When the World Cup fixture list appeared and Pakistan saw they had a match against the Netherlands in the delightful surroundings of Paarl, they would have welcomed the prospect with relish. Now, however, they will be approaching the game with rather more anxiety after their thrashing at the hands of England on Saturday just down the road in Cape Town.Group A was always going to be tight, with Australia the favourites. Then it was thought that Pakistan, India and England would battle it out for the other two places in the next stage of the tournament. When England forfeited four points to Zimbabwe the equation took on a new element, for presuming that Zimbabwe pick up another eight points from matches against the Netherlands and Namibia, one more win would put them right in the shake-up.The fact is that Pakistan’s batting has taken on a fragile appearance that was ruthlessly exposed by England. They might have an impressive hand of match-winning bowlers, but the batsmen have to back them up and that has not been case recently.It is perhaps fanciful to imagine that Pakistan’s batsmen will fail to prosper against the Dutch collection of medium pacers but, given a receptive pitch, it is possible that they could make it very difficult for a side lacking confidence.The problem for the men in the dazzling orange kit is that they will find it extremely hard to score enough runs to put pressure on the Pakistani batsmen. That will be a consoling thought for Pakistan, but there will be another fear lurking in the back of their minds. The weather.Should rain prevent Pakistan from taking the expected four points from this match, and prevent them from enhancing their run-rate, their fate would rest with others as well as themselves. They would have to beat India and Zimbabwe in their remaining matches, and hope against hope that England can do to India what they suffered themselves.They will be encouraged to know that the forecast is fine for the Winelands area of the Cape, but forecasters have been known to get it wrong. Just as Pakistan did on Saturday. At least the Pakistanis can take heart from the fact the Dutch will want to play whatever the weather. Against Australia, there would have been every reason for Roland Lefebvre, the Dutch captain, to take a look at conditions and claim the two points for an abandonment. He decided not to do so but gain the experience from playing the game.Even so, Pakistan must hope that there is a bright blue sky and that this is not the day for the bright orange flags to be waving in celebration at the end.

Madisons from Northamptonshire go for a hat-trick of titles as the ECB’s Indoor Six-a-Side Club Championships reaches the National Finals stage later this month.The winners in 2000 and 2002 take on Canterbury in the semi-finals at MCC’s Indoor School at Lord’s on March 16.The other semi features Sudbrook from Wales, beaten semi-finalists in both 2000 and 2001, and Lancashire side Walkden – making their first appearance at Lord’s having been beaten regional finalists in both the same years.The National Final follows the same afternoon, with presentations and a reception in the Long Room.

The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) announced today that the National Selection Panel (NSP) has chosen a 15-man squad for the one-day international leg of the 2003 Travelex Tour of the West Indies.The squad is:

	STATE	AGE	CAPS
Ricky Ponting (captain)	TAS	28	168
Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain)	WA	31	162
Michael Bevan	NSW	32	205
Andrew Bichel	QLD	32	46
Jason Gillespie	SA	27	50
Nathan Hauritz	QLD	21	5
Ian Harvey	VIC	31	49
Matthew Hayden	QLD	31	65
Brad Hogg	WA	32	25
Brett Lee	NSW	26	65
Darren Lehmann	SA	33	95
Jimmy Maher	QLD	29	21
Damien Martyn*	WA	31	123
Glenn McGrath	NSW	33	179
Andrew Symonds	QLD	27	63

* Damien Martyn’s selection is subject to fitness, following recent minor surgery to a fractured right index finger. His fitness will be assessed next week in Perth.Commenting on the squad chosen to play the best-of-seven series against the West Indies, NSP Chairman Trevor Hohns said: "The group we have selected, with the inclusion of Jason Gillespie for Nathan Bracken, is basically that which won the World Cup last month."Winning a tournament as important as that is a fairly good indicator that at this point in time, we have the right player-mix at the one-day international level."The players we have selected all deserve their place in the squad," he said.Strike-bowler Jason Gillespie who was forced to leave the World Cup prematurely due to heel injury, returns to limited-overs action in place of his cover-player in South Africa, Nathan Bracken.Meanwhile Damien Martyn, who was ruled out of the Test leg of the Travelex Tour of the West Indies due to a fractured right index finger, will need to prove his fitness before the squad’s scheduled departure on 9 May.Trevor Hohns said: "Damien is currently undergoing the recovery work required to get him over the finger injury that has kept him out of the current Test series."We will keep close watch on his progress and make a decision on his availability for the series based on the relevant medical advice, closer to the time of departure," he said.

