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Matthew Hayden is in danger of missing the third one-day match against New Zealand with a shoulder injury after re-sealing his spot with a satisfying hundred at Christchurch last night. Hayden, who was unable to collect the Man-of-the-Match award, ended the game with his right arm in a sling having left the field following a diving catch to remove Chris Cairns.The injury, a grade-one strain to the AC joint, is an untimely blow for Hayden in his successful comeback from being dropped for the two VB Series finals against Pakistan. Hayden collected 71 in the first match against New Zealand and 114 in the second to set up Australia’s 106-run win, which gave them a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.”It’s pretty sore, as you expect ten hours out from the injury,” Hayden told . “But as a gut feeling it’s probably a little bit better than I first anticipated.”Alex Kountouri, the team physiotherapist, will monitor Hayden’s improvement over the next two days before a decision is made on his fitness for Saturday’s game at Auckland. “There is a fair amount of swelling around the joint, so we will have a clearer picture as to how Matthew is progressing once that swelling subsides,” Kountouri said. “While there is some doubt over his chances to play in the third game, he certainly hasn’t been ruled out.”Cairns hit Andrew Symonds towards deep square leg and Hayden rubbed his shoulder as he stood up from the spectacular rolling catch. Hayden went quickly from the team huddle to the dressing room and his arm was put in a sling to ease pressure on the joint.

Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lankan captain, refused to join calls for Bangladesh to be stripped of Test status despite the thrashing his team handed out at Colombo.”True, it was a two-and-a-half-day match, but we do not want to insult the opposition and deprive them of competing with the big boys,” Atapattu said. Bangladesh were beaten by an innings and 96 runs in the opening Test of the two-match series.Trailing by 182 runs, Bangladesh were shot out for 86, their lowest-ever total, in the second innings to suffer their 34th defeat in 39 matches since gaining Test status in 2000. The loss was their 23rd by an innings margin. Bangladesh’s previous lowest total was 87 against the West Indies at Dhaka in 2002. They have won just one Test, against a depleted Zimbabwean side at home early this year.Atapattu said Bangladesh, the lowest-ranked team in international cricket, needed to be tolerated and allowed to play against the best sides. “We have also suffered similar defeats in our early years,” Atapattu said. Sri Lanka were granted Test status in 1981 but gradually forged into a powerful Test side and won the one-day World Cup 1996.”We honestly did not think the win would come so easily after the way they batted and reached 155 for two after lunch on the first day. Then, one bad shot changed everything and allowed us to come back,” Atapattu said. He was referring to the Bangladeshi collapse in the first innings following an irresponsible shot by Mohammad Ashraful, who was caught in the deep while attempting a big hit off spinner Rangana Herath. Bangladesh lost their last eight wickets for 33 runs to slump to 188 all out.Muttiah Muralitharan triggered the Bangladesh collapse in the second innings, finishing with 6-18 off 10.4 overs. “It was a spinner-friendly track,” Muralitharan said after his 47th haul of five or more wickets in an innings in 94 Tests. “The pitch was two paced, with some deliveries keeping low. There was also plenty of spin and bounce. I did not bowl particularly well in the first innings, but got my rhythm back in the second.”Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s coach, was disappointed with his team’s batting performance on the third morning which saw the tourists lose seven wickets for 50 runs in less than 19 overs after resuming at 36-3. “I am upset with the lack of resistance,” he said. “Sri Lanka were going to win the match and there is no question about that. I am disappointed that we did not fight hard to delay the inevitable.”

ScorecardAjit Agarkar spurred West Zone to their second successive win in the Deodhar Trophy as they romped to a massive 180-run win against South Zone at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, West began steadily but unspectacularly. Half-centuries from Satyajit Parab and Niraj Patel gave the innings backbone, but it was Agarkar’s assault at No. 7 that turned the tide in West’s favour. Agarkar slammed an unbeaten 70 off a mere 44 balls, hitting seven fours and 3 sixes. His innings pushed West Zone to a healthy 287 for 7 from 50 overs. When South Zone replied, the wheels came off. None of the batsmen could top 31, and a slew of single-digit scores saw them slump to 107 all out. Siddharth Trivedi, the medium pacer, picked up 4 for 40.
ScorecardNorth Zone thrashed East Zone by seven wickets at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara to further their chances of glory in the latest edition of the Deodhar Trophy. After winning the toss and putting the opposition in North’s bowlers did the job, hustling East Zone to 146 all out. Only Rohan Gavaskar (48) and Sanjib Sanyal (64) made it to double figures as Amit Bhandari (4 for 35) led the bowlers. The target was never going to pose a threat to a strong batting line-up, and North Zone cantered to victory in less than 37 overs.

