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Somerset County Cricket Club have decided to switch the three-day friendly match against Cardiff UCCE which starts on Saturday April 13th to Millfield School at Street.One of the main reasons behind the fixture switch is that the that the whole squad can travel to the match at Millfield School and those who are not selected to play can enjoy the excellent outdoor and indoor practice facilities that the school possesses.Meanwhile back at The County Ground in Taunton, Somerset Head Groundsman Phil Frost told me: “It’s all looking good for the start of the new season, and we are just waiting to kick off with our preparations. The grass is a bit dormant, especially on the table where it is a different colour.”We have sprayed for diseases and will start to work on the ground in mid-February.”

England Under-19 defeated West Zone Under-19 by 58 runs in a practice one-dayerat the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Pune on Tuesday. England Under-19 scored 223all out in 50 overs in reply to which West Zone Under-19 were bowled out for 165runs in 39.3 overs.After the first two days of the scheduled three day warm-up game were washed outby rain, both teams decided to play a 50 overs a side game on the last and finalday.The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium ground was still wet in patches but overall theconditions were fruitful for play. Skippers Parthiv Patel and Ian Bell met forthe toss, the former winning it and inviting the tourists to bat first.The tourists were cautious in their appoach early in the innings, both openersJohn Sadler and Gary Pratt batted defensively. They struggled early on but stillmanaged to put on a 76 run partnership for the first wicket in 17.1 overs. GaryPratt scored the first fifty of the tour, his 59 coming off 102 balls with tenhits to the fence. Pratt was the highest scorer of the innings. The othercontributor was Ian Bell who scored a decent 40 off 68 with one six and threehits to the fence. John Sadler was run out by Vinit Indulkar for 33 off 55 ballswith one six and four hits to the fence.The West Zone medium pacers Uday Karkera and Siddarth Trivedi were guilty ofbowling too many extras. The bowlers overstepped eleven times between them.Karkera bagged three for 43 and Trivedi picked up two for 54.In reply, West Zone had a disastrous start when Andrew McGarry sent VimalJoshi’s middle stump on a cartwheel ride with the first ball of the innings. Onedrop Vinit Indulkar played a brisk knock scoring 22 off 22 balls with one sixand three boundaries. Kashinath Khadkikar was the topscorer with 39 off 37 ballshitting seven boundaries. Skipper Parthiv Patel hung around for his 25 off 54balls with five hits to the fence. Jaideo Shah chipped in with 27 off 44 ballsincluding one six and two hits to the fence.The West Zone batsmen failed to convert the good starts into a big score as theinnings folded up in the 40th over. Spinner Robert Ferley bagged three for 31while Monty Panesar, Andrew McGarry and Nadeem Malik chipped in with two wicketseach.The England Under-19 team is off to Mumbai where they face the Rest of IndiaUnder-19 in a practice game from January 4-6.

