No ‘Dazzler’ in the England squad for India?India might face a depleted England side come November if reportscirculating in the English media are to be believed. Darren ‘Dazzler’Gough and Alec Stewart are both said to be rather keen on staying athome during the Christmas season rather than slogging it out inEngland colours.Gough, who has not had a happy Ashes, does not want to toil on theunrewarding sub-continental pitches where a fast bowler like him, whorelies on movement off the pitch, will have to put with a lot ofdisappointment.For his part, Stewart, though he might not admit it, does not want togo anywhere near the country where Mukesh Gupta, the bookie who blewthe whistle on Mohammed Azharuddin, resides. Gupta had told India’sCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that he had paid Stewart moneyfor information during England’s 1993 tour of India. Though Gupta hassubsequently refused to speak, Stewart reportedly still does not wantto risk a face-to-face meeting with the CBI investigators.Meanwhile, there is increasing speculation that Michael Atherton, thatdogged English soldier who seems to have been around for as long asFather Time, will be doffing his English cap for the last time at theend of the current final Ashes Test at The Oval.* An early flight for SachinLittle master Sachin Tendulkar and his injured toe will be the mostimportant cargo on the 1.30 a.m. South African Airlines Mumbai -Johannesburg flight taking off on August 26. Once there, Tendulkarwill be consulting South African orthopaedic surgeon Mark Fergusson,who will advice him on the further course of treatment. Fergusson,remember, was the man who fixed Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble.* Bangladesh to see ‘More’ of Kiran and PrasThe legendary Indian off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna and former Indianstumper Kiran More will both be heading to nearby Bangladesh inDecember to impart expert advice to the budding Bangla tigers there.The two had previously been to Bangladesh in 2000 when the BangladeshCricket Board borrowed their expertise for a Specialised TrainingProgramme.

Surrey compiled a mammoth 701-9 on the final day of the CricInfo Championship match with relegated Glamorgan.Overnight rain delayed the start of the final day of Championship cricket in the 2001 season, but Surrey, with an overnight lead of 314, surprised on-lookers by deciding to bat on.Ali Brown completed his third century of an up-and-down season, and Mark Butcher became the final wicket of Steve Watkin’s superb career after a magnificent 230, but not everyone was impressed.”It is not in the spirit of the game,” Glamorgan club chairman Gerard Elias concluded.”It is extremely disappointing to say the very least for spectators on the ground – not to mention sponsors – who paid a considerable amount of money to be here.”We could have had an extremely interesting afternoon’s cricket. It is difficult to fathom why Surrey chose to bat on. Had Glamorgan done the same in similar circumstances at The Oval, not only would I have been very disappointed I think there would have been a reaction from Surrey.”All I can do is apologise to the spectators and the members here today. It is a great shame and not in my view in the spirit of the game.”But Surrey coach Keith Medlycott defended their tactics: “We had another game on Sunday and we didn’t want to be bowling another 67 overs. We already had four points, it was the last game of the season and we decided to bat on.”A late declaration left Glamorgan with just 23 overs to bat before stumps were drawn after 14 overs had been bowled, and Jonathan Hughes had hit a fluent 49 before Ben Hollioake trapped him lbw.

Temperatures might have been cool later in the day but the batting was sizzling on the last day of the second three-day game between the New Zealand and Australian Academies at Bert Sutcliffe Oval today.The game ended in a draw but not before some of the best batting of the series so far.The Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy batted after New Zealand declared overnight. Mark Cosgrove’s stay was limited however, as he departed second ball of the innings, caught at third slip by Nathan McCullum from Shane Bond’s bowling.Jarrod Burke came in as if he had a bus to catch. He struck four successive boundaries from Wade Cornelius’ second over. He scored 30 runs from 38 balls before he was out to Nathan McCullum’s off-spin while Peter Dickson proved the rock of the innings, especially when he was joined by Beau Casson.They added 55 runs at nearly run a ball pace before Dickson was caught down the leg-side from Taraia Robin’s bowling, on 49 from 70 balls.Lunch was taken with the CBCA at 166/4 and Casson 47 not out. Casson scored his half century off 69 balls, but then by the drinks break he had only advanced to 78 not out. Any hope of a target being set for New Zealand was lost as the Australians looked to allow Casson to score a century.By working the singles he reached the goal after 143 balls in 188 minutes, and the innings was declared at 236/6 with New Zealand left needing 276 off 37 overs – an impractical target.Nathan McCullum showed how much he has relished his recent bowling load by taking four for 103 from his 25 overs.Brendon McCullum livened proceedings with a hard-hitting assault at the top of the New Zealand order. He lost Jamie How who had contributed five of the opening stand of 43, but went on to score 72 off 47 balls, his 50 coming off only 28 balls with 42 runs, including one six, coming in boundaries. In his innings overall 58 of his runs came in boundaries.But apart from McCullum New Zealand’s batting struggled and when play was called off the side was 125/5. Leg-spinner Cameron White took two for six from his seven overs.The sides now play four one-day games, also at Lincoln.

