All posts by csb10.top

Despite losing 28 overs to rain on the first day of their Frizzell County Championship match against Gloucestershire at The Rose Bowl, Hampshire made up for lost time by dismissing their visitors for 185.In overcast conditions Gloucestershire’s makeshift captain Craig Spearman chose to bat first in winning the toss and despite losing Spearman early on to an inswinger from Wasim Akram, they prospered before lunch.Rain held up progress shortly after lunch, and it started Gloucestershire’s downfall. Hampshire’s four seam bowlers, Wasim Akram, Ed Giddins, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Alan Mullally shared the spoils as they took advantage of the conditions as wickets fell at steady intervals.Despite an old fashioned tail end flurry, Hampshire would have been well satisfied with their bowlers.The sun came out as the day drew to a close, as Derek Kenway and John Crawley negotiated the final 12 overs without scare.

JOHANNESBURG, March 14 AFP – Disgraced Australian cricket legend Shane Warne is set to return to South Africa just after the World Cup final for a series of lucrative speaking engagements.Warne, who was suspended from all cricket for twelve months after failing a drugs test for a banned diuretic, has been signed up to speak at functions in Durban on March 26 and in Johannesburg on March 28.”Although Shane has been banned from the game, the dates were fixed before that time and I have no problems with him coming here,” Ross Fraser, the head of organising body CorporateSport, told AFP today.Warne left South Africa for home on February 11, the day of Australia’s opening World Cup match against Pakistan at the Wanderers, when news of his positive test broke.”He will be involved in three functions – the two in Durban and Johannesburg as well as a golf day which has yet to be finalised,” added Fraser.”Originally, he was going to stay on after the tournament, but of course those plans changed. He will probably now come on the Monday after the final as he has no desire to interfere with the Australian team.”Tickets for the two morning functions, entitled the ‘What Now Warnie?’ breakfasts, cost 342 rand ($A70).”I think Shane has been very brave in agreeing to talk about what has happened,” said Fraser.”He could easily have decided to hide away but there will be a question and answer session where people can ask him about what has gone on.”The 33-year-old Warne returned the positive test on January 22, which forced him home from what would have been his last World Cup.After earlier denials that he had taken more than one diuretic pill, Warne eventually admitted that he had first taken the banned diuretic on December 12 – to get rid of an alcohol-induced double chin.Warne also said that he took a diuretic given to him by his mother to look good for a press conference to announce his retirement from international one-day cricket.He also admitted to being silly for not checking what tablets he was taking, and said he should have listened more to Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) briefings on banned substances.Warne estimated the ban from all cricket could cost him around $A3 million.The Australian star has enjoyed a hugely successful career with 491 Test wickets helping him to be named as one of Wisden’s top five cricketers of all time.

After the dazzling display of the 2003 ICC World Cup opening ceremony, the genius of Brian Lara managed to surpass the spectacle and enthrall a capacity crowd of 24,200 in the opening match of the tournament the West Indies and South Africa.Set a target of 279, South Africa spluttered along before Lance Klusener injected some belated life into the match with 57 from 48 balls, taking the hosts agonisingly close to victory.Fined an over for a slow over rate, South Africa ended on 275/9, three runs short. For West Indies it was a deserved and brilliant win, notching them four points on the log.Lara came to the crease with West Indies seven for two in the seventh over,and immediately gave a difficult chance to Jacques Kallis, diving away to his left at second slip, off Makhaya Ntini. Thereafter he never looked back. In anear-perfect display of batting he defended when required, drove with graceand pulled with timed aggression. The longer he stayed, the more menacing the little man with the high back lift became.His 50 came up off 78 balls, and included five fours and a straight six offthe bowling of Allan Donald. His next fifty came up in just 43 balls with thesame number of boundaries and another six, this time off Lance Klusener, neatly and cleanly flicked off the legs over square leg.The brilliance of Lara could only have been ended by brilliance. On 116 he tried to force Ntini to leg, only to get the leading edge and sky the ball into the gap between mid on and mid wicket. Shaun Pollock, running round from mid wicket and diving at the last moment managed to get two hands to the ball and held on as he heavily landed on the turf.A standing ovation from the Newlands faithful greeted a player who deservedevery accolade as he left the field, bat held aloft.Partnerships of 102 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (34), incisive in getting the innings back on track, and 89 with Carl Hooper (40) brought respectability to the West Indies total, after they had been on just 215/5 with four overs left.But a 63-run onslaught in the final four overs from Ricardo Powell and RamnareshSarwan saw the sparkle disappear from the South African eyes. A 23-run overfrom Pollock, twice dispatched for maximum, allowed the West Indies to reachan excellent total of 278/5.Apart for the one expensive over, Pollock was again on line and length, claiming the first two wickets in a six-over spell costing only nine runs. Ntini followed his captain’s example, finishing with 2/37 in his ten overs.For the rest, there is a lot of hard work before the next match against Kenya. Donald was wayward and never settled. Klusener was ineffective, while Kallis was left to bowl the final overs. Hooper never gave Nicky Boje a chance to settle.Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten got the South African innings off to agood start, adding 46 before Gibbs, on 24, pushed lazily forward to Mervyn Dillon to edge to keeper Ridley Jacobs moving to his right.Boeta Dippenaar got bogged down before clearing the ropes at cover for maximum, and then immediately shuffling past a Hooper delivery to be stumped for 20.Kallis edged to Jacobs for 13, and Jonty Rhodes (2) dragged one on from Hooper for South Africa to sit precariously on 117/4. Kirsten and Boucher moved the score to 155 before Kirsten popped a return catch to Dillon for 69 hard-earned runs.Boucher had made a good quick 49, at a run a ball, when he played over the top of a Gayle yorker after seeing Pollock fall to an excellent catch by Hooper at cover.Klusener, man of the series in the 1999 tournament in England, had been in a poor run of form. He could not have chosen a better time to regain his confidence. Five sixes and a four helped him to 50 off 43 balls.He should have been out on 31, but Collins, taking a catch on the boundary,inexplicably took two steps back, and trod on the rope.A good penultimate over, bowled by Collins, resulted in only five runs, leaving South Africa requiring nine off the last over, bowled by Vasbert Drakes. Klusener mistimed the third ball, lofting it into the deep for Hooper to take a low catch inside the boundary. South Africa were 271/8.Klusener, not bothering to run, left Ntini instead of Boje to face. Ntini hoisted the fifth ball into the deep for Ramnaresh Sarwan to speed around the cover boundary, taking a comfortable catch with the score still on 271.With eight runs needed off only one ball, Boje tickled it around the corner for four and West Indies had won by three runs. There were two wickets apiece for Dillon, Collins, Drakes, Hooper and Gayle, but centurion Brian Lara was made man-of-the match.The game had fluctuated continually and as far as entertainment value goes,was a fitting opener to the 2003 ICC World Cup. May the remainder of the games be as exciting as this one.

