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2002-03 in South Africa
There was scant encouragement for Bangladesh who wereemphatically beaten in both Tests and one-dayers, never offering SouthAfrica a convincing challenge. Makhaya Ntini warmed up with 10 wicketsat 10.14 in the one-day series – too fast, too hostile for theBangladeshis – before obliterating them in the two Tests with 12wickets at 15. Only Hannan Sarkar and Al Sahariar notched fiftieswhile South Africa posted five hundreds – including two from GaryKirsten who became the first batsman to score hundreds against allnine Test-playing nations. Graeme Smith’s 200 set-up a huge innings win in the first Test in East London, while in the second at Potchefstroom Jacques Kallis tore through with 5 for 21. As Wisden reported, the sentiment that Bangladesh benefited from competing against such strong opposition wore rather thin.
Tests: South Africa 2 Bangladesh 0
ODIs: South Africa 3 Bangladesh 0
2003 in Bangladesh
Chastened from their disastrous World Cup campaign, South Africaembarked on a tour of Bangladesh with a new-look squad.Graeme Smith was appointed captain – the third-youngest at 22 years 82days – while Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes both retired. Bangladesh werealso rebuilding, with the captain Khaled Masud making way for KhaledMahmud, but South Africa’s youthful façade was still far too strong. In thefirst Test at Chittagong, Jacques Rudolph cracked 222 on debut to begin achequered international career. And in the second, South Africa’sbowlers probed away to crush Bangladesh for 102 and 210, sweeping theseries 2-0.
Tests: Bangladesh 0 South Africa 2

2007-08 in Bangladesh
South Africa were given the hurry-up in 2008, squeezing home by five wickets in the first Test at Mirpur, on a juicy surface which offered plenty to seamers. Bangladesh even squeaked a first-innings lead of 22 after Shahadat Hossain picked up career-best figures of 6 for 27. The hosts’ stranglehold couldn’t last, however, and they were rolled for 182 in their second innings, leaving South Africa chasing 205 to win – a target, though tricky, was far from insurmountable. Normal order was resumed at Chittagong where Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith put on 415 for the opening wicket. 405 of those came on the first day – the most runs scored in a day without a wicket falling. Robin Peterson picked up 5 for 33 while Dale Steyn grabbed seven in the match as Bangladesh were walloped by an innings-and-205-runs. The ODIs went to script, too, with Smith notching 199 runs in the three comprehensive wins for South Africa.
Tests: Bangladesh 0 South Africa 2
ODIs: Bangladesh 0 South Africa 3

St Thomas College 340 (Peiris 125) beat Royal College 94 (Peiris 3-16) and 218 (Senaratne 92) by an innings and 28 runs
Scorecard

St Thomas College needed just eight overs on the third morning at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo to wrap up a thumping innings-and-28-run victory over their arch-rivals, Royal College, to secure their first victory in the “Battle of the Blues” since 1999.A St Thomas victory was always on the cards after rolling Royal College over for 94 in the first innings, but they had been held up on the second evening by a dogged 102-run stand between D Wijeratne and Sukitha Senaratne, who had compiled a fine unbeaten 92. Senaratne, however, could not add to his overnight score, and with his departure, the end was swift.Wijeratne added nine more runs to his overnight 39, but appropriately enough, it was St Thomas’s captain, Videsh Balasubramaniam, who applied the coup de grace, sweeping through the tail for figures of 4 for 54 from 15 overs.St Thomas’s victory takes them ahead of Royal in the overall record between the two sides. In their 126 encounters, St Thomas have now won 33 matches to Royal’s 32, with 61 draws.

