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The world champions Australia will not take Bangladesh lightly in the three-match series starting in Darwin on Saturday even though they admit to looking ahead to the Champions Trophy. While the tournament is in doubt – a meeting in Dubai was due to determine the venue on Sunday night – Michael Hussey, the vice-captain, said the team would be planning as if it was happening.”There is some uncertainty there, but we’ve got to use the Bangladesh series like we’re playing in the Champions Trophy,” Hussey said during a break in training at Allan Border Field. “From a planning point of view, we want to prepare as well as we can for the Champions Trophy. The Bangladesh series is a great lead-up to that. The guys have had a bit of time off and are a little bit rusty, so it’s going to be important that we use this series well.”While Bangladesh are ranked ninth and not part of the eight-team Champions Trophy schedule, they do have inside knowledge of the Australians. “They’ve really improved a lot and they have an Australian coach in Jamie Siddons, so they will know us well,” Hussey said. Siddons was an assistant with Australia and worked around the team between 2005 and 2007.The squad will be without Ricky Ponting (wrist) and Brett Lee (personal issues) in Darwin while Matthew Hayden is battling a heel problem. However, Hussey has faith in the rest of the outfit to perform without the big names.”Our guys are really keen, we haven’t played for a while now,” he said. “All the guys are jumping out of their skin.”

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.

The USACA and CCA Presidents have reconfirmed the plan to stage a 2/3 day Canada vs USA game to be held on turf wickets in the Metro Toronto area on September 7-8, 2002.Manitoba joins Alberta and BC in starting to play 2 day cricket. Their first game was this past weekend.Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi were the winners of the Double Wicket competition held in Houston’s Astrodome July 19-21. Abdul Samad, and Ishwar Maraj represented Canada.Canada also will play a 3 day game against the visiting WI ‘A’ team in August in Metro Toronto.

The day began in a moment of solemn silence and ended in a dramatic eruption of joy at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. With their thumping seven-wicket win, the West Indies leveled the series 1-1 with one game to go.The day started in silence observed to mark the death of two cricketers – former Indian spin legend Subhash Gupte and Hansie Cronje. Matchfixing and its attendant tarnishing aside, the death of a cricketer at the young age of 32 leaves a sadness that is sobering. The cricket world was in shock and as is so often the case, the game threw up a performance that did a bit to soothe the wounds of fans worldwide.Christopher Henry Gayle creamed 84 of the most sublime runs as West Indies easily overhauled a meagre Indian score of 123 in a rain-shortened 25-over-a-side slog.But it was no slog from Gayle as a packed house at Trinidad were well repaid for their three-hour wait in the rain.Gayle has on earlier occasions shown patches of sublime touch. In this match his raw, brutal power coupled with a fluid, fluent arc of the bat sent the Indian bowlers scurrying for cover. Suffering most at the hands of Gayle was the success story from the previous one-dayer – Tinu Yohannan. Getting clattered to every part of the park in an over that cost 25 runs, Yohannan quietly retired to the outfield.Gayle did not slow down. The fact that fielding restrictions did not apply after the seventh over did nothing to deter him. After all, if you’re hitting the ball several rows back into the stands, it hardly matters where the fielders are standing. Three sixes were struck in an innings of 84, each one bigger than the previous, as the on-side fence bore the brunt of his savage attack. The excitement is always greatest when the ball goes the full distance, but the strokes that went along the turf to the fence were no less sweet.Overpitched deliveries seem to be the favourite cuisine of this man who has an insatiable appetite for big strokes. Consecutive cover drives off Yohannan left fielders with no chance whatsoever. There was a sigh of relief for the Indians when Gayle’s storm came to an end on 84. A top-edged pull landed safely in the hands of Ganguly at square leg. West Indies needed just seven to win though, at that stage.Just minutes before Gayle was dismissed, his opening partner, Wavell Hinds played a loose shot to be clean bowled for a well-made 30.With clouds gathering in the hills surrounding the ground, the Indians would have had hopes that they could delay things as much as possible. But even the dismissal of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who dragged a Yohannan delivery back onto his stumps, did nothing but change the eventual margin of victory. The popular pair of Carl Hooper and Brian Lara finished things off soon after.While it’s the batting that is usually remembered in a great victory, it is often the bowling that makes such a triumph possible. Today was no exception. The West Indies bowlers rocked the Indian top-order with a series of telling blows. All India managed was 123 all out in 25 overs.The first man to go was Virender Sehwag, in just the third ball of the match. Attempting to clear the infield on the leg side, Sehwag mis-hit Merv Dillon to Lara at mid on. India were 1/1 and Sehwag was gone for a duck.Dinesh Mongia (13) showed hints of defiance but did not last long enough to make a difference.Then came a slew of wickets. VVS Laxman (2) was run out by a sharp throw from Hooper and Yuvraj Singh (1) nicked Pedro Collins through to the ‘keeper. India were in deep trouble at 56/4.A stroke-filled Ganguly innings (39, 44 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) then came to an end. With the fine leg up in the circle, the Indian skipper moved across his stumps and tried to glance the ball fine. Rapped on the pads and adjudged lbw to Colleymore, Ganguly could consider himself a touch unlucky. The ball appeared to be missing the off stump.Rahul Dravid did his best to take India towards respectability, making 26, the second highest score of the Indian innings. He too was undone by a clever piece of bowling, bowled by Hooper while attempting to play a cut shot.Mohammad Kaif made 12 but he too could not get going. Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and company did little to contribute. However, it’s hardly fair to expect them to make a difference when three of the top five managed just three runs between them.With the last ball of the Indian innings, the West Indies sealed a superb performance out in the field. Collins had Harbhajan Singh (6) caught behind and India were all out for 123.It’s never easy to bowl in rain-shortened matches, but the West Indies did it to perfection. Colleymore, with 3/14 from his five overs, was outstanding. Hooper’s 2/19 from five overs helped keep the pressure up and made life very difficult for the Indians.