A report in today’s Times claims that the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) is so angry with the decision to allow two overseas players per county in 2005 that its members are considering strike action.On Tuesday, the First Class Forum announced that there would be no change to the number of overseas players in 2005, even though it had been widely expected that it would be cut to one per county, which was the recommendation of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).”These people [the CAC] have done a lot of research for the good of the game and the county chairmen have refused to take note,” Martyn Ball, the PCA chairman, told the newspaper. “The players in this country are very upset about that.”The PCA has campaigned long and hard on the issue. It is worried about the number of foreign players appearing in domestic cricket, a situation exacerbated by the European Union laws on rights to work which have enabled many overseas-based players to gain domestic qualification courtesy of their ancestry.At the PCA’s AGM last month, there was an overwhelming vote to reduce the number of official overseas players. “It became very heated,” Ball, who plays for Gloucestershire, explained. “Some wanted to look at taking union action and discussed the possibility of withholding labour from televised matches. But we took legal advice and decided against it.” But now he admitted that might be a possibility. “I’m not saying we’ll be taking action, but we’ll look at our position and I’m not discounting it.”While there is a degree of self-interest in the PCA’s stand – overseas players, it claims, prevent talented English players from coming through – Ball was eager to highlight the effect on the national side, and on England’s finances.”It seems ludicrous that, while we’re also taking massive steps to strengthen the grass roots and build academies, so much money is going on overseas players,” he said. “The game in this country needs a strong, vibrant England team, but if we continue to limit the opportunities for our best young players, it’s always going to be a struggle to compete for the Ashes or the World Cup.”

Scorecard

South Africa’s bowling limitations were further exposed in a warm-upmatch at Centurion on Sunday, as the Titans swept to a 26-run win to raise concerns over the side’s form and preparations ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy.After electing to field first Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and JacquesKallis kept things relatively tight but there are concerns as to the backup bowlers. As was the case against a relatively weak Zimbabwean team the South African support bowlers lacked the cutting edge in the middle and latter stages of the Titans’ innings, and were incapable of closing off the match. Andrew Hall, for example, was only disciplined for five out of six balls, the last being severely punished. Andre Nel also has a lot of work to do, both in terms of line, length and especially pace, while Robin Peterson simply cannot be relied to tie up one end for 10 overs.Early wickets had the Titans struggling at 30 for 2 after 10 overs but AlbieMorkel soon put paid to that as he played aggressively for 37 runs off 33balls and twice hit Nel for towering sixes. Goolam Bodi paced his innings well andpunished wayward balls to reach 100 off 129 balls but threw it away with awild swing at Nel in the final overs.Johann Myburgh was similarly untroubled, breezing to a 55-ball fifty and shared a 100-run partnership with Bodi at a run-a-ball. Myburgh batted through to the end and finished with 75 off 76 balls as the Titans set the South Africans a target of 270.But South Africa’s innings never really got going with the top four only managing twenties. Both Loots Bosman and Boeta Dippenaar fatally chased wide deliveries while Jacques Kallis was too late in defence. AB de Villiers, his first outing of the season, was clearly very rusty and will need more time in the middle if he is to be a threat in India. Mark Boucher and Kemp could not recreate their form of late and suddenly the South Africans, thanks to 25 extras (11 wides and 12 no balls) from the Titans, found themselves at 156 for 6 after 29 overs. It became 177 for 7 when Hall held out at mid-on and the writing was on the wall.Shaun Pollock was the one, last hope for South Africa and he took control of proceedings, smashing 50 from 56 balls and starring in a 48-run partnership with Makhaya Ntini – whose contribution to their stand was just two. However, it was too little, too late and South Africa were dismissed for 243.To add to all the woes, the South Africans were once again slow in bowlingthe 50 overs in the required time, but were excused because a rather lenient19 minutes were added for a few hold-ups in play. Will those in control beas lenient during the Champions Trophy? Only time will tell.

