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*Sodhi to lead Punjab in Ranji league matchesReetinder Sodhi will lead Punjab in the first three league matches of the Ranji trophy in the absence of Vikram Rathore, who shifted to Himachal Pradesh this year.MP Pandove, secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, who made the announcement, added that the Punjab team will take on Baroda in the first league match at PCA stadium, Mohali from November 9 to 12.The other member of the 15-member team are Ravneet Ricky, Samrat Sharma, Ankur Kakkar,Harminder Jugnu, Navdeep Singh, Amit Uniyal, Gagandeep Singh, Vineet Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Pankaj Dharmani (wicket-keeper), Sandeep Sawal, Harish Puri, Munish Sharma and Sanjay Mahajan.*Zuffri to lead Assam in Ranji TrophySyed Zakaria Zuffri has been named as the Assam captain for the 2002-03 Ranji Trophy season. Among the 14 other players are new recruits Kiran Powar and Sunil Viswanathan.Assam launch their challenge with a match against Orissa at NFRSA Stadium, Maligaon from Nov 9- Nov 12.Squad: Syed Zakaria Zuffri (capt), Parag Kumar Das, Sukhvinder Singh, Kiran Powar, Sumit Ranjan Das, Arland Konwar, Manoj Joglekar, RM Gohain, Mark Ingti, Zaved Zaman, Sunil Viswanathan, Mrigen Talukdar, Mansoor Ahmed, Samarjit Nath and Sourav Bhagawati.Coach: Lalchand Rajput Manager : Sanjay Dey.*Sutane to lead Vidarbha in Ranji TrophyStaff ReporterParesh Sutane will lead 14-man Vidarbha team in the 2002-03 Ranji Trophy leagues matches against Saurashtra and Services.Ali Akbar, meanwhile, will lead the under-19 team> Chandrasekhar Atram has been named the vice-captain.Squad: Paresh Sutane (captain), Alind Naidu ( vice-captain), Amit Deshpande (wicket-keeper), P Vivek, Rupesh Shahane, Ulhas Gandhe, Samir Khare, Chandrashekhar Atram, Madhusudan Acharya, Abhijieet Piprode, Nitin Gawande, Swaroop Srivastva, Sandeep Singh, Rahul JadhavStand byes: Amol Jichkar, Amit Date, Umesh Patil, Ketan Kaore, Adwait ManoharCoach: Murthy Rajan Manager SN AbhyankrVidarbha Under-19: Ali Akbar (captain), Chandrashekhar Atram (vicecaptain), Faiz Fazal, Virat Mishra, Anup Fulper, Owamir Afzal, Saurabh Ambedkar, Mohammad Hashim, Akshay Wakhare, Ashwin Rajan, Abhijeet Gaidhane, Vaibhav Rajurkar, Azhar Sheikh, Madhup Aney.Stand byes: Srikant Kotlikar, Mangesh Bhoyar, Amit BhomleCoach: Praveen HignikarManager: Shrish Joshi

Tim Ambrose has been called up to England’s one-day squad for the series against New Zealand. Ambrose, who took over from Matt Prior in the Test side earlier in the year, replaces Phil Mustard and is the only uncapped player in a 14-man squad.Ambrose made his mark for England during the Test series in New Zealand, when he produced a maiden century in his second appearance at Wellington, to turn the tide of a series that England eventually won 2-1. He has now been given his opportunity at one-day level as well, despite managing only three runs in two innings in the current Test series.Mustard has been omitted after averaging 22.8 in his ten appearances in Sri Lanka and New Zealand last winter. He performed fitfully in his pinch-hitting role at the top of the order, often starting with a flurry of pulls and drives only to play one shot too many, although he did make an impressive 83 from 74 balls in his penultimate appearance, the tied ODI in Napier.”Tim Ambrose has already shown that he has the temperament and the ability required to succeed in Test cricket and his selection reflects our desire to use the same wicket-keeper in both the long and short forms of the game,” Geoff Miller, England’s national selector, said. “Phil Mustard will, of course, be disappointed not to have been selected on this occasion but he remains a player of terrific potential and we will continue to monitor his performances closely along with a number of other wicketkeepers in domestic cricket.”Another player who will feel unlucky to have missed out is Matt Prior, whom Ambrose replaced in the Test side, but whose forceful performances for Sussex have since powered him to the top of the first-class averages. He, however, will have to wait his turn for a little while longer. “We’re aware of the need to identify a player who can take over the opener’s role from Phil,” said Miller, “and play in a positive manner at the start of the innings.”The offspinner, James Tredwell, also misses out from the party that toured New Zealand in February, while the selectors did not consider a recall for Andrew Flintoff, whose comeback for Lancashire has been hampered by a side strain that will keep him on the international sidelines at least until the arrival of South Africa in July.”Andrew is still recovering from a side strain and we would prefer to wait until he is 100 per cent fit before considering him for selection,” said Miller. “We will be guided by the England medical team as to when the best time would be for him to return to international cricket. His rehabilitation is progressing well at present and we are optimistic that he will be available for selection later in the summer.”England one-day squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.

