PRETORIA (October 6) – Rudolf Steyn steered the Northerns Titans to a dramatic three-wicket victory over Western Province in their Standard BankCup game at Supersport Park on Friday. The Titans’ opening batsman scored 111 runs off 122 balls with 10 fours to lay the platform for victory and claim the man of the match award.The honour of clinching the game went to the diminutive Kruger van Wyk. Van Wyk, making his provincial debut, showed character and courage intaking on the acting Western Province captain, Alan Dawson. He first hooked Dawson for a six and then unleashed a cover drive for a four off successive deliveries to clinch the issue with an over to spare.HD Ackerman, the province captain, pulled a hamstring during his innings of 92. With Herschelle Gibbs acting as a runner and with the Western Province innings in trouble at 62 for the loss of four in the 20th over, the visitors rescued the situation through a fifth wicket partnership of 134 off 132 balls.After a slow start to the innings, Western Province picked up their run rate during the last 10 overs of their innings to score 229 for six. But all it did was raise the stakes slightly to set the Titans a more challenging yet still very makeable total of 230 in their 45 overs.The Titans’ Steve Elworthy ended with figures of three for 34 and Pierre Joubert, who also had a hand in the frantic run chase in the final overs of the innings, picked up three wickets for 51 runs.

Bloomfield C&AC recorded their first win in their second match of the Premier Limited Over Tournament 2000 by beating Moors SC by 50 runs in Colombo today.The match was reduced to 36 overs after the start of play was delayed due to heavy overnight rain. Moors won the toss and, unsurprisingly, decided to bowl first, in an effort to exploit the moist conditions.Sanath Jayasuriya gave a boost to Bloomfield SC with his return to the side after his exploits in Sharjah but disappointed when Rangana Herath caught him in the covers off the bowling of Rasika Priyadharshana for just 8 runs.Pubudu Dassanayake followed soon after to leave Bloomfield in trouble on 24/2. Bloomfield skipper, Kumar Dharmasena, and T.M. Dilshan then batted cautiously to start with before taking the attack to the Moors bowlers. Until the 26th over the pair were content to work the ball into the gaps for singles and twos. However, Dilshan then took control to unleash his full array of strokes.The pair added 152 runs off just 161 balls for the third wicket before Dilshan was stumped for 88 off 77 balls. His knock included 11 fours and 2 huge sixes. Dharmasena scored 60 off 82 deliveries before Rangana Herath caught him on the boundary.Bloomfield finished with 222/4 in their allotted 36 overs. The only economical bowler was R. Priyadharshana who took one wicket for 20 in his six overs.In reply, Moors SC made just 172 for the loss of 9 wickets in 36 overs. Heshan Thilakarathna (38) and Rasika Priyadharshana were the only pair who managed to put on a decent partnership. They compiled 64 for the second wicket. When they were dismissed Moors SC’s hopes quickly evaporated as Sanath Jayasuriya picked up three wickets.

The Australians began their first practice session in England today in readiness for the NatWest and Ashes series – and believe that they hold the psychological edge over England.Skipper Steve Waugh acknowledges that England are on a roll at the moment, having won four Test series in a row, but thinks that his side will be able to take advantage of their recent good record against England.Speaking at New Road, Worcester, this morning, Waugh said: “We are looking forward to playing England; they have done very well in recent times.”They are a good side, seem together and are pretty tough and won some goodmatches.”They are obviously a good team, but they are going to come up against apretty good Australian side.”We know what to expect. We got beaten pretty comprehensively in the FirstTest of the last series here but we have a pretty good record against Englandand their personnel have not changed that much.”If we can get on top early we believe we can bring those old scars up.”His comments were echoed by fast bowler Glenn McGrath. “If we really concentrate on our game, I can’t see us getting beaten,” the New South Wales player told the Sydney Morning Herald.”England have won four series in a row and are playing pretty well. Theirspirits will be up.”But he added: “At the end of the day, I don’t feel they really believe they can beat us. That’s where we’ll beat them.”Last week Waugh said that because of England’s recent form and Australia’s defeat in India, England went into the series as favourites. But he later claimed the comments were intended to be taken light-heartedly and repeated today that he felt the tourists were the likely favourites.”England have just beaten Pakistan in the first Test of the summer and welost our last two Test matches,” said Waugh. “So form-wise England have gotthe form on the board – but I would suggest we will still probably go in asfavourites.”In some ways it would be good to see whether we can come back from losing aseries. We will see how good we really are.”A number of the tourists have played county cricket and Waugh suggested thatan Ashes tour was like a home-from-home for his travelling party.”It’s a great place to come and play cricket and it’s the number one tour ifyou are an Australian player.”We feel comfortable and a lot of us have played a lot of cricket here and welove playing in England.”I think the crowds are probably the best to play in front of – cricket herehas just got a good feeling about it. It feels as if this is the place toplay.”Australia’s first game of the tour will be a three-day game at New Road against Worcestershire starting on June 1.

