Lahore, Nov 25: The PCB XI narrowly escaped defeat after MatthewHoggard looked to steer England to an unlikely victory in the threedayer at the Bagh-e-Jinnah which ended in a draw on Saturday.Hoggard followed up his first innings effort of four for 13 with fourfor 17 as the PCB XI finished at 71 for six after England had declaredtheir first innings at 237 for seven to earn a first innings lead of120 runs.The second day of the match was washed out without a ball beingbowled. At stumps on the first day, England were 76 for two in replyto PCB XI’s 117.The home team had slumped to 18 for four in 10.4 overs before beingrescued by teenager Faisal Iqbal who celebrated his recall for theFaisalabad Test with a defiant unbeaten 27. He kept the one end intactduring his 103-minute innings during which he faced 70 balls aswickets fell around him.Hoggard, who has taken his tally of wickets to 17 in two matches, wasquick, accurate and deadly in his 11-over burst. After Alex Tudordismissed Mohammad Ramazan for his second duck of the match, Hoggardgot his acts together to dismiss Salman Butt, Bazid Khan, Shoaib Malikand Faisal Naveed.He was on a hat trick after accounting for Bazid and skipper Shoaiboff successive balls. But was denied by 17-year-old wicketkeeperKamran Akmal who finished the day at 10 not out. Nevertheless, despitea splendid performance, Hoggard received no good news from skipperNasser Hussain who didn’t guarantee him a place in the second Teststarting at Faisalabad from Nov 29.Hussain, who himself is struggling for form, said: “He has played justone Test match. We will see how things go because we have to see thepitch as well. “We got the warning in the one-dayers what lay aheadfor us,” he added with reference to the expected spinning pitch at theindustrial city of the country.Once again it were the out-swingers that carpeted the Pakistanhopefuls as five of the six batsmen were demised behind wickets. HasanRaza, world’s youngst Test player, was caught hooking Tudor.Earlier, England batted watchfully in an extended first session of theplay before accelerating the proceedings in the second half when theyscored run-a-minute 70 before declaring.Wicket-keeper Paul Nixon scored a 62-ball 47 not out with two foursand a six and Ashley Giles contributed 28 off 61 deliveries.Marcus Trescothick tuned up for the back-to-back Tests with 50 beforeretiring after a 125-ball innings that comprised six boundaries. AlecStewart scored 47 with eight fours and added 90 runs for the thirdwicket with the left-handed opener. But there was disappointment forTest aspirants Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff. Vaughan, whomissed the first Test because of calf injury, spent just 32 minutes atthe crease while scoring four and Flintoff, who flew in as areplacement, lasted for just one delivery.Left-arm Islamabad pacer Stephen John was the most successful PCB XIbowler with figures of four for 73. He bowled well within hislimitations thought the grassy wicket at times tempted to put in extrawhich result in him becoming wayward.Test discard Fazl-i-Akbar finished with two for 91 – expensive figuresconsidering the seamer’s friendly surface.England leave for Faisalabad on Sunday morning where they will have atraining session later in the day.

Those who followed the advice of my colleague, Matt Finnegan, prior to the First Test will be happy with England’s victory inside three days of actual play. England are now 6/5 favourites for a quick repeat and a fifth successive Test Series win.It is difficult to see the Pakistanis getting into the Second Test in Manchester. They were woefully under-prepared (and cold) at Lord’s. With the younger players inexperienced at playing on English tracks, Pakistan would perhaps have stood a better chance in a Three or Five Test Series.Back England to win the second test at 6/5 – after checking the weather forecast first.The draw is as short as 5/4 due to doubts about the weather. Old Trafford is one of the wettest grounds in the country (something that usually counts against backing Lancashire for the Championship), and only one one-day game has taken place there so far this summer.Pakistan are 7/2 to win – which would normally be an insult to some quality performers. Younis Khan might represent some value at 4/1 to be their first innings top scorer. For England, Michael Vaughan is in the form of his life, and is priced at 5-1 to be top scorer in England’s first innings.Looking further aheadThe long-awaited Ashes Series draws ever nearer. Let’s hope poor weather doesn’t scupper a contest that could define this English summer.England have real momentum going into the Ashes – and can be backed to hold the mighty Australians 2-2 in the series – priced at 6/1.

