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Four stitches and a perforated ear drum is what Rockingham-Mandurah captain Shane Saxon recieved from Willetton allrounder John Taylor during round five of the SunSmart Cup.Victorian import Taylor, 23, hit Saxon with a lively bouncer forcing him from the ground with a nasty gash to the ear.Saxon was immediately taken to hospital in an ambulance where doctors discovered the blow had burst his eardrum.On a flat wicket poor shot was to blame according to Taylor with Saxon ducking into the ball.Rockingham-Mandurah President Peter Swarbrick said Saxon had been cleared of permanent damage and should be to playing in two weeks.”Hopefully he’ll be back to playing in a couple of weeks, it’s up to the specialist,” he said.”We are trying to find the black cat.”Swarbrick was referring to the amazing run of bad luck that has afflicted Rockingham-Mandurah’s top order in recent weeks.English import Mark Powell is out with an injured back and Corey Whisson has a chipped bone in his finger courtesy of a lifting Paul Wilson delivery.With Saxon out, three of Rockingham-Mandurah’s top order are unavailable. �

ScorecardWarwickshire came back almost from the dead to tie their match with Gloucestershire at Bristol, courtesy of a four off the final ball of the match by captain Ian Westwood. Gloucestershire had reason to feel deflated, as they had looked likely winners for most of the game, and also in that their ground was less than half-full.Winning the toss, Warwickshire put in Gloucestershire, who opened with their two New Zealanders, Craig Spearman and Hamish Marshall. Spearman began the onslaught, then Marshall shot ahead, with such success that the 50 was raised in the sixth over. The stand was broken at 60 in the following over, Spearman (20) lofting a catch near the midwicket boundary, and two overs later Marshall was stumped for 46.The bowler was Ant Botha, with his cunning off-breaks, and he also had Chris Taylor caught for 13. His superb bowling earned him figures of 3 for 22 off four overs, while Ian Salisbury at the other end also did a fine job with 1 for 25. The contrast with the seamers was stark: they were all hammered for at least nine an over. New Zealander Chris Martin, bowling for Warwickshire for the first time after rain on Wednesday denied him an over on his debut, only bowled three overs for 27 runs.Thanks to the noble work of the spinners, Gloucestershire reached only 158 – with six wickets in hand, they would have expected more. Yet it looked likely to prove sufficient. Jon Lewis trapped Navdeep Pooniah lbw off the first ball of the innings, and Warwickshire’s top order were unable to put together a partnership, falling steadily behind the clock. After ten overs they had a third of the required runs and needed more than ten an over.Tony Frost batted superbly as he sought desperately to bring his team back into the match, and at last he found support in Tim Groenewald. Despite the urgency of the situation they hit wisely and well, and when they took 15 off the 18th over, bowled by Carl Greenidge, the task looked possible with 22 needed off two. But Marcus North bowled a tight penultimate over at the pinch to concede only eight, and it was top bowler Lewis to bowl the last.Off the first ball Frost, having just reached an admirable 50 off 30 balls, holed out on the cover boundary after a stand of 66 in 31 balls. Groenewald responded with a magnificent straight six next ball, but Lewis kept it tight thereafter until the final delivery, when Westwood was facing his first ball with five to win. He sliced a four to the third-man boundary and the match was tied, leaving Groenewald unbeaten on 39.

Relegated Hampshire meet Frizzell County Champions Surrey at the Rose Bowl in their last 4 day encounter of the 2002 season. They retain the eleven that drew with Sussex at Hove last week, and add John Crawley to make a squad of 12.”A good result against the Champions” said Robin Smith, “may not help us for this year, but could restore some pride, before we disperse for the winter”.The 12: Neil Johnson, Jason Laney, John Crawley, Jimmy Adams, Will Kendall, Robin Smith, John Francis, Nic Pothas, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alan Mullally and James Tomlinson.

