After leading Guyana to three consecutive victories on theirway to the Red Stripe Bowl semifinal last week, Carl Hooperwas moved to bemoan the general standard of the cricket.Nothing he saw in the two semifinals at Kaiser Sports Clubin Jamaica on Thursday and Friday would have relieved hisworries as he considers the players likely to form the WestIndies team for the World Cup in South Africa that is only ayear-and-a-half away. As derided as it is by thetraditionalists, the One-Day game demands as much cricketingintelligence and astuteness as the more protracted version.Because, and not in spite, of all its limitations, itssituations change fast and frequently, testing the wits ofcaptains and players. There is no second innings so there isno coming back.One poor shot, one wide ball, one fumble, one missed chance,one poorly set fielder could mean the match. Test cricket isnot nearly as unforgiving of mistakes.And mistakes there were on Thursday and Friday by thedozens.What would have concerned Hooper especially was that amongthe most culpable were those he is likely to lead onto thefield at the Newlands ground in Cape Town for the World Cupopener against South Africa in February, 2003. Here are buta few examples.In the first semifinal, on a pitch so damp that MichaelHolding’s fingernail made a sizeable scratch on the surface,a couple of deliveries leapt at Leon Garrick in the firstover to strike glove and body.This was a time for care and concentration. Instead, ChrisGayle, the West Indies’ finest young batsman and, on allevidence, one whose appetite for big scores in insatiable,tried to hoist Reon King out of the ground with the fifthball he received. The resulting skied catch to point waspredictable and damning.Gayle’s previous two innings in the tournament had broughthim hundreds and the two before that in domestic countycricket in Jamaica two more. Perhaps he was undone byoverconfidence.It was a crucial mistake.Another 27 overs on, with Jamaica battling to rebuild afaltering innings, Marlon Samuels, another rising youngbatsman, bowed to the pressure of eeking out 15 runs from 57balls. Pulling wildly across the modest leg-spin onSewnarine Chattergoon, he was bowled, leaving captain RobertSamuels and the tail to salvage what they could from theshambles for 75 for five.Shabby Guyanese bowling and fielding and purposeful battingby the experienced Samuels and the fluent Gareth Breeseyielded 107 from the last 15 overs and raised Jamaica’stotal to 191 for nine, still only modest but far more thanhad seemed possible.At 134 for five after 40 overs in reply, Guyana had thematch in hand before Mahendra Nagamootoo, a usually sensiblecricketer with both Tests and One-Day Internationals on hisrecord, chose the game’s most contorted stroke as his bestoption. He was inevitably bowled when he missed his reversesweep.At the other end, his brother, Vishal, backed up so far hewas run out without receiving a ball, another victim ofcricketing lunacy.Onto the second semifinal the next day and there was moremadness, this time on the Trinidad and Tobago side. Theirmajor batsmen simply failed to acknowledge an earlier lessonin proper tactical batting by Floyd Reifer and Ryan Hinds,who breathed life back into a Barbados innings that was allbut lifeless.By sensible, orthodox methods, Reifer and Hinds graduallylifted Barbados’ spirits and punched increasingly largeholes in the Trinidadian balloon.There was no panic, no cross-batted swings, no desperatemethods, just methodical progress to a point from which thetempo could be increased and a challenging target set.A pitch of uneven bounce and variable pace meant drivingthrough the line was a hazard to be avoided. The 220required would have to be reached by careful, orthodoxbatting. So what happened?Andy Action Jackson, so named after his earlier hundred off47 balls against the North Windwards, Brian Lara and DarenGanga all drove expansively and into the hands of off-sidefielders. Lincoln Roberts, pinned down for 32 balls for six,swiped a high catch to long-on.It was the kind of cricket that had plenty of heads aroundKaiser shaking in despair. Hooper’s and the other headsplanning the West Indies World Cup campaign are likely toturn grey if it continues much longer.

