Somerset Head Groundsman Phil Frost has won the coveted Groundsman of the Year Award for a record breaking fifth time in the space of seven years.”Frosty” who was born and brought up at nearby Wellington has been in charge at The County Ground since 1988.The award is based upon the marks awarded for the wickets at both Taunton and Bath by the first class umpires from each of the matches played during the season.Phil Frost told me that the award this season had come “as a total surprise,” and went on “I really didn’t expect to win it this year. We had such an awful start to the season because of the bad weather.”

New Otago cricket coach Glenn Turner has unveiled an exciting line-up for the opening rounds of the State Championship.Features of the State Otago Volts for the matches against Northern Districts and Canterbury are the naming of former New Zealand skipper Lee Germon as captain, the return of former provincial captain Robert Lawson, a re-appearance by Evan Marshall, and the inclusion of Australian Rob Smith.Germon played for the Volts in one-day matches only last year but has excelled in club play this summer, Lawson returns after missing last season because of injury, Marshall ‘retired’ five years but is reported to be keen and raring to go, and Smith is an interesting prospect.He is a right-arm leg-spin bowler and useful lower-order batsman.As well as Germon and Lawson coach Turner has been able to again call on the experience of Chris Gaffaney, David Sewell, Kerry Walmsley and Martyn Croy. Backing that quartet will be Andrew Hore, Craig Cumming and Craig Pryor who all made solid progress on the first-class scene last year, while Brendon McCullum and Bradley Scott have the opportunity to cement their places.The State Otago Volts squad (to play Northern Districts at Carisbrook from 26-29 November and Canterbury in Christchurch from 2-5 December) is:Lee Germon (captain), Martyn Croy, Craig Cumming, Chris Gaffaney, Andrew Hore, Robert Lawson, Brendon McCullum, Evan Marshall, Nathan Morland, Craig Pryor, Bradley Scott, David Sewell, Rob Smith, Kerry Walmsley.Not considered because of injury were opening bowlers Shane O’Connor, Warren McSkimming and James McMillan.

The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jagmohan Dalmiya, issued a statement saying that the International Cricket Council cannot de-recognise the India-South Africa ‘Test’ that is due to start at Centurion on Friday.The Indian and South African boards had decided to by-pass the ICC and hold the ‘Test’ with Denis Lindsay as match-referee after the ICC refused to withdraw Mike Denness following the furore over the penalties imposed on six Indian players at Port Elizabeth.”Whether it is official or unofficial is governed by certain parameters,” Dalmiya told Reuters in Kolkata on Thursday. “This can be decided only by the majority of the ICC’s executive board.”He explained that Lindsay was on ICC’s match-referee panel, while adding, “We (Indian and South African cricket boards) feel that it qualifies to be an official Test match.””The ICC did not understand the seriousness of the situation. The decisions were extraordinarily harsh. We needed some accommodation.”Thursday’s sensational events, which have shaken the ICC’s very foundations, followed the parent body’s refusal to withdraw Denness. This was Dalmiya’s primary demand after Denness had banned Virender Sehwag from the Centurion Test. The match referee also slapped suspended bans on Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, Deep Dasgupta, Harbhajan Singh and Shiv Sunder Das, as well as on Sachin Tendulkar for alleged ball-tampering.Many famous former players, including Sunil Gavaskar, the chairman of the ICC’s Cricket Playing committee and the man who ratifies the appointment of the match-referee, have come down heavily on the ICC’s lack of flexibility. Gavaskar felt that the ICC should at least have decided to keep the bans in abeyance, a path that Dalmiya had left open for the game’s parent body.The dramatic decision of the two boards to take on the ICC now means that the parent body is facing a crisis of epic proportions. India, which has the largest audience for cricket all over the world and many million passionate fans, is not a country that the ICC can easily excommunicate. It also won’t be easy for the ICC to do a somersault after their initially rigid stand in the Denness affair. South Africa, meanwhile, is where the next World Cup is to be held in 2003.Also noteworthy would be the ICC reaction if the two countries decide to play the ‘Test’ with Sehwag also turning out for the Indian side. The presence of the latest century-maker-on-debut is almost certain now that the two boards have decided to take on the ICC. Nothing should prevent them from going the whole hog. Everything said, rest assured that the last has not been heard about the issue.

