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Continued emphasis on the replenishment of its batting stocks looks like remaining a key theme of the South Australian state team’s development. Or at least that seems to be the case from viewing the Redbacks’ initial list of contracted players for the 2001-02 domestic season.The South Australians possess an excellent bowling attack and two of the most outstanding batsmen in Australian domestic cricket in Darren Lehmann and Greg Blewett. However, their middle order has struggled at different times in recent seasons and the quest for more consistent performances from the entirety of their batting line-up remains high on the agenda.In this squad – which contains nineteen fully contracted players and three on new rookie deals – there are as many as eleven specialist batsmen. Together with Lehmann and Blewett who, with speedster Jason Gillespie, hold Australian Cricket Board (ACB) contracts and are therefore not on this list, that now gives the Redbacks’ squad significant batting depth.Although each of them featured in a number of matches for the state in 2000-01, newcomers to the contracted list from last season are batsmen Ben Higgins and Nathan Adcock and all-rounder Mick Miller. Experienced left arm orthodox spinner Brad Young can also be considered as something of a new recruit this year after he missed the entirety of the domestic season because of a serious knee injury.The three players who have secured rookie contracts – the newly-introduced deals which allow each of the states to offer $A10,000 retainers to a small group of previously unsigned cricketers under the age of 23 – are batsmen Cameron Borgas and Matthew Cosgrove and paceman Matthew Weekes. All three are among the current intake of scholarship holders at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy, and have been a key part of South Australian underage squads for a number of seasons.Under existing ACB rules, each of the six state associations completed their initial lists of at least fourteen signings (and allocated the bulk of their player payment pool) for 2001-02 by last Friday. Behind Queensland’s announcement last week, South Australia is the second state to have formally unveiled its new squad. The other four states’ lists are each expected to be announced inside the next twenty-four hours.

Mike Gatting was a proud man 14 years ago when he took England to Australia and returned with the Ashes.Since then a number of captains have tried to emulate Gatting’s achievement and not one has succeeded.And now Gatting himself wants to shed the mantle of having been the last England captain to win the Ashes. He is hoping Nasser Hussain can replace him in English cricket folklore and reclaim the Ashes after six successive series defeats.”I’d rather lose that mantle as quickly as possible,” said Gatting. “Itwas a long time ago, it’s far too long really and I only hope that Nasser andthe boys can rectify that.”It would be really nice to lose it as quickly as possible even though it’sthe most treasured moment of my time as a player. We won all three series and itwas a great winter but it’s time we moved on from the past.”I don’t think England are that far behind Australia now, but I don’t thinkthey were really in the last few series.”The big difference is that they were playing as individuals before and theone thing that Duncan Fletcher has done and had to do is get them playing as ateam and turn them into a more disciplined unit – he’s got them thinking aboutthe team and it shows.”The likes of Alec Stewart and Michael Atherton have only ever known defeat at the hands of the old enemy, but if England are to triumph this summer, says Gatting, they must forget about recent Ashes series.”I hope England don’t dwell on past results and instead focus on the factthat they are unbeaten in the last five Test series and they should beconfident,” said Gatting."They’ve played in some difficult parts of the world and won, they are athome and they are capable of competing with anybody.”A successful team is always going to be a lot more confident and one thathas gone unbeaten in that time is going to be brimming with confidence and thatcan only help.”There seems to be a feeling in the side now that if they have a bad session,they come out and have a good one and that is usually a sign of a very goodside.”When they are struggling and have lost the odd match, instead of getting toodown about it, they try and pick themselves up and take the positives out ofit.”

X-rays have revealed CLEAR Black Cap, Daniel Vettori, has not broken his ankle after he fell awkwardly when fielding off his own bowling in Canberra.The left arm spinner fell in the 18th over of New Zealand’s second match of their tour of Australia against the ACT Invitation XI.However, while Vettori has not broken any bones, it appears his ankle may be quite badly sprained.”We’ve been advised by the experts that by tomorrow we’ll have a much clearer indication of just how bad the sprain is,” says Manager Jeff Crowe.”Obviously it’s a concern, but we’re going to wait and see how Dan progresses over night rather than speculating at this stage about different scenarios.”One hour after tea the ACT XI were 226/3. Shayne O’Connor had picked up two wickets and Chris Cairns one.