Shaun Pollock was grinning from ear to ear after his side had thumped India by nine wickets in the first Test at Goodyear Park on Tuesday. That he took 10 wickets in the match, the first time he has done so in 59 Tests, was an added reason to celebrate. Pollock was of the view that his team had done remarkably well to recover from the opening day thrashing to come back in this manner and still win the game in three and a half days. Excerpts from an interview:Q: It has been a long wait for you, to get 10 wickets in a match…A: Yeah, it has been. I have been close to it a couple of times, but a few frustrating things have happened. It came to a point when I thought someone was against me.Q: The South African fight-back was remarkable in this game…A: If you want to win, you have got to learn to win in every condition. I think to fight back from 380 down and to come back as we have is a credit to us. It was a difficult situation in which we found ourselves in the first innings, but the boys fought back and they batted superbly. That’s what it is all about, to turn things around and come out on top.Q: Lance Klusener’s hundred couldn’t have come at a better time for your team…A: It must have been frustrating for the Indians, having got us six down. It allowed us to get a lead of 184, and they were four down before they were past our score. And we knew that hopefully we could get the lower order quickly.Q: Did you expect the game to end so quickly?A: I didn’t expect it to end so quickly. I thought the game would go till tomorrow. The guys did a good job. We knew that if we could get some early wickets, we could put pressure on them.Q: Do you think you have the same kind of support from your bowlers at the other end?A: I think there has been a bit of difficulty there. We haven’t played a lot of four-day cricket. The guys are probably a bit rusty. The players who just got back into Test cricket took some time, but then they were better in the second innings. The wicket was also a good one, and you knew that the way it was bouncing, you wanted to keep as many men as possible in catching positions, and that left gaps in the field.Q: Any impressions of the innings Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwagplayed on the first day?A: Sachin played very well. He is one of those batters who dominate at the crease. The margin of error is very small. He really picks on a bad ball. Sehwag was marvellous too, to get a hundred in his first Test innings.Q: What is your impression of Makhaya Ntini? Do you think he remains a potential match winner?A: I think it is important for us to have Ntini. He is a strike bowler, and there is always a place for a strike bowler. I think, in world cricket, fast bowlers have always dominated, no matter what the conditions and the wicket are, and he did a good job. He is back in the new set-up, and it takes a while to settle down totally, but I thought that, for a first game, he did pretty well.Q: Klusener did not speak to the media after his hundred. Is it part of his preparation to skip press conferences?A: Lance is Lance. That’s what probably I can say.Q: How did the wicket play in this first Test?A: I think this was the kind of wicket at Bloemfontein where you could put a lot of pressure on the batsmen. There was quite a bit of grass, and that was the reason I decided to field first. It was important for us to get 20 wickets. We knew the wicket would get better as the game went on. But then, this wicket always had something in it for the bowlers, right till the fourth afternoon, if you could put it in the right place and bend your back a bit…Q: Your batting performance was quite in contrast to your bowling effort…A: It was short and sweet, wasn’t it.Q: Herschelle Gibbs, it seems, has now a long future in this South African team…A: He is a gem for us. He bats with real freedom. He is a pleasure to watch when you sit there. He has come a long way, and he has really stepped up the gear.

