Close South Africa 369 for 2 (Smith 200, Kirsten 113*)
scorecardGraeme Smith converted his maiden Test century to a superb 200, and Gary Kirsten became the first man to score centuries against all nine Test-playing opponents, as South Africa christened Buffalo Park, the 85th and newest Test venue, with a feast of runs. The pair added 272 for the second wicket, as Bangladesh, who won the toss and chose to field, suffered a long and fruitless day in the sun.Kirsten had a point to prove after his omission from South Africa’s one-day side, and after making a rare appearance at No. 3, he peppered the arc between point and long-off with exquisitely timed drives. He quickly celebrated his return to international cricket with a 58-ball half-century, and took no time to settle into a rhythm, opening his account with three boundaries in an over off Tapash Baisya – one of which was a slightly fortuitous under-edged cut to fine leg.At the other end, Kirsten’s doppelganger Smith was in equally commanding form. Both men are left-handed, with a tendency to drive away from the body, and such was the frequency with which the ball clattered over the ropes at extra-cover, that it was hard to distinguish the two. Smith, though, was the only man to give a chance, when on 111, he edged Alok Kapali between keeper and slip for four. On reaching three figures, he looked slightly sheepish to have fulfilled a lifelong ambition in such hollow circumstances, but there was no disguising his glee when he posted his double century. Sure enough, the surfeit of emotion did for him, and within two balls he had lofted Sanwar Hossain to mid-on (359 for 2).The only other scalp fell in the morning session – Herschelle Gibbs, who had looked in sumptuous form until he who cut loosely at a wide delivery from Baisya and scooped the ball to Tushar Imran at extra cover (87 for 1). After a measured start, with a mere 20 runs coming from the first seven overs, he had launched Baisya over midwicket for six, before driving him emphatically down the ground for four, and though he dutifully shouldered arms to much that came his way, when he chose to play a shot, it was never with anything but the very middle of the bat.Bangladesh’s bowlers were spirited as ever, but lacked the necessary penetration. Baisya and Talha Jubair bowled with optimistic hostility, and beat the edge on occasions, and Mohammad Rafique found some handy drift with his staccato round-arm spin. By the end of the day, however, they had been reduced to a rabble. Yet another dispiriting trouncing is only a matter of time.South Africa 1 Herschelle Gibbs, 2 Graeme Smith, 3 Gary Kirsten, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Martin van Jaarsveld, 7 Mark Boucher (capt & wk), 8 Claude Henderson, 9 David Terbrugge, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Nantie Hayward.Bangladesh 1 Al-Sahariar Rokon, 2 Javed Omar, 3 Habibul Bashar, 4 Sanwar Hossain, 5 Tushar Imran, 6 Alok Kapali, 7 Khaled Mashud (capt & wk), 8 Mohammad Rafique, 9 Tapash Baisya, 10 Talha Jubair, 11 Manjural Islam.

