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NSW Speedblitz Blues players will be a welcome boost to Sydney grade Cricket teams as Round 13 begins this Saturday. With just three remaining rounds, competition will be fierce, as team’s battle for the right to feature in finals cricket. Sunday will feature semi finals of the one-day competition. Bankstown will host Eastern Suburbs at Bankstown Oval while Mosman take on Sydney University at Rawson Oval. Mosman have been involved in the last four one-day semi finals and will be keen to claim a title, which has so far eluded them. They take on a rejuvenated Student’s outfit that welcomes back the experienced Greg Matthews for the encounter.Mosman have consistently shown their ability in the one-day cricket format being involved in the past three semi finals. Whilst playing in the final two seasons ago, the Whale’s are keen to end their title drought. Mosman believe their strength is in their experienced bowling attack, which features three former NSW pace bowlers in Warwick Adlam, Phil Alley and Trent Johnston. "We all seem to be bowling as quick as we did three years ago, but with more experienced heads now", Adlam said.The 32 year old Adlam claimed his 500th first grade wicket in his teams recent clash with Sutherland and sits second only to Aaron Bird (59) with 48 wickets so far this season. Adlam further believes the Clubs latest acquisition in Nottingham’s Guy Welton is a secret weapon. "Guy is a powerful hitter who has an uncanny resemblance to Ian Botham in physique, batting style and looks". The Whales will be hoping Welton (568 runs) can continue his form with his adopted club.Bankstown will be looking to continue its current form in their semi final with Eastern Suburbs. Talented Bankstown speedsters Aaron Bird and Scott Thompson will target NSW Speedblitz Blues hard hitter Brad Haddin and former Blues batsman Mark Patterson in their clash. The encounter should be an enthralling one with two of the form teams in the competition.In Round 11 matches; Fairfield-Liverpool v Campbelltown-Camden at Rosedale; Blacktown v UTS-Balmain at Joe McAleer; Hawkesbury v Randwick Petersham at Owen Earle; Manly-Warringah v Eastern Suburbs at Manly; Mosman v North Sydney at Rawson; Northern District v Bankstown at Waitara; Parramatta v Sydney University at Old Kings; St George v Gordon at Hurstville; Sutherland v Penrith at Caringbah and University of NSW v Western Suburbs at Village Green. . All Saturday games will commence at 11.00am, while Sunday’s semi finals will commence at 10.00am

Scorecard
Saurashtra moved closer to a spot in the final four on a meandering third day at the Wankhede Stadium as Mumbai, who have all but missed out on a semi-final spot, crawled along without any risks to close 297 behind their opposition.In the morning, Mun Munegala didn’t take long to remove Sandeep Maniar for his fifth wicket of the innings and terminate Saurashtra’s marathon effort at 484. Shitanshu Kotak was left unbeaten after 796 minutes at the crease and entered an elite list: only five men – Rajiv Nayyar (1015), Hanif Mohammad (970), Gary Kirsten (878), Sanath Jayasuriya (799) and Leonard Hutton (797) have played more minutes in a first-class innings. But Kotak is unique in that he is the only player in that group who has not been dismissed.In their reply, Mumbai proceeded serenely, courtesy an unbroken 148-run partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Amol Muzumdar after being in a spot of bother at 39 for 2. Sahil Kukreja was given out lbw after a Kanaiya Vaghela delivery appeared to have struck him high while Vinit Indulkar nicked one from Sandeep Jobanputra. But Rahane and Muzumdar ensured there would be no more casualties.Mumbai had had their share of problems against left-arm seamers this season – Delhi’s Pradeep Sangwan and Maharashtra’s Samad Fallah in particular, were successful earlier in the competition – as Jobanputra, Saurashtra’s leading bowler with 27 wickets at the start of the game, got the ball to bend in a touch to trouble the batsmen. However, he was guilty of being a tad short in his second spell and slowly, things eased out in the middle.Vaghela, the right-arm medium-pacer, bowled a parsimonious opening spell of 11-7-8-1, with his first seven overs being maidens but the runs started to come slowly. Rahane cover drove repeatedly to set the tone and Muzumdar worked the ball around to rotate the strike.Muzumdar, playing in his 100th Ranji game, settled to play some forceful punches through the off side. He was reprieved once on 42 when he jumped out and edged a drive against Rakesh Dhurv but wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani failed to hold on or complete the stumping chance. Rahane’s was a chanceless innings and he used his feet well against the spinners to push the score along.However, with their position all but secured and the pitch flat, Saurashtra played well within their strengths. Delhi’s securing a first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu – and thus having a higher quotient – means Mumbai can sneak in to the semi-finals only if Tamil Nadu pull off a minor miracle in Chennai tomorrow. Mumbai faithfuls will cling on to the fact that Delhi, chasing 105, were shot out for under 100 once in this season against Himachal Pradesh.