Tasmania 215 for 8 (Dighton 48) v Western Australia 6 for 0 – no result
ScorecardTasmania’s ING Cup meeting with Western Australia was washed out in second over of WA’s run-chase, as thunder and lightning brought the match to an abrupt end. It was just as well for Tasmania, who had been made to struggle after winning the toss and batting first, although their effort was interrupted in mid-innings by the first bout of bad weather.All of Tasmania’s top seven reached double figures, but none were able to dig in for the big score – the best effort of the innings was Michael Dighton’s 48. They were kept in check by some persevering bowling efforts , in particular Paul Wilson, whose eight overs failed to take a wicket but went for just 20 runs.After the match had been reduced to 48 overs a side, WA were set 216 for victory. But there were already menacing banks of clouds looming as the innings got underway, and the heavens opened after 12 deliveries had been bowled.

Once again India fell at the final hurdle, losing both VB Series finals to Australia by wide margins, and once again questions have been asked about their failure to win tournaments after playing well on the way to the final.There was no shame in being beaten by Australia – they are the world champions, after all – away from home. What stuck in the throat was the manner and size of the defeats. And Sunil Gavaskar, writing in his syndicated weekly column, spoke for many when he said that “the way the Indian team just capitulated is what is so depressing.”It was an impossible task alright, but so ordinary and unedifying was the sight of the batsmen getting dismissed regularly that the tag of ‘chokers in the crunch matches’ now probably belongs to them and not the South Africans, who had monopolised it for a long time now. More than the defeat, it was India’s meek surrender that would have disappointed their supporters and followers.”The batsmen gave the impression that since the target was so big they would just throw their bats at everything and see if it worked,” Gavaskar continued. “What it conveyed was a “couldn’t care a damn” feeling than an honest effort.”Nobody likes to criticise for the heck of it and there’s genuine joy when they do well so if there’s sadness and no little anger at the manner of the loss, then that should also be understood.”And former Australian captain Ian Chappell said that Australia’s “mental toughness” was the key to their success. “In the end it was the Australians who remained mentally strong through the summer and the Indians wilted. The Aussies will be hoping this final hammering has a lasting affect on India considering the next contest is on their turf.”

Mike Hussey, the Australian batsman, will replace Jon Lewis as Durham’s captain next season. Durham will be Hussey’s third county side, after a successful three-year stint with Northants, and half a season with Gloucestershire this year.Hussey, who has also captained Western Australia and Northants, said he would relish the challenge: “There is a lot of young talent within the team and I’m really looking forward to helping them develop. I am convinced that Durham are more than capable of achieving promotion in both one-day and Championship cricket in 2005.”Martyn Moxon, the former Yorkshire and England batsman, who is now Durham’s coach, explained: "It was felt that a change in leadership would help the team’s progression. Mike will bring a new approach to the squad in addition to the wealth of experience he acquired as captain of Northants and Western Australia."Moxon praised Lewis, the outgoing captain, saying that he had done a superb job throughout his tenure, while David Harker, Durham’s chief executive, added that the club were looking to Lewis to support Hussey in his captaincy.There will be another Australian addition to Durham’s 2005 squad – yesterday they announced that Ashley Noffke, the 27-year-old Queensland fast bowler, was also being drafted in.

At least half a dozen of England’s travelling fans were caught up in a scare en route from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, when their train was derailed near the town of Westley in the Free State. Seven coaches were involved in the accident, which occurred at 5pm on Tuesday evening, and though police confirmed that there had been no fatalities, up to 15 people were taken to hospital with injuries.The fans, members of the Barmy Army’s hardcore following, had been at Potchefstroom to cheer England through their defeat against South Africa A. They had been due to meet up with several hundred fellow fans that evening, but were instead ferried down to Port Elizabeth by bus from the town of Vereeniging, along with 400 other commuters.Spoornet, the South African rail authorities, said that the cause of the accident hadn’t been confirmed, although it would be the subject of a detailed investigation. "The scene looked severe," said a spokesman, "but no-one has died in the incident. An internal investigation is being launched to determine the cause."It is not the first stroke of ill fortune to befall England’s supporters this winter, and the tour has yet to get underway in earnest. Last week, the holiday plans of several hundred fans bound for Port Elizabeth were thrown into disarray, following the collapse of the budget airline, CivAir, which had been due to ferry them direct from Stansted Airport in London.