Following on from the ICC issuing a set of 39 terms and conditions that the USA Cricket Association must meet in order to be reinstated as an ICC Associate member, ICC chief executive David Richardson recently stated that the USACA may be “rebranded”. It’s another hint that USACA’s time as the ICC’s member governing body in the USA may be coming to an end, at least in its current form.At a press gathering in Ireland during the World Twenty20 Qualifier, Richardson was asked if the ICC views the American Cricket Federation or some other third party group as a viable alternative to USACA in the event that the board is unable to fulfil the stringent reinstatement demands made by the ICC. His response indicated that the board may be reshaped, one way or another.”The bottom line is we have to try to get all of the stakeholders together and take USA cricket forward from there,” Richardson said. “Hopefully, USA Cricket Association in title may be rebranded. Who knows under a new strategy who will be the ones to do that but it will only be possible if they are able to unite the country from a cricket perspective.”The 39 terms and conditions include passing a new constitution with sweeping governance reforms recommended in a 2013 report by TSE Consulting as well as turning over numerous financial records and accounting documents. The USACA has shown reluctance to fulfil these in the past two years. Richardson was optimistic that they will work towards fulfilling the conditions but acknowledged the challenges the organisation would face in doing so.”We are hopeful they will work with us,” Richardson said. “I think on their own, they will find it difficult to meet all of those terms and conditions simply because in my view it’s probably harder to run USA cricket than it is to run Indian cricket. It’s such a vast country. There are so many leagues that are going on. Some are part of USACA, some part of other bodies, some on their own. It’s going to take a major effort to bring them all together. I don’t think the ICC could do it alone and USA cricket on its own will battle.”Expulsion of the USA Cricket Association or US cricket will be no good to anybody. You only have to look at Ireland going back a number of years where they used to have a governance structure where all clubs were voting for their representatives on the board and were going really nowhere. The changes they implemented on the governance side were the catalyst for Ireland taking huge leaps forward as a cricketing nation. They’ve done it. There’s no reason why USA can’t do the same.”Under previous ICC suspensions handed down to USACA in 2005 and 2007, USA had their participation in the 2005 Intercontinental Cup and 2007 World Cricket League Division Three rescinded. As a consequence, USA dropped down to WCL Division Five when they were reinstated in 2008 and have found it difficult to climb back up the Associate ladder ever since. However, USA were allowed to play at the qualifier in Ireland in spite of the suspension and produced impressive wins over Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Richardson reiterated the ICC’s on-field support for USA.”The idea is not to prejudice USA cricket in any way if at all possible,” Richardson said. “So hopefully we can work with the USA Cricket Association in trying to remedy those resolutions and recommendations that were made to make sure that the suspension is lifted. There’s a lot of work to be done in that regard but I’m confident that it can be done and the necessary governance changes can be made.”But in the mean time, we don’t want to prejudice cricketers who are playing cricket in the US. Ideally, we keep an eye on how the competition structures are run there, how the trials and teams are selected so that we give every chance for cricketers in the USA to go to these tournaments and hopefully qualify.”Aside from assisting the national team development with projects like the upcoming ICC Americas Cricket Combine next month in Indianapolis, Richardson once again highlighted the ICC’s hopes of tapping into USA’s commercial market potential if the administrative issues can be sorted out.”There is enough potential for the USA to be participating at major global events,” he said. “There’s enough cricketers, there’s enough money in the country and the economy is strong. So we think if correctly administered, there is the potential. It’s not for other member countries to benefit financially from cricket being strong in the US.  Yes, the ICC might benefit from the fact that if USA is at a major global event, then we are hoping to attract sponsors from the part of the world of our events and obviously broadcasters as well.”

