Second Test, v New Zealand, at Harare Sports Club; 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 November 1992. NEW ZEALAND 335 (M J Greatbatch 55, M D Crowe 140, K R Rutherford 74; D H Brain 3/49) and 262/5 dec (M D Crowe 61, K R Rutherford 89, D N Patel 58*). ZIMBABWE 283/9 dec (K J Arnott 68, A D R Campbell 52, A J Pycroft 60; M L Su’a 5/85) and 137 (D N Patel 6/50). New Zealand won by 177 runs.ScorecardZimbabwe were the only Test team ever to survive their first two Test matches without defeat, but they lost their third after, by their own admission, being conned into chasing an unrealistic target on the final afternoon.The first day was notable for an outstanding century by Martin Crowe, and Zimbabwe quickly resorted to guarding the boundaries and keeping him away from the strike at all costs. He had scored 140 by the time he eventually allowed his patience to expire and hit a catch in the deep. He shared a century partnership with Ken Rutherford, but only three of the New Zealand batsmen scored more than 20.Dave Houghton: "Martin Crowe batted absolutely magnificently, I remember that. Eddo Brandes made a bit of a comeback at last and got a couple of wickets in both innings, but again they played really well. We bowled them out for 345, which wasn’t a bad effort, and they scored it quickly. Martin Crowe was outstanding and that really was a fantastic innings."Dave Brain: "I remember him (Crowe) hitting old Traics time and again with the slog-sweep shot."Andy Pycroft: "The highlight of the Test match was Martin Crowe’s knock, which was absolutely outstanding. There were a couple of spells where Eddo Brandes bowled very quickly, and swung the ball, and Martin Crowe played him absolutely beautifully. In fact, if he hadn’t played so well, and Rutherford played with him for a time, they would have been in trouble. Eddo bowled well; his figures of two for 49 don’t necessarily show that in 22 overs, but he was quick and hostile, and an excellent line and length."Again we bowled pretty well at them; Traics bowled a lot of overs but wasn’t as effective against New Zealand as I thought he might have been. But, as you’d expect without a lot of venom in the attack apart from Eddo, the wickets were shared."Dave Brain: "I got pretty friendly with Mark Greatbatch and I got him out quite a few times on that tour, twice in this match. They were actually a really good bunch of guys, until that final innings, when I was batting and got chirped big-time, but that’s what happened. But Greatbatch was a good player – he could blast it."After the first day’s play, there was a mercifully unique experience in Test cricket as the Test match stopped so that a one-day international could be played in front of a big Sunday crowd. Ian Robinson said, "That was a crazy situation. The umpires were at pains on the first day to keep the players off the strip that was to be used for the one-dayer."Zimbabwe were not far behind on first innings, with fifties from Kevin Arnott, Alistair Campbell and Andy Pycroft, who it turned out was playing in his final Test match.Kevin Arnott: "I enjoyed my innings for the fact that it was a lot more fluent than some of my previous innings. By then I had found some form. I also discussed my batting with a person I had a great admiration for, Mark Greatbatch. I think he was a wonderful sportsman, and even though he was a more aggressive opening batsman he and I discussed my ability to play some more positive shots, and I think I started to show a little bit."Andy Pycroft: "Kevin Arnott was quite unsung; he played four Tests while I played three. He got a hundred in the second Test and runs in this one as well; he played very well. I got a sixty in the first innings, 30 overnight and another 30 the next day. I was well set and should have got more than that."Alistair Campbell played well; in fact, if you take him now and compare him to how he played in the early stages of his career, is that he didn’t play strokes all around the wicket. He had them all, but he played more to his strengths. For the middle part of his Test career, until about a year ago, he was trying to play shots all around the wicket and not selecting them properly. But as a youngster, when he first came into the Test arena, he looked a very good player indeed. I think he’s a lot like Marcus Trescothick, but Trescothick plays better to his strengths than Al does."Dave Houghton: "Fifty-odd behind wasn’t a bad effort and we actually declared. We were a little bit influenced by Martin trying to get us to make games of things."New Zealand aimed to build on their lead, with Crowe scoring 65, despite suffering from leg strains. They declared just before lunch on the final day, setting Zimbabwe a target of 315 in 71 overs. Perhaps overconfident after playing two Tests without defeat, the Zimbabweans decided to go for it – with disastrous results."The Second Test is probably one of the biggest regrets I’ve had in cricket," Andy Flower recalled, "We played some reasonable cricket; again, watching Martin Crowe bat was something special, as he got a hundred. Then they set us about 300 to win in less than a day, on the last day."I remember John Hampshire and Dave Houghton, coach and captain, telling us that we were going to go for this target, and I couldn’t believe it because I thought 300 in less than a day, on a Harare Sports Club pitch, with a very heavy outfield, was unrealistic. I honestly believe they felt the pressure of Martin Crowe’s constant moaning about us playing negative cricket, and I think we were conned into chasing the target."They