Carl Hooper acknowledged yesterday that the West Indiesplayed straight into their hands by using two spinners inlast week’s first Test against Sri Lanka and signalled areturn to what we know best for the remaining two.But the addition of a third fast bowler, instead of left-armspinner Neil McGarrell, did not involve Reon King who, afterconfusion not out of place in the chaotic world of Caribbeanpolitics, was finally ruled out of contention by what thecaptain called a slight hernia problem.There’s some swelling there and we were not sure Reon wouldbe able to complete the Test, Hooper explained.We saw in the first Test the amount of work the fast bowlerswere asked to do and to play Reon would be a big risk, headded. We’re behind and, if we’re to beat Sri Lanka, we needall three quicks operating.Merv Dillon and Colin Stuart, the only fast bowlers used inthe first Test defeat by ten wickets, sent down 88.4 betweenthem in sweltering heat as Sri Lanka’s batsmen amassed 590for nine declared on Galle’s slow, lifeless pitch.At least they claimed two wickets each. McGarrell had noneand Pedro Collins gained his place over Marlon Black as muchfor the variety of his left-handedness as much as anythingelse.As was the case when Collins played his last Test, inZimbabwe in July, he comes in without a first-class match ontour behind him.The fast bowlers were all more encouraged to find a pitchwith an altogether grassier, livelier look to it thanGalle’s and temperatures, if not humidity, a few degreescooler in the lush green, hillside town of Kandy.Had he been fit or the selectors trusted the local doctor’sopinion more, the third spot would probably have gone toKing.The medical opinion here when he was examined last weekendwas that the hernia was in its early stages and would nothave prevented him playing.He bowled freely in the nets on Monday but, according toSkerritt, reported yesterday that he did not feelcomfortable and did not participate in the final netsession.Yet it is batsmen, not bowlers, who lose matches and it wasthe batting that led to the defeat in Galle with itscollapses after lunch on the second day and an hour-and-aquarter into the last.Taken cumulatively, 15 wickets fell in those two periods for99, nine of them to Muttiah Muralitheran.The crafty little off-spinner has been the key to most SriLankan victories of late and if the West Indies batsmen notBrian Lara alone fail to get the measure of him again, theoutcome will be no different.Muralitheran’s support will be boosted by the return of the6-foot-6 inch Numan Zoysa who returns to the team afterinjury to partner Chaminda Vaas in an all left-handed newball attack.Zoysa has 28 wickets in 17 previous Tests and replacesBuddika Fernando, who went without a wicket in his debut inGalle.Sri Lanka’s recent record is poor on the picturesque ground,owned by adjoining Trinity College, set adjacent to ahillside and expanded for international cricket in the pastfive years to accommodate 10 000 with a main stand and amedia centre.The home team has lost its last three Tests here, to SouthAfrica, England and India, each time after winning the firstin Galle. It has created a superstition among the fans andeven a few of the players have referred to it.The West Indies need whatever help they can get, from anysource, to square the series. But Dav Whatmore, the SriLankan coach, has rightly put the issue into its properperspective.We have to acknowledge our record in Kandy hasn’t been goodbut a cricket match isn’t won by any hoodoo, voodoo orhoroscopes, he said. It is won or lost by what you do out inthe middle.The teams:West Indies: Carl Hooper (captain), Daren Ganga,Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Marlon Samuels,Ridley Jacobs, Merv Dillon, Dinanath Ramnarine, PedroCollins and Colin Stuart.Sri Lanka (probable): Sanath Jayasuriya (capt),Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene,Russel Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne, Thilan Samaraweera,Chaminda Vaas, Niroshan Bandaratillake, MuttiahMuralithathan and Numan Zoysa.Umpires: John Hampshire (England), E.A.R deSilva (SriLanka).Match referee: Raman Subba Row (England).

Umpire Tony Hill will stand in his first Test match when joining South African David Orchard in controlling the first Test against Bangladesh in Hamilton starting on December 18.Hill, who has twice been a third umpire in Test matches, has stood in seven One-Day Internationals.The third umpire in Hamilton will be Doug Cowie.In the second Bangladesh Test starting in Wellington on Boxing Day, Brent Bowden will stand in his second Test with Australian umpire Daryl Harper. The third umpire for that game will be Dave Quested.The International Cricket Council match referee for the series is Australian Barry Jarman.

Robbie Lawson, unwanted by Otago in its initial selection for the State Shield, made the most of his call-up when his 80 spearheaded a batting assault that allowed the side its first win in eight matches.That the 45-run victory achieved was over old rival Canterbury, at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium, was all the more satisfying.It was an important win in terms of the overall Otago season because it had won nothing before today although it had been in some competitive positions in the State Championship four-day competition and lost its first Shield game by only three runs.It was due for a win, and once getting away to a terrific start with an opening stand of 84 runs in 13 overs, it was always going to be calling the tune on a good pitch on the revamped Jade Stadium.Lawson played the steadying hand from the outset for Otago, and his role when hard-hitting opener Andrew Hore was out for 55, was to assume the main scoring thrust. Once past his 50 off 77 balls, Lawson hit out and acknowledged afterward that he was looking for a century, and beyond, with the amount of time he had available.However, he admitted that he started looking too far ahead and that was his downfall. He was out for 80, bowled off an inside edge and off his pads by off spinner Paul Wiseman, three runs short of his highest score in one-day matches.There was a period in the Otago innings when it seemed they had lost their way. Lawson had shared a 94-run partnership with Craig Pryor who was promoted to No 