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Australia `A’ completely overshadowed South African `A’ at Centurion today, winning by the biggest margin so far in the series, seven wickets, and ten overs to spare.Winning the toss and batting in what appeared to be a perfect morning to bowl on, the South Africans were once again let down by a top order that has just not switched on this series.Some lusty blows at the end of the innings restored some face but the locals still got bowled out inside the 50 overs for 193 with Ashwell Prince scoring 44 and Andrew Hall getting 38. Steve Elworthy waded in with a 27 and the next highest was extras with 25.The Australians only lost three wickets in their chase with Ryan Campbell once again going cheaply and Simon Katich getting nine. Justin Langer with 61 was the only other Australian to lose his wicket. Greg Blewett, unbeaten on 84, and Michael Clarke, not out 22, seeing the team home with 10.2 overs to spare.Robin Peterson was the choice of the South African bowlers with Elworthy giving ample support. This however is not the department that the South Africans are lacking in. Somewhere the selectors are going to have to come up with a solution to the failing top order.Mfuneko Ngam bowled with some pace and could feel slightly unlucky giving away three fours from inside edges that could just as easily have gone into the stumps. He did however leave the field after taking a bad fall on his knee running a ball down on the boundary.The South African selectors have left Gary Kirsten out of the squad for the next two matchesThe next match is at the Wanderers on Wednesday morning.

The International Cricket Council faces some serious fence mending with its players around the world if the results of a FICA players’ survey are to be believed.According to the results released over the weekend, only 20% of the players polled believe the ICC is doing a good job running cricket, as opposed to 46% who think they aren’t.While only four per cent agreed with the notion that the ICC balanced the interests of the game with those of the players. A total of 60% disagreed with that thought.Sixty-two per cent do not think the ICC is interested in the views of the players.Players were more inclined to support their governing bodies in their own countries.Fifty-six per cent of the players agreed that they had a good relationship with their home board while 41% agreed their officials had the best interests of the game at heart. Yet only 31% were firmly of the view that their boards were sympathetic to their employment as professional cricketers.Views on whether the boards were interested in the views of the players were 36% in support and 38% against the notion.Forty-nine percent of players felt umpiring was of an international standard with 35% offering a neither confirm nor deny view.However, 76% felt they had a good relationship with umpires. The move to eight international umpires drew 80% support but there was more variation on whether the elite panel of eight included the best umpires in the world. Six per cent strongly agreed, 23% agreed and 37% neither agreed or disagreed.A figure of 91% of players supported the idea of neutral umpires at both ends in Test matches with 65% also of a view that the third umpire should also be neutral.Surprisingly, only 38% of players felt the third umpire had improved the standard of umpiring.Sixty-four per cent of players felt there was too much international cricket being played at the moment while 78% felt there should be a compulsory leave period. Support for minimum days between Test matches was at 91% and 87% felt they should not have to play back-to-back One-Day Internationals.The idea that Test cricket should be played over four days only was not supported by 83% of players and there was 83% support for neutral venues for those countries affected by civil war or terrorism.Players were non-plussed about the new ICC code of conduct but 68% felt technology had improved decision-making in the game. Views were mixed, 40% in favour and 42% opposed to technology being used for leg before wicket decisions.In relation to grounds and playing facilities, 84% of the players felt minimum standards should be applied to playing facilities and only 25% could say that they felt player safety was catered for at grounds. And 53% felt beverages at grounds should not be sold in bottles or cans. Eighty-three per cent felt the boundary rope should be three metres in from the boundary no matter the size of the ground.Players also felt that the one-day game as it was played at the moment was the preferred way to go while introducing more teams in both Tests and ODIs did not seem to cause a major effect one way or the other.Ninety overs a day for Tests got the thumbs up from 83% while fines for not completing the overs in a day were supported by 57% of players.When it came to bowling actions, 75% of players, and 18% who had no opinion, felt there was a problem with bowling actions. Of the players 45% felt a suspect bowler should not be allowed to continue to play while his action was assessed while 89% felt a player should be assessed immediately.Only 13% of the players felt the playing conditions for the ICC Champions Trophy were reasonable and 66% of the players were dissatisfied by the way the conditions for the tournament were passed to the players.And in regards to support for an international players’ association, there was an overwhelming 97% support and 91% of players felt FICA should have the right to represent them to the ICC.Eighty-seven per cent of the players felt they should have a greater say in the game while 93% felt player representatives should be chosen by the players.Ninety-eight per cent of players felt FICA should be officially recognised by the ICC.Sachin Tendulkar and Glenn McGrath came out on top when it came to the players rating the best batsman and bowler in both Tests and ODIs.Tendulkar’s (78% in Tests, 51% in ODIs) nearest rival in either batting category polled just 16% (Adam Gilchrist and Michael Bevan in ODIs).Muttiah Muralitharan (39%) was chosen by just 7% fewer players than McGrath in the ODI bowling category, though was a distant second with 16% compared to McGrath’s 70% in the Test category.Jonty Rhodes dominated in similar fashion when it came to the nomination of the best fielder in the world. Rhodes took out 75% of the vote, well clear of Ricky Ponting (20%) in second.South African Rudi Koertzen (28%) edged out England’s David Shepherd (25%) as the umpire the players rated as the best in the world at present.Lord’s (27%) was favoured as the best ground, ahead of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (24%), Newlands in Cape Town (15%) and the Gabba in Brisbane (7%).