Sachin Tendulkar will undergo rehabilitation for three months after a successful hand surgery in the United States on Tuesday.The little master, who has been carrying a finger injury since late 2002, was operated upon by orthopaedic surgeons Dror Paley and Steven Friedman – both of whom specialise in hand reconstruction – at the Sinai Hospital in Baltimore.”The X-rays show that Tendulkar suffered a torn ligament and tendon to his ring finger that is affecting the finger joint,” Paley later said. “Clearly, he performed well at the World Cup despite this, but he was in pain. It mostly affected his catching. Every time he had to catch the ball, it was painful.””He will now need occupational therapy to work on range of motion and his grip strength,” Paley added.With India’s next series (against New Zealand at home) only in October, Tendulkar, though, won’t miss any cricket during the period that it takes him to regain full fitness.

A civil court in Lahore has summoned Shoaib Akhtar to respond to a private petition alleging that statements he made about fellow cricketers tarnished Pakistani pride.Akhtar’s comments were made last month in an interview with the London-based Guardian newspaper. “Imagine if I was playing for Australia with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie softening them up, then I come on, I’d have got more wickets than anyone ever,” he said.”When I play for Pakistan, with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis they are in decline. They were great but they’re not match-winning bowlers any more. So I have to make it all happen on my own.”Akhtar is unlikely to appear at the first hearing as he is currentlyplaying in England for Durham. He will also miss Pakistan’s home seriesagainst Bangladesh next month before returning home in late September. Click here for the full Guardian interview

Steve Waugh reckons that Australia have become so dominant in internationalcricket that administrators might want to think about changing the rules to make rival countries more competitive.”Our job is to do the best we can for Australia. The West Indies teams of the 1980s almost made administrators change the rules so other nations couldcompete,” said Waugh, as quoted in the . “That’s been one of our goals – for us to make rules change so others can compete.”Speaking at a state Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Waugh revealed that he took his own brutal outlook on international cricket from that very West Indian team.”A lot of our players were almost scared of West Indies,” he said. “I remember at one point thinking this game is too hard. It took me 13 Tests just to bepart of a winning side.”I remember sitting in the dressing room at Eden Park in New Zealand,” continued Waugh. “We had just lost, and I looked around at everyone with their heads bowed. And I was thinking, ‘This is too tough. Do I really want to do this?’ That was an important moment”Waugh talked about his first first-class match for New South Wales, and rooming with Imran Khan. “I became very good at answering the phone,” Waugh joked. “I was pretty shy in those days. [Imran] had a big reputation for a lot of things. I was that intimidated by him I just kept quiet and answered the phone.”Waugh also hinted at a muted support of Australia’s sledging tactics, and although he said that he was against “saying something directly against someone,” he was happy to “put doubt in the batsman’s mind. I’m all for that.””For example, if Shane Warne’s bowling into the rough outside the batsman’s legs and he’s trying to sweep, the guy at short leg might say ‘Can you believe this guy’s trying to sweep Warney out of the rough?’ and the player on the other side at bat-pad might say ‘Obviously these guys don’t have a TV in their rooms – they’ve got no idea what’s going on’,” said Waugh. “If we can get the batsman in some doubt, that’s fair enough.”

Trevor Chappell, Bangladesh’s former coach, believes they are capable of becoming one of the world’s leading cricket nations, but in the meantime they must overcome several problems.Chappell coached the team for a year until late 2002, and rated their prospects highly despite their lowly start to international cricket. “From the point of view of talent and numbers playing the game, they could be the next Pakistan,” he said. “Kids are playing [cricket] in any vacant land they can find. They have natural flair.””But the struggle for land is significant. Half the country is under water most of the time, then when its monsoon time that probably goes to 80 percent. There is not a lot of spare ground for building cricket grounds.”The weather, unfortunately, is not Bangladesh’s only stumbling block. “Their administrators talk a good game," added Chappell, "but nothing much happens. Every wicket is low and slow. It is hard to learn good cricket on those sorts of wickets. And their domestic competition is not non-existent, but close to it."Chappell reported that when the team arrived at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, they practiced for four hours because they had never seen facilities like that before in their lives. “You have these sorts of thing in Australia where volunteers and teachers bring lunches and umpire and score," said Chappell. "In Bangladesh most people are more worried about where their next feed is coming from than anything else.”

