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Sri Lanka’s selectors have announced a 25-man pool for the forthcoming ODI series against Australia. The training squad included six specialist spinners, including Kaushal Lokuarachchi, a young legspinner who returns after a disciplinary ban.The selectors also included Rangana Herath, a slow left-arm spinner who last played international cricket in June 2000 against Pakistan, and Dinuka Hettiarachchi, another left-arm spinner, who has impressed during the ongoing provincial tournament.Sri Lanka are expected to load their team with spinners against Australia and are likely to play only two quick bowlers — probably Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekera — during the ODI series.Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler, has been ruled out of the series with a stress fracture of the lower back. Ruchira Perera comes back into the reckoning for the first since being reported for having a suspect bowling action.Sri Lanka A players Russel Arnold, Saman Jayantha, Avishka Gunawardana,Chamara Silva and Thilina Kandamby have also been included in the pool and will have a chance to press their selection case during a warm-up match on February 17.Australia are due to play five ODIs and three Test matches during a six-week tour that starts on February 16. The first ODI will be played on February 20 in Dambulla.The squad has been sent to the Sports Ministry for ratification.Squad Marvan Atapattu (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Nuwan Kulasekara, Saman Jayantha, Avishka Gunawardana, Russel Arnold, Chamara Silva, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Zoysa, Dinusha Fernando, Chamila Gamage, Charitha Buddhika Fernando, Dinuka Hettiarachchi, Thilina Kandamby, DarshanaGamage, Ruchira Perera.

Kenya are not expected to make any changes to their squad for the Intercontinental Cup clash against UAE in Sharjah later this month.The side are due to resume training at the Aga Khan Sports Club on Monday (January 7) but the continuing unrest and political uncertainty following the disputed elections have thrown questions over how much preparation they can expect before leaving for the UAE next Friday.”We were to resume training [on Thursday] but the current situation in the country cannot allow us, it’s even unsafe for players,” interim coach Alfred Njuguna told The Standard. “We have decided to resume on Monday depending on how the situation would be. Before we broke for Christmas holiday, we were basically focusing on physical fitness, but we are now going to embark on serious fielding and batting practices. Despite UAE being underdogs, we are not taking them lightly,”.No decision has been taken over the home tie against Namibia at the end of January but there are already questions being asked about how safe Nairobi is. More than 300 people have died and as many as 250,000 left homeless in continuing violence following the presidential elections.

Matthew Bell reached 188 before his captain declared © Getty Images

ScorecardWellington wrestled their way back to the top of the table with a 90-run win against Canterbury in Wellington. Matthew Bell’s second-innings 188 helped them to 414 for 8 declared, to set Canterbury 358 and they promptly bowled out their visitors for 267, Dewayne Bowden leading the attack with three wickets.Bell’s unbeaten 188 contained 24 fours and he received good support from Neal Parlane and Grant Elliott, who both made fifties. Parlane also made a half-century in the first innings, as did Chris Nevin, while Brandon Hiini bagged his third five-wicket haul to bowl them out for 256.Kruger van Wyk gave Canterbury hope with 42 to go with his first-innings 111, as they reached 213 for 6. This was some recovery from 139 for 5, the bulk of which was Peter Fulton’s 92. But van Wyk’s dismissal, bowled by Charlie Shreck for 42, brought about a further collapse of 5 for 54. Shreck grabbed another wicket to bring his match haul to seven, following his 5 for 77 in the first innings.Fraser Quarterman struck first in the second dig, removing Shanan Stewart, before Bowden opened his account by bowling Michael Papps for 28. He went on to trap Johann Myburgh for a duck and remove Hiini for 20.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Wellington	3	2	0	0	1	0	16	1.371	1711/43	1742/60
Auckland	2	1	0	0	1	0	10	2.407	918/22	572/33
Canterbury	3	1	1	0	1	0	8	0.913	1466/48	1706/51
Central Dist	2	0	1	0	1	0	2	0.737	923/29	1079/25
Northern Dis	2	0	2	0	0	0	2	0.622	967/40	971/25
Otago	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0.710	1392/36	1307/24

