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Simon Jones and Mark Wallace have both received good news this morning following theannouncement of England`s 16-man party for the Ashes series, as well as the squadfor the E.C.B. Academy.Simon Jones, who has been troubled by a rib injury in the past fortnight, is one of the 16 namesin the England party for the Ashes tour. Jones is one of five pace bowlers in the party,alongside Andy Caddick, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Darren Gough, plus all-rounderAndy Flintoff.In announcing the party, Chairman of Selectors, DavidGraveney said “In choosing the make-up of this squad, we have opted for five pace bowlers, twospinners and one all-rounder. Reflecting on the team’s performances this summer, we have beenmindful of the need to strengthen our ability to bowl sides out twice and give ourselves a greaterchance of winning matches.””Simon Jones and Stephen Harmison are both terrific prospects who should find the conditions inAustralia to their liking and their inclusion will create genuine competition for places in thepace bowling department.””We will continue to monitor the fitness of Andrew Flintoff, Darren Gough, Simon Jones and MichaelVaughan in the run-up to departure, but at this stage we are confident that all four will befit and available to tour. “Mark Wallace is one of the 15 players named in the squad for the E.C.B. National Academy, and forthe second consecutive winter, the Glamorgan wicket-keeper will be `down under` with the Academy squad.

Worcestershire CCC have today published their fixture list for the 2003 season.Highlights include a four day game against Zimbabwe and a one day game against South Africa. New Road will also host a four day U19 Test Match between England and South Africa.On the Domestic front, the County’s first home game in April will see the visit of Shane Warne’s Hampshire side. Other highlights include a likely home draw against Yorkshire in the C & G Trophy if the County overcome the Worcestershire Cricket Board in the 3rd Round. Three Twenty/20 matches will be played at home during the height of summer and the annual day/night fixture will see a visit by current NCL Champions, Glamorgan Dragons.Chief Executive, Mark Newton, is delighted with the schedule, “The schedule is far better balanced than in 2002 with matches being played at New Road on a regular basis throughout the season. In addition we will definitely host both touring teams and stage an U19 Test Match. In all there will be more than 50 days of top class cricket in Worcester next year.”

APRIL18-21 CCh HAMPSHIRE NEW ROAD23-25 UCCE University of Oxford UCCE The Parks27 NCL Gloucestershire Bristol30 Apr-3 May CCh NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NEW ROADMAY5 NCL SURREY NEW ROAD7 C&G Worcestershire CB New Road9-12 Tou ZIMBABWE NEW ROAD14-17 CCh Durham Away21-24 CCh GLOUCESTERSHIRE NEW ROAD25 NCL KENT NEW ROAD28 C&G C&G Trophy (Yorkshire or Cambridgeshire) NEW ROAD30 May-2 Jun CCh Derbyshire DerbyJUNE4-7 CCh Somerset Bath8 NCL Glamorgan Away10 OR 11 C&G C&G Trophy Quarter Final13 20/20 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NEW ROAD15 NCL LEICESTERSHIRE NEW ROAD6 20/20 Gloucestershire Bristol18 20/20 WARWICKSHIRE NEW ROAD23 20/20 Glamorgan Away24 20/20 SOMERSET NEW ROAD25 Tou SOUTH AFRICA NEW ROAD27-30 CCh Glamorgan AwayJULY2-5 CCh DURHAM NEW ROAD6 NCL WARWICKSHIRE NEW ROAD13 NCL Leicestershire Away15-18 CCh DERBYSHIRE NEW ROAD19 20/20 20/20 overs Trophy Final23-26 CCh Gloucestershire Cheltenham College27 NCL Surrey Away29 NCL GLAMORGAN (Floodlit) NEW ROAD31 Jul-3 Aug CCh GLAMORGAN NEW ROADAUGUST7 OR 9 C&G C&G Trophy Semi Final11 NCL Kent (Floodlit) Canterbury12-15 U19 ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA NEW ROAD13-16 CCh Yorkshire Scarborough17 NCL Yorkshire Scarborough20-23 CCh SOMERSET NEW ROAD24 OR 25 NCL GLOUCESTERSHIRE NEW ROAD26 NCL Essex (Floodlit) Colchester30 C&G C&G Trophy FinalSEPTEMBER3-6 CCh Hampshire The Rose Bowl, West End7 NCL YORKSHIRE NEW ROAD9 NCL Warwickshire (Floodlit) Edgbaston12-15 CCh YORKSHIRE NEW ROAD17-20 CCh Northamptonshire Northampton21 NCL ESSEX NEW ROAD