5.Lawson’s replacement at the crease Jordan Sheed, a member of New Zealand team for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, took 26 balls to get off the mark. And in his haste to get a run, Pryor was run out for 45 off 48 balls.In a tighter game that loss could have been crucial. Pryor was the player who had the hitting power to get Otago up to around 280.As it was, they had to settle for 251/7 which was still a competitive target and one that became moreso with the manner of Canterbury’s chase.The home team made the worst possible start when Otago’s ploy of using off-spinner Nathan McCullum paid off immediately for Otago. Brad Doody was caught from the first ball McCullum bowled.Jarrod Englefield succumbed to the bowling of Kerry Walmsley when held at deep third man for eight runs while Michael Papps also fell to McCullum for 21.Gary Stead and Shanan Stewart added 58 for the fourth wicket, but just as his innings was beginning to blossom, Stewart was well caught by Rob Smith at deep mid off running back towards the boundary with the ball coming over his shoulder. His debut innings ended with his dismissal for 25.Stead was required to attempt to bat his side out of trouble but he succumbed when Walmsley was reintroduced to the attack and was out for 35 scored off 53 balls.Canterbury at that stage were 105/5 and on the end of a disappointing defeat.It might have been tempting for Otago captain Craig Cumming to have taken Smith out of the attack when his first over went for 10 runs. But his perseverance paid off in Smith’s second over when Darron Reekers was unable to get Smith away from the pitch area and when he finally launched into a big shot he was caught at deep mid on for 15.And in his next over Smith had Wiseman caught at the wicket for 16. Canterbury were 138/7.Warren Wisneski started to hit out but when Cumming made the change to Pryor from the northern end of the ground, he had Carl Anderson attempting to hit to the off-side boundary. He too, was guilty of mis-timing the shot and Hore at mid-off was able to run around and take the catch.That left Canterbury on 164/8 and a required run rate of 7.26.Wisneski charged long enough and hard enough to score 45 off 42 balls with four fours and two sixes but when Pryor got through Chris Martin’s defence for the only bowling dismissal of the innings, Canterbury were all out for 206.McCullum responded well to opening the bowling with two for 15 from his seven overs while Walmsley took two for 32 from eight with some fiery bowling.Most encouragingly for Otago was the effort of newcomer James McMillan who took two for 32 from his 10 overs with some fast deliveries included among his package.Otago now travel to Nelson to play Central Districts on Wednesday while Canterbury play Northern Districts at Whangarei.

FULL NAME: Mark Andrew Vermeulen
BORN: 2 March 1979, at Harare
MAJOR TEAMS: Mashonaland (1997/98); CFX Academy (1998/99), Matabeleland(1999/2000 to date). Present club side: MacDonald Club (Bulawayo)
KNOWN AS: Mark Vermeulen
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Off Break Bowler
OCCUPATION: Professional cricketer
FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: Mashonaland A v Matabeleland, at Bulawayo AthleticClub, 23-25 October 1997
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: 21 October 2000, v Sri Lanka, at Sharjah
BIOGRAPHY (updated January 2002)Mark Vermeulen, former Zimbabwe Under-19 captain, is generally regarded as one of Zimbabwe’s most promising young batsmen. At present he still needs consistency and a tightening of his technique, but he has shown himself as a man who can take responsibility in a crisis and build big hundreds.Unusually for a white Zimbabwean player, Mark has little family background in cricket, although he does have an uncle on his mother’s side who is involved in administration in Matabeleland. Coming from an affluent family, though, he has been able to overcome this problem with enough money to help him along financially, attending sound cricketing schools and by his own application and determination.Mark was a regular but not a particularly dedicated player until, he says, he was in Form Two at high school, when in the first game of the season he scored a century for the first time, and this was the turning point in his life. From then on, he has never wanted to follow any other career but one in cricket. "It became like a disease that caught me and never wanted to let go," he smiles.He first played the game at St John’s Preparatory School in Harare, getting into the school colts team at the age of about ten. He started as a wicket-keeper, taking over in his second match after the regular keeper had a poor match, and also opening the batting. In his next two years, in the school first team, he began to bowl off-spin as well. Strangely he does not remember playing cricket before then at home like most young Zimbabwean white players do; he played a bit of tennis, but when he became keen on cricket he turned the family tennis court into an indoor cricket centre, complete with a bowling machine.He did well enough in the school team to be selected for the Harare Schools team in the primary schools cricket week, scoring a number of forties but getting no further due to the limited-over nature of the matches, and taking wickets in every match. In one game against Springvale School near Marondera, he took seven wickets for 11 runs, which remains the best bowling performance of his career. He did well enough to be selected for the national Under-13 team, the Partridges, mainly as an off-spinner, although he opened the batting as well.When he went to Prince Edward High School he began keeping wicket again, and was appointed captain of the side as well. "Those first three years were really brilliant, captaining the side. It was fun and the team spirit was excellent at Prince Edward," he said. "The black guys there really enjoy their cricket and the facilities are all there, and I think the headmaster Clive Barnes is fantastic." He admits that they had a good team, losing only about three matches in three years, and including players like David Mutendera.In Form Two there came that match against Lomagundi School when he scored 127 not out, opening the batting, which changed his