PERTH, Jan 5 AAP – Evergreen West Australian seamer Jo Angel’s career-best figures and a Marcus North half century were not enough to stop Queensland snatching control of their Pura Cup cricket match today.WA was 7-170 in its second innings at stumps on day two at the WACA Ground, leading by just 126 runs with Jo Angel (10no) and Beau Casson (2no) at the crease.After resuming at 6-118, the Bulls lost 4-33 thanks to Angel’s 6-35 off 19.1 overs including his 400th domestic first class wicket.But the WA batsmen failed to seize control on another day in which the ball dominated the bat with 11 wickets falling.Underperforming batsman Marcus North (50) posted the first half century of the match to hand the home team some hope but ended his 200-minute knock by dragging a ball onto his stumps two balls later.He went to the crease after lunch with WA at 2-25, still trailing by 19 runs, and with just two runs from his past five Pura Cup digs after playing for Australia A in November in Hobart.North survived a confident caught behind appeal off acting captain Michael Kasprowicz on zero and Bulls wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe had words with him directly after the incident.However, the dogged left-hander managed to dig in and helped drag the match into a third day with both teams fielding below strength units due to national duties.But the Queensland pace attack of bustling Joe Dawes (3-64), recalled swing bowler Adam Dale (2-16 off 18 overs) and Kasprowicz (1-58) had the last laugh as they plotted WA’s demise.Queensland should collect the maximum six points from the outing and leapfrog Victoria into top spot on the Pura Cup table for the first time this summer.The Warriors’ slim chances of making March’s final look virtually impossible if they suffer an outright defeat.Angel earlier ripped through the Queensland lower order to dismiss the visitors for 151, a lead of just 44 runs.He collected his 400th Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup wicket by having Kasprowicz (one) caught by Marcus North in slips.It was an apt reward for Angel, who wasn’t selected in two four-day matches this season.Angel ran through the Queensland tail after ending wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe’s handy innings of 32 to have the visitors at 7-148.He soon had Dale (17) caught behind by stand-in wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi before the young gloveman took a terrific diving catch to remove Dawes (0).The 21-year-old sprinted 20 yards towards square leg to catch a top-edge as the Bulls lost their last four wickets for three runs.

CAPE TOWN, Feb 7 AFP – England will decide on Sunday whether or not it will go ahead with its controversial opening World Cup clash against Zimbabwe in Harare after it failed in its final, desperate bid to have the game switched to South Africa.Justice Albie Sachs today rejected England’s last gasp attempt to have next Thursday’s match relocated on safety grounds.Following a briefing from World Cup security chief Patrick Ronan, England players and officials were locked in marathon talks over their next move in the long-running saga.They face two possibilities – either go ahead with the February 13 clash as scheduled or withdraw and be docked four World Cup points, as well as risk a substantial fine imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaking its contractual obligations.The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has no right of appeal against the decision made by South African judge Sachs.Earlier today, Nasser Hussain’s men met with ICC’s Australian chief executive Malcolm Speed to discuss a report the world governing body had commissioned from American security firm Kroll.This concluded it was safe for the six World Cup matches due to take place in Zimbabwe and two in Kenya to go ahead as scheduled.Speed praised the ECB’s handling of the situation but said he hoped Sachs’ ruling was the end of the matter.”The ECB has acted properly throughout,” Speed said.”It has exercised its rights under the contract and I expect they would continue to do so.”There have been suggestions that the ICC might fly England in and out of Harare on the day of the match itself in a bid to minimise safety risks to players and spectators alike.ECB director of corporate affairs John Read said: “The issue is whether we play the match or not.”Travel arrangements are not irrelevant because there are questions about preparation and acclimatisation but they are not directly relevant to this issue,” Read told AFP.England was always meant to be in Cape Town today ahead of taking part in Saturday’s tournament opening ceremony at the city’s Newlands ground.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) president Peter Chingoka insisted there was “no bad blood” between the teams despite his outright hostility towards England’s relocation bid.”It’s important for the tournament to proceed without interruption,” Chingoka said.”But there is no bad blood between ourselves and the ECB.”We’re looking forward to welcoming England with African hospitality.”Sachs warned Zimbabwe that, despite his ruling, it now carried the “enormous responsibility” of ensuring the safety of everyone at Thursday’s match.”Serious political and economic issues have arisen in Zimbabwe, to which it would be wrong to turn a blind eye,” Sachs insisted 24 hours after the World Cup event technical committee turned down England’s first formal appeal.”Not only must the players be protected, but also the spectators.”Sachs’ decision is set to have implications for all the six World Cup matches due to be staged in Zimbabwe and possibly the two fixtures in Kenya where New Zealand has refused to travel on safety grounds following terror attacks in the East African state.South Africa is due to stage the other 46 games in the February 8 to March 23 tournament.