Don’t despair: in every cloud there is a silver lining; in every crisis there is some hope on which to cling. And so it is for Sri Lanka fans after a disastrous Test series against England.As England romped to their most emphatic series win for 16 years at a gloomy Old Trafford, the one bright light of the game for Sri Lankans was the sight of Russel Arnold throwing off the shackles of poor form.`So what?’ you may scoff. But hang on a second, this was a moment of significance…and not just because he has been picked to showcase Woodworm’s revolutionary new Wand cricket bat, an innovation that will maximise his productivity.For two and a half years the 29-year-old left-hander had struggled in Test cricket, hanging on to his place by the skin of his teeth. The statistics told a sad tale. Whilst most of his colleagues were averaging in the forties, he averaged just 21.63 in all Tests from January 2000 to December 2001. His Manchester hundred was the third of his career, but the first for 43 innings.Had it not been for Sri Lanka’s nine-match winning stretch and the contributions of his high scoring teammates, the selectorial axe would surely have fallen, possibly condemning him to live out his cricketing career in coloured clothing, a form of the game in which he excels.He was dropped once, against Bangladesh in the Asian Test Championship last year, but soon returned. The team management were convinced of his all-round value, as a cricketer and competitor, even if their exasperation with his continued under achievement became increasingly visible.Sri Lanka’s previous selection panel, headed by former Sri Lanka captain Michael Tissera, also admired Arnold. In their eyes he was a versatile and strong-minded cricketer. Maybe not the prettiest strokeplayer in the squad, but a workmanlike and intelligent player, who displayed a fierce commitment to the team’s cause.Ironically, his unselfishness contributed to a dip in his personal performance. When the South Africans toured Sri Lanka in 2000 coach Dav Whatmore was concerned about the strength of his middle order; he wanted a player with the courage to muscle the side out of a hole. And Arnold, who been very successful in the middle order in the limited overs side, agreed to drop down the order.But the plan backfired. Arnold struggled to adapt his game, preferring the harder ball and open spaces of the top order, where he had scored both of his previous centuries. His confidence started to sag and uncertainty crept into his strokeplay. Poor fortune also played a part with a string of poor decisions heightening his frustration.Thankfully his performances in one-day cricket didn’t suffer, a fact that must have helped sustain his natural self-belief. Throughout his barren run he maintained a one-day average in excess of 40 – a fine achievement in the shortened game, especially when you are batting in the late overs.In 2002 he started to show the first signs of form, scoring 71 at Kandy and 40 at Galle against Zimbabwe and then 44 at Lahore in the Asian Test Championship final. It was enough to guarantee himself a place in the tour to England.As soon as he arrived it became clear that he was hitting the ball with a new crispness and authority. But although he sparkled at Lord’s, where he thrashed an entertaining fifty, the real turning point proved to be another reshuffle in the order: Sanath Jayasuriya, his technique exposed against high class quick bowling on English pitches, dropped himself down the order for the final game.Arnold, probably aware that Jayasuriya would be keen to slot back into the top of the order once the side returned to the sub-continent, grabbed his opportunity. Afterwards, as he fended off questions about Sri Lanka’s defeat, Jayasuriya admitted that Arnold had made a compelling case for an extended spell as opener.In fact, Jayasuriya may well have to make way in more ways than one. Arnold is one of the candidates for the captaincy should Jayasuriya not be able to display greater tactical acumen and stronger leadership in the forthcoming year.And he would do a good job. Self-confidence and good communication skills have long marked him out as a natural leader, someone who could wield together and motivate the team, protecting its spirit from the disruptive political undercurrents that so hamper Sri Lanka’s cricket.Moreover, an aggressive streak could lead to the development of a more battle-hardened edge. Whilst the differing leadership styles of Arjuna Ranatunga, shrewd and arrogant, and Jayasuriya, down to earth and consensual, each have their advantages, the optimum approach is probably somewhere in between – a course that Arnold could steer well.Perhaps he will never get the chance. Certainly there are other contenders, his friend and colleague Kumar Sangakkara being an outstanding prospective captain.But that matters not. The point is that Arnold’s performance at Old Trafford should not just have been the source of momentary celebration, but also of hope for a better future – a time when Sri Lanka’s openers score more consistently, where the top order shows greater obduracy abroad and the team is led with greater verve and direction.

