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At the rate Shane Watson is cutting through opposition bowling attacks and batting line-ups, George Bailey, the Australia captain, will soon fall short of words to praise his colossal allrounder. After three successive Man-of-the-Match awards at the World Twenty20, Bailey has called Watson “almost the complete cricketer” and said there is no reason why he cannot continue his incredible run against South Africa and then even deeper into the tournament.”I think he’s really set himself to be the man of the tournament, to be the person who leads Australia as far as he can in this tournament,” Bailey said ahead of Australia’s second Super Eights game against South Africa. “When you see how he plays this form of the game, he’s almost the complete cricketer.”Watson has been Australia’s leading run-getter and wicket-taker so far in the event – his 164 runs have come at a strike-rate of 170.83 and his eight wickets at an economy-rate of 7.41. His opening partnership along with David Warner has been so successful that Australia’s middle order, including Bailey, has hardly had to bat.What pleased Bailey as much was the comeback of his bowlers against India after they had conceded 191 to West Indies. On a slow Premadasa pitch, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Watson made life difficult for the India batsmen with calculated use of the short ball. Bailey said Cummins’ performance – 2 for 16 in four overs – was particularly heartening after he had been taken for runs by Chris Gayle and Co.”Pat’s a weird one because he is intelligent and you don’t get many intelligent fast bowlers for starters, particularly at 19,” Bailey said. “He is a bit different. I spoke to him after the West Indies game and felt like I was babying him a bit too much. This game [against India], I gave him a licence to bowl to his plans a lot more. He is a good thinker, he has got great execution, he’s got good skills; he is someone who, in a short space of time, you learn to trust to execute exactly what the team needs. He is someone who can shake up key batsmen when they come in. He has got that extra pace. On the flip side, pace is only good when you bowl in the right areas, and that was the most pleasing thing [against India], his control and change-ups.”Bailey said the fast bowlers’ approach might have to be modified against South Africa, who are more comfortable handling the short delivery, but said that a well-targeted bouncer would always be hard to tackle. “South Africa are an outstanding team. I don’t think there is a real weakness there. It will be an interesting game in the way the two teams set up and how they play. [We] are probably quite similar. We’ll have to go and see who plays the pull well and who does not, and where they like to score. When we used it [the short ball] against India, we were pretty smart about how we used it. Whether you pull or hook or not, I think if a bowler, particularly with some of the guys we have got with a bit of pace, if they are bowling a bouncer that is on the money, it is still going to be pretty hard to get away.”The nature of the pitch in Colombo has moved subcontinent teams such as India and Pakistan to pack their side with spinners. Pakistan left out Sohail Tanvir in favour of Raza Hasan and India left out Virender Sehwag to play three specialist spinners. Bailey acknowledged that spin would play a bigger role as the tournament progressed, but said playing your best bowlers, whether fast or slow, was the key.”If your best bowlers are quick bowlers, you still bowl your best bowlers. They have to find ways to adapt. Even as the wicket turns a bit more, I think the quicks will be able to have an impact. It is about getting that balance right. We have got good quicks and our spinners are doing a good job. Whether later on the track, we need to start using Xavier [Doherty] as well – I guess that is something we will look at.”Good to see [Glenn] Maxwell open the bowling for us. That is a nice option to have going further into the tournament. Dan Christian is starting to bowl deeper into the innings as well. It is good to see we have that flexibility with our bowlers.”

The fifth match between Australia ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’ in EastLondon, South Africa, has been abandoned without a ball being bowled.The decision was made after heavy rain left the field waterlogged.The next match is in Bloemfontein on Sunday. Australia ‘A’ hold anunbeatable 4-0 lead in the series.