Even by Shane Warne’s soap-operatic standards, this past month has been turbulent in the extreme. Another sordid tabloid exposé led directly to the break-up of his ten-year marriage, surely the worst-possible preparation for the intensity and emotions of an Ashes series. And yet, for all his off-pitch problems, Warne was adamant that he could put the bad thoughts to one side and raise his game to another level for the challenges ahead.”I’m pretty keen and anxious to get into the Tests,” Warne told a press conference at the Australian team hotel in South-West London. “Obviously this has been a difficult period of my life, but I’ve just got to deal with it and get on. I’ve been having my good days and bad days, and some days it can be hard to move on, but there’s really nothing more I can do. I just hope to enjoy the series and make it one of my best ever.”Warne and controversy go together like Lord’s and Australian Test victories, but now, in the twilight of his career and with nothing left to hide either on or off the pitch, he was in particularly candid mood. “I couldn’t give a rat’s **** what people think of me or say,” he said. “Everyone’s had an opinion, and I’ve loaded the bullets on a few occasions, but unfortunately we live in a society that’s pretty judgmental about what you do in your life.”That is as true for Warne’s cricket as it has been for his private life, but his attitude to both is phlegmatic. “My bowling is how it is,” he shrugged. “It’s different from how it was when I first started, different from what it was five years into my career, and different again from four years ago.”In the old days we used to bat first every time and I’d get to bowl into the fifth-day footmarks. These days there aren’t so many five-day Tests, so there’s not as much spin on offer. Plus we often bowl first these days, so I need other ways to get wickets on first-day pitches. That’s where I think I’ve improved, I’ve learned to adapt a bit better, and seeing as I’ve just had one of my best years ever, I think I’m going okay.”Warne, however, wasn’t deluding himself as to the ravages of time, and has had operations on his right shoulder, spinning finger and left knee as testament to his 15 years at the top. “Physically, it would be impossible for me to still be at my absolute peak,” he admitted. “There aren’t many days when something isn’t hurting, but I feel as fresh as a nearly-36-year-old can feel. When you get to this age it’s all about management, you can’t go to the nets and bowl hour after hour after hour – you have to save as much as you can for the games.”But after every game I’ve played, someone has either said: ‘he’s not as good as he was’ or ‘he’s getting better with age’. That opinion changes no matter what, so all you can go on is results, and in the last year as successful as at any stage. Whether I’m a better bowler or not, who knows? I guess you’d have to ask the batsmen that, not the people watching.”With three Ashes tours and six consecutive series wins to his name, Warne accepted that he would not be seen again in a baggy green in England. “I’m not going to be around in four years’ time,” he said. “It’s sad in a way, but it’s also very enjoyable because for the first time in eight series, I honestly believe England have got a chance.”They’ve got two matchwinners in [Andrew] Flintoff and [Steve] Harmison and, if Kevin Pietersen takes to Test cricket like he has done in one-dayers, then he could be phenomenal. It’s a brave decision and good one from the England selectors, because he’s the most dangerous player in England.”But overall, Warne was in a reflective mood, and accepted that this series would prove to be one of his greatest challenges, for more than just the cricketing reasons. “We’ve got five Tests in eight weeks and human nature is bound to take over for periods,” he admitted. “Looking back over the years it’s generally been the case that the tougher the situation the better I respond.”But nothing like this has ever happened in my life before, and I have to deal with as best I can. It’s not the way I wanted it to be, but I’ve just got to concentrate on my cricket and be there for the guys, because at the end of the day, that’s my job and, much as I see it as a hobby and a passion and a love, I have to turn up no matter what.”

Sanath Jayasuriya, close on Sourav Ganguly’s heels, has become the fourth batsman to amass 10,000 runs in one-day cricket. Had a dislocated shoulder not forced him out of the fourth match of the Indian Oil Cup when Ganguly (10,020 runs) scored his 10,000th run, we might have been witness to the unique event of two great contemporary batsmen reaching the 10,000 run milestone in the same match.Jayasuriya, nicknamed the Matara Marauder for his ruthless hitting, may not bat with the elegance and class of a Sachin Tendulkar (13,642 runs) or an Inzamam-ul-Haq (10,933 runs), the other two batsmen to have achieved the milestone, but in terms of sheer effectiveness in one-day cricket, Jayasuriya has few peers.After making his ODI debut in 1989, Jayasuriya’s career seemed to be going nowhere for many years. He managed just 1669 runs in 87 innings at a measly average of 19.64 up to 1996. We were given a warning of what was to come in the Benson & Hedges World Series in Australia in 1995-96, when Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana changed the way the first 15 overs of an ODI are played with their frenzied hitting. Jayasuriya could not have chosen a more fitting stage than the World Cup in 1996 to announce his arrival. Adjudged Man of the Tournament, Jayasuriya put bowling attacks to the sword and raised the bar from 250 being a winning score to 280 being a defendable one. Since 1996 he has been rampant in his run-making with 8331 runs in 241 innings at 36.65. It was this accelerated scoring that gave added importance to the batsman’s strike rate. Jayasuriya’s is very impressive at 88.54.An argument about one-day cricket’s best batsmen may not include Jayasuriya. But not many will find reason to omit him from the list of one-day cricket’s most valuable players. Leave aside that mammoth total of 10,000 runs. Jayasuriya also has a commendable haul of 267 ODI wickets. A ranking of fourth in the list of highest run-scorers in ODIs and 12th among highest wicket-takers, Jayasuriya, one would argue, is easily one the game’s most valuable gems.Allrounders with more than 3000 runs and at least 150 wickets