New South Wales is the national Under-19 champion for 2001-02, having outlasted Queensland to win a thrilling tournament final in Newcastle this afternoon. After a topsy-turvy two days of cricket, the Blues were forced to weather a brilliant late order revival from their opponents before ultimately sealing a 22-run victory.All-rounder Daniel Christian, whose innings of 68 extricated the home team from trouble and lifted it to an eventual total of 242, was the hero of the victory and fittingly claimed the last wicket of the match.Also instrumental in the Blues’ march toward a first national title since 1998-99 was Brad Roworth (3/43), who followed a belligerent innings of 37 with guileful medium pace bowling that caused the young Bulls to lose their way in the middle stages of the chase.The Blues’ lower order had resumed at 8/210 at the Number 1 Sportsground this morning, and again provoked frustration for their opposing bowlers by eating up more than an hour of play today before surrendering a wicket. As it happened, another then fell just two deliveries later to finally put a seal on the innings.But, by then, Christian and wicketkeeper-batsman James Allsopp (28) had hoisted the home team to a position so strong as to ensure that Queensland’s quest to snare a third consecutive national title would be a difficult one through the afternoon.Left arm paceman Chris Summers (2/9) was the successful bowler, trapping the plucky Christian in front of his stumps and then finding the outside edge of Allsopp’s bat with only one further run added to the total. But the wickets came after around 70 minutes of play on the second day, limiting the time available to the visitors to chase down their target.Aaron Maynard (42) and Greg Moller (35) swiftly pushed the Queenslanders into a sound position at 2/93 in the hour after lunch, and a missed slips catch off the latter’s bat in the closing over of the morning session was beginning to look like a very costly miss.But the New South Wales bowlers, ably led by Roworth, made a series of incisions in the afternoon session to decisively wrest back the initiative. Nathan Kruger (9) and captain Craig Philipson (8) had perished before lunch, and now teammates Maynard, Moller, Julian Nielsen (0), Murray Bragg (19) and Chris McCabe (16) all joined them in the pavilion prior to tea.Maynard and Nielsen fell in the space of three Roworth deliveries; a disastrous run out claimed Moller; McCabe edged to Allsopp as Roworth came around the wicket; and then Bragg lost his middle stump to New South Wales captain Jarrad Burke.The match started to turn again as Scott Brant (49) launched a blistering counter-attack that rivalled New South Wales’ own late order recovery earlier in the match. With a 62-ball assault that featured seven well timed boundaries, the number ten batsman led a stand of 41 runs for the ninth wicket with Luke Davis (31) and another threatening liaison of 24 with Summers (3*) for the tenth.But a mix up in running saw Davis lose his footing – and his wicket too – as he tried to scramble back to the striker’s end to beat a throw from cover. And, with around 12 overs still potentially available, medium pacer Christian (1/7) then established his team’s place in the annals of the championship when he beat an attacking shot from Brant with the first delivery of a new spell to artistically shatter the stumps.Elsewhere in Newcastle, Tasmania and Victoria enjoyed great days to fill third and fourth placings respectively.The Tasmanians earned their place in Section A next season when they scored a tough three wicket win in a low-scoring contest with Western Australia.Victoria, meanwhile, relied on an innings of 99 from Adam Crosthwaite to amass a score of 6/252 in response to South Australia’s total of 175 from yesterday.And in the battle for seventh and eighth, the Northern Territory prevailed in a thrilling finish against the Australian Capital Territory. Needing 234 for victory, the Northern Territorians passed the target with a solitary wicket to spare.The Championships reach their formal conclusion at an official dinner in Newcastle tonight, at which the Player of the Championship and the squad of 14 players chosen to represent Australia in next month’s Youth World Cup in New Zealand will be named.