Tasmania has cruised to victory over Queensland in its Mercantile Mutual Cup game at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today. Set 102 for victory, the Tigers needed just half of the allocated overs, reaching the target for the loss of only three wickets.The Tasmanian side’s chase began poorly, with Michael Kasprowicz claiming the wicket of opener Todd Pinnington (0) with the first ball of the innings. Pinnington was caught behind, edging the ball to keeper Wade Seccombe.Kasprowicz’s opening partner Adam Dale snared the Tigers’ next wicket, just three overs later, as Seccombe again took an easy catch behind the wicket. The dismissal of Dene Hills (3) left the Tigers teetering at 2/8.Opener Jamie Cox (27) and Shaun Young (52*) set about rebuilding Tasmania’s innings, as Cox guided a Kasprowicz delivery past gully for four.Young survived an appeal for lbw off the next Kasprowicz over, and rubbed salt into the wound by driving the next ball through gully and point to the boundary.Cox and Young continued to find the fence, both beating the mid off fieldsmen in consecutive overs. Young was probably a touch lucky to survive two lbw appeals off Dale’s bowling.The introduction of Ashley Noffke to the bowling attack proved fruitful for the Tigers. Young first cut the bowler through gully and point for three, and then added four more to his score, driving over Noffke’s head.Cox took Young’s lead and in Noffke’s next over cut a delivery past point for four, and then deftly chipped the ball over square leg for two. Young featured in the runs again as he took another boundary off the Queensland bowler.However, a quick delivery from Dale saw Cox (27) become the Tasmanians’ third victim, out to a lbw decision. Young was then joined at the crease by teenager Shane Watson (16*).Young and Watson quickly piled on more runs, the former again finding the boundary through the gully. The man of the match reserved special punishment for the medium pace of Scott Prestwidge, pulling him twice through square leg for sixes in the same over.With Tasmania needing just six runs to win, rain looked likely to set in. However, Young took delight in again driving Noffke to the boundary, then bringing up his 50, and registering the winning runs by lobbing a shot into vacant space at deep cover point.After a brilliant display with the ball earlier in the day on a helpful pitch, the Tasmanians took full points from the match. What made it even better was that they also recieved a bonus point for reaching their target within 35.1 of the maximum forty-four overs available to them in the rain-reduced contest. The win will not completely remove the sour taste left by the drubbing they received from the Bulls in the Pura Cup match between the sides that concluded two days ago. However, the determination, spirit and unity shown today by the Tigers shows there is still a spark in Tasmanian cricket.

The 2nd contest between England and Pakistan in the NatWest Series was crucial for both teams. England needed a victory to break the string of 7 successive losses that equalled their worst sequence in ODIs from back in 1993. A victory for Pakistan would take them closer to the finals.In front of packed house at the Lord’s, Pakistan defeated England by 2 runs in a nail-biting thriller that dragged on to the last ball. This game too, like the last match, that Australia won over England in the last over, deserves a mention in the list of one-day cricket’s most exciting contests.

Picking up the strands midway, after a dismal start, Pakistan did end up with a competitive score of 242. With a superb innings of 81, Yousuf Youhana was the star of Pakistan’s innings and was given excellent support by Younis khan (41), Shahid Afridi (30) and Azhar Mahmood (27*).Pakistan had high hopes of winning this tough encounter but there stood Marcus Trescothick, who almost single handedly caused the delay, thrill and excitement. He opened the innings and almost carried the bat had he been not out in the last over. He played a magnificent innings of 137 with all the intentions of denying Pakistan the great victory.Had Trescothick not shown the determination to stay at the wicket, Pakistan could have demolished England much earlier and for a much smaller total. He played like a giant and dragged the game to the last ball.