knocked us over really easily in the end, at about teatime on the last afternoon. Guys had gone in and played big shots, a couple of them caught on the boundary, a couple caught in the slips having huge hits outside off – it was silly cricket, and very disappointing to lose our first Test. I remember being very downhearted afterwards."I don’t think they had a good bowling attack, to be honest. Murphy Su’a was fairly quick, but inaccurate; Willie Watson was just a steady little seamer; Dion Nash a good away-swing bowler. Then I thought Patel was a good off-spinner, but nothing special, and their left-arm spinner Haslam was fairly ordinary, no huge mystery about him. In reality it was a nice gentle way for us to be introduced to Test cricket."Then we had the incident of Martin Crowe jumping on top of the Beverley tent and taking down the banner that was up there, which said, merely in jest, `Zimbabwe the only unbeaten Test nation’. He dragged it down with much glee written all over his face. The incident itself didn’t cause much hostility, but there was definitely a hostile atmosphere throughout that tour."Ian Robinson: "He made a very obvious point of parading it in front of the spectators to indicate that Zimbabwe had now been beaten. It was rather an aggressive move that riled a number of spectators there."Andy Pycroft: "I remember that banner irking Martin Crowe particularly. He was a decent enough guy off the field, and I got to know him reasonably well, but a funny guy, quite aloof, and that sort of thing could rankle him more than anybody – he was that sort of personality. They weren’t as friendly as the Indians were."Dave Houghton: "Although Martin Crowe hoodwinked us a bit then and talked us into being more positive, a lot of the things he told us then were things we actually used three or four years later when we had a bit more experience – about being more positive, about going into Test matches to win them – and I still remember his comment to me that you can play ten Test matches, and if you draw eight and lose two it means nothing, but if you lose eight and win two, everyone remembers the two you win. It’s very, very true." But Zimbabwe were still building their foundation then and were not in a position to do that because they had not learned how or had enough experience – as Crowe must have been aware."They gave us 315 to win in just under a day and left us to go chasing after it." He remembers the decision to chase it rather differently from Andy Flower. "We were foolish enough to do it – against Hampshire’s wishes, I have to say. We decided, in our wisdom as novices, to have a crack at this, and we failed miserably. I think Hamps let us have our head so he could say afterwards in the changing room, `I told you so.’ And he did!"We played all sorts of silly shots. We learned a lesson – but we also walked into the changing room and thought, `Well, we were in with a chance of winning the game.’ In only our third Test match we were actually going at a target to try and win. It cost us the Test match, so we learned a lesson from that, but we still felt pretty pleased with what we had done."Kevin Arnott: "Unfortunately, on reflection, we adopted a bad strategy in our second innings, to reach certain totals by a certain time, which led in my view to our downfall. That was our first step in a learning curve, but it brought us down to earth, because we had been a side that by most people’s expectations should have been hammered in our first Test match. It was good for us because there are no short cuts in Test cricket. I only played in one Test match after that, in India, but I certainly enjoyed it, learned a lot from it and met some good people."Mark Burmester: "We lost it in one session after we had done all the hard work. We hadn’t pegged them back that badly, but we knew it was a score we could get to. We didn’t bowl well for a session and let Greatbatch and Crowe score quickly, which took the game away from us. It meant we had to bat for too long a time to hold on to the game. But I enjoyed batting in that last Test match; I got 30 not out in the first innings and ended up in the second innings putting on 46 with Gary Crocker for the ninth wicket – in a losing match, but it gave something to watch for those guys who came late on the Thursday and at least it wasn’t over too early. It gave me time at the crease and if it wasn’t for an injury soon after that, who knows? Maybe I could still be playing."Dave Brain: "We made one major blunder. They left us over 300 to get on the last day and I remember how Dave Houghton came and said, `Let’s go for it.’ We were never going to get it; we should have told him to shove it up and just batted it out! I remember when I came in to bat getting chirped by that little guy Rod Latham, how he was going to see me at the cocktail party later and they had given us such a hiding."Andy Pycroft: "My biggest memory of that Test was not so much the fact that we got beaten but the reason that we got beaten. It was inexperience, and going against the coach as well, in trying to win a Test match when we were so new into the arena, when we didn’t have the time to win it even if we were a decent side and had the ability to score at a big rate, where the pitch was playing a little slower than it had done."I remember being very disappointed that we had even tried to win it, and being a lone voice in the changing room, saying, `This is not on; we shouldn’t even be looking at it,’ and then going out and trying to play shots myself, which I knew I shouldn’t be doing, and got out, as a few of us