Darren Gough insists he never gave up hope of earning a recall to England’s one-day side, and has now set his sights on completing the double of 200 wickets in both forms of the game.”I’m just looking forward to being back among the lads again,” Gough told the Essex website, after being named in England’s squad for the seven-match series against West Indies that follows the Tests. “I just want to play international cricket again, because I think I still have a lot to offer. You never give up hope. As long as I’m fit then I still believe I am good enough.”Gough’s future had been in doubt when he was omitted from the one-day squad for the pre-Christmas trips to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but after sizing up their options the selectors realised there was no substitute for experience. “They looked at other players,” said Gough, “but I guess it’s flattering that they have come back to me for the West Indies series.”He went on: “If some of the youngsters can follow my lead in practice then I believe that will help them in the long run – that’s one of the reasons why they want me around the team. But from a selfish point of view I want to get 12 wickets to reach 200 [in one-day internationals].”Joining Gough in the one-day squad is Steve Harmison, whose stunning form in the Jamaica and Trinidad Tests virtually guaranteed his inclusion. He hopes to be able to make an impact this time around, after a stuttering start to his one-day career in Australia last winter, where he infamously bowled seven wides in an over in a warm-up match in Lilac Hill.”It would be nice to get rid of what happened in Australia and prove I can play one-day cricket,” he said. “But I’m going to take one step at a time and hopefully things will go as well as the Test matches.”

All Today’s Yesterdays – October 26 down the yearsOctober 25 | October 271965
Few people have had as bad a start to their Test career as Ken Rutherford, who was born today. Rutherford was 19 when he was thrown in at the deep end in the Caribbean in 1984-85, and made only 12 runs in seven innings (and was run out without facing a ball to bag a pair on debut). He was out five times to Malcolm Marshall, who did to him what Curtly Ambrose would do to Graeme Hick six years later. But Rutherford eventually came of age, and at his best was an impressively assertive performer (he cracked 317 in four hours against Brian Close’s XI in 1986), undeniably better than an average of 27 suggests. He would surely have improved on that had his Test career not ended in 1995 when, aged only 29, he lost the captaincy and his place.1987
In a winner-takes-all showdown at Jaipur, England grabbed their second victory over West Indies in their World Cup group in a thrilling match that virtually clinched their semi-final place. Graham Gooch hit a controlled 92 before John Emburey and Phil DeFreitas helped add 83 off the last 10 overs to set West Indies a target of 270. Viv Richards raced to fifty at a run a ball, including three sixes, but the tide turned when he was bowled by Eddie Hemmings. After that the lower order fell away to DeFreitas (3 for 28) and England won by 34 runs, 22 of which came from West Indian wides.1890
Birth of perhaps the only Test player to be taken prisoner during the First World War. Harry Lee was erroneously reported dead after being captured by the Germans, though he did suffer a badly broken thigh, as a result of which he was told he would never play cricket again. This proved incorrect, although he was left with a permanent limp. Despite this Lee went on to make over 20,000 runs and take more than 400 wickets for Middlesex. His one Test came in South Africa in 1930-31, when he was called up after a series of injuries hit Percy Chapman’s team. He died in London in 1981.1952
Pakistan’s maiden Test victory. In only their second match, played on jute matting at Lucknow, they thrashed India by an innings and 43 runs. That master craftsman Fazal Mahmood was the star man, taking 5 for 52 and 7 for 42 (his best figures in Tests) as India were blown away for 106 and 182. Nazar Mohammad anchored Pakistan’s 331 with a painstaking unbeaten 124, carrying his bat after 515 minutes at the crease. He became the first man to be on the field throughout an entire Test match.1998
A historic day for Australia at Karachi. They drew the third Test to clinch their first series victory in Pakistan for 39 years. An outstanding performance from Glenn McGrath (5 for 66) gave them a first-innings lead of 28, and from there they were happy to bat Pakistan out of the match and the series. Justin Langer took almost four hours to make 51, and in all Australia’s 390 took 142.3 overs. There was only one winner after that. As the match petered out, there was another hundred for Ijaz Ahmed, half of whose 12 Test tons came against the Aussies.1961
England grabbed their first win in Pakistan at the first attempt with a five-wicket win at Lahore. Despite 139 from Ken Barrington and 99 from MJK Smith, England trailed by seven on first innings, but they whipped Pakistan out for 200 in their second knock and the captain Ted Dexter (66 not out) took them home comfortably. It was a bit of a false dawn though – England failed to win any of their next 19 Tests in Pakistan (17 of which were drawn) before Graham Thorpe’s Chinese cut off Saqlain Mushtaq sealed a famous victory in the Karachi gloom last December.Other birthdays
1950 TE Srinivasan (India)
1971 Ronnie Irani (England)

