In a move to rest him ahead of India’s tour to the West Indies, the national selection committee have decided to rest Sachin Tendulkar for the first three games of the upcoming five-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe.Tendulkar’s knees have been giving him trouble of late, and he has been prescribed rest and exercises. Another senior player rested for the one-day series is Javagal Srinath, who personally asked for the hiatus.Rahul Dravid makes a return to the one-day squad after missing the England series, and Tinu Yohannan has been brought in to replace Srinath in the pace bowling department.A surprise inclusion is VVS Laxman, who was dropped from the one-day team during the England series following a woeful run of form. His recent axing from the Test team for the Delhi match against Zimbabwe was another indication that the selectors were doubtful about his present form. This is perhaps an opportunity for Laxman to play himself back into form ahead of the West Indies tour, where he will be a crucial player.The one-day squad:Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Mohammad Kaif, Ajay Ratra (wicket-keeper), Sarandeep Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Sanjay Bangar, Tinu Yohannan, Anil KumbleDinesh Mongia to lead India AThe Indian selectors also announced the India ‘A’ squad which will leave shortly on a 32-day tour of South Africa.The squad will be led by Dinesh Mongia who has also been selected of the one-day series against Zimbabwe. Abhijit Kale, who impressed in Zimbabwe’s tour opener, and the talented Mohammad Kaif also get a look-in.Baroda medium-pacer Rakesh Patel, Orissa medium-pacer Debasis Mohanty, and all-rounder Rohan Gavaskar, the son of the great Sunny Gavaskar, who did well in the current Ranji season, are the other notable inclusions in the touring party.The India ‘A’ squad:Dinesh Mongia(captain), Abhijit Kale, Y Venugopal Rao, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Jacob Martin, Gautam Gambhir, Amit Pagnis, Rohan Gavaskar, L Balaji, Rakesh Patel, Amit Bhandari, Amit Mishra, Murali Kartik, Debasis Mohanty.

HOBART, Dec 19 AAP – An assault on one of cricket’s most dismal records was the lowlight of a slow day as Queensland grafted to a solid position in the Pura Cup match against Tasmania in Hobart today.Opener Brendan Nash’s morning snail impersonation, plus a continuing Martin Love affair with Bellerive Oval, ensured the Bulls survived a difficult wicket and reached 4-249 at stumps on the first day after opting to bat.Love was 127 not out and Lee Carseldine 19.Chief culprit was Nash, the 25-year-old lefthanded opener, who was at the wicket for 88 minutes before he opened his account with an inside edge that squirted to square leg.That was only nine minutes less than the world record 97 minutes it took England’s Godfrey Evans to break his duck in the 1946-47 Test in Adelaide.It took Nash another 33 minutes to get his second, just after lunch. Then he accelerated modestly before being bowled for 34 shortly before tea. He was there for 223 minutes, faced 174 balls and hit four boundaries late in his innings.Nash said it was hard to score on the two-paced wicket.He said the record was “not something you’d really want”, but he’d not felt too bad about not scoring and Love had helped him get through the period.In fairness to Nash, the wicket was tough. The bowlers, moreover, sprayed a lot that had to be left, especially before lunch.This led to some extraordinary figures, notably for Shane Jurgensen, who at tea had conceded only one run off the bat from 15 overs — but had also produced four wides and three no balls.The morbid interest in Nash overshadowed Love’s performance, yet it was a good indicator of the difficulties.Love is a class act who loves Bellerive and only last month hit a double century for Australia A against England in less time that it took him to reach three figures today.In the morning, the Love affair was rocky. His timing was astray and he regularly played and missed. But survival gradually became assurance and his innings was the critical one.He has batted for 367 minutes, hit 20 fours and given one tough chance, on 103.Queensland progressed by increments — a mere 35 in the first session, 78 in the session and a healthy 136 in a long third.Stuart Law (21) and Andrew Symonds (29) provided a little late zing, but couldn’t capitalise on their starts.Damien Wright (2-59) was the only multiple wicket taker in an attack that didn’t fully capitalise on its opportunities, but also had little luck with edges — many either just missing or just falling short of the slips.