The first half of the Logan Cup season is over, and a number of players who have shown top form have played themselves into the national Test squad: Mark Vermeulen, Blessing Mahwire, Campbell Macmillan, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Sean Ervine, Richie Sims and Gavin Ewing. Congratulations to them all; Vermeulen has played in one one-day international and Ervine in eight, but none have yet played in a Test match.CONTENTS

• LOGAN CUP:
  • Division A:
    Mashonaland v Midlands, scorecard and reports
    Matabeleland v Manicaland, scorecard and reports
  • Division B:
    Masvingo v Mashonaland B, scorecard
    Midlands B v Manicaland B, scorecard
• Interviews:
  Alistair Campbell – captain again
  Andy Blignaut – back to the spotlight
  Andy Flower – a season with Essex
  
• 10 Years on: Andy Flower’s memories of Zimbabwe’s first Test matches
• Letters

If selected, they will of course find there is a tremendous and unavoidable gap between Logan Cup and Test cricket. The Logan Cup matches were marked by fast, high scoring by the batsmen on fine batting pitches; bowlers for the most part struggled. But, as Heath Streak has said, this is probably the best possible scenario regarding our first-class competition. Batsmen get the best possible opportunity to play long innings, while bowlers will have to scratch their heads and get down to some really hard work to tighten up and improve their game if they are to enjoy any success in the future.It’s a hard game for them, but they will never elevate themselves to Test-match standard by taking easy wickets on seamer-friendly tracks, because that sort of pitch is rarely seen in Test cricket. When the going is tough, as it has been for most of our bowlers, seamers especially, the tough get going. When the second half of the programme takes place next April, perhaps we will see a more even contest – not because the conditions have changed, but because the bowlers will have changed, for the better.Here are the Logan Cup logs to date. Mashonaland and Midlands paid heavy penalties for their poor over rates in their recent match. Match points are 12 for a victory and 3 for a draw.

A DIVISIONMatch Bonus PenaltyP W L D pts Bat Bowl pts TOTALMashonaland 3 2 – 1 27 12 9 5 43Manicaland 3 1 1 1 15 8 11 0.5 33.5Matabeleland 3 1 2 – 12 9 6 2 25Midlands 3 – 1 2 6 9 10 9.5 15.5B DIVISIONMatch Bonus PenaltyP W L D pts Bat Bowl pts TOTALMashonaland B 3 2 – 1 27 8 11 0 46Manicaland B 3 1 1 1 15 10 10 0 35Matabeleland B 2 1 1 – 12 4 8 0 24Masvingo 2 – – 2 6 7 7 4.5 15.5Midlands 2 – 2 – 0 4 2 0 6

The Pakistanis are coming – but so are the rains. There have been widespread rains in Zimbabwe this week, longer in duration that is usual for this time of year. In October and November rains tend to be in short, sharp bursts rather than the prolonged rains that we have had. Hopefully the rain, much needed, will not interfere too much with the cricket, but that is always a risk that needs to be taken when teams visit Zimbabwe at this time of year. Some years, in January and February especially, cricket can be almost impossible, and we were indeed fortunate when Pakistan first visited us in 1994/95 that there was little rain in February to spoil a memorable series.Is there an award for the Selfish Player of the Week? Jacques Kallis, during South Africa’s mauling of hapless Bangladesh in the Second Test at Potchefstroom, was caught at the wicket fairly early on, off his glove. He refused to walk and was given not out. He went on to collect another Test century.This is at least the second Test century Mr Kallis has recorded after being fairly dismissed but mistakenly allowed to stay by the umpire. He did the same against Zimbabwe in Harare last year.Players give various excuses for not walking. There are those who claim it is always the umpire’s decision and they will abide by it – but should there be an umpiring error against them they will make their disapproval plain. Some say that if they walk it will be to the detriment of their team, which will suffer, and I imagine this to be a common excuse among Zimbabwe players, who often need all the help they can get. Some may say their place in the team is in jeopardy and by staying and taking another chance to play a major innings they can make it more secure.So what excuse would Mr Kallis give, if so required, for his failure to walk? His team was in a very strong position, and his own place in it is quite secure. He robbed the opposition of a valuable wicket they had fairly earned, as he did against Zimbabwe last year.And, as was also the case against Zimbabwe, he robbed his own team-mates as well. Ashwell Prince and Martin van Jaarsveld, both at the start of their Test careers, would have benefited greatly had they been able to come in to bat with the opportunity to play a major innings. Instead, Kallis shared a huge stand with Gary Kirsten, and these two youngsters did not get a chance to bat until a declaration was imminent and they had to look to score quickly. The aforementioned Mr Kallis’s decision to hog the crease and gorge himself against the easiest bowling available in Test cricket robbed the two youngsters of the chance to gain vital experience.Shame on you, Jacques Kallis! If that was not pure selfishness, then what other justifiable reason could you give for your refusal to walk when you knew you were out? One of the commentators described it as unprofessional behaviour in such circumstances. To add to the crime, this innings helped Kallis to win the Man of the Match and Man of the Series award, so obviously the adjudicators did not consider the moral element to be of any importance.The message coming across is that selfish behaviour pays very well. If I were an international umpire, I would be very eager to put my finger up against Mr Kallis, were I given half a chance. But then I probably would not last very long. Unlike certain players whose motto in life seems to be to look out for number one to the exclusion of all others.

