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It was an incident identical to that at Kensington Oval in 1999 that prompted bottle-throwing by the angry crowd and halted play in the One-Day International between the West Indies and Australia.But it had a different outcome.As Sherwin Campbell was run out after he was impeded and knocked to the ground by fast bowler Brendon Julian then, West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels was similarly blocked by bowler Mohammed Raffique who ran to get the ball as Samuels attempted to take a single on Ramnaresh Sarwan’s stroke to mid-wicket.Samuel’s kept his feet but stopped mid-pitch as he realised he had no chance to making his ground. Fielder Naimur Rehman returned the ball to Bangladesh wicket-keeper and captain Khaled Mashud who broke the stumps and appealed for the dismissal.It promoted a lengthy consulation in the middle between the Bangladesh players and ICC umpire David Shepherd of England. After a few minutes, Shepherd called "dead ball" and Samuels, 27 at the time, was allowed to continue.Shepherd said afterwards he did not see the incident as he was "following the ball". He said he initially asked Mashud if he would withdraw the appeal but the Bangladeshi captain declined."I called third umpire (Shawkatur Rehman) to have a look at the television replay and report whether there had been any barging on the part of the bowler," Shepherd said. "He reported that he thought there was and I called `dead ball’ It really was in the spirit of compromise."Neither the Bangladesh team nor the crowd of 20 000 made a protest and Samuels and the game continued.In the 1999 incident, umpire Eddie Nicholls ruled Campbell out. But he was resinstated when Australian captain Steve Waugh withdrew the appeal for run out following the crowd disturbance.

The hunt for the next pop idol, soap actor, and super model have allappeared on TV recently and now Nottinghamshire’s Usman Afzaal is to launcha national search for a future professional cricketer.Under a scheme organised by Afzaal¹s Cricketing Elite (ACE), the left-handeris to be joined by fellow international cricketers Graham Thorpe, MarkRamprakash, Andy Flintoff, Owais Shah and Chris Lewis to identify promisingplayers.It is also hoped, international commitments permitting, that the world¹sfastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar, will soon be confirmed among the elite band of”selectors”.Afzaal explained: “The players mentioned will all take part in a two-daycoaching clinic at Trent Bridge open to any youngsters aged 13 or above.”I suppose it¹s similar to the ‘Pop Idol’ idea but this time the cricketersof tomorrow will get a unique opportunity to be taught and chosen by theirheroes of today.”We are hoping for around 700 young players on the course over the weekendand from them, we will select a squad of 15 to take on an all-expenses-paidoverseas tour to further improve their game.”Afzaal added that on returning, the best of the bunch will also be referredto county clubs by their illustrious coaches with a view to obtaining trialsto become professional players.The clinics are to be filmed by Sony TV and will be held on Saturday October5 and Sunday October 6 with entry costing £149 per person.For further information and details of how to get a place on the coursecontact the ACE office on 0115 979 2512 or 0115 979 2514.PLEASE NOTE – This release was distributed on behalf of ACE by BowlesAssociates.All media enquiries should be directed to the ACE office on the number aboveor to Usman Afzaal on 07768 558122.

