Second division leaders Sussex strengthened their promotion challenge by reducing Durham to 254-9 on the first day at Hove.Although there was some early movement to assist the seamers, a green-tinged pitch was good for batting.But if it hadn’t been for Jimmy Daley’s unbeaten 89 Durham would have been bowled out cheaply.Daley came in after James Kirtley had removed openers Gary Pratt and Jon Lewis in successive overs and batted for five and three-quarter hours.He put on 76 in 29 overs with Martin Love and then, after Durham had slumped from 99-2 to 112-5 in seven overs in mid-afternoon, effected another recovery with Andrew Pratt with whom he put on 57 in 24 overs.Kirtley took four wickets, returning after lunch to bowl former Sussex all-rounder Danny Law as Durham’s middle order subsided alarmingly.Love had made 45 when he was caught at square leg off a top edge trying to pull Jason Lewry and Nicky Peng suffered a second ball duck after edging Mark Robinson to slip.Off-spinner Mark Davis ended Pratt’s resistance after tea when he had him lbw offering no shot and Sussex skipper Chris Adams, who took 4-28 at the Riverside last month, then got in on the act with wickets in successive overs.Graeme Bridge was caught and bowled off a full-blooded drive and James Brinkley wafted a tame catch down the leg side.Kirtley returned to the attack late on to have Steve Harmison caught behind, but Nicky Hatch kept Daley company until the close.

North Riding WCC (Yorkshire) and Gunnersbury WCC (Middlesex) will face eachother in the ECB Premier League Women’s Club Final on Saturday 1stSeptember, having won their respective North and South Premier LeagueDivisions.The match takes place at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, starting at 12 noon.North Riding field several players from Yorkshire’s Championship-winningside which retained the County Championship crown for the tenth time in 11 years earlier this month.England U-19 Captain Arran Thompson will open the batting for North Riding,together with Melissa Reynard, who narrowly missed out on an England placethis summer after seven years with the senior team.Overseas players will feature in the final with Gunnersbury’s Cahndra Kaulavailable, the ex-India captain who assisted Middlesex to promotion in theCounty Championships and has proved a prolific run-scorer this season.North Riding field the ex-Holland international Van Noortwyck; both playersnow live in England.This will be Gunnersbury’s first appearance in the Premier League Finalfollowing promotion in 1998. North Riding contested the final in 1999,losing to Kent side Invicta LCC.

A rather puzzling break in the South African tour has enabled me to catch up on the statistical side of things during the past week. The South Africans actually flew home after the match in Bulawayo last Sunday, and will fly back again to Harare for the two one-day matches this weekend. It could have been made a five-match series, with two matches in Bulawayo and an extra game on Wednesday in Harare, as has been done for the England tour, but fortunately for the players they were not pressed this hard in an effort to boost finance.I have now completed detailed Test career records of all current Zimbabwean players with five or more matches behind them. Included is Eddo Brandes, whose international career can now be regarded as over after the selectors failed to pick him last season despite his superb form. I heard recently he is considering a request to play for Kwekwe Sports Club in the national league this season. We will be following him up in the near future.I have also been updating all the records for both Tests and first-class cricket (the latter up to the end of last season which finished as late as 31 July!).There still remain records for Test grounds and for matches between Zimbabwe and South Africa to be updated, which should be ready for next week’s issue. Then I will need to get on to the one-day records, which will keep me busy for quite some time, especially with England here now.We haven’t had time to stop and think about the England visit yet, but in view of the paucity of our bowling against South Africa we cannot be confident of winning unless there is a major turn-around.It will be Carl Rackemann’s last assignment as national coach, and as he is primarily a bowling coach he cannot be at all happy with the way his bowlers are performing. It is a puzzle why that should be, given the high regard in which both administrators and players hold him.His replacement, Geoff Marsh, has a higher reputation internationally, and he also has more experience, having successfully captained the Australian national team. He is here for the England series in a take-over role and will be looking to identify the problems. We thank Carl for all he has done and look to Geoff to guide our players to better things in the future.

