Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore believes the confidence gained from his sides’s nail-biting win against West Indies will pave the way for a Sri Lanka win against South Africa.The match is another must-win game for both teams. If Sri Lanka win they will top Group ‘B’ and qualify for the Super Sixes knocking South Africa out of the competition.If Sri Lanka lose, they can still qualify provided they have a better net run rate than New Zealand with whom they will be fighting for third place.Whatmore said that his team can still qualify even if they don’t win tomorrow’s match. “But that’s not our first objective,” he said.”We had a terrific match a couple of days ago at Newlands and it’s given a lot of confidence to our guys. It was a tough and a tight match. It’s always nice to win the tough ones. If any team has to do well in the World Cup, it needs to play big games like this. We are very confident,” said Whatmore.”It is a very important game for both sides. The only thing that I am concerned with is having our team continuing to play some fairly good cricket. That will be the case tomorrow night,” he said.Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya said that his side no longer had to worry about the bouncy pitches.”We have been playing well and won most our games in South Africa. Tomorrow is just another international game and we have just to go and play it like we did the other day,” said Jayasuriya.He said that although South Africa had a better record against Sri Lanka it was all in the past. “It’s a new game tomorrow,” said Jayasuriya.He said that it was important to bat first on this pitch because of the difficulties faced by the side batting second so far in the tournament.Jayasuriya said that it was rather unusual for the Kingsmead pitch to have so much of grass on it. If that is the case, it will certainly favour the South African seam attack.Jayasuriya concern is his middle-order batting which he said would make a come back at any moment.

The last time these two sides met, Zimbabwe were humiliated byseven wickets, allowing Kenya a passage to the World Cup semi-final.It was revenge time for Zimbabwe under lights at Sharjah, as theysurvived a minor hiccup and ran away winners by five wickets, gettingtheir first points of this tournament.The star of the day for Zimbabwe was Doug Marillier, who cracked asplendid 100 – the first century of his one-day career. His knock wasmagnificently paced, and allowed Zimbabwe to make light of achallenging target of 226, especially after they had struggled at the startof their innings. Marillier’s 130-run stand for the third wicket with GrantFlower (59) turned the tide, and ensured that Collins Obuya’s excellentspell – 2 for 31 from 10 overs – didn’t translate into a Kenyan victory.Kenya began their defence of the target with their usual enthusiasmand discipline. Martin Suji and Thomas Odoyo frustrated Marillier andCraig Wishart, bowling consecutive maidens and allowing just 55 runsin the first 15 overs.Collins Obuya then came on and struck twice in quick succession, firsthaving Wishart caught by Steve Tikolo at slip (56 for 1), and then takinga return catch off Gavin Rennie (68 for 2). Flighting the ball and gettingappreciable turn, Obuya consistently pitched on good length andtroubled all the batsmen. However, the Marillier-Flower partnershipgradually turned things around.Marillier, circumspect at the start, played none of the audacious slogswhich have characterised his batting in ODIs. His first fifty took all of82 balls – compared to 57 for his next – and though it included a fewpowerful drives and pulls, there were plenty of dot-balls too.None of this bothered Marillier, though. With Flower timing the ballsweetly and rotating the strike, Zimbabwe’s innings soon got amove-on. Flower completed 6000 runs in ODIs, and then proceeded tosweep Maurice Odumbe and Tikolo to distraction. Marillier struck bothof them for six, and an asking rate which had climbed to more than arun a ball quickly descended.But Kenya weren’t finished. Flower and Marillier were both snared byTony Suji – who was introduced in the 45th over of the innings – ineight balls, and when Andy Blignaut hoicked Odoyo straight to JosephAngara at midwicket, Zimbabwe needed 18 from 15 balls.Heath Streak, aided by some uncharacteristically sloppy work in thefield – Jimmy Kamande twice misfielded at long-off – made sure thatZimbabwe didn’t mess it up. The end came when Streak tonked TonySuji for six over long-off.Earlier, Zimbabwe had put in a disciplined performance in the field torestrict Kenya to 225. Kenya’s innings was characterised by plenty ofbatsmen getting starts, but no-one going on to convert that intoanything substantial.David Obuya clunked his way to 57 – his first fifty in one-dayinternationals – while Odoyo held the innings together at the end with aworkmanlike 46, but the rest of the batting fell away after promising alot. Kenya reached the four-an-over mark in the 26th over, with Tikoloand David Obuya going strong, but then lost three wickets in the next 12overs, and never quite regained the momentum.David Obuya and Brijal Patel put together 52 for the second wicket afterKennedy Obuya was nailed early on by Streak, but the best phase ofKenya’s innings came when Tikolo joined David Obuya in a 59-runstand.Obuya swished and missed plenty of times, but also connected with afew meaty blows, including an effortless six over backward square legoff Douglas Hondo. Tikolo’s was a classy knock. He struck only twofours in his 37, but rotated the strike superbly with deft flicks andfluent drives. However, the Kenyan innings began to unravel when DavidObuya hoicked Raymond Price to Gavin Rennie at long-off (114 for 3).Tikolo was dismissed against the run of play, top-edging a sweep offPrice to Marillier at square leg (131 for 5), while Odumbe – coming offan excellent World Cup – popped a return catch to Rennie.Odoyo and Hitesh Modi put the innings back on track with a sensiblepartnership, eschewing strokeplay and working the singles around toensure that Kenya batted through their 50 overs. But ultimately, the totalof 225 turned out to be about 15 too few.S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