The England selectors have delayed announcing their squad for the first npower Test against India, which starts at Lord’s in a week’s time.The squad was due to be revealed this morning, but due to injury concerns it will not now be announced until Saturday. Both Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Caddick are unavailable due to injury.Trescothick may miss the whole series after suffering a multiple fracture of his thumb. The Somerset opener twice visited hospital yesterday to have the injury assessed, and will have his broken bones realigned once specialists representing his county and his country have decided what course of action should be taken.Trescothick injured his left thumb when he was hit by a fierce drive fromGraeme Hick while fielding for Somerset in their Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophyquarter-final victory over Worcestershire at Taunton.As he left the County Ground last night, he said: “The x-rays showed there were a few cracks in my thumb. If it is plastered it will be in the cast for a couple of weeks at least – and then it is a case of waiting and hoping.”It is always a shock to get an injury at any time, but with the Test series coming up obviously it is even worse. The ball hit me on the end of the thumb, and I saw it was bleeding. But it was not until I got back in the dressing room that I realised I was in real trouble.”England’s chairman of selectors, David Graveney, is also awaiting news on fast bowler Alex Tudor, who is struggling with shin splints.”We are aware that he has got a bit of a problem and it is one that needs to settle down,” Graveney said.”He has been involved in the one-day squad and all the boys that were involved in that are pretty tired. We may name him in the squad while also including someone else to cover his position.”Tudor’s Surrey colleague Mark Butcher has yet to play any competitive cricket following knee surgery, while Darren Gough has played only one-day cricket since returning from his knee injury.Both Gough and Butcher will play in the next round of Frizzell CountyChampionship matches, which start tomorrow.Meanwhile India are refusing to derive any satisfaction from Trescothick’s injury, having already suffered a setback of their own with 20-year-old Yuvraj Singh returning home for treatment on a chipped bone in a finger.”We are sorry about what has happened to Trescothick,” said Amrit Mathur, the Indian team’s communications manager.”It is a bad thing to happen when he is such a very good player. It is sad that he will miss out because of the injury. We are also disappointed that Yuvraj Singh has had to go back. It is better for the game and the spectators if the best players are playing.”

ADELAIDE – England fast bowler Andrew Caddick will know on Wednesday ifhe is fit enough to face Australia in the third Ashes Test.Caddick underwent a scan on his injured back today after sustaining aback spasm during the second Test, in which he batted at number 11 asEngland slumped to an innings-and-51-runs defeat at the Adelaide Oval.He failed to improve this morning and a scan revealed “wear and tear” onhis back.Caddick will have a steroid injection into his back tomorrow, with afitness test scheduled for Wednesday.England physio Kirk Russell said: “The scan has revealed long-standingwear and tear consistent with a fast bowler of Andrew’s age which iscontinuing to cause him pain.”He will have a steroid injection into his back in Perth tomorrow andhis fitness will be reassessed at nets on Adelaide. At this stage he hasnot been ruled out of the third Test.”The tourists have cover in Alex Tudor and Chris Silverwood if Caddickfails to make a recovery.

Consequent to the cessation of the contract between WSG Nimbus Pte Ltd and the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, bids were called for from interested parties for the following:COMMERCIAL RIGHTS OF THE BCCSL
1.Television rights outside Sri Lanka
2.Radio rights outside Sri Lanka
3.Title sponsorships
4.Forty ground runners
Bid documents were forwarded to nine interested parties from overseas, and the reputed international firm of Chartered Accountants PriceWaterhouse Coopers was requested to receive bids and evaluate same once tenders closed.Tenders closed on the 29th of October 2001 and several bids were received. The bids were opened in the presence of two Partners of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Members of the Interim Committee of the BCCSL, a representative of the Ministry of Sports, a representative of Julius & Creasy the BCCSL’s lawyers and legal counsel. Also present were representatives from the bidders.Once the tenders were opened, an evaluation was carried out by PriceWaterhouse Coopers, who recommended Taj Television, who are covering the ongoing Champions’ Trophy in Sharjah.A press conference will be held within the next few days to give more details of the terms and conditions of the agreement entered into with Taj Television.bccsl.mu.2001.28