A few reflections and the encouragement of Sir Viv Richards have banished Carl Hooper’s blues.So disconsolate after the West Indies’ first-round elimination from the World Cup that he said he would "definitely be looking at my future with the team and rethinking my role as captain", he spoke cheerily yesterday of looking forward to next month’s home series against Australia in the Caribbean "with eagerness".While admitting he was "really gutted" by the early exit after losses to New Zealand and Sri Lanka and the critical rained-out match against Bangladesh that cost two points, he now saw it as "just a minor setback"."At no time at all did I consider being knocked out in the preliminary round as I think we’re a much better team than that," he said prior to the last match here today against Kenya, the surprise qualifiers for the next round, the Super Sixes."It’s something we’ve got to overcome," he added. "I’ve had a few days to think about it and I look forward to the Australian tour with eagerness."He confirmed he had discussed the subject with Sir Viv, the chairman of selectors, a former captain and an avowed fan of his."I had a chat with the chairman basically because, at the end of the day, you want to have a clear and concise picture of where we go from here," he explained.It now seems clear and concise that he will be reappointed captain for the four Tests against the Australians, by record and reputation if not by the International Cricket Council’s peculiar ratings, the strongest team in the game.Hooper, 36, and a veteran of 102 Tests and 226 One-day Internationals, has been captain for two years since he came out of sudden retirement prior to the 1999 World Cup and was immediately appointed to succeed Jimmy Adams."It’s good to have the support, not only of the chairman but any sort of support," he said. "It’s very important now to rally around each other."It’s been a very, very big [psychological] blow to the team," he added. "There’s just over a month before the first Test against Australia in Guyana (April 10-14) and we’ve definitely got to try and regroup as a team."Obviously, people will take a little bit of time to look at themselves and to see where they go from here but, as a team, we’ve collectively got to be well prepared for the Australians."His contention was that the team’s progress could not be judged by "an isolated tournament"."We’ve got to look back over the last few years and see where we’ve come from and I think we’ve made steps along the way," he said. "The Australian tour will be a good test again and we’ve got the Sri Lankans immediately after that, so the next couple of months should be exciting."The West Indies have won two and lost five of the seven Test series under Hooper with a match ratio of four victories, 11 defeats and seven draws.He was buoyed by the 4-3 triumph over India in the One-Day series in India last November and victory over South Africa in the World Cup opener. But poor cricket led to narrow defeats by New Zealand, by 20 runs, and Sri Lanka, by six runs, that put the West Indies out.Hooper himself has had a poor World Cup, his first since 1992. He scored 93 runs in four innings at an average of 23.25, and had three wickets at an average of 55.33 and an economy rate of 5.03.He needs to reassert himself again against Australia or his position would be in more jeopardy than it is at present.