An innings of brutal power and subtle skill from Inzamam-ul-Haq has set up a challenging total for Pakistan to defend in this first NatWest Series encounter of 2001. In partnership with Saeed Anwar, Inzamam added 150 runs at close to a run a ball as the England bowlers felt the full force of his powerful bat. After Old Trafford they may have had a sense of deja vu.Pakistan accelerated dramatically from the halfway point of the innings when they stood at 108-2. Saeed’s 50 (68 balls 5×4 1×6) came up with his fifth four to add to the six he’d already hit. Another six followed and Vaughan was replaced after an expensive two-over spell that appears to have served to whet the appetite of Inzamam.At the Pavilion End Paul Collingwood came on for his first bowl in international cricket. But Inzamam was in no mood for a warm welcoming, and launched the ball back past the bowler by way of a ‘hello’. Successive ferocious boundaries followed in his next over and Collingwood was removed from the attack after two overs for 18.Inzamam’s 50 came off 66 balls with five fours, quickly followed by the 100 partnership, from just 106 balls and Stewart was forced to recall Darren Gough, a plan that almost worked when Saeed offered a return chance that the bowler was unable to cling on to.Ben Hollioake was called into the attack to replace Collingwood at the City End and endured a torrid time. He did little wrong and showed that he has learnt much during his time in the international wilderness, but Inzamam was by now in total control. A pull to the mid-wicket fence followed a pick-up through extra cover. Inzamam brought up the 200 with a delicate flick, almost a sweep, having hoisted the previous ball over extra cover in the 40th over. This shot also brought up his 8,000th limited-overs run.Ealham bowled well, conceding just 35 runs, which in the circumstances, was a great effort, but it was Cork who finally ended the partnership after it had added 150 in just 158 balls. Saeed, caught at point, trying to force off the back foot had scored 77 (106 balls with 6×4 2×6).This wicket, and the return of Mullally from the Pavilion End, conspired to slow down the run rate. A rare mis-hit from Inzamam dropped between fielders but his determination not to lose momentum eventually got the better of him. Attempting a powerful square drive off Cork he failed to keep the ball on the ground and was taken by Marcus Trescothick fielding on the cover fence – a fine catch, running in. His innings had spanned 95 balls and included nine boundaries.Azhar Mahmood inadvertently provoked a moment of comedy by falling flat on his face as he walked out to bat, but a delicate late cut for four off Mullally and a fierce square drive off Hollioake showed clearly that England had better take his batting seriously. His final score of 38 took just 24 deliveries.Hollioake won the mixed blessing of another bowl, this time from the City End, as Stewart juggled his bowlers in an attempt to stop the flow of runs. A one over spell was followed by a change of ends, and a bowl for the Surrey man from the Pavilion End, but some lapses in control contributed to a costly analysis.A fine, flat throw from Gough ran out Yousuf, going for the second run in Mullally’s final over but the new man, Younis, continued the theme as England’s bowling started to show the strain. Hollioake was deposited to all corners of Edgbaston and a full toss from Gough was carved over cover by Mahmood for six. England’s talisman soon had some revenge though when Younis was caught behind trying to make room on the off side.Pakistan are firm favourites at the halfway stage of this game, but England may have settled for this total when Inzamam and Saeed were together. They need 274 to win when the floodlights come on.

