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Heath Streak, who was sacked as captain of Zimbabwe earlier this month, has urged England and all other Test-playing nations to boycott Zimbabwe until the current impasse over player selection is resolved. Streak’s dismissal triggered off the dispute which culminated in 15 rebel players being fired by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.England are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe in October, and Streak expressed the fear that a decision to play there would been seen as approval of Robert Mugabe’s regime. Talking to the BBC’s Test Match Special programme, he said, “If England come, it would suggest they agree with what is going on. I don’t think any country should be coming to play cricket in Zimbabwe until they have fixed the problem, whether it be England, Australia or Bangladesh.”The International Cricket Council is set to debate Zimbabwe’s Test future in June, after the two-Test series against Australia – scheduled to start last Saturday – was cancelled. The team that took on Sri Lanka recently was barely club standard, and two crushing defeats reinforced the fear that such unequal contests were making a mockery of the game.The rebel players have turned to the ICC to resolve the crisis, and it is currently making a legal assessment of whether it can intervene in what some, including Imran Khan, seen as a domestic dispute. As things stand though, it’s unlikely that England’s players will have to make that trip to southern Africa this autumn.

BRISBANE, March 1 AAP – Victoria added another chapter to its book of Gabba nightmares today when Queensland surged into its fifth consecutive home Pura Cup cricket final.The Bulls cruised to a nine-wicket victory after tea on the third day, leaving the scarred Victorians with the task of returning to the Gabba for the March 14 decider.They must first keep NSW from snatching second place in Thursday’s final round, with the Blues hosting Queensland while Victoria plays Western Australia at the MCG.Victoria hasn’t won at the Gabba since December 1983 but there were specks of hope from the last three days to suggest the Bushrangers could land some punches on Queensland.But captain Darren Berry admitted his bowlers could not afford to unravel again after they let the Bulls out of jail and handed them the key during a poor first afternoon which turned the match.Queensland skipped away from 3-17 to post 349 on a green wicket, and Victoria’s replies of 159 and 229 were never enough.Berry (46), Jon Moss (66) and Andrew McDonald (33) showed the value of positive batting today as the Bushrangers avoided an innings loss before Queensland reached 1-40 to claim victory.”In the past, we’ve let ourselves down with the bat up here but this time we cost ourselves with the ball,” Berry said.”That was a 100-all-out wicket the first day and we wasted the opportunity. For them to make 350 was diabolical.”But it’s not all doom and gloom and it’s no use putting our heads down.”Did anyone not try their best? No. So we have to get on with it but we can’t afford to look any futher than this game against Western Australia.”Queensland is already looking forward to an intriguing clash with Steve and Mark Waugh’s Blues.The Bulls have extra motivation because captain Martin Love admitted his team would rather face Victoria than the more experienced Blues in the decider.But Love said one of the keys to Queensland’s recent dominance of interstate cricket, after winning the last three Pura Cup titles, was not thinking too far ahead.”We really do take one game at a time and that’s really helped us over the last few years not to get complacent,” Love said.It’s also helped having the likes of Michael Kasprowicz, Ashley Noffke, Adam Dale and Joe Dawes to torment opposition batsmen.Berry rated Kasprowicz as “clearly the best bowler in the competition” after the right-armer shared the wickets with Noffke, Dale and Dawes.It wasn’t the Bulls’ sharpest bowling exhibition, particularly when McDonald, Moss and Berry began hitting out, but it was a typically clever performance in the Gabba conditions.Noffke (3-43) was the most successful bowler in the second dig while Dale (2-47) collected his 200th first-class wicket for Queensland.