As balls hit hands, helmets and the tiers of grandstands all around him, Sean Clingeleffer hit all the right notes to lead Tasmania out of trouble on the second day of its Pura Cup match against South Australia here in Hobart today.Though the visitors encountered only fleeting alarms on the way to a mark of 1/108 by stumps in a generally confident reply, Clingeleffer offered Tasmania a significant safety valve as it reached a mark of 7/382 before a mid-afternoon declaration.The 21-year old wicketkeeper-batsman had walked to the crease shortly before tea yesterday with his team struggling to come to grips with a pitch offering the bowlers plenty of encouragement in the way of variable bounce and consistent seam movement.But, by the time he left it upon captain Jamie Cox’s decision to close the innings nearly a day later, he had struck a sparkling unbeaten 141 to lift his rapidly swelling first-class average to a shade under 30. He hit the ball beautifully to all parts of the wicket and even showed he might be willing to assist in stage two of the Bellerive Oval redevelopment when he slammed one delivery viciously into the roof of a stand at mid wicket.”It’s a good feeling, that’s for sure,” said Clingeleffer of the attainment of his first century at this level.”It would have been nice for us to get a couple of wickets there at the end but, overall, it wasn’t a bad day.””Last year, I was a bit loose at times and I wanted to be a bit more patient early in my innings this year. I’ve worked pretty hard (in the off-season) with a few of the coaches, particularly off the front foot and in trying to be a little more solid.”For as well as he played, though, the passage to his total wasn’t always smooth. He should have been caught at 94, when he lifted a flighted Brad Young (1/97) delivery to Greg Blewett at around waist level at mid wicket. The same fieldsman also grassed a chance after standing and waiting underneath a shot which had lobbed the ball high in the air toward mid on.And there was a missed stumping opportunity off the desperately unlucky Young when the former Australian under-19 gloveman advanced and played around a flighted delivery with his score at 136.On 80, Clingeleffer had also benefited from an obscure clause in the rule book. More specifically, the provisions of Law 32 meant silly mid off fieldsman David Fitzgerald’s juggled interception of a drive at Darren Lehmann (0/24) didn’t count as a catch because the ball had struck his helmet before reaching his hands.As the response began, Jeff Vaughan (0*) then met the pitch at its most capricious, ending a distant second best in a battle with a vicious rising delivery from David Saker (1/27) that smashed its way off a length and into the visor on his helmet. Vaughan was felled, had to be assisted from the field, and was still drifting in and out of bouts of sleep by stumps. Team manager Andrew Sincock said he would only bat again tomorrow if he experienced a comfortable night.Blewett (45*) and Fitzgerald (31) opted upon steady accumulation as the best method of counter-attacking before the latter fell to what looked a tough lbw decision as a tailing Saker inswinger struck him low on his front pad.Blewett was more fortunate, surviving imploring lbw appeals against the bowling of Shane Watson (0/46) and Shane Jurgensen (0/18) when on 31 and 44 respectively. Around several trademark cover drives and square cuts, he also miscued more than once and didn’t always look at ease in still-tricky batting conditions.After receiving another near-unplayable Saker bouncer as his first delivery, Lehmann (28*) typically injected fresh life into the cause in the lead-up to stumps. He showed emerging star Watson the ropes in more ways than one, dealing with loose deliveries so harshly that he even sent the ball rocketing to the boundary four times in the space of three minutes late in the afternoon.

Running through Maharashtra’s batting line-up with his leg-spinners,Sairaj Bahutule returned figures of 5-69 as the visitors collapsed to216 all out in their Ranji Trophy league match against Mumbai atMumbai.Winning the toss, Maharashtra looked to post a big total in the firstinnings. Its batsmen, however, failed to post large scores, and onlyKaushik Aphale (51) even got past the 50-mark. Paras Mhambrey,supporting Bahutule, picked three wickets.In reply, Mumbai were 31 for no loss at stumps, with openers VinayakMane and Sameer Dighe unbeaten on 15 and 14 respectively.

