwe are on the back foot already. Unfortunately for the youngster, he chopped left-arm spinner Ray Price to Alistair Campbell at slip just before the close of play.The scoring rate may be an unimpressive 2.82, but it will not bother the Indians too much. The bowlers are tired, the wicket still very much full of runs, and an all-out attack on the third day beckons temptingly.Dravid clearly is not the man to take part in any such move. The Karnataka middle-order bat knows his place in the side, and indeed his role, and he was content just waiting for the loose ball. The Zimbabwean bowlers, unable to attack on this wicket, made the mistake of straying on the pads far too often and were duly punished. Dravid struck Brighton Watambwa beautifully through covers in the 72nd over of the innings to bring up his half century. The knock, that comes after a lay-off due to shoulder injury, included eight hits to the fence and came off 141 balls.Deep Dasgupta, who did not have a particularly good time behind the stumps, contributed solidly with the bat. Never one to score very quickly, Dasgupta had just one departure from dourness when he stepped down the track and hit Price straight back over his head for a six. Apart from that, it was very much a slow plod from Dasgupta.His vigil at the crease was brought to an end by a fine piece of bowling by the only spinner in this Zimbabwe team. Price, bowling around the wicket, bowled a tidy line, just short of a length and outside the off, spinning away a touch. Surprising Dasgupta, Price floated in an arm ball, the batsman shouldered arms and watched in amazement as the ball clipped the off-stump. Dasgupta’s 33 saw India reach 79 for the fall for the first wicket.But between the dismissals of Dasgupta and Das lay almost a whole day of attrition. Tomorrow India should shift gears. With Tendulkar at the crease, you can be sure that there will be a full house baying for boundaries. Whether the little master will oblige or not depends on how tidily Zimbabwe can bowl. If the bowling on the second day’s play is anything to go by, Nagpur can be sure that the advertising hoardings on the boundary ropes will take a bit of a pounding.