Despite captain Sanath Jayasuriya’s comments to the contrary, Sri Lanka remain firm favourites to win the final of the Morocco Cup 2002 on Wednesday.Jayasuriya appeared uncomfortable with the favourites’ label after his side’s comfortable six-wicket defeat of South Africa on Monday, their third consecutive win."No, you can’t say that we are favourites, South Africa can always come back," said Jayasuriya, wary of Sri Lanka having lost their last two Sharjah finals after dominating the group stages.However, coach Dav Whatmore admitted that South Africa were now underdogs.”Played four, won three – I suppose you could say that, but we’ve played them a lot in the past and we know what they are capable of. The conditions might be different but that’s no reason to think it’s your God-given right to win the final,” Whatmore said.The fact is that as this tournament has progressed, the conditions haveincreasingly favoured Sri Lanka’s spin-based attack, which has been able toextract significant turn from the pitch.Sri Lanka bowled 30 overs of spin in their last game, despite the absence oftheir star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, and will consider playing justtwo fast bowlers in the final.That would allow them to bolster their middle order, which has so far not been tested because of the form of Aravinda de Silva, who has won two Man-of-the-Match awards, and Jayasuriya, the tournaments highest run-scorer with 228 runs at 57.By sharing ten overs between Jayasuriya, De Silva and Russel Arnold, Sri Lanka would be able to play Tillakaratne Dilshan at number seven.But it’s a difficult decision to make, with pace bowler Pulasthi Gunaratne, the one who would stand down, having taken four wickets in his last game.South Africa captain Shaun Pollock is certainly keen to take early wickets,believing the key to winning will be to put pressure on the Sri Lankan middle order."At the moment the lower order has not really been tested, we have to make inroads upfront," said Pollock.They will be targeting de Silva, who has nudged and nurdled his way to two match-winning unbeaten half-centuries against the Proteas."De Silva is the key, he is their rock that they are batting around at themoment," Pollock said.And despite two comprehensive defeats, he remained upbeat about his side’s chances."We know what we have to do – where we have gone wrong and improve," he said. "If we put that right I can’t see why we can’t win."South Africa have been boosted by the news that Jacques Kallis will play a full part in the final, despite sustaining a knee injury during his 84 yesterday. Jonty Rhodes, suffering from a bruised finger, has also been given the all clear.South Africa, though, are also faced with selection problems, particularly theidentity of Pollock’s new-ball partner.Both Roger Telemachus and Mahkaya Ntini have proved expensive and appearunlikely to play, meaning Kallis takes the new ball and left-arm spinner Nicky Boje bowls his full quota of overs.With only five specialist bowlers, Justin Ontong, who has thus far failed with the bat, may play ahead of left-handed batsmen Graeme Smith because of the back-up provided by his part-time spin.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, MahelaJaywardene, Russel Arnold, Aravinda de Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, UpulChandana, Hasantha Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Chamila Lakshitha Gamage, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pulasthi Gunaratne, Charitha Buddika Fernando.South Africa: Shaun Pollock (Capt), Mark Boucher, Paul Adams, Nicky Boje, Boeta Dippenaar, Allan Donald, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusner, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Jonty Rhodes, Graeme Smith, Roger Telemachus.

