Pakistan opener Taufeeq Umar has been ruled out of action for three months after sustaining an injury to his left knee while practising ahead of the third Test against Bangladesh at Multan.”He suffered an injury to his left knee and a recurrence of an old injury in the right knee,” explained Riaz Ahmed, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s doctor. “He requires two weeks of complete rest and will then be operated on. It will take another ten weeks for complete recovery.”Taufeeq will miss the Test and one-day series against South Africa, which start later this month, and the ODI series against New Zealand in November.

The Pub Charity Youth Cricket Draw – 25 October 2003:(Please Note: Colts & U14A are 2-day matches)U18 (1-day):St Bedes Red v Pap HS St Bedes 5a,Stac v St Bedes Black Stac 3,Midd G v CBHS Midd G 1,Pk v Syd Cash HS 1.Colts (2-day):25 Oct & 1 NovSection 1:CBHS v Syd Straven 2,Stac v St Thom Yellow Stac 2,St Bedes v CC St Bedes 1.Section 2:Burn HS v SBHS Burn HS 2,Pap HS v St Thom Red Pap HS 1.U16A (1-day):CBHS v CC CC 3,SBHS v Stac SBHS 2,Syd v St Bedes Cash HS 2a.U16B (1-day):CBHS v OC Malvern 1,Horn CC v Nb South Brighton Dom,Upr v Ricc HS Ricc Domain,LPW Bye.U15A (1-day):Burn HS v St Thom Burn HS 3,SBHS v CC CC 4,Stac Blue v CBHS Straven 3,Syd v Stac White Stac 3.U15B (1-day):CC v CBHS Black Straven 6,Pap HS v Pk Pap HS 3,Upr v St Bedes St Bedes 3,Stac v Burn HS Stac 5,CBHS Bye.U14A (2-day):25 Oct & 1 NovLin/Elles v SBHS SBHS 4,Stac v St Thom Stac 4a,St Bedes v Syd Halswell Domain 4,CC v CBHS Black CC 5,CBHS Blue v Burn HS Straven 4.U14B (1-day):CBHS Black v Stac Stac 6a,CBHS Blue v SBHS Straven 7,St Bedes v Burn HS St Bedes 6a,Ricc HS v CC Ricc HS 3,Pap HS v Rang HS Rang HS 1,Nb v Syd Chch South Interm.U14C (1-day):CC v SBHS CC 6,BWU v CBHS Black Straven 8,LPW Bye.

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

Virender Sehwag will captain the Indians against Australia A in a three-day game beginning in Hobart on December 19.Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly will be rested, while Sadagoppan Ramesh and Murali Kartik are almost certain to play. Kartik was summoned to Australia on the eve of the second Test, but was left out of the side in favour of Anil Kumble, who picked up five wickets in the first innings. This will be Kartik’s first competitive game on the tour.Sachin Tendulkar, with knocks of 0,1, and 37, is likely to use the outing to regain his batting touch.Michael Hussey will lead Australia A, with two express bowlers at the forefront of the bowling attack. Shaun Tait and Paul Rofe have been included in the team, much to their surprise. But the selections were made keeping an eye on the future. Australia’s Test attack has been ageing steadily, and the drought of new quick bowlers has the selectors worried. This was accentuated by India’s domination of the under-strength bowling in Adelaide.Steve Waugh has said of Tait, “He’s probably the quickest, along with Brett Lee.” Tait, a 145kph bowler, has been given full licence to go hard at the Indians. “I think it’s good to have a licence like that, I can concentrate on just bowling fast,” says Tait. “Indians have faced fast bowling before and they can handle it but we’ll have to see how it goes. You never know.”The game will be played on a Bellerive Oval pitch that was found unsafe for play last season, forcing an inter-state match to be called off. The Tasmanian Cricket Association has quashed doubts about the condition of the wicket, saying it is fit for play. “The pitches we’ve had here this year so far have been excellent,” said David Johnstone, their chief executive. “We have no fear of having any problems whatsoever and looking at it the other day, it looked excellent. It’s in good shape.”Weather will play a vital part in the game; there has been a steady drizzle for two days, and the wind is expected to pick up speed tomorrow.Australia A 1 Michael Hussey (capt), 2 Michael Clarke, 3 Chris Rogers, 4 Martin Love, 5 Brad Hodge, 6 Cameron White, 7 Wade Seccombe (wk), 8 Matthew Nicholson, 9 Damien Wright, 10 Paul Rofe, 11 Shaun Tait.Indians (from): Akash Chopra, Virender Sehwag (capt), Sadagoppan Ramesh, Sachin Tendulkar, Deep Dasgupta (wk), Anil Kumble, Laxmipathy Balaji, Murali Kartik, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel (wk).

India 211 for 3 (Sehwag 90, Tendulkar 44) beat Zimbabwe 208 for 6 (Streak 59*) by 7 wickets with 12.2 overs to spare
Scorecard