The first Test at Mohali ended in a predictable manner with the visitors caving meekly. The middle-order batsmen were incapable of countering the guile of the spin twins, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. There was not even an iota of resistance and, considering that the pitch still played well, the visitors would not be pleased with their performance. Nasser Hussain appeared courageous in his comments after the game, but if his side can fight back in the remaining two Tests, it would be a bigger surprise for him rather than for the Indian cricketers.

The openers, Mark Butcher and Marcus Trescothick, triggered the collapse with some very poor shot selection against debutant Tinu Yohannan. The Indians have gained a promising medium-pacer in Yohannan and, though he is short on experience, he showed good temperament for a rookie. He was wayward at times, but he came back well in both innings to account for the openers. The fact that he dismissed the openers means that he has the ability to bowl well with the new ball. He can only get better, especially if he bowls in tandem with Javagal Srinath once the latter returns to the side. Iqbal Siddiqui may be enthusiastic and jovial, but it does seem that he has been given a break rather late in the day. He is not quick enough to surprise batsmen at the top level, and his control over line and length is nothing spectacular.England were looking to Graham Thorpe to rewrite the script in this match, but his stroke-filled innings proved inadequate under the circumstances. He has shown that he is capable of tackling spinners and will be a thorn in the Indian flesh. Thorpe and Hussain apart, the current English batting line-up looks too inexperienced to handle the pressures of playing under Indian conditions. They have a couple of all-rounders in the side, but they will realize soon that the Tests are a different ball game altogether from the first-class matches. Matthew Hoggard looks to be a hard-working medium-pacer, and he must be pleased with the way he bowled in this Test.The Indian spinners have ample reasons to be pleased too. Harbhajan Singh has once again got into the wicket-taking act after a very ordinary tour of South Africa. He bowls better with the ball used in Tests at home, although he believes otherwise. Kumble, the Man of the Match, is back to his tormenting best, and the Englishmen must be dreading the proposition of facing him on more helpful tracks. Kumble must have enjoyed this haul, for this spell would have gotten rid of any doubts that he had in his mind. There was talk of him being dropped in Port Elizabeth, which upset him visibly, but he is too hardened a professional to let circumstances get the better of him. He seemed a bit emotional after the match, which is very unlike him, and Sourav Ganguly can be sure of Kumble delivering in the remainder of the series.Deep Dasgupta has done a good job in this Test, and it is imperative that he keeps his fitness levels up because of his dual role. The think-tank must give a lot of thought when they decide the combination for the next match and seriously consider sending Dasgupta in to bat lower down the order. Agreed that he has a ton at the top of the order, but if at all he has to be on the field for a day and a half, it will only compound his problems. Of course, the other way of looking at it is that the performance of the English batsmen does not encourage this line of thought.

Stuart MacGill will have what might well be his only bowl on South African soil this weekend when Steve Waugh’s Australians meet a South Africa `A’ team in a four-day match at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth starting on Friday.The Australians have rested Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden for this match on the unsurprising premise that all four had outstanding matches during the Wanderers Test.Working on the assumption that it would be unlikely for Australia to feel the need to change a team that has just won its last match by an innings and 360 runs, this weekend’s game should provide MacGill, along with Andy Bichel, Darren Lehmann and Shane Watson, with their first outing of the tour.From a South African point of view, the match will provide players like captain Daryll Cullinan, left-arm spinner Gulam Bodi and Western Province left-arm seamer Charl Willoughby to press for inclusion in the side for the second Test match at Newlands next weekend.The South African side for the second Test is expected to be named on Monday.TeamsSA `A’ team: Jacques Rudolph (Northerns), Graeme Smith (WP), Martin van Jaarsveld (Northerns), Daryll Cullinan (Capt, Gauteng), Hashim Amla (KZN), Justin Kemp (EP), Robin Peterson (EP), Gulam Bodi (KZN), Thami Tsolekile (WP), Dewald Pretorius (FS), Charl Willoughby (WP). Twelfth man: Garnett Kruger (EP).Australia: Steve Waugh (capt), Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Watson, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee.