Welcome to the first issue of Zimbabwe Cricket Online for the 2002/03 season. Despite the problems in the country at present, ZCU are looking positively to the future and we will try to reflect their approach and their plans in our weekly issues.Zimbabwe cricket faces the 2002/03 season with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. With the World Cup early in 2003 to be partially hosted in Zimbabwe, there is everything to look forward to, but the holding of this tournament could yet be scuppered by political events, while the future of Zimbabwe cricket itself will be very dependent on both political and economic developments.First of all, it is necessary to assert that the situation in Zimbabwe is nowhere near, and never has been near, a state in which visiting players would be in any kind of physical danger. Life goes on as normal in every area that visitors are likely to go, except for increasing economic hardships. The future is always unpredictable, but there is a long way to go before anybody in Zimbabwe would have any concerns about their inability, or even their need, to protect visiting players.Zimbabwe’s playing resources will be similar to last season, with Heath Streak having been invited and found willing to resume the captaincy. Stuart Carlisle captained the side for most of the previous season, a virtual third choice after Streak resigned and Brian Murphy was injured, but did not feel he had the confidence of the authorities as he tackled a difficult job that nobody else seemed to want. The team naturally found its resources stretched, but by the end of last season was beginning to pull together under coach Geoff Marsh. Apart from the World Cup, though, they face a rather slack season.In modern cricket there is always the chance of an invitation to yet another one-day tournament; at present the only one for Zimbabwe apart from the World Cup is the ICC Champions Trophy in September. In October all the players are expected to be available for the first half of the revamped Logan Cup competition; in November comes Zimbabwe’s only Test cricket of the southern summer. Pakistan, who know what it is like to be shunned by other countries for tours, visit Zimbabwe for two Tests and five one-day internationals.There have been two late additions to the international programme. In December Kenya make their first official tour of Zimbabwe to play five one-day internationals, and in January South Africa A come up for a brief tour that will allow young or fringe players on both sides good preparation for the World Cup.In January the first official limited-over inter-provincial competition is played, and then in February and March comes the World Cup. In April the Logan Cup is completed, and then immediately the players are off to England for their second official tour to that country, playing two Tests – Lord’s and the inaugural Test match at the impressive new Riverside stadium in Chester-le-Street, Durham – and a one-day tournament.The Logan Cup will for the first time be contested over the whole season, which precludes the CFX Academy from participating, as their year ends in December. Mashonaland A have also dropped out of the first-class arena, but several leading Mashonaland players are being deployed in other provinces to bring about a better balance of strength. The four provincial teams participating, therefore, will be Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Manicaland and Midlands. They will play each other both at home and away, six four-day matches each.An innovation is the introduction of a B Division in the Logan Cup. This will consist of the A teams of each of the four major provinces, plus Masvingo. The five teams will play four three-day matches each, which will not be first-class. There are therefore nine teams in Zimbabwe this season all playing competitive versions of the longer game, a healthy state of affairs that will benefit cricket in the country.In between times, the national club