The Electrolux International Cricketer of the Year award was for the player who, in the eyes of the jury, was the most consistent performer during the period in question (September 2002 to August 2003). The results are:The winner
Ricky Ponting
Ponting’s season saw him make a profusion of runs in a variety of conditions, at a rate that, more often than not, exceeded the expectations of the world-beating team of which he is a part, and which he captains in the shorter version of the game. His seven Test centuries in the year came in clusters of red-hot form: two in a three-Test series against Pakistan, first in the sticky heat of Colombo and then in the inferno of Sharjah. Another two came in the first two Tests of the Ashes series to help Australia surge to an early lead. Then there were three in a row against West Indies in April and May, including his first double-century in Test cricket.The most spectacular of his knocks came on the greatest stage of them all when he battered India’s bowling in the World Cup final to make 140 not out, and made the game a virtual no-contest. He averaged over 75 in Test cricket and nearly 48 in one-day cricket, and made a staggering two-and-a-half thousand international runs in the year. Bowlers the world over can only hope that, when he does take over the Test match captaincy from Steve Waugh, it does something bad to his form.The other nominees
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Sarwan made only three centuries in the period under consideration – two of them against Bangladesh – but his influence on his team’s fortunes, particularly in the shorter version of the game, was remarkable, and he made a number of sterling contributions in both Tests and one-dayers, the worth of which cannot be measured by numbers alone. His third hundred, an innings of 105 against Australia, was one that will long be remembered, for it came when West Indies needed to make 418, a run-chase without precedent in Test history, to prevent their opponents from sweeping the series 4-0.Sarwan’s class as a Test player was never in doubt, but it was in a seven-match series of one-day internationals against India that he demonstrated that he had also come of age as a one-day batsman. He made four scores of over 80, and was instrumental in taking his side to a 4-3 victory. His commitment to the cause of West Indies cricket was never more evident than when, after being hit on the head by Sri Lanka’s Dilhara Fernando in a crucial World Cup game, he returned when his team’s run-chase began to fall apart, and took them to within six runs of victory. He revealed a talent, like Michael Bevan, for forcing the pace at the end of an innings without risking his wicket, and his ODI average for the year was a Bevan-like 60. One of the best young batsmen in the game – he is only 23 – he was rewarded towards the end of the year with the West Indies vice-captaincy.Michael Vaughan
Of all cricketers, Vaughan did the most to enhance his reputation in the period under consideration; indeed, he is so well-set now as one of the premier Test batsmen of his era that it is difficult to believe that only 18 months ago he averaged a little over 31 in Test cricket, and was being compared to Michael Atherton for his tenacity and grafting style.Early in 2002, Vaughan opened the innings for England for the first time, a move that was accompanied by a personal decision to bat with more freedom. It paid off immediately, as he made a hundred against Sri Lanka and then three more against India.But these countries possessed modest bowling attacks, and it was said everywhere that Vaughan’s real test would come against Australia in the Ashes. And how he responded! His 177 at Adelaide, 145 at Melbourne, and 183 at Sydney stand among the masterpieces of the age: he not only staged a lone battle against Australia’s marauding attack, but dominated it, with batting based on an impeccable technique given expression by attacking purpose and great elegance in execution. Another big hundred against South Africa this July provided further confirmation of his remarkable talents. His position at the forefront of English cricket was confirmed by his appointment, in quick succession, to the captaincy of England’s one-day and Test teams.