They’re not bad, these Australians, are they? I had to watch most of the Lord’s Test on television, though I did manage to get along for a while on the first day. In the flesh and on the telly, come rain or shine, I could see why these Aussies have got to the position they have.When you have three pace bowlers like theirs coming at you, and they’re backed up by Shane Warne, it makes life with the willow in hand a shade difficult. I am sure all the England boys had the idea that they would go out and get a hundred, but that’s not always the way it turns out. Having said that, I thought Mark Butcher batted very well, and I was pleased to see Mark Ramprakash looking the part. In fact, when Butch and Ramps were together in the second innings they tried to take the attack to them and it looked good.Speaking as someone approaching a major batting milestone myself, I think I can say with a certain authority that English batsmen need to take the attack to the Australians a little more, and be more positive in defence. “Do or die” is the polite way of saying what comes to mind as the way of playing them. The trouble is, if it doesn’t come off and they do go bust, it looks pretty poor. At the moment, we just seem to be hanging around, waiting to be beaten.And my batting milestone? I’m disappointed you even have to question it. Since making my debut in 1986, I have now amassed 1,954 runs. With 29 already this season, I should easily reach the magic 2,000 mark before the end of the 2003 season!I have also been told that I am on 996 first-class wickets and so a quick mathematical calculation reveals that I need just four more for a thousand. I’m bowling well at the moment, so the bowling milestone should be reached well within a couple of weeks rather than a couple of years. Furthermore, I might just have a pint of lager to celebrate my thousandth wicket.Some years ago I would have been screaming for the selectors to pick me and let me have a go at these Aussies. The new, mature Philip Tufnell is not so brash, but I do believe that we need to take a fresh look at the policy of fielding seven batsmen. I don’t really think it has worked. The Australians have made big scores every time, so perhaps we need to think about the idea of stopping them scoring as many runs as they do. So perhaps we should be looking to more firepower to hit back. Then, even if we don’t get the runs, we still have a decent chance of bowling them out.Perhaps we could back up Gough and Caddick with the likes of Tudor and Silverwood, then if we do get rolled over for a couple of hundred, we could go out thinking we could do the same.I know some people say we should play a spinner at Trent Bridge because it’s a flat wicket, but I am not sure what the selectors are thinking at the moment. The policy has tended to be that we play spinners only when it turns. But I think a spinner should be there to give some variety and change of pace. Also, it looks as if the Aussies are handling the pace attack OK, so maybe we need to present a different kind of test for them.I understand there was a poll on CricInfo about who the public would like to see bowling against the Aussies, and the name of Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell topped the list. I always like to think that I’ve entertained the public over the years and enjoyed a certain rapport with them, so it’s pleasing to be given this vote of confidence but, as I say, it is up to the selectors and I’m not going to start bleating on about they must pick me, let me at ’em, and all that sort of stuff. At one time I might have done, but not now.Don’t get me wrong – I would love to get back into the England team. It would be great to represent the old country again, but as I get older and, hopefully, more mature, I’m quite prepared to see if it happens rather than going about it in as manic a way as I once would. At the moment I’m really enjoying playing for Middlesex under Angus Fraser and John Emburey, we’re in a good position to go for promotion. That’s what I’m focusing on and if I get wickets to help Middlesex I’m happy. If England called me, that would be absolutely fantastic as well.If it happens, it would be a case of having a go, bowl well and be confident in the belief that you can do well and then see how it goes. At the moment I’m bowling well for Middlesex and just trying to be consistent. You have some days when everything goes right, others when it’s a bit rocky, but as I get a little bit older I hope the consistency level rises. You aim to have more better days than poorer days, and make sure that the poorer days are not bad days. Experience helps you turn things round when they are not going quite right. Concentrate on doing the right things and not try to bowl the magic ball all the time.When it comes to the Australians, they might be looking good, but we mustn’t fall into the trap of thinking we can’t beat them. I don’t think that is the case. The boys just have to go out there and give it their best shot. I’ve never really believed that games are won by tactics; it’s players who do the trick. Whoever the selectors go for, I wish them the very best of luck – because a bit of that doesn’t go amiss, either.

The forgotten war
No, we’re not talking about Afghanistan or ME Waugh. The Royal Challengers’ song has the line, Khel nahin, yeh jang hai [It’s not a game, it’s war]. Presumably, they took a leaf out of the Mike Marquesee book, War Minus the Shooting, because their top stars have been firing nothing but blanks all tournament.Almost perfect
In the middle of a terrific opening spell, Sreesanth produced a yorker homing in on middle stump. Misbah-ul-Haq backed away, went on bended knee and carved the ball past point for four. A stunning stroke, but the effect didn’t linger long as he stepped on to his stumps soon after.Empty scoop
Misbah will never live down that attempted paddle over short fine leg in the Twenty20 World Cup final. On Monday night, his team-mate, Vinay Kumar, gave it a go, moving well outside off stump to try and scoop the ball fine. He didn’t even make contact though, and VRV Singh made a mess of the stumps. Surely a percentage shot left to the Tendulkars of this world.Dry zone
With local elections round the corner, Mohali is a dry area [no alcohol] on Monday. The few who have followed the Royal Challengers up north would have been justifiably miffed. Watching them play at the moment would drive even a teetotaler to the bottle.The faster you bowl the farther you go
Dale Steyn had conceded 12 in his opening over, and it got worse when Rahul Dravid recalled him for a second chance. The more Steyn strained the sinews, the faster the ball disappeared to the rope. Three fours and a six came from the first four balls, and when hethen followed up with a slower one, it was wide down the leg side.Australian Job: Punjab’s run chase had a very Australian feel to it. Shaun Marsh and James Hopes started the fun, and after Hopes went, Luke Pomersbach kept his Western Australian team-mate company on the cruise to victory. Marsh now has an amazing 295 runs from just five matches, 97 more than Bangalore’s leading run-scorer in the tournament [Dravid].