It’s all over bar the shouting for Burridge, who are all but mathematically relegated from the ECB Southern Electric Premier League top flight after a seven-wicket defeat by Liphook & Ripsley at Ripsley Park.With Calmore beating Bournemouth, Burridge lie firmly anchored to the Premier Division 1 basement with almost no hope of survival.They relied heavily on Dave Jackson’s gallant 77 after slipping to 40-3.Moeen Cheema (20) and Oxford University bound Ed Brogan (23 not out) tried their best later, but a three-wicket spell by Nick Gay (3-24), aided by two-wicket stints by Alan Crawford and Alistair Gray, left Burridge 177 all out.South African Alistair Gray led Liphook to Premier safety with an undefeated 108.The outcome was a major disappointment for teenager Brogan, who had been celebrating an autumn placement at Oxford after achieving top marks in his A-level examinations at King Edward VI.Calmore Sports assured themselves of retaining Premier 1 status by beating Bournemouth by 21 runs at Loperwood Park.Burridge are almost certain to be relegated after a seven-wicket defeat at Liphook & Ripsley.Although Dan Jackson took 5-52, it was Calmore’s top order that dominated proceedings, with Greg Lewis (93) getting useful back-up from Jez Goode (38) and James Hibberd (35) as the Totton club posted 217-8.Any chance Bournemouth had of winning effectively disappeared when none of the top order made an impact.Half the Bournemouth side was back in the pavilion at 92-5, after which Julian Cassell (40), Andy Bell (46 not out) and Kristian Wilson (28) took the final total to 196-7.Andover, meanwhile, stayed ahead in the 50-over pennant with a 25-run victory over Portsmouth at London Road.Ian Gardner (28), Roger Miller (27) and Ian Langdown (20) eased Andover’s early problems, but a total of 151 was always too many for Portsmouth.The visitors remained a threat through Lee Savident (35) and Michael Barnes (26), but once the pair were parted, Richard Taylor, Matt Hopper and Gareth Tate broke through to leave the visitors 126 all out.

A splendid all-round performance by Pakistan Customs’ Nisar Abbas thwarted ADBP’s aspirations of reaching the semifinals of the one-day cricket championship at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad Saturday.Nisar scored 86 off 101 balls as Customs ran up an impressive total of 294 for seven in 50 overs. Then with his slow left-armers, Nisar captured six for 42 in nine overs to restrict ADBP to 245 all out.ADBP ended with four points as did Wapda and Customs but finished third in the final round standings of Group-II on net run-rate.Customs captain Aamir Bashir hammered 102 off 110 deliveries after losing the toss. His knock was laced with six fours and one. The fourth-wicket partnership between Aamir and Nisar, who hit eight fours and one six, produced 111 runs. Asim Kamal remained on 44 not out off as many balls with three hits to the fence.Openers Inam-ul-Haq (80 off 99 balls, six fours) and Imran Abbas (52 off 60 balls, seven fours) gave ADBP a perfect start by putting on 108 in 20 overs. But the remaining batsmen found the runs hard to come by, especially against Nisar, who was the obvious choice as the Man-of-the-Match.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Thursday announced a predictable 14-member squad for the Super Challenge series in Australia next month.With Abdul Razzaq and Saqlain Mushtaq unavailable because of county commitments with Middlesex and Surrey respectively in England, the selectors wisely decided to stick with an experienced team for the three One-day Internationals against world champions Australia.The squad is: Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Rashid Latif, Azhar Mahmood, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami and Misbah-ul-Haq.Azhar