Chris Rogers, the Western Australia opening batsman, will replace Martin Love as an overseas professional at Northamptonshire next season. A familiar face in England, Rogers has had stints with Derbyshire and earlier this season made a double-century for Leicestershire against the touring Australians.”I am very excited about a full season in England,” Rogers said. “There is some excellent young talent at the club and with the senior pro’s experience I am looking forward to being a part of the continuing good work that has already been achieved.”Rogers, who has played 52 first-class matches, made his highest score of 209 from 274 balls in the drawn game against Australia at Grace Road, but was unable to secure a full-time place with the county. After 11 Championship games Love has scored 1114 runs with four centuries at 58.63, while Northamptonshire are third last in Division Two.

Less than five months after the International Cricket Council said that there were no plans to introduce international Twenty20-style cricket, the England & Wales Cricket Board have said that is just what it is planning to do.The ECB has announced that there will be an experimental match between the England and New Zealand women’s sides at Hove on August 5, 2004, and if all goes well then the men could be playing as soon as 2005. It is not the first time women have been quicker to seize on initiatives than their male counterparts. In 1973 they hosted a World Cup, two years before the inaugural men’s competition.”It’s certainly possible that we will see the men playing 20-overs-a-side internationals,” said the ECB’s John Read. “The introduction of the Twenty20 competition last summer was a pretty phenomenal success … now we want to build on that success. Obviously the men playing this short form of the game internationally depends on the ICC, but at the ECB we would like to see it take root.”The ICC could be the stumbling block. In July it said that there was “no suggestion that there will be an international version of Twenty20 … as far as the game’s governing body is concerned, Twenty20 is the latest ‘third-generation’ game to be introduced to domestic cricket worldwide.”The International Women’s Cricket Council, on the other hand, has welcomed the plans with open arms. The ICC itself is far more hamstrung by the need to consult and get agreement from its wide membership base.Wisden Comment by Martin Williamson
To the surprise of many, the Twenty20 Cup was a massive success in its first season – more than a quarter of a million spectators watched the matches – but it won’t be until next year’s second season that we will discover if the interest was down to novelty value and good marketing, and the good weather that the inaugural competition enjoyed, or whether the 20-overs game really is a long-term answer to dwindling domestic crowds.