	Ranjan Madugalle has his task cut out as he prepares to mediate between Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble © Getty Images

Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC match referee who has been appointed as a mediator to ensure good on-field relations between Australia and India, is confident he will succeed in his brief.Speaking to the , Madugalle said rival captains Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble will be keen to sort out their differences. “Each one realises cricket is everyone’s passion and they will stretch that little bit extra to uphold the spirit of the game.”Madugalle has a tough task at hand as the relationship between the teams plummeted after the Sydney Test, with Harbhajan Singh being banned for three Tests by Mike Procter, the match referee, for alleged racial abuse. Following the ban, the Indian board filed an appeal, and the team management charged Brad Hogg with making an abusive remark to Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.”I have an open briefing to get things back on track,” said Madugalle. “I will try and go about things quietly and do as much as I can without making too much noise about it. We’ll see at the end of the five days [of the Perth Test] if it has worked. But I am optimistic that everyone wants to do the right thing by the game.”Madugalle, who will arrive in Perth on Saturday will meet officials from Cricket Australia to set a date and time for a meeting with Kumble and Ponting. “It is important we work through this, and I am sure they understand that.”Harbhajan’s appeal will be heard by New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen, while the date for the preliminary hearing for Hogg, who was charged with committing a Level 3 offence [which invites a ban of between two and four Test matches] as part of the ICC’s Code of Conduct regulations, has been set for January 14.

Peter Chingoka: cracks beginning to appear?© Getty Images

In the eight months since the sacking of Heath Streak set in motion events which threatened the future of the game inside Zimbabwe, Peter Chingoka and the Zimbabwe Cricket board have used the divide and rule tactic to good effect. But those tactics now appear to be causing their own problems.Ahead of its annual general meeting in August, the ZC board realised the provincial associations had the power to remove them and quickly made moves to infiltrate the local set-ups. Mashonaland and Matabeleland Country Districts, Midlands and Masvingo were known to be hostile. And so, Macsood Ebrahim, a senior board member, went out of his way to become chairman of Masvingo, a province where he was virtually unknown.With Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Manicaland and Masvingo in their control, it now meant that out of the seven provincial associations, four were in support of the ZC board while three were against. If it came to a vote, the four could carry the day. That control was further strengthened at ZC’s AGM, when nine of the 12 board members were re-elected, even though rumours of a vote against them had been widely reported in previous days.But the patience of those backing the status quo was pushed too far by the issue of rebranding. Mashonaland, the leading and most powerful stakeholder in Zimbabwe cricket, announced it was opposed to the change of name (from Zimbabwe Cricket Union to Zimbabwe Cricket) an exercise which is believed to have cost millions of dollars at a time the board was struggling to pay even the most basic of bills.Zimbabwe Cricket got wind of what Mashonaland was about to do, and in the hours before the press conference some of the province’s board were persuaded to back away from giving open support. In his own press conference later in the day, this enabled Chingoka to point out that the MCA chairman and some of the board members were not party to the criticism aimed at ZC.While Mashonaland still seems determined to oust those running ZC, the question is whether they will get support from the other provinces. Should they fail to so do, then Chingoka and his board will again survive on the divide and rule tactic.And that approach also applies to the Zimbabwe media. Since April, the state controlled Herald newspaper has been singing the praises of ZC’s board while opponents have had criticism heaped on them. Ozias Bvute, ZC’s acting managing director, has threatened those journalists who have sought to tell the truth on a number of occasions. Despite the ICC admonishing ZC for the behaviour of some of its members – and this was a thinly veiled reference to Bvute among others – he has continued to do since.This is not a race issue, nor does it have much to do with the Streak dispute. It is a simple matter of clubs and players being unhappy with the board and they way that it is running the game inside the country.Since April, ZC’s divide and rule strategy has worked well, but the question is, how long will this continue to be the case? One day, enough of the provinces will unite to end the rule of the current regime; one day, the players will tire of being paid a pittance while senior board officials award themselves massive ( by Zimbabwe standards) remuneration packages; one day, the media will stop towing the line and will turn on the board.For the sake of Zimbabwe cricket, that day cannot come soon enough.