Scorecard

Ian Harvey played anchor for nearly the entire innings as Chennai Superstars chased down 147 with one ball to spare against Chandigarh Lions in Panchkula.Harvey top scored with 48 and batted till the 18th over, but it was the team effort of the Superstars that saw them through in a thrilling run-chase, the highest in the tournament so far. The scores of the other batsmen read 12, 18, 17, 17, 13, 1, 11, with 10 extras, as the required run-rate never climbed over nine an over.Chris Cairns bagged three wickets for 17 from his four overs, but the other bowlers failed to sustain the pressure, with Cairns’ New Zealand Daryl Tuffey compatriot conceding 40 from his four.Earlier,Chandigarh Lions, who opted to bat, were all out for 146, but completed their alloted 20 overs. After losing two early wickets, Tejinder Pal Singh and Manish Sharma put on a 70-run stand for the third wicket, before a 16-ball 27 from Chetan Sharma boosted them to 146. However, it wasn’t to be enough on the day.

Steve Waugh, the former Australian captain, feels Greg Chappell couldn’t succeed as India’s coach because of the selectors’ lack of patience. Waugh feels India need to focus on the future, concentrating on building a team like Australia did in the mid 1980s.”The toughest job for an India coach is to deal with what the selectors in the country want,” said Waugh on the morning of the third day’s play at the SCG. “If you’re trying to build something for the future you don’t have time to put things in place. I think in some ways the problem in India is patience, or the lack of patience.”[It was the same] with Australia in the 1980s, when they lost four or five players. They picked a core group of people, believed in them and sorted out the tough times. I think the Indian selectors will understand that it’s time to think of the future.”Waugh was referring to the bunch of senior Indian players whose age has been a talking point for a few months now. “We’ve learnt a lot from the Australian players,” he said about older players making way. “I think fitness is the issue. If you’re strong and fit, age really is irrelevant. These days players are much better looked after, there’s good maintenance, and good fitness programmes. Thirty five today is like 30 fifteen years ago. I can’t see why players can’t play till they’re 40. The issue will be if they can stay away from their families.”Waugh shared a particularly spicy relationship with one of those senior players, Sourav Ganguly, but he spoke highly of Ganguly’s comeback. “We’ve met a few times after he retired. I respect him as a player. We had some issues on the field but that’s all part of the game. But it’s tremendous the way he’s come back. He’s playing better than I’ve ever seen him play.”Waugh’s name was doing the rounds when India was looking for Chappell’s successor but he wasn’t keen on a coaching role just yet. “I really enjoy the role of mentoring, if it’s a possibility. But [job of a] coach, selector etc, I don’t get time for. I wasn’t asked by the BCCI for coaching. I consider offers but as of now coaching is not on my radar.”