Excellent bowling performance from Punjab forced HimachalPardesh to follow-on and they are again five down for 216 runsin 2nd innings in the North Zone Ranji Trophy league cricketmatch being played at PCA Stadium, Mohali.Himachal Pradesh resumed their overnight innings from 147 for5 with not out batsman Sangram Singh and Sandeep Sharma. Bothplayed with great courage and showed some resistance against adisciplined attack. Sangram Singh completed his half centuryin 81 balls with the help of 8 fours. Trying to pull a shortpitched rising delivery on leg stump from Amit Uniyal, hesnicked the ball for keeper Dharmani, who took the catch andUniyal gave a vital breakthrough to his team. The duo added49 runs for the sixth wicket partnership.After the departure of Sangram Singh tailenders could not staylonger and for the addition of only 17 runs they lost anotherfour wickets. Debutant Amit Uniyal took three wickets for 33runs while Vineet Sharma and Babloo Kumar also accounted forthree wickets each after giving away 83 and 12 runsrespectively.Forced to follow-on, Himachal started their 2nd innings on asound note as Nischal Gaur (51) and Raza Ali (14) added 46runs for the first wicket. Raza Ali was brilliantly caught atthird slip by Dinesh Mongia who took a single handed highcatch to his left off the bowling of Vineet Sharma. Nayyar (5)joined Gaur but with the addition of 8 runs to the total hewas trapped in front of wicket by Sandeep Sawal.Sangram Singh and Nischal Gaur played cautiously and kept thescoreboard moving. Gaur completed his half century in 100balls with the help of 5 hits to the fence. Amit Uniyal gaveanother jolt to Himachal team as he clean bowled Sangram Singh(13) with a yorker. The scoreboard was showing 91 runs forthree wickets. With the addition of just two runs to the totalNischal Gaur lost his patience and was trapped in front ofwicket by left arm spinner Babloo Kumar.Here comes the brightest part of the innings when SandeepSharma joined skipper Virender Sharma. Both playedaggressively and added 50 runs in just 62 balls. Virender wasmost instrumental in scoring runs at a quick pace. Virendercompleted his fifty with a cheeky single to point off SandeepSawal. He took 75 balls to complete his half-century whichwas studded with 7 boundaries and a huge six. The duocompleted the 100-run partnership in 144 balls for the fifthwicket, which is a record for the fifth wicket against anyteam in this version of game.Sandeep Sharma who was shaping well for a big score playedearly to a slower delivery from Anit Uniyal and gave a simplecatch to Dinesh Mongia at mid-off. Sandeep scored 44 runs in76 balls with 7 hits to fence. The duo added valuable 117runs for their team and give them some stability and respect.At the draw of stumps on day three Virender Sharma wasbatting on 61 while Paras Dogra had 5 to his name.Himachal still requires 113 runs to avoid inningsdefeat with five wickets in hand. Amit Uniyalcaptured two wickets at the cost of 51 runs, whileBabloo Kumar, Sandeep Sawal and Vineet Sharma snared awicket each.

Sherwin Campbell is not too worried about his recent run ofdepressing form or about whispers that his position asBarbados captain could be under threat.The former West Indies opening batsman and vice-captain hasnot made any substantial runs since returning to competitivecricket in late September after a three-month lay-offbecause of a shoulder injury.Of course if you are not scoring runs you will think aboutit, but I am trying not to think about it too much, he toldNATIONSPORT.I am just trying to remain positive all the time and alwaysthink about the next score around the corner.Campbell’s comments came after the second Busta Series trialmatch last weekend in which he was dismissed in singledigits to fast bowler Fidel Edwards in both innings.It comes down to spending some time in the nets, he said.I haven’t been batting as long as I would want in themiddle. I need to get long practices and spend a lot of timegetting my feet moving again.He has even considered other options, and engaged intapeball cricket in Black Rock last week.In recent weeks, rumours have surfaced that Campbell,Barbados’ captain for the past year, could be replaced fornext year’s Busta Series by either of former Barbadosskippers Philo Wallace or Courtney Browne or former WestIndies youth captain Ryan Hinds.You have heard talk going around about the captaincy andthis and that, Campbell said. It has not affected me.I captained in the Red Stripe Bowl this year and I thought Idid a fairly good job. I am not too worried about thecaptaincy at the moment.He said his priority is to get some runs under his belt, andhe does not believe that it is a case of trying to prove apoint to the selectors.I’ve been playing for Barbados for a number of years andI’ve played for the West Indies as well.I am not new to this game. The selectors should know myability by now.Campbell, however, acknowledged that no player’s place inany team is ever certain.If you are playing cricket, you always think about yourplace in any team, he said.You’re always looking to get a score to keep your name inthe selectors’ minds and to keep yourself in the team. Thosethings come across your mind, but you try not to focus onthose things.In spite of his modest performances during last month’s RedStripe Bowl and the latter phase of the Courts SuzukiDivision 1 championship, he does not agree with those whofeel he is past his best.I am still quite a young man and I feel I still have a lotleft in me, said Campbell, who turned 31 on November 1.I am sure that there is still a lot of cricket left in me toplay. I still reckon that I can score and score consistentlyfor a while to come.Campbell was the West Indies’ most consistent opener a fewyears ago, but lost his place after the tour of Australiathat ended last January. In 51 Tests, he has scored 2 856runs at an average of 32.82.