Things are looking up for Otago cricket after the senior men’s side claimed a clear third place in the State Championship, the best finish for several years.Backing this result has been the early re-appointment of coach Glenn Turner and the news that former Pakistan international Mohammad Wasim will return to the side next summer.Wasim scored 651 runs at an average of 40.68 to finish in seventh place on the Championship batting aggregates and superbly complemented his fellow opening batsman Craig Cumming, who scored 751 runs.Otago Cricket’s chief executive Graeme Elliott said the side had benefited from having an attack which could bowl opponents out and the successive outright victories to beat Canterbury and Wellington in the last two matches of the season had been especially impressive.”Shayne O’Connor was back and fully fit and was taking wickets while Kerry Walmsley and Warren McSkimming also bowled well.”We had good top-order batting but our middle-order still needs to do better,” he said.Elliott was disappointed the side could not beat competition winners Auckland in their match at Queenstown when they had all day to score 247 for victory.”We just let them get on top of us,” he said.”But it was really good to see a couple of chunky wins at the end.”Elliott confirmed that Wasim would be back next summer. He was going to be working on elements of his batting that he had worked on with Turner during the summer and would also be working on his leg-spin to give the Otago attack another prospective prong.Elliott added that normally when Otago got to the end of season a period of time was wasted while sitting around wondering who might be the coach of the side in the next summer.That had been resolved this year with Turner’s early appointment, a move which allowed him to address issues over the winter.The improved quality of pitches in the Otago region had also been a boost for the side. Apart from Queen’s Park in Invercargill where there was still a need to lift the standard, Otago had pitches that were as good as anywhere in the country, Elliott said.”Carisbrook was a wee bit ordinary before Christmas, but afterwards it, and Queenstown and Molyneux Park in Alexandra were among the best in the country,” he said.The use of the University Oval next summer would continue the quality of pitches available in Otago.Elliott wants to play all of Otago’s four-day cricket in Dunedin, and to take the one-day State Shield matches around the region.”University Oval will have the Kakanui loam soil which is a proven product in our conditions.”What I want to do is play two four-day matches at Carisbrook and three at the University Oval,” he said.

Zimbabwe received the dampest of welcomes to England, on and off the pitch,as the first day of their opening tour match against British Universitieswas reduced to 38 overs by rain. By the close, the universities had madesteady and unspectacular progress to 92 for 2, though they were denied fullvalue for their shots by a quagmire of an outfield.Most of the interest in the game lay elsewhere, in the expected protestsfrom the Stop the Tour campaign, who have described the Zimbabweans as”spokesmen for Robert Mugabe” and have promised to stage demonstrations atevery ground. But, like the smattering of spectators, they were unenthusedby the conditions, with no more than seven protestors turning up.Warwickshire’s chief executive Dennis Amiss, who had instigated extensivesecurity arrangements for the match, was very satisfied with the day. “I amquite happy,” said Amiss. “There has been no sign of any trouble. Theprecautions taken have been worthwhile and the extra expense is nominal.”On the field, the universities captain, Jimmy Adams, top-scored with anexcellent 42, before falling in the last over before lunch.

