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Dale Benkenstein dominated this top of the table clash. KwaZulu-Natal, sent in to bat, stumbled to 48 for 4 halfway through the opening session, but lost just one more wicket in the day as Benkenstein shared successive century partnerships with first Jon Kent then the veteran Lance Klusener.Charl Willoughby justified Ackerman’s decision to field first as he struck with his sixth ball, having Ahmed Amla caught in the slips. He caught the big fish soon afterwards, bowling Jonty Rhodes and when Dawson had the promising Hashim Amla caught behind, the visitors were teetering on 29 for 3. Worse came when Telemachus had Doug Watson out hooking, but that was the limit of the home team’s success.From there, Kent and Benkenstein calmly set about rebuilding the innings with a partnership of 157 in 3 and a half hours, wresting the initiative from the home side as the teeth were gradually drawn from the attack. Apart from the odd play and miss, the batsmen continued comfortably and it came as a surprise when Kent drove a Willoughby delivery to extra cover.Klusener then played a restrained innings, but still hit the ball firmly and included nine boundaries in his 50, reached shortly before close of play. KZN passed the 300 mark in the 99th over, and finished with 4.12 batting bonus points to WP’s two for bowling, and remained firmly at the top of the Super Six log.

When will the woes concerning the opening batting in Indiancricket end? Every now and then comes a batsman who displays allthe qualities required for a good opening bat – courage,technique, temperament, skill – and the Indian cricket fan heavesa sigh of relief believing that the crisis is past. But thensooner rather than later, the same player comes a cropper, goesthrough a string of failures, is dropped and the search startsall over again.Indian cricket has been beset with many a perennial problem -the lack of medium-pacers, sub-standard fielding, question marksover who is going to be the next wicketkeeper, an abysmal recordoverseas etc. But there is little doubt that the most vexatiousproblem has been the one posed at the top of the batting order.

It would be tempting to trace the lack of a properly equippedopening batsman to the retirement of Sunil Gavaskar, 15 yearsago. In 106 Tests since the peerless technician called it a day,Indian opening pairs have registered just 13 three-figure stands.The long-standing problem is perhaps fitting, keeping in mind thesupreme irony of Indian cricket. The best start ever in Testcricket stands in the names of two Indians – Vinoo Mankad andPankaj Roy and their famous 413-run partnership against NewZealand at Madras that is yet to be broken, 46 years and some1200 Test matches later. And the worst-ever start in Test cricketalso stands in the name of India who lost their first fourwickets without a run on the board against England at Leeds in1952.While Gavaskar formed successful opening partnerships with ChetanChauhan and Anshuman Gaekwad, he and Krish Srikkanth, in theirown diverse ways, proved to be an unexpectedly durable pair. WhenGavaskar called it a day, Srikkanth suddenly found himself thesenior player while pairing with Arun Lal.Not long after they came together, however, Srikkanth’s fabledeyesight and reflexes began to fade, symbolised by his fallingaverage which stood at 33.88 in 1989 but fell to 29.88 by thetime he played his last Test three years later. Arun Lal, despitedisplaying courage and determination, never really inspiredconfidence against top-class fast bowling as illustrated by hiscareer average of 26.03, and by 1990 it was obvious that he hadplayed his last Test.Navjot Singh Sidhu, by his deeds in the West Indies in 1989, andRavi Shastri, no stranger to the opening slot, then seemed to bethe best bet for a durable opening pair. But though they did wellindividually they never really got going as a pair despite manyopportunities.Shastri’s obdurate qualities saw him get a double century againstAustralia in 1991-92 but a year later his career was over. As apure stopgap measure, Manoj Prabhakar was pushed to the openingslot. The latter’s tenacious qualities and fighting spirit sawhim make a fairly successful job of it. He was good enough totake a Test century off the West Indian pace attack at Mohali in1994-95.

