The pick of Somerset’s young cricketer’s have just resumed their regular Friday evening squad sessions at the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground in Taunton.Somerset Youth Development Officer Pete Sanderson told me: "Over the next few months all of the age group squads will be coming to Taunton every third week, between 6.30 and 9.30 pm."He continued: "During the time that they are here the young players will be carrying out various activities across the five core areas of their training -technical, tactical, mental, physical and lifestyle."In all well over 120 players will be involved in the Friday night sessions which will also include specific sessions, including playing spin bowling which will be taken by the Cidermen’s 2003 skipper Mike Burns, a regular physical session taken by the club’sfintess intsructor Andy Hurry, and a session on nutrition that will be taken by the Head of Injury Prevention Darren Veness.The Youth Development Officer continued: "Below the squad sessions we are also resuming the district sessions across the county and these will be taking place at five different venuesat Wraxall, Wells, Langport, Writhlington and also here in Taunton, and any lads who do well at district level will be added to the county squads."He concluded: "There is a lot of junior cricket going on across the county and hopefully we will identify all of the promising young talent that there is in Somerset through these activities."

Hampshire’s Chris Tremlett’s winter of recovery reached a further stage when he was selected in the 14 Man England Academy squad to tour Malaysia and Sri Lanka.The Academy will play a single one-day match against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur before heading on a four-and-a-half week tour of Sri Lanka, where they will play seven matches against Sri Lanka A, Academy XI and an Under-19 sides.The Full Squad is: K Ali (Worcestershire), G Batty (Worcestershire), I Bell (Warwickshire), R Clarke (Surrey), R Dawson (Yorkshire), R Key (Kent), K Hogg (Lancashire), G Muchall (Durham), M Panesar (Northamptonshire), C Read (Nottinghamshire), D Stevens (Leicestershire), C Tremlett (Hampshire), J Troughton (Warwickshire), M Wallace (Glamorgan).

Friday, March 14, 2003:::
“If I can get my basics right, getting wickets should not be a problem. All that I strive for in every ball is to remain consistent,” Indian left-arm quick Zaheer Khan
Source: The Gulf News, Dubai
“I am a better one-day player now. Earlier I batted at No 3 and instruction to me was to bat 50 overs. Now I bat at No 5 or 6 and many a time, I just have to go for my shots,” India’s vice-captain Rahul Dravid
Source: Times of India
“I’ve said all along that Australia are beatable. It’s just that we don’t seem to know what a losing position is,” Australian middle-order batsman Darren Lehmann
Source: BBC, UK
Related CricInfo links: Darren Lehmann player page
“A lot of mind-power has gone into some nicknames,” Adam Gilchrist, on the name game that has seen almost all Australian players being given nicknames
Source: iafrica.com
Tuesday, March 11, 2003:::
“It would have been very disappointing, three years of planning, and not to have qualified would have been regarded as a failure. That’s how hard I would have taken it.” New Zealand Chairman of Selectors Richard Hadlee, on his thoughts had New Zealand not qualified for the Super Six
Source: Stuff, New Zealand”At my age, when you are snubbed for the World Cup, you think that’s it…my last match was for Manicaland against Matabeleland. I made five which was quite good – it only took me two balls.” Zimbabwe opener Alistair Campbell, on his sudden call-up in place of Mark Vermeulen
Source: The Star, South Africa”Um, Sanath (Jayasuriya) won the toss, I suppose.” Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore, on being asked what positives he could find from his team’s loss against India
Source: The Independent Online, South Africa

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has short-listed three candidates as they seek a replacement for current national team coach Dav Whatmore whose contract will not be renewed.Former Australian wicket-keeper Steve Rixon, New Zealand all-rounder John Bracewell and England batsman Bob Woolmer have all been approached, according to board sources.Whatmore’s contract expires at the end of May but the forthcoming four-nation Sharjah Cup will be his last series in charge and the Cricket Board are anxious to fill a vacancy as soon as possible.New Zealand arrive in Sri Lanka for a two-Test tour on April 16 and with the first Test on April 25 an interim coach may have to be hired for the series.Rixon, 49, coached New Zealand successfully from late 1996 to 1999 after which he returned to Sydney for a second stint as New South Wales coach.Bracewell, 44, has been a successful title-winning coach with English county Gloucestershire, guiding them to five trophies in two seasons.Woolmer has outstanding credentials having had highly successful assignments with Warwickshire, the English county, and South Africa from 1994 to 1999.He had been tipped to take over from Roger Harper as West Indies coach but the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have now sought the services of Bennett King, head coach of the Australian Academy.