(Includes data up to Jayasuriya’s 10,000th run)

Tom Moody, the Sri Lankan coach, has ruled out resting his key players for the second one-dayer against Bangladesh tomorrow, hoping to complete a clean sweep. Sri Lanka lead the three-match series 1-0 following their emphatic 88-run victory in Colombo.”We certainly do not want to go lightly,” Moody said. “We have got faith in all the guys in the squad, but our aim is to win all three matches and, with that in mind, we do not want to weaken the side [by experimenting].”Moody said Sri Lanka still had room for improvement despite winning the first match comfortably. “There are few areas we would like to improve on,” he said, “and we hope to work on them during the next two matches. One of the areas where we want to do well is to make sure we score maximum runs during power plays.”We did not score as many as we would have liked in the first game, but we are still learning like any other team. We would also like to be consistent with the ball and then we have observed that our top-order batsmen got starts, but did not go on to make big scores.”Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, said he was looking forward to an improved allround performance from his team. “We certainly can field much better than what we did in the first match,” said Bashar, whose side missed four catches and a stumping in the first game. “That is a definite area where we need to improve along with our top-order batting. We lost too many wickets in the first 15 overs. Instead of batting longer, we played too many shots too early.”

David Hussey’s Nottinghamshire sealed the County Championship a week before the season closed with a 214-run victory over Kent at Canterbury. Jason Gallian, who was born in Sydney, scored 199 in Notts’ first innings to set a base, and after two declarations and six wickets to Andrew Harris the trophy was heading to Trent Bridge for the first time since 1987.Despite the team success, it was an unhappy game for Hussey with scores of 11 and 0. However, he has been crucial to the team’s success with his prolific batting, and will return to Victoria revitalised after being dropped by his state in 2004-05.Shane Warne and Hampshire will be pushing for second place during the final round this week despite their 75-run win over Glamorgan at Cardiff. Warne managed 4 for 50 in the first innings and picked up a wicket in the second, although Robert Croft was the most successful spinner with 10 wickets from the match.Simon Katich returned smoothly to the county circuit after the Ashes defeat with 50 and 49 off 60 balls, which allowed Hampshire to declare at 7 for 218 in the second innings. Croft’s performance didn’t help Glamorgan, who will be relegated alongside Gloucestershire and probably Surrey, who are playing the other contenders Middlesex at The Oval.Ian Harvey’s double of a century and seven wickets sealed Yorkshire’s return to the top drawer following the draw against Derbyshire at Derby. The result meant Yorkshire and Durham would join Lancashire as the promoted teams, and ensured a relaxed final round with all the important places already decided.Derbyshire, who will finish last, reached 523 in the second innings, Jon Moss adding 49 to his opening 19 and Harvey picking up two wickets to go with his first-innings five. Harvey, who will fly to South Africa instead of Victoria for the southern hemisphere summer, took 5 for 40 before slapping 103 off 145 balls with 14 fours and one six. Yorkshire posted 520 and held on for the important draw to finish at 6 for 114 on the last day.Durham, the leaders for much of the season, sealed their leap after drawing with Northamptonshire at Chester-le-Street. It was a bad match for Jimmy Maher, who scored 0 and 2, but Brad Williams chipped in with three wickets over two innings to finish the season for Durham, who don’t play in the last round.Durham won their second promotion of the weekend on Sunday by beating Somerset to spring into Division One of the National League. Maher made 15 in the five-wicket win while Williams picked up two victims as Somerset were knocked over for 140. Essex have already sealed the top league’s title.