With Saeed Anwar absent due to a family problem, Pakistan opened with Shahid Afridi and Saleem Elahi who departed after scoring 15 leaving Pakistan with a poor start of 28 for 1. Afridi, however, continued with his `hit out – get out’ style, hitting a mighty six off Mullally over long on in the 12th over. Trying another one a little later he flicked Andy Caddick to Trescothick at slip after collecting 30 crisp runs.Bowling a magnificent line, Andy Caddick struck again, shattering Inzamam-ul-Haq’s stumps, out for a duck and clinching 2 quick wickets in one over. One cannot help but criticise the way Inzamam left his stumps fully exposed, certainly not expected of a batsman of Inzamam’s class especially after his irresponsible performance in the last game against Australia. At 60 for 3 Pakistan was not in a happy position.The team now depended entirely on Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan, who did perform to the task thrust on them. With a formidable 80 runs partnership between them they raised Pakistan’s score to 140 when Younis made his exit. He skied one to Knight in the covers off Cork after scoring invaluable 41 runs.Youhana in full command completed his 50 in 89 balls and joined by a resolute Rashid Latif was now trying to speed up the unsatisfactory scoring rate. The spectators were finally entertained to a flurry of shots to the boundary. But, in the process Latif was bowled by Ealham for a useful 23.With only 7 overs left in the kitty, the effort was to pile up maximum runs. Razzaq, playing a sky-high wild shot to long on, was caught by Gough off Mullally reducing Pakistan to 195 for 6. The 200 of the innings had consumed 44 overs and Pakistan was not anywhere near a commanding position.Youhana, the chief architect of Pakistan’s innings was gradually running short of balls to complete his century. With no choice but slog, he offered a high catch to Owais Shah off Mullally after playing a magnificent innings of 81.The end in sight, it was now the tail enders’ show. With a breezy 27 not out by Azhar Mahmood, Pakistan ended at 242 for 8. The trio of speedsters, Caddick, Gough and Mullally shared 2 wickets each.It looked as if Pakistan was 20-25 runs short of a competitive total but to its good luck England started dismally. Except for Trescothick, who held on grimly after being dropped at 5 by Youhana, we saw Nick Knight (1), Alec Stewart (4) and Michael Vaughan (0) back in the pavilion with the score board showing only 26.Extremely tight and tidy bowling by Pakistan put England under such tremendous pressure that they were only able to score 79 in 25 overs.

All of a sudden the game changed. Brakes that the speedsters had applied on the batsmen were released when the spinners came in to bowl. A series of fours and sixes hit both by Trescothick and Shah brought England back into the game. Scoring at the rate of more than 10 runs per over they inflicted heavy punishment on Shoaib Malik and Afridi.With England collecting 150 runs in 33 overs, the tables were almost turned on Pakistan. While Trescothick hoisted his fabulous 100, Shah also completed his fighting 50. Both of them were in such command of the game, the bowlers almost looked helpless. The fielders who had looked perfect in earlier part of the innings started fumbling and shoulders dropped.The anti-climax came for England when Owais Shah was run out after a brilliant innings of 62. Ben Hollioake who came in next, was out in a peculiar manner. After dabbing a ball down he went for a run but the ball bounced off the pitch high and came back into the stumps. England was 196 for 4.The game now took a crucial turn-about again. Except for Trescothick holding one end, a procession started from the other. Ben Hollioake, Dominic Cork and Mark Ealham having departed in quick succession England was down to 206 for 7. It was a cruel battle between bat and the ball.Trapped lbw by Razzaq, Gough brought England down to 218 for 8. Caddick was now keeping Trescothick company at one end and was the last hope for England. With excitement rising with every act in the field England required 24 runs in 18 balls and then 19 in 12 balls getting closer with every ball. The turning point came when in the last over, Trescothick trying a big hit, was caught at mid-wicket by Shahid Afridi and England down to 137 for 9.The last pair, Caddick and Mullally needed to score 6 runs in 4 balls to win. A comedy of errors occurred when the tension even got to the umpire who gave England the advantage of a wide ball that had hit the gloves. A heat of the moment decision appealed against by the Pakistan team and even criticized by the commentators. The Pakistan fielders were on a high and continued with their magic of restricting the batsmen from scoring runs.The game melted down to the last ball with Andy Caddick needing to snatch 3 runs off Saqlain Mushtaq. The option for him was either to hit a six or pierce through the defensive field. In attempting such a shot, he was stumped by Rashid Latif. A nail biting finish that Pakistan won by 2 runs. Waqar, Saqlain and Razzaq shared 2 wickets each.