Chris Cairns is back!That’s the obvious conclusion after he ripped through the Bangladesh batting on the last morning of the rain-affected first National Bank Test at Hamilton to give New Zealand its 48th Test victory, by an innings and 52 runs.Cairns took five wickets in 38 balls, for seven runs, to achieve his career second-best innings figures in a manner resembling his dismantling of the West Indies when he took seven for 27, two years and two days ago on the same ground.He finished with seven for 53 from 18.2 overs, as the Bangladeshis expired for 108, losing their last six wickets for 18 runs.Running in with more of the familiar bounce in his stride and bowling some of his speciality balls, Cairns looked much more like the player of old.Clearly, the overs bowled in Australia, while more costly than he would have liked, have aided his return and the longer spell he had on the fourth afternoon set him up for his triumph this morning.He dealt a harsh lesson to Test cricket’s newcomers. They have grown up on a diet of one-day cricket and that has been reflected in their inability to apply themselves for a long innings.They were dismissed in 46.2 overs in the second innings, after managing 205 in 58.1 overs in the first innings.When Cairns removed overnight batsman Al Sahariar for 53, it was as if the fight which had carried the side so close to avoiding the follow-on in the first innings, had evaporated in the heat of the morning on the best weather day of the Test.For the second time in the innings Cairns was sitting on a hat-trick when having Khaled Mashud caught at first slip by Stephen Fleming and Khaled Mahmud held at second slip by Mathew Sinclair when the score was on 98.He had to wait until his next over to complete the chance but Sanwar Hossain managed to keep the ball out.Sanwar had looked a likely competitor in the first innings when scoring 45 on his Test debut, but he found scoring much more difficult with the better organised New Zealand bowling of the second innings and he was out for 12 from 60 balls he faced.He was well bowled by Shane Bond, who finished with two wickets for 28 runs, to give him a match haul of six for 75, and an improving average, albeit at 40.44.The end came quickly, meaning the match was ended in 181.4 overs, thought to be the third quickest Test win completed in New Zealand, and certainly the second fastest of New Zealand’s Test victories at home.The fastest game was Australia’s win in 1945/46 which was all over in 145.2 overs. New Zealand beat England in 1983/84 in 173.3 overs.The 108 was Bangladesh’s fourth lowest score in its Test history, having a lowest of 90 against Sri Lanka in an Asian Championship match in September.New Zealand will make one change for the second Test starting in Wellington on Wednesday with in-form Auckland batsman Matt Horne coming in for the injured Nathan Astle.Astle injured his right hand when batting and had an x-ray yesterday which revealed only bruising.However, the hand was still sore this morning and an MRI scan was done to reveal a hairline crack in a bone on the back of his hand. It was initially thought that he would miss only the second Test, but now there is concern that he could be out for the complete tri-series in Australia with the home country and South Africa.That team is to be named on January 3.