Peshawar qualified for next month’s Quaid Trophy Grade-I final with a clinical annihilation of a disappointing Sheikhupura on the second afternoon of the four-day encounter at Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar Tuesday.Sheikhupura succumbed to an innings and 78-run loss with the irresistible Fazle Akbar and young left-arm speedster Waqar Ahmed sending the visitors crashing to a paltry 65 all out in their second innings in only 94 minutes after a remarkable recovery by Peshawar’s lower-order batting.Peshawar made the final by topping Group-II with 72 points against Sheikhupura ended up with 60. Test discard Imran Nazir was unable to bat in Sheikhupura’s innings for unspecified reasons.Fast bowler Fazle Akbar, who has been out of favour with the national selectors at the moment, claimed three for 25 to end the match with excellent figures of seven for 81. The leading wicket-taker in the current is seven shy of reaching the coveted 100-wicket mark.Waqar Ahmed, meanwhile, has now picked up 74 scalps this season. Earlier, Peshawar, who won their sole title in 1998-99, took an unexpected first innings lead of 143 as their last three wickets combined to add 187 runs.Taimur Khan, who resumed at 47 in Peshawar’s overnight total of 138 for seven, fell quickly after scoring eight more runs.Arshad Khan, 11 overnight, however, found a reliable partner in fellow ex-Test man Kabir Khan. The pair added 92 for the ninth wicket before Arshad departed for a 132-ball 59, scored in 156 minutes.Kabir, better known for his left-arm pace bowling, finished with an unbeaten 66 off 135 deliveries in 167 minutes while Fazle Akbar contributed 23. The two right-handers were involved in a last wicket partnership of 56 in 43 minutes.

The Tasmanian Selectors have today announced the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers team to play the Western Warriors in the Pura Cup at Bellerive Oval commencing Friday, 25th January 2002.

• Jamie COX (Captain)
• Sean CLINGELEFFER
• Michael DIGHTON
• Michael DIVENUTO
• Shane JURGENSEN
• Scott KREMERSKOTHEN
• Daniel MARSH
• Scott MASON
• David SAKER
• Shannon TUBB
• Shane WATSON
• Damien WRIGHT

The side is unchanged from the side that defeated the Queensland Bulls in the Pura Cup last week.We would also like to advise that Sunday, 27th January 2002, will be Family Day at Bellerive Oval.