Graham Rose turned the clock back nine years to frustrate Yorkshire on the second day of the County Championship match at Taunton.It was in the corresponding fixture at the same venue in 1991 that the former Middlesex player reached his maiden first class century, smashing 7 sixes and 7 fours in an unbeaten 105, off just 114 balls.Now aged 36, Rose’s innings tend to be a touch more sedate these days. But his heavy blade still packs plenty of power as the tenth hundred of his career amply demonstrated.At 115-5 on another blustery day, Somerset looked unlikely to collect even one batting bonus points when their evergreen all-rounder strode to the crease.By the time Rose was last man out for 124, made off 227 balls, with 13 fours, the home side had amassed 359 and had four points in the bag.It was all very frustrating for title-chasing Yorkshire, who began the day well. Peter Bowler was taken down the leg side by wicketkeeper Simon Guy off Matthew Hoggard and Keith Parsons also fell when looking set.Having reached 32, Parsons clearly allowed his concentration to be affected by some heavy drizzle. Umpires Graham Burgess and Nigel Cowley decided it was not enough to interrupt play and the batsman was less than impressed when trapped lbw by Gavin Hamilton.Rob Turner then contributed 36 to a sixth-wicket stand of 68 with Rose before attempting to drive a wide half-volley from Gary Fellows and edging to Guy.When Ian Blackwell was caught trying to evade one of many short-pitched deliveries from the Yorkshire seamers Somerset were 212-7 and still in some peril.But out marched teenager Peter Trego to play an innings of great maturity, which brought his highest first class score of 62 and enabled Rose to maintain a steady tempo towards his ton.Yorkshire were guilty of trying to bounce the pair out at times. Yet Rose looked increasingly assured against the short ball, while Trego was never afraid to cut with relish at anything wide.The second new ball was taken at 255-7, but failed to bring a breakthrough. It was 21 overs later when left-arm spinner Ian Fisher finally penetrated Trego’s defence after the young seam bowler had hit 10 fours in his maiden half-century.Rose gave just one chance on 29 when Yorkshire skipper David Byas dived full length to his right at slip, failing to cling onto a flying edge off Hoggard.That apart, it was an increasingly commanding display in which Rose pulled with confidence and produced some superb straight drives on the few occasions when the ball was pitched up.The stand of 132 with Trego was a perfect blend of youth and experience, with Rose sometimes coming down the pitch for a steadying word with his highly-promising partner.Perhaps Somerset fans were watching Rose’s successor. On this evidence, EnglandUnder-19 seamer Trego has what it takes to develop all-rounder status.After starting the match in such menacing mood, both Hoggard and Chris Silverwood returned disappointing figures. It was Fisher (3-66) and Hamilton (3-73) who picked up the bulk of the wickets.At least Yorkshire openers Simon Widdup and Vic Craven survived a tricky four-over spell before the close. But at 5-0 it is the visitors who have work to do if they are to avoid defeat.

Following the instructions of the Supreme Court of India, the dispute between the BCCI and N Srinivasan over the latter attending BCCI meetings has come to an end. While the BCCI’s plea seeking clarification over Srinivasan’s attendance at a working committee meeting in August has been disposed off, Srinivasan has withdrawn the perjury case against board secretary Anurag Thakur. The court, however, has asked the BCCI to stick to its stand of not allowing Srinivasan to attend the meetings due to his alleged conflict of interest.The BCCI counsel KK Vengugopal stated that despite the transfer of shares of Chennai Super Kings from its original owners India Cements Ltd to Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd, Srinivasan is still involved in conflict of interest. The India Cements Ltd, while transferring the controversial IPL team ownership to a trust [Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd], had valued the team at Rs 5 lakh. The BCCI termed the whole process as a “sham” in the court.Justice TS Thakur, who was instrumental in appointing the Lodha commission to set punishments for Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and suggest administrative reforms for the BCCI, then asked the board to continue with its stand and not seek a court directive before every meeting.On August 28, the BCCI hierarchy was unsure of the legal issues arising from Srinivasan’s attendance at the meeting, and the then president Jagmohan Dalmiya adjourned the meeting sine die and sought the apex court’s opinion.As a result, in a plea filed by secretary Anurag Thakur, the BCCI accused Srinivasan of barging into the meeting enclosure and insisting on attending the meeting.However, with Thakur’s plea mistaking Srinivasan for his namesake, a chartered accountant, as a trustee of Chennai Super Kings’ new owners, Srinivasan slapped a perjury case on the BCCI secretary. Both parties withdrew their respective cases on Monday.The developments on Monday came after newly-appointed BCCI president Shashank Manohar stressed that the BCCI will not be vindictive towards any of its 30 member associations, including Srinivasan’s Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.