did in the top order. Once we had lost those early wickets, we were always going to lose that Test match. I put that loss down more than anything to inexperience, but also the mental and physical fatigue of every one of us. Three Test matches (and three one-day internationals!) played for the first time in Test cricket was too demanding for us, and I think with hindsight the administrators would admit that they should never have given us such a heavy schedule."Grant Flower: "We over-rated ourselves and we should never have gone for it, but we were talked into it by the New Zealanders. We didn’t play well enough in the second innings. Once again there was quite a bit of sledging. But we were outplayed by the better side in the end."Ian Robinson: "We showed our naivety, and I think we were still thinking in one-day mode. I think we thought we could probably have got that target, but you can’t do that in Test cricket."It has been suggested that it was perhaps a good thing that Zimbabwe lost this Test match, otherwise they would have finished the two tours with the impression that Test cricket was easy after all and been less prepared for the sterner tasks that lay ahead. "They may be right," conceded Dave Houghton. "India and New Zealand weren’t at the top of the rung then, by any means, but still it was probably a good thing to lose in our third Test match just to get the monkey off our back."We had to lose at one stage. We had achieved three games going five days and had got two good draws out of them, and we had lost a game trying to win it. I know Hamps and I sat back and said, `Well, we’ve done what we wanted to do.’ It would have been nice to win a game, but we did what we set out to do. We had two blokes with Test hundreds, we had a bloke with a five-wicket haul; Gary Crocker played really well; Andy Flower, Grant Flower and Alistair Campbell both got their Test-match fifties, so we had accomplished a lot.Dave also differs from Andy Flower in his memory of relationships with the New Zealanders. "It wasn’t the first time we had encountered sledging because we had played two or three New Zealand A sides, and Australian A sides. It was a little bit of a `sledgy’ affair – just as well it started then so the guys could get used to it because it hasn’t stopped. But New Zealand have always been one of the most vocal sides on the field. I think they realized they were the junior brother to the Australians and had been taking it for years, they decided to get a bit tougher and start handing a bit out."Ian Robinson: "There may have been sledging, but with the shift changes of umpires it was quite difficult to get a handle on this, because you don’t get a pattern; you’re just on for one day at a time and then not again until tomorrow. But this Test was well before the ICC Code of Conduct and match referees had only just started. We had Peter van der Merwe, but their role hadn’t been defined."Malcolm Jarvis: "This first New Zealand Test series I was involved in, they were a pretty sociable bunch. They were like the old school where they mixed, but they keep very much to themselves nowadays. The sledging wasn’t really a problem. I think what goes on on the field stays on the field. You’re there to win a game and if you play hard on the field that’s how cricket should be, and when you’ve finished the game you can go and have a few beers afterwards and it’s fine. I think that’s the way it should be played. It was maybe a big eye-opener for some of the guys to get the verbal treatment but at the end of the day I suppose that’s how cricket was. They were out to assert their authority on us."It was a great honour to have played at the highest level and I have no regrets. I just wish I could have played more Test cricket and one-day cricket."Andy Pycroft: "New Zealand were a lot more aggressive than the Indians on the field and I think they were more interested in showing the newcomers who was boss."Our fielding in those first three Tests was of a high quality, although we did drop catches, especially in the first innings of the First Test against New Zealand, but in general terms our fielding was top-drawer. That is one of the requirements: if you’re not one of the fancied sides in the arena, if you don’t have a fielding department that I better than anyone else’s, you are not going to make it."I don’t think our fielding today is anywhere near what it was then. If you go back to the eighties, 1982 to 1985, and it was Duncan Fletcher’s influence more than anyone’s, we were clearly the best fielding side in the world. And it didn’t come by accident; we worked harder at it than these guys do today. I know they play a lot more cricket and the demands on the body are heavy, but look at it the other way: we were part-time cricketers and we put in the hours. That’s the only way you become a decent fielding side."Overall the feeling that sticks out the most about those first three Tests was the tiredness. Too much in too short a time for guys who were out on their feet. That was unfortunate, because I don’t think we would have been beaten in that third Test match had we been able to take a break."Having said that, you’ve got to say that coming into Test cricket the way we did was a pretty good performance. People look at stats the whole time, but being part of it I can say there was a great deal of pride that we can say, `We got it there, we did our stuff, we showed the world that even though we had slipped in terms of the ability of the side from where we were perhaps five years earlier, we were a decent side and still had a lot of talent."