A tight bowling performance by Railways gained them a victory overMadhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy one-day match at Udaipur.Winning the toss, Railways opted to bowl first; their bowlers did notlet them rue the decision. Barring Devendrasingh Bundela’s 46 off 75balls, none of the other batsmen could even get past 30, and MadhyaPradesh were consequently bowled out for 165. The honours among thebowling attack were evenly shared.Railways hit off the target, almost derisively, in 26.4 overs. YereGoud made 50 off 72 and Raja Ali blasted his way to 71 off 55 balls(seven fours, two sixes) to propel his side to 167 in just more thanhalf the quota of overs. With this win, Railways topped the CentralZone points table and qualified for the Wills Trophy.

Brian Lara has always been a realist in the face ofdefeat. He doesn’t plan to change now.His teammates will be making a trip to Pakistan and theWindies have been decimated by injuries and low moraleagain; Lara’s fractured elbow being the most prominentsetback.According to Lara, it all adds up to facing the facts oflosing again.I don’t mean to be negative, and you never know what canhappen in sports, but for anyone to expect the West Indiesto travel to Pakistan and win the Test series would beridiculous, the former West Indies captain toldNationSPORTS on Saturday when the team returned from theirlatest losing series in Sri Lanka.Asking too muchPakistan are one of the best teams in the world, with fourworld-class batsmen and very good bowling.I can tell you now it’s going to be very tough to win, thedouble world record holder said.Lara said there would be points in any series where a teamplayed well, but to expect the regional side to travel toPakistan and simply roll over such lofty opposition on theirhome grounds would be asking too much from an vastlyinexperienced squad.What we have to do is take every match for what it is. Wehave to play every session for what it is, every day forwhat it gives us, but we still have to be realistic abouthow much to expect, the diminutive Trinidadian said.Strong mental outlookLara said the series loss to Sri Lanka could have negativeeffects.We knew we had a lot of inexperienced players, but thelosses could be looked at in different ways.We can be negative and bow our heads, or we could look atwhat we did well, and improve on those things.He said he hoped the Windies players would have a strongmental outlook on the game, and not start to believe theycould always play well at home, but were unable to win onthe road.If you look at India, for some time they could win outside,and they started to believe they couldn’t, so they didn’t. Ihope our players never develop that attitude, Lara said.If we become accustomed to losing overseas, we can neverprogress because we’ll play expecting to lose.We have to be thinking positive every time we leave theCaribbean, but we also have to understand it won’t happenovernight.

The opening day of the series may have high in tedium and low in excitement,but on day two Sri Lanka raised the tempo, cashing in on a Zimbabweanbowling attack lacking control, variation and penetration, as they piled upa mammoth first innings score at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Sri Lanka eventually declared on 586 for six having scored 375 in the dayafter centuries from Kumar Sangakkara (128) and Thilan Samaraweera (123 notout), plus fifties from Hashan Tillakaratne (96) and Chaminda Vaas (74 notout).Zimbabwe then faced a tricky 35-minute session before bad light stoppedplay. They were soon in trouble as left-arm pace bowler Nuwan Zoysa produceda throat-threatening bouncer that ballooned off 18-year-old opener HamiltonMasakadza’s gloves to be caught by Tillakaratne at second slip.Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle survived till the close, not without theodd alarm and one very good shout for lbw. The tourists now face a gruelingthree-day fight for survival on a wearing dry wicket well suited to thewiles of Muttiah Muralitharan.Needless to say, the odds are heavily stacked in favour of Sri Lanka goingone-up in the series. However, tour captain Brian Murphy, who stepped downfor the game because of poor form, believes his side can still save thegame."The guys are pretty tired, but looking forward to the challenge ahead," hesaid. "We have some strong-willed cricketers in this squad and we can savethis game. Andy (Flower) may hold the key but the other batsmen can alsoscore hundreds."Sri Lanka, 211 for three overnight, came out in the morning in a moreaggressive frame of mind. Sangakkara singled his positive intentions byclattering 12 runs in the opening over and Russel Arnold welcomed Gary Brentwith an audacious sweep to leg.Zimbabwe couldn’t match the self-discipline they had shown on the previousday, erring in both their line and length, with only Heath Streak (3-113)providing a consistent threat. Travis Friend and Henry Olonga conceded fourruns an over, whilst Trevor Gripper was blasted for 30 runs in a three overspell.Sangakkara, who had played a supporting role on Thursday, reeled off aseries of stylish swivel-pulls and square cuts, as he scored at a run a balland raced to his third Test century.Arnold, still struggling to safeguard his place in the Test side,disappointed again. He contributed 13 runs to a 79 partnership before hebecame the first casualty of the day, as Streak caught him on the hop with acurving inswinger (249 for four).But there was no respite for Zimbabwe as Hashan Tillakaratne carried onwhere he had left off against West Indies earlier in the month when he hadscored 205 not out at the same venue.Sangakkara added 71 with his 34-year-old club captain before he wascontroversially adjudged to have been caught at first slip.The left-hander had flayed at a short ball from Brent and the ball flewquickly to the left of Craig Wishart, who parried the ball before alast-second grab on the ground. Umpire Riazruddin deferred the decision totelevision umpire Tyronne Wijewardene. Replays appeared inconclusive, as towhether the ball had bounced off the turf or his forearms, but Wijewardenepressed the red light (320 for five).Thilan Samaraweera, a crucial part of Sri Lanka’s recent success, continuedhis remarkable run with the bat since scoring a hundred on debut againstIndia, adding 130 for the sixth wicket with Tillakaratne – their fourthcentury stand in six Test matches.Unlike their previous partnerships against India and West Indies, which hadbeen dour and remorseless batting displays, both players played freely,frequently exercising the branded ball boys patrolling the boundary ropes.It didn’t all go to plan, however, as Tillakaratne just missed out on atenth Test century, and his fourth in eight Tests since making his comebackin August, when he was caught behind for 96 whilst trying to late cut a wideball from Streak.But Samaraweera carried on and on, displaying unflappable concentration andstrong self-discipline during a chanceless unbeaten 123 – which leaves hisTest average at a staggering 140.7. He scored eight fours in his firstfifty, before playing more sedately as he moved towards his second Test ton,which he celebrated reaching with a lofted extra cover drive for six and acheeky sweep off Brent.Chaminda Vaas gave him solid support, ending a poor recent run with the batwith a career best unbeaten 74 before Sanath Jayasuriya eventually called ita day on 586, which was an all-time record score between the two sides,surpassing the 469 for nine scored by Sri Lanka in Kandy in 1997/8.