cricket league will continue. The first league, which struggled to maintain standards with twelve teams last season, has been pared down to ten, with Bulawayo clubs MacDonald and Bulawayo Sports Club dropping down to the second league. There remain six Harare teams: Harare Sports Club, Old Hararians, Old Georgians, Alexandra Sports Club, Universals and Takashinga. There are two Bulawayo sides, Queens and Bulawayo Athletic Club, and also Mutare and Kwekwe, from Manicaland and Midlands respectively.In Mashonaland the Vigne Cup club competition will take place, only Mashonaland Cricket Association general manager Gus Mackay (an interview with whom will appear next week) expects it to be renamed after a major sponsor. He believes it will be a stronger competition than the national league, where the country’s strength is split between ten teams. The Harare club competition contains seven teams, and many major players from other provinces return to the capital to play in that.First-round results are included in this issue. The format has been changed. Impressed with the format used by the Birmingham League, where Mackay played for several seasons, he has abolished the 50-over limitation, which however remains in the national league. Matches are played to a maximum of 110 overs, with the team batting first required to declare after a maximum of 55. No restriction is placed on the number of overs a bowler may bowl.They must then bowl out the opposition to win the match. Failure to do so gives them merely a `winning draw’ (6 points) instead of a victory, while their opponents are credited with a `losing draw’ (2 points). The reward for an outright victory is 20 points.

Former manager of Pakistan team, Fakir S. Aizazuddin, has called for a democratic cricket board in this country.In a statement, released Thursday, Aizazuddin says “this oligarchic system of governance by the board where a small coterie holds sway taking all the decisions must stop if any real and worthwhile progress is to be made in the rehabilitation of the present team.”Aizazuddin, who toured England as member of national squad in 1967, argues that all sports bodies in the country have democratically elected councils except the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).”This speaks volumes for the self interest seeking ad hocists, deeply entrenched who are eating into the vitals of the board and are desperate to maintain status quo,” he said.Aizazuddin believes it is cricket board’s ad hocism that is the root cause of all ills which was damaging the morale and destroying the unity of the team.”It was the ad hocism on which the board and itsfactotums were operating,’ he says and adds, “arbitrary appointments and dismissals, ill-planned action, unfair selections generally the pattern on which the functionaries were working. Hasty orders issued and just as hastily withdrawn.”Further, Aizazuddin points out that this kind of working was playing havoc with the team discipline and cohesion thus emboldening the players, encouraging them to form power groups and strut about like prima donnas caring little for authority.Aizazuddin, who managed the Pakistan squad in New Zealand last year, gives a couple of suggestions to improve the situation.Firstly, he says, the institution of the board has to be put on a sound footing by providing it with a constitution in which all the members are democratically elected and they should be technocrats who have played the game at the highest level.Secondly, the elected council will discuss the points of the agenda and after obtaining a consensus from all the participating members of the council decisions will be taken which will then bear the stamp of authenticity and legality and as such will be respected and followed by all including the players.Lastly, Aizazuddin added that all other cricket playing countries have their boards working on democratic lines and the system has proved highly successfully, so why not adopt the same for PCB.