Pakistan, known to be bad chasers, proved everyone wrong byoverhauling Sri Lanka’s stiff 272 comfortably to earn amorale-boosting win by seven wickets in the dress rehearsalfor Sunday’s final of the Khaleej Times Trophy here Fridaybefore the biggest crowd of the competition at the SharjahStadium.And the men who made the task look so simple were rookieopener Naved Latif, playing his second one-dayer and thecool as cucumber customer, big man Inzamam-ul-Haq. Theyoungster was later named Man-of-the-Match.Both hammered centuries in their massive third wicket standof 219 after Pakistan had lost Shahid Afridi (11) and YousufYouhana (11) with the total 41. Naved reached his maidenhundred off 130 balls with eight fours and a six whileInzamam needed only 111 deliveries and hit 10 fours.When Naved eventually holed out to Prabath Nissanka on thedeep mid-wicket boundary Pakistan required only 12 runs foran emphatic victory. He faced 141 deliveries for his 113that contained nine fours and one six.Inzamam, during his innings, became the highest scorer atthis venue overtaking his teammate Saeed Anwar while endingup with an unbeaten 118. He slammed two sixes and ten fours.Sri Lanka sorely Muttiah Muralitharan their prime strikebowler. He might have made some difference and the islandersalso had a poor match in the field. They put down threesimple sitters which proved expensive in the end.Inzamam was dropped by Muralitharan when 69 and Naved wasmissed twice once by Russel Arnold off his own bowling andwicket keeper Kumar Sangakkara, who had replaced RomeshKaluwitharana, missed an easy catch behind the stumps.Earlier, Mahela Jayawardena’s elegant 88 off 83 balls thatcontained one six and six fours provided Sri Lankan the bigenough total Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss and elected tobat first in a match of no consequence.Given a solid start of 95 by Jayasuriya (36) and AvishkaGunawardena (57), the classy Jayawardena – certainly thebest Sri Lankan batsman – carted Pakistan’s wayward attackto all corners of the ground with a series of excitingstrokes.Jayawardena shared two profitable partnerships. First he wasinvolved in a stand worth 55 for the third wicket withGunawardena and latter 66 for the fourth with in alliancewith Russel Arnold.He was eventually got out going for a big hit in the closingovers off Shoaib Akhtar, the best of Pakistan’s modestattack minus Wasim Akram, who was given a rest. Thecontroversial pacer finished with the figures of three for45 from 10 overs.

Auckland sprinted away to an eight-wicket win over Central Districts before lunch on the fourth day of the State Championship match on the Eden Park Outer Oval – a performance which should produce a couple of interesting echoes amid the New Zealanders as they prepared for tomorrow’s third Test against Australia at the WACA.The first was that Auckland’s comfortable win – after three days of uncomfortable or restricted batting from both sides – should be built round an almost faultless century by Matt Horne, the discarded New Zealand Test opening batsman.Horne’s 18th first-class century was carefully built over 272 minutes, and apart from two rather hairy strokes, did not offer the frustrated Central Districts bowlers a chance.Horne, who had earned top marks from the selector Ross Dykes during the earlier New Zealand A tour of India, looked every inch a first-rate, technically correct opening batsman – assets which seem to have slipped out of Matthew Bell’s gear-bag in Australia.The second echo was more or less caused by Stephen Fleming, scathing criticism of his bowlers, ability to bowl the right line and length in the second Test at Hobart, and his subsequent plea that Dennis Lillee should be asked for starting-from-scratch coaching advice in Perth.A very senior bowler, who shall be nameless, remarked during the first three days of the Auckland-Central Districts match that the indifferent form of the New Zealand seamers in the two Tests in Australia was merely a case of chickens come home to roost in New Zealand.He was referring to the green Eden Park pitch which for at least the first two-and-half days gave the medium-fast seam and swing bowlers extraordinary help, and which left the batsmen resigned to being inevitably undone by some mischief from the pitch.This, said the senior bowler, was the precise fault with the production of the recent crop of New Zealand team medium-fast bowlers. On pitches even half as helpful as this mettlesome Eden Park pitch, New Zealand bowlers were given extraordinary help in the matter of whipping the ball into the pads for lbw, or nicking the outside edge for the fatal catch.The early Auckland and Central seamers had only to land one or two balls an over on the right line and length and they had a fair chance of taking a wicket.As the senior bowler pointed out, in Australia two balls on target would have left four balls for the home batsmen to murder.Five or six balls was the required rate of accuracy at Test level, especially on pitches in Australia which generally favoured Australian batsmen gifted both in the arts of driving and cross-batted strokes.Last evening and this morning Horne and his undefeated partner Aaron Barnes batted with more than a hint of Australian efficiency.In contrast, the Central Districts bowlers, who had looked like demons in the first third of the match, were as nasty as new-born lambs as the Aucklanders marched away to the win with their record-breaking and unbroken stand of 151.Central Districts were hampered slightly by the loss through injury of Ewen Thompson, with his broken forearm, which left them only three seamers and Campbell Furlong’s genial off-spin.Faced by poised and patient batsmen, the Central Districts bowlers were reduced to hopeful trundlers, for the pitch had lost almost all its earlier spite.Horne nearly gave a catching chance when he was 97, and once almost had a ball from Furlong trickle into his stumps.Otherwise, he and Barnes gave the Central Districts bowlers not the slightest bit of charity, and in a game that had already had 12 lbw decisions (and sufficient roared lbw appeals to satisfy a Cossack choir), there was never even one lbw appeal from the hamstrung Central bowlers this morning.There may be problems with with the quality of New Zealand Test bowlers and batsmen on the evidence available from Australia. The solution will not be found there, even from Lillee the grand master of fast bowling. If there are answers to the puzzles they are found in the quality, or lack of it, of the pitches on which New Zealanders play their cricket.