Michael Clarke is never shy to dash over to Ricky Ponting in the field with a fresh idea but in his first one-day international as captain, Clarke gained a new appreciation for the pressure Ponting faces. With three overs remaining, West Indies needed 13 with six wickets in hand and Clarke required several miracles.The first came when Brett Lee sent down a stunning over that brought 1 for 1. The second occurred when Nathan Bracken bowled Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 53 from the last ball of the penultimate over, five deliveries after Clarke himself made an uncharacteristic misfield as the tension mounted.The final piece clicked when Shane Watson kept the batsmen to singles in the 50th over when they needed eight runs to win. When Darren Sammy drove the last delivery to mid off, Clarke curled his clammy hands around the ball and ran in to the stumps at the bowler’s end to ensure a one-run victory in his first match as ODI captain. His first comment after the game was: “Ricky can have it back.”The win means Clarke has a 100% success rate in charge of Australia after leading the team to victories in two Twenty20 internationals during the Australian summer. This time he was guiding a relatively inexperienced team that featured the debutant David Hussey, and third- and fourth-gamers in Luke Ronchi and Shaun Marsh.Hussey contributed an important 50, while Marsh was Man of the Match in the opening game and Ronchi has been outstanding behind the stumps as Australia built their 4-0 series lead. Clarke said the success of the new faces was one of the most pleasing aspects of Australia’s enjoyable trip.”It was obviously going to be a tough tour to see how some new young guys went but they’ve certainly stood up,” Clarke said. “The Test series was fantastic and we’re obviously showing in the one-dayers that there’s a lot of class back home playing first-class cricket.”However, it was one of Australia’s most reliable old hands, Andrew Symonds, who set up the win with his 87 and earned the Man of the Match award. Similarly, West Indies counted on two of their most experienced men, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, as they launched a chase that was well on track at the halfway mark.But the loss of Gayle, who skied a catch for 92 when he unnecessarily tried to go over the top off Watson, proved to be an important moment. After West Indies’ previous loss Gayle had harsh words for his middle-order batsmen but on this occasion he knew he had to take responsibility for the disappointing finish.”I thought myself and Sarwan really set the foundation,” Gayle said. “The manner in which I got out as well, I was very disappointed. I really take the blame for that, I should have carried on and get a hundred and see the team home.”West Indies’ coach John Dyson said it was disappointing but not necessarily surprising that the world champions Australia prevailed in the tense finale. “Players do feel pressure and when they’re in these sort of situations,” Dyson said.”Experience is a great thing to have behind you, you see Australia in a pressure situation when they are used to winning and they stay as calm as calm can be. Perhaps because our guys, because they are not used to winning, feel the pressure more.”

By and large, the bowling has almost always been the bigger problem inIndian cricket, and the scenario today, pertaining in particular tothe squad touring England, is not very different. As the team preparesto take on the hosts and Sri Lanka in a tri-series, to be followed bya four-Test series against England, there are question marks over thebowling even as confidence reigns that the experienced and giftedbatting line-up will come good ­ even with the problems at the verytop of the order.