direction in life. He usually opened at high school, which he still likes to do in one-day cricket, but prefers number three in the longer matches. When he went into the first team in Form Four, they already had a wicket-keeper so Mark started bowling again. His batting still dominated, though, as he scored a century in his fourth match, the first century for the school first team for about five years. His time in the first team also included a school tour to England, when he averaged 45.In 1996 Mark was involved in an unhappy incident that could have had a serious effect on his future career. He returned from the tour to England to find his reputation had gone ahead of him and that the word had gone round other schools that they had to get Mark Vermeulen out quickly if they wanted to win the game. He felt that some of the masters of opposing teams were unfairly giving him out as the opposition’s leading batsman, and on this occasion he got a big bottom edge from his bat on to his pad, yet was given out lbw. Something snapped; he felt he had again been cheated out and he pulled all the stumps out of the ground as he stormed off to the pavilion.This was an uncharacteristic lapse, as Mark is normally philosophical and able to handle his dismissals and failures, but it had serious repercussions. He was suspended from school and dropped from the Mashonaland Schools team. Fortunately he had a strong supporter in Mr Bill Flower, father of Test players Andy and Grant. When nobody else would support Mark, Bill took it upon himself to speak in Mark’s favour to the people involved and earned him another chance the following year.Mark feels that Bill has had a greater influence on his career than any other individual. "I owe a lot of respect to Mr Flower," he says. "He’s come round to my house and given me private lessons. He’s really been a fantastic man for the psychological as well as technique, and he’s been a great help to my game."Mark had a run of bad form that resulted in his failing to gain selection for the national Under-15 team, but regained his place for the national schools side. He spent two years in that team, as captain in his final year, and three years in the national Under-19 team, the final two as captain, which included the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. During that time he toured England in 1997, when his opponents included Ben Hollioake, and scored 50 in the first unofficial Test at Edgbaston and 134 in the second at Northampton.The following season he led the Zimbabwe team to the Under-19 World Cup, when they were placed in the only group of four to contain three Test-playing nations, West Indies and Australia also being in the group. They lost to Australia, Mark scoring a dashing 69, but beat Papua-New Guinea, with Mark scoring 112 off 84 balls. Then came the crucial match against the West Indies, with the winner to go through to the Super League. After a flying start chasing 235 to win, Mark scored 63 to help his team to a five-wicket victory with about five overs to spare, and this he names as the greatest moment of his career to date. This made him the leading run-scorer in the preliminary round of the competition. Unfortunately Zimbabwe lost all their Super League matches due to the failure of the top-order batsmen, including Mark.Mark first started playing club cricket at the age of 14, obliged to join Old Hararians as he was a Prince Edward pupil. He continued there until the incident with the umpire, when the club said they had to back the school and refused to play him any longer. He moved to Old Georgians for two seasons, playing mainly for the second team with only an occasional first-team game as they had a very strong batting side. He made some big centuries for the second team, but when he turned 18 he decided to move again to Harare Sports Club where there was a vacancy for an opening batsman.He played his first match for the Sports Club third team, but John Traicos, who had already been giving him some coaching, saw him playing and was so impressed that he had him promoted to the first team for the next match. He began batting at six or seven, though, but the following season they gave him a chance as opener against Old Georgians, when he scored 107 and became a fixture there.After leaving school Mark was not interested in following any career apart from cricket. He has been over to England to play club cricket each year, although he was available for only half of the 2000 season as the Zimbabwe A tour of Sri Lanka cut across the English season.In 1997 his English experience came with the national Under-19 team, and the following year he played for Alderley Edge in Cheshire, a wealthy club, and in 1999 for Betley in the North Staffordshire league. He became the first club professional to score 1000 runs in a season for them.In 1999 he had a year at the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy, and for 2000 and 2001 was posted, as part of his three-year contract, to Matabeleland, where he plays and coaches, staying with an uncle. His Under-19 captaincy experience stood him in good stead, as he was immediately appointed captain of a young Matabeleland Logan Cup team. He has also played for the Zimbabwe B team, but he acknowledges the debt he owes to his parents for their support throughout his career, including financial.Mark intends to make cricket his permanent career, and even when he eventually finishes playing wants to go into coaching or administration; he does not visualize himself as a person who can do an office job or sit behind a desk all day. He realizes that to have an international career behind him would be a great help."With sport these days there are no short cuts," Mark says. "You have to put in a lot of effort and a lot of work if you want to get to the top level, and that’s basically what I’ve been trying to do for the last three or four years that I’ve been out of school."Playing for the Zimbabwe Board XI against Border in the UCBSA Bowl competition during the 1999/2000 season he scored 143, batting at number three, in his first Board match of the season. He had suffered a poor start to the club season, apart from an 84 against Queens, an attack that included Heath Streak, Henry Olonga and Pommie Mbangwa. Then came a