The glory was all Zimbabwe’s at Eden Park today as it celebrated its first One-Day International series victory by claiming the National Bank Trophy from New Zealand with a thrilling one wicket victory.New Zealand were left in a state of shock when Zimbabwe, who had been down and out, hammered into submission but still able to make one last effort, that just happened to involve scoring 224 runs with only five wickets left, three of them pretty ordinary, to claim victory with more than an over to spare.There was always the suggestion that on a good Eden Park wicket, 273/9 was going to be a gettable score.Admittedly, the manner in which Zimbabwe scythed off its top order, including a first ball run out of Trevor Madondo, offered hope of an easy home victory.But Andy Flower isn’t ranked one of the world’s top batsmen of the moment for nothing and Heath Streak has too much basic fight in him to ever give up and they gave the perfect demonstration of commitment, and what it can achieve, with the bat in hand.Streak was ecstatic afterwards.So he should have been. It was he who launched a single-handed strike on the New Zealand late over bowlers to score 79 not out from 67 balls, including four fours and five sixes, the last of which was a glorious stand and deliver from Craig McMillan’s bowling for six over the short extra cover boundary which is a feature of Eden Park.If the Australians and West Indians are expecting any easy road to the Carlton Series finals they should think again. These Zimbabweans know how to claw their way back into the action.Streak said he gave a lot of thought to where he wanted to hit the ball. If the New Zealanders bowled in the right zones, he would go for his shots.Because Zimbabwe kept up with the required run rate, even while losing wickets, they reached the final overs needing 25 runs from 24 balls, then 19 from 19 and 12 from 12. As long as Streak was there, the win was on.New Zealand chipped away and picked up nine wickets but they couldn’t get the key man in Streak.”It was a case of just waiting for the right balls. I told Brian Murphy [No 11] when he came out that he could either defend it or try to work it,” Streak said.”When you get to needing six an over, and you start pulling the overs in, it is easier. It was nice to have a bit of confidence.”If the bowlers did bowl a dot ball I backed myself to hit a boundary,” Streak said.While Murphy wasn’t a high scorer, he had performed nightwatchman duties with effect for the side before and had been able to stay around.”I was worried, but not overly anxious,” Streak said of the last partnership.All the batsmen had worked to a game plan, rather than looking to expose the inexperience of the New Zealand attack.”We aimed to upset their field setting and make the bowlers have to bowl to unorthodox fields,” he said.That goal was nicely achieved by Andy Flower, who in his 81 hardly hit a shot in anger. He caressed the ball all over the ground, but especially with effect in sweeping and lapping the ball behind the wicket-keeper into the prosperous lands behind the wickets.He was so consistent in his method that his 50 came up off 52 balls while his 81 was scored from 86 balls. It was a classic demonstration.Dirk Viljoen accompanied him in what was the match-winning partnership of 82 runs. It was a sixth wicket record for Zimbabwe against New Zealand and will stand as one of the more special one day partnerships in the Zimbabwe game.While Flower worked the ball, Streak blasted it in the way New Zealanders have come to expect from Chris Cairns.New Zealand coach David Trist bemoaned the fact that he didn’t have a bowler like Daniel Vettori to operate through these middle stages and while he might have made a difference, the point was he wasn’t available and New Zealand has to learn to minimise its losses.New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said he and the team were “pretty shattered” after the game which he said “ebbed and flowed.””It is gut-wrenching,” he said.At 60/5 chasing 273, New Zealand had every reason to expect a victory.But the Zimbabweans played New Zealand’s spinners Chris Harris and Paul Wiseman very well and Flower had basically taken Wiseman, the attacking option, out of the game with some clever play.There was an element of sitting and waiting about the New Zealand approach through those middle stages.”In the middle stages we could have put the match away but they controlled those middles stages. They had us on the back foot where we should have pushed forward,” he said.None of New Zealand’s bowlers came through the experience well. Scott Styris had 3-36 from nine overs and was obviously being lined up to bowl the last over but was surplus to requirements. McMillan, who had done so much to make New Zealand’s score competitive with his unbeaten 75, didn’t deserve to be on the end of Streak’s final shot.But it was testimony to that same challenge he had with the bat that he was there and he ended with 2-49. Nathan Astle bowled 10 containing overs for 1-47 while Chris Harris took 1-36 from seven and James Franklin 1-52 from nine.It was an exciting game which had the crowd of 14,871 roaring and in the end no one could deny Zimbabwe their win.