Eddie Crush, who played for Kent for four summers after the war, has died at the age of 90. At the time of his death he was the county’s oldest surviving player.Crush was an offspinner, although he sometimes bowled seamers, and lower-order batsman who will best be remembered for dismissing Don Bradman in the county’s fixture with the Australian Invincibles late on the 1948 tour.He was also a war hero, winning the Military Cross for his part in the D-Day landings in 1944 as a subaltern in the Royal Engineers. Part of his Military Cross citation said: “As a result of his courage and determined leadership, anti-tank guns, troops and an anti-tank regiment of the Royal Artillery were able to get up to the objective for consolidation at a very early stage in the battle.”

Desmond Haynes, the former West Indies opening batsman, is no longer a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) director. And Ricky Craig, whose services as chief executive officer of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) ended in controversial circumstances less than a year ago, is now a member of the local board.Haynes’ place on the WICB is taken by long-standing BCA board member Conde Riley. In a six-man poll to elect two WICB directors at the BCA’s fourth special meeting of members at Sherbourne Conference Centre last night, Riley received 73 votes to join president Tony Marshall, who polled 89 votes, on the WICB.Haynes, elected last year as the BCA first vice-president and a WICB director, got 51 votes. The other candidates were Joel Garner (47), Orson Simpson (34) and Hartley Reid (13). Craig’s election to the BCA board in place of Calvin Hope follows his departure as chief executive officer after his contract was not renewed last October.”I believe we all have to be adults. Adults can put professional and personal differences aside and focus on what is important, which is making sure that Barbados cricket is strong again,” Craig told . “I don’t see disparity between having been CEO of the BCA and now taking up a position on the board. As a matter of fact, it gives some advantages because I know the inner workings of the operation.”In a six-man battle to elect four BCA board members, Riley polled 89 votes, while Craig received 88. Riley, a BCA board member since 1996, surprised some observers with his election as a WICB director. “After the vote for the BCA board, I felt pretty confident. It said to me that the members recoginsed the work I had done before, especially with the lottery when I was the first chairman,” Riley said. “I’ve really worked hard for Barbados’ cricket and the members believe I can contribute to West Indies cricket. In terms of being a director, one of the first things I’d like to see happen is for the contracts dispute sorted out. There is a lot of revenue coming from the World Cup next year and I hope that some of that money could be used to sort this problem out.”The others elected to the board were Wendell Kellman (79) and Anthea Ishmael (67). The unsuccessful candidates were Clyde Griffith (65) and Calvin Hope (58). Vernon Williams and Donna Symmonds were elected to represent the BCA at the annual general meeting of the WICB for the second successive year. Just over 150 BCA members attended the meeting.

New Zealand’s connection with first grade cricket in Sydney was apparent again on Saturday.Last week former Central Districts batsman Joseph Hill, who is now living permanently in Sydney scored 123 not out for his Randwick side. However, he wasn’t so fortunate on Saturday as he was out for a duck while Australian international Simon Katich scored 177 against Mosman. Randwick Petersham declared at 428/6 and Mosman were 14/0 at stumps.Hill hasn’t given up returning to New Zealand to have another shot at breaking into the first-class scene but for the moment is taking his chance in Australia.Otago’s Brendon McCullum is also playing in the competition until October 31 and made his mark yesterday for the UTS-Balmain side by taking five catches as Fairfield-Liverpool were dismissed for 208 with UTS-Balmain 76/1 at stumps.The Northern Districts connection saw Scott Styris make 37 in Gordon’s total of 216 while Daryl Tuffey took four for 60 for Sutherland who were 132.1 at stumps with Styris having none for 18 off five overs.James Marshall scored 40 for Eastern Suburbs in their total of 123 while Hawkesbury were 136/4 at stumps.Bruce Martin had a tough time at the bowling crease as Penrith scored 305 against Manly-Warringah. Martin sent down 24 overs for one for 105.