All the pieces finally fell into place for India as they closed their campaign in the league phase of the CB series with an emphatic seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka in Hobart. Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn’t have been happier to reach the final against Australia.From winning the toss, to restricting the opposition to a small total, to finally chasing down the target well ahead of time, the Indians came full circle and earned a bonus point for their hard work. Keeping in mind ground conditions, India decided to opt for the five-bowler strategy which had worked against Sri Lanka last week in Adelaide. Munaf Patel replaced Sreesanth while Praveen Kumar came in for Virender Sehwag.It didn’t matter for Dhoni that Praveen had gone wicketless and scored just six runs in the tight chase in Adelaide under lights, a game India eventually won. “We would play with five bowlers against Sri Lanka, that was our plan,” Dhoni said, adding the reason the team-management went with one batsman less was that they were confident of getting the runs with the rest of the batting order. “We’d batted quite well against Sri Lanka in the past games and someone was always scoring. We just wanted to put pressure by having an extra bowler.”Having played each of the other two teams on more than a couple of occasions in the series, Dhoni understood that there was a need for different strategies. “Swing against Australia and seam for Sri Lanka”, he put it succinctly. And he was proved right. Even if Sri Lanka began briskly with Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara taking advantage of some wayward bowling by Ishant Sharma and Munaf in the first 10 overs, India soon bounced back.Irfan Pathan put the initial breaks by granting no width to the batsmen. At the other end, Praveen was accurate and nerveless; surprising given this was just his second game of the tournament. Deception was the main weapon with which he attacked, and he was a proud hunter at the end of the day with four big wickets bagging the Man-of-the-Match award.At around 125-130 kph, Praveen’s pace is tempting to most batsmen. But his strength lies in the ability to suddenly raise his pace, in addition to the swing he imparts with a fluent side-on action. It was the same today, except that Sri Lanka’s top order failed to respect his good deliveries. That fact was lost on Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Silva, whose disregard earned Praveen his reward.”He has an element of surprise, has the talent, and can swing it both ways,” Dhoni said of Praveen, who himself felt a flat deck made his wickets that much more precious. “The wicket was very good for batting, and the four of us performed well”, Praveen said.A lack of wickets in the two preceding games hadn’t dented Praveen’s confidence. Strong performances at domestic level, where he is a new-ball bowler for Uttar Pradesh, ensured that. He was the second highest wicket-taker in the 2007-08 Ranji season with 36 wickets from six matches at 16.00 and in the Ranji Trophy final, he had Delhi reeling with first innings figures of 8 for 68.”I have been bowling well at the domestic level, and now I’ve got a chance. I don’t bowl first change there, I bowl with the new ball and here the ball does not swing after the initial part,” Praveen said.Dhoni felt his first-change repaired the damage of the Sri Lankan assault in the initial overs and thereby negated the advantage the ball gives once it loses its sheen. At 7 for 93, Sri Lanka faced an embarrassing end, but Chamara Kapugedera along with Lasith Malinga managed to do some repair work with a 46-run eighth-wicket partnership before Ishant finished it off.Right throughout the series, Dhoni has acknowledged his bowlers’ efforts. If anything it’s the inconsistency in his batting order that has given him some distress. The failure of the openers, especially the low scores of Sachin Tendulkar has become a talking point. But the Indian captain stood firmly behind Tendulkar. “People have been talking about Sachin for all the years I’ve played. But one should be careful when one writes about him.”With their key batsmen, Tendulkar, who answered his critics with a solid 63, and Yuvraj Singh back among the runs and their bowling improving with each outing, India can look Australia in the eye when the first of the three finals begin in Sydney on March 2.