Ousted Sri Lanka Cricket Board (BCCSL) chief Thilanga Sumathipala said that he had no confidence in the probe committee appointed by Sports Minister Lakshman Kiriella to investigate alleged misdeeds and financial malpractices during his term of office.Sumathipala expressed his displeasure over the individuals in the committee in a letter sent to the Minister through his lawyers."I have reasonable doubts about the qualification of the five members of the committee," said Sumathipala, alleging that some of them had reason to be biased against him.The displaced president said that he would not anwer any questions by the committee or appear before them if he was asked to do so because he had no confidence in them.The committee comprises Hemantha Warnakulasuriya (chairman), Maxi Wijetilleke, Sunil Abeyratne, Priyantha Algama and M. Sivaratnam.Sumathipala said he had no objection to the appointment of a qualified committee to probe his term in office."We have been unfairly accused of financial mismanagement in the last few months. This is a plot to fix us," he said.Sumathipala and his committee was ousted last month by the Sports Minister when he dissolved the BCCSL and appointed an interim committee to run cricket accusing the Sumathipala administration of financial mismanagement.Since then Sumathipala has gone to courts challenging the validity of the interim committee.

Kent are on the lookout for a new overseas player after Darryl Cullinan was forced to withdraw from his contract because of a persistent knee injury.Cullinan returned to South Africa this week for scans on the injury, having played only three Championship games for the county this season.But he has been told that the injury requires prolonged rest. Kent chief executive Paul Millman said: “This is clearly a disappointing outcome to what has promised to be a most fruitful relationship. We will now be looking for a replacement to take the field as soon as possible.”Cullinan wants to stay on in England to assist the club until the end of theseason.Millman added: “We will be discussing with Darryl his offer to help in anyway that he can and very much appreciate this gesture.”Cullinan said: “I’m naturally very disappointed and deeply regret thedecision that had to be made. It is the first time in my career that I havesuffered an injury this serious but I do feel that rest is the only solution.”I wish the team and my replacement all the very best for the remainder ofthe season. Kent’s new overseas player will be very fortunate to be involvedwith a great club and a great bunch of lads.”

Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne saw his decision to bat first backfire on him at Bristol as his side closed a rain-hit opening day of the CricInfo Championship second division match with Warwickshire on 135-8.After heavy showers delayed the start to 2.15pm, Warwickshire’s pace attack took advantage of some moisture in the pitch and the humid conditions to rip through the Gloucestershire top order.The home side found themselves on 39-5 at tea and it needed an unbeaten 53 from Jeremy Snape to restore some respectability to the total.Melvyn Betts produced a fine opening spell of 6-4-10-2, which included the wickets of Kim Barnett and Matt Windows, caught at gully and first slip respectively for ducks.Dominic Hewson hit a defiant 26, but he, Chris Taylor and Alleyne were all caught behind by Keith Piper.Jack Russell provided some stubborn resistance before he played on against Alan Richardson for 12, and it became 86-7 when Martyn Ball was caught at second slip by Nick Knight off Betts for 13.That was the cue for Snape to play some more aggressive shots and he brought up the hundred with a four through the covers off Betts.Mike Cawdron offered solid support and the pair put on 49 runs for the eighth wicket before Cawdron was yorked by Vasbert Drakes for ten from the final ball of the day.Snape, who has been in fine form with the bat over the past month, has so far struck eight fours in his 113-ball innings.