An unbroken stand of 251 in 49 overs between skipper Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn carried Australia to 405-5 declared against a toiling Essex attack.Gilchrist was the dominant partner after arriving at the crease with the tourists in a spot of bother at 154-5. Gilchrist is recognised as one of the game’s hardest hitters and further enhanced that reputation with a series of savage pulls and drives, treating both spin and pace alike.His reward was 21 fours and three sixes as he reached 150, having faced only 149 deliveries. Martyn was content to play the supporting role yet never looked in the slightest trouble as he hit 16 fours and a six in an unbeaten 114 spanning 182 deliveries.In contrast to Gilchrist’s powerful play, Martyn excelled in caressing the ball through the gaps as the Australians scored at about five an over to complete a superb recovery after an inauspicious start.Essex had enjoyed a successful opening hour when they claimed three wickets in the first 14 overs. Mark Ilott, the county’s left-arm seamer, struck twice with the total on 36.He had Michael Slater caught down the legside by James Foster and then the wicket-keeper took another straightforward catch two deliveries later as Justin Langer pushed forward at a wide delivery outside his off stump.Foster’s safe hands also accounted for Matthew Hayden, this time to give 19-year-old paceman Justin Bishop the first of his two successes. Bishop followed up when he had Mark Waugh caught at cover by Graham Napier for 25.Ricky Ponting, whose 63 arrived from as many deliveries, was the only batsman to show any real authority before lunch but he departed soon afterwards when he tried to cut a ball from off spinner Peter Such and was bowled.Left with nine overs before the close, Essex lost Paul Grayson without scoring but Nasser Hussain, opening the innings, survived a pace onslaught and got off the mark with a pull for six from Jason Gillespie as the home side closed on 16-1.

CricInfo Championship Division Two second-placed Hampshire hosts basement-strugglers Derbyshire at the Rose Bowl and welcome back Alan Mullally from international duty to the 12.Despite his seven wicket haul last week against Durham, Chris Tremlett is the likely candidate to miss out as Hampshire attempt to close the gap on leaders Middlesex.The hosts will be looking to re-enact their nine-wicket victory over the same opponents last month.Derbyshire are without skipper Dominic Cork, who is absent through injury. Chris Bassano, the South African born batsmen who created a new record last week by hitting two centuries on his Championship debut unsurprisingly holds his place.Hampshire: Giles White, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (capt), Neil Johnson, Laurie Prittipaul, Adrian Aymes (w-k), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alex Morris, Alan Mullally, Chris TremlettDerbyshire: Stephen Stubbings, Luke Sutton (w-k), Michael Di Venuto, Chris Bassano, Matthew Dowman, Rob Bailey, Graeme Welch, Nathan Dumelow, Paul Aldred, Alex Edwards, Tim Munton (capt)

David Byas was at his resilient best to earn Division One leaders Yorkshire a valuable 56-run advantage over Northamptonshire on another hot and humid day at Wantage Road.The visitors’ skipper hit an unbeaten 110 in five hours, and received excellent support from Ryan Sidebottom (20) as Yorkshire rallied strongly from 225-8 to 309 all out. Northants closed on 26-1 in their second innings, still 30 runs adrift.On a pitch offering some help to the spinners, Yorkshire ran into trouble against Jason Brown and Graeme Swann with only opener Matthew Wood (55) and Darren Lehmann (29) prospering for long.The ever-dangerous Lehmann fell to a superb throw from Brown on the third man boundary as he looked for a risky second run, and although Byas was batting with skill and patience Northants – bottom of the table – were bowling themselves into a promising position.But Sidebottom dug in with Byas, and the pair added 78 in 25 overs to wrest the initiative and secure a third bonus point. Byas completed a well-deserved century – his second of the season and 26th for the county – off 241 balls with 14 fours, displaying a wider range of attacking strokes as his innings progressed.Paul Taylor eventually mopped up the tail, but Sidebottom still enjoyed the last laugh as he had Adrian Rollins taken by Scott Richardson in the slips with his first ball to leave Northants firmly on the back foot at the close.