Prabhakar and Sidhu formed an unexpectedly successful pair. Theyhad a stand of 109 against England in 1992-93 and also sharedsuccessive partnerships of 171 and 86 against Sri Lanka, the nextseason. Besides, Prabhakar also figured in century opening standswith Woorkheri Raman against New Zealand in 1990 and with AjayJadeja against the same opponents five years later.Just as Indian cricket seemed to have acquired a reliable openingpair after a long time, the problems started all over again. By1996, Prabhakar’s career had come to a sudden end following anindifferent World Cup. Then in England later that year, cameSidhu’s sensational decision to return midway through the tourand without playing a single Test following serious differenceswith the captain Azharuddin.The double blow re-opened the question mark over the opening slotand created havoc. Numerous combinations were tried out in quicksuccession – sometimes there were two different pairs in the sameTest – but nothing seemed to work. In desperation, Rahul Dravidwas pushed to open the innings and even wicketkeeper Nayan Mongiawas tried out.Others who donned the role of opening batsmen, though not verysuccessfully, during this period included Sanjay Manjrekar,Jadeja, Raman, Vikram Rathore and Venkatsai Laxman. But everycombination proved to be a sitting duck for the opposition.The return of Sidhu for the tour of West Indies in 1997 solvedthe problem partly in that he again showed why he was the bestopening batsman in the post-Gavaskar period. But the search for areliable opener who could partner him still continued.Mongia figured in a couple of century opening partnerships withhim during the 1997-98 season but this was a move designed topush an extra batsman into the team; it was never really asatisfactory or long-term arrangement. Sidhu and Laxman tooshared a 191-run partnership against Australia the same seasonbut even at this time it was clear that Laxman was happier downthe order.As Sidhu played his last Test in 1999 after figuring in fivecentury opening stands with three different partners, a tallleft-hander from Chennai, Sadagoppan Ramesh was presented as thenext big hope. Again, Ramesh seemed to have the qualities neededto succeed at this specialised position even though he attractedmuch adverse comment, with the purists faulting his footwork andtechnique.That did not stop Ramesh from figuring in five three-figureopening stands with three different partners over the next threeyears. Late last year, however, questions were raised about histemperament and with his state association not backing him, hefell out of favour with the national selection committee. In themeantime, Laxman had taken his rightful place in the middleorder.All too briefly, Bengal’s Devang Gandhi flickered on the horizon.He figured in two successive century opening partnerships withRamesh against New Zealand in 1999-2000 but proved to be easymeat for McGrath and company in Australia later that season.With Mongia not being considered, there occurred the mostdesperate action of fielding MSK Prasad as an opening batsman inAustralia. Prasad vs McGrath was potentially one of the mostlopsided individual contests in world cricket and notunexpectedly, the tall Australian spearhead dismissed the Indianwicketkeeper twice for single digits in the third Test.In the new millennium, the search commenced all over again. Thediscovery this time was Mumbai’s technically-correct Wasim Jafferwho had a tough baptism against Donald, Pollock and Hayward. Andastonishingly, the experiment with a reluctant Dravid continuedwith little success.At the start of the 2000-2001 season, the selectors then turnedto Shiv Sundar Das. The diminutive batsman from Orissa at lastseemed to be the answer to our prayers. He seemed to have all thequalities required to succeed at the job and in quick successionfigured in two three-figure partnerships with Ramesh.

Even as Ramesh fell out of favour, Das continued to prosper andwas in the process of challenging Sidhu as the country’s finestopening batsman in the post-Gavaskar era when he suddenly lookedout of sorts in the just concluded series against the WestIndies. This was a pity, for a recalled Jaffer seemed to havetightened up his technique and had a fairly successful outing inthe Caribbean.Too much should not be read into the brief experiment with DeepDasgupta despite the Bengal wicketkeeper getting a Test hundredand figuring in a century partnership with Das. The need of thehour is two specialised opening batsmen and unfortunately thesearch still continues. Will the England tour provide an answerat last?

