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Australia’s confident 84-run win over West Indies has regained them the No. 1 one-day ranking from South Africa. Ricky Ponting’s team was deposed from the top spot on the ICC table after losing the CB Series final to India, but the latest victory has pushed the young team ahead.Australia had been defeated three times in a row in the format before Shaun Marsh’s 81 set up the success in St Vincent and they have another chance to show their improvements in the second match in Grenada on Friday. It was a strong start from a squad that is rebuilding after the retirements of Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg, while Matthew Hayden is back in Australia with an achilles injury.Brad Haddin, who scored a half-century in the opening win, has taken over from Gilchrist while Marsh stepped in for Hayden. Cameron White, the legspinner who went wicketless in six overs on Tuesday, and the back-up wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi are also part of the set-up in the Caribbean.”It’s a pretty formidable squad that we’ve got here with a lot of flexibility,” Ponting told AAP. “The flexibility around our group at the moment is probably as good as I’ve seen it around the Australian team.”

It looked like one of the most one-sided of one-day matches at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo when Pakistan ran up 302 for four and then removed four Zimbabwe batsmen for just 32 runs. But the Zimbabwe later batsmen resisted strongly and enabled the side to go down with honour, remarkably beaten by only six runs. It could cynically be described as a typical Zimbabwe effort: a superb fightback once the match was already lost. In the event it captured the imagination of the crowd to the end, though Pakistan always had just enough in hand.On a hot day in Bulawayo, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat on a flat pitch that promised plenty of runs for the batsmen.This match was designated as a warm-up for the World Cup, with all the elaborate security arrangements now universally required by the ICC in operation. Most Zimbabweans consider them totally ludicrous and unnecessary; Zimbabwe is still one of the safest places in the world to watch cricket and it is indeed an irony that the country should be considered by many an unsuitable World Cup venue, supposedly for security reasons.Such is Pakistan’s bowling strength that they were able to leave out both Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Sami, relying instead on the all-rounders Azhar Mahmood and Shahid Afridi. To match this, Zimbabwe lacked the services of Heath Streak, Douglas Hondo and Travis Friend, all injured. They actually chose to play three debutants in batsman Stuart Matsikenyeri, who opened with Alistair Campbell, and all-rounders Barney Rogers, a batsman who can bowl off-spin, and Richie Sims, an off-spinner who can bat and recently scored a Logan Cup double-century.Zimbabwe struck an early blow, as Taufeeq Umar, after taking a single from Andy Blignaut’s first over, faced Sean Ervine, opening the bowling in a one-day international for the first time. Taufeeq tried to turn the first ball to leg and was found plumb lbw.Stuart Matsikenyeri almost made his mark on international cricket within minutes of stepping on to the field, a direct hit almost running out Yousuf Youhana as the batsmen stole a leg-bye. After that the batsmen settled down and Ervine was probably kept on too long, conceding 41 runs in his six overs. Youhana was in masterly form, reaching his fifty off 52 balls, while Saleem Elahi followed with his off 65 balls.Richie Sims bowled quite an impressive first spell of off-spin in international cricket, but made his mark first by picking up a mistimed slash at backward point off Grant Flower to dismiss Saleem for 53. Pakistan were 127 for two.When Inzamam-ul-Haq came in the scoring rate hardly slowed, and Zimbabwe called on eight bowlers to try to halt the momentum. Yousuf batted relentlessly onward, reaching his century off 110 balls and rarely seeming hurried, apart from when he chose to assert his authority over Sims with two big sixes. He was immediately dropped at