It would have been a nice way to finish. A century from the last ball of theday on your home ground in an Ashes Test but why retire for the sake of anice finish?That innings was to save Steve Waugh’s Test career, not to make a hundred sohe could pull the curtain down in style. He plays his best cricket when hecomes to the wicket at three-for not many and when hehas most on the line.First of all, he had to make runs in Sharjah against Pakistan just so hewould be picked for the Ashes. When Glenn McGrath came to the crease he wason 80. Two sixes and two fours later he had notched his century. Next over,McGrath was out.Waugh had a patchy start to the Ashes series and batted awfully inMelbourne. With everything to play for in Sydney, he played the innings ofhis life.He returned to captain his beloved Blues. On going back to the MCG, hebatted with more style this time round in posting 204. He made his firsthundred at the SCG against Queensland and then led NSW to the Pura Cup,their first four-day title in nine years.Waugh still has a lot to achieve in the game. Four years ago, he took overthe reins of the Australian captaincy from Mark Taylor. His first tour of duty asleader was to the Caribbean. After winning the first Test, Australia lostthe next two in nail-biters. They rallied to win the last and tie it at 2-2.This time round, Waugh wants the series win.He may even make it for his Waterloo; another tour of India, but that isstill a long way off.On a personal note, Waugh is on 10,039 Test runs, just 1136 behind SunilGavaskar. He also needs five hundreds to have the most Test centuriesalthough Sachin Tendulkar would most certainly overtake him in bothstatistical categories.Waugh has 91 wickets and just needs another nine to be the first player totake 100 wickets and score 10,000 runs. His wicket-taking has slowed downwith him taking just two in his last 40 Tests. He took 58 Tests to reach 50wickets and 81 in total to reach 75 wickets.Other milestones Waugh would want to achieve are a century at the WACA, theonly Test ground in Australia upon which he has not scored one. He may thenalso wish to score one against Bangladesh in Darwin and Cairns when theyplay each other in July.If Waugh scores that hundred in the fourth innings of the match, it will bethe first time he has scored a hundred in that innings of the game.He also needs just four more Test wins as captain to overtake Clive Lloyd asthe most successful captain in terms of the number of wins.So as soon as Steve Waugh declared himself available for the tour of theWest Indies, the selectors did the only thing possible and chose him. Andwhy wouldn’t Waugh have made himself available when he still has so much toachieve and has so much to offer.

The ICC’s Global Development Manager has announced that Martin Vieira has beenappointed as the new ICC Regional Development Manager for the Americaseffective March 31st, 2003.Martin was instrumental in the Bid preparation, lobbying, successfulpresentation and in the organization of the ICC Trophy 2001 with special regardto transportation.Martin will be based in Toronto, Ontario out of the Sports Alliance of Ontario offices. He has spent his first week in London with the ICC DevelopmentManager and the European Development offices for a thorough background briefingon the Development Program.Martin believes that “there is a lot of potential for development in theregion, and he “looks forward to working with all of the cricket-playingcountries in the Americas to help raise the profile of the game and improve thestandard of play.” Martin brings to the post over 30 years involvement incricket in Canada as a player, coach and administrator especially in the areaof youth or junior cricket.Further details will be shortly available. We in Canada and in the Americaslook forward to a long and productive tenure for Martin.