two-month period when league cricket in Harare almost came to a standstill because of visiting international teams, and he lost momentum. He was therefore overlooked for the Board XI, but had a lucky break when injuries to others and national call-ups led to the selectors recalling him. He is a player who needs to play regularly to maintain his best form, and finds that difficult with only one league match every weekend during the Zimbabwe season.Mark’s highest career score is 197, scored out of a total of 292 for Matabeleland against Midlands during 1999/2000. This was not only his maiden first-class century; it was worth 67.46 per cent of his team’s total, a record for cricket in Zimbabwe. In a weak team, though, a second-innings failure led to a narrow defeat. In the four-match programme he scored 438 runs for Matabeleland at an average of 62.57, finishing with an unbeaten 103 in the drawn match against the Academy.Selected for the Zimbabwe A tour to Sri Lanka, Mark began superbly, with 152 in the opening first-class match against a Sri Lankan Board XI. His tour was interrupted by injury, though, and he did not each fifty again. After the tour he went to England again, to play for Benwall and Wallbottle in Newcastle during the second half of the season. Despite his restricted season, only one player in that league scored more than his 720 runs at an average of 60, and he scored four centuries.He returned to play against New Zealand in a warm-up match, without success, but was selected to go to Sharjah with the national team. He probably only played in the first match, against Sri Lanka, because Alistair Campbell had been suspended, and he admits that his 22 as an opener was too slow for one-day cricket. He has not been selected for the national team again, but has been a regular for the Zimbabwe Board XI, scoring a century against North West opening the batting. In the one-day matches he scored 57 against Border.He feels he is batting better in one-day cricket now, generally at number three or four. He scored only his second first-league century, 125 off 124 balls for his new club MacDonald Club in Bulawayo against Alexandra Sports Club, four or five years after his first. In the Logan Cup he recorded another big century, 180 against Midlands again. He enjoyed his time in Bulawayo but returned to his parents’ home in Harare after his contract with Matabeleland expired at the end of 2001, where he has all the facilities he needs to work at his game. He played in England again during 2001 with success, scoring over 1000 runs at an average of 60 in 17 matches, including three hundreds. This time he was playing for Fordhouses, just outside Wolverhampton, in the Birmingham League.He returned to Zimbabwe and enjoyed mixed fortunes. He scored 120 for the Zimbabwe Board XI against North West in the one-day match and did reasonably well on the Zimbabwe A tour of Kwekwe, while being disappointed not to turn several fifties into big centuries. He suffered a run of poor umpiring decisions, though, which frustrated him. His usual policy has been to walk when he knows he is out, believing the umpires will respect his reputation, but gave it up for a while, only to find out that he got even more bad decisions then. He has now decided to walk again."Basically all I want to do is to play for my country," he says. "That has been my goal since I was ten or twelve years old. I’m just going to look to keep nice and fit, and keep getting scores on the board so the selectors recognize me. That’s the only way to do it and it’s the right way to select teams: if you perform on the field, you get picked."Mark is basically an attacking batsman who likes to get on with the game, although at first-class level he is still finding his way. Despite being over six foot tall, he plays more off the back than the front foot and prefers bowling short of a length. The hook, pull and cut are his most profitable strokes, but he can also drive off either foot. He likes to dominate the bowling: "I think if you go out there to bat and you’re not going to dominate the bowling you might as well stay in the pavilion. You have to go out there and show who’s the boss."He is also a man for big scores and is bitterly disappointed when he fails to turn fifties into hundreds. "Anything between 50 and 99 I don’t like at all," he says. "My belief is that once you get past 50 you have to carry it on to 100. Most of my first-class centuries have been over 150." He prefers to hit boundaries and in Matabeleland has a reputation for his dislike of running between wickets. However, he has realized his need to rotate the strike more, especially in difficult conditions, and will be working on that aspect of his game.In the field Mark is a specialist slip fielder, preferring the first slip position. He began his 1999 season fielding in the covers, but in about the fifth week his team needed one wicket to win and two overs left and he was brought in to third slip. The batsman snicked a ball that Mark could see would fall short of second slip, so he dived across and caught it just off the ground. After that he became a regular at first slip for them.*** Toughest opponents: "I’ve played against the Aussies and I found Glenn McGrath was pretty tricky! He gets it nice and straight and nips it both ways, so you can’t really leave it because he can nip it back and trap you lbw or bowled, so you have to play a shot. He also has one that goes the other way, so you’re always in danger of edging it to the slips. He gets it to the right area so you can’t really get on the front foot and drive, and it’s not short enough to hook or cut. To me he’s been the toughest bowler I’ve faced so far in my career. The only way to counteract him is to use your feet, and in Test cricket you can’t really do that against a bowler of his pace. In one-day cricket you can get away with it because he can’t bowl bouncers."I’ve also faced Brett Lee, but he’s very much a two-length bowler, either a bouncer or a yorker. Because he has genuine pace you’re going to struggle to play the pull shot, so you just have to play with a straight bat and get your ones and twos, and when he tries the yorker you can drive."