SHARJAH: After a dismal start, Pakistan bounced back by beating New Zealand quite convincingly, by a margin of 51 runs to bring this Sharjah Cup 2002 on an even keel. Now all three teams have won a match apiece after the conclusion of first round of this double league event.Not quite relentless, it still was a good all-around professional display, as the Pakistanis batted competently and bowled well, with fielding too not below par. And the result was an emphatic victory that would definitely give their morale some lift as they take on Sri Lanka today (Friday).Pakistan started the day well. Skipper Waqar Younis won the toss, and the openers Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir batted with controlled aggression to put nearly a hundred runs on the board. They never let up after this marvelous start, and Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Wasim Akram all made sizable contributions to see Pakistan through to a sizable total of 288.Chasing a target of 288, with the asking rate as steep as 5.78 from the start, is never easy. Against a formidable attack like that of Pakistan, under the lights, and on a ground where the Pakistanis have played and won more matches than on any single venue at home, it is all the more difficult. The Black Caps, full of spunk despite their captain Stephen Fleming sitting out nursing a finger injury, came out with the intent to conquer, only to see their spirited charge dissipate somewhat when Nathan Astle and Mathew Sinclair were accounted for early on by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in successive overs.Chris Nevin and Nathan Astle stroked a four apiece on the leg side off skipper Waqar Younis to take 12 runs off him. Next over, Nevin send Akram soaring over the long-on fence, and another one dozen runs had been gathered off the great southpaw when he struck, Astle failing to stay out of the harm’s way on the fast outswinger and Rashid Latif brought off a spectacular catch. Next over Younis got through Sinclair’s defences, played on, to make Black Caps 34 for 2.Neither the two quick wickets, nor some rough treatment at Waqar’s hands could curb Nevin’s aggressive instincts. With Craig McMillan giving him company, he kept going after the bowling, clubbing Akram to extra cover for four, and two overs later miscuing him over the keeper for another boundary to raise New Zealand?s 50, off 62 deliveries.Shoaib Akhtar came into the attack, banged one short and wide on the leg side, and Nevin helped it all the way to the fine leg fence. Another widish delivery outside the off-stump, and Nevin tried to loft it over long-off, only holing out to a grateful Waqar. Akhtar had struck on the last delivery of not so great an over, and the Kiwis were in a spot of bother.With the two Ws getting a wicket apiece to send back the extremely dangerous Nathan Astle and Mathew Sinclair, and Shoaib Akhtar prising out an adventurous Chris Nevin, Pakistan had made early inroads into the Kiwis batting.The asking rate, which was an imposing 5.78 to begin with, becoming all the more formidable as the overs went by, the Kiwis still had some hopes to make a fist of it. As long as the stand-in skipper Craig McMillan and that veteran of veterans Chris Harris were on the crease, there was still going to be some fight. The duo put their heads down to put 112 runs on the board off 131 deliveries, but then wickets again fell in a bunch, and at 192 for seven and the asking rate at 9.7 as the last 10 overs remained, the Kiwis didn’t have much of a chance. Not with the Pakistani bowlers all keyed up to finish it off.With the asking rate pegged at exactly seven, Harris tried breaking the shackles, with some success hitting Afridi and Saqlain for a few boundaries. At the end of the 30th over, the Kiwis were halfway through, at exactly 144. They had wickets at hand for the onslaught, and now they went for it. Harris clobbered Afridi for a six over mid-wicket, and next over went past his 50, off 64 deliveries, with 4 fours and a six. McMillan swept Saqlain for a four and a six over square-leg. At this point, Waqar brought himself back into the attack, and as Saqlain sent back McMillan (51, off 68 deliveries, 4 fours, 1 six) and Harris in successive overs, Waqar struck a double blow to get Mathew Horne and Jacob Orum. 7 for 187, it was all over bar the shouting. Scott Styris and James Franklin tried to see out the last 10 overs to save some face, but Shoaib clean bowled the latter in the 48th over.Earlier, a magnificent stand of 105 for the fifth wicket between Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan capitalised on a superb start by the openers Shahid Afridi (56, off 53 deliveries, 7 fours, 3 sixes) and Imran Nazir (47, off 46 deliveries, 7 fours) to guide Pakistan to a sizable total of 288 for six wickets. Wasim Akram (unbeaten 26, off 16 balls, 1 four, 1 six) smote McMillan for a straight six and a four off the last two deliveries to bring the innings to an emphatic close.After a brilliant start, Pakistan lost three wickets in quick succession, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Nazir all gone within the space of 17 runs. And then Yousuf Youhana too went cheaply, four down with 146 on the board, all of them falling to Scott Styris’ military medium pace.But Inzamam-ul-Haq, in good form since he made 99 in the second innings of the Asian Test Championship final to give respectability to a lost cause, remained there, solid as a rock, holding the middle order together.The partnership between Inzamam (68, off 96 deliveries, 4 fours) and Younis Khan (56, 59 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) first steadied the Pakistan innings after a sort of mini-collapse threatened the usual disintegration, and then consolidated on the good work in the later part. By the time Inzamam holed out to Mathew Horne at extra cover, with less than five overs to go, Pakistan had already made 251. Younis followed close on his heels, getting clean bowled behind his legs while trying to sweep Tuffey to long leg, the shot that had brought him his only six against Astle.But by then Pakistan was well and truly ahead, and Akram and Rashid added 35 runs without losing a wicket till the end.All in all a good effort, with a solid start and a good finish. The Kiwis had their job cut out for them, and they never looked like overly troubling Pakistan.