Craig Neil Evans – born Harare, 29 November 1969
Right-handed batsman, right-arm medium-pace bowler
Career: 1990/91-2001/02

Abbreviations: Capital letters for team namesdenotes a Test match.Man – ManicalandMash – Mashonaland * indicates not out inningsMat – Matabeleland + indicates wicket-keeperMCD – Mashonaland Country Districts *+ retired hurt/illMid – Midlands # batted firstZim – Zimbabwe/ZimbabweansGrounds:Alex – Alexandra Sports Club OG – Old Georgians Sports ClubBAC – Bulawayo Athletic Club OH – Old Hararians Sports ClubHSC – Harare Sports ClubNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1990/91 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total1 Zimbabwe B v Pakistan B (6) 39 #145 – (7) 1 0 7 0 375/4d(Harare South, 3 Oct – lost) (5) 2 262 – — 36/02 Young Zimbabwe v Pakistan B (4) 6 187 – — #469(Alex, 16 Oct – drawn) – — 86/33 Zimbabwe v Pakistan B (7) 27 #252 1 (6) 9 0 34 1 421(HSC, 22 Oct – lost) (8) 3 1441990/91 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM3 5 0 77 39 15.40 – – 1 10 0 41 1 41.00 1/34 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1992/93 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total4 Zimbabwe B v New Zealanders (3) 66 #246/8d 1 — 234/7d(OG, 26 Oct – L) (3) 56 194 – — 208/25 Zimbabwe B v Kent (5) 0 194 – — #323/5d(OH, 30 March – D) (2) 2 101/5 2 — 151/8dM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM2 4 0 124 66 31.00 – 2 3 –Career 5 9 0 201 66 22.33 – 2 4 10 0 41 1 41.00 1/34 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1993/94 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total6 Mash Under-24 v Mashonaland (7) 7 #284 – (5) 3 0 16 1 75(HSC, 11 Feb – W) — 45/0 1 (6) 5 0 25 1 2537 Mash Under-24 v MCD (6) 4 #283 – (6) 4 1 8 1 249(Alex, 4 March – D) (6) 0 292 1 (5) 3 0 18 0 296/8M I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM2 3 0 11 7 3.66 – – 2 15 1 67 3 22.33 1/8 – -Career 7 12 0 212 66 17.66 – 2 6 25 1 108 4 27.00 1/8 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1994/95 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total8 Mashonaland v Matabeleland (5) 5 #344/7d – — 178(BAC, 16 Sept – W) — 76/1 – (7) 3 1 2 0 2419 Mat Select XI v South Africa A (6) 14 #379 – — 471/9d(BAC, 27 Sept – L) (6) 14 308 1 (4) 19 1 75 0 219/410 Zimbabwe A v South Africa A (6) 4 #87 1 (6) 3.3 0 17 1 409(Alex, 4 Oct – L) (6) 34 14311 Mashonaland v MCD (6) 3 #188 – (3) 14 4 29 2 182(HSC, 10 March – W) (2) 112 421 – (3) 9 2 29 1 16112 Mashonaland v Mash Under-24 (1) 11 #258 – (4) 11 2 29 2 157(HSC, 24 March – W) (1) 0 347/6d – (4) 9 2 25 0 28313 Mash XI v Northamptonshire (4) 6* 83 – (3) 12 1 39 1 #276/7d(HSC, 4 April – W) (4) 102 417/4 – (5) 6 1 10 0 223M I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM6 11 1 305 112 30.50 2 – 2 86.3 14 255 7 36.42 2/29 – -Career 13 23 1 517 112 23.50 2 2 8 111.3 15 363 11 33.00 2/29 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total14 MCD v Young Mashonaland (4) 26 #309 – — 182(Alex, 15 Sept – W) (4) 66* 264/2d – (4) 4.4 2 7 1 168M I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareer 14 25 2 609 112 26.47 2 3 8 116.1 17 370 12 30.83 2/29 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (South Africa) bat Score Total bowl Total15 Zimbabwe A v Transvaal (5) 6 #264 1 (7) 5 2 18 0 509(Johannesburg, 21 Sept – L) (5) 9 312 – (5) 1 0 1 0 70/116 Zimbabwe v Eastern Province (5) 14 #112 – (7) 12 3 31 1 313(Port Elizabeth, 28 Sept – L) (5) 31 14417 Zimbabwe A v South Africa A (6) 0 #221 – — 310(Durban, 6 Oct – D) (6) 74 256/81995/96 (NEW ZEALAND) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM3 6 0 134 74 22.33 – 1 1 18 5 50 1 50.00 1/31 – -Career 17 31 2 743 112 25.62 2 4 9 134.1 22 420 13 32.30 2/29 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total18 MCD v Matabeleland (3) 0 209 – (5) 3 1 13 0 #152(BAC, 17 Nov – L) (3) 73 283 3 — 34419 MCD v Mashonaland (3) 4 279 – (4) 5 2 13 1 #133(Harare South, 8 Dec – W) (3) 15 207/8 – (4) 10 2 16 0 35220 Zim Board XI v Griqualand West (5) 22 153 – (4) 8 1 16 0 #290/9d(Harare South, 15 Dec – D) (5) 2 258/9 – (4) 2 0 12 0 183/9d21 Mash Invitation XI v Yorkshire (4) 13 273/9d – (3) 15 4 43 1 #267/6d(HSC, 1 April – L) (4) 35 156 – (7) 9 0 37 0 215/7d22 MCD v Matabeleland (6) 7 #265 – (3) 10 0 28 2 220(BAC, 19 April – L) (6) 26 128 – (6) 5 0 20 0 176/41995/96 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM6 12 1 289 73 26.27 – 2 3 71.4 12 205 5 41.00 2/28 – -Career 22 41 2 940 112 24.10 2 5 12 201.1 32 618 17 36.35 2/28 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1996/97 (Sri Lanka) bat Score Total bowl Total23 ZIMBABWE v SRI LANKA (1st) (8) 9 145 1 (6) 6 0 27 0 #349(Colombo Pre, 11 Sept – L) (7) 1 1271996/97 (SRI LANKA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1 2 0 10 9 5.00 – – 1 6 0 27 0 –Career 23 43 2 950 112 23.17 2 5 13 207.1 32 645 17 37.94 2/28 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1996/97 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total24 Mashonaland v Matabeleland (6) 4 #477/6d – — 69/4d(BAC, 22 Nov – W) — forfeit – (3) 8 2 15 1 1951996/97 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1 1 0 4 4 4.00 – – – 8 2 15 1 15.00 1/15 – -Career 24 44 2 954 112 22.71 2 5 13 215.1 34 660 18 36.66 2/28 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1997/98 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total25 Mashonaland v Mashonaland A (5) 24 485/8d – — #181(Harare South, 28 Aug – W) — — 2 (5) 7 1 15 0 15826 Mashonaland v Matabeleland (5) 0 #307 – (6) 9 2 30 1 129(OH, 4 Sept – W) — — – (8) 2 0 8 0 14227 Mashonaland v New Zealanders (7) 63 351 2 (4) 5 2 14 1 #174(Alex, 13-15 Sept – D) — — – (4) 19 8 29 0 336/51997/98 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM3 3 0 87 63 29.00 – 1 4 42 13 96 2 48.00 1/14 – -Career 27 47 2 1041 112 23.13 2 6 17 257.1 47 756 20 37.80 2/28 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1998/99 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total28 ZIMBABWE v INDIA (Only) (7) 11 #221 – (6) 3 0 8 0 280(HSC, 7 Oct – W) (8) 4 293 – — 1731998/99 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1 2 0 15 11 7.50 – – – 3 0 8 0 –Career 28 49 2 1056 112 22.46 2 6 17 260.1 47 764 20 38.20 2/28 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1999/2000 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total29 Mashonaland v CFX Academy (5) 2 272 – (4) 15 3 34 0 #245(Country Club, 3 March – D) — — – (7) 14 5 19 1 221/7d30 Mashonaland v Manicaland (5) 3 383/9d – (6) 6 2 11 0 #287(Mutare, 17 March – D) — — – (4) 3 2 2 0 77/231 Mashonaland v Matabeleland (5) 13 #170 1 (7) 4 2 4 1 256(BAC, 24 March – W) (5) 153 448/4d – (5) 6 5 5 4 8632 Mashonaland v Midlands (5) 18 #165 1 — 31(HSC, 31 March – W) (5) 36 173/8d 1 (5) 1 1 0 0 5633 Mashonaland v Manicaland (final) (5) 27 #345 – — 123(HSC, 7 April – W) (4) 10 275/5d 1 (4) 2 1 2 0 2401999/2000 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM5 8 0 262 153 32.75 1 – 4 51 21 77 6 12.83 4/5 – -Career 33 57 2 1318 153 23.96 3 6 21 311.1 68 841 26 32.34 4/5 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2000/01 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total34 Mashonaland v CFX Academy (5) 33* #253/3d – — forfeit(HSC, 16 Feb – W) — forfeit 2 (4) 14 2 36 1 18835 Mashonaland v Mashonaland A (5) 3 #171 – — forfeit(HSC, 2 March – W) (3) 11 66/5d 1 (4) 4 1 7 0 12236 Mashonaland v Manicaland (6) 78 205 2 (4) 8 1 27 2 #205(HSC, 9 March – W) (6) 15 115/8 – (7) 5 2 7 0 11437 Mashonaland v Matabeleland (6) 2 #194 1 — 115(HSC, 23 March – W) (5) 2 225/5d 1 — 1938 Mashonaland v Midlands (6) 73* #357/7d 1 — 92(Kwekwe, 30 March – W) — — 1 (4) 1 0 6 0 22239 Zimbabwe v Indians (5) 0 175 – (4) 2 0 9 0 #336/9d(Mutare, 28 May – D) — — – (5) 3 0 8 0 150/72000/01 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM6 9 2 217 78 31.00 – 2 9 37 6 100 3 33.33 2/27 – -Career 39 66 4 1535 153 24.75 3 8 30 348.1 74 941 29 32.44 4/5 – -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2001/02 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total40 Mashonaland v Matabeleland (5) 118 #644/9d – (5) 14 8 25 1 392(BAC, 15 Feb – W) — 82/2 – (6) 10 0 45 0 33341 Mashonaland v Manicaland (5) 11 226 – (7) 8 1 23 0 #513/9d(Mutare, 1 March – W) (6) 210 506 1 (3) 16 5 37 6 14642 Mashonaland v Midlands (5) 163 #329 – — 211(HSC, 22 March – W) (5) 35 263/8d – — 13343 Mashonaland v CFX Academy (5) 147 413 1 (4) 5 1 8 1 #122(Country Club, 19 April – W) — — 1 — 1282001/02 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM4 