Western Australia remained in a strong position by the end of the second day’s play of its Pura Cup match against New South Wales here at the SCG today.The visitors, inspired by fine centuries from captain Simon Katich (131) and Mike Hussey (100), had reached a mammoth 6/511 by stumps andestablished a lead of 296 runs over the Blues in the process.The Warriors’ performance was cemented by their ability to produce consistently effective partnerships and to prevent frontline bowlers NathanBracken (1/51), Don Nash (0/69), Anthony Clark (2/101) and Stuart Clark (2/90) from restricting the flow of runs. Nor did they allow the quartetto scent many hopes of making inroads.The Western Australians produced five half-century partnerships in all and two of those continued on to ring in the century. In so doing, theWarriors were able to post the state’s second highest total in history against New South Wales.Western Australian captain Katich was delighted with the way his team had batted through the day.”We’ve obviously batted well in partnerships so far. To think that, at the start of the day, (we were) 2 for 140-odd and we’ve ended up at 6 for 500- I mean I’ll take that any day.”The Warriors surpassed the tally of 3/491 registered in 1974-75 shortly before stumps and are also potentially well placed to erase the score of6/594 – made in the 1968-69 season – from the record books.It was Katich who led by example today. The 26-year-old made a constructive century before falling lbw to debutant left arm spinner AaronO’Brien (1/134). The scalp of Katich handed O’Brien his first wicket in the Pura Cup competition.Before padding up to the 20-year-old, Katich played an intelligent innings, restricting his use of the hook and pull shot until after he reached triplefigures. The left hander serially hit the ball into gaps; pushed singles consistently; and relied on good running between the wickets to secure hiscentury.That’s not to say that he didn’t eliminate belligerent strokes from his artillery either, as his century included six fours and three sixes, including two insuccession off his eventual wicket taker.For his own part, Katich attributed the century to a touch of fortune and an improvement in concentration.”I was lucky today,” said Katich, who had edged a catch into the slips off a Bracken no ball when his score was only 28.”For most of the summer I’ve been getting starts – 30s and 40s – and I had a big game away today.”I got caught off a no-ball … you need luck in this game.”Katich’s innings was also a timely one, played as it was before national selector Trevor Hohns. He continues to be the man most likely to fill abatting spot in the Test eleven in the event of injury or a loss of form for one of the country’s current top six.Hussey also played his best first-class innings of the season and was a key force in constructing a platform upon which the visitors could assembletheir big lead. With Scott Meuleman (60), he had added an excellent 127 runs for the first wicket yesterday; today, another 139 came in a fineassociation with Katich.First innings points – as well as Katich’s half century – were duly obtained in the opening session.Hussey’s three figures were raised shortly after the break, though some of the gloss was taken off the achievement when Bracken upset his stumpswith the very next delivery.Like Hussey, young left hander Marcus North (26) fell shortly after an adjournment, though it wasn’t until after tea that he edged a flighted AnthonyClark delivery to Michael Bevan at slip.Brad Hogg (57*) and late inclusion Chris Rogers (36*) maintained the momentum on a golden two days for Western Australian batsmen in bothSydney and Adelaide. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Campbell (57) also played effectively before driving a catch to Michael Clarke off Clark.New South Wales, meanwhile, used eight bowlers in its attempt to quell the flow of runs. Part timers Mark Higgs (0/9), Greg Mail (0/9) and Clarke(0/17) were even used late in the day in the hope of snaring an elusive wicket. Strangely, Bevan didn’t bowl himself on a pitch yielding turn andbounce at times.