midwicket off a very hard chance to Grant Flower.For the most part the batsmen were content to work the ball around the field, scoring ones and twos almost at will. Inzamam’s fifty came off 55 balls, as Zimbabwe were unable to provide any threat, although as often Grant Flower was the most economical. Inzamam fell for 55, hitting the expensive Olonga straight down the throat of Blignaut at long-on; Pakistan were 236 for three after another century partnership.Shahid Afridi scored only 4 before holing out to long leg off Grant Flower in the latter’s last over; he conceded only 33 runs off his ten overs. Younis Khan (33 not out off 18 balls) continued the onslaught, and Pakistan finished with 302 for four wickets. Yousuf Youhana, in from the second over, took out his bat for 141 off 147 balls, with three sixes and 13 fours, his best one-day effort and a match-winning innings.Wasim Akram, short of match practice, began with two leg-side wides, and then bowled three more, together with a no-ball, before completing his 12-ball over. However in his second over he picked up the wicket of debutant Stuart Matsikenyeri (1), who was perhaps unluckily adjudged to have edged a cut to the keeper. Andy Flower walked in to delighted chants of "Andy, Andy, Andy" from the noisily enthusiastic stands of black spectators who now form the majority in Bulawayo matches.Alistair Campbell never looked comfortable, and had only 4 to his credit when he was bowled neck and crop by a ball from Waqar Younis that went right through him. As if this was not enough, Grant Flower ran himself out without scoring off a no-ball, and Zimbabwe were helping to dig their own grave at 17 for three in the fifth over.It nearly grew worse, but Barney Rogers deserved his beginner’s luck as he escaped with a miscued chip shot that somehow cleared mid-on. Rogers (13 off 16 balls) continued to look aggressive, but a fine yorker from Waqar uprooted his off stump one ball after he survived a close lbw appeal.Craig Evans, plying his first international match for three years, came in to join Andy Flower with Zimbabwe 32 for four. Struggling against the two ageing but still potent Ws, he curbed his natural instincts, not scoring his second run until his 20th ball. Andy Flower found no alternative but to accumulate, which he did steadily, as any attempt on the target now would be futile.Evans tried a few fiddly and unsuccessful little sweeps when the spinners came on before finally obeying his instincts and hitting Taufeeq straight for six, followed by a four to square leg. Flower reached his fifty off 74 balls, immediately followed by the hundred partnership, and then Evans’s fifty, off 66 balls. Sadly a fine partnership came to an inglorious end in a mix-up as Flower changed his mind over a single and Evans was run out for 68 thanks to quick work by keeper Kamran Akmal. Zimbabwe were 167 for five after a stand of 135, in the 33rd over, but Evans had certainly justified his recall.Wasim returned and immediately dismissed Andy Flower (77), skying a catch into the covers off a leading edge as he aimed a leg hit; 185 for six. Blignaut and Tatenda Taibu continued the fight, but there was a further worry for Zimbabwe as Blignaut’s leg gave him increasing problems and he required Grant Flower as a runner. His fifty came off 36 balls, but soon afterwards he skyed a catch to depart for 55. Another run-out removed Sean Ervine, like Grant Flower out without facing a ball, a rare occurrence twice in the same innings.The required run rate was slowly increasing, until 31 were needed off the final two overs. Taibu emulated Doug Marillier, strangely omitted from the one-day squad by scooping Waqar to fine leg for four, but was then bowled for 35. Olonga mowed Waqar in unlikely fashion for two fours, leaving 19 required off the last over, bowled by Wasim, with the last pair together. But Wasim is just too good a bowler, and Zimbabwe finished just six runs short with one wicket in hand – Sims had 7 and Olonga 13.Ironically, had there been penalties for the side bowling second, Zimbabwe would surely have been declared winners, as the Pakistani over rate was so abysmal that they overran their time allocation by 35 minutes.

