Hampshire Cricket continue their building towards the 2004 season, with the signing of the Middlesex and Durham UCCE batsman Michael Brown on a two year contract.The Burnley, Lancashire born 24 year old batsman has had limited opportunities at Middlesex, playing just one first class match for the London county in the 2003 season, scoring 98 against the touring Zimbabweans.Brown who plays club cricket in Perth, Australia during the English winter has been seen by Hampshire manager Paul Terry.”I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to pursue my first class career, here at Hampshire”, said Brown. “I am very much looking forward to the challenge, and am impressed with the club and all involved with it, and hope to make a good contribution to their success.”

Studying cricket at secondary school? It sounds a sixth form cricket player’s delight. But that is what is on offer at Auckland school St Kentigern College next year.It is the first time players who are looking at a career in cricket will be able to undertake a New Zealand Qualifications Authority approved course of study in cricket at school, before taking their credits on to tertiary levels. International umpire Doug Cowie is a director of the Frontline (New Zealand) St Kentigern College-based venture while the coaching director is Roy Goodyear, a former first-class coach from Zimbabwe and Natal who is coaching at the school.The course, which opened for applications today, will not be restricted to New Zealand pupils only. Students from international cricket-playing countries will also be accepted. “The unique course will be personalised for those who wish to take advantage of top-level coaching, specialist sport science lessons and the high quality educational environment of Saint Kentigern College,” Cowie said.The school is the only New Zealand college allowed to offer the Level 3 course, Certificate in Cricket. “This is an ideal combination for those who want an early start to a professional cricket career whilst maintaining academic options for school and tertiary study,” Cowie said.Students who take up the course will have a daily mix of four hours classroom schooling and four hours of technical and tactical coaching in a secure cricket focused environment.”The full course can take two years – however one year options are also arranged. Ongoing opportunities are in place for Frontline (NZ) Academy graduates to secure tertiary study places in Sports Diploma and Degree courses at UNITEC,” said Peter Langsford who began the successful Tennis and Golf Academies two years ago. “We take over 50 boys and girls into the Academy from many different countries where tennis and golf are now serious career options for young players with talent and potential.””Cricket seems a natural extension as first-class facilities are developing at Saint Kentigern College. This year we opened an indoor practice net, there is an extensive gymnasium, both grass and artificial practice and playing pitches, and good relationships with nearby cricket clubs at Howick-Pakuranga and University-St.Heliers.”To celebrate the opening of the Academy, a match will be held on Sunday and Monday between the Auckland Aces squad and the Saint Kentigern College XI. The Mark Richardson Trophy will be presented – Mark is an ex-pupil and New Zealand Test opening batsman.Local and international cricketers have pledged support and involvement in the Academy programme. These include: Auckland coach, Mark O’Donnell; Aces captain Brooke Walker, Mark Richardson and Matt Horne. Future plans include access and reciprocal exchanges with Academies throughout the cricket world to prepare for a truly international career.Other unique aspects include – specialist physical training from NZ Sports Academy coach Kerry Hill; video analysis, mentoring for personal development based on research from the New Zealand Centre for Notational Analysis, and mental skill and practice approaches from Lewis McGill.International agents are being appointed to select and recruit students for the academy in cricket nations throughout the world. Asoka de Silva is taking enrolments in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh while others are in the process of taking up agency contracts.

The International Cricket Council’s flying squad, the Anti-Corruption Unit, has investigated the floodlight failure on the third day of the first Test between Bangladesh and England at Dhaka last month.The blackout occurred at the end of the third day’s play at a time when Bangladesh had just begun their first innings and were facing a hostile opening spell from Stephen Harmison. The investigation was prompted by questions as to why the power failure only affected the floodlights and not any other electrical supply on the ground. It was that which made the official Bangladesh Cricket Board explanation that there had been “a grid failure somewhere down the line” fodder for the conspiracy theorists.But reports in the newspapers indicate that the ACU enquiries produced little of substance, with the Daily Telegraph quoting an “insider” as saying that “the more questions the ACU asked, the more different answers they got”. The explanation could be far simpler – power supplies in Dhaka are notoriously unreliable and power cuts a far from rare occurrence.While it is extremely unlikely that the ACU will unearth anything concrete, it will be looking closely at the ODI series, where the second and third matches are day-nighters. The local power companies have been contacted and assurances obtained that there will be no repeat of the scenes at Dhaka.

