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For a man who has been afforded just two one-day internationals to translate impressive domestic form on to a higher stage, Jimmy Maher (150) took things in his stride remarkably easily in Hobart today. On a day when his opponents did little to diminish their gloomy collective disposition, the Queenslander’s century was the clear highlight of an otherwise unremarkable opening to the tour match between Australia ‘A’ and West Indies at the Bellerive Oval.The twenty-six year old left hander profited from a curious decision at the start of the day by the West Indians and remained at the crease until nearly its very close. Albeit that it was crafted on a placid pitch, Maher’s ninth first-class century – and a third from only five matches in an explosive beginning to this Australian season – was a masterpiece of concentration and a tribute to his ability to deal with loose bowling.During its 339-minute course, he also proved at least two things. That Australia, lest it will ever require it, has a wealth of largely unexplored talent waiting in the wings and that West Indian captain Jimmy Adams might well have been better advised to bat first in this match.In view of the fact that his team entered the contest urgently requiring batting practice, and found that he had no more than three fit front-line bowlers at his disposal, it seemed an odd decision for Adams to want to invite his opponents to bat first. It assumed even more confounding proportions as Maher and Queenslandteammate Martin Love (76) stood firm to add an untroubled 156 for the second wicket and provide the impetus to help carry a side which brims with some ofAustralia’s best-credentialled domestic players to 4/306 by stumps.”We thought there was enough moisture in it to warrant that,” mused the tourists’ skipper of the decision.”We figured that it (the moisture) would have lasted until about lunch time and that, if we’d had two or three wickets by lunch time, it would have been worth it.””The bottom line is that we bowled too many full balls during the course of the day. I would have been happy with 4/250; I think (to concede) 300 is too much for a Test team,” he said.Maher certainly wasn’t in any mood to complain. The ball did plenty through the opening half-hour, the period during which the steepling bounce being extracted by Marlon Black (0/49) from the Church Street End seemed, ultimately, to unsettle local hero Jamie Cox (6) into an error at the other end. But, thereafter, he seamlessly took toll of the understrength attack with a lovely mixture of drives, pulls and cuts. The only semblance of a chance from his bat came with his score at fifty-three and even that was near-impossible: Marlon Samuels launching himself high into the air above cover point to try and intercept a ripping cut.”Being down here, and being part of the ‘A’ side is a thrill for me,” said Maher after play. “It was important to go out and score runs … and very pleasing.””Generally down here, the wicket does a bit early … but early today, I think they probably bowled a fraction short and probably didn’t make the best use of the wicket.””Every time you go out to bat, you want to do the best you can. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing – someone’s got a ball in their hand and you’ve got a bat in your hand (and) you’ve got to work hard to get your runs ,” he added, underlining the disciplined mindset which lay at the core of his innings.Of the West Indian bowlers, Colin Stuart (3/76) was the most successful. Part-time spinners Adams (0/25) and Samuels (0/71) also held up well in difficult circumstances. And Wavell Hinds (1/18) performed an important job with his gentle medium pace by luring Damien Martyn (37), the likely replacement for the injured Steve Waugh in next week’s Third Test in Adelaide, into playing a lazy, uncontrolled cut in late afternoon.But there will be likely be little respite for the attack in the morning when the ravenous Simon Katich (25*) continues to mount a burgeoning campaign for inclusion in Australia’s Test team in the near future. Having seen champion batsman Brian Lara disappear to the rooms for the entirety of the last hour as his much-publicised hamstring complaint continued to haunt him, omens, strategies and developments simply go from bad to worse for the tourists.

