MELBOURNE, Jan 18 AAP – Victoria ended New South Wales’ six-year stranglehold on the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) today with a 40-run win in the second final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.Having battled to be dismissed for 181 on the last ball of their 50 overs, Victoria Spirit attack routed the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Blues for 141 to claim its first WNCL title 2-0.Today’s win followed an unlikely three-wicket win in the first final yesterday, when tailender Megan Foster lofted NSWIS spinner Lisa Sthalekar to the mid-wicket boundary from the final ball to put her side ahead.The twin losses were NSWIS’s first in finals in six years of WNCL limited-overs competition.Former NSWIS player and now Victorian captain Belinda Clark was the difference between victory and defeat, scoring 63 today to complement her 84 on Friday and earn her the player of the finals award.Victoria slowly accelerated through its innings to reach 3-136 in the 40th over until Clark was run out by a pinpoint throw from Alexandra Blackwell.Their leader’s departure exposed the Spirit’s fragile middle-order, which again crumbled in the final overs as the home side lost 7-45.It followed a similar collapse of 6-28 in the first final.In reply, NSWIS got off to a slow start and never recovered.Opener Lisa Keightley, who made 94 not out on Friday, took until the ninth over to get off the mark.By the time she was run out by Natalie Wood for four in the 10th over, NSWIS was in trouble at 2-21.Only Lisa Sthalekar – the last player dismissed for 45 – and keeper Leonie Coleman with 23 offered resistance as the Victorians bowled economically and backed themselves with athletic fielding, producing three run outs.Foster and Jodie Dean each snared two wickets with their spin, while quick Cathryn Fitzpatrick took a miserly 1-17 to give her finals’ figures of 4-48 from 19 overs.Clark said the Spirit had given themselves the confidence they needed to defend a low total with a three-run win over NSWIS in December.But she said the Victorian win, and the improvement of the Southern Scorpions, was only one step toward evening up the WNCL.”(New South Wales) has got good structure set up in their state, they get good support from Cricket New South Wales and they’ve got it worked out what they’re going to do,” she said.”I think the other states still have some work to do to catch up in terms of their structure.”NSWIS captain Julie Hayes, who did her part taking 3-23, paid tribute to Victoria as the best side all season.She said the Blues had five young players in its side and would be stronger in 2003-04.The growing evenness of the WNCL competition was underlined in the presentation when Karen Rolton of third-placed Southern Scorpions was named player of the series.

ADELAIDE, Feb 4 AAP – Queensland’s bowling attack showed great perseverance in extreme heat to overcome a poor start and finish day one on level terms with South Australia in their Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval.The Redbacks were 7-283 in their first innings at stumps, with former Queensland all-rounder Mick Miller unbeaten on 48 and Brad Young on six.On a day when the temperature climbed to 41 degrees and two drink breaks were needed each session, SA skipper Greg Blewett would have been very happy when he won the toss and forced Queensland into the field.The Redbacks then made the Bulls toil hard, batting to conserve wickets in the opening session, crawling to 1-49 at lunch, with opener David Fitzgerald on 13 from 93 balls and Blewett on 14.Blewett and Fitzgerald then pushed SA into a position of apparent command, adding 65 runs in the first 13 overs after lunch to take the Redbacks to 1-114, at which stage the bowlers could have wilted under the strain.Fitzgerald, who scored 15 runs without a boundary in the first 100 balls he faced, broke the shackles with 25 runs from 29 balls, including five boundaries, during this period.But Queensland hit back, with medium pacer James Hopes breaking the 84-run second-wicket stand, having Fitzgerald caught at gully for 40 in the 42nd over, and Blewett was caught at first slip for 49 off Ashley Noffke’s bowling three balls later.By tea, SA was 5-142, having lost 4-28 in the last 15 overs of the middle session.”Through that middle session I think all the guys bowled pretty well on a pretty even wicket,” Noffke told reporters.Noffke had the day’s best figures of 3-63 to be the only multiple wicket-taker in his return after missing two Pura Cup games with a finger injury.In the final session, second-gamer Mark Cosgrove and wicketkeeper Graham Manou showed some fight for SA with a 67-run sixth-wicket partnership, Cosgrove top-scoring with 52 in an innings which included two sixes over mid-wicket from off-spinner Nathan Hauritz’s bowling.Hauritz had his revenge, having Cosgrove caught in the deep two balls after he brought up his 50 with a six.Manou (30) fell four overs later, lbw padding up to an in-swinging delivery from left-arm medium pacer Lee Carseldine.But Miller and Young put on an unbroken 60-run eighth-wicket stand to help SA back to level terms by the close of play and make tomorrow’s opening session crucial.”It was disappointing maybe not to get the last three wickets wrapped up but we’ve got to come back here tomorrow morning with a job to do, get that done quickly, and get out there batting ourselves,” Noffke said.