Chris Martin and Michael Papps are among 20 players who have been offered contracts for the next 12 months by New Zealand Cricket. Hamish Marshall is on the list as well, but Andre Adams, Robbie Hart and Matt Horne, who had all won contracts last year, have been omitted this time.The three new inclusions have all been rewarded for displaying superb form last season. Martin was easily the pick of the bowlers in the Test series against South Africa. Making a comeback into the side on the basis of strong performances in domestic matches, he ripped through the South Africans, taking 11 wickets at Auckland to fashion a memorable win, and then took seven more at Wellington. Papps had a disappointing Test series, but shone in the one-dayers, scoring two half-centuries in five games. Marshall made his ODI debut in Pakistan last year as part of an under-strength New Zealand team, and impressed with his consistency, notching up five fifties and a hundred in 16 matches.New Zealand’s next assignment is a tour to England, where they will play three Tests and a triangular one-day tournament, also involving West Indies.The contracted players
Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Stephen Fleming, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent, Paul Wiseman.

Pakistan’s performance must rank as the most disappointing in theirWorld Cup history. They have been beaten by Australia, England, andnow India this time around. And all that remains is a game againstZimbabwe, which Pakistan will have to win by an almost impossibly highmargin to sneak into the Super Sixes. In the circumstances, Pakistanneed a miracle.While all the other teams have improved as the tournament hasprogressed, Pakistan is one team that has refused to do so. Time hasrun out on these players, and if they don’t put up an extraordinaryperformance against Zimbabwe, they might be in for a few shocks whenthey return home.I must say that it is every cricketer’s dream to play in the WorldCup, because it is the one big opportunity you get to prove yourselfagainst the very best in the world. It is an opportunity that a playerjust can’t allow to pass by. I was privileged enough to participate insix World Cups in my career, and I know the fire, passion and pridewith which we all competed in each one of them.Let us face it – we lost to a better team at Centurion. It didn’treally matter who the opponent was, all the media-hype about playingIndia in a crucial game should not have had any influence on both theteams. Remember, these guys are professionals.What baffled me most about the Pakistan side for the match and duringthe rest of the World Cup is the fact that too many players seem to bein the side purely on the basis of reputation. The batting, for itspart, looked mediocre for the best part against India. They huffed andpuffed till they reached 200 against an Indian attack that was nowherenear the best in the World.Saleem Elahi should not have been dropped from the side; he averageswell above 50 in his last 10 appearances for Pakistan. Having saidthat, I don’t have words to describe what Inzamam-ul-Haq has beengoing through. By the looks of it, in his current form, Inzi won’teven score against a local club side. His terrible run out was thelast thing Pakistan wanted.I do not intend to pick on individuals, but then, what was ShahidAfridi doing in the side? And that too at the cost of Saqlain Mushtaq!This meant that when Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag weresmashing the bowling to all parts of the park, Waqar just didn’t havea bowler who could slow it down.I must say that Tendulkar made full use of Pakistan’s obviousstrength. The faster Shoaib bowled at him, the more powerful his shotswere. Wouldn’t Pakistan have loved to have someone who could play withhalf the passion that Sachin played with at Centurion?If the players lack the passion for the game and the hunger to go fora win, there is very little anyone can do. It was again clear thatthere seemed to be no game plan, no thinking in the middle; onceTendulkar smashed 18 runs off the second over, I saw a few heads drop.No, this is not the Pakistan team I have known.At that stage, Pakistan sorely missed Rashid Latif, who was injuredwhile batting. In the afternoon, it was Latif’s late charge thathelped Pakistan go past the 250-run mark. When the bowlers weregetting clattered around, he would have been one man who would havebeen capable of lifting the morale of the side with his enthusiasticpresence.Before I end, let me say that even with a professional coach and thenumerous experienced stars in the side, if the team can’t get thebasic things right, then it is time for major changes in the setup.Bulawayo offers this Pakistan team their last chance to redeem lostpride. They will be up against the likes of the Flower brothers, AndyBlignaut and Heath Streak. Andy Flower, in particular, will be keyedup to play one last memorable knock in what might in all possibilitybe his last hurrah as an international cricketer. The rest of the hometeam players too will be right behind the legendary Zimbabweancricketer. It is certainly going to be a battle of passion and prideat Bulawayo, and I have a feeling that Zimbabwe will beat Pakistan,and enter the Super Sixes.