Andy Caddick and Michael Vaughan have been cleared for a return to action in tomorrow’s NatWest Series encounter with Pakistan at Lord’s.A precautionary x-ray on Vaughan’s bruised finger revealed no break, though he may still not be risked for tomorrow’s game, while Caddick has recovered from his stiff back.Graham Thorpe is still thought to be an unlikely starter, however, and is expected to return on Thursday at Old Trafford.”We’re not going to wrap players in cotton wool, but we’re not going to rushthem back before they are ready,” David Graveney commented. “We have to learn the lessons from Michael Vaughan during the winter when he had a slight calf strain initially, but ended up missing all three Tests in Pakistan and we don’t want that to happen again.”England have lost their last seven One-Day Internationals, a record run of form they are anxious to end.They are fielding an inexperienced squad at present, in an effort to build a team to contend for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. But as Nick Knight acknowledged, that can’t be used as an excuse.”I’ve played on and off for five or six years and have managed to play 56 games, and I’m relatively experienced in our side, but if you look at the other teams it doesn’t compare,” Knight explained.”We know we can’t keep using our rebuilding as an excuse for losing, but in one-day cricket it’s so important that the little things are right like batting with people, understanding between the wickets and all those sort of things.”If you look at Australia’s batting line-up it’s not really changed over the past couple of years and they all bat together well and take twos when we sometimes can only get one because they have a great understanding.”That’s why it’s so important in one-day cricket because there is such a small percentage between success, and failure and Australia have played together a lot and it makes them a very difficult team to break down.The NatWest Series should be of particular use to England then, and, win or lose, they will take plenty of positives from it if young players perform as Hollioake and Shah did in Bristol.”Tournaments like this are a big help and the more cricket we can play of this nature against sides like Australia and Pakistan the better,” Knight added. “They are the two best sides in the world and we are up against it, but this is when you really learn quickly and that’s what we are trying to get out of this tournament.”

In Sunday’s Norwich Union Division One match at Trent Bridge between Notts Outlaws and the Gloucestershire Gladiators the domestic one–day seventh wicket record was broken.Jeremy Snape, the 25-year-old all–rounder, hit his maiden century and Mark Hardinges, on his debut in the competition, scored 65.The pair had come together with the Gladiators Innings in total disarray at 33-5. 25 overs later they had added 164 before 23-year-old Hardinges was stumped by Chris Read off the bowling of Australian Greg Blewett. Snape batted until the conclusion of the Glouca innings to remain undefeated on 104 not out.The existing Sunday League record for the seventh wicket had been 132, set by KR Brown and NR Williams for Middx against Somerset at Lords in 1985.160 had been the overall seventh wicket mark, set by CJ Richards and IR Payne for Surrey against Lincs in a NatWest match at Sleaford in 1983.

Cricket fans, don’t despair. You’ll get to see your favourite WestIndies stars on the field during the just-started tour of Zimbabwe andKenya.What appeared impossible two weeks ago is now on the horizon, as theCaribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) yesterday finalisedarrangements with rights owners, Caribbean Sports Television Network(CSTN), for television and radio coverage of the major tour matches.The matches will be shown as part of a special pay-per-view package onCBC’s Multi-Choice TV, Channel 57.Fans will have to pay $150 for the full Test series between June 23and July 31, or $75 per match, while it will cost $25 per match forthe One-Day triangular series involving Zimbabwe and India betweenJune 23 and July 4.West Indies play their opening match against Zimbabwe on Saturdaystarting at 2:30 a.m. Barbados time.CBC’s marketing manager Melena Sealy-Simmons declined to quote theprice at which CBC secured the package, but said it was significantlylower than the original request for 17 days of coverage.She said CBC had borne the full weight of purchase of the rights toradio coverage.There are still no sponsors in place now, she said.I strongly believe some will come on board when coverage starts, sinceno business house would want to get involved before any agreement iscomplete.Meanwhile, Voice Of Barbados will not carry radio coverage. DavidEllis, Starcom’s manager of news and public affairs, said yesterdaythe station was still unable to pay CSTN’s asking price.We are still open to negotiations, but right now there has been nochange in their position of asking US$8 500 for 17 days of coverage,and we can’t carry it at that price, he said.

Hampshire have suspended Zac Morris for three games after he pleaded guilty to a drunk and disorderly charge.The left-arm bowler, a former England U19 player, was arrested by police after being spotted urinating on a roundabout in Southampton. He was fined £120 and £55 costs.”We have warned him about the future and told him his behaviour must improve,” Tim Tremlett, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said. “We told all the players at the start of the season that such incidents will not be tolerated.”

