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Thursday 6th of February saw the first of our two matches against the Indians. After some disappointing results against Australia and New Zealand we were looking forward to getting some runs on the board and winning a match.We lost the toss and were put into bat on Lincoln 3, a traditionally low, slow wicket. We made 208 runs with Lottie batting well to make 79 not out. The Indians chased well and were in a position to win the match after 40 overs with only 40 odd runs required and six wickets in hand. Some tight bowling from Connor and Collyer and two crucial run outs involving the specialist fine leg Pearson, left them with 11 runs from 18 balls with four wickets… surely a winning position!A concerted team effort got us a win on the very last ball, Collyer bowling Goswami with India only needing two runs for the win. Very exciting stuff!After an injury to Mandie Godliman, I’ve been keeping wicket. With only four matches worth of keeping under my belt since September it’s been good to get back behind the stumps for England, something that I’ve always wanted to do since I joined the squad in 1998.The very next day we played India again in the third-fourth play-off match on the Bert Sutcliffe Oval. Preparation for the match was the same as for other days although livened up by Spraggy setting the canteen on fire trying to melt butter in the toaster. Again we batted first but were disappointed to only put 191 on the board, Leng batting well for her 80 runs.England built up pressure early on the Indian top order and they were soon four down for 40. We gathered together as a team and talked about not letting them get away. We talked about tying down one end and giving the Indians a blue wall to hit the ball through. It worked. Sarah Collyer bowled 9.5 overs for nine runs, three wickets and we bowled the Indians out for 101, a 90-run victory much more comprehensive than the one-run victory of the day before!That night was spent in quiet celebration at a local ale house, sharing a few pints of the local brew with the team and the supporters who had travelled over from the UK. We were home by 10.30pm; a very showbiz evening!The final of the World Series was contested by Australia and New Zealand. Australia’s domination of the tournament was once again in evidence, Belinda Clark making 80 runs to ensure that Australia posted a high total. Early pressure on the New Zealand batting from Cathryn Fitzpatrick dented chances of a repeat of the Kiwi win in the World Cup final of 2000. The English highlight of the day was the victory celebration of Julian Lillington after winning $150 in the “Can you catch” competition in the break. Robbie Keane eat your heart out!That evening we all went out into Christchurch to celebrate the end of the series with all the other teams. Winning the “How late were you out?” medal was veteran Clare Taylor finally making it home at 5am – good one!The team relaxed on Sunday, spending the day shopping, packing and recovering from the excesses of the night before (too much dancing!). Early (very early) on Monday morning we left Lincoln, our home for the past two weeks. We were on the bus by 4am and on our way to the airport for flights to Sydney then onto Brisbane. Check-in and departure tax out of the way we headed over to the nearest café for a much needed caffeine fix. We were in Brisbane six hours later getting used to the heat and humidity.Training on Tuesday left us tired and dehydrated. Two hours of nets followed by a short fielding session were enough for most of us. The afternoon was spent learning how to body board on a beach on the Gold Coast. Our Australian coach, John Harmer, had decided that this was an important part of the knowledge that he could impart to us. We had a lot of fun playing in the waves and even managed to catch the odd one.Now its back to preparation for the Test series with a two-day practice match against an Australia Youth side. Concentration will be important in the longer version of the game and we’ll have to get used to conditions.

New Zealand Cricket’s decision to send young spin bowlers Bruce Martin and Jeetan Patel to Sri Lanka with the New Zealand side is part of an on-going initiative to boost the performance and stocks of spin bowlers in the country.The situation has become desperate. Not only for selection in international sides, but in also giving New Zealand batsmen exposure to spin in domestic cricket so they are better equipped as batsmen having been required to play it.With left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori the only top-flight spinner in the country, there has been concern for many years about developing the tier beneath international class to provide greater depth of resources.TelstraClear Black Caps coach Denis Aberhart said the situation was not one of crisis but this decision to take the younger bowlers was one of several things that will be considered in a look at the situation.”At the moment we are looking at what other options we have. These two will go to Sri Lanka, but that is only part of a full programme they will be doing,” he said.They would not be the only players targeted in the scheme.”It is all in the melting pot at the moment but we are not making the progress we would like in developing our spinners,” he said.Specialist spin bowling clinics have been involved in the past with Australian spin coaches Terry Jenner, Ashley Mallett and Peter Philpott.”We need to increase the spinners’ understanding of the game,” he said.There were several options under consideration. More A tours was one but that was dependent on finances being available.There was also the possibility of using former players in New Zealand who had the knowledge to assist the players but that was a case of them having the time, or the inclination, to be involved.The other consideration was having spinners get more time bowling in matches in New Zealand. But that involved having wickets which allowed that and he highlighted the problem with captains choosing to bowl spinners.”Brooke Walker [leg-spinner] is captain of Auckland but he doesn’t bowl himself,” Aberhart said.