PORT-OF-SPAIN – Hours before a row developed between West Indies players and their bosses on Tuesday, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) revealed it had secured sponsorship for the team for the forthcoming World Cup.The WICB announced in the morning that the LNM Group will be the official sponsor of the West Indies team to the World Cup 2003 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.The announcement was made yesterday at a news conference at the Trinidad Hilton.The LNM Group is the second largest steel producer in the world and its steel-making operations in countries make it the world’s most global steel producer with a high degree of product and geographic diversification."With this sponsorship, LNM is giving the West Indies cricket team a major boost of confidence ahead of the 2003 World Cup," remarked Lakshmi N. Mittal, chairman and chief executive officer of the LNM Group."We expect great things from the team and look forward to them personifying some of the qualities that the LNM Group truly admire like commitment, courage and boldness."WICB president Reverend Wes Hall welcomed the LNM Group on board and said that financial support for West Indies cricket from the private sector was always greatly appreciated."I would like to express our sincere appreciation for this commitment by the LNM Group to our West Indies team because this stands as an example for all those who care about West Indies cricket," Hall said."I have spent a few days with the team at their training camp in Antigua and I can tell you they are determined to make a big impression at the Cricket World Cup 2003 and the LNM Group will help to make sure that the dreams of these young men become a reality."The LNM Group, through the Trinidad & Tobago-based Caribbean Ispat, one of LNM’s global operations previously sponsored the West Indies team when they visited India for a series of Tests and One-Day Internationals almost a decade ago.During the Cricket World Cup 2003, the West Indies team will participate in promotional activities and display the LNM Group logo on their competition uniforms.On Monday, the WICB announced that Carib Beer had areached a five-year agreement to become the title sponsor of the West Indies four-day first-class championship.

Australia v Zimbabwe:Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 134 runs to complete 5000 ODI runs
Andy Symonds (AUS) needs 95 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 90 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 14 runs to complete 2000 ODI runsGrand Flower (ZIM) needs 3 wicket to join the 100 ODI-wicket clubMichael Bevan (AUS) needs 111 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 227 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Grand Flower (ZIM) need 64 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsHeath Streak (ZIM) needs 7 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-clubSri Lanka v Kenya:Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 171 runs to complete 9000 ODI runs
Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 76 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Ravindu Shah (KEN) needs 52 runs to complete 1000 ODI runsAravinda De Silva (SL) needs 2 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket clubAravinda De Silva (SL) needs 191 runs to complete 1000 World Cup runs
Hashan Tillakaratne (SL) needs 211 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Steve Tikolo (KEN) needs 92 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 217 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Ravindu Shah (KEN) needs 225 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsMuttiah Muralitharan (SL) needs 6 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Chaminda Vaas (SL) needs 3 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club

ONE, TWO, three . . . 18. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger.Unstoppable Barbados, the most decorated team in the history of regional first-class cricket, added yet another title to their vast collection yesterday by establishing a record of sorts on the way to winning the 2003 Carib Beer Cup.In moving to an unassailable 60 points with a match still remaining, Courtney Browne’s red-hot men competed a fourth victory in six matches with a day to spare by demolishing the Leeward Islands by seven wickets, 22 minutes before lunch at Kensington Oval.It was their 18th regional first-class championship since 1966, their fifth in the last nine seasons, and continued a trend of winning the title in every other season since 1995.Champion Barbados teams under Sir Garfield Sobers, David Holford, Vanburn Holder, Albert Padmore, Carlisle Best, Joel Garner and Desmond Haynes in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s would have created