English conditions, as a rule, favour seam bowlers, but it has beenproved time and again that even a good spinner can be among thewickets. This is true in the case of Indian bowlers as well. Over thelast 70 years, the list of Indians who have done well in England makesfor interesting reading. Among those who have operated the new ball,Mohammad Nissar, Amar Singh, Lala Amarnath, Raman Surendranath, KapilDev, Roger Binny, Chetan Sharma, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasadhave enjoyed a fair share of success. Given the strong tradition ofIndian spin, it is always on the cards that bowlers giving the ball ahealthy tweak will be just as successful, as proved by the exploits ofVinoo Mankad, Ghulam Ahmed, Subash Gupte, BS Chandrasekhar, DilipDoshi and Maninder Singh.So, on the face of it, at least some of the six principal bowlers inthe current squad seem to have a reasonable chance of success. Theyare four seamers ­ Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and TinuYohannan – and two spinners in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Infact, with spin being India’s forte, it may even seem a gamble to tourEngland with just two such bowlers. But as I pointed out in a recentcolumn, spin to win may no longer be the Indian mantra overseas.The last three Test victories abroad in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and theWest Indies were all principally shaped by the fast men. The truth ofthe matter is that the overseas record of Kumble and Harbhajan doesnot inspire confidence. Given this, the bulk of the work could well bedone by the four seam bowlers. And while no one can deny that they areall game triers and will not be short on stamina, they are certainlyinexperienced. All of them are making their first full tour ofEngland, and Agarkar alone has some experience of bowling ininternational matches in England, having been a member of the 1999World Cup team. For inspiration, though, they need look no furtherthan Venkatesh Prasad, who made his Test debut in England in 1996 andtook 15 wickets in three Tests.Kumble, on the other hand, is making his third full tour of England,besides being a member of the 1999 World Cup side. He has also had acouple of seasons with Northamptonshire in the county championship,and the astonishing fact is that while he has performed commendablyfor the county ­ enough for him to be selected as Wisden Cricketer ofthe Year in 1996 ­ his deeds for the country have been a letdown.In 1990 he was a rookie, making his debut in the second Test atManchester. By 1996, however, he was very much the lynchpin of theattack. But he still had a nightmarish series, finishing with justfive wickets in the three Tests at an average of 66.80. Despite hisimpressive overall record ­ 319 wickets from 70 Tests at an average offractionally under 28 ­ Kumble has continued to remain an enigmaoverseas, and it can only be hoped that he makes the most of theopportunity the current tour gives him to prove that he can be aneffective bowler abroad.

Much the same fears abound as far as Harbhajan is concerned. The offspinner is a class act at home, but overseas he has been reduced to abowler of near club standard. He and Kumble did tie up the Englishmenin knots in the home series six months ago, but it will be a whollydifferent – and much more difficult – proposition in England. Twice ­in 1951-52, and again 30 years later ­ English batsmen have flounderedin India, only to turn the tables on them a few months later in homeconditions.Given the inexperience of the seam attack and the ineffectiveness ofthe spinners, perhaps Sourav Ganguly will have to do a lot of bowlinghimself. He is the kind who may be able to make the ball talk inEnglish conditions. Not many may know that in his memorable debutseries six years ago, besides heading the batting figures, he alsotopped the bowling averages – six wickets in two matches at an averageof 20.83. He was also fairly successful during the World Cup threeyears ago.Given this background, as well as his skill and experience, it may notbe a surprise if he fancies himself as almost a frontline bowler. Wemay well see him bowl fairly long spells, though how many wickets willfall to him is open to question.All in all, it is not a bowling line-up to inspire confidence,especially after what the England batsmen have just accomplishedagainst Sri Lanka, scoring 500-plus in three successive innings, thefirst time they have achieved this feat in 125 years of Test cricket.The onus will again fall on the batsmen to run up the kind of totalsthat would ensure at least a draw. For, at the moment, India winningthe Test series is just as uphill a task as it was for England to winin this country six months ago. They didn’t have the bowlers to win inIndia, and we don’t seem to have the bowlers to win in England. Afterall, as is well-known, it is sharp bowling and not tall scoring thatwins matches.