On June 20, 1996, Rahul Dravid was handed a Test cap at Lord’s, in the second Test against England, after Sanjay Manjrekar twisted his ankle in the first. Since then he has not looked back, and has played a record 91 straight Tests. Manjrekar played just two more Tests in his life. On Thursday, an injury to Sourav Ganguly precipitated Dravid’s appointment as captain of the Indian team for two back-to-back series – his longest stint to date – and signals that the end of the road is near for Ganguly, almost certainly as captain, and most likely as player too.That the selectors chose to give Dravid two tours at the helm, instead of the customary one, is the strongest sign yet that the tide has turned against Ganguly. When the current season began, and India were headed to Sri Lanka with Ganguly’s participation in doubt thanks to an ICC ban for slow over rates, Dravid was made captain on a stop-gap basis. He did a decent job, both with the bat and as leader, even as the team slumped to defeat. When the team came back from Sri Lanka, Ganguly was reinstated captain for the tour of Zimbabwe, and Dravid relegated to behind-the-scenes with a quiet, “Thank you for your services”.Dravid won’t let on, but he was furious at the decision of the board. It became increasingly clear that he was not interested in the captaincy on an ad hoc basis. He had no time to implement his ideas, and more often than not was left carrying the can when it came to answering tough questions about things going wrong. Dravid has not granted a single interview since that period, but seasoned followers of his line of thinking would tell you that two things changed irrevocably after India’s return from Sri Lanka. Firstly, Dravid would not accept the captaincy as a stand-in, merely keeping the seat warm for Ganguly. Second, if Ganguly were named captain for a long duration – till the 2007 World Cup as some sections demanded – Dravid would step down from the vice-captaincy and give up all ambitions of leading India.Not long ago, in an interview to , Dravid said, “I have been vice-captain for a few years, and that means you are, in some sense, prepared to be captain. But to be honest, captaincy is not the be all and end all of things. If at some stage the captaincy came along, well and good. I won’t lose a night’s sleep over it. I haven’t so far.” He meant that in a different context; now, taking over the reins with the team struggling and close to the bottom of the ladder, he may well lose some sleep. For it would be a mistake to view this appointment as a victory for Dravid over Ganguly, or Chappell over Ganguly. It was simply the only way forward. It’s not merely important to do the right thing, but to do it at the right time.Greg Chappell has been entrusted with rebuilding a team that has been on a downward spiral for more than a year. He was appointed with the responsibility of bringing a long-term vision and faithfully implementing it. And for a variety of reasons this has not been possible in the short time he has been coach. Chappell has not got the players he wanted, he has not had a free enough hand to reward certain attitudes or punish others, and his captain had not bought into the vision enough to give it a solid chance of working.And make no mistake, while the Ganguly-Chappell relationship has been downright confrontational, the Ganguly-John Wright one was far from rosy. The two barely sang from the same hymn sheet, but Wright accepted what he had to work with and got on with the job. With the appointment of Dravid India now have a chance for coach, captain and team to work together, getting to the root of the problems afflicting the team and sorting them out in time for the 2007 World Cup.The mantra all season has been “take India to the next level”. With young talent busting at the gut for a place in the side – the Challenger Series threw up more than one cricketer with definite promise and reinforced the stature of others on the fringes – there’s no reason why India cannot make it to the next level.But to believe that Dravid’s appointment, as Chappell’s earlier, will cause the team to transform itself overnight into the New Australia, is silly. Dravid is patient, hard-working, dedicated and committed to excellence. But he is also someone who won’t find it as easy to handle the problem characters in the team as Ganguly. He won’t bring the same in-your-face aggro to the field. He certainly won’t come to the job with the unequivocal support of the powers-that-are in the BCCI that Ganguly did. What Ganguly did for this team – not just 76 ODI and 21 Test wins – is something perhaps Dravid could not have, had he been appointed captain five years ago. Today, Ganguly cannot do what Dravid can. The wheel has turned, and Ganguly’s time is over.For all he has contributed to this team, Ganguly deserved a better farewell – if indeed that’s what this is – than being abruptly dropped. He deserved to walk away into the sunset, head held high, not be nudged out, first by coach, then the media, the public, and finally the selectors. But then again, with his batting, his behaviour and his almost stubborn refusal to let go, he barely gave anyone a chance to do any better by him.