Usman Afzaal was one of a number of players on the fringe of the England Test side who impressed when play eventually got under way at Chesterfield on what was scheduled to be the second day of the match between MCC and the Sri Lankans.The Nottinghamshire batsman had been forced by heavy rain to sit in the pavilion throughout the first day as rain washed out valuable preparation for the tourists prior to the third Test at Old Trafford. However, he took the opportunity to remind the selectors of his potential when he got to the middle today, ending the day on 80 not out in a total of 260 for six in the 71 overs of play that were possible.MCC captain David Fulton won the toss and decided to bat. His openers put on 95 before Andy Strauss fell to a catch by Upul Chandana off the bowling of Dilhara Fernando, returning to action after a stress fracture of his lower back. Fulton then joined his Kent colleague Robert Key, adding a further 53 runs for the second wicket before the captain was caught off the bowling of Ruchira Perera, making a reappearance after being reported during the Lord’s Test for having a suspect bowling action.Key was third out to Chandana for an impressive 77, while Owais Shah soon followed for nought. With Darren Stevens falling cheaply to Perera shortly afterwards, it was left to wicket-keeper Chris Read to accompany Afzaal in a sixth wicket stand worth 68 before Read became Perera’s third victim. Richard Dawson stayed with Afzaal until stumps.

In the first entry in his exclusive summer diary for CricInfo, Alec Stewart gives his thoughts on taking over the England captaincy for the remainder of the Test series against Pakistan. He reflects on England’s innings victory in the First Test at Lord’s, in which he reached another milestone of his own, unnoticed by his teammates.I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to captain England on a temporary basis in the Second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford. It’s a great honour to lead your country, and I much look forward to the game. I had no problem with adding the captaincy to my batting and wicket-keeping duties when I was England skipper for the first time. I did all three jobs during the 1998 Test series against South Africa, which England won. And when you’re put in charge of a good side that’s been winning, it obviously makes captaincy that much easier.To win the First Test in three days, having made one of the better sides in world cricket follow on, was an outstanding performance. Andy Caddick and Darren Gough played a huge part, with 16 wickets between them, but the fact that we scored nearly 400, with Thorpey getting 80 and the rest of us chipping in at a good rate – nearly three an over – gave us plenty of time to bowl them out. I was told before the start of the game that if Nasser went off the field they wanted me to be captain, and I had no problem with that – but I didn’t expect Nasser to be off the field for so long. To break his thumb when he was just coming into form was obviously a huge blow for him and to the team.I felt I batted very well. I middled the ball straight away, which was excellent because we wanted to post a big total. Unfortunately I was done by a very clever piece of bowling from Shoaib Akhtar – to go from 90mph to 60 mph was a pretty good effort, and I didn’t pick it. I’ve always enjoyed playing at Lord’s – it’s my favourite ground, with a wonderful atmosphere, and I’ve enjoyed some success there over the years.Goughie’s 200th Test wicket was also my 200th Test catch – he likes all the limelight and the headlines, so I’ll let him get on with it. No one out there congratulated me on the catch. I keep very quiet – I don’t go round writing targets and things and show them to everyone – I just carry on catching them, or trying to. We enjoyed his 200th wicket because we all knew how close he was. I was aware it was my 200th catch, but I didn’t make the fuss that he did. My best catch was the one which got rid of Inzamam down the leg side, and the one off Caddy’s no ball was a good catch too. It was nice to take the match-winner too – it came through pretty quick, but you should normally hold on to chances like that.Pakistan are a talented side, but it’s been a hard start to this tour for them. They’ve had a game against the Universities, and a washed-out game against Kent, plus a rain-affected game against Derbyshire. They were under-prepared, and quite a few of their