As they entered their dressing rooms at the Sharjah Stadium after practice yesterday, a sign above the door warned the West Indies and Pakistan cricketers: No mobile phones.In the adjacent corner, a small, elevated closed-circuit camera monitored their every move. Another similar device watched them in their hotel foyer.They will be there throughout the two Tests and three One-Day Internationals of the unique series, the first held outside an accredited Test-playing country and only grudgingly agreed to by the host Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the West Indies’ insistence because of war and rumours of war just beyond their borders.The measures, more typical of Hollywood than Lord’s, are part of the drive by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to preclude dealings with bookmakers that led to the life bans for match-fixing against former Test captain Hansie Cronje of South Africa.Robert Smalley and Bruce Ewan, members of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), established 18 months ago at great expense by the ICC under former head of the Metropolitan Police, Lord Condon, are mounting the operation.Smalley, the ACU’s security and support manager, and Ewan, the information manager, on Tuesday night spelt out to both teams the purpose of and need for their mission.They were explicit and made everyone aware of how widespread betting on the game is, West Indies team manager Ricky Skerritt said. I don’t think any one on our side is unhappy with the measures.It was startling to learn, for instance, that as much as $50 million is bet on every day of every international match the world over, he added. When you’re talking that sort of money, you realise why bookies are willing to offer a lot of money for information and why the players have to be careful in their dealings.In a more conventional, but still controversial area, the players’ behaviour would be monitored by match referee Mike Denness whose disciplinary action against six Indian players in his last Test in South Africa, in November, led to a tense stand-off between their board and the International Cricket Council (ICC).Indian board president Jagmohan Dalmiya demanded the former England captain’s withdrawal for the next, and final Test, and, while the South Africans acceded, the ICC responded by declaring the match unofficial.The ICC subsequently set up a commission to review the match referee’s terms of reference but Dalmiya, whose board objected to two of its appointees, will doubtless see Denness’ appointment, even before the commission has met, as deliberate provocation.Since there are 19 other ICC referees, he would have a point. Insensitivity, if not arrogance, are no less appropriate expressions.

Six different umpires will stand in the three-Test National Bank series between New Zealand and England, starting in Christchurch on March 13.Brent Bowden will stand in the first Test with Sri Lanka’s Asoka de Silva.In the second Test at the Basin Reserve Steve Dunne will be joined by Zimbabwean Russell Tiffin while in Auckland for the third Test Doug Cowie will stand with Indian Srinivas Venkataraghavan.The respective third umpires will be: Dave Quested, Evan Watkin and Tony Hill.West Indian Jackie Hendriks will be the ICC Match Referee for the series.

Key allrounder Chris Cairns and pace revelation Shane Bond will return to bolster New Zealand for the opening game of the tri series finals against South Africa at the MCG on Wednesday.The Kiwis went back to the drawing board today ahead of the best-of-three games series, seeking the answers to overcoming a team they’ve beaten only once intheir last 16 one day encounters.Cairns did not train as he rested the back problem which kept him out of Friday’s loss to South Africa in Perth but he had little doubt he would play – and would likely bowl.”I’m a 90 per cent chance of playing at this stage, just to cover off the 10 per cent tomorrow and have a bowl – I should be fine,” said Cairns, who had an injection in Perth to help his back.Having played earlier last week as a batsman only, Cairns said he would try to play as “the fifth or sixth bowler” in Wednesday’s day-nighter at the MCG.The Kiwis will also be lifted by the return of Bond, their main strike bowler, who skipped Friday’s match with a groin strain.”He (Bond) has been the find of the tour for us and the majority of our success can be attributed to him,” Cairns said.”What he’s given us throughout this series is firepower and the ability to take wickets.”New Zealand had their tactics working perfectly against Australia throughout the round robin series, winning three of four matches and only losing the other toMichael Bevan’s miraculous innings.But South Africa is another matter and the key area the Black Caps want to address is stemming the Proteas’ withering late innings onslaughts against them by the likes of Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes.Team manager Jeff Crowe said the team was still trying to develop a bowler, apart from Cairns, who could be relied upon to perform well in the final overs.”It’s not something you can just achieve, you have to put into plan and execution,” former NZ captain Crowe said.”You can’t say we’re overly experienced at bowling in the death – we don’t have a natural person at this point.”It’s a matter of just working away and finding the accuracy you need.”New Zealand’s emergence as a major power in both the Test and one-day arena has been a highlight of the summer and Crowe believed captain Stephen Flemingdeserved much of the credit.”I sense when we really started to change and up the ante was last year in New Zealand, in between the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan,” Crowe said.”Stephen Fleming has been the catalyst for all this, he took on a new role and went from phase one of his captaincy career to stage two.”He took on a stronger and more powerful position with his role – he really drives the ship, he’s the person who really tells the team what we need to do.”South Africa start the finals a strong favourite, but Cairns said the Black Caps gave themselves a real chance.”One out of 16 – that’s (how often) we’ve beaten them, if I was South Africa I’d want to play us in the finals as well,” Cairns said.”Saying that, finals situations bring out the most amazing results – anything can happen.”