*** Best friends in cricket: Doug Marillier and Neil Ferreira. "We get along very well, different characters all three so we make a good combination when we get together. We have a lot of fun together when we go out, and we were all at the Academy together last year. We enjoy playing ten-pin bowling and a bit of golf here and there. I think that’s probably why they sent us to three different provinces this year!"*** Immediate ambitions: "To do very well in this Logan Cup. I have to work hard and try to get myself a maiden first-class century, and then off to Sri Lanka for six weeks starting in the middle of April. Hopefully they will give me a chance in the side, because since I made that 143 they haven’t actually played me. It’s four-day cricket, so there are opportunities not only to get hundreds but to get double-hundreds."*** Views on cricket: "I’m trying to push in Zimbabwe, trying to make Logan Cup cricket four-day cricket as well; in three-day cricket you’re really struggling to get a result, unless you do what our two sides have done [in the Matabeleland-Manicaland match] and get both sides bowled out in one day. If you make first-class cricket over four days, as it should be and as it is in most countries round the world, then you give batsmen the chance to get not only hundreds but double-hundreds. It also gives the bowlers the opportunity to bowl to a player without having to rush to bowl teams out."Also we have got to play each other home and away. Playing each team once is not quite enough. That gives you ten first-class games in a season, and with a final eleven. This is the only place you learn, because in club cricket, the one-day game, anyone on their day can pull off something special, whereas out here it’s a lot tougher, fields are set to good bowling, and if you bowl well you get wickets and if you bat well and work hard you score runs."You can’t believe how much Logan Cup has improved from last year (1999/2000) to this year. Last year when I played for Matabeleland there were two guys, myself and Dion Ebrahim, who were fulltime cricketers. This year there are only two or three who are not on ZCU contracts. Already in one year it has improved, quadrupled the number of fulltime cricketers. Next year, when all the present Academy players go to different provinces, every single player in every province will be a fulltime player, so there’s no excuse next season for there not to be four-day cricket, home and away, ten games of four-day cricket."I think we need to get more cricket being played in Zimbabwe. When I go over to England and play in a league, and there are 300 leagues in England, there are 26 league games in one season and 12 cup games, 36 to 38 cricket matches. I counted how many league fixtures there are in Zimbabwe this season and there are only 17 in six months, which is not really good enough. I’m trying to get into the national side, and playing only four or five first-class matches a year makes it difficult."All I hope for Zimbabwe cricket is that the people keep coming and supporting us. Whenever I go out there, I’m going out with 100 per cent commitment and I’m just looking to play my best. All we need is a bit of support and I’m sure things will go right. We need to work hard, especially at the highest level of international cricket. We’ve got everything going for us – beautiful weather and conditions. I think Zimbabwe is a great country and we just need the people to believe in us."We need more publicity about domestic cricket. That’s one thing that’s lacking. I’m sure that if more people knew about the Logan Cup more people would come. But there is not much said and it’s not publicized properly."The good thing about the Logan Cup this year is that you are playing with the national players and after the game you can have chats with them and they can help you a hell of a lot. Basically cricket, and most sports, is learning, and the only way you can learn is out in the middle. That’s why more of these games would make up-and-coming players better, because you have national bowlers who will figure you out, and after the game they will say, `Hey, you should have rotated the strike’ or `You could have left those balls outside off stump’ and all those little things. You store them in your mind and that’s how you become a much better cricketer."*** Most difficult opponents played so far: "Glenn McGrath as a quick bowler is very difficult. He gets very close to the stumps, making you play the ball all the time, and he seams it both ways. Not very often does he bowl you a bad ball; it’s always on a good length, no half-volleys, and he’ll bowl you the odd short one at pace. I think he’s been the most difficult bowler to face."The quickest bowler for me has been Brett Lee, who came here for the Australian Academy. We played them at Alexandra Sports Club, and he showed in the recent World Series that he’s actually the quickest bowler in the world. As a spinner I didn’t get to face Shane Warne when they came, but I did face Anil Kumble two seasons ago, and I feel that he’s the best spinner I’ve faced."*** Other sports played: "I play the odd round of golf if I get the opportunity; I might knock a tennis ball around, but really it’s 100% cricket. I work on fitness and strength at the gym every morning, usually, practise for a couple of hours a day and then coach in the afternoon, as I’ve been doing in Bulawayo this year."I used to throw the javelin at school; I was the national javelin champion at Under-15 level, and my older brother also throws the javelin, so it’s been in my family. My dad still holds the record at Falcon College. I played rugby at junior school for the first team, but once I went to senior school I only played it to make up time in the winter season. From Form Two it was just cricket."*** Interests outside cricket: "I enjoy most ball sports; I like to hit a golf ball. That feel of hitting a ball sweetly is why I enjoy cricket so much, hitting it off the middle of the bat, the timing of the ball. I study cricket, watching the greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara on video; I can just sit and watch them all day long, even if they’re blocking the ball – there’s so much class and style, it’s fantastic to watch. That’s what I spend a lot of my time doing, studying the great players, trying to make myself a better cricketer.”