The Kenyan legspinner, Collins Obuya, has been signed by Warwickshire as oneof their overseas players this season. Obuya, 21, a star of the World Cupduring Kenya’s astonishing march to the semi-finals, picked up 13 wickets inthe tournament at an average of 28.76, including 5 for 24 in the victoryover Sri Lanka at Nairobi.”The players are very excited about Collins’s introduction to the squad,”said Michael Powell, the Warwickshire captain. “He was impressive in theWorld Cup and is proving to be an exciting prospect. His bowling should add an extra dimension to our attack and we have also been struck by his athleticism in the field.”Obuya, 21, is likely to play his first game against Cardiff Universityon May 14 and will be available throughout the season, subject tointernational duty. He joins another star of the World Cup, New’s Zealand’sfast bowler Shane Bond, after Warwickshire’s approaches to Anil Kumble andBrad Hogg were turned down.”This is a thrilling time for me to be playing for such a famous club,” saidObuya, who until recently sold tomatoes to supplement his meagre salary. “Iam looking forward to it and hope that I can produce the form and successthat I managed during the World Cup in Africa.”

Promising Hampshire YC’s all-rounder David Wheeler is set to play his first Southern Electric Premier League match of the season tomorrow (SAT) – barely a week after having been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the spine.But instead of playing for the Hampshire Academy, whom he helped win the Premier 2 championship last summer, Wheeler is planning a "gentle run out" for New Milton against Hungerford at Fernhill, 1pm.Wheeler, 18, played all his junior cricket for New Milton before joining the Academy and has been given the nod by Hampshire Second XI coach Tony Middleton to return to his roots tomorrow."David is terribly frustrated and desperate to get a bit of cricket in before he undergoes surgery to cure his back problem," said his father Cliff."He hopes it will be a quiet run out with his old New Milton chums, in which he can do a bit of batting and fielding without over-extending himself."That’s unlikely to prevent the big hitting Wheeler from changing his natural game.He scored almost 600 runs for New Milton in 2001 and nearly 400 in the Academy’s Division 2 title success last summer.Paultons expect to build on their opening day success against Hook & Newnham Basics with a win over Hambledon, while strongly fancied Trojans are boosted by the return of Jamie Donaldson, Nigel le Bas and Chris Mitchell at Waterlooville.Title favourites Winchester KS face a difficult test against Ventnor at Steephill.

Jerome Taylor, the 18-year-old medium-pacer from Jamaica, is the only newface in West Indies’ 14-man squad that will take on Sri Lanka in the firstTest which starts on Friday, June 20 at St. Lucia. Taylor is spoken ofhighly in the Caribbean, and an impressive ODI debut against Sri Lankacapped a highly successful domestic season.Taylor has played just seven first class matches, picking up 21 wickets atan average of 20.14, and was named the most promising bowler in the CaribBeer series this year. If he plays the Test, Taylor will become the youngestdebutant for West Indies since Alfie Roberts played against New Zealand inAuckland in 1956.The rest of the line-up is drawn largely from the squad which was beaten 1-3in the four-Test series against Australia. There’s room, though, for CoreyColleymore, who could be playing his first Test in four years. He has notplayed a Test since his debut against Australia in April 1999.Squad
Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara (capt),Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Omari Banks, Carlton BaughJr (wk), Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Jerome Taylor.