BAT’s prospects of pulling further clear in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship race have been hit by the weather.They looked set for a comfortable victory over Portsmouth when a heavy rain caused the match to be abandoned in late afternoon.Havant’s visit to nearby Calmore Sports was also a victim of the weather.Dan Goldstraw wreaked havoc once again, tajing 6-54 as Portsmouth were dismissed for 105 at Southern Gardens.The tally left-arm paceman now has 38 wickets this season – and, with four 50-over matches to go, is in sight of breaking the all-time record for the most number of wickets in a Southern League season.Ironically, Kirk Stewart (3-33) struck three of the initial four blows before Goldstraw removed the Portsmouth middle-order and tail.Portsmouth sank to 67-8 and were in danger of being bowled out before lunch before Richard Walker (22) gave their 105 all out a little respectability.But BAT’s victory bid was ended by the rain – the defending champions having made 9-0 when the game was abandoned.Havant had made 124-3 through Steve Snell (48 not out) and Richard Hindley (43) when their match at Calmore was called off.Bashley (Rydal) were in the driving seat against Bournemouth when the elements intervened. With Kevin Nash taking 5-69 and veteran John Whiting returning 4-37, they bowled Bournemouth out for 131 (Tom Webley 27)."It was extremely difficult batting,"admitted Bashley skipper Neil Taylor. "Four balls an over either cut, swung or bounced awkwardly. It was ideal conditions for bowling."But Bashley’s victory bid was thwarted at 6.30pm with their reply at 37-1.Burridge’s prospects of avoiding relegation from the have taken another knock. While their visit to Andover was abandoned, rivals in distress Liphook & Ripsley picked up 15 valuable points from a winning draw at South Wilts.In the only Premier 1 match to be completed, Liphook totalled 238-8 off 66 overs, with Alistair Gray (61), Chris Wright (46) and Michael Smyth (46 not out) top scoring.Shaun Adam (4-80) and Paul Draper (3-103) did a lion’s share of the bowling for South Wilts, who closed at 186-7 after a century third-wicket partnership between Jamie Glasson (78) and Jon Nash (48).Wright (3-39) and Gray (3-27) took the bowling credits for Liphook.Paul Hawkins held Burridge together with a splendid 75 at Andover, where former BAT all-rounder Richard Taylor (4-24) made early inroads.Matt Hooper took 3-42 and also snapped up three catches as Burridge slipped to 185 all out. Andover were 16 without loss when the rains came.The Hampshire Academy’s thrilling one-wicket win at Easton & Martyr Worthy was the only Division 2 match to be completed.Alton’s promotion prospects in Premir 3 were finally extinguished with a two-wicket defeat by Hook & Newnham BasicsThey appeared fairly comfortable after Paddy Heffernan (44), Julian Ballinger (35) and Mark Heffernan (33 not out) had steered them to 197-7.Hook were in deep trouble at 120-7, but an undefeated half-century by Kevin Poulter turned the match on its head and gave Hook a two-wicket win.In the only other completed match, Portsmouth II chased an abridged total to beat Bashley (Rydal) II by eight wickets at St Helen’s, Southsea.

Quick fire cricket that has seen teams chasing higher and higher totals in the fourth innings of Tests, more result matches and more phenomenal cricket was just a natural progression of the sport, England captain Nasser Hussain said today.He was commenting on the nature of New Zealander Nathan Astle’s innings on the last day of the first Test when New Zealand notched 451 runs, the highest losing Test chase in history, and another record chase by South Africa to beat Australia in Durban yesterday.It was a natural progression from one-day cricket where people had realised what they could do.”Maybe a few years ago people didn’t realise how much they could run down the wicket and nick the ball out of the ground,” he said.”Now they realise they can so they are putting it into practise in the longer form of cricket.”I’m not saying it’s changed for better or worse. When I started there were people like Vivian Richards who could play like that.”People still played amazing innings but possibly now it had carried over into the Test match arena because the game was moving so quickly.”There are not that many boring five-day draws any more,” he said.Players were less inclined to play the Geoff Boycott stodgy game of defence and if the game was getting bogged down there were players like Adam Gilchrist who decided that they should do something about it.”It could have something to do with wickets. That wicket on the last day [in Christchurch], with a small outfield and quick ground was an absolute belter.”In the old days wickets used to deteriorate and spin used to come into it more, now it seems with these relaid wickets and drop-in wickets they could be getting better and better and not deteriorating as much as they used to.”There will be times, this may be one, when it turns on the last day, 450 might not be accomplished we will have to wait and see,” he said.It didn’t take too much work as a captain on more responsive pitches, but it was harder work on the subcontinent where it was much more necessary to make things happen through captaincy because batsmen were capable of batting all day.”In England, the wickets are doing more than when I first started. You would have boring 500 plays 600 at Trent Bridge or somewhere whereas they are definitely doing more now on England wickets,” Hussain said.He didn’t see why there needed to be four-day Tests. There was something about having to adapt to the different circumstances in a Test when you turned up not knowing what the pitch was going to do, whether the ball was going to swing or seam.And if there were four-day Tests other changes would come into games such as groundsmen preparing wickets to suit getting a result in four days.”I think the game has survived quite nicely the way it has and people are adapting to it, I don’t think we need to many rule or law changes, it’s survived quite happily so far, it’s doing pretty well.”However, in regard to the laws he was pleased the ICC was going to have a look at working with new technology for umpires at the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka in September.”Umpiring has become an issue, there has been a lot of talk about it, replays, there’s been a lot of talk. Television has changed the game.”In the old days you wouldn’t have so many replays and umpires weren’t under so much pressure so therefore I’m pleased they’re having a look at it to see if it will work but it mustn’t be rushed in,” he said.Players also understood errors were made by umpires.He said he was pleased to turn up and see Asoka de Silva and Brent Bowden were the two umpires for the first Test because he felt they were two very good umpires.”All right, they may have made the odd mistake which they will hold their hands up to, but I wouldn’t be afraid of turning up to the next game and seeing exactly the same two umpires.”Cricket was faced with increasing improvement in replay quality and an issue of where the game moved.”Television is not going to go away so do we help the umpires or not? Possibly they do need some help,” he said.