Now comes the test for New Zealand after the West Indies fought back outstandingly on the third day of the second Test at St George’s, Grenada.Having run into a Gayle-force batting hurricane as Chris Gayle enjoyed a maiden Test double century, New Zealand now find their seemingly impregnable 373 not quite the score of security they might have imagined.There was a time in Test cricket that such a score was regarded as money in the bank, but not nowadays.A team being well headed on the first innings, having spent a long and fruitless time in the field, can find problems of concentration when it comes to batting. And concentration is not as high on the list of priorities of many modern Test cricketers as it should be.Hence the reason for New Zealand needing to show all the qualities that have been part of their efforts this summer, most notably in Perth and in Auckland, if they are to secure their goal of winning the first Test series in the Caribbean by a New Zealand side.By scoring at such a good clip, and considerably faster than New Zealand could achieve, and admittedly with the benefit of a huge piece of luck when umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan refused to give Gayle out on 93 when he was caught of Ian Butler’s bowling, the West Indies have created their chance to tie the series.They still need to make a good start on the fourth day to ensure they gain a good lead, and as long as Shivnarine Chanderpaul is at the wicket after his outstanding international summer this year, then that must be the prospect.While the pitch has not deteriorated to the same extent as clearly occurred in Barbados, there is still sufficient bite in the West Indies attack to put the New Zealanders under genuine pressure.From the first day it was clear that leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo was able to gain appreciable turn. At that stage it was not vicious or spiteful, but having to wipe out a significant first innings deficit creates all sort of different mind-sets for the batting side and, New Zealand, if they cannot quickly polish off the West Indies on the fourth morning, will have their disciplines tested.Not only Nagamootoo looms as the danger however. Left-arm fast bowler Pedro Collins has been making quite a mark for himself in this series and has been consistently troubling the quality batsmen in the side.The combination of Collins and Nagamootoo will be an intriguing prospect and if they are bowling with runs to play with, then a genuine old-fashioned stoush could be in prospect.While nothing official has been heard in relation to Craig McMillan’s absence from the field during the day, reports were that he had split webbing between fingers on his left hand. Depending on the extent of the split, that could be another problem for New Zealand’s batting effort.One thing that has been clear from the bowling effort during the match is that the effort put into fast bowler Shane Bond’s recuperation has been an outstanding success.To come from no international play since January, into three one-day games and a second Test match in a matter of weeks, to bowl the fastest ball of his career, recorded at 95.4mph (153kph) on the second day of the Test is outstanding.Just what a weapon he can be in New Zealand’s Test future is obvious. On that second day he was bowling consistently around the 90mph mark and while not quite as fast as often on the third day, he still produced wicket-taking deliveries. Gayle was dropped twice during the innings from his bowling, on 136 by Mark Richardson and on 199 by replacement fieldsman Matt Horne, while his dismissal of Carl Hooper was pure class.New Zealand’s hopes are in their own hands, and two absorbing days of play may yet remain in this contest.

Former West Indies captain and Antiguan cricketing hero, Richie Richardson, has decided to enter party politics. The announcement came in a press release — jointly issued by the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda (Lester Bird), and Richardson.Richardson said that he was “proud to join the (Antigua) Labour Party team under the leadership of Lester Bird. I intend to bat for the Labour Party with the same diligence and fervour with which I served the Antigua and West Indies cricket teams.”PM Bird revealed that he intends to appoint Richardson to the Senate immediately. Bird said: “Richie will be made a Senator in the Upper House within the next few days, and he will be a Labour Party candidate in the next elections.”Bird, the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) leader remarked, “I am delighted that Richie has joined our team and I look forward to the contribution I know he can make to our work for the people of Antigua and Barbuda. Just as he has filled us with joy on the cricket field, I expect to see him make us proud in the cause of our country’s development.”The release however, did not give a clue as to which constituency the former West Indies batsman will be contesting. PM Bird however conceded that “Certain procedures have to be satisfied within the Labour Party before a decision is made on a constituency for Richie. An announcement will be made when consultations have been held and the procedures met.”Richardson becomes the latest ex-West Indies player to aspire to high office in the land of his birth. Other past West Indies players who have gone on to such high office include current WICB president, Rev. Wes Hall who was a senator then a parliamentary representative for the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Desmond Haynes, a current Barbados Labour Party (BLP) senator and the late Roy Fredericks who served as Minister of Sports in his native Guyana.