Mike Powell became the first Glamorgan batsman to score a century in each inningsof the match against Worcestershire as he struck an immaculate 142 at SophiaGardens and together with a restrained 63 from David Hemp, he guided Glamorgan to a lead of 253 with twosecond innings wickets still standing.The pair shared a partnership of 148 in 47 overs for the third wicket after the visitors had gained afirst innings lead of 58 after their first innings ended in the fourth over of the morning. Glamorgan lost anearly wicket when Adrian Dale edged to first slip in the second over, and soon after the deficit had beenwiped off, they lost their second wicket as Jonathan Hughes was dismissed by Gareth Batty for 41.Hemp had already been batting for an hour and a quarter when Powell arrived at the crease, and as Hempcontinued to play watchfully, Powell soon went on the offensive, striking Batty for three consecutivefours and also lofting the off-spinner high into the seating at the Cathedral Road End. He continued todrive crisply as Hemp maintained his patient vigil at the other end, but their partnership ended whenHemp was run out for 63 off the last ball before tea.Shortly after the interval, Powell reached his second century of the match with a sweetly-timed coverdrive, having faced 164 balls and hitting 15 fours and a six, and duly entered the county`s record books asthe first man to score a hundred in each innings against Worcestershire.Soon after, two quick wickets fell to Justin Kemp, as the tall South African bowled Matthew Maynard witha ball that scuttled along the ground, and then had Mark Wallace caught behind for 3. But Powell remained defiant,and with Robert Croft dropping anchor in the final hour, the pair added 64 in 18 overs before Croft was bowledby the young off-spinner Shaftab Khalid. Powell continued to pepper the boundary boards, but on 142 he overbalancedtrying to drive Kemp, and after wicket-keeper Steve Adshead had removed the bails at the second attempt, Powell departed having struck 20 fours and a six in his four and a quarter hour stay at the wicket.Kemp took his fourth wicket as he trapped Mike Kasprowicz leg before shortly before the close, as Glamorgan endedthe day on 311/8. If the heavy rain that is forecast for South Wales tomorrow morning stays away,there is the prospect of an interesting final day`s play in what has been an enthralling contest so far.

A quiet, but welcome and overdue, revolution is occurring in the lower levels of cricket in New Zealand as a potentially debilitating problem is being weeded out.It has taken a $1.5 million budget but it is shaping as the most realistic attempt yet to attack a long-smouldering problem in the game.It’s all to do with player recruitment and retention at what has become known as the “grassroots” level of the game.As recreation opportunities grew, and the numbers of male teachers in primary schools declined during the 1970s-1990s all sport suffered an inertia which reduced participation and left potential players missing out on a chance to play many team sports, let alone cricket.When New Zealand Cricket underwent the Hood Review in 1995, one of the key areas for attention was in the club and schools area. It has taken time for an effective policy to be formulated but NZC national development manager Alec Astle and his staff have put in place a programme which, as boys and girls mature, should result in a much-needed revitalisation of the base of the game in New Zealand.Already the signs are encouraging. The first area of attention was primary schooling and so well has the system worked, that the intended second part of the project, the troublesome secondary school area, has had to be leap-frogged in favour of attending to the needs of cricket clubs.If that hadn’t been done, the clubs would not have been equipped to handle the expected upsurge of numbers in a few years as the players exposed at primary school come through the system.The most obvious example of the growth of the game in schools has been in the annual participation rates for the MILO Cup and Shield primary school tournaments for boys’ and girls’ respectively. In 2000 the numbers of entries were 240. In 2001 it rose to 249, then in 2002 to 257 and this summer to 301.Until this year, the finals of the tournaments have been a North v South Island contest played in Palmerston North. But the numbers have been divided into four zones this year, three in the North Island and the fourth covering all the South Island, and the four winners in both boys’ and girls’ competitions, will now travel to a finals weekend.Another level of incentive has also been added as the result of a sponsorship agreement reached with the New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) which is not only taking over as sponsor of the national secondary schoolgirls’ tournament, but also sponsoring a national Year 9 (or third form) tournament for boys which will be played over a full summer, not broken into a calendar year as happens with the boys’ Gillette Cup and the girls’ NZCT tournament.The Year 9 event can be played out over the summer because those secondary school pupils are not so affected by end of year examination requirements. The final of the tournament will be played in national summer tournament week towards the end of March, possibly in Taupo.The country’s six major associations are going to play a much greater role in the organisation of all the children’s tournaments as part of the drive to have the associations operate the cricket business occurring within their boundaries.Each of the majors appointed a cricket development manager for their region and he worked with a team of cricket development officers to deliver the initiatives into the primary levels of cricket.When the national discussions were held in 2000 about the game in secondary schools, clubs and districts, community cricket initiatives were introduced under the headings of School Support and Club Assist. Working in these areas are community cricket co-ordinators who work with a cluster of clubs and secondary schools to identify areas needing improvement and the plans to follow up targeted changes.The co-ordinators then assist in implementation of the desired strategies, placing less time pressure on the club officers and schools. Metropolitan clubs and district associations ran trials in five of the six major associations in 2001-02 and as a result of their success the programme was expanded into other metropolitan clubs and districts.There is no set formula. Each major association has been able to bend the strategy to suit their own situation.Auckland used the ‘Club is the Hub’ system where clubs are funded and club managers have the job of delivering the requirements.Wellington and Otago are using a central structure with the co-ordinators working for the association to oversee a specific number of clubs and schools.Northern Districts, Central Districts and Canterbury have appointed co-ordinators to work with clubs or districts. Some of these positions have been developed further by funding arrangements with the clubs or associations to encompass wider areas of coaching and development.Monthly checks are part of the administration process across the country to ensure all are achieving specified targets.The community cricket initiatives have been taken up by 17 of the 24 district cricket associations, by 22 metropolitan clubs, 14 in Wellington, five in Christchurch and three in Dunedin. Auckland have four clubs involved in their ‘Club is the Hub’ programme while other clubs are working on Sportsville studies and one club will soon enter into a funding partnership with a rugby club.These opportunities have provided employment for 32 community co-ordinators, 19 of whom are full-time.While there are still areas of need and much more that needs to be done, the effort to at least attack the problem and get some altered thinking in place has proved beneficial.Important benefits that have been realised include clubs now functioning over 12 months of the year, the revitalisation of long suffering volunteers who now have time to devote to things other than administrative work, a greater profile for cricket in far-flung communities and probably, most importantly, a point of contact when problems arise, allowing a much speedier, and often less hassled, resolution of problems.Cricket is on the move from the area of its greatest resource – if it can be maintained it could prove to be the most significant happening in New Zealand cricket in modern history.

