The Tasmanian Cricket Association in conjunction with the Office of Sport & Recreation and the Indigenous Sports Unit of the ACS are pleased to announce the Tasmanian Indigenous X1 to compete in the Imparja Cup to be held in Alice Springs from 28th February to 2nd March 2003.All states and territories will be represented at the championship, with all teams playing four (4) preliminary matches. The two leading teams will then play off in the final in a 40 over a side match to be held at Traeger Park under lights.The Tasmanian team has a blend of youth and experience and will be keen to improve on its second place at last year’s event.The team will be captained by Colin Lamont, an experienced player who has played many seasons of first grade cricket with the South-Hobart Sandy Bay club in the TCA grade competition.The team will be coached by Ali de Winter and managed by Don Gardiner.The team is;Colin Lamont (Captain), Greg Medcraft, Sean Gower, Selwyn Deverell, Adrian Jones, Daniel Williams, Darren Jones, Jamie Green, Guy Grey, Bernie Lamont, Wayne Hogan, Shane Brown, Brian Summers.Coach: Ali de WinterManager: Don Gardner

Las Condes, the 2002 Santiago League Champions, initiated their 2003 campaign on Saturday at the Grange School ground against a fancied Santiago side who were still smarting from a narrow defeat against the PWCC the previous week.Santiago were put into bat on what looked like and soon turned out to be a bowlers wicket and were soon two wickets down with just one run on the board with both Santiago’s openers back in the pavilion.Marcus Yorke-Long and Blair Douglas then steadied the ship before Douglas was well caught at first slip by Hollis giving Messner his second victim. Sean Jones took his second wicket for Las Condes shortly afterwards when Yorke-Long mistimed a straight drive giving the bowler a simple catch.The Messner-Hollis combination saw the back of Anglin four runs later, again superbly taken by Hollis in the slips leaving Santiago on 26 for 5 after just nine overs.Messner continued to rip the heart out of the Santiago order as Shalders and Desmaras quickly fell to his spell of accurate Medium quick seam bowling. At 40 for 8, early tea looked imminent, but the experienced Chris Brown had other ideas as he came in and leapt on the bad balls from the second string bowlers for a confident looking 31 not out. The Santiago tail, unfortunately couldn’t stay with him and when Graves became Messner’s sixth and Willemse was stumped by Wollocombe, Santiago were all out for just 77 runs.The Las Condes openers, Hickman and Wollocombe, achieved what Santiago had not, on the other hand, through a good deal of grit and determination against Santiago’s strong left and right bowling attack of Douglas and Anglin. The breakthrough didn’t come until the 10th over with the score on 22 as Wollocombe was alleged LBW to a full length inswinger from Anglin.Hollis was not able to pick up where had had left off in the South American Championships and was out cheaply giving Douglas his only wicket of the match. However, Matthew Hickman was still looking good despite the good bowling and, supported by Andy Salmond-Smith, the pair took the score to 46 before Hickman was bowled off another Anglin inswinging missile.Salmond-Smith continued to thump the ball with a relish until he holed out on 16 to Douglas off a good over from Santiago’s young hopeful JP Fassnidge.Shalders and Fassnidge then began to eat their way through Las Condes’s middle order to expose a shaky looking tail until the Las Condes Captain Clive Marriott managed to steady the ship and Messner cracked the winning runs with just two wickets remaining.Tim Messner was awarded Man-of-the Match for his fine spell of 8-3-13-6.Points awarded Las Condes:18,Santiago:7