Andrew Flintoff has denied any suggestions that he does not get along with Graeme Smith, World XI captain for the recently concluded Super Test against Australia, and backed his statement with a hostile bowling spell to help dismiss Australia for 199 in their second innings. The England and Lancashire player claimed three for 14 in a testing spell on the third day at Sydney.Michael Vaughan’s new book revealed that Smith termed Flintoff a `big baby’ during last winter’s tour of South Africa, yet Flintoff stated that he was in Australia to represent the World XI and had no problems playing with or under Smith. “Myself and Smithy had some issues during the series in England two years ago, we competed hard when we were on the pitch and it was no different in South Africa.” Flintoff told . “We have got to know each other quite well on this trip, I have spent time in his company and he is all right.”Critics have spared no efforts in denouncing the claims of the World XI, as a team of stars brought together to challenge the Australians lost all the games, including a 210-run thrashing in the Sydney Test, where the longer version of the game was supposed to have bolstered their chances. The singular moment of sheer aggression from Smith’s side came in a manic 24-over spell on the third day when nine Australian wickets fell for just 47 runs, with Flintoff, Steve Harmison, and Muttiah Muralitharan snaring three scalps apiece.Flintoff was quick to come to the World XI’s defense. “The team spirit has been fine since we got together, most of the lads hit it off straight away. Obviously we don’t play together regularly so everyone is still trying to find out what others do and what is the best way to get them to perform.”On Smith and any rift that may remain between the two, Flintoff closed off by maintaining that when the two are pitted against each other it is all healthy competition. “There has been a few words said between us both ways but we get on off the pitch. It is very much what happens on the pitch stays there and afterwards we can have a laugh about it over a beer.”

Send us your views on the Ehsan Mani interview

Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, has said that there are no plans to review Zimbabwe’s Test status despite the country’s dismal performances in the last 18 months.In an exclusive interview with Cricinfo, Mani said that any such decision was the responsibility of the Full Members (the ten Test-playing countries) and that while the possibility of suspending Zimbabwe to give them time to rebuild had been discussed, it was rejected as an option.”In all sporting competitions there are strong sides and weak ones and Test cricket is no different,” Mani said. “The history of the game is littered with examples of such teams going head-to-head resulting in one-sided contests. We recognise that some countries such as Zimbabwe are not at their strongest at the moment but also acknowledge they are in a rebuilding stage.”There appears to be an underlying assumption in many matters concerning the ICC that someone, be it the President or the Chief Executive Officer, has the power to pick up the phone to, for example, suspend a Member but that is not the case. It is the Members themselves that determine such policy within the framework of the ICC’s constitution.But while Mani acknowledged that the ICC were following events inside Zimbabwe closely – “any situation where conflict exists is obviously regrettable” – he was keen to empahise that the politics of any member country was not the ICC’s concern. “Our remit is cricket, not the internal politics of our Members.”Asked why the ICC acted against South Africa in the apartheid era and yet not against Zimbabwe, whose human rights record is the subject of widespread international concern, Mani said: “The issue of South Africa’s sporting isolation was confirmed by a decision made by politicians when the Gleneagles Agreement of 1977 was produced and the ICC accepted that document. Economic and sporting sanctions were imposed against South Africa but no member government of an ICC country has sought to take such a stance against Zimbabwe.”He also reiterated that any country refusing to fulfill its obligations to tour would face financial penalties, but that there would not be any ICC repercussions against New Zealand in the light of their government refusing to allow Zimbabwe to visit. “The decision to stop Zimbabwe touring by refusing to issue their players with entry visas was one made by politicians and, as we have said previously, we will always abide by such decisions.” However, he warned that such action could have consequences. “It would be worth observing that any unilateral or even multilateral action taken that may not be in accordance with the views of the majority might result in consequences. For example, if a Member wished to apply to host an ICC Event having earlier acted in a way that some of its fellow Members felt to be inappropriate then that might jeopardize its chances of securing that Event when the time came for a vote on the issue.”And Mani appeared to hint that he acknowledged the idea of assembling the best players in the world for the Super Series had not been that successful. Asked whether there had been any consideration given to raising an all-Africa side to replace Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa, he replied: “That argument says that a combined side might be able to boast more top-class players in its line-up than any side made up of the players from just one country. The Johnnie Walker Super Series has re-opened the debate about whether it is possible for players from more than one country to come together and form an effective team. The merger of teams into one line-up may also impact on players’ ability to represent their country of birth, something many of them would always aspire to do.”