Shoaib Akhtar has been fined 75% of his match fee and banned for two one-day internationals for ball-tampering. Akhtar was found guilty of changing the condition of the ball (Law 42.3) and breaching Level 2.10 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players.Shoaib was hauled before Gundappa Viswanath, the match referee, on Tuesday night after television footage showed him scratching the surface of the ball during Pakistan’s 22-run victory over New Zealand.”Tampering with the ball is contrary to the laws and the spirit of cricket,” said Viswanath. “I consider this offence to be of a serious nature and the penalty imposed reflects this view.”It is unfair to attempt to gain any advantage by altering the condition of the ball, apart from the traditional method of polishing, or the drying of a wet ball,” added Viswanath. “Players are aware that they can clean the seam under the direct supervision of an umpire.”Shoaib wasn’t available for comment, but Haroon Rashid, the manager of the Pakistan team, indicated that Shoaib was disappointed by the ruling. “He is disappointed as anybody would be but he accepted the decision. He had a fair hearing although he did try to put across his point of view, which was that he was cleaning the ball.”Shoaib will miss the final of the Bank Alfalah Cup on Friday.Shoaib was warned for ball-tampering during Pakistan’s recent tour ofZimbabwe by Clive Lloyd and, later in the same tour, was banned for one match for throwing a bottle into the crowd.Shoaib was dropped from the team after a poor World Cup, and was brought back for the triangular series in Sri Lanka only after being warned by Tauqir Zia, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Zia made it clear that Shoaib’s behaviour would be scrutinised closely and any further misdemeanours would jeopardise his career.

Derbyshire CCC Captain, Dominic Cork (31), has signed a one year extension to his existing contract, guaranteeing his playing future at the County Ground until at least the end of season 2005. Discussions had been ongoing for some time, and Cork has made it clear that he sees his future at Derby.”I still feel fit enough and good enough to play beyond these three seasons and I want that to be with Derbyshire. With the current Coach, Assistant Coach, overseas player and Chief Executive I feel that this is a Club moving forward,” Dominic Cork.