The Lions won yet another last-ball thriller when they beat the Dolphins by just two wickets in their Pro20 match at Kingsmead.Needing nine runs from the final over and two from the final delivery, Dolphins left-armer Yousuf Abdullah bowled a bouncer at Lions tailender Eugene Moleon which hit the batsman on the helmet and deflected over the wicketkeeper’s head allowing Moleon and fellow tailender Garnett Kruger to scamper through for the winning runs.Opener Blake Snijman anchored the Lions’ run chase for the first 17 overs with a career-best 69 from 46 balls keeping his team alive even when they slumped to 35 for 4 in the seventh over chasing a victory target of 166.The home side had veteran opener Doug Watson to thank for their total of 165 for 6. Having been regularly overlooked in cricket’s most explosive format, Watson belted an impressive 62 from 43 deliveries while fellow opener Imraan Khan (25) and Hashim Amla (36) also made significant contributions.But inspired death bowling from Tyron Henderson and Gerhard de Bruin put the skids under the Lions closing overs and only 25 runs accrued from the final five overs when a total in excess of 180 had seemed likely.The Lions’ run chase was similarly scuppered early on when Abdullah trapped danger men Alviro Peterson (2) and Neil McKenzie (1) lbw with sensational, inswinging yorkers and then had Vaughan van Jaarsveld caught for four.But a stand of 61 between Snijman and Justin Ontong (20) for the fifth wicket kept the Lions’ hopes alive and a brilliant contribution of 35 from 24 balls by Dumisa Makalima nudged the game their way. But without a brace of sixes from off spinner Werner Coetsee, who had earlier bowled brilliantly to concede just 28 from his four overs, the Dolphins would still surely have prevailed.The Lions now move to the top of the table with consecutive last-ball victories while the Dolphins ponder the possibility of another miserable Pro20 series without a victory from their opening two matches.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A total of 288 for 9 – thanks to fluent innings from Nathan Astle, Jamie How and Stephen Fleming – proved more than enough for New Zealand as they completed an 81- run win over West Indies at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.Winning the toss and choosing to bat on a good pitch, New Zealand were given a fine 136-run partnership as Astle and How tore into an indifferent opening spell from West Indies. Cashing in on the wayward bowling, both veteran and rookie cut, drove and pulled their way to fifties by the half-way stage of their innings. At the top of his game today, Astle played the senior role to perfection in his 90, showing How the way to handle matters and seize the initiative when the opposition is down.Upping the tempo with some glorious pull shots, How overtook Astle quite early and raised New Zealand’s fifty in the 11th over with a ferocious pull over midwicket for four before bringing up his second one-day international fifty in the 21st over. Growing in confidence, he had reached 66 from 91 deliveries when he was bowled by Chris Gayle. Making room to loft a fast yorker-length delivery pitched on middle and leg, How completely missed the line and became the first casualty of the day. Fleming, off the mark with a glorious cover drive for four, was then the dominant partner in an 88-run stand for the second wicket with Astle. Looking at ease at the No.3 position, Fleming worked the ball around the fielders and lent solidity to the innings to carry on the platform laid down by the openers. Unfazed and uncomplicated, he raced to fifty with some crashing shots either side of the wicket.At one stage it looked as if the hosts would get well over 300, but West Indies hit back with the wickets of Fleming and Astle and allowing just 67 runs and two – yes, just two – fours while seizing six wickets in the last ten overs. If the bowling attack was pedestrian in the early stages of the game then in the latter half it was instrumental in stemming the run flow. Gayle, sending down his innocuous offbreaks, was the key man in controlling Astle and turning the heat on the home side. Cool, calm and collected as only Gayle can be, he wound up one end while Dwayne Smith bowled his slow medium pacers at the other, and the combination proved vital. Fidel Edwards, who took a beating early on, bowled with venom at the death and his figures of 10-0-65-1 did little justice to the efforts he put in. Ian Bradshaw too came back from a poor opening spell to bowl an accurate line, while Rawl Lewis, the Supersub, proved competent on his first international appearance in seven years, picking up the wicket of Brendon McCullum.This stirring fightback from the bowlers wrested the impetus from New Zealand, but ultimately, the total would suffice as West Indies were similarly choked in their own reply. Their inability to chase down targets has been a major issue for West Indies, and today’s performance was a glaring reminder. Shane Bond, getting good lateral movement, struck the first blow when he forced Gayle to hit over the top and hole out to Daniel Vettori at deep cover (10 for 1). Impetuosity has long been the bane of Gayle’s batting, and today he flattered to deceive again. After crunching James Franklin’s first ball through the covers with an air of disdain, his nothing shot to Bond opened up the gates for further trouble. Runako Morton, another batsman making