Graeme Hick, that great enigma of English cricket, has struck again. This time, it was not with a sparkling century for Worcestershire to remind the selectors of his prodigious talent. Batting fluently at Taunton, Hick mowed a drive which broke Marcus Tresothick’s thumb, probably ruling the England star out for the rest of the season.This is a massive blow for England’s immediate future. Trescothick, bundled into international cricket thanks to injuries in 1999, has never looked back. It was not so long ago that Somerset were trying to turn him into an all-rounder, but the left-hander is now one of the game’s hottest properties.In the scheme of things, Trescothick will probably be back in the side for the Ashes, and continue his excellent career. Four missed Test matches won’t be vital and, when Nasser Hussain eventually retires, he looks favourite to become the next England captain.This summer however, Trescothick’s broken thumb rather throws the cat amongst the pigeons. While Hick was still batting at Taunton, it appeared that Trescothick would only miss the first Test. By the time Jamie Cox and Peter Bowler got to the crease for Somerset, it was clear that the injury was much more serious.Where now then, for Hussain’s men? If Trescothick was out for only one game,Mark Butcher could move up the order, and John Crawley to number three. Withsuch a prolonged absence, and given that Butcher has achieved so much at three, the selectors may look at fresh faces.Top of the list must be Sussex’s Richard Montgomerie and Kent’s David Fulton. Both had dream seasons in 2001 and, though such summers are not easily repeated, they remain in good form. Both are good, solid county players. Given that a Trescothick recovery ensures an almost automatic recall, it may be better to give seasoned pros a chance.If England look to youth, and this is probably unlikely, Ian Bell stands out. This unflustered, technically correct right-hander is going to play Test cricket. But his inclusion in this situation would however move Butcher up the order, which is best avoided.An alternative selection could conceivably see Robert Key thrust into the side. The 23-year-old Academy graduate is highly thought of, hits the ball hard and could be risked to replicate Trescothick’s role. Doubts will be raised about whether Key is ready for international cricket. There is only one way to find out.The most probable outcome is the recall of John Crawley or Mark Ramprakash. Such a move would attract criticism, though Crawley is in good form and Ramprakash is scoring double-hundreds for fun and hitting centuries for breakfast. Neither would be the bravest selection, but either Crawley or Ramprakash is the most sensible.Some critics will wonder what Trescothick was doing playing for Somerset. Those who suggest that England players should only play for England must realise that cricketers need cricket, cricket needs fans, and fans need entertainment. England players provide this, and a one-day game in mid-season should hardly be a high-risk exercise.Freak accidents happen, and of three broken bones in the England set-up this summer, both James Kirtley and Jamie Foster suffered their injuries in the nets. If England cricketers are to be banned from playing for their counties, we might as well ban training.

Canada overcome brave ArgentinaAt Lomas Athletic Club, Longchamps, a brave Argentina battled in vain to shock World Cup qualifiers Canada, ultimately losing by 42 runs.Canada elected to bat first, but determined and gritty bowling and fielding by the Argentines restricted the defending champions to 185 all out in 47.3 overs, thanks largely to 51 from Ian Billcliff and 39 by Diwan.Young fast bowler Lucas Paterlini showed immediate form on his return from the Eastern Province Cricket Academy in South Africa, to shine with 4 for 47, and was ably supported by Hernan Pereyra, with 2 for 30, and Paul Ferguson, 2 for 33, all in their allotted 10 overs.In their reply, Argentina were at one point well placed at 78 for 2 to push on to a remarkable victory, but eventually succumbed to some fine controlled Canadian bowling for 143 in 45 overs.Top scorer was Matias Paterlini with 39, while Bernardo Irigoyen contributed 25.All the Canadian bowlers proved effective, especially Patel, 2 for 34, Seebaran, 2 for 10, and Ifill, 2 for 33.RESULT: Canada won by 42 runs.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Ian Billcliff (Canada)Low-Scoring Caymans triumph at HurlinghamAt Hurlingham the contest between Bermuda and the Cayman Islands produced a lowscoring saga, with a sub-standard pitch, a result of the weekends heavy rain, the main factor.Bermuda were put in to bat, and could only muster 59 all out in 28 overs. David Wight, with 5 for 12 in 10 overs was the destroyer in chief for the Caymans, while Ryan Bovell also performed with the ball, taking 3 for 10. No Bermudan batsman was able to reach double figures.Cayman Islands stumbled a little, but finally reached their moderate target of 60, for the loss of 6 wickets. Dennis Archer did his best to prevent the victory with 4 for 21 in 10 overs. James and Bovell contributed 15 and 13 respectively to the Caymans total.RESULT: Cayman Islands won by 4 wickets.
MAN OF THE MATCH: David Wight (Cayman Islands)USA too strong for BahamasAt Belgrano, the United States predictably and comfortably beat the debutant Bahamas by 177 runs.After being put in to bat, the USA compiled a useful 255 for the loss of 7 wickets in their 50 overs, thanks mainly to a fine 83 not out from Faoud Bacchus, crafted in 109 balls, with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Rohan Alexander made 39, Amjad Khan 24 and Rashid Zia 42.For the Bahamas, Gary Armstrong bowled his heart out to be rewarded with 6 for 51 in his 10 overs.In reply, the Bahamas were bowled out for only 78 in 30 overs, with Joy Zinto taking 3 for 14, Nasir Islam 2 for 9, and Donavan Blake 2 for 23.RESULT: United States won by 177 runs.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Faoud Bacchus (USA)

Saturday’s play was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Hampshire finishing on 245-7 at the close of play in their Frizzell Championship match against Warwickshire at The Rose Bowl. Warwickshire had resumed from their overnight score of 241-7.In Hampshire’s two previous matches, dismissing tail-enders had been a problem. This was not the case this time, as the final three Warwickshire wickets fell quickly when play resumed, giving Alan Mullally his best bowling figures of the season with 6-56.Despite the hot sunshine in front of a sizable bank holiday crowd, Hampshire made slow progress on a wicket not suitable to stroke play. Just 15 fours were scored in the innings to date, three from John Crawley who top scored with 60 in 183 balls.Dougie Brown’s three wickets were hard fought for, and Hampshire will be hoping to build a lead albeit small as they will have to bat last on a wicket showing signs of turn.