Dougie Brown produced an outstanding all-round performance to steer Warwickshire to a five-wicket Norwich Union League first division victory over Gloucestershire at Archdeacon Meadow.He claimed 3-34 with the ball to restrict the champions to 152-9 and then scored a powerful half-century as the Bears reached their target with 16 balls in hand.Dominic Ostler contributed an unbeaten 70 and shared in a third-wicket stand of 115 with Brown, who struck 61 from 107 deliveries before being trapped lbw by Martyn Ball.Warwickshire captain Michael Powell had earlier won the toss and seen his bowlers take full advantage of a green-top Gloucester Festival wicket.Brown destroyed the top order, taking 3-8 in an inspired six-over spell with the new ball, while Mo Sheik produced figures of 3-17 in a miserly spell from the River End.Tim Hancock, Kim Barnett and Chris Taylor all fell cheaply to Brown, and Charlie Dagnall bowled unchanged to register 1-22 from his nine overs.Gloucestershire never recovered from losing four wickets inside the first six overs and Mark Alleyne was the only batsman to play himself in successfully.Gloucestershire’s captain scored 68 from 115 balls and added 46 for the ninth wicket with Michael Cawdron who contributed an unbeaten 29.Alleyne eventually fell to Ashley Giles who finished with 2-14.Gloucestershire desperately needed to take early wickets and Cawdron and James Averis obliged, sending back David Hemp and Neil Smith respectively to reduce the Bears to 11-2.Deprived of the injured Mike Smith and Jon Lewis and without Australian one-day international Ian Harvey, the home side lacked the cutting edge necessary to run through the Bears’ batting.Off-spinner Ball was the pick of their bowlers, claiming 3-15 in five overs.