a comeback to the side, was beaten all ends up by Franklin going for an expansive drive off the back foot the first ball he faced.Daren Ganga and Ramnaresh Sarwan had their moments of nerves to begin with, but overcame the initial pressure to add 88 for the third wicket in good time. Ganga, returning to the one-day scene after more than three years, struck two sweet boundaries in the 14th over – a firm pull and a sumptuous cover drive off Franklin – as he set about shouldering the run chase. Settling into his groove with a couple of good drives square of the wicket, Sarwan began rotating the strike, and with Ganga going hard at the other end their partnership looked good for more before Scott Styris struck. Having just glanced Styris down to fine leg for four, Ganga was forced to check a loose drive and the ball bobbed straight to Astle at cover (102 for 3).Sarwan kept his cool to carry on to fifty, but by the 30th over the run rate had sneaked its way past 7, and the pressure had begun to show on Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Jeetan Patel, New Zealand’s Supersub, came and dismissed Chanderpaul just when he was beginning to shuffle across his stumps and nudge the ball for quick singles. Giving the ball a tweak from his high-arm action, he ripped one across Chanderpaul’s awkward stance and past his legs to hit the stumps. Dumbfounded, Chanderpaul took a second to figure out what had happened, but by then Patel and his team-mates were whooping it up halfway down the pitch.New Zealand’s best bowler on show, however, was Vettori, who teased and tempted through his spell. Unafraid to flight the ball, Vettori bowled well, varying his line and maintaining impressive control. Dismissing Wavell Hinds by forcing him into a rash slog to Franklin on the cover boundary, Vettori then trained his sights on the dangerous Sarwan, who had progressed to 56. Having already beaten Sarwan in the flight – both in the drive and the cut – Vettori backed his instincts and gave the ball a little more air. Sarwan, prodding a tame drive off the front foot, got a thin edge that popped off McCullum’s shoulder and lobbed up towards point, where Lou Vincent ran forward and held a fine catch.Smith came, whipped three effortless sixes – two off Patel in the 38th over – but ultimately succumbed to the pressure of a mounting run rate. Good field placing added pressure and West Indies were finally bowled out for 207. Patel, who played the Supersub role to perfection with two wickets, a catch and a run-out, provided fine support to Vettori in stifling West Indies. New Zealand lead the five-match series 1-0, and the heat is definitely on West Indies.How they were outWest Indies
Chris Gayle c Vettori b Bond 6 (10 for 1)
Runako Morton b Franklin 0 (14 for 2)
Daren Ganga c Astle b Styris 54 (102 for 3)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul b Patel 18 (137 for 4)
Wavell Hinds c Franklin b Vettori 3 (142 for 5)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Vincent b Vettori 56 (153 for 6)
Denesh Ramdin c Styris b Mason (184 for 7)
Rawl Lewis run out (Patel) 5 (191 for 8)
Dwayne Smith c Patel b Mason 38 (191 for 9)
Fidel Edwards c Franklin b Patel 3 (207 for 10)
New Zealand
Jamie How b Gayle 66 (136 for 1)
Stephen Fleming c Chanderpaul b Smith 55 (224 for 2)
Nathan Astle c Bradshaw b Smith 90 (234 for 3)
Brendon McCullum b Ramdin b Lewis 2 (240 for 4)
Peter Fulton c Smith b Gayle 7 (255 for 5)
James Franklin c Lewis b 2 (259 for 6)
Hamish Marshall run-out (Smith) 7 (278 for 7)
Scott Styris lbw b Edwards 36 (288 for 8)

South Africa 301 for 7 (Smith 50, Bacher 56, Rudolph 50, Gibbs 40, Boucher 49, Utseya 3-40) beat Zimbabwe 136 (Hall 3-29, Ntini 3-42) by 165 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

On a day which will be remembered for the surprise announcement of the impending return to international cricket of Heath Streak, there was nothing at all unexpected about this result: Zimbabwe were hammered by 165 runs in the first one-day international at the Wanderers. A solid team effort propelled South Africa to 301 for 7, and then Makhaya Ntini and Andrew Hall took three wickets apiece as Zimbabwe were washed away for 136.After they were put in by Tatenda Taibu, Graeme Smith, Adam Bacher and Jacques Rudolph all stroked fifties to set up a solid platform, before some swashbuckling stuff from Mark Boucher (49 off 29 balls) and Ashwell Prince (24 not out off 15) lifted South Africa to their expected 300-plus total.Smith and Bacher made a steady start to the innings against the youthful opening pair of Tinashe Panyangara and Christopher Mpofu, in front of a paltry crowd, which numbered fewer than 1000 at the start. Smith led from the front, crunching a series of exquisitely timed fours, but as soon as Taibu turned to his spinners he met with success, albeit somewhat