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LONDON – Graham Thorpe said his selection in England’s 16-man squad forthe forthcoming Ashes tour of Australia represented the “biggestchallenge” of his career.Surrey left-hander Thorpe, 33, has not played a senior match sincetaking an indefinite break from all cricket following England’s firstTest victory over India at Lord’s in July.That move was prompted by the collapse of Thorpe’s marriage andquestions over access arrangements to his two young children Henry,five, and Amelia, three.Since taking time out Thorpe, who earlier in the season announced hisretirement from international one-day cricket, has had several meetingswith the selectors.And they showed that Thorpe, who impressively averages over 45 againstAustralia, had persuaded them that he was mentally ready for the rigoursof a five Test trip ‘down under’ by including him in the tour party.Thorpe conceded that this represented a leap of faith on the selectors’part, one he was eager to reward.”This is as big a challenge as there’s been at this stage of my career,”said Thorpe in an interview on BBC Radio’s Sport on Five programmeTuesday.”It’s a great opportunity for me to start up again and work with theother players in the England cricket team again.”For a long time I was unsure whether I would be able to go given therecent circumstances. I’ve been lucky the selectors have been sounderstanding because I’m sure they’ll see it as a bit of a gamble.”I always said that once things settled down off the field I would beable to make a clear decision about whether I could go to Australia.”Thorpe added that improved relations between himself and his estrangedwife had eased his situation. “I don’t see too many problems off thefield, it’s become very amicable between the two parties.”Last winter was a difficult time but these things happen to all sortsof people. I have had a lot of publicity about my problems which isperhaps why I’ve found it difficult to deal with.”Thorpe hopes to return to senior cricket Wednesday by playing foralready crowned county champions Surrey against Hampshire at the RoseBowl and said his time away from the game had made him reconsider hiscareer.”Being away for five or six weeks sorting out my personal life has alsogiven me a lot of spare time and I’ve realised I’m fortunate to havebeen given this chance,” said Thorpe.”The most important thing is that my commitment and work levels arehigh. No one can guarantee success on the field but you can prepare inthe right way and I want to get back playing for England.”If I didn’t believe I could play cricket for three months knowing whatcould happen during that time I wouldn’t have put my name in the hat.”I have the ability to play at the highest level and I want to play atthe highest level and it’s important I’m committed in all areas.”

Barbadian and Caribbean businesses could find themselves on the sidelines of the lucrative Cricket World Cup if they don’t seek to capitalise on opportunities thrown up by the event.That was the clear warning of themanaging director of West Indies World Cup 2007, Chris Dehring, yesterday’s.Dehring, an investment banker, said the cricket world cup was projected to gross US$300 million over the six weeks it would be run, generating US$500 million in direct foreign exchange flows and US$750 million in economic activity.He said that of all the enquiries he had received since it was announced thatthe international contest was coming to the region, 90 per cent were from outside the Caribbean."It will be a boon to direct and indirect employment and will create priceless international media exposure forcountries successful in hosting official results."Entire tourist industries could be built and rebuilt by such unprecedented marketing exposure."Dehring said: "If we promote this event right we will have upwards of 100 000 visiting supporters to the region. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of "Caribbean" visitors to the "venue" where the West Indies is playing.Other revenue opportunities will come through demand for inland and intra-regional transport, food and beverage, health services, entertainment andsouvenirs.Asked what economic packages would be available, Dehring said by the end of next year information would be available about the venues and categoriesof matches.Dehring said every contract assigned would go through a process of tendering but he felt it was almost wasteful to wait for official packages to come out."That’s not how entrepreneurs work," he added, as he pointed to how some business people were already making a number of deals and arrangements in New York in anticipation of that citywinning the bid for the Olympic Games scheduled for 2012.