A two-Test series is the equivalent of grabbing a quick snack. It willdo for the purpose of providing immediate sustenance but as a regulardiet it falls far short of a regular meal. Pakistan has had so manychanges of guard in the cricket set-up that one doesn’t really knowwho actually agreed to this daft programme of two-Test series, rightlydescribed as neither here nor there. What were the compulsions on usthat we allowed ourselves to be downgraded and brought on par withZimbabwe?In Pakistan’s last three tours of England in 1987, 1992 and 1996,England was no match and lost all the three series. For England, itmakes sense to have Pakistan in the early part of the summer. Itprovides an excellent opportunity to prepare for the Ashes series andget their team sorted out. It is infinitely better than a conditioningcamp or net practice. From England’s point of view, it was a masterstroke to have got a team like Pakistan to help them get their acttogether ahead of the Test matches against Australia.What does Pakistan get in return? I haven’t been able to work that outas yet. I remember than even though Pakistan had levelled the serieson its inaugural tour of England in 1954, England, by way ofreciprocity, had sent a MCC ‘A’ team in 1956. I wrote then that thiswas the Colombo Plan in reverse, a developed country asking anunderdeveloped one for aid.I join the chorus of those who have spoken out against the two-Testseries and I would like to add that it is insulting as well,particularly to be asked to play a Test match in the month of May foron a single day, you can get all the four seasons. It may be cricketweather but it is not Test match weather but then who cares? It’s onlyPakistan that England is playing against!Shoaib Akhtar should be in England by the time this column appears inprint unless there is a slip between cup and lip. The drama around hisdeparture has become like a soap-opera. I am not sure whether he isenjoying all the publicity and he may well be doing so given that heis a showman, which on its own, is not a bad thing. But, as each daypasses and we read the latest bulletin on him, the expectations aregetting higher that he will demolish England and there has never beena fast bowler like him. He will become aware that great things areexpected from him.I have known and seen the world’s greatest fast bowlers, Ray Lindwalland Keith Miller, Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thomson, Michael Holding,Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and of course Courtney Walsh and CurtlyAmbrose, Fred Trueman and Frank Tyson and our own Imran Khan, WasimAkram and Waqar Younis. They were a wonderous sight in action asindeed is Shoaib Akhtar. But there was a reticence about them off-thefield and they were almost media shy. When Imran Khan broke down witha stress fracture, he spent two quiet years getting himself fit.Shoaib must count himself very fortunate that there is a sympatheticPCB that has taken great pains to look after him and got him fit. Theonly way he can pay them back is by delivering on the field and bybeing a team man. Whether he should be played in the first Test matchis a decision that is upto the team management. It would be somethingof a gamble for he is short of match practice but it might be worththe gamble. He could bowl in short bursts but I feel the advice ofRichard Pybus should be sought. We are sitting too far away to knowwhat is the reality on the ground.I think Pakistan needed stiffer opposition than the BritishUniversities if the idea of side matches is to allow the Pakistanplayers to get used to playing conditions. It is the batsmen who needto be spending time in the middle for they are the ones who will haveto adjust to green wickets and the swinging ball. Too bad that bothInzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana missed out particularly Youhanawhose foot has been in plaster.Anyhow Pakistan has made a good start and it was great to see WasimAkram bang on target, setting to rest, one hopes, the doubts of thosewho were disinclined to include him in the touring squad and good toread the remarks of Waqar that he and Wasim had buried the hatchet.Judging from the fact that he is making so many statements, all ofthem upbeat, it would appear that Richard Pybus is enjoying himselfand has fitted in well with the team.Fast asleep for so many years, the ICC is making up for lost time withits probe Committee on a globe-trotting mission. I am all in favour ifthey can uncover all those guilty of match-fixing. It would be a hugebonus if it could uncover also all those whistle-blowers who have madeaccusations and when the chips have been down, claimed that they don’thave solid proof.Chief among these would be Ali Bacher who seemed to have gingerlystepped aside after making scandalous allegations. At least, in thecase of Javed Akhtar, the ICC must demand proof from Ali Bacher,failing which, recommend his removal from any cricket post he may beholding. It’s not the players alone who bring the game into disrepute.