Frizzell County Championship Division OneSurrey 337 and 137 for 8 v Lancashire 341 at Old Trafford (Day 3 of 4)
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Four wickets in 12 balls from Gary Keedy pulled the rug from under Surrey’s second innings and put Lancashire on course for a victory which would keep their title hopes alive. Although 62 overs were lost to bad light and rain, there was no shortage of drama. Peter Martin made the early inroads, dismissing Jon Batty and Ian Ward, and then Glen Chapple trapped Rikki Clarke leg-before. Lancashire thought they had Surrey 26 for 4 when Ali Brown was given out caught behind by umpire Barrie Leadbeater. Brown stood his ground, indicating the ball had hit his helmet rather than his bat and Leadbeater changed his mind.Brown went on to top-score with 61, adding 70 for the fourth wicket with Graham Thorpe, before Keedy struck.Warwickshire 290 and 198 v Middlesex 286 and 115 for 2 at Edgbaston (Day 3 of 4)
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Middlesex were within sight of a win which would almost guarantee their first division status when bad light ended play shortly after tea. Warwickshire resumed on 113 for 6, and Jim Troughton and Keith Piper took their stand to 81 before they were dismissed in consecutive overs, and the last four wickets fell for 18 runs. Bloomfield’s 4 for 57 was his best in the Championship for two years, and Chad Keegan ended with match figures of 7 for 143. Set 202 to win, Middlesex soon lost Robin Weston, but after weathering a difficult opening period Ben Hutton and Andrew Strauss took control. Strauss reached his tenth fifty of the season before he fell leg-before attempting to sweep Mark Wagh.Nottinghamshire 290 v Leicestershire 376 for 4 at Trent Bridge (Day 3 of 4)
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No play Thursday due to rain.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoGlamorgan 466 and 336 for 6 dec drew with Yorkshire 422 and 193 for 7 at Colwyn Bay
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A determined 127 not out from Anthony McGrath earned Yorkshire a draw against Glamorgan after they slumped to 124 for 6 chasing an improbable target of 381. McGrath’s first hundred of the season came of 202 balls, but Yorkshire’s other batsmen did little to impress. India’s Yuvraj Singh completed a thoroughly unremarkable stay when he was out for 6, taking his first class average to a wretched 13.50. Glamorgan added 66 runs in 17 overs at the start of the day, with David Hemp and Michael Powell making 85. Somerset 705 for 9 dec v Hampshire 395 and 4 for 0 at Taunton (Day 3 of 4)
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Ian Blackwell improved his first-class best for the second time in three games as Somerset cut loose to record the highest total in their history. Resuming on 338 for 4, Blackwell smashed 189 including 32 fours and two sixes. He scored 95 runs in the morning session, adding 144 for the fifth wicket with Tom Webley (59), and then 116 for the sixth with Aaron Laraman (52). Even when Blackwell finally holed out at long-off there was no respite as Rob Turner (67*) took Somerset past 700 for the first time. The declaration came at tea, but Hampshire faced only eight balls before bad light ended play.Yesterday’s County Championship Round-up

Mark Boucher has admitted to having mixed feelings over South Africa’s decision to cancel their tour of Pakistan. The South Africans were scheduled to depart for Pakistan on Sunday, but the board pulled out of the tour on Saturday in the wake of a bomb blast in an office block in Karachi on Friday. “It’s a sad thing for an international cricket tour to be called off because it’s not safe for players in a different country,” Boucher told .”I feel sorry for the Pakistanis. Apart from the Bangladesh tour they haven’t been able to play a home series for ages, and I know we wouldn’t enjoy having to play all of our matches away from home. Some of our guys who haven’t played in the sub-continent are missing out, but I’m sure they will get the chance again.”That said, the cancellation couldn’t have come at a better time for Boucher and his team-mates. “We’ve just come off a long tour, three months away in England,” Boucher said. “We had 10 days between the tours. That’s just about enough time to get your washing done and start packing again. That’s what I mean when I say I have mixed feelings about it.”However, Boucher was at pains to point out that the team was committed to the tour before the Karachi blast. “It wasn’t the players’ decision [to pull out of the tour], it was the UCB’ s,” he said. “The players were worried because there was a safety issue, but we were ready to go.” The cancellation followed an earlier decision to proceed with the tour that was taken after a UCB safety delegation visited Pakistan. That decision was conditional on the security situation in the country not deteriorating before or during the tour. “We agreed that if the risk assessment changed the decision to go would be reconsidered,” Boucher insisted.The chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, Tony Irish, was quoted in a Sunday newspaper as saying the players were “hugely relieved” the tour had not gone ahead. Boucher confirmed that view. “Let’s not beat around the bush, the sub-continent isn’t the best place to tour,” he said candidly. “There is a big culture change and you are confined to your hotel most of the time. But it is an important part of a player’s development. It does your skill levels the world of good to play there.”Boucher said he would make productive use of most of his unexpected time off. “I think I’m going to play a bit of golf, and I’m looking forward to doing some pre-season training with Border. It’s an opportunity for us to play in our domestic competitions, because as national players we have a responsibility to our provinces as well.” Followers of provincial cricket, at least, will not feel short-changed by the international non-event. “Our first match is against Western Province, which means you’ll have Makhaya Ntini, Monde Zondeki and Charles Langeveldt up against Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis,” Boucher said.

Lancashire have reappointed Warren Hegg as their captain for the 2004 season. Hegg, 35, made his debut for Lancashire in 1986, and has skippered them for the last two years. In 2003 Lancashire finished as runners-up in the County Championship, and won the Second Division of the one-day National League.Next year Hegg, who kept wicket for England in two Tests in Australia in 1998-99, will lead a team bolstered by the recruitment of the England allrounder Dominic Cork from Derbyshire. Hegg said today: “I’m thrilled that the club have decided to award me the captaincy again. It’s a huge honour to lead the team and I’m looking forward to a successful season next year.”