If all results in the last weekend of games in the women’s State League, the final is shaping as an Auckland-Wellington affair with the outstanding Canterbury team of recent seasons shut out of the picture.In today’s games Auckland and Wellington completed wins.Auckland beat Central Districts at Waikanae in a close-run game. Auckland were all out in the 50th over for 158. Natalie Scripps scored 30 off 40 balls and Helen Watson scored 28. While Melissa Murray finished with the better figures of two for 27 from nine overs, young spin bowler Aimee Mason bowled most impressively against the Auckland top order, including Rebecca Rolls and Emily Drumm to take one for 13 from her 10 overs.Central Districts replied with 146 with Nicole Thessman scoring 45 and Scripps taking four for 26 and Watson taking three for 14.In Wellington, at Kelburn Park, Northern Districts batted first and scored 93 in 44.3 overs. Anna Soma scored 27 and Victoria Brown 16. Jane Hunter-Siu took four for 11 off 7.3 overs.Wellington took only 23.3 overs to score 74/2 to take an eight wicket win. Anna O’Leary scored 33 not out and Maia Lewis 16 not out.A double-header of games will decided the finalists at the weekend. Canterbury plays Otago, Wellington plays Central Districts and Northern Districts plays Auckland.

It’s all been happening rather quickly for Ian Butler over the last 24 hours but he was pleased to get his first training run behind him and to meet most of his new team-mates in the CLEAR Black Caps in Christchurch today.Butler, 20, of Northern Districts will make his international debut at Jade Stadium tomorrow, weather permitting, as New Zealand take on England in the first One-Day International of the National Bank Series.Even if only half the ground capacity is taken up for tomorrow’s game, the crowd of 14,000 will be far greater than anything else Butler has ever played before.And even the prospect of finding out how fast he bowls will be a new experience.Questioned at a press conference today about how fast he bowls, he replied: “I don’t know, I’ve never been on the radar.”Butler, who only made his first-class debut this summer, said his goal for the summer had been to perform well for ND and to maintain a spot in that side.”This came completely out of the blue, but I will give it my best shot,” he said.At least he knows what it is like to have bowled at the English batsmen. He played in both ND’s one-day games against the tourists on Friday and Sunday.”What those games showed me was they can be beaten, and it was good to play against them before I have to step up to this level to play them,” he said.The Pukekohe-raised bowler has played all his youth cricket in ND, and for New Zealand Under-19.He said that new ND coach Bruce Blair had been a big help to him.”He’s helped me a lot and given me a lot of confidence to go out there and bowl fast and straight. That’s all he says to me, ‘don’t complicate things’ so that’s all I do, go out there and bowl fast and straight.Having been rushed from obscurity into the limelight he was pleased to have that first practice behind him. While there he had a chat with Chris Cairns which had been a boost.”It was good to get a training out of the way and talk to all the lads and get the nerves out of the way,” he said.”I’ll just have to brush that aside and let it help me,” he said of the moment when he first grasps the ball and runs in to bowl.Most encouragingly of all was the fact that so far in his career he has never suffered any significant injuries.”Touch wood, I’ve had none so far,” he said.