6 0 684 210 114.00 4 – 3 53 15 138 8 17.25 6/37 1 -Career 43 72 4 2219 210 32.63 7 8 33 401.1 89 1079 37 29.16 6/37 1 -RECORD SEASON BY SEASONM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1990/91(Z) 3 5 0 77 39 15.40 – – 1 10 0 41 1 41.00 1/34 – -1991/92(Z) -1992/93(Z) 2 4 0 124 66 31.00 – 2 3 –1993/94(Z) 2 3 0 11 7 3.66 – – 2 15 1 67 3 22.33 1/8 – -1994/95(Z) 6 11 1 305 112 30.50 2 – 2 86.3 14 255 7 36.42 2/29 – -1995/96(SA) 3 6 0 134 74 22.33 – 1 1 18 5 50 1 50.00 1/31 – -1995/96(Z) 6 12 1 289 73 26.27 – 2 3 71.4 12 205 5 41.00 2/28 – -1996/97(SL) 1 2 0 10 9 5.00 – – 1 6 0 27 0 –1996/97(Z) 1 1 0 4 4 4.00 – – – 8 2 15 1 15.00 1/15 – -1997/98(Z) 3 3 0 87 63 29.00 – 1 4 42 13 96 2 48.00 1/14 – -1998/99(Z) 1 2 0 15 11 7.50 – – – 3 0 8 0 –1999/00(Z) 5 8 0 262 153 32.75 1 – 4 51 21 77 6 12.83 4/5 – -2000/01(Z) 6 9 2 217 78 31.00 – 2 9 37 6 100 3 33.33 2/27 – -2001/02(Z) 4 6 0 684 210 114.00 4 – 3 53 15 138 8 17.25 6/37 1 -43 72 4 2219 210 32.63 7 8 33 401.1 89 1079 37 29.16 6/37 1 -RECORD IN EACH COUNTRYM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMZimbabwe 39 64 4 2075 210 34.58 7 7 31 377.1 84 1002 36 27.83 6/37 1 -England -Australia -South Africa 3 6 0 134 74 22.33 – 1 1 18 5 50 1 50.00 1/31 – -West Indies -New Zealand -India -Pakistan -Sri Lanka 1 2 0 10 9 5.00 – – 1 6 0 27 0 –Bangladesh -Kenya -43 72 4 2219 210 32.63 7 8 33 401.1 89 1079 37 29.16 6/37 1 -RECORD ON ZIMBABWEAN GROUNDSM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMAlexandra 5 8 1 203 66* 29.00 – 2 4 39.1 13 93 4 23.25 1/7 – -Bulawayo AC 7 11 0 427 153 38.81 2 1 5 82 20 232 9 25.77 4/5 – -Country Club 2 2 0 149 147 74.50 1 – 2 34 9 61 2 30.50 1/8 – -Harare South 4 7 0 108 39 15.42 – – 2 33 6 79 1 79.00 1/13 – -Harare SC 14 26 2 767 163 31.95 3 1 12 139 24 403 13 31.00 2/27 – -Kwekwe 1 1 1 73 73* — – 1 2 1 0 6 0 — — – -Mutare 3 4 0 224 210 56.00 1 – 1 38 10 90 6 15.00 6/37 1 -Old Georgians 1 2 0 122 66 61.00 – 2 1 –Old Hararians 2 3 0 2 2 0.66 – – 2 11 2 38 1 38.00 1/30 – -Queens SC -39 64 4 2075 210 34.58 7 7 31 377.1 84 1002 36 27.83 6/37 1 -LOGAN CUP RECORDM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMFor Mashonaland Under-24:1993/94 2 3 0 11 7 3.66 – – 2 15 1 67 3 22.33 1/8 – -For Mashonaland:1994/95 3 5 0 131 112 26.20 1 – – 46 11 114 5 22.80 2/29 – -For Mashonaland Country Districts:1995/96 2 3 0 11 7 3.66 – – 2 37.4 7 97 4 22.33 1/8 – -For Mashonaland (continued):1996/97 1 1 0 4 4 4.00 – – – 8 2 15 1 15.00 1/15 – -1997/98 2 2 0 24 24 12.00 – – 2 18 3 53 1 53.00 1/30 – -1998/99 -1999/2000 5 8 0 262 153 32.75 1 – 4 51 21 77 6 12.83 4/5 – -2000/01 5 8 2 217 78 36.16 – 2 9 32 6 83 3 27.66 2/27 – -2001/02 4 6 0 684 210 114.00 4 – 3 53 15 138 8 17.25 6/37 1 -Total: 20 30 2 1322 210 47.21 6 2 18 208 58 480 24 20.00 6/37 1 -TOTAL: 26 41 3 1550 210 40.78 6 4 23 260.4 66 644 31 20.77 6/37 1 -RECORD AGAINST OTHER LOGAN CUP TEAMSM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMFor Mashonaland Under-24:v Mashonaland 1 1 0 7 7 7.00 – – 1 8 0 41 2 20.50 1/16 – -v MCD 1 2 0 4 4 2.00 – – 1 7 1 26 1 26.00 1/8 – -Total: 2 3 0 11 7 3.66 – – 2 15 1 67 3 22.33 1/8 – -For Mashonaland Country Districts:v Mashonaland 1 2 0 19 15 9.50 – – – 15 4 29 1 29.00 1/13 – -v Matabeleland 2 4 0 106 73 26.50 – 1 3 18 1 61 2 30.50 2/28 – -v Young Mashonaland 1 2 1 92 66 92.00 – 1 – 4.4 2 7 1 7.00 1/7 – -Total: 2 3 0 11 7 3.66 – – 2 37.4 7 97 4 22.33 1/8 – -For Mashonaland:v CFX Academy 3 3 1 182 147 91.00 1 – 4 48 11 97 3 32.33 1/8 – -v Manicaland 4 7 0 354 210 50.57 1 1 4 48 14 109 8 13.62 6/37 1 -v Mashonaland A 2 3 0 38 24 12.66 – – 3 11 2 22 0 –v MCD 1 2 0 115 112 57.50 1 – – 23 6 58 3 19.33 2/29 – -v Mash Under-24 1 2 0 11 11 5.50 – – – 20 4 54 2 27.00 2/29 – -v Matabeleland 6 8 0 297 153 37.12 2 – 3 56 20 134 8 16.75 4/5 – -v Midlands 3 5 1 325 163 81.25 1 1 4 2 1 6 0 –Total: 20 30 2 1322 210 47.21 6 2 18 208 58 480 24 20.00 6/37 1 -For all teams:v CFX Academy 3 3 1 182 147 91.00 1 – 4 48 11 97 3 32.33 1/8 – -v Manicaland 4 7 0 354 210 50.57 1 1 4 48 14 109 8 13.62 6/37 1 -v Mashonaland 2 3 0 26 15 8.66 – – 1 23 4 70 3 23.33 1/13 – -v Mashonaland A 2 3 0 38 24 12.66 – – 3 11 2 22 0 –v MCD 2 4 0 119 112 29.75 1 – 1 30 7 84 4 21.00 2/29 – -v Matabeleland 8 12 0 