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Harbhajan Singh turned in his first outstanding performance of the season for Surrey, taking 6 for 36 in their Frizzell County Championship match against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Surrey scored 361 – where Harbhajan chipped in with a 16-ball 25 – and then stunned Hampshire, knocking them over for just 146. Martin Bicknell and Mohammad Akram provided the initial breakthroughs, dismissing the openers, and then Harbahajan took over, and cleaned up the middle-order.Irfan Pathan had a lukewarm game against Glamorgan, picking up no wickets in 19 overs while conceding 66 runs. Glamorgan racked up an impressive 584 for 3 declared, and did not even have to use the services of Sourav Ganguly, as Daniel Cherry (229), David Hemp (103) and Jonathan Hughes (134 not out) all made big scores. Middlesex were 96 for 1 in response at the end of the second day’s play.Dinesh Mongia enjoyed another good outing, top-scoring with 66 in Leicestershire’s first-innings 225 against Worcestershire. Mongia struck 13 boundaries in the course of his 82-ball innings, but was eventually bowled by Nadeem Malik, who picked up 5 for 71. In response Worcestershire reached 158 for 4.

Simon Jones will be given more time to prove his fitness for this winter’s tour of Pakistan, even though he seems certain to be named in the touring squad when it is announced on Monday. Jones, 26, whose 18 wickets at 21 apiece were an invaluable contribution to England’s thrilling Ashes victory, was forced to miss the fifth Test at The Oval after developing a bone spur on his right ankle.According to a report in The Guardian, it is still unclear whether surgery will be required to sort out the anterior impingement, a problem very similar to the one caused Andrew Flintoff discomfort during last winter’s tour of South Africa. Like Jones, Flintoff underwent a course of anti-inflammatory tablets, injections and ice treatment to see him through the series, but eventually flew home after the fifth Test at Centurion for a successful operation.”With this kind of injury you have to be patient and wait,” Dr Peter Gregory, the England & Wales Cricket Board’s chief medical officer, told The Guardian. “What we weren’t able to do was give him a good rest because of his fitness test before the final Test. We will have a better idea at the end of next week. There is no definitive on whether to operate or not, it is not as simple as that. It is a pain thing and some people can get through better than others.”Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, remains “optimistic” about Jones’ powers of recovery, although he admitted that his ability to reverse-swing the old ball would be of vital importance to England on an arduous tour of the sub-continent. “He will be key to us,” Fletcher said. “The wickets they produced last time we toured were for spinners. If they try to take us on with spin they have a huge problem now because it will play into our hands. If they prepare those dry wickets we can fight with reverse-swing.”

Matthew Hoggard was left rueing England’s misfortune with the weather at the close of the second day’s play, after a bold overnight declaration backfired to allow South Africa back into the game. By the close, they trailed by just 105 runs, thanks to a brilliant unbeaten century from Herschelle Gibbs."That was a change of fortune with the weather," said Hoggard. "When it was overcast, the wicket was doing things, but then 20 minutes [after we declared], the sun came out. It’s evenly poised now, but if South Africa get past our score, it’ll be a bit of a dogfight in the last innings. But hopefully we’ll get four quick wickets and put the pressure back on them."A tough day for England’s bowlers was made even more arduous when Steve Harmison pulled up in the middle of his 13th over, suffering from pain at the top of his left calf. "Harmo’s been our leading bowler all year, so it was a massive blow," admitted Hoggard. "But we just had to pull our socks up and get on with it."I wasn’t too tired by the end," he insisted, adding that he had picked up four wickets despite bowling as badly as he has done all tour. "My energy levels were good, but unfortunately the fluid in my body disappeared and I was shuffling in with cramp. The altitude doesn’t help, and it’s been a long day with an extra half-hour at the start and half-an-hour at the end, but it was the worst I’ve bowled all tour, so to get four wickets, I’m quite happy."Hoggard had some words of encouragement for James Anderson as well, who came into the Test as a late replacement for Simon Jones, and bowled without much rhythm, having not had any opportunity to play competitively for more than a month. "He bowled a few wides at the end of his spell, but it’s hard to come straight from the nets, so he’s done really well and there are no worries about how he bowled. I tried to impart my words of wisdom, for what they’re worth, and tried to keep his spirits up."The afternoon session included a controversial catch at slip for Marcus Trescothick, who removed Boeta Dippenaar for a duck, even though some commentators openly questioned whether the ball had carried. But Hoggard had no doubts. "Tres says it went straight in and he got his fingers underneath the ball, and really you’ve got to take the fielder’s word for it. He’s a very honest lad and wouldn’t cheat, especially with the cameras about."There was also some puzzlement as to why Ashley Giles only bowled only seven overs, despite England being a seamer short. "It wasn’t a tactical thing," said Hoggard, "but the ball was doing a bit for the seamers. If you get the ball in the right areas there’s something in it, but when the sun comes out, there’s not as much around."We knew it was going to be a hard series," said Hoggard. "South Africa are a competitive side, and we have to keep playing well to beat them. But we’ll put our feet up tonight, and come out refreshed tomorrow."