The second part of our exclusive interview with South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith.
Click here for part oneWhat are the biggest changes to your life since you became captain?
On the material side I’ve bought a house – that’s a pretty significant change. But I’ve still got housemates. You need someone to look after the place, I’m never there. And personally the requests on my time can be daunting. My management group, Fordzone, field invites and requests for three functions a day, on average. I struggle to say no to anything so they do it for me, it would be crazy otherwise. I’m now able to focus on my cricket responsibilities because my diary is managed by professionals. I’m also aware that I have 14 other sets of emotions to be concerned about – I can’t just think about myself, there is a squad that deserves my concern. But that is something I’ve always had and I welcome it.Can a captain still have friends within his team, go out for a beer with them?
Yes – certainly. It’s a question of balance. You can’t just be an onfield captain, you learn so much about your team-mates by having a beer with them in the pub. The same goes for the opposition, too. And the players enjoy seeing the captain having a beer with them, so I definitely won’t be changing any of that. Besides, I enjoy a beer!Must a captain always be in the team, especially on tour?
The best interests of the team come first. If I wasn’t pulling my weight then it would be better to step aside. I wouldn’t avoid the issue if I was out of form, and I wouldn’t pass the buck as far as the responsibility was concerned. I wouldn’t force someone else to make the decision – I’d do it. But I’d also want to be in the front line, in the thick of it. I’d hate to duck the pressure. I wouldn’t ever do that.What’s it been like captaining Shaun Pollock?
He’s been absolutely brilliant. From what I know of Shaun he’s been a different man since we changed over. He’s far more relaxed and outgoing now, always down at dinner in the team hotel and smiling. We had a couple of long chats on tour in Bangladesh and I learned a lot from him. Before he seemed weighed down by everything.Doesn’t that concern you?
I know it can get to you, I really do. I can’t pretend I know what it’s like as national captain but I can imagine. I’m a different person to Shaun and we’ll handle things differently. Our personalities are different – we deal with stressful situations in our own ways.Are you prepared to compromise your privacy for the next ten years?
You have to – how can you not? You can’t expect to have a private life – your private life is what happens in your own home.Your phone has rung 14 times in the 35 minutes we’ve been talking. Is it always like that?
Yes [smiles]. You get used to it. You know, anyone who has ever dreamed of being a professional sportsman has also dreamed of being recognised in a restaurant and of being asked for an autograph in a nightclub. Anyone who tells you different is lying. Learning how to deal with those situations is part of the job, and the responsibility of playing for your country. Obviously you become more and more sceptical as the years go by, and I’m only 22, but I hope I still feel it’s important to recognise people in ten years’ time. I hope I never, ever ignore genuine supporters.Have you ever been made really, really cross? Really angry?
No, no. Not that I’d ever show on the outside. Oh, well, er … I’m a liar. Just once, and it happened last week. Some guy phoned me at 3.30am – I don’t know where he got my number – and gave me huge flak about the team. He attacked me, personal and abusive. Underworked and overpaid, with lots of swear words. And I responded.What did you say?
I said, “You’re probably sitting in some sweaty nightclub with a tenth beer in your left hand, a smoke in your right hand and your stomach hanging all over your belt. And you’re calling me at 3.30am to abuse me about a group of professional sportsmen?”Does the Aussie sledging ever border on the childish/unnecessary/personal?
At times, yes. But they are also very clinical with it and it can be very effective. They are very practised at it and they all know what they’re doing. They put a bit of thought into it, it’s not just verbal bombing. They are a very professional side and that is part of their game plan. But at times it pushes the limits of what’s acceptable.Is there a danger of you, or your team, becoming obsessed with the ‘dangers’ of the tabloid media in England?
Yes, that’s a possibility. Mark Boucher told me how they got stitched up the very first night they arrived in England for the ’98 tour. Apparently they got photographed with some semi-naked girl – Jacques and Lance were there, too, but only Bouch appeared in the papers the next day which caused some embarrassment … but it gave the rest of the boys something to laugh about. We must be aware of the dangers without allowing them to affect our day-to-day lives. But we definitely must not try and hide away and avoid the difficult questions.Isn’t Alec Stewart a bit old for international cricket?
Oh very funny, very funny.No seriously, he’s 40 years old.
If I say a word about him he’ll score five centuries against us in the Test series! Hmm. If he’s playing well enough then he’s young enough. I’m sure some of the young keepers in England have felt a bit frustrated over the years, but the selectors have given Foster and Read a chance and they keep going back to Alec. So maybe he really is the best. He seems very fit and strong. I don’t know him but he’s certainly not a favourite of many of our team. Maybe that’s why they’re keeping him going. The only time I’d ever bring age into a selection equation is when you have two players of equal ability and there is a large gap in their ages. You’d want to think of the future. But if you’re the best you must play.Who is under more pressure, you or Nasser Hussain?
I’m a young captain – frequently accused of being too young – with very little international experience and very little experience of England, so of course I’m under pressure. But so is Nasser, and he’s right at the other end of the experience scale. He’s under just as much pressure, retiring from one-day cricket, questions about his commitment. Captains are under pressure, full stop.Any previous experience of England?
I spent two months with Hampshire when Jimmy Cook was there, playing for the 2nd XI and seeing the country. I played at The Oval and otherwise spent lots of time driving around, sitting in traffic actually. I was 18 years old, driving a car about the same age with brakes even older. Happy days. But no, I wouldn’t say I had too much experience of England that might stand me in good stead during a series of five Test matches. But we’ll have good people around us.Why is it so difficult to win in England?
From South Africa’s point of view I think it has a lot to do with the length of the tour. Looking at the stats from 1994 and ’98 we’ve won early on and then faded as the weeks went by. There’s a lot of cricket, a lot of time spent in each others’ pockets. People become physically and mentally tired – perhaps motivation became affected. I do think mental preparation is very important for an England tour.How do you feel when people talk about South Africa’s legacy of match-fixing since 2000?
Really, really pissed off. Really angry. I can’t stand it. It irritates me. We’ll turn it around – I know we’ll turn it around. I’m so frustrated that people can call us cheats in the middle of a Test match, that people have that image of us. It doesn’t just hurt me, it hurts every single member of the current squad and they are determined to change that image, not for themselves but for every member of the public who felt embarrassed, angry or ashamed when it happened. I promise you, we want to make all South Africans proud of their cricket team. I promise you that.

Wes Hall’s criticism of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the scheduling of the series between the West Indies and Sri Lanka during the rains was misplaced, according to Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC.Speed said that Hall, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), was wrong to blame the ICC because it was the responsibility of individual country boards to decide where and when matches would be played.”The only role the ICC has in scheduling [matches] is to make sure that all teams fulfill their commitment to play each other in a series of not less than two Test matches and three one-day internationals both home and away in a five-year cycle.”In this year’s West Indies schedule, the WICB, for sound cricket and commercial reasons, decided to play four Tests and seven ODIs against Australia and this decision obviously impacted on their ability to schedule the Sri Lanka series.”The previous chief executive of the WICB raised some concerns about the timing of this tour with the ICC last year and we indicated that there were alternative times available for the games to be played within the five-year schedule but no alteration to the schedule was made.”Hall had earlier said that scheduling matches in June – the hurricane season in the Caribbean – was “cricketing madness”. He also expressed his inability to alter the itinerary. “You may ask then why, as president, I don’t change it. I can only say that the West Indies board has only one vote at the ICC and I can only hope that we are able to convince the authorities that it is madness to play in June.”