Partial play was possible in just three National Junior (Under-19) Grade-II Cricket Championship matches because of inclement weather in different cities of Punjab Monday.The second day of the remaining three matches of Pool ‘D’ was washed out.Sargodha resumed their first innings at 4:40pm at overnight total of 106 for one and by close of play were 146 for five in 59 overs against Kasur. Farrukh Shahzad who resumed at 47 scored 60.At Mahmood Stadium, Rahim Yar Khan, Faisalabad had gained an overall lead of 165 with one second innings wicket in hand against Rahim Yar Khan.Batting first, Faisalabad scored 225 due to a fine 88 by Ghulam Dastagir.Off-spinner Aamir Akram bagged six for 43.In reply, the home side made 221. Leg-spinner Mudassar Hussain got five for 80.By close of play, Faisalabad, in their second knock were 161 for nine in 54 overs.Okara gaineda lead of 26 runs against Multan at Okara Gymkhana ground.Replying to Okara’s first innings total of 239, Multan started their first innings in the morning and were all out for 213. Paceman Jawad Hafeez took five for 65.Not a single ball was bowled in the matches between Mianwali v Gujrat at Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat, Lahore Greens v Attock at Saga Ground, Sialkot andGujranwala v Sialkot at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala.Summarised scores:At Sports Stadium, Sargodha:SARGODHA 146-5 (Farrukh Shahzad 60, Qaiser Iqbal 44; Aslam Shahid 3-37) v Kasur.At Mahmood Stadium, Rahim Yar Khan:FAISALABAD 225 (Ghulam Dastagir 88; Aamir Akram 6-43) and 161-9 (Naveed Haider 50 not out; Mohammad Tayyab 3-18);RAHIM YAR KHAN 221 (Fayyaz-ul-Hasan 46, Asif Mumtaz 46, Ajmal Shah 46; Mudassar Hussain 5-80).At Gymkhana Ground, Okara:OKARA 239 (Mohammad Pervez 61, Zahid Ali Khan 63; Mohammad Umair 6-79);MULTAN 213 (Yasir Arafat 62; Jawad Hafeez 5-65, Zulfiqar Babar 3-45).At Nawabshah Stadium, Nawabshah:MIRPURKHAS 242 (Syed Rehan 73; Sharafat Ali 3-45) and 163 (Syed Rehan 44; Zahid Hussain 4-26, Ghulam Yasin 3-44);SHIKARPUR 185 (Ghulam Farid 50; Syed Rehan 5-62, Nabi Mohammad 3-44) and 28-1.At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad:Hyderabad beat Badin by six wickets.BADIN 122 (Hasan Muzammil 7-46) and 105 (Shoaib Leghari 6-20);HYDERABAD 206 (Kamran Khan 5-36) and 22-4.At Shola Ground, Quetta:PISHIN 370 (Rehmastullah 143 not out, Ghulam Ishaq 101) and 245 Salam Durrani 68, Ghulam Ishaq 49; Javed Raza 4-71);TURBAT 238 (Sajjad Habib 84, Abdul Ghani 46; Samiullah 4-61, Mohammad Amin 3-15).At Kohat Stadium, Kohat:AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 298 (Afaq Raheem 122, Sohrab Aslam 53; Javed Khan 5-70, Adil Hasan 3-75) and 92-0 (Afaq Raheem 59 not out);MARDAN 217 (Shiraz Khan 82, Zeeshan Akbar 45; Abdul Shakoor 5-68, Afaq Raheem 3-26).At D.I. Khan Stadium, D.I.Khan:HARIPUR 125 (Azaz Khan 5-36, Nasir Niaz 3-35) and 72-3;BANNU 201 Naimatullah 74; Amjad Waqas 6-73, Babar Khan 3-41).

Somerset’s young batsman Neil Edwards who was due to spend the first part of the winter working at the County Ground in Taunton is now back at home in Penzance recovering from glandular fever.The illness couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Cornishman because in just a few weeks he is due to fly off to Australia with the England Under 19’s and this will be a major setback for him.The tall left hander made his Somerset debut in 2002 when he opened against the West Indies A and gave a good account of himself in both innings against a strong attack by scoring 31 and 27. He also made several appearances for the Seconds as a result of which he was chosen for the trip to Australia this winter.Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson told me earlier today: “At the moment there are frantic liaisons going on between assistant coach Mark Garaway and the England Under 19 manager to try to sort things out, because Neil is due to leave England at the end of the year for the six week tour.”The chief continued: “The problem is that to recover from glandular fever Neil needs to take a complete rest, during which he cannot train, so at the moment he is back at his home.”The Somerset boss concluded: “Neil feels very sorry for himself as we do for him, but it is a hazard in professional sport that injury always seems to come along at the wrong time. Professional sportsmen have to learn to live with these things and for Neil this is a steep learning curve.”