An unprecedented triple in the history of regional cricket awaits Barbados’ seemingly unstoppable cricketers over the next four days.Under the astute leadership of Courtney Browne, they enter the Carib Beer International Challenge final against Jamaica today seeking to add the title to the Cup they won three weeks ago and the Red Stripe Bowl they secured last September.As they prepared to meet the weary Jamaicans, Browne and his men were contemplating this rare triple treat and what it will do for Barbados’ cricket.”Even before the tournament started, we were thinking about it,” Browne told NATIONSPORT during a practice session at Queen’s Park yesterday.”It will say a lot for us as a team. We have a lot of experienced players this year who have proven they can play at this level and even at the higher level.”The occasion presents something of a triple for the Jamaicans too. It is their third successive appearance in the international final and they are also trying to end the season by achieving some sort of silverware for the third successive year.The Jamaicans arrived in Barbados around 7:30 a.m. yesterday, having had little sleep the previous night.After spending the majority of the last two days in the field in their semifinal match against Guyana at Albion, they returned to Georgetown the same night and left their hotel in the capital city at 4 a.m. yesterday.They are bound to be tired, but it doesn’t mean they won’t be ready for Barbados.”We are ready, willing and more than able or capable,” said captain Robert Samuels.”We understood when we left home what this would have been like. We are prepared and we are happy to be in the final.”A change to the schedule which brought forward the final by a day and the strike action by the West Indies Players Association last Friday that led to the semifinals starting a day late, meant Jamaica will get just one day between matches as opposed to the usual three.Barbados did themselves a favour by disposing of Trinidad and Tobago inside three days, something which they have now made a habit. They, therefore, would have had more time to recover and were not subjected to travelling.”It is a mental thing for us. Once the bell goes, we are ready to play cricket,” Browne said.”We are not studying that we were out there for ten weeks.”Barbados’ victory against Trinidad and Tobago in the semifinals was the sixth time in eight matches they wrapped up a match well inside the distance.Browne, however, wasn’t prepared to stick his neck out and guarantee a repeat.”I don’t want to add fuel to the fire. I don’t want to give the impression that `oh yes, we are going to beat everybody’. Even if I feel that way, a team would take that as a motivator,” the Barbados captain said. “I don’t want to do that.”On the eve of the match, Jamaica were dealt a double-blow by the unavailability of two of their leading players, Chris Gayle and Darren Powell.Opener Gayle has opted to play in this weekend’s Double Wicket World Championship in St Lucia, to which he had given a commitment before the dates of the Carib Series final were changed, while pacer Powell has symptoms of chicken pox.Their places in the 13 have been taken by rookie Maurice Kepple and the hard-hitting Ricardo Powell, who, co-incidentally missed the semifinal because of chicken pox.”Chris is a big, big loss. I don’t think we could have compensated him with what he would have given up,” Samuels said.”We are very supportive of him. We’ll just dedicate this final to him.”Barbados took first innings lead over Jamaica in a drawn preliminary match at the North Stars Club ground seven weeks ago, but the visitors have since been boosted by the return of their five World Cup selectees.”Jamaica will be a serious challenge. They have some young batsmen and if they get in, they can get scores,” Browne said.”They are a very competitive team, but I know we have the bowling to defeat them and once we bowl the ball in the right areas, I am sure we will come out successful.”Samuels sees one thing in his side’s favour.”Every team usually loses one game,” the Jamaica captain said.”Barbados have been running away with everything so far. Hopefully this is the game they will miss out on.”The Cup champions have made one change to their line-up, with Kurt Wilkinson returning to the side in place of Dwayne Smith to bat at No. 5.MATCH DETAILBarbados v JamaicaVenue: Kensington OvalThe teams:BARBADOS – Courtney Browne (captain), Philo Wallace, Sherwin Campbell, Ryan Hinds, Floyd Reifer, Kurt Wilkinson, Ryan Hurley, Vasbert Drakes, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Tino Best. 12th man: Ian Bradshaw. 13th man: Dwayne Smith.JAMAICA (from) – Robert Samuels (captain), Leon Garrick, Brenton Parchment, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ricardo Powell, Dave Bernard, Gareth Breese, Keith Hibbert, Jermaine Lawson, Jerome Taylor, Ryan Cunningham, Maurice Kepple.Umpires: Eddie Nicholls (Guyana), Basil Morgan (Montserrat). Stand-by: Halley Moore (Barbados).Man-of-the-match adjudicator: Wayne Daniel.Match referee: Dennis DePeiza.Playing times: 10 a.m. – noon; 12:40 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.; 3 p.m. to close (scheduled 5 p.m.)

Reserve wicket-keeper Carl Gazzard is another of the Somerset young players with his thoughts firmly set on playing first team cricket.The twenty year old who hails from Cornwall made his first team debut last season spent the winter `down under’ training hard ,working on his game and playing for Scarborough Cricket Club in Western Australia.He told me: "The winter went fantastically well for me and training in the sunshine makes you feel so good you can’t really ask for much more. With my batting I set myself technical targets and I’m pleased that things have really improved. I got runs for Scarborough and helped them to win a trophy, and my keeping has been excellent all winter."He continued: "Now I am just looking forward to getting back out in the middle and getting stuck in. To be honest I’ve got a bit of a buzz about the coming season and I think that it’s going to go well for me."The young keeper told me that a few weeks before returning to England he got a knock on the hand, but thankfully all was now well and he is fully fit.Looking forward to the new season he told me: "I just hope that I get my chance in the first team and when it does come along you can bet that I’ll make the most of it. All I can expect to do is to play the best that I can whether it for the seconds or the first team."