squad haven’t played in England before, so the conditions and weather are all slightly new to them. But having said that, when we go to Pakistan it’s quite new to us. And to be honest, I never have much sympathy for the opposition – I’ll leave that to the neutrals!Looking ahead to the Ashes series, we’re a confident side now – we’ve just won four series on the trot, but we’re also very realistic. The Australians are a level above everyone else when it comes to cricket – we need to perform as we’ve done for the last 12-16 months, and if we do that we can compete with Australia. They’re the firm favourites and that’s how it should be – we’ve got to be at the top of our game just to compete with them. We’re not getting giddy – obviously the public expectation is growing the more games that we win, and the better days that we have. That’s understandable, but as players we’ve got to be realistic.

International cricket will again move indoors when Pakistan visits Australia for a series of three limited-overs matches in June, it was announced in Melbourne today.In accepting an invitation to play two matches against the host nation at Colonial Stadium, Pakistan will become the third country to compete in one-day international games in an enclosed arena.Pakistan’s abbreviated tour, which will be conducted in the depths of Australia’s winter, will also feature a third one-day international – played outdoors – at the ‘Gabba ground in Brisbane.”One of the difficulties in scheduling the summer season is trying to provide cricket followers with enough opportunities to see the Australian team play live,” said Australian Cricket Board Chief Executive Officer, James Sutherland, in unveiling a series that will become known as Super Challenge II.”This series allows us to give more people the chance to see their team play and ensures that the team is able to continue its build-up for the 2003 World Cup.”Colonial Stadium is a proven venue for international cricket, and the dry climate of Queensland in June will allow us to showcase the game at the ‘Gabba,” he said.The only one-day internationals previously played indoors were also staged in Melbourne, when Australia hosted South Africa in a series of three matches at Colonial Stadium in August 2000.That series was acclaimed as an outstanding success by players, administrators and spectators. Close to 100,000 fans flocked to the three games, and officials from both countries expressed optimism that they would act as a forerunner in paving the way for more international cricket to be played outside of its traditional base in the summer months.Australia was poised to further explore the concept last year when India accepted an invitation to compete in another stand-alone series in September. But an increasingly congested international schedule ultimately forced the cancellation of those matches and ensures that Pakistan’s arrival in Australia will now provide the country with its first taste of winter cricket in two years.In being slotted into the international calendar between the three-cornered Sharjah Cup competition in April and the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in September, the series will also provide further important match practice for Pakistan in the lead-up to the 2003 World Cup.”We have the Sharjah Cup against tough opposition in Sri Lanka and New Zealand this month, which should see us ideally placed for the three matches against Australia in June,” said Pakistan Cricket Board Director, Brigadier Munawar Ahmed Rana.”Taking on Australia is not only important to our preparation for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, but it is also a great challenge, as Australia has defeated our team in some important fixtures in recent times.”The Melbourne fixtures in this year’s series will be contested at Colonial on Wednesday 12 June and Saturday 15 June, while the Brisbane match will be staged at the ‘Gabba on Wednesday 19 June.Both grounds are extensively used in hosting Australian Rules Football matches during the winter months, meaning that intensive preparation of pitches will be undertaken in the days immediately leading up to each of the three games.A specially-tailored ‘drop-in’ pitch will be created off-site for the two games at Colonial, while groundstaff at the ‘Gabba will use the advantage of a slightly longer break between football commitments to prepare a strip in the centre of their existing block of wickets.