Otago opening batsman Brendon McCullum has forced his way into the CLEAR Black Caps side to compete in the VB tri-series with Australia and South Africa starting next week.It is a rapid rise for McCullum from the New Zealand Under-19 side which he led so capably last summer in a home series against South Africa where he dominated with the bat.He is a graduate of New Zealand’s Cricket Academy in 2001 and recently achieved his maiden first-class century for his Otago side in the State Championship.He has been preferred to Mathew Sinclair who the selection panel chairman Sir Richard Hadlee said had to address some problems with his technique.”He has been very vulnerable with the new ball and taking him back to Australia and the hostile environment of the two teams [Australia and South Africa] is not a good option at this stage,” he said.The selectors were looking further down the track with McCullum’s selection and the panel were keen to test him in the VB environment.”We are not apologetic about introducing youth,” Hadlee said.The team is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Kyle Mills, Dion Nash, Adam Parore, Mark Richardson, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.Whether McCullum plays in many of the matches on the tour would depend on the tour selection committee.”Brendon has been scoring prolifically for the State Otago Volts and at a strike rate of over 90.”He’s young and talented and it’s his challenge now to take the step up to the highest level,” Hadlee said.The selection of Adam Parore as the preferred wicket-keeper ahead of Chris Nevin was in response to Parore’s own reaction to being excluded from the team named to tour Pakistan.”We put the pressure on him and gave him reasons why he had not been selected. He is the best ‘keeper in world cricket at the moment and he is back into some sort of batting form,” he said.Hadlee said the selectors had been on the phone all day and there had been one or two split decisions in the selection but they were all agreed on the side now.There would be some disappointed players, like Chris Martin, Sinclair, James Franklin and others but there were just not enough places to put all these players in the side.Hadlee also announced there was a much more pleasing prognosis on Nathan Astle’s broken hand and there was every indication that he would be ready to prove his fitness in some State Shield games being played on January 20 and 22.Astle would be asked to take part in those games and if he came through them satisfactorily he would probably join the side as New Zealand’s 15th player for the back-to-back games in Adelaide later that week.Mark Richardson has also been included in the one-day side for the first time.Hadlee said the selectors had not wanted to complicate things for Richardson after he made his Test debut last summer.However, this season the selectors felt his range of stroke play had broadened and he was in good form.”He deserves his opportunity,” Hadlee said.”Mark has been very consistent and he has shown us that he has increased his range of scoring shots.”He really wants to play one-day cricket and he now has the opportunity to prove his worth,” Hadlee said.The options for an opening partner for him centred on Lou Vincent or McCullum. Either player could also bat No 6 in the order.Kyle Mills has also been included. He had gone through some difficult times recently and Hadlee was hopeful the expression of faith given him by the selectors would be a boost for him.Andre Adams has also been included and with his outstanding play this summer is shaping as a central player in New Zealand’s strategy for the future.”As well as being an aggressive middle to lower order batsman, we believe Andre will have an important role to play bowling at the death.”It’s our belief in his ability to bowl with control in that situation that gave him the edge over some other contenders.”

Karachi Whites secured a narrow 16-run first innings lead against Gujranwala as the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match at the National Stadium headed for an exciting finish.Karachi Whites, resuming at the overnight score of 241 for seven, were dismissed for 263 in the first 45 minutes of play Monday. The home team then fought its way back in the match by dismissing the visitors for 247 after they had reached 171 for four.When stumps were drawn for the day, Karachi Whites had stretched their lead to 59 when they finished the day at 43 for one. Ariz Kamal, who scored a debut century last week, was the batsman out after scoring one following his six in the first innings.Arif Mahmood, the left-arm spinner, was the man behind bringing Karachi back in contention when he captured four wickets for 28 runs to break Gujranwala’s back.Owais Athar, playing his first game, picked up three wickets but went for 84 runs from his 14 overs. He was erratic, wayward and bowled too many loose deliveries. Tanvir Ahmed snapped up two for 69 to take his tally of wickets to 22.For Gujranwala, former Pakistan junior batsman Majid Saeed top scored with a 77-ball 63 that included 11 hits to the fence.Earlier in the day, Mohammad Masroor missed a well deserved century when he could add only five runs to his overnight score. He fell for 94 to Naveed Arif who finished as the most successful Gujranwala bowler with four for 67. Mubashir Nazir snapped up three for 79.