unexpectedly: Smith completely missed Stuart Matsikenyeri’s first ball, a juicy full-toss, and was trapped lbw. His 16th one-day fifty came from 55 balls and contained nine spanking fours (87 for 1).Bacher, anxious to impress after his surprise recall, struggled occasionally and finally fell for 56 as he found Hamilton Masakadza at deep midwicket off Prosper Utseya, who was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers with 3 for 40.South Africa were still well set, at 128 for 2, and Rudolph and Herschelle Gibbs cemented their grip on the contest by adding 56 for the third wicket. Gibbs, continuing to relish his new-found freedom down at No. 4, looked to dominate from the off, but the spinners managed to contain him in the early stages. And Rudolph started innings in patient mode, but then boundaries started to come thick and fast for both batsmen.Utseya prospered again at a vital time as Rudolph (50) attempted one cheeky shot too many, top-edging to Matsikenyeri at short square leg (184 for 3). And Utseya then struck for a third time, as the dangerous Justin Kemp danced down the wicket and failed to connect – Taibu completed the stumping (197 for 4).Matsikenyeri and Barney Rogers also bowled well to peg South Africa back but, just as Zimbabwe were tightening the screw, Boucher launched his spectacular assault, crashing four fours and three sixes in his short innings. It took the return of the medium-pacer Elton Chigumbura to remove him, but by this time South Africa were on 276 for 6, and Albie Morkel (16 from six balls) and Prince lifted them beyond 300. Inevitably, it proved to be far too much for Zimbabwe.The tourists made a disastrous start to their mountainous run-chase, and their batsmen’s bid to keep up with the stiff run-rate precipitated a predictably grizzly end.Rogers was the first to fall, when his attempt to dispatch Hall resulted in Nicky Boje’s fine catch heading backwards (4 for 1). Masakadza slapped Ntini back over his head for four, but he was made to pay later in the same over when a leading edge found Rudolph at cover (36 for 2).Matsikenyeri showed signs of a fight: he cracked two successive fours off Hall – one through mid-on, one through backward point – and collected three more boundaries as he marched to 25. But his stand came to an end when he sent Ntini to Gibbs, and Zimbabwe slipped to 41 for 3. Hall picked up his second wicket soon after, as Brendan Taylor (3) edged to first slip, where Smith took a good low catch to his right (55 for 4).Zimbabwe were struggling and when Morkel picked up two wickets in one over – Alester Maregwede lbw for 16, and Chigumbura caught by Prince at cover without scoring – the match was all but over (85 for 6).From there it was just a case of crossing the Is and dotting the Ts. The indomitable Taibu, in fighting mood as ever, top-scored with a rugged 28 – but when he fell to Boje, however, it was all over, including the shouting.Jenny Thompson is assistant editor of Cricinfo.

Bankstown will go into tomorrow’s concluding day of Sydney Grade cricket’s Round 7 with first-innings points already wrapped up, after rookie Speedblitz Blues paceman Aaron Bird demolished a Manly-Warringah batting line-up sorely missing stars Shawn Bradstreet and Michael Bevan. Bird finished with seven wickets as the Sea Eagles scraped past the one-hundred mark, a score that the Bulldogs overtook last Saturday for the loss of only one wicket. Elsewhere, competition leader Eastern Suburbs again surpassed 400 runs in a day, while Blues opener Greg Mail scored 137 for UTS-Balmain.A recent graduate of the Australian Under-19 team, Aaron Bird (7/35) further impressed State selectors with his match-winning haul at Manly Oval. Bankstown replied to its host’s score of 109 with 1/171 by stumps, Peter Dugmore (70no) and James Allsopp (66no) leading the charge for outright points.At Village Green, home side University of NSW must chase close neighbour Eastern Suburbs’ 6/414. Andrew Jeffery (108) and Mark Patterson (87) starred for the Dolphins. Unfortunately for the Bumblebees, an injured Michael Slater will be unable to assist his club in its daunting local derby.Greg Mail, Slater’s Speedblitz Blues opening partner, displayed his class at Hurstville Oval last week, recording 137 in UTS-Balmain’s 6/364 against St George. He was well supported by Jason Krejza (81), who is in fine early-season form. Saints’ best bowler was again 16- year old Moises Henriques (2-51), who eventually claimed Mail in his second spell.In other matches- Blacktown 179 v North Sydney 4/150 at Joe McAleer; Campbelltown-Camden 334 v Sutherland at Raby 1; Fairfield-Liverpool 294 v Gordon at Rosedale; Mosman 321 v Northern District at Rawson; Parramatta 8/266 v Penrith at Howell; Sydney University 8/247 v Randwick Petersham at University; Western Suburbs 151 v Hawkesbury 2/42 at Pratten.