records of their own, but none would have won as many as four matches well inside the distance.So many wins with loads of time in reserve emphasised that this Barbados team, with a core of experienced players and a promising bunch of young talent, was clearly in a class of its own, especially with the absence of the region’s leading players on West Indies duties at the World Cup."Barbados is a superior team when the other players are away playing for West Indies," said skipper Browne."Our experience over the other teams was great. Our commitment was something that we tried to drill in the guys every day. In the end, that pulled us through."Barbados opened the season by defeating the Windward Islands in three days and followed up with just as convincing wins against India "A" and Trinidad ad Tobago before taking care of the Leewards yesterday.Had rain not affected matches against Jamaica and Guyana, it might have very well been a 100 per cent winning record."Team work did it for us. We were well prepared. We played very well this year," Browne said."You have the likes of Philo [Wallace], Sherwin [Campbell], Floyd [Reifer], [Ian] Bradshaw and myself – we were around for a while. The fact that we have been playing long – we would always perform at this level because we know how and what to do."Barbados, the reigning Red Stripe Bowl regional champions, can still look forward to more.After next weekend’s final Cup match against West Indies "B" at Kensington, they have the chance to complete a unique double by adding the International Challenge to the Cup.The semifinalists of the International Challenge are determined by the top four places in the Cup, and Barbados are guaranteed of hosting one semifinal and also the final if they advance."The season is not over. We have another three games left – West Indies `B’, semifinals and final. That is our goal. That is what we are focusing on," Browne said.

Captain Sourav Ganguly believes teamwork will be essential if India are todefeat Sri Lanka and confirm their presence in the semi-finals on Monday.India, currently on 12 points, are virtually assured of a semi-final placeafter their nervy win against Kenya on Friday – a win against Sri Lanka willguarantee their qualification.”This is an important phase of the tournament and all of us need tocontribute,” said Ganguly after the team’s final practice.”After this game we could be in the semi-finals. That is going to happenwith one or two guys contributing, it’s got to be teamwork,” he added”I am very happy at the way we all are hitting the ball. We are playing aswell as we did in the NatWest Trophy in England.”We want to finish second or third and more importantly, we want to keep onwinning. Winning is a good habit and we won our last five games. We want tokeep it going.”Ganguly claims to know Sri Lanka’s strengths and weaknesses.”Jayasuriya is a key player for them with the bat and with the ball it willbe an advantage for us if he doesn’t play. Even with Sanath in the sidewe’ve won against them. Obviously he is one of their key players.”Aravinda, Atapattu are all good players, Mahela is not in the best oftouch, but he is a quality player. They’ve got Sangakkara, Arnold,Tillakaratne and they are decent batting side. The focus will not only be onSanath but on the whole side.”The Indian captain is also wary of Chaminda Vaas: “He has served Sri Lankacricket a long time and we have a lot of respect for him as a bowler.”

Medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji claimed five wickets to propel Tamil Nadu to a convincing 132-run win over hosts Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group semi-final that ended at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu now take on Mumbai in the Ranji final to be played at Mumbai from May 4.It did not take long for the outcome of the match to be settled after play resumed on Tuesday. In Balaji’s third over, he castled Virender Sehwag (98 not out overnight) with an excellent off-cutter. Sehwag was stranded on 99.With their star batsman back in the pavilion, Delhi’s challenge quickly fizzled out. The remaining four batsmen lasted just 13 more overs as the hosts folded up after the addition of just 41 runs to their overnight total.Tamil Nadu captain S Suresh expressed his happiness with his team’s performance in his post-match interview with the Press Trust of India.”We played really well and everybody contributed in the win. It was indeed a fine show by the players as it is not easy to beat Delhi on their home soil, ” Suresh said.”Balaji again proved that he is a class bowler. He has bowled beautifully throughout the season and no doubt his performance in the semi-final played a significant role in our victory,” he added, while thanking his main strike bowler for his match-winning display.