CANTERBURY, England – Steve Waugh wants to rediscover the beauty ofcricket.The Australian Test captain admits the magic of the game which capturedhim as a boy is sometimes lost amid the money and pressure of modern dayprofessionalism, especially when things aren’t going your way.And things didn’t go all his way last year.Although Australia had resounding series wins over South Africafollowing a lucky escape against New Zealand, Waugh had a rare barrenpatch of form, was dropped from the one day team and was also underpressure off the field.He arrived in Canterbury yesterday for a 21-day stint with Englishcounty side Kent in a bid to find form before Australia’s series againstPakistan and England and rekindle his passion for the game.”I just want to get out there and enjoy my cricket. Last year wasn’t asenjoyable as I would have liked compared to the previous 16 years,” hesaid.”This year my goal is to enjoy my cricket, see the beauty of the gameand see the little things that when you played the game when you weresix or seven years old in the backyard were why you loved the game.”Sometimes that can be lost in the professionalism of the game and themoney and the pressure.”Waugh said his disillusionment last summer was the result of severalfactors.He scored a poor 314 runs from nine Tests at an average of 24.15 after adeep vein thrombosis developed on his return from the Ashes series inEngland opened his domestic summer under a cloud which did not lift.And as his form suffered, the Australian press started to question hisposition.”There are always issues which not everyone’s aware of, it was adifficult time in some ways,” he said.”I felt the media changed a little bit last year in the way they dealtwith the Australian side.”I just came off the DVT. I had the baggage of the fact Justin Langerwas dropped and Michael Slater was dropped and I was a selector whichwasn’t easy. It’s always tough to drop your teammates.”And things just didn’t quite work out on the field.”It’s no excuse, but I just didn’t quite enjoy cricket as much as Icould have.”Waugh starts his campaign of rediscovery in Kent’s one day match againstLeicestershire in Canterbury on Wednesday.

The Ashes are quickly turning into a dark comedy, and one penned by a particularly cruel scriptwriter at that. Quite apart from being outclassed man-for-man, England are now facing an injury list of almost unfathomable length. Steve Waugh told the post-match press conference: “We can still lose the series.” Another joke, surely?So, if we are to believe that England will not win the Ashes, where do they go now? They will not be helped by, and will not heed, Merv Hughes’ ridiculous suggestion that Nasser Hussain should be sacked. Hussain, all things considered, had a fair Test as skipper, certainly one free from howlers. What England can do is play the rest of the series one session at a time, and try to compete.It looks as though changes will be made for Perth. Andy Caddick, who bowled so far below his potential at Adelaide that he was barely recognisable, is expected to miss out. This will give Matthew Hoggard another chance. Hoggard’s performances on tour have been disappointing. He is a fine bowler, who will quite possibly take hundreds of Test wickets, but without swing is unable to trouble hungry Australian batsmen.Caddick’s injury looks to leave a space open for either Chris Silverwood or Alex Tudor. Either would shore up England’s flimsy tail a little, but neither will give the likes of Hayden or Ponting nightmares. On balance, and despite the fact that he has not bowled a ball on tour, Silverwood is the better option. He is quick, and should at least hurry the batsmen at the WACA. If the tourists were to be brave, they could consider picking James Anderson. The young Lancastrian is genuinely quick and accurate, and has impressed at the Academy.What was ultimately frustrating was the way in which England subsided after dominating the first day. Michael Vaughan is beginning to look like a great batsman, and handled himself in typically phlegmatic fashion. He has a cover-drive straight from heaven, and is developing a hook that could be just as potent. He did not seem fazed by the verbals, and scores at a terrific rate without ever looking hurried.Vaughan’s dismissal marked the beginning of a catastrophe. There is no getting away from it: England have an awful tail. They will be exposed 95 per cent of the time by one of the best bowling attacks in the history of the game. They were rolled over with the utmost ease, and Craig White looks two places too high at seven. Without a quick fix to the problem, one solution might be to consider James Foster. He is a gutsy batsman, capable of occupying the crease. He could keep wicket, releasing a little pressure on Alec Stewart. England would be denied a bowler, but the benefit of Foster’s batting might just be worth it. Five bowlers have not been enough so far in the series, and the only way in which England can possibly put pressure on the Australians is by getting big runs on the board.Steve Harmison performed well at Adelaide, bowling accurately without sacrificing pace. He looked the most likely bowler, but will need to step up his game in Perth. England have essentially lost their entire first choice bowling attack. Rather than castigation, the squad desperately needs support. Remember that Australia have not lost a Test at home for four years, that they have whitewashed India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies in the recent past. It would be an achievement indeed if England were able to avoid joining that list. If they are able to do so considering their injuries, they should return home as heroes.