The second Test ended in a tame draw after crackling briefly back into life on the final day when New Zealand were bowled out for 183. Muttiah Muralitharan did most of the damage, with a record 37th five-wicket haul in Tests. Set 191 to win from 38 overs after tea, Sri Lanka disappointingly settled for a draw soon after Sanath Jayasuriya (9) fell early.Sri Lanka’s only chance of winning was for Jayasuriya, their most destructive batsman, to launch an early assault. Jayasuriya tried, smacking two early boundaries, but was then dismissed tamely when he mistimed a drive. Sri Lanka immediately settled for a draw, disappointing a noisy crowd whose expectations had been raised by Sri Lanka’s dramatic fightback with the ball in the first session. The match ended with Sri Lanka at 72 for 1 after 30 overs.New Zealand had started the final day in a dominant position, leading by 99 runs with nine wickets remaining, but Sri Lanka wrested back the initiative with Muralitharan bowling his heart out, taking the crucial early wicket of Mathew Sinclair (55). He then snared Jacob Oram (16) and the injured Daniel Vettori (0) in quick succession before lunch to have New Zealand tottering at 139 for 7.However, Muralitharan, who was searching for the one wicket he needed to complete 450 Test wickets, was unable to prise out Hart or Wiseman. Both put together 40 precious runs and occupied the crease for 28.1 overs to give Sri Lanka less time to chase whatever total that New Zealand eventually set.Chaminda Vaas finally broke through, as Hart feathered a legcutter into Romesh Kaluwitharana’s gloves, but by then Sri Lanka’s window of opportunity had been closed (179 for 8). Muralitharan then claimed his 450th Test wicket, as Daryl Tuffey (1) skyed a sweep to Jayasuriya at deep square leg, before Vaas wrapped up the innings as Wiseman (29) edged to first slip.At the start of play, Stephen Fleming and Mark Richardson tried to be positive but soon faltered. Richardson was the first to depart. He added only four runs to his overnight 51 before edging Prabath Nissanka to Kaluwitharana (109 for 2). Sinclair (0) was next deceived by Muralitharan’s arm ball (110 for 3). It marked the end of a dismal series for Sinclair, who scored only 21 runs in four innings.Suddenly it was game on. Sri Lanka attacked with Muralitharan and bottled up the other end with medium-pace bowling. The batsmen lost their way, scoring only five runs in the 44 minutes after the fall of Sinclair. The pressure increased and Vaas, varying his pace intelligently, deceived Scott Styris (1), who lobbed up a catch to Muralitharan at mid-on (115 for 4). New Zealand had lost three wickets for just six runs.Fleming added 21 with Oram before being scalped by Kumar Dharmasena, the offspinner, as he edged a catch to Kaluwitharana. It was Dharmasena’s first wicket of the match. Fleming had scored 33, with three fours (136 for 5).Muralitharan then swung the match emphatically towards Sri Lanka, trapping Oram lbw with an arm ball, and then bowling the injured Vettori behind his legs shortly before lunch (139 for 7).But Sri Lanka could not mop up the tail quickly enough, and the match meandered to a soporific draw with the series ending in 0-0.

On the eve of Pakistan’s departure for their short tour of England, Rashid Latif, the captain, has said that the trip will have major implications for the process of rebuilding which has started following their World Cup humiliation.Several senior players were left out in the aftermath of the World Cup and the policy of picking youngsters paid off when Pakistan acquitted themselves well in the Bank Alfalah Cup in Sri Lanka last month. “I am more than satisfied with the team’s performance since I took over," Latif told reporters, "but the England tour will test the skills of these youngsters because of changed conditions.”Despite being a short tour of three one-day matches, this tour will have long-term implications and results will guide us how the rebuilding process is shaping,” Latif continued. "We are the underdogs and a lot will depend on how our batting performs because our bowling is as good as England’s."Javed Miandad, Pakistan’s coach, said that he had been satisfied with the progress since he took over ten weeks ago, but the real test was about to come. “All the youngsters are hungry for success and want to take permanent positions in the team and I think with this kind of attitude the day is not far off that we would succeed against tough opponents."