Leicestershire 178 for 7 beat Lancashire 156 for 8 by 22 runs at Leicester
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Leicestershire won their third Twenty20 Cup match out of three, beating Lancashire by 22 runs at Grace Road. Realistically it was all over when Lancs slumped to 97 for 8, although Glen Chapple (55*) and Peter Martin (10*) then added 59 without being separated to make the margin look closer. Virender Sehwag gave Leicester a quick start, with 26 out of the first 31, then the in-form Darren Maddy hit 46 to set up a winning total of 178 for 7.Northamptonshire 166 for 6 beat Somerset 151 by 15 runs at Northampton
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Another fine innings from Mike Hussey, who cracked 88, set up Northants for a winning total at Wantage Road. Keith Dutch, Somerset’s offspinner, applied the brakes with 2 for 14 in his three overs, but a score of 166 for 6 proved just beyond Somerset, for whom Carl Gazzard top-scored with a rapid 39. Jason Brown, another offspinner, took 5 for 27 as Somerset collapsed in the search for quick runs.Warwickshire 181 for 9 beat Glamorgan 113 by 68 runs at Edgbaston
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In front of a big crowd of more than 10,000, Warwickshire maintained their 100% record with their third win out of three – and consigned Glamorgan to their fourth straight defeat. Neil Carter (47) and Nick Knight (54) set Warwickshire rolling with an opening stand of 85. Then Collins Obuya, the Kenyan World Cup legspinner, had Glamorgan rolling with 5 for 24. Only Matthew Maynard, whose 50 included a six off the first ball of the innings, from Waqar Younis, held Warwickshire up for long.Yorkshire 198 for 4 beat Durham 143 for 8 by 55 runs at Headingley
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Yorkshire’s total of 198 for 4, of which Stephen Fleming clattered 58 and Michael Lumb 50, always looked too much for neighbours Durham – and so it proved. Durham managed only 143, with Martin Love top-scoring with 51. Yuvraj Singh, Yorkshire’s Indian import, returned to form with 22 and 3 for 20, identical figures to Ryan Sidebottom.Kent 120 for 7 beat Essex 116 by 3 wickets at Chelmsford
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Kent made heavy weather of overhauling Essex’s modest total of 116, but made it in the end with three wickets and 3.5 overs to spare. Andrew Symonds (32) and James Tredwell (31) put on 58 for Kent’s second wicket, and looked to be taking them home in style – but then Graham Napier nipped in with three wickets. Earlier Andy Flower top-scored for Essex with 33, but then Kent’s new South African-born medium-pacer Matthew Dennington collected 4 for 28 in his four overs.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 4 down the years 1918
The quintessential English seamer is born. Surrey’s AlecBedser was simply one of England’s greatest post-war bowlers, a disciple of line and length, seam and swing. He began his Test career with a staggering 22 wickets in his first two Tests, against India in 1946. Indeed, throughout his career Bedser’s wickets came in clusters: 23 in three Tests against South Africa in 1951, 36 in four against Australia two years later, including match figures of 14 for 99 at Trent Bridge, the greatest in Test history by a bowler not on the winning side. He was later an England selector for a record 23 years, and was knighted in 1996. His twin brother Eric was also a fine allrounder for Surrey.1981
Put in on a moist pitch in the County Championship match atBournemouth, Nottinghamshire were dispatched for 143 by Hampshire. Nothing unusual in that, but while batsman after batsman laboured at one end, Clive Rice batted as if it was a Johannesburg shirtfront. He made a superb 105 not out; the next-highest score was Tim Robinson’s 10. The Wisden Almanack report, presumably written by David Coleman, called his performance "remarkable".1959
Birth of the highest runscorer in women’s Test cricket history. Nobody can match Jan Brittin’s 1935 runs, made in 27 Tests for England between 1979 and 1996. Her five hundreds are also a record.1931
A prankster is born. England’s Peter Richardson had a fondness for sending false cricket records to EW Swanton, for publication in theDaily Telegraph. Oh and he batted too, extremely successfully in 34 Tests between 1956 and 1963. A diligent left-handed opener, he made five hundreds in his first 16 Tests, including 104 against Australia inLaker’s Match at Old Trafford in 1956. He played for Worcestershire and Kent, and in 1957, he played alongside his brother Dick in the Trent Bridge Test of 1957. They were the last brothers to do so for England until the Hollioakes.1986