Close South Africa 398 for 1 (Gibbs 179, Smith 178*) v England
ScorecardEngland’s cricketers have always been prone to choking on their own hubris, but today’s debacle at Edgbaston was astonishing even by their extreme standards. Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith – out of form, and in Smith’s case, out on a limb as captain – put their problems behind them to score a pair of magnificent centuries. In the process, they became the first opening partnership to pass 300 twice in Tests.

Their magnificent stand of 338, completed in less than 75 overs, utterly dominated the opening day of the first npower Test. By the time Gibbs holed out to Mark Butcher on the midwicket boundary, he had flailed 29 fours and a vast six off Darren Gough, and was unrecognisable from the shambling, shuffling figure who mustered 17 runs in four innings against England in the NatWest Series.Gibbs eased through the gears throughout the day, and for the last part of his innings he was at his jack-in-the-box best. He enjoyed some luck, and was dropped three times in the day, but when at his best, the audacity of his strokeplay more than compensates for his occasional looseness. He was dropped by Anderson on 94 – a sharp return chance – but responded by belting consecutive fours to bring up his hundred, and by the time he had raced past 150 shortly after tea, all his early tour uncertainties had been banished, seemingly for good.In the eyes of many pundits, Smith has not yet done enough to warrant a regular place in the side, let alone hold the captaincy. But today, he demonstrated that his will is made of granite. By the close he was still there, unbeaten on 178, and his authority was stamped clean across the match, the series, and most importantly, his team.Less flamboyant than Gibbs, but no less effective, Smith had taken his time to gauge the pace of the pitch in a tentative morning session. But once he had established that it held no demons, there was no stopping him. His innings was studded with compact drives and well-timed clips, and he reached his hundred by lofting Giles back over his head for four.For Nasser Hussain, returning to the England captaincy for the first time since early June, it has been a sobering day. If the pre-match hype was to be believed, his mere presence should have been enough to send Smith, a mere whippersnapper at 22, cowering into the corner. Instead, his dream-team new-ball partnership of James Anderson and Gough had the whiffiest of off-days, and despite the tenacity of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison, the only bowling highlight was to be found in Giles’s sexy new hairstyle.

Flintoff, who hadn’t played a Test since the Headingley match last August, was the best of a subdued attack. Pitching the ball up half a yard more than is his customary length, he induced a thick edge from Smith that fell short of Butcher at second slip, before seaming one past the inside of the bat and through to Alec Stewart.Harmison bowled with pace, hostility and impressive control, but continued his unfortunate habit of inflicting injury on his own team-mates. Marcus Trescothick was forced to leave the field with a fracture in his right index finger, after failing to gather an awkward ball at slip.If this had been the first day of an Ashes series, it would have an utterly depressing premonition of doom. Given that it is not, England’s players will hardly know whether to laugh it off, or cry themselves to sleep.Click here for the Wisden VerdictEngland 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain (capt), 5 Anthony McGrath, 6 Alec Stewart (wk), 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Darren Gough, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Harmison.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Gary Kirsten, 4 Jacques Rudolph, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Shaun Pollock, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 Charl Willoughby, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Dewald Pretorious.