The third match of the VB Series, at Hobart, resulted in a comprehensive win for India, after yet another worrying top-order collapse prevented Zimbabwe from reaching a competitive total. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar put on their second century stand of the series as India achieved the 209-run target with 12.2 overs to spare to take home a bonus point as well. Heath Streak top-scored for Zimbabwe with an unbeaten 59 and troubled the Indian openers early on, but was let down by most of his team-mates.India’s opening pair initially approached batting with caution. Having done that, Tendulkar got into his groove and split the field with languid ease, bringing out a range of strokes that had gathered cobwebs during the Test series. The cut over point, the expansive drives, and a loft over mid-off were all on display. At the other end, Sehwag, who had lost his touch temporarily, found his variety of strokes again, much to the bowlers’ chagrin.After surviving when Tatenda Taibu put down a difficult chance, Sehwag rubbed in the mistake that very over, picking a delivery from Sean Ervine and putting it into the stands at midwicket. Sehwag brought his wrists into play often, pulling balls from outside off stump to midwicket, and standing high and punching through cover. And when Raymond Price bowled to him, spectators at midwicket were under constant threat.But Price wasn’t exactly powerless. He nearly had Tendulkar caught at cover, but for a straightforward chance being put down by Streak. Tendulkar’s masterclass ended the next over, when he played down the wrong line and was bowled by Ervine for 44 (129 for 1). After missing out on Tendulkar’s wicket, Price had his sights set on Sehwag (90), who played one shot too many, and spooned a catch to cover (158 for 2). Hemang Badani (15) made a minimal contribution, before playing an expansive drive and nicking a ball to Taibu (172 for 3). Sourav Ganguly then came out to score 32 of the 37 runs India needed, and took the team home by seven wickets.Earlier, though Streak held firm at one end, he needed support. It came in the form of Ervine, who smashed an unbeaten 48 off just 33 balls. Both batsmen took their chances, and raised a rambunctious 93-run partnership off only 72 balls. They ran hard, hit harder, and India’s bowlers, who had given a good account of themselves so far, didn’t know what to do. Anil Kumble bowled eight overs for 19, but then ran into Ervine, who hit a six over cover, and helped himself to 19 more off Kumble’s last two overs. Ajit Agarkar’s last over was taken apart for 20, after the first seven had gone for 19. A spectacular six over long-on preceded an even grander hit out of the ground over midwicket. Later that over, Streak flayed one to deep extra cover to reach his fifty. It was the kind of batting display that made you forget the bad start, until India put the target in perspective.India’s bowlers choked the runs and took wickets at regular intervals to keep Zimbabwe on the mat. The openers played watchfully for three overs, before Vusi Sibanda ran for a single that might have been on if Inzamam had been the fielder. Instead, Yuvraj Singh, at point, dived, stopped, and flung the ball to the bowler’s end, and Sibanda (12) was found short of his crease (14 for 1).Stuart Matsikenyeri played tentatively throughout his stay and scored 9 before attempting a full-blooded whack off Irfan Pathan to the leg side, only to loop it up gently for Badani to take a simple catch at cover (36 for 2).Shortly after, Kumble slipped a googly through Mark Vermeulen (2), bringing an end to a scratchy 24-ball innings (48 for 3). The next three batsmen got themselves out: Stuart Carlisle (37) played across the line to a straight one from Sehwag, Grant Flower (15) patted a ball back to the bowler, and Taibu somehow converted a full-length delivery from Badani into a yorker (114 for 6). It was at this stage that Ervine walked out to join Streak, and show the top order how things should be done. But it wasn’t enough, as India bludgeoned their way to victory, turning the three-team series more and more into a two-horse race.

SpeedBlitz Blues fast bowler Nathan Bracken has been ruled-out of the squad to play Queensland in a Pura Cup match at the Gabba starting on Sunday February 1st, 2004.Bracken has a hand injured suffered during the recent match against Western Australia in Perth.The SpeedBlitz Blues line-up is now:

Steve Waugh (c)
Greg Mail
Phil Jaques
Dominic Thornely
Mark Waugh
Brad Haddin
Aaron O’Brien
Stuart MacGill
Grant Lambert
Matthew Nicholson
Stuart Clark
Doug Bollinger

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.–>

Western Australia 335 and 302 beat South Australia 300 and 250 (Cosgrove 88, Cameron 81, Edmondson 5-90) by 87 runs
ScorecardMike Hussey, Western Australia’s captain, said his team was left pondering what might have been after bowling South Australia out for 250 to achieve a remarkable 87-run victory at Adelaide Oval today in their final Pura Cup game. Though Western Australia stormed to resounding victories in their last four games, they had begun poorly in their first six games, and this left them short of a berth in the Pura Cup final.”It’s a bit of a hollow feeling really,” Hussey said. “You start thinking back to all the games you just missed out on getting points and how close we really came to making the final. We were very disappointing before Christmas, and we really need to start better next season to give ourselves a chance to play off in the final.”South Australia finished with the wooden spoon, but when they were 1 for 178 in the morning session with only 160 more runs to get, their opponents were on the rack. Kade Harvey, though, crashed through with three quick wickets, including Andy Flower’s for a golden duck, to swing the game back on even terms. Ben Edmondson took over then, cleaning up five of the last six wickets to finish with career-best figures of 5 for 90, as South Australia crashed out for 250.Hussey said the promise shown by Edmondson was important, given the side’s bowling had been its weakness. Incidentally, Edmondson had made his debut after not being mentioned on the state’s rookie list at the start of the season. “He’s still raw and inexperienced, but he’s got a lot to work with,” Hussey said. “[There are] some very good attributes and he’s been a good asset to our team and hopefully he’ll get better and better as his career goes forward.”South Australia had a few bright spots of their own. Mark Cosgrove, who made 88 to go with his first innings’ 144, and Ben Cameron, who made 81, performed well. But the batting crash summed up a season where the team had regularly lost games from good positions. Flower spoke about the missed opportunities. “We had a number of chances there to win the game and we never put the nail in the coffin, so it is the story of our season.”The team’s season mirrored Flower’s unsuccessful first year with South Australia. He managed two fifties in 14 innings at an average of 24.43.

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.