What better way of celebrating Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee than by staging a round of Norwich Union League matches? The Norwich Union League is all about bringing the fun of the fair into cricket, and that is what is going to happen on Tuesday June 4th. Even the fixtures have a certain regal ring to them. Worcestershire Royals have a game and there is a match at Lord’s where the nearest underground station is St. John’s Wood. It’s on the Jubilee Line.Worcestershire Royals are in action at Headingley against joint leaders, Yorkshire Phoenix. A win for the Royals would take them up to eight points, the same as Phoenix, while eight-point Warwickshire Bears move back into Edgbaston once the Test is over to play Durham Dynamos.There are two other Division One matches taking place. Two sides with four points each meet at Grace Road when Leicestershire Foxes take on Glamorgan Dragons, while Kent Spitfires play Nottinghamshire Outlaws. Neither of those two has registered a point yet, so the locals at Tunbridge Wells will be disgusted if they can’t provide the reigning champions with their first win of this season.In Division Two, there is one floodlit match taking place, with leaders Lancashire Lightening meeting Gloucestershire Gladiators at Old Trafford. The Gladiators are just two points behind in a clutch of teams on four, so will be looking to take over top spot.The game at Lord’s sees Middlesex Crusaders battling with unbeaten Hampshire Hawks, with the home side wanting their first win of the new campaign. Northamptonshire Steelbacks, with a record of one win from one match, play Surrey Lions, and another one-from-one oufit, Essex Eagles, travel to Horsham where Sussex Sharks might more accurately be named the Sussex Flounders. They have the unimpressive record of two defeats in two outings. No wonder they are in last place. Or should that be plaice?

The President and the Secretary General of Pakistan Women Cricket Association are pleased to invite all Sports Journalists and Photographers for a Press Briefing at 12:30PM on 3rd July 2002 at Paradise Hotel, Liberty Market, Gulberg, Lahore.

Note:
Mrs Gulshan Nasreen, President, Lahore District Women Cricket Association has arranged for Lunch at the same hotel. All players of the Punjab Women Cricket Teams are cordially invited to participate.


Azraa Parveen
Secretary General
Pakistan Women Cricket Association
2 July 2002

Tamil Union enjoyed a late revival to leave them in a strong positionagainst the Sinhalese Sports Club at NCC Grounds in the first of the PremierLeague semi-finals, whilst Nondescripts struggled after a dream startagainst Colts CC at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium.But Tamil Union’s joy at having established an early advantage against aformidable SSC side will be checked by the disappointment of ace spinnerMuttiah Muralitharan not playing; he travels to India at the weekend tocollect his CEAT Player of Year award.Tamil Union had started brightly with Nuwan Shiroman (45 from 60 balls)adding 37 runs for the first wicket wicket with Sunendra Kumara and 50 forthe second with Ruvin Pieris (94 from 186 balls) – one of the stars of thisyear’s domestic season.However, the middle order then struggled as Ruchira Perera, pressing for aplace on the England tour, had Shiroman caught behind and Dilhara Fernando,making a welcome, and timely with England around the corner, return tocompetitive action after sustaining a stress fracture in his back six monthsago, dismissed Peiris.Tamil Union slipped from 87 for one to 268 for eight and SSC would have beeneying a commanding grip on the game. But Ranga Dias (65 not out from 155balls), a strongly built all-rounder, and Niroshan Bandaratillake (46 notout from 47 balls) then changed the course of the match adding an unbeaten87 from the ninth wicket.At the Sara Oval, NCC, the defending champions, enjoyed a fierce tussle withColts CC, both sides boasting a number of international players.NCC started brilliantly, with Pradeep Hewage (80 from 141 balls) and NaweedNawaz (50 from 151 balls) compiling a 126-run opening stand.But Dinuk Hettiarachchi – the quietly forgotten left-arm spinner who madehis debut against England at SSC, bowling creditably, only to be discardedin the next series – then grabbed three wickets after Nawaz was run-out byEric Upashantha.Kumar Sangakkara continued his golden touch from Lahore, racing to 30 off 24balls before perishing, whilst Aravinda de Silva wasted a prime opportunityto impress the selectors when he was bowled by Hettiarachchi for 19.Fortunately for NCC, who had slipped to 204 for five, Hashan Tillakaratnewas around to play a characteristic rearguard innings. Playing with greaterfreedom that in the Asian Test Championship, when he had crawled to 19,Tillakaratne scored 88 from 139 balls, hitting 12 boundaries.