MELBOURNE, Dec 27 AAP – A packed MCG erupted into a chorus of boos after grim-faced England captain Nasser Hussain refused to walk when Australia claimed a catch late on day two of the Boxing Day Test.In reply to Australia’s 6(dec)-551, England was 3-97 at stumps, staring at defeat with Hussain on 17 and tentative nightwatchman Richard Dawson yet to score.Australia’s mammoth total was founded on 250 from Justin Langer, 102 from Matthew Hayden, 77 from captain Steve Waugh and an unbeaten 62 from polished debutant Martin Love.Hussain, who 24 hours earlier appealed for the dismissal of Australia skipper Steve Waugh despite doubts from the fieldsman Mark Butcher, clipped a full toss from leg spinner Stuart MacGill to Jason Gillespie at mid-on.It was 2-94.Gillespie dived to his left and juggled the ball which popped up, hit his chest and fell back into his hands. Gillespie jumped to his feet and threw the ball high, claiming the catch.He had unanimous support from team-mates.Hussain stayed put, however, unsure whether the ball had kissed the grass after Gillespie’s initial juggle. Zimbabwean umpire Russell Tiffin sent the matter to video umpire Darrell Hair who, after numerous replays, gave Hussain the benefit of the doubt.Hussain was booed and jeered by a huge proportion of the boisterous crowd of 50,451.Gillespie entered the attack immediately and, in his second over, he trapped Butcher lbw for 25. Gillespie was lucky on this occasion, with the ball appearing to come off Butcher’s inside edge.Meanwhile, Brett Lee equalled his record for the fastest delivery recorded in Australia when he sent down a 156.2km/h scorcher during a lively burst.Lee, whose 156.2km/h delivery in a limited overs game against Sri Lanka in Perth last weekend set a new Australian benchmark, reached the same speed in his second over today.Even hovering around the high 140 mark, Lee had Butcher hopping around like a cat on a hot tin roof, provoking a genuine buzz among the masses.When he started consistently hitting 150km/h, Lee made a deserved breakthrough when a cracking ball brushed Marcus Trescothick’s gloves and flew to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, sending the England opener on his way for 37.With his tail up, Lee thought he had Hussain out twice from catches behind. Both balls were a tick under 154km/h, both times Lee celebrated like Hussain was gone, but both times Tiffin turned him down.Hussain, who revels in facing Lee even if he’s not entirely comfortable, took up the challenge and drove and pulled the 26-year-old for two boundaries.MacGill, described by Waugh as the second best spinner in the world behind the injured Shane Warne, was introduced to the attack at 1-27. Trescothick belted him ten rows back into the Great Southern Stand.MacGill’s first four overs cost 28 runs, but he recovered to finish with 0-36 from 11 overs. McGrath took 1-18 from seven, Gillespie 1-8 from eight and Lee 1-31 from eight.