The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) today extended its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of former Australian Test bowler Ernie Toshack, who passed away on Sunday night, aged 88.Toshack, who made his Test debut for Australia against New Zealand at Wellington, in 1946, played 12 Tests for Australia between 1945-46 and 1948, taking 47 wickets at an average of 21.04.A valued member of the Don Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles, Toshack also enjoyed a successful career with NSW, making 48 first-class appearances between 1945-46 and 1949-50 when a troublesome knee forced his retirement.ACB Chairman Bob Merriman today extended his condolences to the Toshack family.”On behalf of the ACB, I would like to express sincere condolences to the Toshack family, including Ernie’s wife Cathleen and daughter Maria,” Mr Merriman said.”Ernie will be remembered for playing an important part in an unforgettable era of Australian cricket as a member of the late Sir Donald Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles.”

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Marvan Atapattu’s 11th Test century gave Sri Lanka the upper hand on the first day of the first Test – the inaugural match at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. Sri Lanka had reached 250 for 4, with Atapattu still unbeaten on 108, when rain forced a slightly early close after 87.1 overs.Atapattu was his usual steady self, hitting 13 fours in his 242-ball stay. He put on 108 with Kumar Sangakkara (56), then added 68 with Mahela Jayawardene – still battling with his form after a run of low scores – who made 45.The first man to go was Sanath Jayasuriya, the former captain, who has been struggling for his best form on this tour (he didn’t manage a half-century in the three one-day internationals). He hade made only 8 when he chopped a wide delivery from Corey Collymore straight to gully, where Omari Banks took a good sharp catch (19 for 1).West Indies’ only success of the afternoon session was the dismissal of Sangakkara, shortly after a heated exchange with Brian Lara, who accused him of deliberately scuffing up the pitch by running on the danger area. Sangakkara, who had raised the tempo of the Sri Lankan innings in the morning after Jayasuriya went, cracked six fours. But eventually he was trapped leg-before as he shouldered arms to a Chris Gayle offbreak (127 for 2).Jayawardene regained some sort of form before he edged Banks’s offspin to slip, where Lara plunged to take a fine catch (195 for 3). Then, as the clouds that eventually brought an early finish closed in, Sri Lanka’s captain Hashan Tillakaratne misjudged one from Collymore and inside-edged it into his stumps (228 for 4).The pitch is already beginning to take spin, which would have pleased the watching Muttiah Muralitharan. If Atapattu can keep going tomorrow, Sri Lanka will be strong favourites to lift the first match of this short two-Test series. It already looks an uphill struggle for West Indies, who gave a debut to Jerome Taylor, a 18-year-old fast bowler from Jamaica. He was sharp, but a tendency to send down one bad ball an over meant he proved rather expensive – 76 runs came from his 18 wicketless overs.

Sourav Ganguly may consider India the second-best team in world cricket today, but he nevertheless expects a difficult tour of Australia, and said as much to the press at Kolkata yesterday.”To be honest, it’s going to be a tough series,” Ganguly said. “It is going to be a real test of our abilities in Australia. They are a very good side and in great form. We have to lift our game to compete with them on their soil.””The Aussies are the only side ahead of us. To be honest, we are the second best team after them,” he added. “I’m pretty confident about that. My boys are experienced and have travelled throughout the world.”Ganguly also stated that India would have to “get the bowling department sorted out” but did not elaborate. He was also optimistic about his own prospects. “I’m pretty hopeful of doing well both in the Tests and one-dayers in the coming season. My hope springs from the way my team has shaped up in the last few years. I’m confident of carrying forward our success,” he said. “Winning does not depend solely on me but on the entire team. For that we have to really play well … plan well and get fit, which we are trying to do.”Reports surfaced yesterday that Ganguly had sought out Greg Chappell as a batting coach during the preparatory camp in Bangalore, but Ganguly denied them. “I have read these reports, and they are not true,” he said. “We already have John Wright who himself is a batsman.”