With the selection of Andy Bichel in the Australian Squad to play three ODI’s against Pakistan in mid-June announced earlier today, Worcestershire have moved quickly to sign a replacement for the period Bichel will be away.Allan Donald will take on the overseas player slot for the period from 4th to 19th June which will include NUL games against Yorkshire, Leics and Durham, a Championship game against Durham, a possible 4th round C & G Trophy game against Ireland or Notts and a potential semi-final in the B & H Cup.Worcestershire’s Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, is delighted to capture ‘White Lightning’ for this critical period of the season, ” Obviously we are sorry to lose Andy Bichel who has started the season so well for us but to have Allan on board for a few weeks will be good for all concerned. His experience and class will enable us to maintain the early season momentum and his presence will be invaluable in the dressing room.”Allan Donald was introduced to the Worcestershire crowd during the lunch interval of today’s Frizzell County Championship match against Essex at New Road.

Close on the heels of former Indian middle order batsman Ajay Jadejajoining films, two more former Test stars – Vinod Kambli and MohinderAmarnath – are set to make their debut in Bollywood soon.Actor Sunil Shetty, who was instrumental in Jadeja signing a movie inMumbai on Thursday, told PTI that there was a good role for VinodKambli in the movie Anarth, to be directed by Ravi Dewan.”As I am acting in the film, I asked Kambli if he was interested inthe role and he agreed”, the actor said. Shetty, a keen follower ofthe game, said Vinod is a very talented guy and a very good singertoo. “I have known him for a long time. In fact, I know all thecricketers as I used to play cricket earlier and played in the CoochBehar Trophy,” he said.”Jimmy’s case is also similar. It is again a film in which I amacting. I have spoken to him and Jimmy is keen to do the movie.Hopefully everything will be finalised in another ten days”, Shettyadded.Some of the other former cricketers who have acted in films includeSalim Durani, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, S M H Kirmani, GundappaVishwanath (in a Kannada film) and Kapil Dev (in a guest role).

