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Do New Zealand cricket fans like winners?That is the question that will be answered as the National Bank One-Day International Series is played out with New Zealand having already taken an unbeatable 4-0 lead.Three day/night matches remain to be played in Wellington on Wednesday, in Auckland on Saturday and in Hamilton on Tuesday next week.This should have been the bonus time for New Zealand Cricket in terms of gate-takings for this shortened international summer.Beforehand, it would have been reasonable to presume that the series would still be alive by this stage.However, the lack of fire from India’s batsman has made the series a non-event. Or has it?New Zealand cricket fans have been long suffering in following the fortunes of their side over the years. It has been an activity designed to test the loyalty of fans.Yet the true cricket lover will follow the game through thick and thin because even if there is not your own side to support you could always appreciate the skills of the opposition.New Zealand now is in rare territory – four wins in a row and a series already wrapped up.They have not been fully tested and they haven’t even been required to show their best form to achieve the wins.That is of serious concern and it can only be wondered how the New Zealand public would be reacting if the TelstraClear Black Caps were performing as miserably as the Indians.New Zealanders like to think that, even if their side is being hopelessly out-classed, the players would still be trying their hardest.The hope has to be that New Zealand can turn the situation to their advantage. The top-order batsmen have been out of form but with the pressure off winning the series they can now use that situation to their own benefit.That is about all there remains to play for in the series.Equally, the bowlers can’t afford to let their hold over the Indian batsmen decline and that becomes a genuine test for them.It is an interesting comparison to the Australian attitude to sport.Australia might have been 4-0 up going into the last Test against England for the Ashes, but that didn’t stop the crowd turning up in massive numbers for the first three days.For their rewards they got a great match.What will New Zealanders do by comparison?Indications are that the series has become a turn-off.New Zealand still have everything to play for. Success in limited overs cricket has not been one of the most common achievements since the 1992 World Cup. But winning is a habit and the more they can get before the World Cup the better.India would dearly love to regain the habit and the hope has to be that if Sachin Tendulkar can finally make it onto the field that he may be able to spark a revival. India can’t afford to go to the World Cup with their tails between their legs.There may yet be some life left in this series.

James Foster scored a career-best 100 not out as Durham UCCE batted all day for a total of 238 for 6 in their third meeting with county opposition since granted first-class status this summer.The Essex prospect confirmed his position among the best of England’s younger wicketkeeper-batsmen with a composed but unspectacular performance against a Worcestershire attack missing Andy Bichel and Stuart Lampitt.An England A tourist in the West Indies last winter, he broke up barren periods with stylish driving for 18 fours in a little over five hours and made the made the most of a let-off at 25 when Vikram Solanki spilled a sharp chance at second slip.After rain-affected draws with Durham and Lancashire, the students concentrated on crease-occupation and allowed left-arm spinner Matthew Rawnsley to explore the realms of super-economy with figures of 38-20-37-2.Alamgir Sheriyar, the one regular paceman in the county attack, reached 32 wickets for the season by flattening James Rowe’s leg stump and finding the outside edge for Matthew Banes to be caught by Solanki.Rawnsley bowled Alex Loudon in his third over, but Michael Brown, an opener on the Middlesex staff, saw Durham through a tricky first session and then deep into the afternoon until a bat-pad catch ended a patient knock of 55.Foster continued in his unflustered style in stands off 55 with Hugh Loudon and 44 with Tim Phillips, who were both lbw to Chris Liptrot to brighten a day of frustration for Worcestershire.

Aston Villa are monitoring Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba ahead of a possible free transfer, according to The Sun.

The Lowdown: Pogba’s situation

Pogba’s days at Old Trafford appear to be numbered, with his current contract set to expire at the end of June.

It seems as if there is a real chance that United could lose their most expensive signing ever for nothing over the coming months.

The 29-year-old has contributed to 10 goals in 16 Premier League games this season, missing 13 top-flight matches through suspension and injury.

The Latest: Villa monitoring developments

The Sun dropped an update regarding the central midfielder on Thursday morning, claiming that Villa and Newcastle are monitoring his situation.

Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are thought to be favourites to secure his services and can do so right now in a pre-contract agreement, whereas the English sides in the race will have to wait until the summer.

The Verdict: Pogba and Phillips?

NSWE look like they are willing to back Steven Gerrard ahead of his first full season in charge at Villa Park, with the club allegedly readying a £60m swoop for Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips.