Ireland captain Heather Whelan will sit out the three-ODI series with West Indies this month as she is expecting a child. Isobel Joyce will lead the side for the first time for the series which begins on June 24 and also includes a Twenty20, with Nicki Coffey her vice captain. The former skipper Clare Shillington has also been named in the 12-player squad.West Indies had managed to hastily arrange a tour of Ireland, England and Netherlands this summer in order to keep their World Cup ambitions on track. Although they had qualified for next year’s tournament in Australia – the ultimate prize in women’s cricket – they were in danger of missing out through having not played enough games.The European nations have stepped in to help and the matches will be useful experience for Ireland, who have missed out on both the World Cup and the World Twenty20 in England. Only the teams who qualified for the World Cup got to play in Twenty20 competition, and Ireland failed in the qualifiers in South Africa earlier this year.Squad Emma Beamish, Jean Carroll (wk), Nicki Coffey, Marianne Herbert, Cecelia Joyce, Amy Kenealy, Joanne McKinley, Ciara Metcalfe, Cathy Murphy, Eimear Richardson, Melissa Scott-Hayward, Clare Shillington.

The junior selection committee is in a spot of bother as it prepares to announce the Pakistan ‘A’ team for the first four-day ‘Test’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’ starting at Faisalabad from Sunday.The selection committee headed by Zaheer Abbas have made things complicated for itself when it named 14 cricketers in a list of 27 who have either represented Pakistan in Tests or one-day internationals.The problem now facing the selectors is how to accommodate them and those budding cricketers who have earned their nod after either performing at the junior level or excelling in regional cricket academies.The selectors are considering to pick teams on match-by-match basis in an effort to accommodate maximum cricketers, thus, ignoring the principle of consistency and passing on the message that every match could be the last for any youngster.Probables:(Tests and one-day internationals): Naved Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Taufiq Umer, Imran Farhat, Salim Elahi, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Zahid, Danish Kaneria, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Hasan Raza, Qaisar Abbas, Atiq-uz-Zaman, Azhar Mahmood.(Uncapped): Kamran Sajid, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Najaf Shah, Junaid Zia, Umer Gul, Irfanuddin, Munir Ansari, Babar Naeem, Bazid Khan, Kamran Akram, Abdul Rauf, Asim Kamal, Amin-ur-Rehman.

Heavy shower stopped the proceedings of the match midway while Mohammedan Sporting were taking on Bangladesh Biman in their vital confrontation at BNS today. Since Victoria Sporting confirmed the GrameenPhone Premier League trophy this year, both Mohammedan and Biman were going all-out for the runner-up. Biman, set off for 203 to collect full points, managed to play only three deliveries off Taposh Kumar Baiso, the Mohammedan pacer, when the downpour hampered the remains of the match.Mohammedan had little luck with them for today when Minhajul Abedin lost the vital toss to Biman’s Faruk Ahmed, were asked to bat first in a slightly damp wicket that favored the pace bowlers with lateral movements. Al-Amin and Anisur Rahman, the new ball operators for Biman, camped down on the Mohammedan top order and eliminated three well-in-form front-line batsme (Ehsanul, Habibul Bashar & Steve Tikolo) with the score on 24.Vice captain Sanwar Hossain (15), when his presence was needed most, fell prey to Imran Farhat dejectedly when he tried to sweep the leggie only to become lbw. Opener Rashedul Haque and veteran Minhajul Abedin batted patiently for nearly 11 overs. An impatient Rashedul Haque (43) gifted his wicket away to Farhat again while he endeavored to lift the bowler over long-off fence, mistimed it and Anisur grabbed a spectacular catch.Minhajul put on 30 runs from 12 overs in the next wicket with slow coach Anwar Hossain, the diminutive wicket keeper, who took 43 balls to manage his 14. Faruk Ahmed set up an excellent fielding position on the off side, tempting the batsmen to play at on and forced them into error. They carried off to pick up the important wicket of Minhajul Abedin (31) thus.However, Mohammed Rafique, the left-handed all rounder, notched up a brilliant 42 off 38 balls, flogging the bowlers al around and did some renovation. He, along with another all rounder Shabbir Khan, took the score off to 196. Rafique was bowled by Khaled Mahmud in the final over and Shabbir (29) became not out till the end while Mohammedan finished with 202 for 8.The heavy shower made the ground condition quite unplayable alike yesterday, so, the game was called off.