BAT Sports swept to a fifth win in six matches, but still trail Southern Electric ECB Premier League Division 1 champions Havant by a single point.The two title contenders both won – BAT crushing South Wilts by eight wickets, and Havant finding Liphook & Ripsley a harder-than-anticipated opponent, but still emerging two-wicket victors.BAT Sports swept to their fifth all-day ‘time’ win out of six, whipping dispirited South Wilts by eight wickets at Southern Gardens.South Wilts, who have experienced several batting failures in recent weeks, saw their top order blown away by the BAT pace attack.Tom Caines (57) found himself fighting a lone battle for much of the morning session after Richard Taylor (3-22) had nailed Rob Wade early on.South Wilts progressed to 42-1 before Dan Goldstraw (3-53) struck three blows in quick succession. He removed Brendan Pauwells and Jamie Glasson in successive balls, and then, nine balls later, had Russell Rowe caught behind for a second consecutive duck.Caines found a reliable partner in Tim Lamb (22), but after the pair had raised the total to 101, Richard Dibden’s off-spin took effect.The one-time Hampshire 2nd XI spinner dismissed both batsmen and finished with 4-26 as South Wilts crumbled to 128 all out, with Taylor returning to the attack to remove the Tomlinson brothers.The writing was on the wall for South Wilts directly the normally subdued Damien Shirazi spanked Jim Tomlinson’s opening three deliveries to the boundary.Shirazi continued to dominate a 70-run opening partnership with Richard Kenway, but was eventually trapped in front by Russell Rowe, who extracted lift and turn.Dave Carson fell to a spectacular lunging catch by Jon Chandler, but Kenway stayed to lead BAT home by eight wickets – Simon Preston hitting several boundaries in an unbeaten 15.But Havant’s close-call two-wicket win over Liphook & Ripsley kept the reigning champions on top by a solitary point.Havant, who got home with seven balls to spare, found themselves frustrated by Liphook’s late order after Richard Lewis (4-30) had reduced the visitors from 41-0 with three quick breakthroughs.Left-hander Graham Tyler (51 not out) held Liphook together as Phil Loat (4-37) created inroads.Liphook might have struggled to post a treble-figure total but for Nick Gay (27) and Tim Wheatley (25), who gave them a fighting chance at 186-9 off 63 overs.Dominic Carson (42) took Havant’s reply to 81-3, but with spin duo Ben Jansen (3-74) and Charlie Van der Gucht bowling in tandem for 36 overs, scoring became progressively more difficult.It was Luke Sears, who has experienced a low key season, who proved Havant’s match-winner – the former Hampshire Under-19 skipper hitting a decisive 63.Several batsmen were run out before Havant eventually got home at 187-8 in the penultimate over.A half-century by Stuart Bailey, aided by some late hitting from Australian Glen Motchall, eased Calmore Sports to an exciting three-wicket win off the penultimate ball against Burridge at Loperwood Park.Prospects of Calmore bettering Burridge’s 178-8 off 58 overs looked decidedly slim when Paul Ancell’s three-wicket spell had the Totton club wobbling at 111-6.But Bailey and Motchall added 54 for the seventh wicket before the lanky Victorian got Calmore home after five runs had been required from Ancell’s final over.Burridge suffered an uncertain start, with James Hibberd (4-64) having both Ancell and Paul Hawkins caught behind by Bailey, who went on to claim four victims.But led by Jon Francis (61), Burridge gradually rebuilt their rain-affected innings.At 131-7, however, Burridge’s situation was not exactly promising, though Matt Godwin (25) and Paul Jenkins did lift the total to 178-8.Calmore suffered two early mishaps – Jenkins removing Paul Draper and Tom Pegler – responded through Paul Cass (23), Jez Goode (24) and Hibberd (22), only to dip back into trouble again.But star man Bailey batted splendidly for 51 and was splendidly supported by Motchall (29 not out) as Calmore snatched a three-wicket victory with one ball to spare.The Bournemouth-Bashley (Rydal) derby at Chapel Gate petered out into a tame draw, with the visitors unable to press home the initiative they held after taking five Sports Club wickets.Bashley certainly had their tails up after Matt King (3-49) and John Whiting (2-79) reduced Bournemouth to 92-5 (Matt Swarbrick 35).But once Tom Webley (63) and Geoff Warrington (52) had completed the rebuilding operation, Bournemouth were “safe” at 201-8.”We don’t have the batting depth to get a score like that against a bowling side of Bournemouth’s calibre,” confessed Bashley skipper Neil Taylor.”I have to hold my hand up and say we killed the game – but we weren’t going to lose.”Dorset’s Neil Thurgood (64) batted almost the entire length of Bashley’s 130-6, but with Paul Warren (3-32) and Peter Waite (2-32) creating inroads at the other end, he did a sterling job.Andover’s rain affected game with Hungerford fizzled out into a ‘bore draw’ after Neil Staddon (63), Dean Whitehouse (46) and Jerry Hayward (43) had posted 224 for the hosts.Hungerford reached 150-5 by the close, with Danny Williams (38), Robbie Maier (38) and Chris Ward (36) all making contributions.