It now seems like they want Pogba to partner Phillips in midfield, with Gerrard having just six midfield options at this moment in time, two of which are youngsters Jacob Ramsey and Carney Chukwuemeka.

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A move for Pogba, on £290,000-a-week, could prove to be out of their reach, but it’s good to see that Villa at the very least see themselves as a possible destination for a player labelled as ‘world-class’ by Gary Neville.

In other news: Worrying international break news emerges on ‘fantastic’ Villa gem as he pulls out of squad. 

	A touring side in Mombasa © OCCC

Cricinfo can reveal that the violence that followed the disputed presidential elections and which cost almost 500 people their lives has caused a number of cricket tours to Kenya to be scrapped.The highest profile of them is the planned visit of the MCC. They were due to arrive on February 11 and stay for 10 days before moving on to Uganda, but a spokesman for the club told Cricinfo that following advice from the home office and the ICC’s cricket development officer for the region, the decision had been made to reschedule the tour and spend all three weeks in Uganda.”We will definitely return to Kenya but because of the natural cycle it will not be for at least two or three years,” the spokesman said. MCC tours are arranged through the ICC and are part of a four-year revolving programme. The MCC has invited Kenya to send their Under-19 side to Uganda to play there.Another casualty is the tour by the prestigious Arabs side who often boast first-class cricketers in their ranks. Hugo Loudon, who was to captain the side, told Cricinfo: “Having assessed the current situation in Kenya, we have decided that it is unfeasible to tour at the present time. Clearly everyone will have seen and heard about the horrific scenes that have taken place in the past two weeks, and whilst actions are being taken to remedy the situation, it is clearly still volatile and our safety cannot be guaranteed.”Not only is our safety an issue but there is also the moral/political issue that would hang over our tour. In the aftermath of such a devastating time for the country there would be greater concerns for Kenyans than looking after us and entertaining us in the way they would if no such situation had occurred.”He added that the side was keen to tour when conditions were more favourable and that it was hoped that the trip could be rearranged for October 2008 or February 2009.David Waters, a senior figure inside Kenyan cricket, runs Sporting Safaris, a Nariobi-based firm which arranges dozens of sports tours to the country every year. “The damage done to the tourist industry by the images beamed to TVs worldwide is likely to be catastrophic and that in turn is likely to impact hugely on the economy,” he said. “After our best year last year and more confirmed tours for this and next on the books it all evaporated in the space of 48 hours at the start of this week.”We have to preserve a sense of optimism that things can be sorted out, and quickly, and that soon all will be back on track again because this is still an amazing country with so much to offer all who live or visit.”

Jesse Ryder’s 60 steered Wellington to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve. Wellington cantered to their target with two overs to spare after Iain O’Brien’s fine spell of 3 for 21 helped restrict Northern to just 150 for 8.A target of 151 isn’t huge in the Twenty20 format but Wellington made their chase harder by losing Chris Nevin and Michael Parlane by the third over, with only 16 on the board. Ryder continued to blaze away at one end, striking six fours and two sixes in his 39-ball 60. He found a steady partner in Neal Parlane, Michael’s brother, and together they added 92 for the third wicket and virtually sealed the victory.A lot of Wellington’s good work had been done by their bowlers who took regular wickets and didn’t allow Northern to build momentum. Alun Evans top-scored with 45 but got no support from the other batsmen. James Marshall, Daniel Flynn and Ian Butler chipped in with 27, 23 and 21 but O’Brien’s double-strike in the 17th took the wind out of Northern’s sails.

ScorecardMartin van Jaarsveld blazed a half-century as the Titans walked away with a nine-run win in a rain-interrupted match against Dolphins in the first game of the Standard Bank Pro20 tournament at Durban.Winning the toss and batting first, the Titans got away to a flyer withAB de Villiers (27 off 19) and Goolam Bodi (20 off 18) setting the pacefor the innings. van Jaarsveld increased the tempo, scoring his runs off just 44 balls,before a few quick wickets brought the Dolphins back into the picture.The final onslaught came from Pierre de Bruyn as he struck a six and a four inhis 19 off nine balls to take the Titans to a creditable 179 for 7 in20 overs.Zahir Abrahim was the pick of the bowlers for Dolphins, taking 3 for 30 inhis four overs while Nantie Hayward picked up 1 for 25 in his fullallocation.The Dolphins innings never gained any momentum, as they lost four wickets in the opening nine overs. They managed to keep abreast of the asking rate, though. Dale Benkenstein and Ahmed Amla (22 off 22) put on 33 in four overs to leave the game evenly poised after 15.1 overs when rain had the players off and the Dolphins on 126 for 5.With the rain not letting up the Titans were declared the winners by nine runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Abdul Razzaq says his former captains were good for his game© Getty Images