St Cross Symondians are back in the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 driving seat after both Alton and Flamingo saw their recent unbeaten runs ended.Alton collapsed to 100 all out and a thumping nine-wicket defeat at New Milton, while Leckford wriggled from the agony of 35-6 to edge out Flamingo by two wickets in a Bakers Farm thriller.The results were music to the ears of St Cross, whose eagerly awaited visit to Rowlands Avenue began in the worst possible fashion, with openers Mark Parker and Marc Rees each removed for one.But Steve Shaw (56), Graham Barrett (30) and Stuart Charman, with an accomplished 29 not out, batted St Cross to a winning 187-9.Offie Mark Padwick caught the Ville on a real turner, his spell of 6-27 wrecking the hosts for 97.When Alton moved to the relative comfort of 48-1, there appeared no real cause for concern in the visitors dressing room at the Ashley Sports Ground.But the overnight leaders, who had suffered only one defeat in eight previous matches, totally fell apart against New Milton’s disciplined attack.Peter Anderson (3-22) and Lee Beck (3-11) brought Alton to their knees before a mature 58 not out by Steve Watts saw New Milton home.Second placed Flamingo, fresh from five straight wins, struggled to 114 all out – all ten batsmen were caught – in the saturated conditions at Bakers Farm.But, after Tim Richman (3-21) and Nick McMurray (3-30) had reduced Leckford to 35-6, the game was totally turned on its head.Classy Martyn Isherwood (58) at long last found a reliable partner in young Zimbabwean Ryan Stacey, who helped lift the reply to 80 before the pair were dismissed."Ryan has an excellent technique and batted with great maturity for someone so young and inexperienced," praised match-winner Isherwood."It just goes to show the value of running junior cricket. There’s a few like him at the club."But if Flamingo’s thought they were on a winner when both men departed at 80, they were sadly wrong.Stuart Hicks and Steve Bolshaw put bat to ball – mainly over the mid-wicket boundary – as Leckford snatched a dramatic win.The result enabled Purbrook, today’s visitors to The Holt, to move up to third spot, courtesy of a four-wicket win over Hambledon at The Heath, where the club had formally opened its magnificent new pavilion and clubhouse the previous evening.Wayne Musselwhite (5-24) had Hambledon in total disarray at 50-8, but John Burdekin’s 47, aided by Dan Wheeler (23), lifted the total to 128.Willem Prozesky (27) and Mike Hennessy (22) eased Purbrook to 55-1 before an alarming middle-order creak left Musselwhite to show his skills with the bat – and produce a decisive 22 not out.Hursley Park came badly unstuck at Hartley Wintney, where scores of 250-plus have been frequently passed this season.Hursley only managed 199-9 – a total Matt Digweed (77), Jimmy Castrisos (47) and Dave Almond (30) polished off.Havant II (196) enjoyed an easy win after dismissing Redlynch & Hale for 100, while Gosport Borough piled up 245-9 (Mark Robson 84) before skittling Portsmouth for 111, with Paul Jenkins (4-45) and Nathan Collins (3-32) doing the damage.Australian-raised Dean Oliffe did his level best for Portsmouth, taking 6-45 and making top score of 32.John Robinson celebrated the Big 40 by hitting a key 62 in Paultons’ five-wicket win over Ventnor, whose 245-9 included a sedate knock by Mark Fletcher (75) and a slightly pacier knock from Andy White (33).Paultons slipped to 30-3 against the frugal Andy Day and Neil Dodds, but the tide turned with Robinson sharing a century stand with Colin James (54).Tony Richman knows a bit about quick scoring and, with Terry Azor (21) tutoring from the opposite end, promptly smashed 63 not out off 43 balls to end the contest.

Ticket sales for the NatWest challenge match between Wales and England atSophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Monday 24th June, have been selling steadily in the last ten days and the Club is now urging any Glamorgan members who haven’t yet purchased their tickets for the game to do so before close of play this coming Friday, June 21st, in order to take advantage of the discounted price of £18.Adult tickets priced £25 will be available for cash and cheque purchases onthe day, as will junior tickets at £8, but the special Glamorgan Members’discounted tickets, priced £18, are only available up until close of business on Friday.Chief Executive Mike Fatkin said:
“We’ve been quite pleased with the way ticket sales have gone recently butwe want to make sure that as many Glamorgan members as possible takeadvantage of the discounted price, hence the reason for publicizing it now.Whilst there will be some tickets available on the day of the match itself,it was always the intention to be encouraging advance purchases as sales onthe day will be restricted to the full adult price of £25, and juniors at£8. We’ve publicized the £18 members’ subsidized price for some months nowand hopefully any Glamorgan members who haven’t yet bought their tickets forthis historic match will do so before the end of the week.”