All four matches of the first round of the National Cricket League (NCL) ended in draws after rain hampered play across the country. The third days of every game were washed out, but there was some play possible on the fourth in Fatullah and Khulna.File photo: Mosaddek Hossain struck 133 for Barisal Divison, but they had to settle for a draw against Rajshahi Division•ICC

Tier 1

At the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, Khulna Division made home advantage count. Their 153-run first-innings lead over Dhaka Division puts them on top of the NCL points table.Batting first, Dhaka were bowled out for 187 with only 16-year old Saif Hassan offering any resistance. He batted over three hours for his 68, which included 10 fours, but found little support from the other end. Left-arm pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman and experienced left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak took four wickets each.Shakib Al Hasan, playing his first domestic first-class match in nearly three years, had a tough day. He took 1 for 49 and was dismissed for 13, batting at No. 3. However, Khulna were stabilized by fifties from Mohammad Mithun and Nurul Hasan. That foundation set up a formidable first-innings total of 340. Left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain took 7 for 119, the fourth time he has taken a haul this big in a first-class innings.The other Tier-1 match in Bogra lost two of four days to rain forcing Rangpur Division and Dhaka Metropolis to settle for a draw.Batting first, Dhaka Metropolis were bowled out for 238. Marshall Ayub, Shamsur Rahman and Elias Sunny made half-centuries while offspinner Mahmudul Hasan took his sixth five-for in first-class cricket.Rangpur had run into early trouble as well, slipping to 45 for 3, but Dhiman Ghosh’s unbeaten 85 helped them recover well enough to claim a slim first-innings lead and eight points as a result. He added an unbroken 133 for the sixth wicket with Ariful Haque (48 off 99) to put Rangpur ahead by 28 runs at the end of the second day. That was where they stayed with the final two days washed out.

Tier 2

In Fatullah, Chittagong Division could only bat for 18 minutes on the fourth and final day after Sylhet Division declared on 352 for 8.Rajin Saleh, Ruman Ahmed and Rahatul Ferdous made 74, 80 and 56 not out respectively. Left-arm spinner Nabil Samad switched from Sylhet to Chittagong this season and took it to his old team, claiming 3 for 78 in 37 oversAfter sitting out most of the second and third days, Chittagong’s openers could bat for just four overs, in which Tamim Iqbal and Yasir Ali added 36 runs.In the other Tier-2 match, hosts Rajshahi Division may have been the only team benefited by rain as they escaped with a draw against Barisal Division.Batting first, Barisal were led by Mosaddek Hossain’s 122 and fifties from Shahriar Nafees and Sohag Gazi to post 302 runs in 78.2 overs.Rajshahi’s left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam took 6 for 123. But his team-mates produced an appalling display with the bat to be bowled out for 93. Fast bowler proved their undoing as Tawhidul Islam took 6 for 31 and Golam Kabir contributed three wickets.The rapid pace of the match continued as Rajshahi then bowled Barisal out for 160 with Sunzamul completing his second 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Set 370 to win, Rajshahi were 25 for 0 when rain arrived.

ScorecardZimbabwe A rattled the Ireland middle order to give themselves a good chance of taking a first-innings lead, despite Stuart Poynter making his maiden first-class hundred, on the second day in Harare.Poynter’s 125 took only 166 balls and included 18 fours. He was the only Ireland batsman to convert his start; the rest of the top five got past 20 but did not reach a half-century. Poynter added 101 for the second wicket with Andy Balbirnie and 80 for the third with Niall O’Brien, but Ireland then slipped from 212 for 2 to 222 for 5.Gary Wilson, whose 47 was the next best score for Ireland, was out in the final over of the day, after a 70-run stand with Kevin O’Brien. The visitors trailed by 100 at stumps with four wickets in hand. Seamer Brian Vitori claimed two wickets for the home side.Zimbabwe A had begun the day on 352 for 6 and their lower order was mopped up by Craig Young and John Mooney, who finished with four wickets each. Malcolm Waller was the last wicket to fall, for 138, with Niall O’Brien claiming his fourth catch of the innings. The hosts had added 40 to their overnight score to finish with 392.