After the Durban drizzle decided the series – it’s still 3-1 to South Africa with just one to play – the final match at Centurion won’t quite be the nailbiting occasion the marketing men would have hoped for. Instead, assuming the fickle weather holds off, it will be an entertaining end to a compressed carnival of cricket.No tour has ever had an itinerary quite like it: since the five-Test series started the only non-international game was a one-day warm-up for the seven-match ODI series. Marcus Trescothick has played in every match of te tour, and although he probably wants to hang on to that record he has looked increasingly tired in the last couple of matches, and may be given an overdue break.England have persisted with Geraint Jones as a pinch-hitting opener, and although the experiment hasn’t been an abject failure the feeling remains that he is a better bet as a perky presence down the order. He also disrupts a top order packed with people used to opening – Vikram Solanki and Andrew Strauss, as well as Michael Vaughan – and also pushes Ian Bell down (when he plays) to No. 7, behind the find of the series, Kevin Pietersen. It’s time for Bell to be given a chance to show what he can do.And, with the series decided, there might be an outing for that loyal drinks-waiter Gareth Batty, and a recall for the former golden boy James Anderson.Similar thoughts will be going through the minds of the South African selectors. Will Adam Bacher be given another – and surely last – chance? Or does the precocious AB de Villiers come back in on his home ground, where he collected 92 and 109 in a final Test that seems an awfully long time ago now.South Africa’s bowlers have done a sterling job, but Nicky Boje is likely to return at Centurion, to give the spin option that Graeme Smith might well have missed if the rains had held off at Durban.There’s not much previous history to go on. England and South Africa have only played one previous ODI at SuperSport Park, back in 1995-96. South Africa won that one, overhauling a decent England total of 272 with two overs to spare, mainly thanks to an opening stand of 156 between Gary Kirsten (116) and Andrew Hudson (72). Three of the survivors of that match are likely to play again here: Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis (who was in at the end of that first game nine years ago) for South Africa, and the seemingly ageless Darren Gough, who has been easily the most impressive of England’s faster bowlers in this series. Gough, however, is in some doubt after reporting slight breathing difficulties when he woke up on Saturday.South Africa (from) Graeme Smith (capt), Adam Bacher, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Jacques Rudolph, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher (wk), Andrew Hall, Shaun Pollock,Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel.England (from) Marcus Trescothick, Geraint Jones (wk), Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (capt), Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Ashley Giles, Kabir Ali, Gareth Batty, Alex Wharf, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, James Anderson.

Konica Queensland Fire duo Julia Price and Sally Cooper have wonselection in the Australian women’s cricket team for the coming seriesagainst world champions New Zealand.Price, the most-capped Australian wicket-keeper, and Cooper, aleft-handed middle order bat, are the only Queenslanders in the12-player squad announced today for the series later this month inAustralia and next month in New Zealand.Both players were members of the undefeated Australian team that won theAshes on their tour of England and Ireland last year.The Southern Stars will play three One Day Internationals in Australia -two matches at the Adelaide Oval on February 20 and 21 including aday/night game and one at the MCG on February 23 – and three ODIs in NewZealand next month.The selectors have retained the option to add a player from theAustralian Youth team – the Shooting Stars – once they have finishedtheir series of matches against New Zealand ‘A’ next week.Queensland had four players named in the Youth team – pace bowler MeganWhite, opening bat Melissa Bulow and allrounders Tricia Brown andBelinda Matheson.New Zealand are the current world champions after defeating Australialast year in the Final of the World Cup.The Australian team will be captained by Belinda Clark.Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars v New Zealand: Belinda Clark (Captain)(VIC), Karen Rolton (Vice Captain) (SA), Sally Cooper (QLD), CathrynFitzpatrick (VIC), Michelle Goszko (NSW), Julie Hayes (NSW), MelanieJones (VIC), Lisa Keightley (NSW), Therese McGregor (NSW), Julia Price(QLD), Lisa Sthalekar (NSW), Emma Twining (NSW). Coach: Steve Jenkin(NSW).

February 4, 2002CANADA SQUAD FOR AMERICAS 2002 CRICKET CHAMPIONSHIPNicholas DeGROOT CaptainIshwar MARAJ V. CaptainAshish BAGAIIan BILLCLIFFDesmond CHUMNEYAustin CODRINGTONMelvin CRONINGMuneeb DIWANNicholas IFILLBarry SEEBARANSanjayan THURAISINGAMSukhinder RANAAbdul SAMADFazil SATTAURKaram GOPAULSINGH – ManagerJeff THOMAS – Coach

Alec Stewart has followed in his father’s illustrious footsteps by being awarded an OBE for his services to cricket in the Queen’s Birthday Honours’ List.Stewart passed Geoffrey Boycott and David Gower to move into second place in England’s list of Test run-scorers against Zimbabwe at Durham last week, and was also awarded the MBE in the 1998.On receiving the honour, Stewart said: “The great thing is that I’ve now managed to catch up my Dad because he was awarded the OBE a good few years ago.””It’s a terrific honour and it’s really pleasing to be recognised in this way.I’ve always gone about my cricket in a professional way and to be honoured in this way for it makes me very proud and it’s a moment I’ll treasure.”Stewart, now 40, has continued to defy his critics by making more appearances than any other England player at both Test and one-day level, and his ability with the bat and behind the stumps has stood the test of time since making his international debut 14 years ago.He retired from one-day international cricket after the World Cup, but has no plans to do the same in Tests. He recently said: “All I’ve ever said about the future is that while the enjoyment is there and I feel I’m playing well enough to warrant a place in the side, I see no reason to give it away myself.””I feel exactly the same as I did 20 years ago. I have the same buzz and pre-match nerves I’ve always had and that’s a good thing because that shows you’re still up for the game.”