Warwickshire recovered from losing skipper Michael Powell for a duck to reach 295 for four after winning the toss against the Frizzell County Championship leaders Leicestershire. Phil DeFreitas had Powell caught by Darren Stevens, but Ian Bell (72) and Nick Knight (47) steadied the ship. Dominic Ostler then made 81 and Jamie Troughton an unbeaten 65 to take the home side to an impressive total by stumps.There was a landslide of wickets after the first session of play was lost to rain at The Oval. After putting Kent in Surrey bowled them out for 153, with Martin Bicknell taking six for 42 and James Ormond three for 56. Paul Nixon made a battling 54 for the visitors. Surrey found life no easier when they batted, although a swashbuckling, unbeaten 49 from Ally Brown helped them to 111 for five at the close.Sussex recovered from a poor start against Yorkshire at Headingley, after being reduced to 70 for four in the first session. A stand of 191 between Timothy Ambrose (146*) and Matthew Prior (83) took the visitors to 375 for six after they were put in this morning.After a delayed start at Bath, Hampshire ended the day on 149 for three after being put in by Somerset. William Kendall was the mainstay for the visitors, with an unbeaten 70, and there were two wickets for Simon Francis.In Division Two, Nottinghamshire captain Jason Gallian’s decision to bat first at Trent Bridge against Division Two leaders Derbyshire paid handsome dividends. Notts were bowled out for 393, with Paul Johnson making 96, Nicky Boje 84 and Gallian himself 69. Derbyshire closed on 18 without loss.Ronnie Irani continued his sparkling run of form as Essex fought back from 22 for three after being put in to bat by Northamptonshire at Ilford. William Jefferson (59) and Andy Flower (85) initiated the revival, which was completed by an unbeaten 121 from the Essex skipper. The hosts ended the day on 322 for five.Nicholas Hatch took three wickets for Durham after another delayed start at Chester-le-Street. Worcestershire, after winning the toss, were reduced at one point to 90 for five, but David Leatherdale (32*) and Gareth Batty (27*) had pulled them back from the abyss by the close, when they were 153 for five.There was no play on day one between Middlesex and Glamorgan at Lord’s, where the outfield was waterlogged.