The West Indies Cricket Board today announced that the Trinidad-based LNM Group will be the Official Sponsor of the West Indies team to the Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.The LNM Group is the second largest steel producer in the world and its steel-making operations in countries make it the world’s most global steel producer with a high degree of product and geographic diversification.Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the LNM Group remarked “With this sponsorship, LNM is giving the West Indies cricket team a major boost of confidence ahead of the 2003 World Cup.”

“We expect great things from the team and look forward to them personifying some of the qualities that the LNM Group truly admire like commitment, courage and boldness.”Rev. Wes Hall, president of the WICB, welcomed the LNM Group on board and said that financial support for West Indies cricket from the private sector is always greatly appreciated.”I would like to express our sincere appreciation for this commitment by the LNM Group to our West Indies team because this stands as an example for all those who care about West Indies cricket,” Rev. Hall said.”I have spent a few days with the team at their training camp in Antigua and I can tell you they are determined to make a big impression at the Cricket World Cup 2003 and the LNM Group will help to make sure that the dreams of these young men become a reality.”The LNM Group, through the Trinidad & Tobago-based Caribbean Ispat, one of LNM’s global operations previously sponsored the West Indies team when they visited India for a series of Tests and limited-overs internationals almost a decade ago.During the Cricket World Cup 2003, the West Indies team will participate in promotional activities and display the LNM Group logo on their competition uniforms.

Simon Lowe, the Manager of the Playing for Success Study Support Centre that is based in the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground, has recently received some very good news.When I called to see him yesterday morning he told me: "Earlier this year I was asked to submit a bid to the D.F.E. for extra funding and I have just been informed that we have been awarded £10, 000 to enable us to enhance our provision here at the centre."Simon continued: "What I am going to do is to involve schools who up until now have been unable to get into the centre because of where they are. The money that we have now received will be used to fund the Exmoor Extension Project which means we will now be able to involve Danesfield School at Williton, Minehead Middle School and Dulverton Middle School."The project gets underway on Monday March 3rd and runs for six weeks, with each school coming into the centre once a week for a three hour session.Each session will consist of two hours working in the centre with Simon and his staff and a member of staff from the school, plus a one hour coaching session in the Centre of Excellence with former Somerset player Peter Robinson.The Playing for Success Centre Manager concluded: "This exciting project will enable us to enhance and extend the use of the centre by opening it’s doors to students who up until now have been prohibited from getting here after school because of where they live.”The Exmoor Extension Project will run at the centre in addition to the programme that is already being provided to students from schools in Bridgwater, Wellington and Wiveliscombe.

The aftermath of England’s decision not to go Harare to play against Zimbabwe in the World Cup continues to make the headlines. There is now a suggestion that Zimbabwe might retaliate by pulling out of their forthcoming tour to England.The Zimbabwe Cricket Union has a board meeting on March 29th when the question of the tour to England will be discussed. There are fears that the ZCU will come under government pressure not to fulfil the scheduled fixtures.However, chairman Peter Chingoka has indicated that his organisation are likely to go ahead with the tour, but the final decision will not rest with the cricket body. All international tours by sporting organisations in Zimbabwe have to be sanctioned by the government-appointed Sports Commission."The British have asked us to reconfirm our tour and we are havingdiscussions. An official position will be made after our board meeting. We will then seek a blessing from the Sports Commission," Chingoka said.One factor working for the tour to go ahead is that the ZCU are desperately short of money and rely on income from foreign tours to balance the books.In addition, it would be interesting to see if the ICC would award the series to England if Zimbabwe refused to fulfil their fixtures in the ICC Test championship. The points were awarded to Zimbabwe when England missed the Harare World Cup match, while Kenya’s path to the semi-finals was made easier by the fact that they were awarded the points when New Zealand refused to go to Nairobi to play their group match.