Havant are hot favourites to retain the Southern Electric ECB Premier League title they won so convincingly last summer.They won both the 50-over and all-day ‘time’ game pennants and finished the region’s inaugural season of Premier League cricket with a commanding 44-point advantage over Calmore Sports, their nearest rivals.BAT Sports, Calmore Sports and, may be Bournemouth, look the best bets to challenge Havant’s crown.But, with Shane Gillies arrived from Perth and Mark Copping back in the fold, Havant boast an arguably stronger squad than that which won the championship last season.They had a scare when Andrew Perry dislocated his shoulder (for the fifth time) earlier in the year.”But the specialist has given him the all-clear to play again – and have his shoulder pinned later in the year,” explained Havant skipper Paul Gover.Perry’s injury, originally sustained playing rugby at St John’s College, put the Havant batsman out of last week’s handsome seven-wicket win over Hungerford.Even without Perry, Havant possessed enough firepower to douse any threat much-weakened Hungerford offered.Significantly, Havant’s three probable title challengers have all snapped up useful A-Grade imports from Australian clubs.BAT’s Dave Carson needs little introduction after displaying his run-scoring prowess for Hambledon during the past two summers.Carson, who plays alongside Test opener Michael Slater for the University of New South Wales, will not only provide BAT with a prominent number 3, but also a more than useful spin bowler.Glen Motschall, due to make a weather-delayed debut for Calmore at Burridge today, hails from the renowned Carlton club in Melbourne.A left-arm ‘quick’, the Aussie will share the new ball attack with either James Lucy or Allan Hurst, who both bowled effectively for the Loperwood Park club last season.Another Australian eager to get his hands on the new ball every Saturday is Peter Waite, who arrived at Chapel Gate through Bournemouth’s productive ‘exchange’ links with South Perth.A Champion cricketer in the past at Richardson Park (South Perth’s delightful headquarters alongside the Swan River), Waite is a prodigious swing bowler, whose link up with Devon Minor Counties paceman Paul Warren will give Bournemouth’s attack a distinct sharpness.But, while three prominent foreign nationals have arrived, the Premier League could be short on overall quality through the loss of at least eight past top performers.Players such as Andy Hooper (Andover), Martin Kellaway (Calmore Sports), Mayu Pasupati (Liphook & Ripsley), Luke Ronchi (Bashley), Roger Sillence (South Wilts), Mike Stonier (Bournemouth) and Hungerford duo Jim Ettridge and David Pryke will be hard to replace.Hungerford, beset by a exodus of first team players, could be pressed to keep their heads above water this season, as could also newly-promoted Liphook, beaten by Bournemouth last week.Pryke and Pasupati were undoubted match winners.Burridge, who escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth after winning their final match at Cove last September, look in better shape.They sprang a real opening day surprise, winning by nine wickets at Andover, where former Hursley Park batsman Dave Jackson struck a splendid 91 not out.”Obviously the win at Andover has given us a great platform from which to build,” enthused skipper Paul Ancell.”We are more of a team now – and that showed in the field. Our out-cricket was of a very high standard, as was Andover’s I should add.”Andover seemed a little lost on how to cope without the left-arm spinning skills of evergreen Andy Hooper, who ironically was playing – and getting wickets (naturally) – at London Road … for the club’s 3rd XI in Hampshire League County Division 4 !Courtesy of MV and Southern Daily Echo

Hampshire Cricket are holding an Open Day at The Hampshire Rose Bowl on Sunday 14th April at 11:00am – 4:00pm.More information will appear here shortly.