Worcestershire Royals have gone clear at the top of the first division in the Norwich Union League with a five-wicket victory over Kent Spitfires at Canterbury.With Warwickshire Bears losing to Leicestershire Foxes it means the Royals have a four-point lead in the top division, while Gloucestershire Gladiators move to the top of the second division with victory over Middlesex Crusaders.A fine spell of bowling from both the Royals Australia-born seamers decimated the Spitfires top-order in the key match in the top division at Canterbury.Spitfires slipped to 52-5 before a brave counter-attack from Matt Walker (94) and Paul Nixon (60) saw them to a final total of 224-7. But on a good pitch, and facing Vikram Solanki, Graeme Hick and Ben Smith in fluent form, it proved an inadequate total, with the Royals coasting to victory with two overs to spare. Kent drop two places to fifth in the table.Warwickshire Bears were equal on points with the Royals before this round of games, but slipped up with a four-wicket loss against Leicestershire Foxes.Nick Knight hit a battling 86 for the Bears after struggling for form with England, but his team-mates were unable to offer much support and they were all out for 189.Phil DeFreitas followed up his 1-24 in his nine overs and run-out of the influential Ian Bell with a beautiful throw from mid-wicket, with a brisk 49 as the Foxes appeared to be galloping to victory. But the arrival of Mo Sheikh to the attack brought a mini collapse, with three wickets falling for one run.Michael Bevan isn’t a bad player to have coming in at five however, and in a left-handed partnership of 102 with Neil Burns, he saw the Foxes to victory with an unbeaten 66 and helped push them away from the relegation area.An injury ravaged Somerset Sabres attack (Caddick, Johnson, Rose, Francis, Tucker and Trego are all out, as well as skipper Jamie Cox) was put to the sword by Yorkshire Phoenix at Scarborough. Sabres were forced to re-sign ex-Yorkshire and England seamer Paul Jarvis, who celebrated his 37th birthday a couple of weeks ago and retired at the end of the 2000 season, but it did them little good.Phoenix’s batsmen posted a challenging 283-9, with Craig White’s 64 and Anthony McGrath’s 59 providing the main contributions.Poor Steffan Jones! Last week Worcestershire Royals hit him for 80 from nine overs, and it was little better today, as he conceded another 72.The Sabres never threatened in reply. Blackwell (30 in 19 balls) and Burns (49 in 40) flourished briefly, but an incisive spell from Craig White (5-19) ripped out their middle order, and they fell 135 runs short of their target. It will take a great effort if they are to avoid relegation now. Phoenix remain in secure mid-table.Elsewhere in the top division, Glamorgan Dragons travelled to Trent Bridge to play Nottinghamshire Outlaws. The match was dominated by a stand of 117 for the third wicket between David Hemp (55*) and Matthew Maynard (80* in 69 balls) as the Dragons made light of a victory target of 221, crossing the line in just the 37th over.Earlier, none of the Outlaws batsmen had managed to progress beyond 39, with Mike Kasprowicz taking 3-39. They remain deep in relegation trouble, while the Dragons, with games in hand, sustain their title dream.In the second division Mark Alleyne led the way for Gloucestershire Gladiators against Middlesex Crusaders at Southgate as his side hit a formidable 272-7. The former England all-rounder hit 93 in 83 balls, after Craig Spearman had struck a quick-fire 78, with Alex Gidman weighing in with a quick 48.An opening spell from James Averis brought three wickets when the Crusaders began their reply, with none of the batsmen able to flourish. They eventually fell short by 78 runs, with Paul Weekes unbeaten 53 receiving scant support.The Gladiators go top of the second division table, while the Crusaders are left trying to avoid the wooden spoon.Elsewhere, in what was, perhaps, the match of the day, Lancashire Lightning just sneaked home by one wicket against Derbyshire