While Jagmohan Dalmiya was re-elected unopposed as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Chandi Ganguly – Sourav Ganguly’s father – was elected chairman of the CAB’s trustee board.Ganguly, who has been a member of the trustee board for some time now, replaces Biswanath Dutt, a former BCCI chairman . Dutt stepped down a few days ago to “pave the way for infusion of fresh blood,” the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.Dalmiya, who was challenged last year for the president’s post by Debdas Bannerjee, faced no competition this year. Indeed, none of the posts saw more than one candidate up for election, making the entire affair a tame one.

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On a day of South African domination and English depression, Graeme Smith added yet more records to his already bulging scrap book on day two of the second npower Test match at Lord’s. Smith ended the day on a commanding 214 not out and shared a record second-wicket partnership of 257 with Gary Kirsten as they piled on the runs – and misery – against a totally demoralised and lifeless England, who performed so poorly they were embarrassingly out of their depth.Where do you start with Smith? He followed his 277 and 85 in the first Test with the highest score for his country at Lord’s. He has become the second South African to score two double hundreds against England. And he has equalled none other than Donald Bradman’s record of a double century in consecutive Tests against them. Oh, and he joined Bradman, Wally Hammond and Vinod Kambli as the only players to hit doubles in successive matches. Not bad for a 22-year-old.His double century was a memorable moment. After he pushed Anthony McGrath through the on side, he roared with delight and punched his fists in the air as the whole of Lord’s saluted a remarkable achievement from a player who knows no boundaries and shows no mercy. Add to that a 17th Test hundred from Gary Kirsten – his first at Lord’s – and it tells its own story.Smith raised his bat for an astonishing eighth time in the series as he strolled past 200, including a rollicking 29 fours, as he toyed with the one-dimensional bowling attack. England obviously still haven’t worked out how to bowl to him and it all looked so easy as he and Kirsten ground down Michael Vaughan and his not-so-merry men. England were lacking any buzz or sparkle whatsoever in the field as their impending doom thickened around a murky Lord’s. Their nightmare day dragged on and on and in the end, they were grateful to Smith for accepting the offer of bad light with 18 overs remaining.While Smith carried on smashing anything short (of which there was a lot) through midwicket and smearing any rare full balls through cover, Kirsten stood up to join in the fun with his captain. He cashed in on anything wide on the off-side, which he cut and drove with precision, and he saved the best of them all to bring up the 200 partnership with a ripping hook off Steve Harmison.Dropped on 54 by Mark Butcher at second slip, Kirsten went to 99 with a caressing leg glance and then matched that with a classy cover-drive off Darren Gough to reach his century of 229 balls, including 14 fours. It was some surprise then, when it was McGrath, who had yet to bowl in this series, who was relieved England of some of their depression when he bowled Kirsten through the gate (390 for 2). It ended a 257-run partnership between Kirsten and Smith, which has put South Africa well on the way to an unbeatable position.It just wasn’t England’s day. Rain delayed the start by an hour and fifteen minutes, and while South Africa clicked straight back into gear, the bowlers continued to stall. The out-of-sorts James Anderson needed to startle Smith and Kirsten with some of his wicket-taking beauties, but he scattered it around like a can of (red) hair spray.Gough toiled with no luck, and Harmison again bowled too short. Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles plugged away, and managed some control over the batsmen, but none of them bowled well enough to get England back in to the game.On a harrowing day for Vaughan, Anderson’s dip in form is a big worry. His second ball set the tone of the day – dragged down the leg-side and easily clipped for four by Smith. Whether he has a problem bowling to left-handers or whether he is thinking about his run-up, he has lost his line – and potency. Everything was chucked down the leg-side, and the sight of the smiling boy wonder rattling batsmen’s stumps felt a long time ago when, after hurling the ball back at Kirsten in a token attempt to hit the stumps, he exchanged snarling sneers with Smith.Harmison got an early chance to shine, but his first ball was short and wide, and cut for a boundary by guess who? Vaughan may feel like he’s in a no-win situation, and judging by the way Smith is dominating the game and the series at the moment, you can’t blame him.Click here for today’s Wisden Verdict