Mahmood was recalled to replace fellow all-rounder Razzaq after a short but successful stint with Surrey.Saeed Anwar retains his place in the squad. He was slated to play against New Zealand in the second Test here earlier this month but the suicide bomb blast vanquished his comeback prospects.The 33-year-old former skipper was sidelined by a stress fracture in his wrist after his last international appearance during the Sharjah Cup in November. He missed the subsequent series against Bangladesh, West Indies and New Zealand as well as last month’s Sharjah Cup.The Pakistan squad will undergo a short training camp at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from Wednesday before the team leaves for Australia on June 5.Australia have already named a 13-man squad led by Ricky Ponting.The first two matches will be played indoors at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne on June 12 and 15 respectively. The final game is scheduled for June 19 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Mark Ramprakash suffered an untimely failure as Surrey launched their reply to Northamptonshire’s daunting 476 all out in the Division One contest at Wantage Road.The 31-year-old, hoping to catch the selectors’ attention ahead of next week’s First Test against Pakistan at Lord’s, was dismissed for a first-ball duck when he offered no stroke to seamer Tony Penberthy and saw his off stump flattened.Ian Ward (58 not out) and England certainty Graham Thorpe (34 not out) steered the visitors to 126-2 from 43 overs at the close, still needing a further 201 to avoid the follow-on.Northants resumed on 320-4 and ground on to record their highest total against Surrey on home soil. It surpassed the 430 all out they made in the celebrated 1920 match between the sides that more famously featured Percy Fender’s sensational 35-minute century.Alec Swann top-scored with 96 from 199 balls, missing out on a century when he edged a drive at Mark Butcher to Alec Stewart behind the stumps just before lunch. Best support came from Penberthy (75), who helped Swann add 161 in 51 overs for the fifth wicket, with handy contributions lower down the order from Toby Bailey (41) and John Blain (34).The departure of Mark Butcher and Ramprakash to successive balls left Surrey on the back foot, but Ward and Thorpe saw out the day with some ease, adding an unbroken 75 in the last 25 overs of the session.

Veteran batsman Peter Bowler , now in his seventh season at The County Ground feels that Somerset have got as strong a team now as they have had during his time at the club.Peter of course was with Derbyshire when they put paid to Lancashire in the Lord’s final to lift the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1993.”I really feel that we have a good chance of winning the Benson and Hedges Cup, the players are in a confident mood and we must be one of the four best sides in the country. Yorkshire also have a good side , especially Australian Darren Lehmann and of course their England players.But we expect to win on Wednesday, he said.”Peter was missing from the Somerset scene earlier in the season to allow him to take some more law examinations which are ‘an ongoing thing.’ These are completed now so he can now"concentrate on playing cricket for the rest of the season.”Despite his success in both the County Championship and Norwich Union League matches against Kent, Somerset’s young all rouder Pete Trego doesn’t think that he will be in the side for the Bensons match against Yorkshire.”I have done very well over the last five days,” he told me on Sunday evening,” my batting is coming along well, and I felt very comfortable at the crease.I don’t think that I will be playing against Yorkshire, but would like to wish all the boys who play the best of luck.”