“There is a hell of a difference between good and great cricketers. If I have to name the great cricketers of all time, the list will be limited to very few. And I must add that, if Brian (Lara) continues to play the way he is playing now, he will definitely be there,” said Sir Garfield Sobers. He was speaking at a function to have a road – Sir Garry Drive – named after him.Although he did not specify all the names, Ian Chappell was mentioned. “Great players are those who can stay calm even during the toughest hours. Take the case of Ian Chappell. When he was made captain of the Australian side, Australia was not the best in the world. But under his able leadership, Australia became a champion side. He was truly an indomitable cricketer,” said Sobers.”Every generation has three distinct type of cricketers – good, better and great. But, as I said, there can only be a few who can feature in the all-time great list. In my list, I can include a maximum of three to four cricketers only.”Sobers’ standards are high; after all, he was the one who thought that there can never be a good ball to a great batsman. He still believes that a great batsman always uses his bat more than his pads to dominate the bowling. To illustrate his point, Sobers pointed to former England captain Ted Dexter, also present at the ceremony, and said, “He was a batsman of that class. I’ve always seen him to prefer to use his bat to counter quality spin bowling.”Sir Everton Weeks and Sir Clyde Walcott were also at the function, prompting Sobers to recall, “I still remember that Sir Everton presented me with a bat when I was not a regular with the Barbados team. I had the opportunity to bowl against the three Ws, and each of them inspired me to play well. That was really boosting.”A documentary titled “Down Memory Lane,” directed by elder brother George Sobers, was screened at the occasion. Sobers’ younger brother, Gerald, was present, and the great all-rounder maintained that Gerald didn’t translate his potential into success. “He should have played more in the international arena. We were called the ‘Chinese Brothers.’ At 15, we were playing against each other in a match when I played for the Country XI and he was in the City XI. I bowled four-five deliveries at him. Later, our friends were complaining that I should have bowled at least one half-volley to him, which I didn’t.”Sobers was naturally overjoyed, but at the same time, he acutely felt his mother’s absence. “Last year I lost her. It would have surely been great if she was here. But she is in heaven now and cannot be present at a function where her son is felicitated.”

After four days of nip and tuck in Paarl, it came down to the last ball. You can accuse cricket of many things, but as an engineer of high drama, it is still hard to beat. We did not even have a winner, Eastern Province failing to find the boundary off the final delivery and therefor sharing the spoils with Boland – but that was as it should be. A draw it was – a result which dents both teams’ hopes of making it into the SuperSport final later this month.After being set 269 to win from 74 overs by Boland captain Louis Koen,Eastern Province looked to have paced their run-chase beautifully. An opening stand of 102 between captain Carl Bradfield and Umar Abrahams was the perfect platform, and it was only when Bradfield was trapped leg-before by Neil Carter for 85 by one that just cut back at the left-hander, that the momentum briefly turned Boland’s way.With the experienced Dave Callaghan and at the crease and alongside him Robin Peterson, EP needed nine runs off the final over bowled by Bradley Player and had the fire-power to do it.Player must take enormous credit for a disciplined over under great pressure, his task helped by all nine outfielders taking up their positions on the boundary edge.In fact, with four needed off the final delivery, wicket-keeper Steve Palframan wanted to join them as well, but he was ordered back into a "regulation wicket-keeping position" by umpire Barry Lambson. Any debate about the interpretation of the laws was nullified by Peterson’s inability to send the ball over the ropes and the game was drawn, EP falling three runs short of their target.That they had to chase any kind of challenging total at all was largely the result of a wonderful maiden first-class century for the latest call-up to the South African one-day squad, Justin Ontong. Resuming on 81 overnight, the 21 year-old worked his way through what he readily admitted afterwards were ‘the nervous nineties’ to reach the landmark, eventually finishing undefeated on 131 as Boland declared their innings closed on 360/9.”I went to bed early and just thought about those nineteen runs I had to score”, Ontong said. “But I slept pretty well. I’ve been dreaming about this first-class hundred for so long now. It’s now my second season and the only thing I said to myself was ‘just be patient – it’s going to come. Don’t push yourself.”