Manicaland needed a total of just 30 overs to destroy MacDonald Club of Bulawayo by ten wickets last Sunday at Alexandra Club, Harare. Andy Flower was available but was rested by Manicaland after recently arriving home from Zimbabwe’s campaign in Sri Lanka. Batting first, Mac Club managed only 63 in 23.5 overs with Andre Soma taking three for 14, Richie Sims three for 7 and Justin Lewis three for 13. Alistair Campbell demoted himself to number 11 to watch Taffy Madondo (36) and Neil Ferreira (12) finish the job in six overs.Manicaland are back on top of the log and with two to play seem certain to win their first league title. This carries prize money in the region of Z$500 000 (US $1500). They are already guaranteed a top-four place that puts them into a separate knockout competition that carries further prize money.Andy Flower plays his first home game in Mutare on 3 February prior to departure with the national team to India a week later. Former Test stars Campbell and Whittall also play in the season-closer in Mutare against high-riders Takashinga (formerly Winstonians). Campbell will know by then if his Test career is definitely over, having recently flayed Gauteng B with big centuries in Zimbabwe B’s eight-wicket win in Kwekwe. If he isn’t on the plane and the selectors still claim he has been dropped for cricket reasons, he will know all he needs to know. Another Manica to flourish in that game was Richie Sims, whose 88 will surely be the start of big things.The second team continued their losing streak at Mutare Sports Club on the same day. Set a gettable 217 by under-strength Alex II, they fell 36 short in a puzzling display of nerves. For the Harare visitors Quibich Nkala top-scored with 63 whilst captain Dave Tones (30) and Callum McCormick (39) added useful runs. Manicaland II bowled without discipline to give their opponents a total of six extra overs through 28 wides and 9 no-balls. Only captain Dion Yatras (two for 3), who brought himself on in a late spell of desperation, bowled with any purpose. When Tino Mawoyo lost his stumps first ball he started a slide only briefly halted by a battling 36 from Keegan Taylor. For the visitors Anthony van Greunen took four for 33, Mluleki Nkala three for 41 and Tones two for 31.The second team is determined not to embarrass the sponsors by winning the league (no club can have two teams in the first league). They should have cruised their last two games to win the league – meaning the runners-up would have had to be promoted above them into next season’s first league. To compound their problems, in an administrative oversight they failed to select ex-Zimbabwe Under-19 player Jan Oosterhuisen who reportedly arrived at the ground expecting to play. First-team captain Neil Ferreira does not intend to repeat the mistake and has already drafted Oosterhuisen into the Logan Cup squad for next month’s four-day first-class fixture.

Veteran left arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju and youthful mediumpacerMohd. Ghouse had Goa struggling at 174/9 as hosts Hyderabad tookcontrol of the South Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the NationalFuel Complex ground in Hyderabad on Thursday. Earlier in the morningHyderabad had terminated its first innings at 315 after the tail wasallowed to wag generously.Resuming at 247/7, Shivaji Yadav was dismissed off the day’s fourthball without adding to his overnight score of 39. This brought Ghouse(25) and Raju (24 not out), later to enact a lead role with the ball,together in a brief supporting role with the bat. The former fell at273 after which last man NP Singh struck a breezy 23 in the course ofa last wicket stand of 46 in just over nine overs. Seamer Aware addedtwo more wickets to his tally to finish with 5/92.Goa openers YC Barde and Satyajit Medappa got off to a fine start,putting on 64 for the first wicket before left arm seamer Ghousestruck first blood, removing the former. Off spinner Shivaji Yadav nowgot into the act, striking twice in successive overs, one of hisvictims being Medappa who eventually topscored with 36. Ghousefollowed up with the prize wicket of skipper Pravin Amre whodisappointed again, failing to reach double figures in a brief stay atthe wicket.Raju proceeded to slice through the lower middle order, grabbing fourof the next five wickets as Goa closed out the day at 174/9, still 145behind. He finished with 4/15 in 16 probing overs while Ghouse pitchedin with 3/38.