Results from day six of the national Under-17 tournament in Napier today with the first day of a two-day game:Central Districts 165 (H Beaumont 40, M Sim 35, D O’Sullivan 26; C Smith 4-21, M Rutherford 3-44) met Otago 89/3 (H King 27 not out, S Simpson 26; D McDonald 2-12).Canterbury 341/8 (T Astle 131 not out, R Hurring 59, L O’Sullivan 55; S McKay 2-67) met Auckland.Northern Districts 198 (B Hurrell 60, T Davis 42, B Wilson 30; M Houghton 3-19, L Chrisp 2-18) met Wellington 93/3 (J Newdick 37, C Spring 16 not out, M Martin 15 not out; A Devicich 1-23).

Risk judgment and management was much better in England’s One-Day International win over New Zealand in Napier on Wednesday and coach Duncan Fletcher is looking for more of the same on Saturday in Auckland.However, he and the watching publics of the respective countries may have to wait as yet more rain is forecast for match day at Eden Park.Wednesday’s game had not been that much different to the start England made to the tour in the first match played in Christchurch, but on this occasion the England players did not make a mess of the excellent start they were given.While the loss had been disappointing in Christchurch it had been another lesson in match situations and the players had clearly learnt from it when they found themselves in the same position in Napier.And when the batting effort provides a competitive total, and is backed by good bowling at the start of the defence it could be very difficult for the opposition to escape.”There is still a little bit of an improvement we can have when we bowl. We could do with a little more control,” Fletcher said.He had been very pleased with the way Darren Gough bowled. He had played to the conditions which suited his skidding type of deliveries.The game had also been a vindication of the selection policies of consistency in backing players and allowing them to develop. Paul Collingwood’s bowling reflected that.Sometimes it took longer for some players, and on other occasions the window of opportunity arrived early for players.”Surely a player like Chris Harris was a bits and pieces player when he started but he is a top quality one-day cricketer now because he has been given an opportunity,” he said.At the same time it was also important to handle players correctly and he felt that had been the case with Collingwood in Napier. It was a fine line between bowling well and possibly bowling too long and losing the game.It was also difficult when you were trying to develop a player that he get the chance to work on a skill. There was so much big cricket being played now that the opportunity was not always there to put in the work on a particular skill.Any team also needed to have all bases covered for the particular pitches they were going to strike in different countries.Among those options coaches and captains like was having a player capable of floating in the batting order, such as New Zealand is trying to develop with Andre Adams.Fletcher was reluctant to see potential top-class all-rounder Andrew Flintoff moved up the order to give the scoring a hurry-up but there were certain situations where he might be. But while he didn’t favour that ploy that was not to say it wouldn’t happen some time.”It’s not all black and white in cricket,” he said.One negative out of Wednesday’s success was the batting achievements meant Owais Shah did not get the chance to show the selectors his wares in a competitive situation. With Michael Vaughan waiting in the wings for an opening, and Ben Hollioake looking for an opportunity there were some crucial selection considerations to be made before tomorrow’s game in Auckland.