Rahul Dravid on the mighty Australians
They are the number one side and therein lies the opportunity for us. Wehave a chance to show we can compete, there’s no point getting overawed.They are a tough side and if you are going to match them over a courseof four-Test series, then you have got to have belief and confidence andfight through tough times. There would be tough days on the tour.Hopefully, we could keep our chin up and keep fighting right through thetour. I don’t see it as a last frontier. Indeed, we have a lot offrontiers to cross. We have a lot of challenges to meet and we see thistour as one of those challenges. It’s no different than any other tour.()Shane Warne has a go at Ganguly even before the Tests have started
Short-pitched bowling is his major weakness … I’m not surprised he isalready struggling on the tour. He will have to overcome a lot of chinmusic to have a successful series. The first Test will be on a bouncyGabba strip and Tugga (Steve Waugh) will have slips and gullieseverywhere, because all of Ganguly’s shots go through point or behindthe wicket. Ganguly needs to show his team that no matter how hard it isagainst the short ball, you must hang in there and have a plan – eitherduck, hook or sway out of the way.” ()John Wright backs Virender Sehwag to deliver the goods
We back Sehwag and respect his enormous ability. He is very strong andbright. The way he plays his game on fast and true pitches, he couldgive us a rousing start. We still rate him well but he obviously needsto find better form. Opening is a critical part of our success overseas.We hope we can improve in that area. If we can get through the firstperiod, the middle order would have a chance. It is hugely important tous.()Justin Langer wants to demoralise India
I’d really like to see the first over of the World Cup final. ZaheerKhan came out all pumped up and aggressive but within an over themomentum of the game had turned. Good body language and positive cricketis the key to winning any cricket match. Hopefully we’ll get apsychological advantage when India walks in here and sees that grass onthe wicket. It’s something they’re not used to. ()Ian Chappell thinks India have erred in not selecting Murali Kartik
Bowling Australia out cheaply could have been a more achievable ambitionif the selectors had included left-arm orthodox spinner Murali Kartik.Not only is he a talented flight bowler, he also has a big heart andloves to compete. As a competitor he has the makings of another AnilKumble but he suffers because either Sourav Ganguly doesn’t rate leftarm orthodox spinners or he doesn’t understand their worth.()Richard Hadlee tells the Indians not to expect miracles from BruceReid, their new bowling coach
Reid cannot do miracles with the Indian team which does not have a verygood bowling strength. He can only work with whatever talent isavailable at his disposal. The only way the visitors can beat theAussies during their Test series is by slowing down the Australian runrate and then improving upon it. The Australians try to score 350 to 400runs per day so that by the third day of the Test match they will beready for the killer punch. So the important thing for the Indians is toslow them down and make them earn every run. India’s batting line-up ispretty good. So when batting, they should try to score runs quickly toget the psychological advantage over the Aussies. The Indians shouldthink positively from the word go as the Aussies will make things toughfor the visitors and if the Indians fail to take up the challenge thenthey will be beaten. ()Rod Marsh talks up Ricky Ponting
He can go as far as he wants to go because he has got the talent.Sometimes very specially talented cricketers never reach their fullpotential, but what they do is often good enough to make themoutstanding players. At his best, if he did reach his full potential,there is no reason why he couldn’t be like Bradman or Tendulkar andthose sorts of people. ()Allan Border tells India to be positive, really positive
Spinners traditionally don’t play a huge role in Brisbane but as ShaneWarne has shown in the past, you could do your stuff on the fourth andfifth day. For that to happen, the Indians will need to take theAustralians on to the final day, something a lot of visiting sideshaven’t done recently. They could do it if they play near to theirpotential as Australians are not used to being stretched. If thathappens, spin bowlers could be decisive.I think the Indians should look to take their four best bowlers in thegame. If two of their best four are spinners, then so be it. They couldalso show themselves positive and aggressive by having five bowlerssince Australians tend to rattle up a huge score and then put theopposition under pressure.()

South Africa have named a 14-member squad for Under-19 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh.”We are confident that this is an opportunity for us to showcase the talents of our players,” Gerald Majola, head of the South African cricket board, said. “I trust the cricketers will use this tournament as the springboard from junior to senior cricket. This could be the beginning of a career in which the sky is the limit for the committed.”South Africa have been placed alongside England, Nepal and Uganda in Group B. The finals of the tournament will be held on March 6.South Africa under-19 squad 1 Divan van Wyk (capt), 2 Vernon Philander, 3 Keagan Africa, 4 Craig Alexander, 5 Andrew Birch, 6 Jaco Booysen, 7 Clint Bowyer, 8 Francis Nkuna, 9 Vincenzo Pennazza, 10 Waylain September, 11 Mpumelelo Silwana, 12 Godfrey Stevens, 13 Roelof van der Merwe, 14 Vaughn van Jaarsveld
Shaheed Khan (manager), Russell Domingo (coach), Lawrence Mahatlane (assistant coach), Brandon Jackson (physiotherapist), Anton Ferreira (technical advisor)

India have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate in their last one-day international against Australia by Clive Lloyd, the match referee.The ICC’s Code of Conduct states that each player will be fined 5% of his match fee for each of the first five overs that the side is behind the required rate, while a figure of 10% applies to the captain. Since India were three overs behind, the players were fined 15%, and Sourav Ganguly, 30%.Ganguly was also charged with a level two offence, described as “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game, on the basis of time wasting”. For this, Ganguly was fined an additional 50% of his match fee.