With the season now at an end, and thoughts of the cold winter ahead, the Annual Statistical Survey publication is now available., is a mine of information on the season, and is available from the editor by return of post.Included within is:Full First XI Averages in First-Class, County Championship, Norwich Union League, Benson & Hedges and All One Day matches. These Averages are supported alongside, with updated Career figures.Full Second XI Championship and ECB Second XI Trophy Averages.Summary scores of all 1st & 2nd XI matches played in the 2002 Season.Statistical Highlights of First-Class and Limited Overs year.A single page of every player who played for Hampshire Cricket Listing each match he played in, his scores, fielding and bowling performances throughout the year.A few photos from the Editors digital camera as well.This computer generated booklet is a snip at £6.50 (which includes postage and packing) and can be obtained either by ordering from the Hampshire Shop during match days or direct to the editor:Please enclose a cheque/postal (payable to VH Isaacs) order to the value of £6.50 per copy required, and your full name and address to:Victor Isaacs,40 Downscroft Gardens,Hedge End,SOUTHAMPTON,Hampshire, SO30 4RSFor further details you can contact him by e-mail [email protected]

• It was the 1543rd Test match in cricket history.
• It was Zimbabwe’s 49th and Bangladesh’s second Test match.
• It was the first ever Test between these two sides. Zimbabwebecame second country after India to play against all other Testplaying countries.
• Seven players were making their Test debut in this match- AndyBlignaut, Dion Ebrahim and Brighton Watambwa for Zimbabwe and JavedOmar, Manjural Islam, Mohammed Sharif and Mushfiqur Rahman forBangladesh.
• At 15 years 128 days Mohammed Sharif became the third youngestplayer to play in Test cricket after Pakistan’s Hasan Raza (14 years227 days) and Mushtaq Mohammad (15 years 124 days). The accompanyingtable lists the youngest Test debutants. Incidentally Bikash Das at 18years 119 days (v India at Dhaka in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test) wasthe previous record holder for being the youngest debutant forBangladesh.

• Rudi Koertzen was officiating in his 25th Test. He became firstumpire from South Africa and 30th in the world to stand in 25 or morematches. The other umpire Kevin Barbour was officiating in his secondmatch.
• Andy Flower (73) has now made atleast a fifty in last consecutiveseven innings. With this he equalled West Indian Everton Weekes’ worldrecord of most consecutive fifties which was set in 1947-48. Flower’sscores in his last seven innings have been : 65 (v NZ at Harare), 183*and 70 (v India at Delhi), 55 and 232* (v India at Nagpur), 79 (v NewZealand at Wellington)……and now 73. The following table gives detailsof players with most consecutive half-centuries :

• Andy Blignaut, by returning the figures of 5 for 73 in firstinnings, now holds the record of best figures by a Zimbabwean in aninnings on debut. The previous record was on the name of Brian Murphywho took 3 for 32 against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1999-00(Though John Traicos finished with 5 for 86 against India inZimbabwe’s first ever Test, this was not his debut Test as he hadpreviously played in three Tests for South Africa in 1969-70)
• Blignaut’s match figures of 8 for 110 was the best by a debutantfor Zimbabwe bettering Bryan Strang’s 5 for 50 against Pakistan atBulawayo QC in 1994-95.
• The ninth wicket partnership of 56 runs between Murphy and Nkalawas the highest for Zimbabwe for this wicket at home soil. Thisobliterated the previous highest of 49 between Grant Flower and AndyWhittall against Pakistan at Bulawayo in 1997-98.
• The partnership was also the second best for Zimbabwe in allTestshome or awayafter the 87 run-partnership between Strangbrothers against Pakistan at Sheikhupura in 1996-97.
• Manjural Islam’s analysis of 6 for 81 is the best by a bowler inan innings for Bangldesh. He bettered Naimur Rahman’s six for 132against India at Dhaka. Interestingly both Rahman and Islam wereplaying their first Test.
• Javed Omar (85*) became first Bangladesh batsman to carry his batthrough the completed innings. He also became the 35th batsman in Testchronicles to perform this feat on 41st occasion.
• Omar also became only the second batsman to carry his bat in debutTest after Australia’s Jack Barrett who made 67* out of team’s totalof 176 against England at Lord’s in 1890.
• Omar’s contibution of 50.60 % in Bangladesh’s second innings wasthe second highest by any batsman against Zimbabwe. The record is heldby Pakistan’s Mohammad Wasim who contributed 54.24 % (192/354) infirst innings of Harare Test in 1997-98.
• Omar became first Bangladeshi and only the 18th batsman in Testannals to score a fifty in each innings on debut. The list includesfive West Indians -Bryan Davis, Frank de Caires, Jackie Grant, CliveLloyd and Sew Shivnarine, three Australians -Wick Darling,Bruce Lairdand Peter Toohey, three Englishmen -Tony Greig, Cyril Poole and PeterRichardson, three New Zealanders -Graham Dowling,Noel Harford andMervyn Wallace, two Indians -Dilawar Hussain and Sunil Gavaskar and aSouth African- Bruce Mitchell.In addition, seven batsmen have scoredhalf-centuries in their first two innings but not in debut Test. Theyare West Indians Sherwin Campbell, Desmond Haynes and Desmond Lewis,Australia’s Darren Lehmann and Ricky Ponting , England’s David Gowerand India’s Rahul Dravid (Kepler Wessels also scored two fifties inhis debut Test for South Africa after having appeared in 24 Tests forAustralia.
• The victory was second for Zimbabwe by an innings margin. Thefirst such instance took place in 1994-95 when Zimbabwe defeatedPakistan by an innings and 64 runs at Harare in January 1995.Overallit was the 247th occasion of a side winning a Test by innings margin.