New Zealand are back at full strength with the return of theircaptain, Stephan Fleming, who has recovered from stomach trouble. TheBlack Caps will be looking forward to move to the top of the tablewith a victory in tomorrow’s game, which is the seventh match of theCoca-Cola Cup at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds. If they win, theywill be drawing level with Sri Lanka in the points table but in thenet run rate they have a slight edge over the hosts. And there areprecedents of the net run rate deciding the finalists of Triangulartournaments."I’m fine. I’ll be perfectly alright for tomorrow’s game," said theNew Zealand captain at the end of the team’s practice session thismorning at the SSC Grounds.But the hosts, who have already got six points, will be determined notto repeat the mistakes against India on Saturday.Until the last game, India was unlikely to get through to the final,but after the improved performance on Saturday, they’ve got a slimchance to make it and in the process they have made the competitionmore interesting."We’ve played some good cricket and confident of getting through tothe final," said a confident Fleming at the end of the team’spractice session.Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore, does not seem to be too worried aboutlosing the last game against India, "The object of the exercise isfirst to make the final. We are nearly there. We could have been thereafter the last game. But we played poorly and the Indians playedbetter."With Fleming’s recovery, Jacob Oram, who played well in the Indiangame is likely to make way for him. Batting at No 3, Oram made 41 off37 balls with five boundaries and a six. He also dismissed RahulDravid for 27.Dion Nash who has played in both the matches against India was leftout in the matches against Sri Lanka, but after his brilliant allround performance in the last game against India, he is expected to bein the final eleven, according to the New Zealand captain.There is a general feeling that the Black Caps have failed to comegood against quality spinners, but the captain has a completelydifferent view, "I don’t think there’s a problem. Off the threeteams, we have scored the highest runs so far. It’s just not only us;all the teams are finding the wicket difficult in the middle overs.Admittedly, we can do a few things better, but overall we have donewell," remarked the New Zealand captain.The tournament shifts away from Premadasa stadium where the first sixmatches of the Coca-Cola Cup were played. The last time a One-DayInternational was played at the SSC, Sri Lanka crushed England by tenwickets. The pitch looks a good one and the curator Ranil Abenaiakefeels there should be a lot of runs. This is a view with which Flemingconcurs. "Yes, it looks like a good wicket. Looks the best out of thelot," he said.Sri Lankan cricket manager Air Commodore Ajith Jayasekara has returnedto his duties as the team manager after he temporarily stepped downfollowing the terrorists attack on the air-force base at Katunayake.Sri Lanka are likely to go with the same combination that lost thegame against India. Mahela Jayawardene is expected to keep his placein the side despite a lean trot. The right-hander has just scored 20runs in four innings with two ducks, "We are missing his runs. Butbatsmen do experience this kind of bad patch. He just needs to spendsometime in the middle. I tell you the boy is a terrific player. Thereis no doubt about it," said a confident Whatmore.The coach also says they will stick to the six batsmen policy whichthey have been following in this series, "I am very pleased with thepolicy. Those who took the decision did so after taking a lot offactors into account and with the best interest of the team in mind."With Sri Lanka unlikely to make any changes it’s likely that RomeshKaluwitharana will again be the opening partner for Sanath Jayasuriyaafter their 103-run partnership against India.If Sri Lanka win tomorrow’s game, they’ll be through to the final andthat will mean that India and New Zealand will have to fight hard toearn a slot to the August 5 final at the Premadasa stadium underflood-lights.If New Zealand wins, that will put the Indians in a must win situationin their last two games.