403 153 33.58 2 1 6 74 21 195 10 19.50 4/5 – -v Midlands 3 5 1 325 163 81.25 1 1 4 2 1 6 0 –v Young Mash/U-24 2 4 1 103 66 34.33 – 1 – 24.4 6 61 3 20.33 2/29 – -TOTAL: 26 41 3 1550 210 40.78 6 4 23 260.4 66 644 31 20.77 6/37 1 -CENTURIES1 112 Mashonaland v Mash Country Districts Harare Sports Club 1994/952 102 Mashonaland XI v Northamptonshire Harare Sports Club 1994/953 153 Mashonaland v Matabeleland Bulawayo Athletic Club 1999/20004 118 Mashonaland v Matabeleland Bulawayo Athletic Club 2001/025 210 Mashonaland v Manicaland Mutare Sports Club 2001/026 163 Mashonaland v Midlands Harare Sports Club 2001/027 147 Mashonaland v CFX Academy Country Club 2001/02TWO CENTURIES IN A MATCHNo instancesCENTURY AND FIFTY IN THE SAME MATCHNo instancesTWO FIFTIES IN A MATCH66 and 56 Zimbabwe B v New Zealanders Old Georgians Sports Club 1992/93200 RUNS IN A MATCH221 (11 & 210) Mashonaland v Manicaland Mutare Sports Club 2001/02`PAIRS’No instancesFIVE WICKETS IN AN INNINGS6/37 (16-5-37-6) Mashonaland v Manicaland Mutare Sports Club 2001/02BEST MATCH FIGURES6/60 (24-6-60-6) Mashonaland v Manicaland Mutare Sports Club 2001/02MATCH DOUBLE OF 200 RUNS AND FIVE WICKETS11 & 210; 0/23 & 6/37 Mashonaland v Manicaland Mutare Sports Club 2001/02100 RUNS AND FIVE WICKETS13 & 153; 1/4 and 4/5 Mashonaland v Matabeleland Bulawayo Athletic Club 1999/2000MOST OVERS BOWLED IN AN INNINGS19 – 1 – 75 – 0 Matabeleland XI v South Africa A Bulawayo Athletic Club 1994/9519 – 8 – 29 – 0 Mashonaland v New Zealanders Alexandra Sports Club 1997/98MOST OVERS BOWLED IN A MATCH29 – 8 – 53 – 1 Mashonaland v CFX Academy Country Club 1999/2000MOST RUNS CONCEDED IN AN INNINGS75 (19-1-75-0) Matabeleland XI v South Africa A Bulawayo Athletic Club 1994/95MOST RUNS CONCEDED IN A MATCH80 (24-4-80-1) Mash Invitation XI v Yorkshire Harare Sports Club 1995/96MOST MAIDEN OVERS BOWLED IN AN INNINGS8 (19-8-29-0) Mashonaland v New Zealanders Alexandra Sports Club 1997/988 (14-8-25-1) Mashonaland v Matabeleland Bulawayo Athletic Club 2001/02DETAILS OF DISMISSALS AS A BATSMANbowled 11 16.18lbw 9 13.23caught 32 47.06caught by wicketkeeper 10 14.71caught and bowled 2 2.94stumped 1 1.47run out 3 4.41TOTAL 68 100.00%DETAILS OF DISMISSALS AS A BOWLERbowled 2 5.41lbw 6 16.21caught 19 51.35caught by wicket-keeper 7 18.92caught and bowled 1 2.70stumped 2 5.41TOTAL 37 100.00%THREE OR MORE CATCHES IN AN INNINGS3 Mash Country Districts v Matabeleland Bulawayo Athletic Club 1995/96FOUR OR MORE CATCHES IN A MATCHNo instances. Best 3, as above

Anyone who has been the slightest interested in Dion Nash’s Test match cricket career should not have been surprised that he should play the last, vital, hand in New Zealand achieving the follow on target against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane today.Nash went out to bat today at 243/7, knowing that whatever he did today was going to be his last contribution to the tour.Injury has struck him down again in the early stages of yet another tour. Last year it was an early return from Zimbabwe that curtailed his involvement in that tour. His troublesome back had flared up again and it seemed his career might well be over.But Nash wasn’t prepared to call it quits and after more hard work, began by returning as a batsman with Auckland, a not unproductive pastime for him as he scored 452 runs at 30.13, including a century and two 50s.He began to bowl a few towards the end of the season and took five wickets at 25.40.Then began the winter of build-up to get his worrisome back into a position where he could be a Test quality bowler again.That achieved he won selection for the one-day leg of the scheduled tour to Pakistan but missed the chance for an early try out when the tour was cancelled as the result of the war against terrorism in neighbouring Afghanistan.An abdominal strain when playing against the Queensland Academy XI saw him miss the Queensland game and on the second day in the field in the first Test he aggravated the injury necessitating his returning home at the end of this Test.It is a measure of his refusal to yield to the frustration of another early trip home from a tour that Nash had the presence of mind to battle for the side’s cause towards the end of their first innings.He