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the most recognisable book in sport, is to have a photograph on the cover for the first time in its 140-year history. The first man to appear on the famous yellow jacket is Michael Vaughan, England’s star batsman, who has just gone to the top of the world rankings.It is the first major change to the cover since 1938, when Wisden brought in the celebrated woodcut by Eric Ravilious showing two top-hatted Victorian gentlemen playing cricket. The woodcut now appears on the back of the jacket, and also on the spine, which is otherwise unchanged so as to maintain continuity on collectors’ shelves.The decision to change the cover was made by the editor of the 2003 edition, Tim de Lisle, the first one-off editor in Wisden’s history. The new design was done last October by the art director of Wisden’s monthly magazine, Nigel Davies, and was a closely guarded secret for six months, with the book trade being shown only a silhouette. The change was ratified by the Wisden management committee, and the chairman, Sir Paul Getty, approved the new cover in what turned out, alas, to be his final contribution to the Almanack before his death on April 17."The cover of Wisden is an icon," Tim de Lisle says, "and you don’t update an icon without taking a deep breath. But it had ceased to be a true reflection of the book. The content had become much more entertaining under the previous three editors [John Woodcock, Graeme Wright and Matthew Engel], and the cover was making Wisden look drier and dustier than it really is."The yellow background and chocolate lettering are unchanged, and the photograph is in black-and-white, to let yellow remain the signature colour and underline Wisden’s standing as a publishing classic. "Black-and-white has the feel of history," de Lisle says. "It’s in tune with what the top players do, writing their names indelibly in the game’s annals."The hope is that being on the cover of Wisden will become a major honour, like our Five Cricketers of the Year, but distinct from them – you can be a Cricketer of the Year only once, whereas the cover star should be the person to whom the year belonged, for whatever reason, and it should be possible to appear twice. Last year, for instance, it might have been Sir Donald Bradman, whose obituary was in the book."Vaughan was picked because he had made the year his own with seven Test centuries, scored in great style. The photograph, by the well-known cricket photographer Patrick Eagar, shows Vaughan celebrating a century. "It needed to be an image that was full of vitality and emotion," de Lisle says. "Wisden’s readers have a real passion for the game, and the cover should reflect that."A traditional-style jacket has also been produced, and can be ordered free of charge by collectors who prefer it, or who wish to have both covers to maintain the completeness of their collection.At 40 Tim de Lisle, who won an Editor of the Year award in 1999 with Wisden Cricket Monthly, is the youngest editor of the Almanack since the Second World War. His brief was to move the book forward and regular readers will find a few more surprises – along with reports and comment from the 2003 World Cup, which ended only a month ago – when the 140th edition reaches the shops next week.Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2003 is published by John Wisden on April 30, in hardback and soft cover. The recommended retail price is £35 – but click here for our special offer.