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.

Together in academics – together in sports
Nike Cricket Nursery (NCN) is a non-profit, community project for 7-9 year olds. The idea is to develop basic cricket skills in a healthy, fun-filled environment. This encourages them to learn tolerance and teamwork as children who play together.The initiative for Nike Cricket Nursery (NCN) was well conceived by renowned Pakistani cricket commentator and critic, Omar Kureishi who has always been a guiding light for the promotion of cricket at grass root level here. Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, Chairman – Pakistan Cricket Board, immediately approved Nike Cricket Nursery on behalf of the PCB. Nike runs the program in association with Pakistan Cricket Board.

“Nike Cricket has been conceived as a community project and the accent is on participation. I hope the children will achieve excellence but that will be a bonus. It will be sufficient if they begin to learn the fundamentals of a game that has so much to teach not only on the field but off it as well.” These are the views of Omar Kureishi, the man who visualized the community project and launched it last November.

Omar Kureishi adds, “It’s my good luck that we were able to get a sponsor like Nike. When I approached Ghous Akbar (MD Nike) for sponsorship, he agreed without any hesitation. Neither he nor I can take any credit. The credit belongs to the children themselves. They have taken to Nike Cricket enthusiastically and are having a lot of fun.”True to Omar’s words, the children have responded overwhelmingly.

On February 10, 2002, the PCB Chairman witnessed the children from 7-11 years being taught the basic skills of the game at National Stadium Karachi and immediately approved of it promising to help take Nike Cricket nationwide. He said that PCB has hired coaches including former Test and First Class cricketers to provide their assistance and coaching for the Nursery’s future programs. An interesting point is that Nike is holding the cricket nursery at NSK for the past three months and coaching more than 200 children aged 7-9 free of charge.

PCB Chairman lauded this decision to promote cricket at grass root level and assured them of all possible cooperation for organizing more of such camps. He said that PCB intends to promote the sport at grass root level, open to all without any discrimination as is evident from this camp where children from public sector schools, special schools and SOS Villages are participating.He appreciated the fact this idea of coaching was conceived by Omar Kureishi and PCB always pays high regard to his good guidance and suggestions. Tauqir Zia also lauded the services of MD Nike, for promotion of cricket.