and Adam Parore went through nearly an hour of playing themselves in and awaiting their opportunity against some fine fast bowling on the part of Brett Lee.They quietly worked their way through the new ball and were just starting to free up when Parore launched into a ball only to find Steve Waugh dive and pick up a hard chance to send him on his way for 11.Daniel Vettori survived a dropped chance off the first ball he faced, and then Nash took over.Rather than keep on grafting he felt confident enough to take the attack to the bowlers. He hit a four over the gully field and when Gillespie was introduced the first four balls of his over were hit for two runs each.The last of them saw the follow on passed and immediately the players were called in by Stephen Fleming.It was a great farewell present to his team-mates and encapsulated the Nash approach to cricket – and that is why he is so appreciated for the competitive attitude he brings to the team.Wicketless in this Test he remains cast on 93 wickets in Test matches but with the knowledge that it is not his back causing the problems there is every chance that Nash will be seen again this summer.But for all else that he might achieve, there may be nothing that proves more valuable than the fighting example he provided his team-mates in the heat of battle at Brisbane.

As the Indians seek to leave behind their 10-wicket mauling in thefirst Test in Galle, recent history is what they must be looking at toprovide them confidence for making a come-back into the three-Testseries.Going in to the second Test starting in Kandy on Wednesday, theIndians would be boosted by the fact that only recently they haveeffected one of the greatest turnarounds in history – and against oneof the greatest teams of all times. The 2-1 win against Australia mustbe a reassuring thought and giving them the confidence required torepeat that performance.But more importantly, the Indians realise that it would be the hostswho would be under pressure despite their thumping victory in Galle.The Sri Lankans have lost their previous two Tests in Kandy – in theseries against South Africa and England earlier this year – and onboth those occasions, they had come to the city having taken a 1-0lead.In a similar situation this time, the Sri Lankans would be on thedefensive to put their record straight and that provides the Indiansthe breathing space.But history can never be an excuse for non-performance. The Indians,without some of their top stars, were outplayed in every department ofthe game in the first Test. It was only through an unexpectedly heroicninth wicket stand between Rahul Dravid and Venkatesh Prasad thatsaved them the ignominy of a first-ever innings defeat against SriLanka.And a similar fate could await them here if they do not rise to theoccasion and play to their potential.Captain Sourav Ganguly had said after the first match that his teamwould come roaring back the way they did against Australia. “We mustfight back. We have to,” he said.Despite the wide gulf between his words and deeds, he must get itright this time if he has to save his captaincy and probably his placein the team.”Captaining India is an extremely difficult task,” Ganguly said aheadof the second Test. What he probably left unsaid was that he wasfinding it even more difficult to regain his batting form.Once famous for his fluent and artistic off-side play, Ganguly hasbeen woefully short of runs and has not touched fifty in the last 12Test innings. Coupled with his frequent courting of trouble withumpires and match-referees, he has attracted a lot of criticism withdemands for his head growing with each failure.He has been outsmarted by the opposition in his own forte, having beenrestricted in his natural play by a packed off-side field and forcedto make mistakes.If he is hoping for any respite in Kandy, he won’t find any with rivalcaptain Sanath Jayasuriya saying on Monday that Sri Lanka wouldcontinue to play with four fast bowlers.”We have our strongest pace attack in recent times and I think thatwould be vital for the team’s chances,” Jayasuriya said.Coach Dave Whatmore agreed with the captain. “Right now our fastbowlers are on top and we will continue with them,” he said.