The England & Wales Cricket Board has resisted the temptation to cook its golden goose, and has announced that the Twenty20 Cup will remain largely unchanged for next season’s competition.The only major alteration will be the inclusion of a quarter-final stage. Both semi-finals and the final will, once again, be held on the same day, despite some criticism that the showpiece day was rather too long. Even though Surrey won the inaugural final with more than nine overs to spare, the day’s activities didn’t finish until 9.35pm, some 11 hours after the first ball had been bowled.The success of the competition, however, is not in doubt. More than 250,000 spectators attended group games in the 2003 competition – a rise of 353% compared to the old Benson & Hedges Cup, which Twenty20 cricket was designed to replace.But county executives were split over its future. Leicestershire, Glamorgan and Worcestershire preferred to play next season’s group games in two pools of nine, which would guarantee each county twice the number of home games. But the ECB management board agreed unanimously to keep the existing three pools of six, and the venues for each match held in 2003 will be reversed.The quarter-final stage will increase the interest in the group phases. The sides finishing first and second in each group will qualify automatically, with the other two quarter-final spots going to the two third-placed teams with the best records. The tournament has also been delayed by two weeks to avoid clashing with the European football championships.”The issue was about how best to build upon the tremendous success of the competition in its first year,” said ECB chief executive Tim Lamb. “Ultimately it was unanimously decided by the ECB management board that the format of the competition should largely be unchanged in 2004.”

Graeme Smith has admitted that he felt “angry” at the way South Africa were beaten in the third Test at Trent Bridge on Monday. Despite dominating the series from the very first ball, South Africa enter Thursday’s fourth Test at Headingley at 1-1, after a narrow 70-run defeat that owed a great deal to England’s good luck at the toss.”In many ways it doesn’t feel like we’ve been beaten,” Smith told reporters at Headingley. “Losing at Trent Bridge was more of an angry feeling. We showed immense character to take the match into five days. It didn’t feel like we were beaten in the last game because conditionswere not even-stevens.”But Smith, 22, was eager for his side to start afresh in Leeds. “We’ve put that behind us,” he said. “As far as we are concerned it is as if the series hasn’t started yet. We’ll have to perform to our abilities as we did in the first two Tests.”South Africa’s problems have been compounded by the absence of Shaun Pollock, who took 6 for 39 in England’s second innings, but has returned to Durban for the birth of his daughter. “Shaun’s a senior member of the squad,” said Smith. “He’s a world-class performer day-in and day out. Obviously we’ll miss him a lot as we did Jacques Kallis in the first two Test matches.”Someone else has got the opportunity to perform and hopefully they’ll do that and take responsibility,” he said. “The other bowlers have an extra workload, they realise that.” The man who is most likely to benefit from Pollock’s absence is the fast bowler Dewald Pretorius. “The wicket is in his favour,” admitted Smith, who added that Gary Kirsten had recovered from an arm injury and would be fit to take his place again.The uncapped Monde Zondeki is another candidate for Pollock’s place, and his inclusion, alongside Makhaya Ntini, would give South Africa anall-black new-ball partnership for the first time in their history. But Eric Simons, South Africa’s coach, played down that possibility. “Monde’s time will come,” he said, “and if it’s tomorrow [Thursday] then so be it. But it won’t be for any other reason than he is the right bowler.”