In a frank admission, Abdul Razzaq has spoken of his slow descent as an allrounder and the effect different captains have had on his career. found him in a candid mood – and perhaps without the team manager, whose brief was to filter players’ statements before they were released.”I think Moin and Wasim were the best captains for me,” said Razzaq. “When I started, Wasim was my skipper and he utilised me well and it was the same with Moin. They knew my potential and backed me well.”I know I have not been up to the mark in recent times. But I am trying to lift my game so that I get back onto the top rung of allrounders again.” In past years, observers noticed that while his batting had flourished and he became more aggressive in the final overs of one-dayers, his bowling form dipped significantly. However, his bowling stock began to rise towards the end of the VB Series in Australia, when he cut and swung the ball both ways.”Now I bat way down the order and they tell me that you cannot bat the full 50 overs. You’ll only get to bat in the last 10. That, in a way, has helped me develop my big hitting.”

Western Australia 427 for 9 (Goodwin 156, Rogers 94) v Queensland 280 for 7 (Perren 95
Scorecard

Chris Rogers drives during his 94 for WA © Getty Images

Beau Casson mesmerised the Queensland middle-order, as Western Australia moved towards a first-innings lead in their Pura Cup match at Perth. Chasing WA’s 427 for 9, the Bulls collapsed to 280 for 7 at stumps, after losing five wickets for 23 in the last hour.Up until that point, Queensland had been racing into the distance at 207 for 1. But Casson claimed the vital scalp of Martin Love for 66, via a sharp chance to Justin Langer at slip, and the momentum tumbled away. Clinton Perren then fell for 95 to a controversial lbw decision, before Ben Edmondson bounced back from an early mauling to have Chris Simpson caught behind for 4.But with Stuart Law still standing, Queensland seemed certain to weather the storm. He failed to pick Casson’s googly in the first over of a new spell, however, and was clean bowled for 39. Casson then trapped wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe three balls later, as the Bulls stumbled towards the close.Edmondson completed the late rally by removing James Hopes (3) and finished with figures of 2 for 4 from his final four of the day. It was a fine turnaround after being thumped for five straight boundaries by Law. Queensland’s slump mirrored WA’s effort yesterday when they stumbled from 363 for 3 to be 378 for 6 at the close.Western Australia had earlier meandered to 427 for 9 when Justin Langer declared.