Two Zimbabwe players, Vusi Sibanda and Waddington Mwayenga, and the national team manager, Mohammed Meman, who were arrested on Saturday by the police on charges of violating foreign exchange regulations have been released.The local Herald newspaper reported that “sources within Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said they had been informed that the police were also interested in questioning at least six more players over their offshore foreign currency accounts and transactions.” It did not specify who those sources were. The newspaper also said the arrests followed investigations by Zimbabwe’s central bank into the cricket league’s financial affairs.Meman, speaking via telephone to AFP, said that the matter was close to being resolved.”We are in the process of being released right now. I don’t foresee any hicups and there are no restrictions on us,” he said. “I believe the instruction to let us go came from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. We know who caused this mischief, but he has failed except to give anxiety for our families.”Clive Field, the players’ representative, said that the news had come out of the blue. “It came as a shock to all of us,” he told Cricinfo. “We are not sure why those players were picked up. We are trying to get more information as we are concerned for the players.”

The Titans have finished at the top of the Standard Bank Cup preliminary round despite receiving a thrashing from the Dolphins who finish fourth. The Lions wasted a chance of ending on top after they let the Warriors off the hook to be denied the bonus point they needed. The Eagles finished in the third spot after a win over the Cobras.At the City Oval, Pietermaritzburg the overnight rain and then the humid conditions were perfectly used by Andrew Tweedie as he bowled the heart out of the Titans batting to take 6 for 24, the sixth best bowling performance in the competition. The Titans, sent in to bat first, had no answer to Tweedie who swung the ball both ways to leave them all out for 72 in 23.1 overs. Getting the ball in the right areas he had every batsman playing and missing. And when they did make connection he was backed up by some good catching.The Dolphins’ innings got off to a bit of a hic-cup with Imraan Khan caught off the first ball of the innings and Hashim Amla bowled for 10. Doug Watson struggled to 21 not out while Ahmed Amla, in contrast to all the other batsmen, played with ease to score 35 not out off 30 balls to take the Dolphins home by eight wickets in 14.2 overs.A disappointing end for a very good Pietermaritzburg crowd who turned out for the only match they get in a season. The turnout should however prompt the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union to look at playing more games at this picturesque ground.At St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, the Lions nearly took advantage of the Titans slip but they allowed the Warriors to recover from 112 for 6 to 210 for 7 to deny the Lions the bonus point that would have seen them finish ahead of the Titans.Batting first, Stephen Cook, top run scorer in the competition, continued his prolific form by scoring 90 as he nearly batted through the innings. An opening partnership of 80 with Adam Bacher (41) was almost wasted when Neil McKenzie fell without scoring but a quick 52 not out from Vaughn van Jaarsveld saw the Lions post an impressive 262 for 5.The Warriors just never got off the ground in the chase as they collapsed to 72 for 5 in 21 overs with some poor shot making from the top order. A career-best 51 from wicketkeeper Athenkosi Dyili and a bludgeoning 79 not out (48 balls) from Tyron Henderson saw the Warriors get close but they were bowled out for 246 in the end, just 18 runs short.At Newlands in Cape Town the Cobras’ dismal season continued as they bowed out of the competition winless after another heavy loss, this time at the hands of the Eagles.The Eagles, sent in to bat first, scored a solid 225 for 5 with both Loots Bosman and Boeta Dippenaar scoring 71. The innings had not started too well with both openers out inside two overs. Bosman and Davy Jacobs (40) took the score to 59 before Bosman and Dippenaar put on 96 for the fourth wicket. An undefeated partnership of 65 off 52 balls from Dippenaar and Ryan Bailey (31 not out) guided the Eagles through to the 225.A total loss of confidence was evident from the Cobras as wickets fell at regular intervals. A slight rally from Henry Davids (31) and Rory Kleinveldt (36) saw them struggle to 190 all out. The young offspinner bowler, Thandi Tshabalala, was the pick of the bowlers and finished with career-best equalling 4 for 24.The semi-finals will be contested between the Lions and the Eagles at the Wanderers, probably on Friday, while the Titans will host the Dolphins at Centurion on Sunday.