England kicked off a tough international summer with an emphatic win overPakistan, taking the first of the two-match npower Test series by theconvincing margin of an innings and nine runs with a day to spare.The visitors were overwhelmed by Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough, whosegrowing reputation as one of the strongest opening attacks in the world wasreinforced by a day-long exhibition of tight attacking bowling whichaccounted for 12 of the 16 wickets that tumbled.Four went to Dominic Cork and only newcomer Ryan Sidebottom came away fromLord’s with nothing though he will have learned much from Gough’s andCaddick’s masterclass and his economy earned him credit.Caddick had a brief spell of bad luck midway through the final session after hitting Abdur Razzaq on the helmet. Two balls later, the shaken batsman was returning to the pavilion having edged the ball to the wicket-keeper but was recalled when the celebrating Englishmen suddenly noticed umpire Peter Willey standing with his arm raised, signalling a no-ball.Azhar was later dropped at backward square leg by Michael Vaughan who wasdeceived by a late flight kink, much to Caddick’s great anguish but in thesame over, the Somerset man was rewarded for his patience when Abdur Razzaq,who had been at the crease for almost three hours, offered Mike Atherton aneasy chance at first slip.Razzaq’s demise for 53 was followed eight balls later by the departure ofAzhar whose luck finally ran out when he pushed tentatively to a fullerlength ball and sent the ball directly to Stewart.Caddick’s fourth wicket of the innings, his eighth in the match, effectivelystripped Pakistan’s cupboard bare and on 122 for seven, a heavy defeatinside three days looked unavoidable.Such a defeat had looked unlikely at the start of the day when, resuming on115 for four, they had two days remaining to make sure of a draw.But the final six wickets fell in 25 overs, the last three in four ballsfrom Gough and, following on, the tourists lost another four by tea, two ofthem to breathtaking catches by Graham Thorpe.Gough bowled superbly throughout to finish with 3-40 while Cork wrapped upthe innings with the wicket of Waqar Younis for 3-41 but the man of thematch award went to Andy Caddick for blasting away Pakistan with 4-54.

Anil Kumble, the former India legspinner, has been named head of the BCCI’s Technical Committee, taking over from the former India captain Sourav Ganguly. The other members of the committee include former India players MSK Prasad, Deep Dasgupta and Debasis Mohanty.Kumble is also the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). In December last year, he had resigned as chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. In June, he was a special invitee to the technical committee meeting during which several significant changes were announced in the domestic structure. Dasgupta is currently the Bengal selection committee chairman, while Mohanty was named Orissa coach last year.Daljit Singh has replaced Venkat Sundaram as chairman of the Ground and Pitches Committee. Daljit, the head groundsman at Mohali, has held the chairman post earlier. The board also constituted a new sub-committee in the Constitution Review panel comprising the BCCI president N Srinivasan, Arun Jaitley, DV Subba Rao and Mohd. Aslam Goni. Last month, the board had decided to amend its constitution at a special general body meeting on September 15.In the Working Committee the cricket associations of Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Tripura, Andhra and the Association of Indian Universities (North) have replaced the Services Sports Promotion Board and the associations of Kerala, Assam, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.The post of director of cricket at NCA, which was held by current selection chairman Sandeep Patil, remains vacant and would be decided by the NCA committee, which has a new chairman in Ranjib Biswal, the Orissa Cricket Association president..