• It was the 1740th ODI in cricket history.
• It was India’s 473rd and Sri Lanka’s 359th match.
• It was the 68th match between these two sides. The record now reads :India 35, Sri Lanka 28, abandoned 5.
• Umpires Asoka de Silva and Peter Manuel were officiating in their 10thand 35th match respectively.
• Saurav Ganguly was missing a ODI for the third time in his careerafter being suspended by ICC match referee. He could not play againstAustralia at Kochi on April 1,1998 as he had been suspended by SouthAfrican match referee Peter Vander Merwe for showing dissent whengiven out by umpire David Shepherd in India’s first innings atBangalore in 1997-98. Ganguly was also handed over a one-matchsuspension by Australian match referee Barry Jarman for excessiveappealing in the Kanpur ODI against Zimbabwe on December11,2000.Ganguly thus,could not appear in the following match at Rajkoton December 14,2000. Ganguly was also captaining India at that time.He thus achieved the dubious distinction to become first captain to besuspended for a match on two separate occasions.
• Rahul Dravid was leading India for the second time in his career. Hehas now led India to victories in both the matches he has captained,the other occasion being the Rajkot one-dayer against Zimbabwe lastyear.
• Sri Lanka’s total (183) was its lowest in a completed innings againstIndia in Sri Lanka. The previous lowest was 211 at this same ground onJuly 25,1993.
• Sri Lanka’s total was the lowest ever total in ODI history to includea century stand for the opening wicket. The previous lowest was 189 byAustralia against South Africa at Melbourne on December 9,1993 withMark Taylor and Michael Slater putting on 105. The following tablelists lowest such totals :

• When Amay Khurasiya and Virender Shewag opened the Indian innings itwas the fourth opening combination for India in this tournament andfifth in last five matches. India opened with Ganguly and Tendulkar inthe final of Coca Cola Cup at Harare on July 7,2001. With injuredTendulkar out of the team,Yuvraj Singh and Ganguly opened the inningsin India’s first league match in this tournament against New Zealandon July 20. Ganguly then chose to bat in the middle order in the nextmatch against Sri Lanka on July 22 and Amay Khurasiya and Yuvrajopened the innings. When India played against New Zealand on July 26,Ganguly decided to return to his regular position and opened theinnings with Virender Shewag making it five opening combinations infive matches !! .However this is not an Indian record. India playedwith different opening combinations in seven consecutive matches fromJanuary 18,1981 to June 2,1982 and from October 3,1984 to December27,1984.
• The wicket of Rahul Dravid was 200th for Chaminda Vaas in ODIs. He wasappearing in his 163rd match. Vaas became third Sri Lankan afterMuttiah Muralitharan (246 wickets) and Sanath Jayasuriya (202 wickets)and 15th bowler overall to do so. Incidentally he became only thethird left arm bowler in ODIs to reach this milestone after PakistaniWasim Akram (440) and fellow teammate Sanath Jayasuriya (202).
• VVS Laxman was winning his maiden MoM award in his 24th match.

New Zealand Cricket today confirmed that star all-rounder Chris Cairns would not be available for selection for the CLEAR Black Caps tour to Pakistan.Cairns is recovering from surgery nearly 6 months ago to the patella tendon of his right knee.New Zealand Cricket Fitness Advisor, Warren Frost, said while Cairns had initially targeted the Pakistan series for a return to international cricket this timeframe was always going to be tight.”Chris’ rehabilitation is progressing well. He has begun running and will soon begin sports specific exercising including bowling.”Had the One Day International series been played after the Test matches there would have been a small chance of him being fit for them. However as the one dayers are first they are too soon for him to target and a Test match loading would not be a sensible way to reintroduce him to the demands of international cricket,” Frost said.After a spell overseas Cairns is now continuing his rehabilitation programme at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre at Lincoln University.

Newlands season ticket renewals commence at the offices of the WPCA on Monday and continue till 21 September 2001.New sales commence on Tuesday 25 September 2001 when a restricted number of tickets go on sale to the general public. Comprehensive season tickets cost R725. Ground admission tickets cost R525. Tickets are available from the offices of the WPCA during the hours of 09H00 Monday to Thursdays and from 09H00 to 12noon on Friday during September. Season tickets sales to the general public close on 5 October 2001. Further information available from Otto or wendy at the WPCA’s offices on telephone number 6836420.General ticket sales commence on 11 October 2001 at any branch of Computicket.