Darren Gough is rested for Yorkshire’s CricInfo Championship game against Northamptonshire at Headingley.However, fellow England players Ryan Sidebottom, Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard are included in the squad alongside Scott Richardson, who will hoping to play his second first-class game.Graeme Swann and David Ripley return for Northants and the Yorkshire coach, Arnie Sidebottom, knows it will be a tough encounter.”Things are going well and let’s hope it continues,” Sidebottom said. “They are a good outfit with a strong batting line-up and hopefully it will be a good match.”Elsewhere Jeff Hammond, the Glamorgan coach, dismissed his team’s lowly position in the table as a consequence of the weather more than their ability. “It’s pointless having tables before seven rounds of games have gone as the weather affects a lot of the early matches,” he said.Glamorgan meet Kent at Swansea, with Kent welcoming back Mark Ealham and Matthew Walker, but missing David Masters who has a side strain.Essex look to have the toughest of tasks. They face the might of Champions, Surrey, who will be buoyed by the presence of Thorpe, Stewart and Ward to the ranks that already boost several well-known names.In Division Two, Angus Fraser is unlikely to be available due to a shoulder injury for Middlesex’s clash with Nottinghamshire at Lord’s.Mike Roseberry (rib strain) and Chad Keegan (ankle) are also concerns, but Simon Cook returns.John Emburey, the new coach, credited the middle order as being the strength of his side at present: “Stephen Fleming and Owais Shah are in tremendous form for us and we are happy with our batting while our bowling has been okay but nothing outstanding,” he said.Andrew Harris is hoping to win a place in the Notts side.Lawrence Prittipaul is back in the Hampshire side to play Derbyshire after passing a fitness test on his shoulder injury, and having hit 175 not out for the seconds last week. Former England opener, John Stephenson, looks likely to miss out.Chris Adams should return for Sussex, who meet Warwickshire at Hove. “We are on our own patch and we’ll give them a run for their money,” said Sussex coach Peter Moores.Neil Carter and 21-year-old Jamie Spires come into the Warwickshire squad.Worcestershire travel to play Gloucestershire at Bristol, with Graeme Hick looking for a big score to catch the attention of England selectors needing to find someone to fill in for Nasser Hussain. Matthew Rawnsley is a likely starter for the visitors, while Tim Hancock returns for the hosts.

Purbrook’s bid for the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 crown has been knocked off course by consecutive – and somewhat surprising – defeats by Bashley (Rydal) and Paultons.The unexpected double setback has cost Purbrook top spot, with Alton leapfrogging to the front after beating St Cross Symondians by 57 runs.A run of four successive wins has lifted Flamingo into third place, marginally ahead of St Cross, whom they visit next week.Paultons seem to have the Indian Sign over Purbrook, whom they beat in a run-laden 265-233 affair at The Heath last season.This time Paultons chased, with Ian Hunter’s 94 for Purbrook being rendered purely academic as Purbrook’s daunting 274-7 was overhauled by six wickets … with three overs to spare !Colin James (54), Andy Darnton (46), Duncan Park (36) and Andrew Collins (33) did the spadework before Tony Richman (34) and John Robinson (29) swept Paultons to a glorious victory.It was a much needed win for Paultons, who were languishing in the lower reaches of the table after winning only one of their previous five games."Ironically, we’ve been struggling to score runs all season – then we get 275 all in one go," smiled experienced Paultons all-rounder Steve Mitchell.Beaten by Flamingo and knocked out of the SEC Cup by Rowledge in the space of four days, Alton badly needed a positive performance against St Cross Symondians to get their season back on track.And how they achieved it, with Julian Ballinger’s side pulling out all the stops to notch an important 57-run win at the Royal Green Jackets ground.Michael Heffernan (82) and Bruce Oliphant, with a breezy pre-tea 51, swept Alton to 252-5.Mark Parker (56) steered St Cross to 106-1, but the Winchester side were never able to dictate the pace and finished well short at 196 all out, with Howard Gadsby (4-46) and Oliphant (3-22) taking a lion’s share of the wickets.Not content with upsetting the Purbrook bandwagon, Bashley II struck