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Surrey 245 for 3 v Kent at The Oval
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Mark Butcher led from the front with an unbeaten century as Surrey ended a stop-start day against Kent in a commanding position. Butcher, leading the side in the absence of Adam Holliaoke who withdrew when his father was taken ill, made an unbeaten 117 from in 191 balls. Graham Thorpe, pressing for an England recall, made 68 as the defending champions raced along at almost four an over until bad light ended play early.Essex 6 for 2 v Lancashire 218 at Chelmsford
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Essex’s Zimbabwe-born Australian Scott Brant (4 for 39) bowled them into a good position against Lancashire at Chelmsford. Lancashire won the toss and were soon regretting their decision to bat as they slumped to 34 for 4, Brant taking three of the wickets. Stuart Law, who left Essex in acrimonious circumstances two years ago, hit back with 80 but received scant support as Lancashire were dismissed for 218. It wasn’t over, however, as Peter Martin struck twice to reduce Essex to 6 for 2 when bad light stopped play. Paul Grayson was bowled first ball shouldering arms and then James Foster fell to a good catch by Jamie Haynes at short leg three balls later.Leicestershire 72 for 1 v Warwickshire 253 at Leicester
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Poor catching from Leicestershire and a maiden championship fifty from Waqar Younis helped Warwickshire to fight back at Grace Road, but bottom side Leicestershire still ended the day in a good position. Only Nick Knight (66) made any real progress as Warwickshire collapsed to 193 for 9 after winning the toss, David Masters claiming 5 for 53. Darren Stevens at slip put down Waqar before he had scored, and it was the most costly of several misses as Waqar went on to score 52, adding 60 with Alan Richardson for the last wicket. When Leicestershire replied Virender Sehwag started with a bang, smacking 30 off 21 balls before being bowled by Melvyn Betts.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire v Yorkshire 314 for 7 at Derby
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An unbeaten 102 from Craig White, playing only his second Championship match of the summer, spearheaded Yorkshire’s recovery at Derby after they had been struggling on 78 for 4. With Michael Lumb (93), who was yesterday named in the provisional Academy squad for the winter, he added 195 for the fifth wicket before Graeme Welch (5 for 74), who had done the early damage, returned to grab another two wickets.Northamptonshire 20 for 3 v Hampshire 125 at Northampton
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Hampshire were swept away in 53.1 overs in a day of showers and cold winds at Northampton, with only Robin Smith (41) showing any kind of application. Smith and John Crawley (21) took Hampshire to 83 for 2 before eight wickets fell for 42 runs. Northamptonshire’s celebrations were short-lived as Michael Hussey, Mark Powell and Jeff Cook all fell in the first five overs of their reply to leave Hampshire with a good chance of battling back.Somerset 100 for 2 v Gloucestershire 228 at Taunton
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Somerset took the honours on a pulsating first day of the west-country derby, bowling Gloucestershire out for 228 and then reaching 100 for 2 at the close. Somerset’s decision to field looked to have backfired as Gloucestershire reached 173 for 3, but their last seven wickets added only 56 as Nixon McLean, Aaron Laraman and Mike Burns finished with three scalps each. Somerset fared little better as they slumped to 12 for 2, and it should have been worse but Craig Spearman dropped James Bryant (29*) before he had scored. Bryant went on to add an unbeaten 88 for the third wicket with Jamie Cox (56*).Worcestershire 218 v Durham 100 for 8 at Worcester
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A day of 18 wickets at Worcester is bound to have pitch inspectors dashing up the motorway from Lord’s. Worcestershire paid for England’s decision to release Steve Harmison from the one-day squad – he took 4 for 50 as Worcestershire were bowled out for 218, only Ben Smith (73) offering any resistance. But Durham were brought back down to earth as Mark Harrity (3 for 35) and Matt Mason (2 for 42) ripped through their top order to put Worcestershire back in control.Varsity Match
Oxford 162 for 1 beat Cambridge 190 by 73 runs at Lord’s
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Jamie Dalrymple must wish he could play against Cambridge all the time. Less than a week after his double-hundred and six wickets in Oxford’s Varsity match victory, Dalrymple smacked an unbeaten 105 as Oxford romped to a 73-run win in the one-day match at Lord’s. Neil Millar grabbed 5 for 23, including two wickets in the final over, as Cambridge were dismissed for 190. Oxford were strolling home on 162 for 1 when bad light ended play. Oxford’s ladies completed a 1-2 for the dark blues, bowling out Cambridge for 56 in front of a good crowd on the Nursery ground and passing the score without losing a wicket.