No-one will ever under-estimate Peter Fulton when he next strides to the wicket with bat in hand for Canterbury, or for whoever he is playing.Fulton, 24, in only his 11th first-class match achieved the feat of scoring a triple century in a State Championship match against Auckland at Hagley Oval.It was the definitive statement of his ability although is not without precedent when coming so early in a career.Most recently Ken Rutherford scored his triple century when 21 years of age while Bill Carson, whose 290 was the record Fulton surpassed as the highest score for a maiden century, was 20 when he achieved his great score. He had his career cut short by the Second World War in which he died of wounds.Fulton didn’t feel too tired after his innings, it was broken with a night off when he was 188 not out, and said when the declaration came around lunchtime on day two, he felt a tiredness normally associated with having been on a long run.By the end of the four days he was back to normal.The innings came as some reward for opting for cricket over the rugby he had been playing as a 196cm tall fullback. The choice, one which faces so many young New Zealand sportsmen, was forced on him when he had the chance to play league cricket in England. He had two years with Lytham in the Liverpool League. Some knee problems also contributed.”Both sports are similar in terms of team spirit involved in them. But I think in cricket you have a little bit more control over your own game and you are not so reliant on other people,” he said.Fulton made his debut in the last game of the summer of 2000/01, when the competition was well and truly gone from Canterbury’s grasp. It was enough to leave him wanting more but not sufficient for him to get a true idea of what was involved.”It was five or six games before I realised what was all about,” he said.Winning acceptance as a prospective player had not been easy because he played his club cricket in North Canterbury and it was unfashionable for country players to be pulled into the representative side.Making his task easier was the fact that Michael Sharpe had become Canterbury coach after a period as Canterbury Country coach where he had seen Fulton develop.That country cricket involved playing in New Zealand’s second-class competition for the Hawke Cup, a competition notorious for producing some hard nuts who have been exposed to one-innings matches of a nature as tough, if not tougher on occasions, as first-class cricket.”It’s the highest level that a lot of those who are playing will ever reach, and they make it tough. There is a lot riding on it and there is more talk on the field than in first-class play.”The biggest difference in Hawke Cup cricket is having to bat for such a long time and it makes you realise what is required when you step up,” he said.It was certainly a key asset in his own triple century innings.Canterbury had not been going well although Fulton had been having some reasonable, if not earth-shattering, scores.”In the Auckland game there was a lot of pressure on the whole team. The batsmen had not been performinng.”I felt good when I got in. I was so determined to make the most of it.”Before I got to the century, that was all I was focusing on. It is a big hurdle until you get one. Once I got there I was just enjoying it.”Then I really wanted to get through to the end of the day and start again the next day. I knew if I could do that I could get a really big score.”He went to stumps on 188 not out.The innings produced its own type of euphoria the further he went. Batting wasn’t difficult.”I didn’t feel like I had to force myself to concentrate. I was not worried about dot balls or maidens.”As his innings mounted, team-mates began to take an interest in the milestones as they passed: Chris Harris’ Canterbury record of 251 not out; the highest score by a New Zealander for his maiden century held by W N ‘Bill’ Carson with 290 runs, and then the seventh instance of a New Zealander scoring a triple century – the first by anyone who didn’t have an Otago connection.”It was strange to see myself on that [triple centuries] list. Now the season has finished I can think about it a little more.”The reaction after the match had been “amazing”. He has been getting letters and calls of congratulations from people who he thought wouldn’t have taken an interest in cricket and that had been most satisfying.Fulton, who has an Arts degree majoring in education and sociology, said he didn’t think the triple century would create any pressure for him in the future. The opposite was the case.”I’ve done it. It gives me some confidence for my place in the side.”The immediate benefit has been a place in the New Zealand Cricket Academy this year. He had been disappointed to miss out last year.It will be the first time he has had some specific coaching. He hasn’t had a lot of technical coaching before, more the benefit of an enthusiastic headmaster Peter Prosser at Waihi School and Sharpe later on in his career.”I couldn’t really play a forward defensive shot. I was more of a bowler until just after the third form.”Winning a place in the Canterbury team, he never played age-group cricket for Canterbury, although he was once included in the Under-19 side when another player was injured, had exposed him to international players and their methods of preparation and performance.”The biggest thing about playing for Canterbury is being in the nets with the New Zealand players when they are back. Batting with them and watching them, and asking them questions has been great because they have been happy to pass on their knowledge.”I had a different route to the side. I have had to work every year and I took the view that I had to improve five per cent each year so my improvement has been quite gradual.”When he was chosen for Canterbury he was the first Christ’s College player for several years, which in Christchurch’s, and Christ’s College’s, proud association with cricket was a long time.The school teams had suffered from the problem afflicting the game in New Zealand, the drop-out rate of players when their schooling is completed. But that just made Fulton’s success all the more satisfying for him.He gives the impression that there is still much more he wants to do, and that has to be healthy for Canterbury in the short term and who knows where it might all end for him?