The first half of an exclusive interview with Graeme Smith, South Africa’s youngest-ever Test captainWhat are your first memories of captaincy?
I captained at under-13 aged group when I was 12. I always played a year younger than most of the other boys. I captained every team from then on until inter-provincial at under-19 level. I don’t have very much experience of not being captain, I’ve always done it.First conflict?
At under-19 level I had a little run-in with Jacques Rudolph. We’d played against each other all the time for years, and then at under-19 level he captained Northerns and I captained Gauteng. It was a pretty heated exchange, my first taste of what can happen when the adrenalin is flowing during a big game. It was the key game of the tournament. We had always got on, and still do, but it was war at the time!Clash with a team-mate?
That hasn’t really happened. You only get problems if you leave things undecided, if you leave people unsure about what they should be doing and what is expected of them. If everyone knows how the captain wants to run things then they are more likely to respect you – and if a guy steps out of line then you can pull him back in.But most of your experience has been captaining players your own age?
Most of my teams have been a year older than me, but otherwise it’s been limited to the last 12 months when took over at Western Province for a couple of games and took South Africa A to Zimbabwe. And my first couple of Test matches, of course.Any discomfort with leading older, more experienced players?
No, not all. Some people said captaining Steve Elworthy was like captaining your dad, but he was fantastic and later, had some very kind things to say about me. I’ve always got on very well with older players, I don’t know why. I have lived my life a bit “older” than some guys, and most of my best mates are older than me.Most satisfying conflict resolved?
I’m not sure the conflict was resolved, but it was comforting to know I was backed up. It happened in Bangladesh during a one-day international against India. I caught Sourav Ganguly scuffing up the pitch with his studs and I took him on, I had a real go. The satisfying aspect for me was the way my team backed me up when they saw me getting involved. I knew we were fighting together and backing each other up. I’d been told about Sourav’s tactic of being really “nice” and over-friendly when confronted about something he’s done and, sure enough, he started trying to be best buddies with Mark Boucher and some of the other guys – but they were having none of it. In fact, they went at him as hard as I had.You enjoy that confrontational side of the game?
I enjoy it because of the passion and determination involved. You are representing your countrymen, every one of them, against another nation, it’s huge. It’s massive.What about the South Africans who want to be represented by a well-mannered gentleman who does not point his finger and be aggressive on the field?
I believe the sport has gone past that gentlemanly era. It’s still right, and important actually, to have respect for your opponents and the people who play the game, and there is definitely a standard of behaviour to be maintained. Ugly clashes between players should be avoided and, in some instances, punishment is necessary. But it’s the job of a batsman representing his country to dominate the bowler and vice versa for the bowler. You’ve got to do all you can to get the upper hand. There’s going to be tension and aggression, there’s a pile of emotion. People are going to crack now and then – people must try to understand that.So the old traditions of the game have overtaken by the modern era?
No, that’s not what I’m saying – not at all. The traditions of the game are vitally important. That’s why I’m so excited about playing in England where the traditions and heritage of the game are greater than ever. All I’m saying is that a balance must be found where the modern edge, the competitive hardness, of international cricket can still fit in with the great history created by all the men who’ve played cricket for the last couple of centuries.Is there enough appreciation of the sport’s history in South Africa?
I think we’ve lost a bit of that. There’s a specialness about playing for your country that should give you goosebumps every single time you are lucky enough to be selected. It’s not an everyday thing.What will you do to help restore the pride?
It’s an ongoing process – selecting people with a natural sense of pride and honour helps! Little things help, too – little but important. I’m arranging for personal cap bags to be made for each player, embroidered with their name and Test number. Your cap is special – I’d like everyone who has one to treasure it.Are you ever daunted by your own place in history?
I’m not daunted by being the youngest captain, or one of the youngest. That sort of thing goes over my head, it doesn’t scare me or affect me. It’s hard to describe – you see yourself in the newspaper and it’s like someone else. You almost don’t realise what’s happening to you, but that’s partly intentional because I focus and concentrate only on what I can influence. So much of what happens to me is beyond my control! I’m also so excited about this team, and so convinced we can do something special together, that maybe that helps me to stay away from the peripheral stuff. “Who was South Africa’s youngest Test captain?” might come up in a pub quiz but it’s hardly important, is it? Naturally I’d prefer to be judged on my record in the years to come.

The following is the official Canadian Youth Team selected for the Americas Championship July 12-19th, 2003

Bhatti, Umar CaptainAnjaria, SohamBaksh, AdamBastiampillai, GavinBastiampillai, TrevinJethi, KarunKeshvani, AabidKeshvani, ShaheedLall, RyanQazi, MuhammadRoberts, Jonathan w/kRodrigo,ChristianSoraine, DurrandUpton, Simon

Manager: Patrick Christian<br.Coach: Franklyn Dennis

Alternates:

Chatterpaul, AndrewHolz, JustinAhmed ShoebShantikumar, JasonMorton, Joel Michael

John Wright has said that working with a pool of 36 players in two pre-season camps will give him and the selectors a good idea of which players can make the transition to the international level. Wright arrived in Bangalore yesterday with Gregory King, the newly appointed trainer, ahead of the conditioning camp which will be held from August 14-26.The Times of India quoted Wright as saying: "Managing 36 players could be a bit difficult but the main idea is to get more players used to the training methods of King. It’s the beginning of the season and as it progresses the number of players will come down. Having more players will also provide a wider pool of talent. It will give the selectors and myself a good indication of who’s keen on working harder."When asked about the absence of Javagal Srinath, who pulled out from the camp due to an injury in his right knee, Wright said that he hadn’t spoken to him yet. “Sri is an experienced professional. He is big enough to make up his mind. But at the end of the day we need to talk to him.”Wright also spoke about the areas where the team needed to improve. “There are certain areas like the top of the order, fast bowling and fielding …where we need more competition from players.”The list of 36 probables includes four openers apart from Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar, who opened the innings in India’s last Test, but one name missing from the line-up was Sadagoppan Ramesh. Ramesh last played for India in 2001 before being forced out with an injury. Speaking on Ramesh’s chances of making a comeback, Wright said: “Ramesh is a good player. But there are always some unlucky players. He’s scored runs in the domestic season and will have to take his chances.”

Bournemouth are through to the Southern Electric Premier League’s Contracting Cup final at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday week, August 5 after crushing Alton by ten wickets at the BAT ground.When Ben Jansen (40) and Huw Ross (32) helped Alton to a competitive 137-8 off 20 overs, it appeared as though Bournemouth might have a fight on their hads.But Adam Voges and Richard Scott were far too good for the Premier Division 3 bowlers, and seldom looked in any trouble as Bournemouth coasted home in 16.3 overs.Voges twice hit sixes over the BAT pavilion in an unbeaten 69, while left-handed Scott was equally dominant, cracked two sixes and six fours in his 60 not out.Bournemouth play Havant in the Rose Bowl final.

Don’t write us off just yet ! That’s the message from Calmore Sports after a crushing 162-run win over Portsmouth, which keeps the club’s prospects of avoiding the drop very much alive.Favourites to go down in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League after only one win all summer, Calmore produced a stunning performance – with Hampshire hopeful James Hibberd leading the way.He wrecked Portsmouth’s top order with a 4-20 blast after top scoring in Calmore’s towering 274-7.Calmore’s win has cut Portsmouth’s advantage at the bottom to ten points – a situation that could be overturned next weekend if Hibberd’s side win at Andover and Portsmouth are beaten by Havant."If only we’d played like that all summer," sighed Calmore captain Tom Pegler. "We brought a couple of the older, more experienced players back like Gregg Lewis and Clive Surry, and it made all the difference."The team spirit was terrific – as was our overall performance," he added.Calmore scored at a rapid rate throughout their innings, with Hibberd (61) and Lewis (33) putting on 90 before Paul Cass (58) and Charlie Freestone (29) took the total on to 185-5.Pete Hayward (3-38) made breakthroughs but had finished his ten-over stint by the time Surry unleashed 43 not out to sweep Calmore to 274-7.Fired up, Hibberd ripped through Portsmouth’s top order, whipping out Ben Thane, Dean Oliffe, Matt Keech (second ball) and Chris Moon to leave the visitors rocking at 20-5.Lee Savident (39) and Hayward (28) provided long overdue resistance, but two wicket spells by Freestone (2-24) and John Wall (2-21) reduced Portsmouth to 112 all out.

At a time when many things in cricket are changing – central contracts, more and more international cricket, the newfangled Twenty20 Cup – you could always rely on MCC to remain the same. Until now, that is. For the first time in its 216-year history, MCC has entered into a joint commercial venture.The other half of this enterprise is the Australian company Albion, the leading manufacturer of cricket headgear. By teaming up with Albion, MCC will become the exclusive distributor of caps, hats and helmets across England and Europe. And according to MCC, the joint venture reflects its commitment to increasing commercial income which can be ploughed back into the game.Albion’s products include the Baggy Green caps worn by the Australian Test team, the popular “Greg Chappell” wide-brimmed sunhat used by many club and Test players, and the special caps made to mark the Centenary of Federation during Australia’s Test against West Indies at Sydney in January 2001. Albion also produced the distinctive skull cap worn by the Australians to mark the first Test of the 21st century. As well as caps, they supply international players from all round the world with helmets and sunhats.Roger Knight, MCC’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with a company of Albion’s calibre. Its Baggy Green is the most famous cricket cap in the world; we believe that its helmets are the world’s best; and its sunhats have led the way in providing players, around the world, with excellent protection from the sun. This venture is an exciting new development for everyone involved.” The commercial venture will be formally launched at Lord’s on Friday October 3.