There were angry shouts from spectators as Warwickshire’s CricInfoChampionship Division Two game against Derbyshire lapsed into frustration and bloody-mindedness before ending in a draw, which served neither county’s best interests.Derbyshire needed victory to ease their plight at the bottom of the table and Warwickshire to improve their chance of promotion but the loss of 75 minutes of play at the start of the day effectively ruined the chance of a positive outcome.Derbyshire, 165-runs ahead overnight and with eight wickets standing, needed to make runs quickly to get the arithmetic right for an equitable declaration but Warwickshire frustrated this hope with defensive fields and the outcome was an attritional day.”We might have been able to come up with something if Warwickshire had played ball a bit but as soon as we started getting after the bowling they put two sweepers on,” commented Derbyshire’s cricket manager Colin Wells.Warwickshire could reasonably argue that the loss of in-form batsman Dominic Ostler, ruled out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, limited their scope for contriving a result but there was precious little sympathy for either team from spectators.When drinks were taken in mid-afternoon one man yelled: “Get on with the game you bloody loafers” and there were more jeers when the game ended with Derbyshire declaring at 435-5, a lead of 396.Graeme Welch added an innings of 64 – his best for Derbyshire – to figures of 5-53 against his former county and Luke Sutton also took full advantage of an assortment of occasional bowlers to score 110 not out, his maiden first-class century.

Warwickshire made the most of a potential stalemate at Edgbaston by claiming the maximum eight bonus points with a career-best 186 not out by David Hemp.Whether they will now have the chance to boost their promotion prospects with 12 for a win will depend on what Worcestershire make of a 190-run lead on the last morning.To set a realistic target, they will need to build quickly on a sedate 113 for 1 in 38 overs in their second innings. The openers put on 49 before Anurag Singh fell to the second ball from off-spinner Neil Smith and there was a touch more spark as Philip Weston moved to an unbeaten 57The game has had two many unadventurous phases, but no one could blame Warwickshire for taking care when they resumed at 223 for 4, still needing 152 to avoid the follow-on.Hemp carried them through that period with a well-balanced innings and vibrant assistance from Dougie Brown, who was charging along after lunch until caught behind off Alamgir Sheriyar for 85.Hemp had then reached 152 – his best for Warwickshire – and then went past a personal-best of 157 for Glamorgan as a fifth batting point was secured in the 114th over.Thereafter the tactics became mystifying as Warwickshire added only 68 in 23 overs until Michael Powell declared 77 behind at 447 for 6.Keith Piper ticked along for 21 before he was bowled by David Leatherdale for 21 and there were no fireworks from Neil Smith in an unbeaten 11. Even Hemp became becalmed at the end of his 468-minute innings of 25 fours and two sixes in 368 balls.

Durham are on the verge of their first ever Championship win over second division leaders Sussex despite some brave resistance from Robin Martin-Jenkins.The tall all-rounder batted for nearly four hours for his unbeaten 84, but his side closed on 238-7, still requiring 99 for the victory that would clinch promotion to Division One.Sussex had launched their run chase in style with Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin putting on 84 in 20 overs before Montgomerie ran a risky single to mid wicket and was run out by Gary Pratt’s brilliant swoop and direct hit.In the next 11 overs Sussex subsided to 114-4. Skipper Chris Adams drove loosely to gully, Bas Zuiderent edged to third slip and Goodwin was caught behind for an entertaining 65.Michael Yardy was dropped twice before he was taken at short leg for 13 and after tea Martin-Jenkins lost Matt Prior (14) and Mark Davis (4) in taking the score to 229-7.Durham turned down the option of claiming the extra half-hour but will fancy their chances of completing victory this morning, especially as the new ball is due in 14 overs.Earlier James Kirtley and Mark Robinson each took five wickets as Durham were bowled out for 199 in their second innings, losing their last five wickets in less than an hour for 20 runs.Kirtley’s 5-47 gave him a season’s best match haul of 10-95 while Robinson took his 200th wicket for the county and has now taken 21 in the last three games after finishing with 5-59.