Brad Hodge, the Australian-born batsman, has been named as the new captain of Leicestershire. He takes over from Phil DeFreitas, who stepped down on Monday after 20 months in the role. Leicestershire have also named Darren Maddy, who made his debut for Leics 10 years ago, as the new vice-captain. Hodge, 29, has been in terrific form this season, averaging 64 in the County Championship and just under 50 in the National League."We are delighted that Brad has agreed to take on the captaincy," said James Whitaker, Leicestershire director of cricket. "As vice captain he is the natural successor to Daffy, and I am confident his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm will help us in our quest to get to where we want to be. I am excited about working with Brad.""I am also pleased that Darren, who has excelled as captain of the side on a number of occasions already, will now become official vice captain," he added. "He has been at the club for a long time and been a dedicated professional."

England’s chances of retaining the Ashes later this year depend largely on the performance of their strike bowler Steve Harmison, feels Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain, now a leading television commentator. England defend the Ashes they won at home last year against Australia in the first of five Tests in Brisbane, starting on November 23.”So much depends on how Steve Harmison bowls. It may be a reason why they gave Andrew Flintoff the captaincy – apparently he’s very matey with Harmison,” Chappell told . “Some of the stuff I saw from him against Pakistan (in the recent Test series) was absolute crap. But if he bowls as well as he can, England will be right in it.”Chappell said England’s decision to opt for Flintoff as captain over Andrew Strauss has reflected a change in attitude with England, Australia’s traditional rivals.”They could have gone the safe route and made Strauss captain. But they won the Ashes by taking the aggressive route and picking someone like Kevin Pietersen. Logic says that to retain the Ashes, they’ve got to keep taking risks and they’ve done that by making Flintoff captain.”Chappell felt it also makes sense that Flintoff was preferred as captain as he understands the tactical side of bowling better than opening batsman Strauss.”What does a captain do with batting? He basically just picks the order. The important side is out on the field. Who better to understand bowling than a bowler? There haven’t been many bowling captains and that’s probably been a mistake. There’s no reason why Flintoff can’t do it. The danger is that he’s coming back from a serious injury and needs to find his form as a bowler. He might overbowl himself in a bid to lift the team.”They’ll miss Michael Vaughan’s captaincy but Flintoff is a bit of a Shane Warne: he loves competing. When the heat’s on, Flintoff will want to bowl, but he can’t do it all the time. That’s when Strauss will have to know when to step in and say, ‘Not now, save it for later’. If everything goes right for England, it will be very competitive. But it could easily turn bad for them.”

Carib Beer XI won the toss and chose to bat

England can expect a tough contest in their three-day warm-up match against a Carib Beer XI, which started at the 3Ws Oval in Bridgetown today.For the West Indies players, there may well be places up for grabs after the dismal performances in the first two Tests, and even though there are no first-string Barbados or Jamiaca players – the Carib Beer final is taking place elsewhere on the island – it should not be an easy ride for England.England have aimed to give those not in the Test side a chance to stretch their legs, which means that James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke and Geraint Jones, the reserve wicketkeeper, are all playing – with Chris Read taking part as a specialist batsman, given his lack of runs in the Tests.And Marcus Trescothick has declined the chance to put his feet up, preferring to try and find his touch – in seven innings so far on the tour he has scored 46 runs. “It is a bizarre experience for me,” he admitted. “I’m struggling to find a reason because my preparation has been good, I’ve been hitting it. I feel like I have not had the opportunity to see if I’m in form or not. In the past there may have been times when I’ve been a bit tired but this has been really strange for me. It’s a different sort of feeling altogether.”Daren Ganga, who has so far been overlooked, will lead a Carib Beer XI which includes some quick bowlers with a point to prove. Ravi Rampaul, who played in the recent Under-19 World Cup final, as well as Jermaine Lawson and Dwight Washington all play, and allrounder Omari Banks returns from injury.Carib Beer XI 1 Daren Ganga (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Dwayne Bravo, 4 Sylvester Joseph, 5 Tonito Willett, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Omari Banks, 8 Ravi Rampaul, 9 Dwight Washington, 10 Jermaine Lawson, 11 Fernix Thomas.England 1 Marcus Trescothick (capt), 2 Paul Collingwood, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Rikki Clarke, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Chris Read, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Gareth Batty, 10 James Anderson, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