KARACHI, Feb 2: The first semifinal of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship will be played from Monday between Khan Research Laboratories and Faisalabad at National Stadium.KRL, possessing the services of Test discards Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ramzan, skipper Ali Naqvi and upcoming stars Saeed bin Nasir, Yasir Arafat and Saeed Anwar Junior, definitely have an edge over Faisalabad.Faisalabad sprung a surprise by shocking an aging Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at UBL Sports Complex last week in the only quarterfinal tie to produce an outright result.KRL qualified for the semifinals after their intriguing clash against National Bank ended on a damp note with the final day’s play abandoned after overnight rain had left the NSK’s square drenched and muddy.The second semifinal, between PIA and Rawalpindi, originally scheduled for Peshawar from Monday, will now be played here at UBL Sports Complex from Thursday after rain ruined the quarterfinals in northern parts of the country.

On the eve of England’s match against Australia in Port Elizabeth, Ian Blackwell shared his thoughts on the crucial World Cup encounter.He told me:"We have it all to do on Sunday, but there are still a few permutations for us to qualify even if we lose. However that would be the worse case scenario, we just have to give it our all."The all rounder continued:" Each game from here on in is a World Cup final! We think that we can beat them, if we didn’t then there would be no point in us turning up."He went on: "Of course they are a quality side as their displays against India and Pakistan proved, but what it also proved is that we have made great strides and have come close to beating them on three occasions this winter."`Blackie’ continued: "The toss won’t be that important this time because it is a day game, but whatever we do we have to throw everything at them."Regarding being selected for the match he told me: " As for my situation, my back is a lot better but I get spasms every now and again. It takes me an age to get loose in the morning. I will be fit for selection but not sure what they will decide to do. They tried Ronnie Irani last game but I can see a spinner coming back in at this ground."He concluded: "But it will be a tough game for us because they don’t give anything away."

A member of the committee for more than 10 years.Co-founder and Chairman of the of the North & Borders sub-committee.A keen supporter and watcher of Hampshire at nearly all home and away matches.

Former Hampshire overseas star Nixon McLean created mayhem at The Rose Bowl today when he removed the home sides’ first three batsmen without conceding a run with sheer pace that had spectators wondering why he was still not in the West Indies squad. This came after Somerset had earlier been bowled out for 308.Hampshire bowler Chris Tremlett, who had limped off on Wednesday did not take the field this morning. He had been for a scan on his back and returned later in the day to bat, albeit with a runner.The weather in the morning started bright as Jamie Cox continued his vigil and after an hours’ play, the seventh wicket century partnership was broken when Dimitri Mascarenhas forced Keith Dutch to edge to Simon Katich at first slip.Seventeen-year-old Gareth Andrew was out lbw to the Aussie before McLean played in his usual style with 16 runs from 16 balls. But he fell driving back to the bowler Mascarenhas.Simon Francis, another Hampshire old boy, then fell to give Katich his third wicket to leave Cox not out on 127. He had batted for seven hours and twenty minutes.John Crawley fell to McLean’s first ball, being palpably lbw having been beaten by sheer pace and Kenway continued his disappointing run when he too fell in the same way. Robin Smith faced just six balls before edging the ball onto his own stumps.Katich and Will Kendall started a recovery, posting a half century stand but Katich became another lbw victim, this time to Francis.Nic Pothas, the in-form batsman of the side, joined Kendall and both gained in confidence to share 74 runs. But Kendall edged to Keith Dutch to give Andrew his first first-class wicket, just one run short of a deserved half century and the youngster followed this with a further two wickets – Hampshire losing three batsmen for just two runs.Hampshire, still requiring another 36 runs to avoid the follow on, must have been relieved as the umpires declared bad light, with 24 overs lost at the end of the day with the gloom spreading across The Rose Bowl.

Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) is expected to table a claim for 30 million pounds from lost revenues from the 2003 World Cup when the International Cricket Council (ICC) meets in London next week.New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) chief executive Martin Snedden said that ICC members had received an initial briefing preparatory to their meeting on the legal procedures involved with the claim which directly affects India, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand.The first two countries had contractual problems with players while England and New Zealand opted out of World Cup games, for which GCC had the television rights, against Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively.”There are various different issues concerned and different levels and the best estimate is that it could all take between one and two years to resolve,” Snedden said.”It is quite a complex thing which is going in a lot of different directions.”However, the money withheld from New Zealand by the ICC in expectation of such a claim from GCC has forced a rethink by New Zealand administrators of their future domestic funding.”I will be highly surprised if there are not some casualties. We can’t afford to spend money we haven’t got,” he said.NZC were involved with a budget process which should be completed in the next six weeks and that would involve some decisions being made on spending for the coming season, he said.Also on the London agenda are security matters. Snedden said that it had been a constant at meetings since September 11, 2001 and there was always discussion about the safety of touring and the degree of risk involved which was something countries had to expect.Different countries had different perspectives of the risk, he said.New Zealand is due to return to Pakistan from where it called short its tour of 2002 when a bomb exploded outside the team hotel on the morning the second Test in Karachi was expected to start.New Zealand would undertake a security check before the tour but Snedden did not know if the opt-out invitation offered to players before last year’s Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka would apply for this year’s tour.He said there were two full tours of Pakistan before New Zealand were due to tour there.Another issue on the table at the ICC meeting is the volume of cricket. At the moment the guidelines for the optimum level of cricket for countries was 15 Tests and 30 one-day internationals.New Zealand didn’t play anything like that number and the absence of a heavy match load on the players was reflected in the New Zealanders wanting to partake of county cricket this northern summer.Next season, from the start of New Zealand’s tour to India the side would be playing cricket constantly until July 2004 with 10 Tests and 26 ODIs and Snedden felt that the mix of 40-50 days of Test cricket and 26 ODIs was a pretty good one.”I don’t agree with people who say there is an over-preponderance of one-day cricket. There is just a lot of both forms,” he said.Snedden said the move toward two-Test series was not an ideal situation.”We’d prefer three-Test series but it is not that simple with two tours a summer given our weather conditions.”It works on a reciprocal basis and I suppose when you open a door like that we did with India last summer when we played two Tests and seven one-dayers, because they needed to leave New Zealand early, you end up with a two-Test tour in return.”The ideal thing would be to have three-Test tours.”

India may have been beaten badly on their tour to New Zealand last season, but John Wright sounded a stern warning to Stephen Fleming and his team ahead of the two-Test series in India in October 2003. “We’ve got a few scores to settle with them.”The Indian team – especially their much-vaunted batsmen – had a miserable time in the seaming conditions in New Zealand, losing both Tests inside three days, and winning only two out of seven one-day internationals. However, in the spin-friendly conditions at home, New Zealand might find the Indian team an entirely different proposition. Wright, whose contract as coach was extended by a year after the Indian team’s spectacular display in the World Cup, was confident that his team would be ready to tackle New Zealand.”The boys have some time off after the World Cup and they should be hungry for runs and wickets.” Scoffing at suggestions that his loyalties might be divided, Wright said: “My job is to make sure the Indian team and its fans get good results. That’s the only way I think about it.”Since Wright took over as coach, India’s record at home is a formidable one: they have beaten Zimbabwe, Australia, England and West Indies in Tests, and haven’t lost a single series. India’s one-day performance has been even more impressive, with wins in the NatWest Trophy in England and the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, before losing to Australia in the World Cup final.India will have an opportunity to avenge that defeat as well, when Australia join India and New Zealand for a triangular one-day tournament in November.