An unbeaten triple century from opener Cheteshwar Pujara helped Saurashtrato five first innings points against Baroda in their West Zone Under-14clash which ended at Baroda’s Motibaug Grounds on Friday.Batting first after winning the toss, Saurashtra piled up 460/5 of which Rajkot lad Pujara, who will celebrate his 13th birthday next week, contributed 306. Pujara, whose father Arvind and uncle Bipin played for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, struck 36 of the 516 balls he faced to the pickets during a knock that spanned nine hours. The only other half centurion in the innings was A Jadhav who made exactly 50.Saurashtra declared after lunch on the second day and in reply Baroda werebowled out late on the third afternoon for 259, conceding a first inningslead of 201. Skipper and opening bat A Bochare (222 balls, 12 fours) made avaliant 96 before he was run out. Saurashtra skipper A Amarkotia bagged3/42. Baroda were asked to follow-on and in the 15 overs available, theyprogressed to 25/1, having to be content with three points.In the other West Zone Under-14 league match involving Maharashtra and Gujarat at the Pune Club ground ended in a tame draw. Opting to bat first, Maharashtrawere shot out for just 99, the wrecker in chief being Sahil Patel,returning figures of 5 for 30. Opener R Kakde was the top scorer with 25.Gujarat in reply took a handsome lead of 138 runs thanks to a fighting 89by skipper and opening batsman Sunny Patel. In an innings plagued by fourducks, Patel shared a 107 run third wicket stand with T Brahmbhatt(64). Later the tailenders helped the team along with some usefulcontributions.Maharashtra in their second innings fared a bit better, scoring 161 for 4on the final day. Opener N Munde was the top scorer with a sedate 58.

Both captains have given pass marks to the pitches in the five Testsof the recent Cable & Wireless Series.West Indies captain Carl Hooper, saying he “couldn’t afford to bebiased”, was satisfied that the pitches were good at all five grounds.South African skipper Shaun Pollock agreed and picked out Sabina Parkfor special mention.”If I had to pick one of the five, I’d probably say this one,” hesaid of the Sabina pitch for the fifth and final Test where SouthAfrica lost their only match of the series.”I thought it played nicely and was pretty similar to what we have athome. It had a bit more bounce and carry [than the others] and was agood Test pitch.”Hooper quipped that, since Sabina had given him his first Test win ascaptain, he should identify it as the best, but his assessment wasthat “they’ve all been good tracks, at all the venues”.He used the pitch at the Queen’s Park Oval as an example of what hethought was a general improvement.”In Trinidad, the pitch normally plays much lower than it did but,this time, the bounce was more even and it held up fairly well,” hesaid.Chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, GregoryShillingford, announced before the series that cash incentives of “acombined amount of between US$8 000 and $15 000” would be awarded toground staff for the best pitch and grounds for both Test and One-DayInternational series.Shillingford said the judges would be the two captains and ICC matchreferee Mike Denness, the former England manager, who fill out formsassessing the pitches and grounds after every match.He gave the assurance that the scheme would be continued and possiblyeven extended to the domestic Busta Cup and Red Stripe Bowl.