Dean Jones, former star Australian batsman, admitted to feeling more than a little strange when walking out onto his beloved Melbourne Cricket Ground last summer sporting New Zealand’s colours, a move which couldn’t help but attract some pointed barbs from local patrons.But Jones, now plying his trade in coaching and the media in his after-playing cricket life, doesn’t regret that for a moment.He points to fellow Australian players like Geoff Marsh helping Zimbabwe cricket, Trevor Chappell having worked with Bangladesh and now a consultant to Pakistan, Bobby Simpson having done cricket consultancy work all around the world, Steve Rixon having coached New Zealand and New Zealand’s John Wright now coaching India.It was just the way of the cricket world, and Jones said he had a very enjoyable three weeks with the New Zealanders, helping to change some of their attitudes to playing a team like Australia.”I had a hoot of a time,” he said when speaking with CricInfo while taking a break in a coaching programme he is working on at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre at Lincoln University, a facility that he was most impressed with when seeing it for the first time.He said the liaison with New Zealand had also reminded him of what it was like to lose.The match in question was the One-Day International with Australia in Melbourne where Michael Bevan rescued Australia from the position of 82/6 to reach 248 and take victory with three balls to spare.”It took me three days to get over that loss, and I had forgotten what it was like to lose,” he said.Jones said he had seen enough to say that New Zealand should be a certainty for the top four at the World Cup next year. After that it was anyone’s guess.It was no use spending time worrying how they could get over their eternal bugbear of the moment, beating South Africa, because they might never meet in the Cup.”Don’t fight your battles before you have to,” was his advice.New Zealand just needed to keep doing what they were doing, to keep the belief and to stick to the team plan.”New Zealand play the underdog beautifully,” Jones said. Although a cynic might say jousting for the underdog status is New Zealand’s second national sport.But one of the advantages New Zealand did have was that they parked their egos at the door and got on with the job together.”It would be nice to see Stephen Fleming get some more runs. But he is an impressive captain and his handling of the team is brilliant. He is tactically sound and his management of the boys is good.”Shane Bond has the X factor. He is a workhorse who, if you used racing talk, needs a bit of work. He is that type of player but he impressed me,” he said.Jones would like to get more involved in coaching, it is something he enjoys, but he also knows it involves a commitment just as important as when playing.Being able to relate to players was important while his belief was that a coach should work with the aim of making a player believe he could do things better.It was also important to encourage players to think on their feet and for coaches to listen to them.Another must was the fun factor.”The fun aspect has been lost a bit. You have to be able to enjoy a win, and you have to be able to get over a loss.”Celebrating a win did not mean going out and over-imbibing but it was about enjoying the feeling.Jones was concerned that it was harder nowadays to get over a loss because there was so much cricket being played that the time for reflection was minimised.He wonders also about the consequences of concentration on elite players. One of the problems that has emerged is the number of players who walk out of elite programmes and expect to walk straight into state or provincial sides, or even into international cricket, as of right.He was concerned about the emphasis on age-group cricket, especially at the Under-19 level. He was not quite so concerned about the Under-17s.But the older players needed to be exposed more to senior men players rather than to playing against their age-group peers.He highlighted the example of the spin-laden Australian team that won the ICC Under-19 World Cup this year.The spinners did well because younger players generally didn’t know how to play spin, but when they came up against more senior players the spinners were murdered.”Our spinners need to learn to bowl a bit quicker, instead of 70kph they need to be up to 75-85kph and they struggle with that,” he said.Younger players also needed patience. The Australian team at the moment had its top six batsmen who had been in their positions for the last six or seven years, and there were no new players. That was how tough it was to break in.And it might be that of the Under-19 World Cup-winning team at Lincoln this year, one may break into international cricket.”That’s a lot of money being spent for one kid to make it. You might get five good first-class players out of it, but that is the reality,” he said.Jones also felt that younger players now had to cope with an awful lot of information coming their way from the time they played Under-13 grade through to senior. They were exposed to a lot of different coaches during that time and that was tough to cope with.One way around it was