Having made a hash of the Pakistan A tour the Sri Lankan national selectorshave surpassed expectations with their Coca Cola Cup squad, showing thevision to accept the management’s argument that the balance of the side muststart to reflect requirements for the 2003 World Cup.During the next ten months Sri Lanka will participate in four triangulartournaments, two in Sri Lanka and two in Sharjah. They will therefore playat least 21 one-day matches on pitches traditionally conducive to Sri Lanka’s medley of spinners.They could continue as before and would stand an excellent chance of winningall four tournaments. Sri Lanka have developed a one-day system in the subcontinent, based upon two fast bowlers and three spinners, that is wellunderstood, slickly implemented and successful.Unfortunately it’s a system that won’t work in South Africa, a fact provedonly too clearly on Sri Lanka’s last tour, when they were hammered five-one.With the exception of Muttiah Muralitharan and perhaps Jayasuriya, with hislow-armed darts, the Sri Lankan spinners will not repeat their runthrottling heroics of the 1996 World Cup there.The fast bowlers, however, will be able to exploit the extra pace and bounceof the hard South African wickets and a change in the regulations that willhave a far reaching impact on the game, namely the introduction of onebouncer per over from September.One-day batsmen will no longer be able to lurch onto the front foot inconfident anticipation of another length ball. They can expect far moreballs around chest height and the odd few around their ear holes. Thependulum, so far in favour of the batsman in recent times, will swing backtowards the bowlers and the fast men will be the great beneficiaries.The future plight of the humble spinner cannot be compared to that of thedinosaurs or dodo, but it is going to become harder trade to ply. Asia’sspinners should form a pressure group and start campaigning for the WorldCup’s return to the sub-continent.With the World Cup likely to be dominated by seam then it is obviously wiseto experiment now, even if conditions in Sharjah and Sri Lanka don’t demandit. With four fast bowlers likely to play, rather then the normal two orthree, the players need to get used to a different style of cricket, tobowling changes at different times and less familiar fielding positions.No one has to adjust more of course than the fast bowlers themselves, whohave become quite accustomed to a short burst at the start, followed by anafternoon’s grazing in the deep. Now, they must become experts in both themiddle and later parts of the innings.Dav Whatmore has made it clear that these fast bowlers must also be able toscore runs too: “To be successful in South Africa we need to haveconsiderable fast bowling resources and some of those bowlers must be ableto bat. You only have to look at the success achieved South Africa torealise that conditions there are well suited these types of players.”This being the case the selectors are going to have to find two fast bowlingall rounders, who can change the match with both bat and ball. The searchwill not be easy. There is a talented group of bowlers emerging from RumeshRatnayake’s Fast Bowling Academy, but there are no genuine batsmen amongthem yet.The selectors though have plumped for two exciting prospects: Suresh Pereraand Dulip Liyanage. Perera has the charisma and sparkle; Liyanage is thework horse – steady and determined. Both are useful with the bat and couldreally stiffen up the tail. They now need a fair chance to prove that theycan do the job.Perhaps the most encouraging feature of the squad selected was that it hasshown, for the moment at least, that the selectors, coaches, and seniorplayers are all moving in the same direction and are sharing a common goal.Two weeks ago there were real fears that this wasn’t going to be the case.Even the Sports Minister has felt compelled to develop 15 ‘fast’ practicepitches at Premadasa International Stadium, which is a useful, thoughperhaps hopeful, move that is eminently more preferable to this weeksunwarranted meddling in selectionIt’s now a question of resolve. Everyone must remain committed to theproject and not break ranks at the first sniff of failure. Even if thepitches are to be harder and faster than the norm, as is being reputed now,don’t expect the Waca or Wanderers. The pitches in Dambulla and Premadasawill still offer the spinners assistance and there could well be a tradeoffbetween short term success and long term glory. For the moment at leastthough Sri Lankan cricket appears to be focused on the later.