again – derailing New Milton’s climb towards the Premier 3 stardom.Bashley recovered from Andy Snellgrove’s spell of 4-29 – and an uncertain 42-4 – to post 156 through Graham Pardey (39) and Neil Sexton (33).They were on the back foot as Steve Watts (45) and Dean Miller (39) guided New Milton to 92-1, but a mass collapse, initiated by the crafty left-arm spin of Bob Paul (3-23), sent wickets tumbling and Milton to 144 all out."I think we caught that collapsing bug that seems to be doing the rounds at Bashley," quipped New Milton’s Steve Taylor.Creeping into third place, almost unnoticed, are Flamingo, who are casting serious doubts upon their chairman’s pre-season prediction of a probable summer-long struggle against relegation for the little Corhampton club."He puts it down to reverse physiology," said Flamingo skipper Stuart Shapland, after hitting an undefeated 83 to set up a fourth win in a row against Hambledon.Half-centuries by Mark le Clerq (62) and Matt Jones (55) took Hambledon to 219-6.Even though Flamingo’s suffered their customary top-order wobble, Shapland’s timely 83, coupled with a fine 56 from Tim Richman, made it a fairly comfortable run chase.Chris Westbrook (3-22) and Andy Marks (3-23) did the damage as fifth-placed Hursley Park bowled struggling Redlynch & Hale out for 101 to win by four wickets.Hursley lost five wickets to Matt Truckle’s spin after John Harris, who carried his bat for a patient 39, and Paul Edwards (34) had taken the visitors to 79-1.Havant II are climbing the log – big hitting left-hander Matt Ward cracking 90 in the six-wicket win over Waterlooville, whose 199-6 included Chris Baumann (55) and Dave Howe (49).Improving too are Gosport Borough, who heightened Hook & Newnham’s problems at the bottom, with Mike Rees (60) and departing Wyvern sports master Stewart Magee (53) setting up a comfortable six-wicket win.Leckford left-hander Martyn Isherwood is recognised as one of the classiest players in the Test Valley – and how well he batted in an elegant 106 against Hartley Wintney.Isherwood and Mark Tomlinson (60) put on a Leckford-best 164 before flying Scotsman Mike Howard punched a splendid 85 as the Bakers Farm boys rattled up 333-4.Tristan Gregory (57 not out) top scored for Hartley Wintney, but any prospect of the visitors making a match of it ended when Matt Digweed had to retire hurt. HW closed at 166-6, with Andy Cattle taking another three wickets to take his tally for the season to 18 victims.Neil Dodds (5-22) got among the Portsmouth batsmen, but was unable to prevent Ventnor (133) slipping to a four-wicket defeat at St Helen’s.Ventnor’s home match against Redlynch & Hale at Steephill this weekend could have a vital bearing on the situation at the foot of the table.

Knights beat current Momentum One Day Cup table-toppers Lions by six wickets in a rain-affected match in Potchefstroom. Lions chose to bat and several cameo contributions helped lift them to 250 for 7. Stephen Cook and Neil McKenzie both scored half-centuries, No. 4 McKenzie remaining 67 not out of 105 balls to anchor the innings, while Chris Morris provided a final surge with 30 off 17. In the shortened chase, Knights needed 204 from 33 overs, and went at over a run a ball to knock off the runs with seven balls to spare. Incidentally, Knights’ top-scoring batsman, Obus Pienaar, also made 67 not out, but his came at a strike-rate of 155.81 to beat the Duckworth/Lewis requirements.A century from opener Imraan Khan helped Dolphins chase down 251 against Titans with four wickets and eight balls to spare in Durban. Titans chose to bat, and apart from a 142-run second-wicket partnership between Mangaliso Mosehle had no contribution of note. Mosehle hit a century too, his 118 being the top score in the match. But only one other batsman got into double digits as Titans were bowled out for 250 in the 46th over. It was not enough, as the rest of the Dolphins’ top-order batsmen batted around centurion Imraan to help their side home.Cape Cobras slipped to their third defeat in four games, losing to Warriors by 76 runs in East London. Cobras needed 263 to win, and the only sizeable innings for them was opener Richard Levi, who hit a rapid 83. With the Warriors bowlers sharing the wickets around, Cobras suffered regular blows and finally faded quickly: they went from 158 for 4 to 186 all out in the space of 7.2 overs. Warriors total, after they had chosen to bat, built their innings around half-centuries from Wayne Parnell and Michael Price.