to have mentors for the young players, someone for them to talk to and to help them assess the information being provided.Jones still works with a mentor in his post-playing role and said he regarded it as vital to the way he operates. A mentor needed to be someone that players could put their faith and trust in.Cricket overall was in a healthy state and there would be no easy games at the World Cup. But the extent to which preparation and innovation for such an event has changed was highlighted by Jones talking about the plans being made for the 2007 World Cup which is being played in the West Indies.Batsmen nowadays needed to be scoring more in the region of 70 runs per 100 balls. Australia was working on developing players who could throw with both arms with equal skill. That way they would have no weak side when they were fielding in the 30-metre circle.But it was no use starting to work on something like that now for next year’s World Cup, it had to be that far in advance. Attention needed to be paid to bat speed and Jones predicted there would be significant changes made to bats in the near future.Handles on bats needed to be whippier and he compared the shafts of golf clubs used by the long hitters in golf being quite whippy to what needed to happen with bats.Because many of the grounds in the West Indies were smaller, there would be a lot of fours and sixes hit in the 2007 World Cup and countries needed to be working on developing batsmen capable of achieving that sort of work load.Jones was something of an innovator himself in the one-day game and was regarded as the finest exponent of the art of running between the wickets.It wasn’t something that came naturally to him, rather it was the result of watching Pakistan’s Javed Miandad in a match against Victoria in 1983/84 in which he scored 100 runs off 72 balls, yet he hit only three fours.”He ran a lot of twos and threes and didn’t run in circles. I talked to him a bit about it afterwards and then developed it for myself,” he said.Jones normally ran 40-50kms a week during his playing career but didn’t do any specialised sprint work to hone the skill of running between the wickets. Rather he worked on the principle of getting into the crease, then getting out, while running in a straight line. It also had to be worked on with having to run with pads on and holding a bat in the hand.It was like car racing where as drivers pass certain points they know they have to brake to get around the corner up ahead.Jones established where he had to prepare, then make, the turn. It didn’t worry him that he turned blind to the ball. He became very effective at it and more than a few teams thought they had contained him to one run only to find he picked up two, or three when only two looked on.”And when you have got two people running between the wickets like that, it is much harder to stop,” he said.Two other aspects of the modern game also had Jones thinking.He wondered about the amount of cricket being played and felt that if teams were playing 12 Test matches a year they couldn’t really play 34-36 ODIs as well. And he also wondered about the standards of the support mechanisms that many countries now utilise.Yet for all his concerns, the game still retained its fascination, one that has taken him to a new level of involvement which he would like to take even further. Clearly a case of ‘Watch this space.’

The New South Wales Blues have defeated the Western Warriors in convincing fashion, securing for themselves a much-needed win and four crucial points, in the Mercantile Mutual Cup match at the North Sydney Oval today.It was very much a case of going from the ridiculous to the sublime for the Blues today. At the outset, the writing appeared to be on the wall. Michael Slater (0) was dismissed courtesy of a questionable caught behind decision within one minute of arriving at the crease. Then Brad Haddin (13) was surprised by a blistering delivery from Darren Wates (1/34 from five overs) and made his exit in the third over.But, from there, the Blues went on to score 8/302 and to completely overwhelm the top-ranked Warriors.The total was surprisingly big and no-one was more surprised than captain Shane Lee, especially when it came to tail-ender Don Nash’s (61*) incredible turn with the bat. Nash posted the second fastest fifty in the history of Australian domestic one-day cricket when he used just twenty-four balls to score a half ton, smashing three fours and five sixes in the process.”With about ten overs to go I would have been happy with 260, and I said that to the team. Then Nash played unbelievably. He’s always been able to hit the ball cleanly and some of the shots he was making out there, he’s obviously a really good striker and it was his day. I’ve never seen an innings like that before. But I hope to see a few more, especially as captain,” Lee said.In fact, Lee’s only disappointment for the day was in not doing away with the visitors in time to score the bonus point as well. Ultimately, the Western Australians averted that prospect when they scrambled up to a final total of 242.”It would have been nice to get rid of them for under 240 and get that bonus point. It may make a difference towards the end