Rawalpindi were on top in their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Group-IV match against Karachi Blues on Sunday with an overall lead of 303 runs at the close of third day’s play at the Pindi Stadium.After having dismissed Karachi Blues in their first innings for 161 to gain a 120-run lead, the home side finished the day at 183 for six in their second innings. Off-spinner Ali Mohammad took four of those wickets by giving away 67 runs off the 15 over he bowled. Babar Naeem who top-scored for Pindi with a 72-ball 63, was one of his victims.Earlier, when Karachi Blues resumed at 33 for three, they were rocked by paceman Mohammad Fayyaz who snared five for 48 with Junaid Zia, another Pindi pacer claiming three wickets. Jaffar Qureshi led the list of run-scorers with a fine 52.Meanwhile, KRL continued their domination against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), setting their rivals a stiff target of 380 runs with a full day’s play remaining on Monday.KRL, 32 for one overnight, put on a massive 303 for five declared, an overall advantage of 379. Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq struck an unbeaten 101 while Intikhab Alam chipped in with 83.By the close of play, ZTBL had scored 28 without loss, needing another 352 for victory.PIA scored an emphatic innings and 167-run victory over Peshawar inside three days at Arbab Niaz Stadium.Pacer Umar Gul captured five for 75 as the hosts were bundled out for 163 in their second innings with opener Zeeshan Mohsin making his second half century of the game.Earlier, Mahmood Hamid completed a century as PIA carried their overnight tally of 359 for six to 474 all out.ScoreboardRAWALPINDI (1st Innings) 281 (Nauman Aman 142, Shiraz Khalid 73;Imranullah 6-51).KARACHI BLUES (1st Innings, overnight 33-3):Khalid Latif c Wasim b Fayyaz 39Zahid Ghauri c Nadeem b Fayyaz 2Khurram Mansoor run out 7Tariq Haroon lbw b Fayyaz 8Anis Shaikh c Nadeem b Junaid 18Faraz Patel c Akram b Junaid 2Sajid Hanif c Shiraz b Junaid 1Jaffar Qureshi b Fayyaz 52Imranullah c Yasir b Fayyaz 5Ali Mohammad lbw b Akram 0Sharif Asadullah not out 2EXTRAS (B-1, LB-10, W-5, NB-9) 25TOTAL (all out, 51.2 overs) 161FALL OF WKTS: 1-6, 2-17, 3-26, 4-91, 5-93, 6-98, 7-107, 8-134, 9-141.BOWLING: Mohammad Akram 16-4-37-1; Mohammad Fayyaz 17.2-4-48-5;Yasir Ashfaq 5-2-19-0; Junaid Zia 12-1-42-3; Babar Naeem 1-0-4-0RAWALPINDI (2nd Innings):Wasim Ahmad c Sajid b Ali 31Babar Naeem c Sajid b Ali 63Mujahid Hameed run out 27Shiraz Khalid b Ali 30Nauman Aman b Jaffar 4Pervez Aziz not out 13Nadeem Abbasi st Sajid b Ali 7Junaid Zia not out 1EXTRAS (B-1, LB-5, NB-1) 7TOTAL (for six wkts, 44 overs) 183FALL OF WKTS: 1-78, 2-97, 3-144, 4-155, 5-164, 6-177.BOWLING (to-date): Imranullah 3-0-4-0; Sharif Asadullah 7-0-38-0; Tariq Haroon 5-1-16-0; Ali Mohammad 15-1-67-4; Zahid Ghauri 4-1-23-0; Jaffar Qureshi 10-2-29-1.Summarised scores of other Group-IV matches:*At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi:KRL 307 (Saeed bin Nasir 93, Saeed Anwar Jr 60; Rao Iftikhar 3-83, Fahad Masood 2-58, Faisal Naved 2-38) and 303-5 dec (Misbah-ul-Haq 101 not out, Intikhab Alam 83; Fahad Masood 2-38); ZTBL 231 (Faisal Naved 47, Zahoor Elahi 41; Yasir Arafat 5-78, Ali Naqvi 3-37) and 28-0.*At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar:PIA beat Peshawar by an innings and 167 runs.PESHAWAR 144 (Zeeshan Mohsin 64 not out; Shoaib Malik 5-27, Umar Gul 3-65, Aizaz bin Ilyas 2-9) and 163 (Zeeshan Mohsin 51, Fakhar-e-Alam 32; Umar Gul 5-75, Shoaib Malik 3-22, Najaf Shah 2-32);PIA 474 (Ghulam Ali 138, Mahmood Hamid 108, Asif Mujtaba 51; Nauman Habib 4-153, Mohammad Siddique 3-109, Asif Khan 3-127).

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), at its extraordinary Board meeting last night in Barbados, decided not to appoint an interim chairman. Instead, the Board voted in favour of appointing an interim committee to run the affairs for the next seven weeks.The interim committee, which will be responsible for the administration of the Board’s affairs, is comprised of Richard De Souza (Trinidad), Stephen Alleyne (Barbados), Chetram Singh (Guyana), along with WICB’s CEO, Gregory Shillingford and WICB’s CFO, Richard Jodhan.The date for the election of the new WICB President and Vice President is Saturday, 21st July, 2001. However, no venue for the meeting was named. The WICB’s articles of association does not allow for the election or appointment of an interim chairman. The articles of association stipulates that there must be a nomination of candidates (complete with a seconder), along with the nominated person’s signature. These nominations must be lodged with the WICB’s Secretariat at least thirty (30) days prior to date for the elections.So far, several names have been touted to take over the top two positions in West Indies cricket. Among them is former West Indies fast bowler, and Barbados government minister, Wes Hall. Guyana’s cricket boss, Chetram Singh is also being named as a likely successor to Pat Rousseau, while Val Banks of the Leeward Islands is being named as a likely successor to Clarvis Joseph.Meanwhile, the recently re-appointed team manager Ricky Skerritt, rejoined the team in Trinidad today. The squad going to Zimbabwe and Kenya is expected to be named by Thursday.