England have delayed naming their squad for the fifth and final npower Test against South Africa at The Oval, after their preparations were hampered by a number of fitness concerns. James Kirtley has been ruled out of the squad after medical scans revealed that he is suffering from shin-splints, while Martin Bicknell is also doubtful with a hamstring injury.”We need more time to re-assess our options in light of the injuries to Kirtley and Bicknell," said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. "Delaying the announcement will enable us to make further checks on the form and fitness of possible replacements.”England are already due to be without Nasser Hussain through injury. He will miss next week’s match at The Oval with a broken toe sustained during the fourth Test at Headingley. Graham Thorpe is on standby for a recall.The squad is now due to be announced at 9.05am on Sunday morning.

Graeme Smith
On the team performance
I said before we came over here that we were going to have to be on the top of our game for ten days of cricket, and the whole five days here we were on the back foot. We didn’t play well enough. There was one session where we performed well with the ball, but the rest of the time we were behind the eight-ball. We didn’t bowl well on day one here, and Kumar [Sangakkara] came out positive and put us on the back foot. Looking back on the Test match and how the wicket played, I don’t think it was a 460-470 pitch. Then batting the way we did in the first innings really put us under pressure. We put a lot of emphasis on the first innings in Sri Lanka, and to leave ourselves with a deficit like that makes things very difficult.On Chaminda Vaas’s 6 for 29
We have the ability to bat all day, but credit to Chaminda for showing up some of our fast bowlers on how to come and do it on these kind of pitches. He never complains – he just comes in and gets the job done, and does what he needs to do to get the wickets. It’s certainly an eye-opener for some of our guys.On what’s wrong with the team in general
A two-match Test series was always going to be tough for us, coming out of along winter. I thought we did really well in the first game, but we really let ourselves down here in a lot of departments. People may talk about the preparation, but the players need to have long hard look at themselves and our performances. The players on the field just haven’t performed well enough in the last couple of games, including the end of last season. We were not hungry enough, and did not want to win as much as they wanted to win. We let ourselves down. We have definitely got the skills. We have got guys who are at the top level of the game, their records show you that, so there is something else missing. They didn’t beat us just in the cricketing department – they beat us with the commitment and passion. That’s an area that we have to look at. We need to match our skills with the belief that we can do well here. And we also need to embrace the culture and country. It is very different to what we experience at home, but as a team it is important that we embrace where we go.On the bowling attack
There are not a lot of guys back home pushing for places in the bowlingdepartment. It is easy to sit here and complain and talk about replacements,but there is no point if the replacement comes and does the same stuff. Wehave got to be a bit more patient with our bowlers, and perhaps a bit harderon them, demanding and challenging a bit more.On the upcoming one-day series
I do believe that we can regroup and bounce back in this one-day series. Iwould like to have some time to think about it before we start preparing forour one-day games, as I still pretty emotional about what has gone on [in the Tests].

Marvan Atapattu
On the team performance
We all knew that we had not won a series against these guys, and we were determined to achieve it this time. Everything seemed to work well. We have come together as a group and we are performing well as a unit. Had South Africa batted well in the first innings, which they didn’t, I don’t think we would have won so easily. They lost a couple of early wickets and that was the key. Chaminda [Vaas] and [Lasith] Malinga got us off to a bright start yesterday, and this morning they took three more quick wickets.On not enforcing the follow-on
There were 2½ days left, and having so many spinners in our side one would always expect the wicket to take some turn on the fourth and fifth day. We never wanted to face them on the fifth day chasing 150, and wanted to bat them out of the game instead.On Vaas and the other bowlers
Having people like Vaasy is fantastic because he is not only effective with the new ball. He can also be dangerous with the old ball, as he showed today. It was also encouraging to see Malinga and the spinners chipping in.On the weather yesterday
The weather was just out of our control. [If it had rained today too] it would have been sheer bad luck. It was very frustrating for us to stay inside the dressing-room and in the hotel. I am sure everyone had their curtains opened looking at the skies every half-an-hour. We were that frustrated.On winning without Murali
It was a big ask to win a series without Murali. We haven’t won many without him. It showed how focused the guys are.