of the season, but overall I’m very happy. The boys played very well and the bowlers stuck to their job very well,” he added.Lee played a pivotal role in the victory, scoring 115 off 140 deliveries, but most importantly keeping his head when all around were losing theirs. Hanging onto a partner became a problem for him around the twenty over mark, before he was finally able to build a ninety-six run partnership with Graeme Rummans (29). Lee’s steady, but prolific, rate of scoring boosted the Blues and while they suffered a minor late blip, losing four wickets – those of Rummans, Lee, Scott Thompson (7) and Shawn Bradstreet (1) – in the space of four overs, Nash strode in and delivered an amazing finishing touch.Nash was typically low-key when discussing his attention-grabbing first one-day appearance of the year.”Shane just said to get a quick thirty so I set out to do that and it paid off. I’m definitely a tailender, I love batting,” Nash said.”It’s just a confidence thing. I’ve scored a couple of thirties (already this season) and so that really gave me the confidence.”The value of such a decisive win is in the confidence boost it gives the players, and Lee said this victory would help enormously in the vital match against Tasmania at the SCG in a fortnight’s time.”I think everyone contributed well. Brad Haddin had probably his best performance ever behind the stumps, so it’s unlikely that any changes will be made for the next game,” Lee said.”Tasmania won’t be easy, but everyone really lifted and I hope they can do it again.”For their part, all the Western Warriors could do was play defensively. They set out to chase an almost-impossible target with determination, but found their rivals too dominant. Captain Tom Moody’s departure at the end of this season to take on the position of cricket director at Worcester has given added impetus to the Warriors’ desire to secure the Cup again this summer. It is to be his last on Australian soil and also his last as a player altogether. That kind of motivation usually serves well, and Moody has done exceptionally so far, guaranteeing the Warriors a place in the Final already. But some days just aren’t as good as others.The bowling figures looked reasonable for the most part, particularly the contribution delivered by Brad Hogg (3/49 off seven overs). But it was simply the case that there was not enough support.Simon Katich (72) shaped as the Warriors’ key batsman, and seemed in dangerous touch from the first ball he faced. Together with Murray Goodwin (44), he looked like pulling off another amazing batting feat as they set out on a rapid run scoring flurry. However, the required run rate, which began at 6.04, only climbed higher and the sense of urgency induced some elementary mistakes. Katich ultimately fell to a lbw decision and, with him, went any real chance the Warriors had of turning the match around. When Goodwin succumbed only four overs later – around the loss of Moody in the meantime – the Warriors really didn’t have much hope.Hogg’s 27 showcased his all-round skill but wickets fell with too much regularity toward the end for it to be fully appreciated.Regardless of today’s outcome, the Warriors still have a place in the Final. The Blues now have a better chance of meeting them there.

Following a wash out at Oxford, Hampshire begin their Norwich Union Division II League away to Lancashire on Sunday.13 players have been chosen to travel, and the final eleven will be selected on arrival, depending on the conditions and weather.The squad: Giles White, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (captain), Neil Johnson, John Stephenson, Jason Laney, Adrian Aymes (w/k), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alex Morris, Zac Morris, Alan Mullally.

Sri Lanka have sprung a couple of surprises by including Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas in their 30-member preliminary squad for the 2011 World Cup. Seamer Nuwan Pradeep is the only uncapped player in the list, which will be pruned to 15 ahead of the tournament to be hosted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Jayasuriya has rarely featured in Sri Lanka’s plans in recent times, and managed just 15 runs in six outings during the 2010 World Twenty20 in West Indies. The two-match T20 series against New Zealand that followed was his last international assignment; he has since been ignored for all formats of the game. Vaas, who, like Jayasuriya, was a part of Sri Lanka’s successful 1996 World Cup side, has been out of the national team since July 2009, and last played an ODI in August 2008.All 14 teams participating in the tournament have to announce their preliminary line-ups by December 19, and zero in on the final fifteen before January 19 next year.Preliminary squad: Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Tharanga Paranavitana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Silva, ChamaraKapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Jeevan Mendis,Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Malinga Bandara, LasithMalinga, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Suranga Lakmal,Dammika Prasad, Chaminda Vaas, Chanaka Welegedara, Nuwan Pradeep, ThilanThushara