England’s hopes of saving the Second npower Test were hanging by a thread tonight after an exasperating day of errors and brittle performances.By the close, a partnership between Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher had removed the possibility of the match ending inside three days after they put on 96 for the fourth wicket.Butcher, who was called up for the Edgbaston Test as cover for the injured Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe, was heading for his first century in 27 Test innings with 73. His brother-in-law Alec Stewart was keeping him company but England were still 51 runs behind with the score 163 for four.The third day – the 20th anniversary of England’s historic win over Australia at Headingley in 1981 – started on an ominous note when Butcher dropped a simple slip catch in the second over of the morning which would have had Adam Gilchrist back in the hutch for 13. It was a devastating waste of opportunity and from that point on, an uncharacteristic clumsiness pervaded England’s efforts in the field.Gilchrist was dropped another three times during the morning session. Once on 33 by Ian Ward at cover, again on 49 by Butcher – a difficult chance – and most remarkably of all, on 73 by Michael Atherton, who rarely makes a mistake at first slip.With each fumble and tumble, Gilchrist looked more incredulous and when he finally departed in the second over after lunch for 90, he will have thanked his lucky stars that he came so close to making a second consecutive Test century.He went with all guns blazing, trying to hook Darren Gough, 17 overs into the new ball spell, to leave the total on 387, and the lead over England a hefty 200. They had increased both by 14 runs when Andrew Caddick struck for the fifth time in the innings and wrapped it up with the wicket of Brett Lee to bowl out the tourists for 401, the same score as at Headingley ’81.Caddick’s figures were 5-101 and he made a particularly good impression finding extra bounce with the new ball while Gough finished with 3-115, but it would have been six if three of the dropped catches had stuck.England urgently needed a strong start to their second innings to offset the possibility of defeat in three days but Marcus Trescothick was caught behind for three in the sixth over. His lack of footwork made him vulnerable to the Australian pacemen but it was Jason Gillespie, for the second time in the match, who claimed his wicket.Australia were also having a relative nightmare in the field which gave Michael Atherton a second life on two. Matthew Hayden diving to his left saw the ball tumble out of his hand after shooting off the edge of Atherton’s bat.Atherton looked steady against Australia’s new ball attack, hooking when the opportunity allowed and passing Lord Cowdrey’s tally of 7624 Test runs to go into fourth on the all time list of England’s leading run scorers. But the introduction of Shane Warne into the attack saw a lapse in concentration and having faced 45 balls and hit three boundaries, he was bowled around his legs for 20.His demise brought Butcher and Ramprakash together and with the score on 47 for two, they took responsibility to recover and rebuild. The campaign started slowly but with Butcher taking the lead the pair gradually gained in confidence. Ramprakash brought up the 50 partnership and England’s 100 with a well timed square drive and settled down to eliminate the demons that have wrangled whenever he appears for England at Lord’s.But having taken his total to 40, his highest Test score at Lord’s, he was trapped leg before to Gillespie, just seven overs from the end.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s right toe may need surgery and theBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would bear the expenses,BCCI sources said in Mumbai on Saturday."As the pain still continues, the senior specialists are consideringa few other alternative treatments which may include either a localinjection or even surgery," the sources added.Tendulkar, who had suffered a hairline fracture to his toe whileplaying in the Triangular one-day series in Zimbabwe, underwent a bonescan on August 9. He was forced to pull out of the three Test seriesin Sri Lanka from August 14, as the scan showed that the fracture ofthe sesaunoid bone of the great toe had not healed properly.However, Tendulkar would consult a few more specialists beforedeciding on surgery and should be fit for the South African tour tostart on September 28 till November 28, sources said.Tendulkar has already written to the BCCI secretary JY Lele about thepossible surgery.