In early 2011, BJ Watling’s international record read like the careers of so many failed New Zealand openers before him. In the years after Nathan Astle, Mark Richardson and Stephen Fleming left the game, New Zealand seemed to trial a fresh opening prospect every six months. Michael Papps, Craig Cumming, Jamie How, Aaron Redmond and Tim McIntosh all arrived and wilted at the top level.Some showed initial promise before quickly waning, but Watling barely made an impact. When he was jettisoned at the end of 2010, he had made only two fifties in 18 international innings, with a top score of 60 not out. His talent was undeniable in domestic cricket, but like Papps, How and Redmond, Watling seemed unable to adjust mentally. He was renowned at home for valuing his wicket and his sound defensive technique, but in internationals, his failures were populated by loose strokes and soft dismissals.But unlike so many others, he wasn’t forgotten altogether. Then New Zealand coach John Wright saw the raw materials of a good player in Watling, and paved his way back into internationals late last year. Soon, before he had even proven himself, Watling was being groomed for a specific long-term role. Brendon McCullum abandoned the gloves in Tests due to back problems, and after short-lived dalliance with Reece Young, Watling, Wright said, would be the man behind the stumps who could also strengthen New Zealand’s batting.He began to repay Wright’s faith, hitting a century against Zimbabwe in his first Test as keeper, but sustained a hip injury before the real test came against touring South Africa. Kruger van Wyk took his place in the XI, and has not relinquished it since, having hammered out a reputation as a battler – exactly the quality a New Zealand top order veering towards spineless was short of.Yet, although his international career had seemingly run aground again, against West Indies in July, Watling suddenly found the steel that had been lacking from his game, making consecutive fifties in the first two ODIs – the first time he had done so in his career. He was injured again after making 40 in the third match, but he had shown enough pluck for New Zealand’s management to keep him in their plans. Against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Watling finally demonstrated what team management had seen in him for the past two years.Watling may not have even played in the second ODI had Brendon McCullum not withdrawn with a stiff lower back, but as has been his recent habit, he did not squander the opportunity. New Zealand have adopted a conservative top order strategy in recent months, and Watling’s steady 55 saw the venom leave the pitch and provided the platform for Ross Taylor to flourish after him.In the next match, Watling had ground his way to 29 from 54, but soon after, both Taylor and James Franklin had fallen, and he took it upon himself to provide the finishing impetus, as he showcased a more belligerent facet of his game. The Watling that blasted 67 from 34 deliveries to close out the innings at 96 not out, suddenly seemed eons away from the player that had scratched his way through his first two years of international cricket. The offside gaps were pinpointed with purring strokes and the vacant areas in the legside targeted aerially. Lasith Malinga had tormented New Zealand in the previous match, but Watling dispatched him for three consecutive boundaries in the penultimate over of the innings.”He took risks and he hit the ball in the air, it wasn’t all along the ground,” New Zealand captain Ross Taylor said of Watling’s innings. “He showed the power game that he does have. He’s getting a lot of belief in himself, I’m sure, from the way he’s batted in the last two games, and half the battle at this level is self-belief.”Watling had taken 23 innings to compile three scores over 50, but he now has four half-centuries in five ODIs, with an average of 107.66. Some players ease their way into top-level cricket, and others burn hot from start to finish. Watling’s abrupt torrent of runs suggests a dam has burst somewhere, and if he can sustain the deluge, he will remedy his record after two lean years.”The way BJ is batting is outstanding and he just keeps growing and growing as a player It’s terrific, not just for him but also the team,” Taylor said. “He’s not an automatic selection, but I’m sure the way he’s played in the last little while, he’s pushing for that.”

Courtney Walsh looks set to retire from Test match cricket after the fifthand final test of West Indies’ series with South Africa. The 38-year-old,who holds the record for number of Test victims, is likely to bow out beforehis adoring home crowd at Sabina Park.

</tableWalsh had planned his retirement to be after the current series, and saysthat "nothing has changed" to make him decide otherwise. He will speak toWest Indies skipper Carl Hooper before making a formal announcement.The Jamaican insisted that his impending exit from the game should not bethe main focus point of the match. It is one which the West Indiesdesperately want to win to restore some pride, having already lost theseries. He told CricInfo's Colin Croft: "The Test series is upmost in our minds; we want to get back and win this game."Walsh's wicket tally stands at 513. Just over a year since Walshdismissed Henry Olonga to go past Kapil Dev in the list of all timewicket-takers, he has added another 78 Test wickets to his total.The current series against South Africa has proved successful personally forWalsh. He trapped Jacques Kallis leg before at Port-of-Spain to earn his500th Test match victim. In all, the series has so far brought Walsh 19wickets.Walsh said that he was still enjoying his cricket. "It's nice to still beable to perform at this level. I'm happy to still be competing. I want to goout with a bang." Careful to play down his record, he said he wanted to beremembered "as a performer who gave 100% to the team".Walsh thinks that the West Indies are in the process of rebuilding. "ThisTest match is very important. It could be the turning point where the guysget that winning feeling. It would be nice if it could start here in thefinal one for me."Should Walsh retire now, cricket will bid farewell to one of its finestbowlers. The Fifth Test at Sabina Park will be his 132nd. Added to this arededicated performances for Jamaica and Gloucestershire, who he served asoverseas player for twelve seasons.He has taken nearly 1,800 first-class wickets, and even scored 4,500 first-class runs. The effort which Walsh has shown is phenomenal, and few would begrudge him a hatful of wickets as he leaves the international stage.