Scorpions at Blackpool.Kyle Hogg, who has just celebrated his 19th birthday and Peter Martin restricted the visitors to just 169 in their innings, thanks mainly to Steve Selwood, who hit 52 to help revive the Scorpions innings from 102-7.But when Lightning slipped to 82-6 in reply the Scorpions looked to be in pole position. David Byas stood firm with 78, however, adding 55 for the seventh wicket with Gary Yates to revive Lightning’s hopes. But when he fell with the score on 137 and Yates followed shortly afterwards, the game swung back in the Scorpions favour.Hogg helped add a further 23 in partnership with John Wood, but when he fell with three still needed, it was a breathless Stanley Park that witnessed Martin’s match-winning boundary from his first ball.Essex Eagles enjoyed a good start to their encounter with Hampshire Hawks at Southend, with Dakin and Robinson posting 48 for the first wicket. But the hosts then fell away, with Robinson and Flower falling to run outs, and Irani – just back from England duty – falling for a duck.A half-century from Aftab Habib carried them to a respectable 200, before Neil Johnson, opening for the Hawks struck a fine 83 to take his side to the verge of victory. But a late wobble saw them subside from 177-2 to 195-8, with James Middlebrook’s off-spin (4-33) proving crucial, and limiting the Hawks to just three off a last over in which they required nine.The Eagles move ahead of the Hawks in the promotion race, but with both teams enjoying a game or two in hand on their promotion rivals, they still have plenty to play for.Sussex Sharks clashed with Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Hove, with the home team desperate to lift themselves off the foot of the second division. The visitors won the toss and put the Sharks in, and though several of their batsmen made starts, none could progress beyond Chris Adams’ 41 in their final total of 185-6.The Steelbacks were progressing smoothly, but the wheels came off with the loss of four wickets with the score on 54. They struggled to come to terms with the setback and finally subsided to 147 all out, and a 38-run loss. This provided the Sharks with just the second win of their campaign, while the Steelbacks have done their promotion prospects no good at all.

LOGAN CUP RECORDS (FIRST-CLASS): MASHONALAND v MIDLANDS

RESULTS OF MATCHES PLAYED1999/2000: At Harare Sports Club; 31 March, 1 April 2000.MASHONALAND 165 and 173/8 dec.MIDLANDS 31 (A J Mackay 6/16) and 56 (A J Mackay 5/19).Mashonaland won by 251 runs.2000/01: At Kwekwe Sports Club; 30, 31 March, 1 April 2001.MASHONALAND 357/7 dec.MIDLANDS 92 (B C Strang 5/13) and 222 (T J Friend 115; E A Brandes 5/19).Mashonaland won by an innings and 43 runs.2001/02: At Harare Sports Club; 22, 23, 24 March 2002.MASHONALAND 329 (C N Evans 163) and 263/8 dec (R W Price 5/68).MIDLANDS 211 and 133.Mashonaland won by 248 runs.Total: Played: 3Won by Mashonaland 3Won by Midlands 0Drawn: 0HIGHEST TOTALSBy Mashonaland: 357/7 dec Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01By Midlands: 222 Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01LOWEST TOTALSBy Mashonaland: 165 Harare Sports Club 1999/2000By Midlands: 31 ) Harare Sports Club 1999/200056 )92 Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01HIGHEST FOURTH-INNINGS TOTALSFor Mashonaland:To win: no instancesTo lose: no instancesTo draw: no instancesFor Midlands:To win: no instancesTo lose: 133 Harare Sports Club 2001/02To draw: no instancesHIGHEST MATCH AGGREGATES936 runs/37 wkts Mashonaland (329 and 263/8 dec) beat Midlands(211 and 133) by 248 runs, at Harare Sports Club 2001/02(Midlands batted one man short in the second innings)LOWEST COMPLETED MATCH AGGREGATES425 runs/38 wkts Mashonaland (165 and 173/8 dec) beat Midlands(31 and 56) by 251 runs, at Harare Sports Club 1999/2000LARGEST MARGINS OF VICTORYFor Mashonaland:innings and 43 runs Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01251 runs Harare Sports Club 1999/2000248 runs Harare Sports Club 2001/02For Midlands:no