Five years ago, Ricky Ponting’s captaincy credentials were pretty thin on the ground, blighted by repeated run-ins with authority and inconsistent form. When Steve Waugh’s one-day career came to a shuddering halt after the VB Series in 2001-02, Adam Gilchrist was considered by most to have the best chance of becoming first among equals. But Australian cricket got to its position of pre-eminence largely because of the establishment’s knack for following up on inspired hunches, and the appointment of Ponting may be considered one such in the years to come.

Waugh had led them to World Cup success in 1999 and presided over the era of dominance that followed, but anyone who expected a mini-dip under Ponting was in for a rude awakening. Australia lost only one one-day match of any consequence – against Sri Lanka, on a sluggish pitch, at the ICC Knockout Trophy – and Ponting ended the season with a win-loss record that read 30-5. More importantly, a team deprived of the services of Shane Warne at the stroke of midnight progressed unbeaten through the World Cup campaign.Not only did Ponting lead the side with flair, imagination and the aggression that we have come to expect from those in baggy green, but he also contributed immeasurably to the victory with his bat. A blistering hundred in the Super Sixes helped rout Sri Lanka, and he followed that with a glorious 121-ball 140 in the final, hammering India’s in-form attack into submission. It was easily the highlight of his one-day season, one that produced 1150 runs – inclusive of five 100s and three 50s – at a tremendous average of 47.91.Not having to concern himself with the captaincy, he was even more impressive in the Test arena. Two glorious hundreds at Colombo and Sharjah contributed to a 3-0 thrashing of a hapless Pakistan side, and he followed that with back-to-back Ashes centuries at Brisbane and Adelaide as Australia retained the urn inside 11 days.The pinnacle though was reached in West Indies, where Ponting chiselled out superb hundreds at Georgetown, Port-of-Spain and Bridgetown to continue Australia’s recent domination of the Frank Worrell Trophy contests. It ensured that he finished the season with 1351 Test runs at 75.05, and the small matter of seven centuries.Great players have enjoyed halcyon years in the past, but few will ever be able to look back on a catalogue of achievement that reads 2501 runs, 12 centuries and a bauble called the World Cup. If 1930 belonged to Sir Donald Bradman and 1976 to Sir Vivian Richards, 2002-03 will forever be associated with a man who got lucky with every punt he made, a batsman and leader with few peers in modern-day cricket.

David Gilbert, CEO, Cricket NSW is pleased to announce the following selections for NSW Under 15’s team to compete in the Australian Female Under 15’s Championships, being held in Victoria from 15-19th December 2003.Martin Garoni, a Regional Cricket Officer with Cricket NSW, is very excited in being the newly appointed NSW Under 15’s coach. Martin says he is "looking forward to taking the team to the Championships in December. The team chosen seems to be well balanced with many exciting young players chosen."Alyssa Healy has been honoured by being chosen as Captain, a remarkable achievement for the 13 year old. It looks as though she is following in the footsteps of her famous uncle, Ian Healy, as a wicketkeeper who will also be opening the batting.The team is as follows:
Alyssa Healy (Captain) Epping
Ashleigh Campbell (Vice-Captain) Elermore Vale
Ashleigh Corby, Bathurst
Sarah Coyte, Mount Annan
Rhiannon Dick, Revesby
Ashleigh Endacott, Castle Hill
Alex Julien, Roseville
Lucy Kensit, Surry Hills
Corinne Loader, Ingleburn
Erin Osborne, South Tamworth
Ellyse Perry, West Pymble
Renee Rollason, Bega
Melissa Van Der Reyden, Bligh Park
Coach: Martin Garoni
Manager: Sally CurryNSW will also be sending the following 6 players to the Championship in the Combined Victoria/NSW Invitational Team:
Mary-Anne Germanos, Burwood
Meghann Lanning, Thornleigh
Brodie Neems, Hamlyn Terrace
Connie Osbourne, Bolwarra Heights
Melissa Penman, Revesby
Hannah Perry, Bateau Bay

Jamaica 25 for 2 trail England XII 320 (Vaughan 105, Hussain 65, Read 61) by 295 runs
Scorecard