Southern Electric ECB Premier Division 1Bashley (Rydal) 232-7 (Loader 54, Thurgood 48, Knowles 35)
Bournemouth 155 (Cassell 50, Miller 30, Nash 3-19, Taylor 3-19)Andover 230-7 (Langdown 102, Hayward 29)
Hungerford 184-7 (Rider 61, Ward 25, Clark 3-39)Havant 217-9 (Carson 85, Gillies 48, Lewis 32, Wright 3-51)
Liphook & Ripsley 132-9 (Berry 28, Loat 3-27)South Wilts 222-6 (Pauwells 56, Rowe 53, Wade 36, Dibden 3-34)
BAT Sports 219-8 (Shirazi 50, Kenway 36, Carson 26, Chandler 4-25)Match postponed: Burridge v Calmore SportsSouthern Electric Premier Division 2Cove 177-8 (Randall 43, Blackman 33)
Easton & Martyr Worthy 86 (St Green 23, A Birch 22, Smith 5-22, Ashton 4-13)Lymington 277-8 (Craft 139, Clemow 47)
Hambledon 190 (Norris 49, Finch 46, Treagus 5-44, Peacock 3-19)Old Tauntonians & Romsey 286-5 (Forward 136, I Tulk 55)
United Services 207 (Geoghan 64, Carson 35, Wood 4-38)Trojans 140-8 (Le Bas 36, Durand 25)
Portsmouth 142-8 (Dew 63, Cook 25, Sandiford 4-35)Old Basing 190 (Richards 76)
Sparsholt 194-5 (Richings 95*, Nicholls 54, Andrews 5-59)Southern Electric Premier League Division 3Flamingo 261-4 (Merkel 134*, Shapland 31, Fenigan 27)
Paultons 164 (Collins 52, Heath 3-26, Shapland 3-40)Portsmouth II 177-8 (Limb 37, Stares 30, Naqeeb 30, Scott 24, Collins 3-28)
Gosport Borough 179-3 (Wateridge 54, Collins 36*, Adams 34*)Leckford 170 (Fidgen 54, Isherwood 49, Hole 3-19)
Havant II 173-3 (Hole 63 n.o., M Gover 61)Bashley (Rydal) II 198-7 (Grierson 39, Middleton 37, Hall 30, S Latimore 26)
New Milton 199-7 (Wheeler 79, Griffiths 31, Taylor 27, Middleton 3-36)Alton 181-9 (P Heffernan 32, Oliphant 31, Pay 3-24)
Purbrook 129 (Pay 24, Chalkley 3-10)Rowledge 162-8 (Extras 41, Tanner 28, Tapper 3-17)
Lymington 163-8 (Tapper 56, Mitchell 4-40)Hursley Park 110 (Harris 36, Adams 4-27, Perry-Lewis 3-39)
St Cross Symondians 113-1 (Barrett 57, Rees 30)United Services II 213-5 (Lowe 66, Edwards 31, Saunders 27)
Hook & Newnham Basics 218-4 (Lovelock 101, Kaminsky 80)Winchester KS 164-9 (Taylor 50, Baumann 4-34)
Waterlooville 58 (Naik 4-17 inc hat-trick, Greetham 3-17)Pick of the Day
Batting
139 Ben Craft (Lymington)
136 Charles Forward (OTs & Romsey)
134* Shane Merkel (Flamingos)
102 Ian Langdown (Andover)
101 Keith Lovelock (Hook & Newnham Basics)
95* Tim Richings (Sparsholt)
85 Dominic Carson (Havant
80 Janish Kominsky (Hook & Newnham Basics)Bowling
5-22 Matt Smith (Cove)
5-44 Glyn Treagus (Lymington)
5-59 Mark Andrews (Old Basing)

ScorecardAndrew McDonald followed up a rapid-fire century with a wicket•Getty Images

Andrew McDonald and Peter Siddle dominated Western Australia with bat and ball as Victoria pushed close to an outright victory in the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA ground.Resuming at 3 for 144, the Bushrangers were hurtled forward by McDonald’s century arriving in a mere 87 balls.While he was dismissed the ball after reaching three figures, Siddle would go on to his highest first-class score, adding a pesky 70 for the last wicket with the left-arm spinner John Holland.Having been kept out in the field for far more overs and runs than they would have liked when the visitors were 8 for 264, the Warriors then replied limply to a deficit of 200.Marcus Harris was LBW to John Hastings, before Liam Davis and Marcus North perished in successive deliveries from Siddle.Adam Voges survived the hat-trick ball but then edged McDonald behind to leave the hosts a forlorn 4 for 39. The brothers Shaun and Mitchell Marsh survived to stumps, but have been left with an enormous task to pull WA back into the match on day three.