Pakistan have sought the aid of the International Cricket Council to force South Africa to honour their commitment to tour their country. If South Africa won’t, Pakistan have said they have no other option but to enforce their right to take the matter, and a $US7million claim for damages, to the ICC’s disputes-resolution committee.Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), made the written request today. South Africa cancelled the tour on Saturday, on the eve of their side leaving for the tour. What Pakistan have called an “isolated” bomb exploded in Karachi on Friday, about five miles (8km) away from the National Stadium where South Africa were due to play their opening tour game, a one-day warm-up match, on Wednesday. The first one-day international was also scheduled to be played there, on Friday.Pakistan have given the South Africans a deadline – this evening – to make their final decision. Zia said the bomb incident, in which there were no casualties, occurred because of a feud between two factions, and was not a terrorist act.Zia has written to the ICC president Ehsan Mani and warned that if the ICC did not intervene, Pakistan would be forced to refuse to honour its own commitments to those countries who decline to visit them.”The ICC must keep in mind the loss Pakistan cricket will suffer due to this act of the United Cricket Board of South Africa. We have already suffered at the hands of the Indian government’s reluctance to allow the Indian team to play with Pakistan. The loss is to the tune of $US30million. If other teams also do not visit Pakistan then the loss to Pakistan cricket will be unbearable.”It is not only the loss because of the South African visit but also the reluctance of the subsequent teams. Pakistan cricket will lose around $US7m from the South African tour and $US3m from New Zealand’s tour. And if India chooses not to send its team to Pakistan in February, the loss will be $US11m.”Zia also made the point that while the cancellation affected revenue, there were also costs to the promotion and development of cricket, the cost in terms of the public being deprived of their chance to watch sport, the loss to Pakistan television which would not be able to generate advertising on the back of the cricket, and also cost involved in maintaining huge stadia that were not being used.”Such losses are unacceptable to Pakistan cricket,” he said. “We have already written to the UCBSA suggesting postponement by a week, and excluding Karachi as a venue. We expect the UCBSA to cooperate with us as we have done with everyone including touring countries where the threat to the security of players was far more serious.”We expect the ICC to intervene and instruct the UCBSA to take the tour as planned. We would hate to end up in a situation whereby we are forced not to honour our commitments to those countries who decline to visitPakistan.”Bangladesh played the fifth ODI of their series in Karachi without any security concerns,” said Zia, who then added: “Furthermore, the ICC match referee Mike Procter, who is from South Africa, also does not support the decision of the UCBSA.”Zia said he had spoken twice with the South African high commissioner in Pakistan and that he also did not support the UCBSA decision. According to him, Pakistan was a safe place, particularly for South African nationals.Zia also reminded the ICC president of the 1998 incident in which the PCB was under pressure from some Pakistan team members to cancel their tour of South Africa after the mugging incident in which two of their players were injured. “The crime rate in Johannesburg is far greater than anywhere else but teams visit South Africa regularly. On the contrary, Pakistan government has assured security to visiting teams of the level given to the VVIPs.”Zia said that the UCBSA had taken a unilateral decision without consulting the PCB, the ICC or their High Commission in Pakistan. “They had initially expressed reservations on playing at two venues, Karachi and Peshawar, but later agreed to go ahead with the tour after their security personnel visited Pakistan. These personnel were fully satisfied with the security aspects and on the basis of their assessment, UCBSA allowed the tour to proceed as scheduled.”In a separate letter, Zia enlisted the support of the Asian Cricket Council through its president Mohammad Asghar Ali, and requested a united front be put forward as resolved at the ACC special general meeting in Sharjah last year.That resolution was: “…It was further decided that in case of failure by any country within or outside Asia for reasons not beyond the control of the cricket boards and force majeure, the four Test-playing countries of Asia would automatically refuse either to visit or host that particular country.”Zia asked Asghar Ali to consult with other members and request both the ICC or the UCBSA to ensure the tour goes ahead, and that the matter be given top priority.

Following last weeks captains meeting, the Webmaster has been good enough toallow me to express my personal views, re ‘time cricket’.In my opinion there is absolutely no doubt that the vast majority ofcricketers do not want time cricket – in my club, only one player out of thefirst and second XI squads has expressed any kind of enthusiasm for the format.They do not enjoy playing it and, indeed, as June approaches I constantly hear ‘not available for the one’s next week Chairman’.At a time when cricket needs more than ever for people to enjoy the game it seems ridiculous that the SPCL Committee is foisting this universally unpopular format upon the Clubs – already suffering from the ever increasing workload accreditation has brought!The lowering of the standards – with many well known names not playing -will increase and we will soon end up with the Academy winning year afteryear as the Clubs suffering the double whammy of having to play a game theydo not enjoy without their strongest team and the Academy taking all theirbest young players as they develop.It is extremely difficult to replace resigning Committee members and – in my view – the Committee must realise how much damage they are doing to their Clubs.Those that advocate the game cite the money – the accreditation and that weshould all play ‘proper cricket’.Well, the money argument is fallacious as the increased expense – pitches, lunches etc, takes care of the few hundred quid available.I would strongly suggest that the average recreational cricketer is not over concerned over accrediation as he prepares to get ready very early Saturday morning!Apparently it has been stated that we are guilty of being ‘ignorant’ by not knowing how to play time cricket – well this Chairman would rather have an ignorant happy Club than the increasing shambles and discontent the League are creating.