With another extraordinary batting display at Lord’s by Kevin Pietersen which took him to 65 not out from only 46 balls, following his unbeaten 165 in the first innings, Nottinghamshire were able to declare on 252 for eight, setting Middlesex a victory target of 350 in the remaining three overs for the day and all of the final day.In a brilliant exhibition of hard hitting, Pietersen, taking advantage of the short boundary on the Tavern side of the ground, struck four boundaries and four sixes, three of which came in four balls from an over by Paul Weekes.Despite hitting himself on the foot in going for an on drive and needing the services of a runner, he continued with his onslought on the Middlesex bowling, reaching fifty from only 34 balls. The tall – England qualified – South African showed a complete range of strokes and the ease and confidence with which he batted enabled him to even play the reverse sweep so effectively.Having taken a 97-run first innings lead, Nottinghamshire were 129 for 2 at tea with Greg Blewett on 61 after a fine batting performance. A second wicket stand between him and Darren Bicknell had strengthened the visitors hold on this match.After claiming the wicket of Guy Welton, before lunch, Middlesex’s only success in the second session came when Bicknell, on 44 from two hours at the crease, went for a big heave at Paul Weekes and was bowled. His stand with Blewett was just nine short of a century.They had batted well together, keeping pace with each other in the rate of scoring and Blewett, who was 41 at Bicknell’s dismissal, then brought up his half-century in style, going down on one knee to lift Weekes over the mid-wicket boundary. He finally went for 76, off 144 balls, top edging an attempted big hit to leg.The most commendable bowling for Middlesex came from left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell who finished with five for 61 and that included a marvellous twenty-ball spell in which he took four wickets for eight.Earlier, Middlesex had needed just eleven overs in the morning to achieve their priority of avoiding the follow-on. Having scored the 45 runs that they required for this, David Nash and Simon Cook, the two overnight not out batsmen then went on to extend their excellent seventh wicket partnership with Nash reaching his second half-century of the season.Along with Cook he took the total to 320 before edging one to first slip and ending a 114-run stand. Cook went on to reach the highest score of his career, playing beautiful strokes, the finest was the cover drive for four off Andy Harris after he had steered the previous ball to the third man boundary. He had by then struck the second six of his innings when he lifted Greg Smith over long leg.Middlesex were dismissed shortly before lunch for 370 with Cook stranded on 93 which included eleven fours from 131 balls.

“One goal, one people, one team” has been West Indies’ motto at the World Twenty20, and the focus on unity is not difficult to understand, given the dressing room’s recent history. The side’s biggest star, Chris Gayle, has recently returned following a row with the board, while other members of the team have also spent time away, plying their trade in the IPL and elsewhere at the expense of turning out for West Indies.Darren Sammy, the captain, has one of the most unique challenges in world cricket and has presented a united front as the team ignited their World Twenty20 campaign with a solid 16-run victory over England in the Super Eights. “I just keep everybody cool,” Sammy said. “We have a lot of cool guys so when you’re out there you need to have someone in charge.”When I’m out there I try to get all the senior players involved in decision-making so everyone feels a part of the team. That’s the important thing for us, that everyone in the squad feels a part of it. It’s easy to do that. My character allows me to involve everyone.”Early in his tenure as captain, Sammy expressed a desire to “make West Indies cricket great again” and said the team draws inspiration from their fans in their pursuit of that goal. Tagged one of the tournament favourites because of their batting firepower, an experienced battery of T20 players and the spin of Sunil Narine, West Indies will take a major step towards qualifying for the semi-finals if they are able to defeat Sri Lanka on Saturday.”When we left the Caribbean, winning the tournament for the fans was the most important thing in our minds,” he said. “The last decade has been tough for us. We last won silverware in 2004 [the Champions Trophy]. It is a good opportunity for us to do that here. We’ve been playing well as a team and we have to take it one game at a time.”Sammy used part-time bowlers Gayle and Marlon Samuels in addition to Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree to make up 15 overs of spin in their victory against England. Frontline seamer Andre Russell did not bowl at all, nor did allrounder Kieron Pollard, while Sammy himself bowled just one over. Sammy hinted the West Indies attack would not be so spin-heavy against Sri Lanka, who are good players of spin, but said it was helpful to have the bowling options the allrounders and part-timers provide.”Everyone wants to bowl, so it’s good to have that in your armoury,” Sammy said. “In the last two games Chris has done well for us though he didn’t bowl in five or six matches leading up to the tournament. Pollard has not bowled a ball in this tournament. It’s good to have the back up. We know we have three bowlers who will definitely bowl four overs and we make up the rest with the other guys.”Sammy expected Sri Lanka’s senior batsmen to be key to their chances. Sri Lanka relied on Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan for over 80% of their runs in their Super Over victory over New Zealand on Thursday.”The senior players always turn up for them and they have a good mix in the squad,” he said. “You just can’t count them out at home. Playing them is a big challenge, but it’s one we’re ready for.”