Somerset tightened their grip on the county championship match against Glamorgan at Taunton and by the end of the second day’s play they had a first innings lead of 194 with four wickets remaining.Resuming on 161 for 1 captain Mike Burns, who was 33 not out overnight, set out his stall early on and took 10 runs off an over from Alex Wharf to bring up his own half century and his sides 200.He quickly passed his partner Peter Bowler, who had resumed on 51 not out, and on the stroke of noon played an imperious cover drive and seemed to be heading towards a well deserved century.However with the total on 249 he was somewhat surprisingly bowled leg stump by Adrian Dale for 82, after putting on 128 for the second wicket with Bowler. During his innings Burns faced 119 balls and scored 13 x 4’s.Jamie Cox announced his arrival at the crease with a trademark cover drive, and appeared to be in cracking form displaying an array of attacking shots.Meanwhile, Bowler had been going along steadily and was batting like a man destined to reach his century. However Dale had other ideas and just a few minutes before lunch with the total on 290, Bowler gave a straightforward catch to Wharf at mid on. The veteran opener had been at the wicket over 4 ¾ hours to compile his 92 and faced 227 balls and hit ten boundaries.Shortly after lunch Bryant and Cox brought up the 300 but within half an hour of returning from the interval the players left the field because of rain.The rain caused the loss of eleven overs and kept the players off the field for forty minutes, but shortly after they returned Cox was disappointingly trapped LBW by Wharf after scoring an impressive 29 runs.Cox’s dismissal signalled the arrival of Ian Blackwell who was making his first championship appearance of the season at Taunton. The situation was ideal for the all rounder who was quickly into his stride and took runs almost at will from Robert Croft, who he hit for 16 runs from one over.Along with Bryant the left hander brought up the fifty partnership from six overs, and looked to be going well until with his score on 42 he played a ball from David Harrison onto his stumps. `Blackie’ had faced just 27 balls and scored seven four’s.Bryant became Dales third victim when he was out LBW to bring Aaron Laraman to the wicket and by teatime Rob Turner (12 not out) and Laraman (0 not out) had taken the Cidermen onto 394 for 6, before the rain started to fall again to prevent any further play.After play was abandoned for the day just before six o’clock, Somerset coach Kevin Shine said: "It has been very frustrating that we have been denied 43 overs play today, and we will have to try and gauge how many more overs of play might be possible before we decide what we are going to do. We have got two days of play left and we will be pushing hard to get a victory."He continued: "The skipper batted well today and it’s nice to see Mike back in the runs again and Peter Bowler got a good 90 odd. The wicket looks like it could have quickened up a little which suits us with Nixon McLean, Richard Johnson and Simon Francis all in good form, so tomorrow we will be hoping that we can get a days play and push hard for a victory."Paceman Johnson is suffering from a slight groin strain, and whilst he will bowl for Somerset in the Glamorgan second innings he will not be fit enough to be available for selection for the first Test match against Zimbabwe that gets underway next Thursday

Australian women’s cricket is now permanently under the umbrella of the Australian Cricket Board.The integration of men’s and women’s cricket was announced today and follows that which has already been achieved in New Zealand and England,.A two-year trial period preceded the move but at a special general meeting of the Women’s Cricket Association (WCA) on June 20, the integration was unanimously supported.The announcement is not coincidental as it will come into effect on Tuesday, the same day as the ACB becomes Cricket Australia.The integration will give women’s cricket guaranteed security and strength for the future.ACB chief executive James Sutherland said the decision to officially unite men’s and women’s cricket under one umbrella was a major step forward for the game.”As we identified several years ago, having two separate organisations performing similar roles in trying to build and strengthen the game was actually working against cricket,” Sutherland said.”The ACB and WCA agreed in 2001 to establish a trial integration period to make sure we could achieve more efficient operations and improve the overall health of the game. Female participation in cricket is growing rapidly and we recognise the importance and challenge of building the game further for this group.”Initiatives like the CricHit program for girls, the inclusion of a women’s clinic