Geoffrey Boycott has announced that he is on the road to recovery from his throat cancer ordeal. Boycott attended a charity match near Leeds to honour cancer fund-raiser Jane Tomlinson, and he revealed that his recuperation is making good progress.Since he was diagnosed last September, Boycott has undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy and has lost almost 12 kilograms, but with that now behind him, he is looking forward to a healthy future.Talking to the , he said: “So far so good. It looks as though it [the treatment] has worked. I have check-ups every month to see if it has."He added, "The treatment is finished. I’m not saying anything more because I don’t want to tempt providence. It comes as a big shock to everybody. Most of us know very little about it until we actually get it and then we start reading up.”He plans to resume his career as a cricket broadcaster, but is still awaiting clearance from his doctor.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 29 down the yearsJuly 28| July 302001
Hamilton Masakadza becomes the first black African to score a Test century – and, for all of 41 days, the youngest debutant centurion in Test history. Aged just 17 years and 352 days at the start of the match, Masakadza’s inclusion in the Zimbabwe team for the second Test against West Indies had been the subject of some controversy – many observers felt that, with just a year’s first-class cricket under his belt, he was a political rather than a sporting selection. But, with Zimbabwefacing a first-innings deficit of 216, he silenced his doubters in emphatic fashion, batting for 388 minutes and 316 balls for his 119, with 12 fours. Zimbabwe declared on 563 for 6, and had rain not washed out the final day,they might even have squared the series. Masakadza was the seventh black African to play for Zimbabwe, but only the second out-and-out batsman, after Trevor Madondo, who had tragically died of malaria a month earlier. And, until Mohammad Ashraful made his bow for Bangladesh later in the year, only Mushtaq Mohammad and Sachin Tendulkar had reached three figures in a Test at a younger age.1996
One of the great England collapses. They had to bat out a day and a bit to draw the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s. At lunch on the final day they were one down and Ladbrokes had closed the book, with Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart looking untroubled. But then Atherton fell, and down England went like a bunch of drunks on a bouncy castle. They lost seven for 18 in a fearful collapse, with Mushtaq Ahmed at his most mischievous and Waqar Younis feasting on the scraps. Graeme Hick was Waqar-ed twice in the match for 4 – and he was also given not-out wrongly off a bat-pad catch off Mushtaq in the second innings. Only a couple of months after a Wisden Cricket Monthly cover had proclaimed that Hick was “nearly there”, he would be dropped for the Test team for the next two years. His Test career was never the same again.1980
As he lambasts batsmen from the Sky Sports commentary box, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Bob Willis had a Test batting average of 11, but he did once save a Test with the willow. When Willis marched to the crease against West Indies at The Oval, England were 92 for 9 in their second innings, just after lunch on the final day. But somehow, Willis survived for almost three hours. He made 24 not out, Peter Willey his first Test hundred, and Englandsaved a match that looked lost.1986
England opener Dennis Amiss scored his 100th first-class hundred, for Warwickshire against Lancashire at Edgbaston.1963
Born with two fingers missing on his right hand, Azeem Hafeez went on to bowl left-arm pace for Pakistan. He took 63 wickets in 18 Tests, the last in 1984-85 when he was still only 21.1972
Some of us have never seen it happen, but on this day England retained the Ashes. They did so with a nine-wicket win at Headingley , as Derek Underwood exploited a grassless, flooded, and much-criticised pitch to take 10 for 82 in the match. England’s top-scorers were the unlikely pair of Ray Illingworth (57) and John Snow (48), who effectively decided things with an eighth-wicket partnership of 104.1944
New Zealand opening batsman Terry Jarvis was born.His highest Test score of 182 was made in a mammoth opening partnership of 387 with Glenn Turner at Georgetown in 1971-72. New Zealand drew the series despite losing the toss every time.1934
To a Test cricketer, a son is born. Alfred Scottfollowed his father OC `Tommy’ Scott into the West Indies team, but took 0 for 140 in his only Test.Other birthdays
1933 Cammie Smith (West Indies)
1970 John Rennie (Zimbabwe)
1975 Lanka de Silva (Sri Lanka)