The West Indies Cricket Board Inc. (WICB), expressed surprise yesterday to a letter received from the Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA).Chief Cricket Operations Officer, Michael Hall, said that the Board was “surprised at LICA’s letter and it may be injurious to the tournament and LICA’s credibility.”Hall went on to explain that the WICB is on record to further expand the Red Stripe Bowl competition, but “for reasons mainly financial” the Board is not able to implement the full expansion plan.Hall also confirmed that the Leeward Islands representatives to the WICB advised the Board’s general meeting on 21st July that the winner of their one day tournament – Antigua – would be the “individual” team and a “rest” would come from among the other member territories.The WICB yesterday also confirmed that both the Windward and Leeward Islands were asked to supply two teams – one “individual” team and a “rest” team. The Windwards Islands however, advised the Board meeting that they had not “devised a mechanism by which they could transparently select an individual island”. This, in the absence of a one day competition among the islands. The Windward Islands therefore sought, and were granted special dispensation to supply a Windwards North and a Windwards South team for the competition. Hall was quick to add that this would be a “one off” situation and that they were expected to comply fully next year.Meanwhile, acting LICA president, Carlisle Powell, says that they (LICA) were not involved in the decision – to invite Antigua to compete as a separate entity. He however admitted that “Antigua was good enough to play on their own,” but stressed that he was bound by the LICA resolution.John Maginley, first vice president of the Antigua Cricket Association Inc. (ACA), says that they are continuing with plans to “play on our own as a separate entity, unless we are told otherwise.”The WICB is expected to make a ruling on whether to be bound by their earlier decision to invite Antigua to compete as an individual island, or to abide by this latest LICA resolution. This decision was expected today from the WICB president, Wes Hall and vice president, Val Banks.Incidentally, Banks was the former LICA president and WICB representative at the time when the discussions about Antigua going solo in the Red Stripe Bowl were ongoing. The other LICA representative leading those discussions was Enoch Lewis.The Red Stripe Bowl competition is expected to start some time in October and will consist of 10 teams in two (2) zones, one in Guyana and the other in Jamaica. The Windward Islands are the defending Red Stripe Bowl champions.

India’s comprehensive innings and 77 run loss to Sri Lanka at Colombo has consigned them to eighth place on the ICC Test Championship table.India (0.69 points per series average, down from 0.77) exchange places with Pakistan (0.73), who had earlier slipped to eighth behind their nearest rivals after drawing their away series with England in June.Sri Lanka maintain fourth position with their 2-1 series victory, improving their average to 1.08, and thereby moving clear of the West Indies who had been on level terms with them at an average of 1.00 prior to the completion of this series.The outcome of this latest series overrides the 0-0 result of the two-Test series played between Sri Lanka and India in 1997/98.Sri Lanka’s next opportunity to close the gap on England (1.14), who are presently in third, will come when they host the West Indies in November. They can draw level on the table with victory in that series, which will be the first between the two sides on Sri Lankan soil to consist of more than one Test.Before then, their only assignment is an Asian Test Championship fixture against Bangladesh, which will not affect the standings on the table as it is a one-off match.India’s next opportunity, meanwhile, to regain seventh position will come in October when Pakistan host New Zealand. As they drew their last series against the New Zealanders in Pakistan in 1996/97, a loss would see the home side slip to 0.67, just behind India once more.India can control their own fate in November, when a reversal of their 2-0 series loss in South Africa in 1996/97 would also ensure that they would shrug off eighth place.The next series to count towards the ICCTC starts when Zimbabwe host South Africa later this month. It will be a fresh opportunity for points for both sides as neither of the last two meetings between the sides in Zimbabwe qualifies for consideration under the ICCTC rules.The teams played a one-off match in 1995/96 and their subsequent meeting at Harare in 1999/00 was part of a two-Test home and away series which, for the purposes of the ICCTC, is seen as having been played in South Africa.However, no matter the result, the respective positions of the two teams on the current table will not be affected.

After attending the First Class Forum meeting at Lord’s, Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me, “The English Cricket Board made it quite clear that it wishes to ensure that eighteen first class counties continue to exist-which pleases Somerset.”The meeting that was attended by representatives of all of the first class county teams and the M.C.C., was a briefing to discuss the cricket programme for the 2003 season, and will inform a decision making meting that will take place in December.Mr Anderson continued, “The consensus of opinion from the players involved in the game is that 4 day cricket with two divisions and three up and three down is a success.”