A burly 183 not out from Mike Gatting, in his second game as captain, was the highlight of England’s drawn third Test against India atEdgbaston. It was a result not to be sneezed at – England had lost seven in a row going into this. This was also the debut of Mark Benson, the Kent opener. He faced his first ball with England at 0 for 2, made 21 and 30 in good style – and was never picked again.1922
Birth of Ghulam Ahmed, one of India’s premier spinners in their formative years of Test cricket. He was at his best on helpful wickets, where he could be lethal. Three of his four five-fors came in defeat though, including his best figures – 7 for 49 against Australia at Calcutta in 1956-57. He was an aggressive but essentially hopeless tailender – in 22 completed Test innings he made nine ducks, but he somehow made 50 against Pakistan at Delhi in 1952-53. He was secretary of the BCCI between 1975 and 1980, and died in his native Hyderabad in 1998.1984
A complete mismatch at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire thumpedOxfordshire by 227 runs in a NatWest Trophy match. Alvin Kallicharran flayed 206 … and then took 6 for 32 with his gentle offspinners. His was the first double-hundred in a one-day match in England, although it looks piddling compared to Ally Brown’s butchery in the 2002 season.1972
Craig Spearman, the New Zealand opener who turns 31 today, has never quite done justice to his explosive talent in 19 Tests. He slashed aquickfire 40 on debut, in a lowscoring match against Pakistan atChristchurch in 1995-96, and later that winter made his only hundred, against Zimbabwe at Auckland. His nature should have made him suited to the one-day game, but in 51 appearances he averaged only 18. He is now playing for Gloucestershire as a non-overseas player, qualifying by virtue of his Welsh mother.

Just one week after raising the issue of “fancy fixing” in a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC), exclusively published on Wisden Cricinfo, Rashid Latif has apologised to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his action. Samiul Hasan, the PCB spokesman, said: “He [Latif] has written to the PCB saying he committed a mistake by writing that letter without consulting the Board. He regretted his decision and said he would not do any such thing in future without prior clearance from the board.”Hasan clarified that despite the apology, the board might yet take disciplinary action against Latif. “We have asked the ICC to explain if any procedures were violated. If the ICC says yes, then the matter would be referred to the PCB disciplinary committee, which comprises two judges, one legal advisor and a former Test cricketer.”While admitting that the letter had put the board in a “very awkward position”, Hasan was quick to point out that the PCB fully understood Latif’s concern over matchfixing. “He has been a front-runner in exposing matchfixing activities and has even put his career at stake,” said Hasan. “He has not named any cricketer in his letter. Also, nowhere in his letter does he say that matchfixing was still taking place. So whatever he has written are his personal views. He has a right to his views as captain of the team.”In his letter to the ICC, Latif had raised concerns about the occurrence of “fancy fixing” – a form of matchfixing where bets are placed on various smaller aspects of the match. According to a report in The Independent, the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit had noted this phenomenon too – Lord Condon, head of the ACU, had listed nine specific aspects in his draft report two years ago, terming them “occurrence fixing”.The ICC is likely to ask Latif to raise his concerns at the annual international captains’ meet, which takes place in September.

ScorecardThree quick wickets from Robert Croft put Glamorgan in a strong position against India A at Swansea. A spell of 3 for 3 in 14 balls from Croft helped reduce India A to 149 for 6 before the rain came down in the 53rd over.After they won the toss and chose to bat, India A were in early trouble after Glamorgan’s David Harrison struck twice early on to leave them teetering on 26 for 2. Satyajit Parab was the first to go when he was caught by Croft for only 4 (7 for 1), and then Shiv Sunder Das was also caught, by Dean Cosker for 14.However, Sridharam Sriram (62) and Rohan Gavaskar (61) then led the recovery. They put on 116 in 35 overs before both were dismissed by Croft. Gavaskar was well caught by Owen Parkin at short third man as he miscued an attempted drive off Darren Thomas (142 for 3). And Sriram was later caught at first slip by Mike Powell, after hitting six fours in his patient innings (149 for 6).In between those wickets, Hemang Badani was Croft’s second victim when he was adjudged lbw for 0 as he padded up (146 for 5) and Vijay Bharadwaj also fell leg before, to Parkin (154 for 4).That all meant that India A had lost four wickets for only seven runs, but heavy rain meant that no further play was possible.