Ricky Ponting has stressed that a patient approach against Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers, and an aggressive one against their batsmen hold the key to Australia’s chances of success when the one-day series starts off at Dambulla on Friday.The Australians expect a full hand of spinners to be in opposition, and had a meeting to discuss ways of combating Muttiah Muralitharan on Wednesday night. "We haven’t played him too badly in the past," Ponting said. “It’s been the other blokes, the part-timers, who have caused us more problems than him."In the past, Australia have paid for their eagerness to attack the part-time slow bowlers introduced early in the innings. “We’ve realised these bowlers have come on and it’s been a chance for us to get after them early but we’ve actually got out," he said. “That’s one area we’ve addressed and we’ll address it again before tomorrow’s game. One thing you don’t want to do is go too hard and lose too many wickets and put pressure on the middle order against their spinners."”The game plan … is to keep wickets in hand for as long as we can against their spinners and be a bit more patient through the middle of our innings. You know that on these grounds whatever you sacrifice through the middle you can pick up at the end of the innings with wickets in hand.”Such a wait-and-watch approach would be adopted by the bowlers though. They have been given license to target the Sri Lankan batsmen with short balls aimed at the rib-cage. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s most potent one-day threat, has already suffered a broken arm and a broken finger in his tussles with Australia, and Ponting said that he could expect more on the same in the days to come.”That will still be a plan of ours for sure, especially with the new ball. There’s no doubt we’ll be testing them out that way. I think with someone like him it (short-pitched bowling) certainly is a bit of weakness. We want to bowl it short near the body – they don’t like that too much, the same with the Indian players."”That’s our biggest challenge: to identify weaknesses in opposition batsmen and be able to bowl accordingly. And that’s what we didn’t do well enough in Australia early on this summer, although we it well in the end. It’s important we do that straight away in this series.”On the team selection front, Australia will be forced to leave out either Michael Bevan or Simon Katich. Michael Clarke’s slow left-arm spin, and inventive batting have made him a near certainty for the middle order, and it has been suggested that Katich being a more regular bowler might tilt the scales in his favour.”The good thing about our side at the moment is that we’ve got a few guys we can rely on to bowl some pretty good part-time spin," said Ponting. "Symonds and Clarke do a pretty good job and I don’t think there’s any more pressure on Bevo’s spot for that reason.”

One Test cap Hamish Marshall smashed an unbeaten 183 against London New Zealand Cricket Club on Sunday to lead a Wanderers side boasting four New Zealand first-class players to a 35-run victory over the expat Kiwi club at Harefield in Middlesex.Wanderers posted 268 for four before dismissing a hard-charging LNZ side for 233 with five overs remaining.Asked to bowl first, the London Kiwis started well enough, with Sean Martin (one for 56) trapping former Test opener and Wellington captain Matthew Bell lbw for four. Wellington middle-order batsman Luke Woodcock also departed cheaply, having his leg stump knocked out of the ground by fired-up former Otago and New Zealand paceman Aaron Gale (one for 46), who has been in fine form as a stand-in player for the Harefield Cricket Club in recent weeks.But Marshall, whose sole Test innings was an undefeated 40 against South Africa in December 2000, was in no mood to follow suit, settling in comfortably on a pitch that had looked difficult for batting. None of the LNZ bowlers escaped punishment as Marshall quickly upped the tempo in an innings that lasted only 134 balls, but included 29 fours and three sixes.It was an innings of the highest quality from Marshall, whose failure to post a first-class or one-day century in New Zealand domestic cricket has seen him slip from international contention. Wellington batsman Leighton Morgan made 24, departing just before the declaration.In reply, LNZ started well with openers Michael Singleton and Matt Rheinholdt (53) posting 55 in quick time, before Singleton was the first to go, bowled for 23. Canterbury club player Sam Foley (40) combined with Rheinholdt to take the Kiwis through to 99 before left-arm spinner Woodcock found an edge from Rheinholdt that was nicely held by Marshall at slip. Foley then mis-timed a pull shot to be the first of three LNZ batsmen to fall caught and bowled.The LNZ middle order then crumbled in the face of an all-spin attack, with Isaac Southwell’s 29 the only contribution of note before Gale (18 not out) and Steve Deane (37) combined in a scintillating last-wicket stand of 55 that took the expats to within sight of an unlikely victory. But Woodcock (five for 70) had the last laugh, bowling Deane to clinch his fifth wicket of the day and seal the victory for Wanderers.