Zimbabwe face one of their busiest seasons ever. After a relative lull last season, they will play, politics permitting, ten Test matches against four different opponents. On top of that they have at least 28 one-day internationals between now and next June.West Indies arrive in November, followed by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia between February and June next year. Unless yet another Sharjah tournament crops up, Zimbabwe’s away tours consist of two trips to Australia, one for a two-Test series in October and the other for a triangular tournament, which will also in include India, in January and February.Given Zimbabwe’s decline in the last three years – mainly for political reasons – right now is scarcely the best time to take on world-champions Australia. In their one and only previous encounter in 1999-00, Australia won by ten wickets and the form-book would indicate more of the same.But Zimbabwe’s young players will learn from the experience, and they must hope to give at least a marginally better account of themselves this time. The more experienced players consider Australia to be the most sporting of their opponents. That may surprise many, but then the Australian players do not consider Zimbabwe a threat or an annoyance.On current form, Zimbabwe cannot expect to match either West Indies or Sri Lanka, even though both have suffered dismal overseas records in recent years. However, they both won in Zimbabwe the last time they played, and that was when Zimbabwe were considerably stronger than they are today.The most interesting series, then, will be against Bangladesh, who have improved remarkably since the last World Cup. Only the brilliance of Inzamam-ul-Haq prevented them from recording their first Test victory recently, over Pakistan, and they will now have Zimbabwe in their sights. They will have the home advantage, but Zimbabwe will certainly have to fight hard to stay ahead of Bangladesh.Each visiting team will now play five ODIs instead of three, of which three will be played in Harare, and the other two in Bulawayo. That means Harare will host what is probably a world-record of 12 ODIs in a season.Against everyone apart from Bangladesh, it is quite possible that Zimbabwe will struggle to be competitive. They have only one world-class player in Heath Streak, the captain, who is streets ahead of anybody else with the ball and is also worth his place on his batting alone. If he gets injured, Zimbabwe will indeed be in dire straits. Grant Flower appeared to be on the verge of greatness six years ago, but a chronic lack of form and confidence have reduced his average from 40 to 30, and he has never quite recovered against international bowling, although still a terror against lesser opponents.Stuart Carlisle, meanwhile, has played the occasional dazzling innings in one-day cricket, but has yet to master the world stage. Only these three of the party that went to England have played in even 20 Test matches, such is the paucity of experience in the Zimbabwe team at present.Having said that, there is youthful talent in abundance, especially among the allrounders. Andy Blignaut (25), Travis Friend (22), Sean Ervine (20) and Mluleki Nkala (22) are all players who both bat and bowl with great ability, and whose best years are ahead of them. Blignaut has already displayed some talent, but the other three all have a long way to go. The good news is that, if they stay in the country, they are capable of making it to the top.Other players still finding their feet, but with the ability to succeed, include Dion Ebrahim, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Douglas Hondo, Douglas Marillier and Raymond Price. Tatenda Taibu, aged only 20 and already vice-captain, is now a name on many lips, and it is hoped that Hamilton Masakadza, currently at the University of the Free State in South Africa, will be able to make up for lost time. Craig Wishart, harshly treated by the selectors over the years, may finally find his experience and powerful batting appreciated after it was missed on the England tour, while opener Mark Vermeulen, it is hoped, will get his head right and fulfil a promising career.One major gap in Zimbabwean cricket, to which Streak among others has frequently drawn attention to, has been the lack of cricket played by the Zimbabwe A team. This season the administrators have done their best to make up for this by scheduling first-class matches for Zimbabwe A against all four touring teams, and also by organizing a tour by Sri Lanka A in January and February. As with the senior tours, their programme will include two unofficial Tests and five one-day matches. A tour to Namibia took place in August, with two first-class matches played against the full Namibian team.At domestic level, the Logan Cup will again be played when, as far as possible, all the international players will be available, namely in September and then again in March and April. The same four provincial sides will take part and play each other home and away, giving a total of six matches per side. The inter-provincial one-day tournament, scheduled for December, will involve every team playing each of the others three times, meaning nine matches per side in total.In club cricket the news is less satisfactory. The national league, beset by mushrooming expenses and transport problems, has been suspended, and instead each of the four provinces will hold its own club competition. As was predictable, most of the leading players from elsewhere are signing up with Harare clubs to give themselves the strongest possible competition, much to the detriment of the game in the other provinces. It would surely have been a better plan to have kept the national league intact at first-league level only.Last season was probably the worst Zimbabwe have ever experienced, with the loss of the inspirational Andy Flower the greatest blow of all. This time round however, it is hoped that they will begin to claw their way out of the trough. The talent is there, though still very raw. Provided there is no more damage done by politics and economics, Zimbabwe can look forward to a brighter future with cautious optimism. But there is still an immense amount of work to be done.