instancesBATTING RECORDSCENTURIES163 C N Evans (Mash) Harare Sports Club 2001/02115 T J Friend (Mid) Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01200 RUNS IN MATCHES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMSCareer M I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50C N Evans (Mash) 1999/00-2001/02 3 5 1 325 163 81.25 1 1Best by Midlands: 147 (av. 73.50), by T J Friend4 OR MORE SIXES IN AN INNINGS7 C N Evans (163) for Mashonaland, at Harare Sports Club 2001/024 G W Flower (83) for Mashonaland, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/0115 OR MORE BOUNDARIES IN AN INNINGS26 (19×4, 7×6) C N Evans (163), for Mashonaland, at Harare SC 2001/0218 (17×4, 1×6) T J Friend (115), for Midlands, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01BATSMEN SCORING 50% OR MORE OF A COMPLETED INNINGS TOTALFor Mashonaland:No instancesFor Midlands:51.87% J M Cornford (69* of 133), at Harare Sports Club 2001/0251.80% T J Friend (115 of 222), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01HIGHEST SCORE IN BOTH INNINGS OF A MATCHFor Mashonaland:No instancesFor Midlands:T J Friend (32/92 and 115/222), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01HIGHEST PARTNERSHIPS (including all century partnerships)For Mashonaland:1st: 88 G J Rennie (37) and H Masakadza (85), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/012nd: 93 H Masakadza (85) and G W Flower (83), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/013rd: 30 K J Davies (45) and D J Peacock (22), at Harare Sports Club 1999/20004th: 92 B G Rogers (56) and C N Evans (163), at Harare Sports Club 2001/025th: 31 C N Evans (36) and D J R Campbell (19), at Harare Sports Club 1999/20006th: 68 C N Evans (163) and N B Mahwire (22), at Harare Sports Club 2001/027th: 106 B G Rogers (80) and D J R Campbell (61), at Harare Sports Club 2001/028th: 59* C N Evans (73*) and E A Brandes (24*), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/019th: 3 E Z Matambanadzo (0) and G du Plessis (3*), at Harare Sports Club 1999/200010th: 77 C N Evans (163) and B T Watambwa (14*), at Harare Sports Club 2001/02For Midlands:1st: 5 T Duffin (3) and L K Mutyambizi (3), at Harare Sports Club 2001/022nd: 16 M J Vaughan-Davies (7) and C A Grant (7), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/013rd: 22 L S Malloch-Brown (20) and K M Connelly (10), at Harare SC 1999/20004th: 36 S M Ervine (12) and D P Viljoen (78), at Harare Sports Club 2001/025th: 66 D P Viljoen (78) and J M Cornford (28), at Harare Sports Club 2001/026th: 108 T J Friend (115) and C Delport (44), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/017th: 68 T J Friend (115) and B M Vaughan-Davies (21), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/018th: 43 D P Viljoen (78) and C Macmillan (35), at Harare Sports Club 2001/029th: 43 J M Cornford (69*) and E C Rainsford (11), at Harare Sports Club 2001/0210th: 21 D T Hondo (29*) and C J Sanders (8), at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01BOWLING RECORDSFIVE WICKETS IN AN INNINGSFor Mashonaland:6/16 A J Mackay (6.5-2-16-6) ) Harare Sports Club 1999/20005/19 A J Mackay (10-6-19-5) )5/13 B C Strang (9-1-13-5) Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/015/19 E A Brandes (14.4-9-19-5) Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01For Midlands:5/68 R W Price (27.4-6-68-5) Harare Sports Club 2001/02TEN WICKETS IN A MATCHFor Mashonaland:11/35 (6/16 & 5/19) A J Mackay Harare Sports Club 1999/2000For Midlands:No instances. Best: 6/147 (1/79 & 5/68), by R W Price, at Harare Sports Club, 2001/02MOST OVERS IN AN INNINGSFor Mashonaland:23 (23-7-56-3) B C Strang, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01For Midlands:39 (39-10-110-2) R W Price, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01MOST OVERS IN A MATCHFor Mashonaland:32 (32-8-69-8) B C Strang, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01For Midlands:46.4 (46.4-9-147-6) R W Price, at Harare Sports Club 2001/02MOST RUNS CONCEDED IN AN INNINGSFor Mashonaland:57 (12-1-57-4) B