A near capacity crowd of 5,500 for this day night NUL match were treated to a thrilling encounter between relegation strugglers Somerset Sabres and Nottingham Outlaws at the County Ground in Taunton.Another exhibition of attacking batting from Kevin Pietersen, who picked up where he had left off the previous day added yet more misery to the Sabres NUL relegation plight as they slid to a second defeat at the hands of the Outlaws.The South African born, ECB qualified twenty two year old effectively put the game beyond a Sabres team who were desperate to gain revenge for their reverse at Trent Bridge 24 hours earlier.When Pietersen came to the wicket Nottinghamshire were 37 for 2. By the time he departed 36 overs later he had scored 147 and the Outlaws were 291 for 6.Whilst Pietersen was at the wicket he shared in a fourth wicket stand of 158 with Balal Shafyat (66) followed by a fifth wicket stand of 60 with Chris Read (21) until he eventually succumbed in the final over when he was caught by a grateful Simon Francis at long on from the bowling of Mike Burns. In all he had faced 101 balls, hit 5×6’s and 16×4’s in a breathtaking display.For Somerset the pick of the bowlers was Richard Johnson who ended with 3 for 41 from his 9 overs.Facing a daunting 297 for victory the Sabres got off to the worst of starts when they lost Peter Bowler to the third ball of the innings.Pinch hitter Johnson struck some lusty blows, until with the score on 34 he lost his partner Jamie Cox for 2. Mike Burns followed next ball, and then one run later Johnson himself was bowled by David Lucas for 25, and the Sabres were in dire trouble at 35 for 4.Ian Blackwell, who has not enjoyed the best of form in his last few innings smote a quickfire 31 to cheer the crowd, but after three successive boundaries he was bowled by Lucas, and the Sabres found themselves 80 for 5.Keith Parsons, who had shared the fifth wicket partnership of 45 with Blackwell now started to take on the attacking role, and in Matthew Wood found a very willing ally to support him.Parsons brought up the hundred in the fourteenth over,his own fifty seven overs later and then with the last ball of the twenty third over the Sabres one hundred and fifty.All the while that he remained at the wicket the Sabres realistic hopes of salvaging a victory remained intact, but after adding 91 with Wood, Parsons was adjudged LBW to Stephen Randall for 73 and Somerset were once again on the backfoot.Nine runs later Turner became another of Randall’s victims, which brought Keith Dutch to the wicket. He quickly warmed to the task and started to show the kind of form that won him the Man of the Match award in the C and G semi final last year.Meanwhile his partner Wood reached his fifty in the 36th over, by which time the Sabres required 74 runs to win off nine overs.Next ball however Dutch (18) hit Franks hard to long off where Logan took the catch, and the Sabres were once again struggling at 225 for 8.A glimmer of hope remained until Matt Wood was bowled by Paul Franks for 61 , followed shortly afterwards by Steffan Jones and the Sabres were all out for 237 to give the Outlaws victory by 62 runs.Immediately after the end of the game Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "Of course this was a major disappointment to us all. Once again chasing a large total we lost early wickets which in the end proved crucial."He continued: "We put together some partnerships but not early on and when we did we were always short of wickets. Now we have just five NUL games left so we will just keep on going and try to win them all."The coach continued: “The lads are going to be hugely disappointed and they will be hurting after this home defeat. But we can’t dwell on that. We have to pick ourselves up and focus our attention on the county championship match that starts here on Wednesday.”

Unfortunate, but largely true – a high-scoring, tamely drawn Testmatch sometimes produces the most glittering of statistical nuggets.Antigua, after the fourth Test between the West Indies and India, willnow be in the record books for much more than Brian Lara’s 375 againstEngland.

Ajay Ratra, Man of the Match possibly for disproving GeoffreyBoycott’s assessment of his batting skills, had a hand in both of themore unique records set during the course of the Test. His century inthe first innings – one, incidentally, that made the 20-and-a-halfyear-old the youngest wicket-keeper to score a century – was followedby Ridley Jacobs’ hundred, making the Antigua match the only one inwhich the regular wicket-keepers of both sides reached three figures.The fact, no doubt, will come as a surprise to many, especiallyconsidering the calibre of wicket-keepers who have played in the sameTest. Alec Stewart and Adam Gilchrist, Andy Flower and KumaraSangakkara, Alan Knott and Rod Marsh, Farokh Engineer and Imtiaz Ahmedare just some names that instantly emerge from cricket’s rich trove ofstumpers.There was, however, another occasion on which men who kept wicket alsoscored hundreds – double hundreds, in fact. When Australia playedPakistan at Faisalabad in 1979/80, Greg Chappell slaughtered theattack to the tune of 235 runs, and his side was bowled out for amammoth 617.

That happened only on the fourth day, and a draw loomed decisively inthe offing. Taslim Arif, Pakistan’s wicket-keeper and opening bat,took the opportunity to hit 210 not out. With any result absolutelyout of the question, Australia decided to have some fun. Chappelldonned the wicket-keeping pads himself and let Marsh bowl 10 overs for51 runs.Australia, thus, used 11 bowlers in that innings, but in this uniquefeat, they were pre-empted by the old enemy, England, who did soagainst the visiting Australians at the Oval in 1884. The Hon. AlfredLyttleton, England’s wicket-keeper for the match, was actually thehighest wicket-taker in the first innings, taking four for 19.Ratra, thus, was instrumental in creating another notable highlightwhen he bowled the penultimate over of the Test. He may not have hadLyttleton’s stunning success, but India became the third side to use11 bowlers in an innings.