After seeing his side finish the day on 265 for five, nearly 400 ahead of Surrey, Somerset coach Kevin Shine said: "It’s been a very good day for us today, and we have finished in a strong position. Congratulations to Steffan Jones who took his 50th championship wicket . He has grafted hard on very flat wickets. On any other track he would have taken more. There was also some fabulous bowling from Richard Johnson – a real Test Match performance."Regarding the batting he said: "We did a professional job when we batted , and we have built upon our first innings lead of a hundred to put ourselves in a commanding position in the match. We will bat for a bit longer in the morning and hope to bat them out of the game. At the start of the day we planned to be 350 ahead by close, so we are a little bit ahead of that."

Matthew Hoggard won the the man-of-the-match award as England coasted to victory over Zimbabwe with more than 12 overs to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Zimbabwe have now lost eight successive matches.And the England captain Nasser Hussain believes Hoggard’s emergence as an international force will act as a spur to his more senior bowling colleagues.”He’s a very good white-ball bowler,” said Hussain. “If you look at his figures in England they’re very good, and he should come into his own in next summer’s triangular series.”He’s putting pressure on Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick, and that’s the wayit should be. We have three very good white-ball bowlers now and we will have tosee if we’ll be able to play them all together.”Hussain also paid tribute to Nick Knight, with whom he added 112 in only 24 overs to make an England victory virtually certain.”I do like batting with Knighty. I always have even going back to the time wewere both at Essex,” said Hussain.”We’ve opened together well and we have a lot of chats and enjoy each other’scompany. I was pleased with the way we set about it today.”Hussain himself made his fifth half-century in his last seven one-day international appearances.

Under the bright lights of the Sharjah Cricket Association stadium Pakistan captain Waqar Younis held aloft the Khaleej Times Trophy 2001 after beating Sri Lanka by five wickets. It was the kind of performance that was more sensible than heroic, more calculated than sensational. After being asked to take the field Waqar and his men shot out the Sri Lankans for 173, thereby making their task so much easier.Easy or not, the Pakistan batting has a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And it did almost capitulate in the face of some fine spin bowling from Muthiah Muralitharan. Showing off his complete repertoire, Murali ended with the figures of 10-3-22-3. An outstanding showing from Murali with a very small total to defend.The rest of the Sri Lankan bowling however, lacked the experience, skill and imagination needed to make a miracle happen. The same attack would certainly have looked completely different had there been another fifty odd runs on the board.A sensible steady knock of 35 from Shahid Afridi, followed by 40 from Yousuf Youhana and a sprinkling of cameos saw to it that Pakistan reached their target with more than five overs to spare.But it was really the Sri Lankan batting that set the tone of the match.It was a keen contest between two explosive openers and two experienced fast bowlers. While Sanath Jayasuriya, the man known for his hitting at the top of the order, and Avishka Gunawardene attempted to get Sri Lanka off to a good start, the Pakistanis did everything in their power to stop them. The first casualty of the twin W’s was Gunawaradene, who simply could not break the shackles. The pressure exerted by Waqar forced Gunawardene to go after a delivery that would have normally sailed harmlessly through to the keeper. Fending at a ball that shaped away from the left-hander, Gunawardene only managed to present Azhar Mahmood at slip with a low catch. Gunawardene managed just 2 off 11 balls as Waqar struck in the fourth over.While Jayasuriya adjusted to the circumstances very quickly and adopted a defensive, wait-and-watch approach, his partner out in the middle, Marvan Atapattu was dealt a cracker of a delivery by Akram. The left-arm seamer softened up Atapattu with a few short deliveries before pushing one through a bit quicker. Trying to play at the ball, Atapattu tickled it through to stumper Rashid Latif.Atapattu did not trouble the scorers.The initial breakthroughs coupled with the fact that runs dried up made things very difficult for the Lankans. The fact that none of the Sri Lankans made even a half-century is telling. Jayasuriya (34) was not his usual self and did his best to keep one end steady. Mahela Jayawardene (43) batting with great flair took one risk too many and was cleaned up by a pumped up Shoaib Akhtar.Russel Arnold soldiered on manfully while the wickets fell around him. Chipping the ball into the gaps and accumulating the runs, Arnold helped himself to an almost run-a-ball 47, the highest score of the Lankan innings.For Pakistan the wickets were spread around – Waqar and Akhtar had three each while Akram and Afridi bagged two apiece.