T Watambwa, at Harare Sports Club 2001/02For Midlands:110 (39-10-110-2) R W Price, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01MOST RUNS CONCEDED IN A MATCHFor Mashonaland:101 (29.2-3-101-6) B T Watambwa, at Harare Sports Club 2001/02For Midlands:147 (46.4-9-147-6) R W Price, at Harare Sports Club 2001/02MOST MAIDEN OVERS IN AN INNINGSFor Mashonaland:9 (14.4-9-19-5) E A Brandes, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01For Midlands:10 (39-10-110-2) R W Price, at Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/0110 WICKETS IN MATCHES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMSCareer M O Mdns R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMA J Mackay (Mash) 1999/00-2001/02 3 50.5 17 154 14 11.00 6/16 2 1R W Price (Mid) 1999/00-2001/02 3 98.4 23 277 13 21.30 5/68 1 -B T Watambwa (Mash) 1999/00-2001/02 2 38.2 6 122 10 12.20 4/15 – -ALL-ROUND RECORDS50 RUNS AND 5 WICKETS IN A MATCHNo instances.100 RUNS AND 10 WICKETS IN MATCHES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMSNo instances.WICKET-KEEPING RECORDS4 OR MORE DISMISSALS IN AN INNINGSFor Mashonaland:4 (all ct) D J R Campbell, at Harare Sports Club 1999/2000For Midlands:No instances. Best 3 (all ct), by E R Marillier5 OR MORE DISMISSALS IN A MATCHFor Mashonaland:No instances. Best 4 (all ct), by D J R CampbellFor Midlands:No instances. Best 4 (all ct), by E R MarillierMOST DISMISSALS IN MATCHES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMSFor Mashonaland: 8 (all ct), by D J R Campbell, in 3 matches, 1999/2000-2001/02For Midlands: 4 (ct), by E R Marillier, in 1 match, 1999/2000FIELDING RECORDS3 OR MORE CATCHES IN AN INNINGSFor Mashonaland:3 A Flower Kwekwe Sports Club 2000/01For Midlands:No instances of more than 24 OR MORE CATCHES IN A MATCHFor Mashonaland:No instances. Best 3, by A FlowerFor Midlands:No instances. Best 3, by J M CornfordMOST CATCHES IN MATCHES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMSFor Mashonaland: 4, by C N Evans, in 3 matches, 1999/2000-2001/02For Midlands: 3, by J M Cornford, in 1 match, 2001/02MISCELLANEOUSMOST MATCHES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMSFor Mashonaland: 3, by D J R Campbell, C N Evans and A J MackayFor Midlands: 3, by R W PriceMOST CAPTAINCIESFor Mashonaland: 2, by A J MackayFor Midlands: no instances of more than 1

Captain Ricky Ponting will change his batting order for Tuesday’s final match as Australia tries to remain unbeaten in the one-day cricket series against South Africa.Ponting hinted that the likes of Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey and Shane Watson would receive an opportunity after limited batting time during the first six games.Bevan missed three matches with injury while Harvey and Watson rotated the all-rounder’s role before both playing in Saturday’s emphatic three-wicket victory in Port Elizabeth.Australian selectors will also play Queensland batsman Jimmy Maher in a match that won’t affect the series result with the tourists having built a 5-0 lead.”There are a few guys that haven’t played much on tour and hopefully they’ll get a bit of a chance to do a bit more in this game,” Ponting said.The Tasmanian insisted his players are ready for the match, even though the Australians are tired after a long summer which included nine Tests.Most of the players head home for two months’ rest on Wednesday and coach John Buchanan ensured his team would not be overdone by making training optionaltoday.”We should be right. We’ve got a lot of pride in our team performances and our own personal performances to make sure we get up for the last game,” Ponting said.”Everything we’ve done since we’ve been here is good and we don’t want to spoil it by playing a poor game to finish with.”Ponting wants a better performance by his bowlers tomorrow – something South African captain Shane Pollock also seeks after a miserable summer for the hometeam.The Proteas will again be without all-rounder Lance Klusener, who has returned to Durban for treatment on his injured hamstring.