Scorecard

A superb hundred from Karen Rolton, a devastating spell of fast bowling from Cathryn Fitzpatrick, and a tremendous allround display from Kris Britt inspired Australia to a comfortable 78-run victory over New Zealand in the first of six one-day internationals at Eden Park in Auckland. Having made 4 for 225 from their 50 overs, Australia then bowled out New Zealand for only 147.Fitzpatrick, considered by most to be the world’s fastest female bowler, made the early inroads, and finished with 4 for 11 from eight overs. Britt, a legspinner, then drove home the advantage by dismissing both Haidee Tiffin and Aimee Mason. Tiffin top-scored with 39, and Mason made 26, while Maia Lewis, the captain, was run out for 33.Britt had earlier made an impact with the bat as well, slamming 34 from only 28 balls as Australia finished strongly. Melanie Jones contributed a steady 36, but the undisputed star was Rolton, who made 102 off 133 balls, with 11 fours. Coming to the crease at the fall of Lisa Sthalekar’s wicket (17 for 1), she was unconquered at the end as Australia finished with a total that was well beyond New Zealand.It was Rolton’s fifth one-day hundred, and her third against New Zealand.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to initiate legal proceedings against Rashid Latif for alleging that the fourth one-dayer was fixed. The Indian Express also reported that a request had been made to prevent Latif from issuing such statements. Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the cricket board, said, “We feel Latif’s assertions were baseless and unpatriotic, so we have decided to take legal action against him.”But Latif, who had first brought matchfixing to light, said that he was ready for a battle in court. “I am ready to face any legal action, I have done so in the past and since I believe that there was wrongdoing, I am ready to face legal action. I have some basis to form such allegations, and I have met the [ICC’s] Anti-Corruption Unit people in a hotel in Karachi and have shared my basis with them.”Latif met with Martin Hawks and Alan Peacock, both anti-corruption investigators, a day after the fourth ODI.* * *Javed Miandad is unsurprised by the allegations of matchfixing, and says that a Pakistan loss always provokes a whispering campaign, according to Press Trust of India. “I am not surprised that we have some people again questioning the commitment of the players and starting a whispering campaign about the match being fixed. It happens every time we lose. Why don’t people say anything when we are winning matches?”Miandad attributed loose bowling to the defeats, but believed that Pakistan could still win if the bowlers tightened up their game. “I think it is time they [the bowlers] sorted out this problem with their individual hard work. I can only work for hours with them and tell them why they are overstepping or bowling wides. I have done my best. Now they have to stand up and take responsibility. These extra runs and overs are costing us heavily. But I am confident that if we control this problem of gifting runs through extras, we can beat them despite their strong batting line-up.”* * *Rahul Dravid played down India’s underwhelming record in crunch matches, and spoke about a good run against Pakistan in pressure games instead. The Times of India quoted Dravid as saying, “It is true that we have not done so well in finals, but it is mainly against Australia. We had not played to our full potential in the past and we are aware of it. If we play to our full potential, the result will take care of itself.”He emphasised the importance of positive thinking, and said, “We have not done well against Australia in the finals, but we probably have better results against Pakistan. We have to go into the match with a positive frame of mind.”

Hampshire continued their preparations for the start of the 2004 season with the visit of Warwickshire to the Rose Bowl today.In between the showers, Hampshire batted first in a 50 overs match, played under championship conditions.The heroes of the truncated match the previous day at Hove, Derek Kenway and Michael Brown both made starts, but fell in quick succession. James Hamblin was then bowled without scoring.Will Kendall and Lawrence Prittipaul restored the innings as both achieved half centuries. Kendall finished on 57 not out, hitting 10 fours, and Prittipaul 7 fours in his 59 not out. Hampshire’s innings closed on 158 for 3 after their allotted 50 overs.Alan Mullally dismissed Mark Wagh with the score on 10, but Nick Knight and Ian Bell held on till the close. Knight a patient innings of 29, and Bell a more belligerent 63 not out. At the close Warwickshire were 106 for 1 after 33 overs.The practise continues on Thursday with Warwickshire, with the captains deciding the format of the contest in the morning.

In an attempt to globalise the game, the International Cricket Council has announced that it plans to expand the game to 100 countries by the end of 2005. Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, was speaking at the two-day seminar organised by the Asian Cricket Council at Lahore where the issue of expansion was high on the agenda.The ICC has currently enrolled 89 countries, which includes ten full members, 27 associate members and 52 affiliate members. Mani added, “As well as increasing the number of playing countries, the ICC is targeting an improvement in the playing standards of its associate and affiliate members.”Commenting on Bangladesh struggling to put up a fight at the Test level, Mani said, “The ICC has been working very closely with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the ACC to assist in the high performance development of the game in Bangladesh.”Mani also spoke about how the ICC had helped Kenya with their efforts to improve. “Kenya wants to play more one-day internationals and we have allocated an extra half-a-million dollars to them to further improve the quality of their game.”