It’s always the same in England-South Africa series. Just when you think you’ve got the script nailed, it gets dispatched off to Hollywood for a glamorous makeover, and all your pre-series plotlines are scattered to the wind.In 1994, South won a famous victory at Lord’s by the not-inconsiderablemargin of 356 runs, and were well set to wrap up the series at The Oval,only for Fanie de Villiers to aim that injudicious bouncer at DevonMalcolm’s head. Two years later at Cape Town, however, Malcolm was thescapegoat, as the last pair of Dave Richardson and Paul Adams belted SouthAfrica to an unassailable lead in a low-scoring decider.And then of course, there was the 1998 series. This time, South Africa were one-up and cruising in the third Test, and, as Tim de Lisle wrote in the following year’s Wisden, it was England who were “clinging to a precipice, in a hurricane, by one finger, while the baddie [took] leisurely aim, from a sheltered vantage-point, with an automatic weapon.” Not only did South Africa muff the shot, they allowed Robert Croft, Darren Gough and the No. 11 Angus Fraser to haul themselves back from the brink and, ultimately, back into a series that they went on to win 2-1.Leaving aside the twist of an altogether more sinister nature at Centurionin 1999-2000, it has been a fair bet that the side in command will relinquish the incentive before the series is up. The difference on this occasion, however, is that no-one is quite sure who took what out of that seesaw draw at Durban.In the immediate aftermath of the match, they was little doubt who wasmore pleased with the result. “South Africa got out of jail,” declaredMichael Vaughan, and Graeme Smith could hardly disagree: “We got a bitlucky at the end there.”Two days and one New Year hangover later, however, there may be somereassessment taking place in both camps. England did remarkably well tohaul themselves back from 139 all out on the first day, but as JacquesKallis demonstrated and Marcus Tresothick and Andrew Strass belatedlyrealised, there was no need for England to have slipped into quite such apredicament in the first place.Though he could hardly be faulted for his batting, the loss of AshleyGiles to a back spasm was a significant factor in England’s conceding afirst-innings lead of 193. Once the shine had gone off the new ball,England had no-one reliable to hold up an end, and so the effectiveness ofthe seamers was more or less halved. Giles did not bowl at his best in thesecond innings at Durban, but in mitigation, it was his first competitiveday of bowling in more than a week, and, spasms permitting, he is sure tohave a big role on a Newlands pitch that is expected to turn.Of greater concern to England, however, is the form of Mark Butcher, andto a lesser extent, Vaughan himself, who has managed just 53 runs in his first four innings of the series. Butcher was recalled after injuryahead of Robert Key, the man who had cashed in with 221 and an unbeaten 93not out against West Indies, but aside from an unflattering 79 at PortElizabeth he has struggled, and the vultures must surely be circling.Butcher himself feels a big score “is just around the corner”, and for themoment he retains the faith of his captain. “Butch played well in PortElizabeth for his 79,” said Vaughan, “although since then he hasn’tgot many runs. But I think we’ve seen over the last few years that he’s been agood player for us and pretty consistent.” Even so, his last Test hundredcame at Trent Bridge in August 2003, 16 matches ago.The issue of back-to-back Tests is sure to raise its ugly head again, especially with England expected to field the same XI for the third match running. But no matter how much of a strain it is for England’s seamers, no-one will be feeling the pinch – quite literally – like Shaun Pollock. In the closing stages at Durban, he suffered two agonising blows in consecutive balls from Steve Harmison, one on each index finger, but he was today passed fit with nothing more drastic than bruising.But even allowing for Pollock’s recovery, South Africa will still not be able to field the same team twice in two matches. Boeta Dippenaar, who struck an obdurate 110 at Port Elizabeth, has recovered from a knee injury, and takes the place of Martin van Jaarsveld, who batted with determination for his second-innings 49. Hashim Amla, who managed 1 and 0 in front of his home fans, earns a reprieve, while there could be a long-awaited debut for Charl Langeveldt, whose seven wickets for South Africa A destroyed England at Potchefstroom.If they are honest with themselves, South Africa might well have accepted this situation at the start of the series, especially now that they believe their great escape has stolen the initiative back from England. “We are the most relaxed we’ve been this series,” claimed Smith after a gentle early-morning workout. “We’ve had a nice practice here – it’s a bit cooler than in Durban – but every time you arrive at the ground you have to be on the button. We hope we can get it together for five days starting tomorrow.”South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs,3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 Hashim Amla, 7AB de Villiers (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Dale Steyn.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 MarkButcher, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11Steve Harmison.

Garnett Kruger of the Lions and Zander de Bruyn from the Titans have been suspended for one Supersport match after being found guilty of breaching the United Cricket Board’s (UCBSA) code of conduct.Kruger was found guilty of conduct that brought the game into disrepute during the SuperSport match between the Lions and Cape Cobras at Johannesburg between November 10 and 13. de Bruyn was charged with two offences; dissent at an umpiring decision and of unruly behaviour, but was found guilty of just the second offence. de Bruyn’s were committed during the match between the Dolphins and the Titans at Durban.Meanhwile, Mpho Sekhoto and Gerhard de Bruin, both from Gauteng, were also found guilty of breaching the code of conduct in seperate incidents during the same SAA Provincial Challenge game and have each been suspended for one three-day challenge match. Sekhoto was found guilty of conduct which could bring them, the UBCSA or the game of cricket into disrepute and de Bruin of dissent towards an umpiring decision.