The enormous popularity of the Gillette Cup, a limited-overs competition introduced in 1963 to inject some enthusiasm in the game in England where the county championship was on the rocks thanks chiefly to falling attendances, did not in any way mean that one-day cricket would go international. That came about quite by accident. With rain ruling out any play in the scheduled third Test between England and Australia at Melbourne in January 1971, the match was abandoned and a one-day game (40 eight-ball overs a side) was played on January 5 as asort of sop to the spectators. But the huge attendance (an estimated 46,000) not only surprised organisers but also proved that there was a market for the shorter version of the game. When Australia toured England in 1972, provision was made for three one-day matches between the two sides in preference to a sixth Test. Again the spectator response at Old Trafford, Lord’s and Edgbaston, the venues for the matches, was so encouraging that the process was repeated when New Zealand and West Indies toured England in 1973 and India and Pakistan were the visitors the next year.By now the game’s administrators were fully alive to the extent of the popularity of limited overs cricket and the excitement it provided. Plans were charted out for a World Cup competition in 1975 to be played in England and once a sponsor – Prudential, an insurance company – had been acquired, things fell quickly into place. The inaugural global tournament was to be competed by the six-Test playing nations and two associate members Sri Lanka and East Africa and the competition was held between June 7 and 21. The teams were placed in two groups. While Pool A comprised England, India, New Zealand and East Africa, Pool B comprised West Indies, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Matches were played on a 60-over basis and the format was that after the preliminary games, the top two teams from each group would meet in the semifinals.There were thrills aplenty but few surprises in the initial stages. In group A, England mowed down all opposition. They first defeated India by 202 runs, then got the better of New Zealand by 80 runs and finally coasted to a 196-run victory over minnows East Africa. The second semifinalist from the group was decided after a rather close match between India and New Zealand that was ultimately won by the latter, the winning runs being scored in the penultimate over thanks principally to a splendid unbeaten 114 by Glenn Turner. India registered a ten-wicket victory over East Africa for their only win in the competition.Things were much hotter in the other pool as could be expected with West Indies, Australia and Pakistan grouped together. West Indies won all their three matches but not before they encountered anxious moments against Pakistan. Indeed, West Indies at one times seemed on the ropes, for they were 166 for eight in reply to Pakistan’s 266 for seven in the allotted 60 overs. But wicketkeeper Deryck Murray with the help of Vanburn Holder and Andy Roberts inched the Caribbeans towards their target that was overhauled with one wicket and two balls to spare in atruly sensational finish.The eagerly awaited clash of the titans between Australia and the West Indies ended in a seven-wicket victory for the latter thanks mainly to a breathtaking assault by Kallicharran who took 35 off the last ten balls he received from Dennis Lillee, including four hits to the fencein a row. In an innings of 78, the left-hander hit a six and 13 fours, hooking and driving superbly.And so to the semifinals where it was New Zealand vs West Indies and England vs Australia. West Indies, as expected, romped to a six-wicket victory with 19.5 overs to spare. And in the other match, a first-rate all-round performance by Gary Gilmour steered Australia to afour-wicket victory. First, the left-arm seamer took six for 14, as England were shot out for 93 in less than 37 overs. Then after Australia were 39 for six, Gilmour came in to get an unbeaten 28 and with Doug Walters (20 not out) shared in an unbroken seventh wicket association of 55 runs to see his team through to the final.An Australia-West Indies title clash was what the pundits had predicted. And what a dramatic final it proved to be! It began at 11 am and ended at 8.43 pm. It was a thriller from start to finish. From the moment when Roy Fredericks trod on his wicket after hooking a bouncer from Lillee for a six – the moment is captured in a famous photograph by Patrick Eager – to the last defiant bat-swinging tenth-wicket partnership between Lillee and Jeff Thomson that constituted the finalsalvoes of a sinking battleship, the match had a capacity 26,000 Lord’s crowd enthralled.Put in to bat, West Indies were shakily placed at 50 for three but then Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai raised the score by 149 runs in 36 overs. Kanhai, then in his 40th year, was out for 55, butLloyd went on to get a memorable 102 off 85 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.West Indies were ultimately able to post a challenging total of 291 for eight in 60 overs. It was always going to be a long haul for Australia from thereon. But they rose to the occasion with skipper Ian Chappell leading the way with 62. Useful contributions came from Doug Walters (35) and Alan Turner (40) but some fine work in the field, especially by Vivian Richards, resulted in a spate of run outs and Australia slipped to 233 for nine. Suspense was, however, maintained by Lillee and Thomson running the cheekiest of singles and making the odd bold hit. Amidst growing tension and excitement the last wicket pair added 41 before in the penultimate over, Thomson was run out – the fifth run out victim of the innings – and Australia were dismissed for 274. The pulsating match was the perfect advertisement for the one-day game and did much to lay the foundation for the success of future competitions. It is a game that is recalled with much fondness even today.