Bangladesh ‘A’ almost blew their chance of registering their firstvictory in the Busta Cup, triumphing over Windward Islands in thesixth round by a slender margin of eight runs. But the visitors couldnot have espoused too many hopes of a win when, put in to bat, theymade only 163 in their first innings at St Vincent.But Naimur Rahman returned brilliant figures of 26.1-14-31-5 as hisside bowled out Windwards for 151, garnering a first-innings lead of12 runs. The batsmen, inspired, hit up 288 in their second innings,with Mazharul Haque making 90 and Tushar Imran 79. This set Windwardsa target of 301, and Junior Murray delivered many scares in making 125before falling as the final wicket with the score on 292. MosaddekHossain took five wickets this time around, helping Bangladesh ‘A’ tothe victory. Imran was picked as Man of the Match.At St Elizabeth, Jamaica, the hosts registered a comfortable sevenwicket win over Trinidad & Tobago. Put in to bat, the visitors madeonly 132 in their first innings, with skipper Richard Smith being thesole significant contributor with 64. Jamaica, in reply, piled up 298,with Robert Samuels making 65 and Gareth Breese scoring 83.The 166-run lead was too much for Trinidad & Tobago to handle; despitemaking 282 in their second innings, they could only set Jamaica atarget of 117. It took only 23.1 overs for Jamaica to knock off theruns, aided by a fine 62 from Chris Gayle at the top of the order.Breese was named Man of the Match.The batsmen dominated the match between Barbados and Leeward Islandsat Anguilla, with the match being drawn and Leewards picking up sixpoints. Batting first, Barbados posted 373, with Floyd Reifer making82, Philo Wallace 59, and Suleiman Benn 59. Despite Goldwyn Prince’sfive wickets for Leewards, it looked as if Barbados had the upper handat that point.But Stuart Williams, in splendid form throughout this tournament,finally carried out his threat of hitting a big one. Making 195 at thetop of the order, the Leewards skipper was assisted first by fellowopener Fabian Adams (68) and then by Runako Morton (61). Ridley Jacobsalso hit 51 further down the order, before Leewards were bowled outfor 502, Benn taking six wickets.Barbados’ reply was just as forbidding. Wallace hit another fifty, butthe star this time around was D Smith, who made 102 and, along withCourtney Browne (85) and Benn (61), made sure that his side did notcollapse to an innings defeat. Barbados ended the match on 381/9, Bennscooping the Man of the Match award ahead of Williams.Rain ruined what was potentially an exciting match at Albion, Guyana,with West Indies ‘B’ taking six points from the drawn encounter. Thevisitors made 415 after being put in to bat, Donovan Pagon making 110,and Roland Holder, Patrick Browne and A Sealy all making fifties. Thefirst innings was interrupted by rain as no play was possible at allon the second day.Guyana responded disastrously, bowled out for 216 and being forced tofollow on. But the second essay saw their batsmen do better. AzeemulHaniff made 51 and Lennox Cush an unbeaten 100; Guyana ended thefourth day on 190/3, but it would have been interesting to see whowould have won if the second day had not been rained out – West Indies’B’ on the strength of their first-innings total, or Guyana bowlinglast on the track. Pagon was named Man of the Match.

Demand for tickets still remaining for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 peaked again today when tickets came back into the system for some of the high profile matches. These tickets became available after some people failed to make their purchases after being allocated seats in the Ticket Window random draw ballot system which closed last week. Some tickets also came back from sponsors who did not want to purchase their full allocation.About 15 000 tickets were sold today.Those matches sold out today were:- England vs India – Durban
– South Africa vs West Indies – Cape Town
– India vs Pakistan – Centurion
– New Zealand vs South Africa – Johannesburg
– Super Six – Durban
– England vs Pakistan – Cape Town
– South Africa vs Sri Lanka – Durban
– 1st Pool A vs 1st Pool B (Super Six) – Centurion
– Super Six – Johannesburg
– Australia vs India – Centurion
Matches almost sold out are:- Super Six – Cape Town
– Semi Final – Port Elizabeth
– 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B (Super Six) – Centurion
Matches sold out before today:- The Final – Johannesburg
– Semifinal – Durban
There are still 95 000 tickets available for many other matches at all 12 venues hosting CWC matches in South Africa.There are also still some tickets available for the Opening Ceremony on Feb 8 in Cape Town.Tickets may be purchased on the ticket hotline 083 123 2003, via the website www.cricketworldcup.com or at the hosting stadiums.