Frizzell County Championship Division OneDay 4 ReportSussex 385 and 383 for 7 dec. beat Lancashire by 377 and 139 by 252 runs
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He left it late, but Mushtaq Ahmed spun Sussex to another victory which puts them five points behind the leaders Surrey. Mushtaq took eleven wickets in the match as Lancashire crashed to 139 in just over 73 overs. Chris Adams declared on 383 for 7 twenty minutes before lunch after making 190. Billy Taylor was only playing because James Kirtley and Jason Lewry were not available, but he made his mark in style. He took the first four wickets, including Stuart Law (7) and Carl Hooper (1), as Lancashire spluttered to 64 for 4. Then the more well-known figure of Mushtaq added to his galaxy of wickets this season. Chris Schofield (18) and Warren Hegg (25) held up Sussex’s charge, but Mushtaq twirled away the last four wickets for 11 runs with the last man, Hegg, falling with only ten balls remaining in the day.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoSomerset 476 and 292 for 4 drew with Northamptonshire 681 for 5
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Somerset cruised to 292 for 4 on a lifeless pitch at Taunton as their game with Northants petered out to a bore draw. Only 19 wickets fell in all four days of the match, and Northants used ten bowlers, including Toby Bailey, the wicketkeeper, in Somerset’s second innings. Matthew Wood scored 100, Jamie Cox 64 before he retired hurt, and Ian Blackwell smacked 38 from 35 balls.Yesterday’s matchesFrizzell County Championship Division One Kent 477 and 96 for 2 beat Middlesex 407 and 165 by eight wickets at Lord’s
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Muttiah Muralitharan spun Middlesex to their first defeat of the season, by picking three of their last four wickets to complete match figures of 9 for 141. Middlesex, who had resumed on 141 for 6, were bundled out for 165, with Jamie Dalrymple and Simon Cook falling in successive deliveries to the sweep shot. Kent needed just 96 in their second innings, and though David Fulton and Michael Carberry fell cheaply, Robert Key and Andrew Symonds breezed to victory inside 25 overs.Warwickshire 277 and 267 for 2 beat Leicestershire 346 and 195 by eight wickets
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Nick Knight led Warwickshire to an emphatic eight-wicket win against Leicestershire at Edgbaston. He belted 20 boundaries in his 122 not out, and shared put on 140 with Jim Troughton, who smashed an unbeaten 55 off 44 balls, as Warwickshire cruised past their potentially tricky target of 265. Mark Wagh also chipped in with 58, and that was after he had wrapped up the Leicestershire tail to finish with 4 for 20. Resuming on 121 for 6, Leicestershire added 74 more runs, thanks mainly to a sensible 37 from Philip DeFreitas. Waqar Younis was also in the wickets, taking 4 for 37, to help set up Warwickshire’s second win of the season.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoGlamorgan 444 and 86 for 2 beat Durham 355 and 174 by eight wickets at Cardiff
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Glamorgan needed just 2.1 overs on the fourth morning to wrap up an eight-wicket win over Durham. Mike Kasprowicz had flagellated Durham’s batsmen on the third afternoon with career-best figures of 9 for 36, and Glamorgan trailed by a mere 12 runs at stumps. It had been an even contest until Kasprowicz had embarked on his second spell on Friday afternoon. Bowling fast and full, he skittled Durham’s last nine wickets for the addition of 55 runs, with all but two bowled or lbw.Other matchEngland U19 229 v South Africa U19 48 for 1 at Chelmsford
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Francois du Plessis scored 177 and put South Africa firmly in control against England at Chelmsford. He hit 26 fours and three sixes and added 138 with East Springer, who scored 77. Daryn Smit (52) and Heinrich Le Roux (49) weighed in with some more runs down the order as South Africa finished a good day’s work on 463 for 8 with a lead of 234 runs.

Australia 225 for 7 (Bevan 84*, Ponting 52) beat New Zealand 181 (Styris 54, Bracken 3-34) by 44 runs
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What can break this man? Nothing. Michael Bevan came to the rescue again © Getty Images

The Australians showed that losing the toss and batting first in a daytime one-dayer in India need not be an insurmountable barrier, as they overcame the early perils of tackling the moving ball to eke out a comfortable 44-run win at Guwahati. Michael Bevan lifted the Australians to 225 with a typically efficient and well-paced unbeaten 84, and thereafter, the Aussies kept up the pressure in the field, as New Zealand folded for 181. That total was enough, though, to prevent Australia from getting a bonus point.As in the earlier day games in this tournament, the team batting first lost quick wickets at the start: Australia were 34 for 3 and 61 for 4. Unlike New Zealand in the two earlier matches, though, the Australians – who rested Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Brad Williams from this inconsequential game for them – ensured a healthy run-rate from the start, so that despite being choked in the middle overs by Daniel Vettori (10-0-20-2), they were still able to post a competitive total.The New Zealand reply was characterised by plenty of starts and mini-partnerships, but apart from Scott Styris’s 54, none of the batsmen got a score of any substance. The top order, as usual, fell away without making a significant contribution. Chris Nevin notched up his third failure in four games, edging a full-length ball from Nathan Bracken to Ricky Ponting in the slips (7 for 1). Bracken constantly troubled both batsmen with his swing and seam, and soon tasted further success when Lou Vincent shaped to play to leg and got a leading edge to point (38 for 2).Stephen Fleming showed glimpses of his class, punching a couple of elegant fours down the ground and through the off side. His partnership with Styris was looking increasingly dangerous, when Ian Harvey produced the breakthrough with a superb slower ball. Fleming went for the drive, then checked his stroke and only managed to scoop it back to the bowler (66 for 3). For Fleming, who made 29, it was another start squandered.A comfortable situation suddenly became a tricky one for New Zealand when Craig McMillan – New Zealand’s hero in the previous match – was given out caught behind down the leg side for 0, although the replays suggested that the ball might only have clipped his trousers (68 for 4).Brad Hogg then got into the act, trapping Jacob Oram in front with a quicker ball (88 for 5), and then nabbing the crucial wicket of Styris, who chipped a catch to Ponting at midwicket, ending a 55-run partnership with Chris Harris (143 for 6). The lower order has often bailed out New Zealand, but here it fell away without trace, and only just managed to pass the target of 180 needed to avoid conceding the bonus point.Earlier, the Australian innings was characterised by a frenetic start, a mid-innings stutter, and a strong finish. They were 102 for 2 after 20, added just 54 in the next 20 overs, and needed a strong finishing act by Bevan to reach a respectable total.