Leicestershire v Derbyshire at Leicester
Leicestershire progressed to finals day with a fifth successive win, but controversy marred their achievement as Derbyshire protested – in vain – about a disputed boundary catch in the closing stages of a gripping run-chase. Nineteen runs were needed from 11 balls when Steve Selwood hoisted the ball to Brad Hodge at long-on, who took a fine catch, but appeared to stumble across the rope in doing so. The umpires, however, were unmoved, and with six runs needed from the final delivery, Neil Gunter could only manage a four. Hodge had been in the thick of the action all day – his 37 from 20 balls had been the impetus for Leicestershire’s total of 171. At least the argument dispelled all doubts about the counties’ desire to do battle in this competition.
ScorecardGloucestershire v Glamorgan at Bristol
Gloucestershire rampaged into the finals of the Twenty20 Cup with a 100% record, and underpinned their favourites tag, thanks to a ferocious assault from Craig Spearman, who cracked 88 from 37 balls in a display of clean hitting that if anything was more anarchic than his opening partner Ian Harvey’s 100 from 50 balls against Warwickshire on Monday. Spearman was on course to break Harvey’s record by a distance, when he was stumped while aiming for his 15th boundary. But Gloucestershire’s 221 for 7, the first 200-plus score in the competition, was beyond Glamorgan’s reach, despite Matthew Maynard’s 69 from 36 balls.
ScorecardHampshire v Surrey at Southampton
Surrey had the luxury of resting several of their most potent players, but were still able to protect their unbeaten record against a meek Hampshire side with nothing to play for but pride. Scott Newman’s run-a-ball 59 was the highlight of an insubstantial Surrey innings, but it was more than enough to see off Hampshire, as Adam Hollioake picked up 5 for 21 in his three overs, including Simon Katich for 45.
ScorecardNorthamptonshire v Warwickshire at Northampton
Warwickshire had been on the receiving end of quite a pummelling in Monday’s fixture against Gloucestershire, but they re-established their credentials with a magnificent display that secured their tickets to the Atomic Kitten concert on July 19. Nick Knight, once again, was at the vanguard of the onslaught, with 69 from 47 balls, as Warwickshire hurried to 202 for 5, the second-highest total in the competition so far. Northants over-reached themselves in trying to keep up, and could not recover after slumping to 67 for 5.
ScorecardLancashire v Durham at Old Trafford
Shoaib Akhtar’s Durham debut turned into a pocket version of his Oval annihilation at the hands of Marcus Trescothick, as he was slapped over backward point for six by Stuart Law, and drilled for a second six off his final ball. His attempt to redeem himself as a pinch-hitting No. 3 also backfired – he fell to John Wood for a first-ball duck. But Lancashire’s total of 144 was eminently gettable, and while Phil Mustard remained, Durham were on course. Carl Hooper, however, picked up 4 for 18 with his offspin, and Durham were unable to conjure eight runs from the final over.
ScorecardWorcestershire v Somerset at Worcester
Gareth Batty smacked 87 from 48 balls, including six sixes and five fours, as Worcestershire finished with a flourish against Somerset. Batty, who had been dropped on 7 by Keith Dutch, powered Worcestershire to 161 for 5, before Nantie Hayward bounded in with three swift wickets to wreck Somerset’s reply.
ScorecardYorkshire v Nottinghamshire at Headingley
A frenzied assault on the midwicket boundary by Michael Lumb and Matthew Wood carried Yorkshire to an unassailable 196 for 5 at Headingley, although Nottinghamshire did their best to scale the heights, falling 18 runs short as Tim Bresnan bowled three batsmen in the 17th over, including Jason Gallian, around whom the run-chase had been built. Kevin Pietersen muscled in with 44, but Lumb and Wood, who added 101 in nine overs, including 28 from Samit Patel’s solitary over, were worthy victors.
Scorecard7.30 starts
Essex v Middlesex at Chelmsford
Umpire Allan Jones, standing at square leg, had to be led from the field with a suspected broken wrist after incepting a savage pull from Andy Flower, as Essex thumped their way to a two-run victory in a pulsating floodlit encounter at Chelmsford. Flower finished with 83 from 53 balls in a total of 175 for 5, a total that proved just out of Middlesex’s reach, despite a spirited bout of biffing from Abdul Razzaq, Ed Joyce and Simon Cook.
ScorecardSussex v Kent at Hove
There wasn’t an awful lot to play for at Hove, with Sussex and Kent both trailing in Surrey’s wake, and other teams better placed for that runners-up spot. And when Kent collapsed to 114 all out, with three wickets to Jason Lewry, the rest was a formality. Bas Zuiderent’s partnership of 80 in nine overs with Chris Adams was the highlight of a simple run-chase.
Scorecard

G Kasturirangan, the chairman of the BCCI’s ground and pitches committee, has resigned on health grounds. According to reports in the Indian media Kasturirangan, who has not been in the best of health for a while now, had sent in his resignation a month ago. It was formally accepted during BCCI’s working committee meeting held in the beginning of this month.Oddly, no word of this decision crept out to the media for almost three weeks after it was made. Jagmohan Dalmiya, when queried on this matter by The Indian Express, said: “It was not [such] an important issue that the media needed to be informed. The chairman of one of the many committees of the BCCI has resigned and there’s nothing big about it.”The ground and pitches committee, however, was more than just “one of many committees”. Entrusted with the task of creating competitive pitches in India, they performed a valuable task in Indian cricket. And Kasturirangan, according to unnamed sources quoted by The Indian Express, was “frustrated” by the lackadaisical approach of the BCCI.Nadeem Memon, the curator in charge of the Mumbai and Ahmedabad centres, expressed a similar opinion to the newspaper. “Kasturi was doing a great job,” he said, “but he was not given a free hand. Unfortunately, even in an off-season like this, they have not done anything concrete.”Kasturirangan himself was not willing to comment. “At the age of 73 I do not wish to get embroiled in any controversies,” he said. “Please keep me out of it. I want to be away from all of this.”