at the Imparja Cup and the women’s cricket leadership forum in Darwin last week highlight some achievements that have resulted from the integration.”There are numerous advantages to working as one unit for the benefit of cricket and we are entirely committed to consolidating our work efforts toward the common goal of attracting, retaining and supporting these players,” he said.Under the trial association period, women’s cricket has benefited from increased access to funding for matches and events, resources for development purposes and access to ACB support systems.Australian women’s captain Belinda Clark said the trial integration showed what could be achieved by joining operations.”Over the past two years, women’s cricket has further advanced and moved closer to realising its growth potential with greater resources and funding in place at all levels. At the elite end, it has allowed us to capitalise on playing opportunities. We have been able to access resources and support and earlier this year it helped us stage a Test series at home for the first time in seven years,” she said.Other benefits of the permanent integration will ensure greater certainty in developing elite competition for senior and youth levels, access through a women’s cricket reference group to address strategic issues, links to the ACB’s centres of excellence and resources to review and research lower levels of cricket for women.There will be more obvious alignment between men and women player uniforms. They will share a logo with a colour ribbon beneath the coat of arms differentiating, red for men and yellow for women.A new baggy green cap will be created for the women to match the men’s cap.As part of the integration, the WCA will be dissolved while the Women’s Cricket Advisory Committee will be abolished while WCA assets frozen during the trial period will rollover to the ACB.Immediate effects of the permanent integration include:Sutherland paid tribute to the many people who have played a role in the administration of women’s cricket over many decades.”As we strive to strengthen women’s cricket in Australia, we acknowledge the previous work, dedication and service by the many contributors to our game. I also congratulate Ms Quentin Bryce for her leadership in driving the integration process over the past few years.”Ms Bryce AC, was the president of the WCA and chairperson of the WCAC. She completes her long association with women’s cricket administration and begins her new role as Queensland Governor after being appointed to the position earlier this year.There are more than 200,000 schoolgirls who participate in MILO Cricket development programs and 50,000 females playing club cricket across Australia.

All Today’s Yesterdays – August 7 down the yearsAugust 6 | August 81948
Birth of one of the great Test batsmen. Greg Chappell’s 7110 Test runs were scored at an average of 53.86 and with a smoothness that disguised his competitive steel. His on-drive was one of the great shots. He and his brother Ian both captained Australia with plenty of success.1971
Feisty England seamer Dominic Cork was born. He took 7 for 43 in his debut Test at Lord’s, against West Indies in 1995, and his hat-trick later in the series was the first by an England bowler in a Test since Peter Loader in 1957.1987
Master batsman Javed Miandad completed one of his six double-centuries in Test cricket. During his 260 at The Oval he became the first to score 6000 Test runs for Pakistan, whose total of 708, their highest ever, was more than enough to draw the match and clinch the series.1998
A third consecutive five-wicket haul by the big-hearted seamer Angus Fraser at Headingley kept South Africa’s first-innings lead down to 22. England went on to win a low-scoring match and take the series 2-1.1973
Death of a great allrounder. Jack Gregory’s fast bowling terrorised England’s batsmen in the early 1920s – and he still holds two major Test records: a century in 70 minutes at Johannesburg in 1921-22, and 15 catches in the 1920-21 series against England.1965
Two of fast bowler Peter Pollock’s ten wickets left England on 10 for 2 at the end of the day, facing defeat in the decisive Trent Bridge Test against South Africa.1879
One of South Africa’s fastest bowlers was born. JJ “Kodgee” Kotze took only six Test wickets at 40.50, but most of the bowling was done by googly bowlers at the time. His long run-up and strong body action frightened a lot of batsmen and he could maintain his pace for long spells. He did the hat-trick twice and took 8 for 18 for Western Province v Griqualand West in 1902-03.1937
England slow left-armer Don Wilson was born. He played in only six Tests (1963-64 to 1970-71) but took 1189 first-class wickets before becoming the MCC’s head coach at Lord’s.Other birthdays
1959 Ali Shah (Zimbabwe)