Omar Kureishi also addressed the ceremony, which was attended by participating children, their parents, teachers and a large number of cricket enthusiasts.The Nike Cricket Nursery simplifies the game of cricket. Rules are modified according to conditions. Played on a grassy ground (National Stadium Karachi) with specially designed equipment made from high quality moulded plastic, light enough for small hands. The equipment is light, tough, hardwearing and safe, so there is no need for any protective wear.Presently there are about 200 children enrolled and the highlight is children from low income groups are trained free of charge and also provided free transport.

Parents and teachers provide a lot of support and being cricket enthusiasts themselves often join the children on the ground for a few overs. Children play five days a week at the Stadium. The program is not just meant to coach but train them into developing basic cricket skills and to have fun while doing it.

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.

Doug Watson is set to replace Johan Rudolph as the coach of the Namibian national team, Cricket Namibia has confirmed. He will take charge of the team from October 22. Watson, who played first-class cricket in South Africa for 15 years, has been involved with Namibian cricket for the past two years in various capacities.”I’m extremely privileged and humbled to be the national coach for Cricket Namibia,” Watson said. “It is an exciting period of life for me, I believe that cricket in Namibia can only go forward, we have an exciting international and South African cricket calendar ahead of us and we’ll be looking to achieve our goals and objectives.”Watson has previously had coaching stints with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2009, where he was the assistant coach to Shaun Pollock, and the head coach of the Kwa-zulu Natal Inland team between 2009-11. He played 139 first-class matches, scoring 7692 runs at an average of 36.80.

For one reason or another, and with proper justification, CourtneyWalsh has been a shining light in the gloom that has continued toenvelop West Indies cricket this past year.The game’s oldest Test player will again be the centre of emotionalattention over the next few days at Sabina Park, in his nativeKingston, as he comes to the end of the longest and most celebratedcareer of any West Indian cricketer.And Walsh expressed one wish yesterday.It would be nice to have a Test match win here in Jamaica for thefinal Test match, he said. I’m hoping for that and I am still veryoptimistic.Optimistic rather than realistic, given the West Indies have now gone13 Tests without winning one.Walsh’s first Test was marked by an innings victory for the WestIndies over Australia at the WACA in Perth in 1984. It would be afitting finale should his last produce a similar result.Back then, he joined statistically and actually the strongest WestIndies team of all. Success came as a matter of course.He leaves arguably the weakest of West Indies team but, as he notedyesterday, it remains in the rebuilding process.When Walsh, 38, walks from the ground for the last time in the fifthand final Test, he will wave a poignant farewell to the assembledthousands and take his leave after more Tests than any other WestIndian, and any other fast bowler (132).He would have added to his incredible tally of 513 wickets, havingalready extended the record for most Test wickets he broke with his435th against Zimbabwe to emotional scenes at Sabina just over a yearago.Such occasions have become commonplace for Walsh since. There wereheartfelt farewells from English and Australian crowds and players atthe Oval and the Sydney Cricket Ground as he made his way off thoseground for the last time.A month ago, he crowned the 50th Test match at the Queen’s Park Ovalwith his 500th Test wicket, a cricketing Everest. In Guyana, Trinidadand Tobago and Barbados he has been decorated with high nationalhonours.And now Sabina comes around again.Walsh has given retiring thought more than once before. This time, heknows within himself that it is time to go, that, if his bowlingremains the highest quality, his fielding is not.Basically, I was looking for this to be my last Test match and nothinghas happened to change that at this point in time.All Courtney Walsh wants is a victory to see him out. Is that too muchto ask?

Ken Ablack, who was a well-known cricket commentator in the 1950s, has died at his home in Glencoe in Trinidad at the age of 91.Born in Trinidad, Ablack came to England during the war where he played for various representative XIs as a slow left-armer, going on to make three appearances for Northamptonshire between 1946 and 1949.He worked for the BBC as a producer for its Caribbean section, and in 1950 and 1957 acted as a commentator during England’s Tests against West Indies. On the second trip he was one of the team when Test Match Special made its debut. He later returned to Trinidad where he became an influential figure at Queen’s Club.”I am sure he is not happy that once again the century eluded him,” his son Robert told ESPNcricinfo. “He was also looking forward to watching the Ashes test starting last night on local TV. He followed cricket to the end.”