An unbeaten 61-run partnership for the last wicket between Ravi Kumar and Manjunath saw Karnataka record an unexpected one-wicket win over Gujarat.In the morning, Gujarat, after being put in by Karnataka, made 198 before being all out. As many as 50 of these runs came off no-balls and wides. Among the batsmen, opener MR Tripath, who made 32, and AM Gohel, who made 23, were the major contributors. As many as four batsmen being run-out though saw Gujarat being dismissed by the end of the 31st over.When Karnataka replied, S Nayak, who made 46, shepherded the innings. But his fall, when the score read 138 for nine, seemed to have sealed his team’s fate. But Ravi Kumar and Manjunath had other ideas and their magnificent stand saw their team eke out a thrilling one-wicket win. Wides and no-balls were again prolific contributors adding as many as 49 runs to the score.In the other match of the day, played at the Southern Railway Ground, Chennai, Delhi proved too formidable for the men from Bengal. The latter chasing 325 for a win fell short by 62 runs.Batting first, Delhi aided by a 93 from opener M Singh and a 59 from captain RK Sharma piled on 324 runs in their innings. Despite fifties from A Mondal and T Maity, East could only make 262 in reply.

England are targetting the first two One-Day Internationals of the National Bank Series with New Zealand as vital.The series opens on Wednesday at Jade Stadium in Christchurch, formerly Lancaster Park, and the second game is at the WestpacTrust Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

Captain Nasser Hussain said he was aware that New Zealand had not finished well in Australia and while mindful of how New Zealand played earlier in the summer, he is expecting an even series between two sides of similar lineups, all the way down the order.”Both sides will be sparring up against each other and I think the first two games will be very important,” he said.At the same time he acknowledged that England were well down on experience in ODIs as borne out by the fact that New Zealand had players like Chris Harris who has played 198 matches, Stephen Fleming who has 165, Chris Cairns 146 and Nathan Astle 145.Hussain said he was pleased with the way England were gelling as a team. They were showing character but there was a lot more the side had to learn about one-day cricket.It would be a slow progression but some parts of their game still needed a lot of improvement. Consistency of selection and fighting and showing character was how a team was brought together, he said.Asked where he wanted to see improvements he said: “Our fielding, our intensity, our fighting in tight situations, our batting in the first 15, our bowling at the death, areas like that.”There would be times, possibly even in the New Zealand series, where the wheels would come off but the thing was not to over-react.”You learn more from losses and wheels coming off than wins,” he said.”We don’t play enough one-day cricket, it is only now we are getting experience,” he said.

Hussain said he was “disappointed, but not too disappointed” that his side will not have to face up to New Zealand fast bowling sensation Shane Bond this summer.Bond was forced out of the remainder of the New Zealand summer today when diagnosed with a suspected stress fracture in his left ankle.His place in the CLEAR Black Caps for tomorrow’s first One-Day International has been taken by Northern Districts rookie fast bowler Ian Butler.Hussain was informed of Bond’s injury at the start of a press conference soon after the England team arrived in Christchurch this afternoon.”Obviously we have heard a lot about him and saw him in India where we got all that series and he looks a great prospect.”Young fast bowlers bring vibrancy to the game and the New Zealand crowds want to see him on home soil,” Hussain said.The two warm-up games against Northern Districts had been good preparation for the side and Hussain said he had been delighted with the way everything had been laid on in Hamilton. The opposition had been very good.”Coming from India will take us a little bit longer. The bounce on that wicket was more like Perth than Cuttack. We’ve come from England where the wickets do have a little more bounce so we’ve got no excuses there.”We’ve got another full on nets session tomorrow, quite a few of our boys have toured out here before so we are as ready as we need to be.”The WestpacTrust Park wicket had been good and was as fast as anything he had played on.”The last time was in Australia, even in England we don’t get wickets with that pace now, they’re all sort of dying a bit of a death. They’re trying to re-lay a few of them.”But that was a good cricket wicket and you can see that the cricketers New Zealand are producing, the better wickets you play on the better cricketers you get,” he said.Hussain said the laws which allow faster bowlers more opportunities to use a shorter ball each over, required different thinking on a ground-by-ground basis. On some grounds in India it had been vital to make good use of the first 15 overs because the balls went soft, the spinners came on later on and it was difficult to score.Compared to the Australian series where scores of 60/2 were the New Zealand par in the first 15 overs.”There might be times out here when it swings around and you have to keep wickets in hand. There might be times when it is very flat and New Zealand had good bowlers like Harris and we will have to get off to a flyer,” he said.