Ian Harvey got off to a blistering start, which remained just that © AFP

The innings began with a flurry of runs, as Ian Harvey demonstrated the skills which allowed him to score the only century of the Twenty20 Cup in the English season. The early moisture gave the New Zealand bowlers some encouragement, but it mattered little to Harvey, who took a special liking for Daryl Tuffey, whose first 15 balls went for 24.After the rash of runs came the rash of wickets. Tuffey started the slide with two wickets from consecutive deliveries: Harvey skewed a catch to Nevin at cover (33 for 1), and next ball, Jimmy Maher was trapped plumb in front. Kyle Mills then joined in the act, dismissing Damien Martyn (0) and Andrew Symonds (18).Ponting (52) and Bevan began the recovery process, with generous assistance from New Zealand’s seamers, who insisted on serving up plenty of four-balls. A total in the region of 250 was a distinct possibility, before Vettori came on to bowl and changed the complexion of the innings. Exhibiting all the tricks in the bag – variations in flight, turn and pace were all on show, with exceptional control – he first frustrated the batsmen by denying the runs, then reaped the rewards.Ponting was his first victim of the match – and his 100th in all ODIs – as he lofted a catch to McMillan at long-off (139 for 5). Michael Clarke fell soon after in similar fashion as the Australian innings came apart as Styris and Oram provided excellent support to Vettori.Through this middle-innings slump, Bevan continued to nurdle the singles, leaving all the risk-taking to the rest of the batsmen. With the overs running out, though, Bevan upped the tempo with a spate of fours towards the end to lift the Australians to a total, which, in the end, proved to be more than enough.

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Mathew Sinclair: Man of the Match, and of the Series© Getty Images

A lifeless pitch at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom ensured that the third and final match between New Zealand A and South Africa A drifted away to a tame draw, as South Africa clinched the series by one match to none.After being caught on a lively green-top at Benoni, the New Zealanders were greeted at Potchefstroom by a pitch that showed less life than the local cemetery. As early as the end of the second day, a draw was hardly in doubt, and even the umpires appeared at times to doze off with two seven-ball overs being called in the South African innings.The cricket was even less exciting. Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla started the fourth and final day at a pedestrian pace, scoring 54 runs in 90 minutes before McKenzie edged to the keeper off Chris Martin for 59. The partnership of 133 had come off 297 balls and had taken 216 minutes, and in carrying the South Africans passed the follow-on total of 352, it effectively killed the game.There was a further 100-run partnership between Amla and Zander de Bruyn, before Mathew Sinclair grabbed his second first-class wicket by trapping de Bruyn lbw for 40 – the eighth such dismissal of the 14 wickets to fall.Amla reached the fifth hundred of his career after a very patient innings, which was punctuated by 17 sweetly-struck fours in five hours at the crease. By the time be gave Lou Vincent a difficult caught-and-bowled chance he had moved to 141, after a stay of just over six hours.Nine bowlers had been used by the time South Africa eventually passed the New Zealand total, at which point the captains and umpires decided to call it a day and declare the match as drawn.Sinclair won the Man-of-the-Match award and also walked away with the Series award as well, having scored 460 runs at an average of 92.00 over the three matches.