England’s confident morning was followed by afternoon and evening wobbles as they were bowled out for 320 shortly before the close on the first day at Sabina Park. At lunch they were 154 for 2, but thereafter they lost eight wickets for 166 and the day ended with a feeling that an opportunity had been squandered against an enthusiastic but young Jamaica side.Michael Vaughan had predicted that chin music would accompany England’s opening fixture of their tour of the Caribbean, but on the first day it was Vaughan himself who played the disc jockey. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, he zoomed to an effortless century. He faced only 89 balls, slamming 19 fours and a six, before he was out shortly after lunch for 105, bowled by Jermaine Lawson who was returning to action after remedial work on his bowling action.Nasser Hussain also took advantage of his chance, stroking a positive 65 which did include a sumptuous straight six off offspinner Bevon Brown – although Brown later had him leg-before, one of three wickets for him. Chris Read did much to dampen criticism with a feisty 61, while the late order offered him scant support, and Graham Thorpe caressed a breezy 34.

But there were also lows. Marcus Trescothick – looking very out of sorts – was bowled off his pads by one from Evon McInnis that kept a little low for 7, and Mark Butcher slapped a loose cut off a Dwight Mais long-hop straight to Brown at point. Andy Flintoff was as plumb leg-before as it is possible to be to McInnis for a single, and Rikki Clarke and Ashley Giles also failed to impress.There was late success for England when Jamaica lost Brenton Parchment, their splendidly-named captain, caught by Read for 0 in Matthew Hoggard’s second over, and then Donovon Pagon, the nightwatchman, caught and bowled by Hoggard for 6 in the final over of the day. Hoggard, who ran in with real purpose and aggression, should have had three wickets – his first ball struck the boot of a creasebound Shawn Findlay, but the umpire dismissed the confident appeal.

It was all very different to England’s last appearance at Sabina Park, all of six years ago. Back then, their match lasted for just 61 deliveries – the pitch on that occasion was as undulating as a piece of corrugated iron, and with Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose steaming in on the first morning of the Test series, there was the very real danger of a serious injury. Today, by contrast, could hardly have been more sedate. Instead of rolling out their big guns, Jamaica chose to rest several of their leading players, and the ardour was further dampened when England requested to use a squad of 12, thereby depriving the game of first-class status.What is more, the pitch could hardly have been further removed from the Sabina minefield of old. Jonathan Agnew, commentating on BBC Radio, remarked that the track – two down from the strip that has been earmarked for the first Test – looked as though “a blind goat had been let loose on it”, and it was as slow and low as anything that England encountered on their recent tour of Sri Lanka.<!–Jamaica 1 Brenton Parchment (capt), 2 Bevon Brown, 3 Shawn Findlay, 4 Danza Hyatt, 5 Lorenzo Ingram, 6 Dwight Mais, 7 Matthew Sinclair (wk), 8 Evon McInnis, 9 Donovon Pagon, 10 Mario Ventura, 11 Jermaine Lawson.England XII 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Rikki Clarke, 8 Chris Read (wk), 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson, 12 Matthew Hoggard.–>

Dominic Cork has been given a three-match ban, suspended for 12 months, and fined £1000 at an ECB disciplinary hearing at Lord’s. Cork, Derbyshire’s captain, admitted he was in breach of ECB regulations after calling an opposition player a cheat.The incident occurred during Derbyshire’s fractious Twenty20 Cup match against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Derbyshire lost by one run, a result which cost them a place in this Saturday’s semi-finals, but the match was effectively decided when Brad Hodge took a catch in the deep, and then carried the ball over the boundary rope.A six ought to have been awarded to Derbyshire, who immediately lodged a protest, but the ECB refused to reverse the result. Cork had called Hodge a cheat after the teams left the field, which the ECB accepted was understandable in the heat of the moment, but then compounded the matter in an interview with the Daily Mail.”I blame the win-at-all-costs culture of cheating which is taking cricket down the road that has made football such a sleazy game," Cork was quoted as saying. "In football it’s diving, shirt-pulling, conning refs and feigning injury. In cricket, it is claiming catches on the bounce, pretending that the ball hasn’t gone over the rope and players standing their ground when they’ve thick-edged it to slip.”His statements were a clear breach of ECB rules 4.2 and 4.3, which prohibit players and officials from making any statement which constitutes a verbal attack on another individual who is subject to the same jurisdiction. Although Michael Vaughan and Dicky Bird both provided character references, Cork was handed a suspended sentence and fined £500, as well as a further £500 in costs.Meanwhile, Hodge is threatening legal action. Leicestershire’s general manager Kevin Hill told BBC Sport he expected to discuss the matter with Hodge on Tuesday. Any decision, however, would rest with the player.