A heavy schedule and the unofficial status of the three-match limitedovers series were the reasons for India opting out of a trip toAustralia in September, Indian Cricket Board chief AC Muthiah saidtoday.”I discussed with all the players of the Indian team. They hadexplained to me that after their return from Sri Lanka, the team is togo to Pakistan for the Asian Test Championship and then on a full tourto South Africa. After playing England at home, the team would beleaving for the West Indies,” Muthiah said in a statement in Chennai.Meanwhile, he said, the team is to visit England for a benefit matchfor Surrey County Cricket Club, to be organised by former PrimeMinister John Major.The Board President said “The players’ feeling that they are underheavy load of cricket was considered and then I had explained to MrDavid Rogers, chief of the Australian Cricket Board, about ourinability to confirm participation in the three game series.Considering the number of official tours, the BCCI decided against theplayers’ participation in the Super Challenge series, which is anunofficial one,” Muthiah added.As per the schedule, India and Australia were to play two indoormatches at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne on September 21 and 23 and anoutdoor fixture at the Gabba in Brisbane on September 26.

The Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) chairman Jagmohan Dalmiya onWednesday described the government’s decision not to allow the Indianteam to participate in the Asian Test Championship as an “internalmatter” and asserted that the meet would go ahead as scheduled.”It is purely an internal matter between the Government of India andthe Indian Cricket Board. The ACC or the ACF has no jurisdiction todeal with the respective governments. I have no comment to make on thedecision”, Dalmiya said in Kolkata.He said the ACC had taken a policy decision to continue with itstournaments even if one of the four Test playing countries pulled outand there would be no exception this time also.The decision not to participate in the ATC was taken at a meetingbetween Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Union Home Minister LKAdvani and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in New Delhi onTuesday evening.The discussions took place on the basis of a letter Union SportsMinister Uma Bharati wrote to the Prime Minister suggesting Indiashould not participate in the Asian Test Championship which begins inMultan on August 29 with a match between defending champion Pakistanand newcomers Bangladesh.

Hampshire’s hopes of promotion to the Norwich Union League suffered a setbackwhen they lost to an Andrew Flintoff inspired Lancashire at the Rose Bowl.Flintoff followed his aggressive 78 with a tight bowling performance whichcost him only 32 from his nine overs. Chasing a target of 213 to win, Hampshire were all out for 169 in 41 overs, giving Lancashire victory by 43runs.Lancashire recovered from losing openers Mark Chilton and Glen Chapplewith only 12 on the board and for that they can thank Flintoff and JohnCrawley who put on 151 for the third wicket in only 28 overs.Flintoff was at his most belligerent with a six and nine fours while the more cautious Crawley proved just as valuable with an unbeaten 84. Flintoff was caught on the boundary going for another big hit but Crawley and Neil Fairbrother added a valuable 34 as Hampshire struggled to contain the Lancashire revival.Chris Tremlett finished as the most successful of the bowlers with three for45 but Hampshire were left with a daunting task on a pitch of variablebounce.So it proved as Jason Laney and Derek Kenway were out to successive deliveries from Chapple. Robin Smith and Neil Johnson briefly raised Hampshire’s expectations in a stand of 71 for the third wicket but from themoment Smith was superbly run out by Chilton’s superb throw, Hampshire were a spent force.From 138 for four Hampshire slumped to 169 all out, losing their last six batsmen in as many overs for 31. Tremlett and Alan Mullally were run out and others perished to rash shots as Lancashire went on to record only their fourth win of the season, Chapple finishing with three for 19.