ScorecardFile photo – Rob Quiney and Marcus Stoinis starred with the bat for Victoria•Getty Images

Victoria gained a strong 95-run lead over Queensland riding mainly on Rob Quiney’s 111 and fifties from Marcus Stoinis (71) and Peter Handscomb (50).In their reply to Queensland’s 207, Victoria’s opening stand was broken by seamer Mark Steketee who had Chris Rogers caught behind for 6. Quiney then paired with Stoinis for a 168-run second-wicket stand that frustrated the Queensland bowlers.Offspinner Michael Philipson ended the big partnership when he had Stoinis caught by James Hopes. Philipson struck 10 balls later to trap Quiney leg before and later also had Victoria captain Matthew Wade caught behind for 23.David Hussey’s brief innings of 12 was brought to an end by Steketee in the 58th over. Handscomb had steadied the middle order with his fifty, but when he was sent back by Hopes, Victoria had slumped from 1 for 181 to 5 for 248. However, they ended the day on top with Daniel Christian and James Pattinson unbeaten on 25 and 0 respectively at the end of the second day.Earlier, Queensland were able to add just one run to their overnight score of 9 for 206. Legspinner Fawad Ahmed dismissed Peter George in the second over of the day to finish with 5 for 50, his sixth five-for in first class cricket.

BARBADIAN alLrounder Ryan Hinds is keeping his head up as he faces a brief pause in his cricket career.The left-handed allrounder tore ligaments in his right knee when fielding as substitute during last Friday’s fourth match at Ahmedabad and will need four to six weeks for the damage to heal."I hit one of the markers in the inner circle and it was very painful," the 21-year-old Barbados vice-captain said. "I didn’t realise the full extent of the damage until I tried to make a catch at long-on and landed on the knee again."I’m disappointed that I have to be out of the game as I was hoping to make the trip to Bangladesh, but this is part of the game. It has set back my preparation for the World Cup [February to March 2003], but I will be staying focused and thinking positively."Today Hinds will know definitely how long his recuperation will take when he visits Jacqui King-Mowatt, the Barbados team physiotherapist.The injury was diagnosed by West Indies’ new medical advisor Dr Akshai Mansingh, who told Hinds he would be out for four to six weeks.He returned home from India on Wednesday evening and his knee is still badly swollen."Right now I don’t know the full extent, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m hoping to be back out there before Christmas," he told WEEKENDSPORT from his home yesterday."I was told to receive treatment and after the third or fourth week I should be able to get back into serious training."Hinds was badly out of touch during the two Test matches he played on the tour, making just 34 runs in four innings. He lost his place to Marlon Samuels for the final match."Basically, I didn’t adapt as quickly as I should have and that was one of the reasons I didn’t get going."Hinds said that after the massive defeats in the first two Tests the entire team did some soul-searching, and this was the reason why they bounced back in the final Test and the ongoing One-Day series."The guys worked harder in the nets and we all pulled together in a big way," he said. "This was great for the team and we realised we could still salvage something from the tour."

The world’s most renowned coaches will gather in Sri Lanka later this month for a high-powered coaching conference.Tony Greig, Bob Woolmer, Steve Rixon, John Buchanan and Barry Richards will all address coaches, cricketers and administrators during a series of seminars.

Organised by the recently formed International Cricket Coaches’ Conference (ICCC), the two-day programme will focus on the latest technological advancements in coaching.The project is the brainchild of former cricket board president Thilanga Sumathipala, who believes is will help ensure the highest standards of coaching throughout Asia.”Cricket has now become so technologically advanced,” said Sumathipala. “Coaches and cricketers need to keep abreast of these changes. At present there is no continuous program that would meet this type of professional demand.”The conference will look at the following issues: traditional game v new technology, advanced technology to develop techniques, introduction to modern techniques, the most effective way to develop young cricketers, issues facing coaches/coaching, what are the basics – technology and coaching, the fine art of wicket-keeping, batting and bowling, real approach to a champion team, a point of view from the current world champions Australia, a captain’s perspective, the role of captain and manager, relationships with media, moulding the complete cricketer, a pathway to achieve excellence and, today’s skills for tomorrow’s technology.Local coaches are also being encouraged to participate: “The need of the moment is to nurture the budding generation of cricketers that Sri Lanka is gifted with by utilizing the latest techniques and skills in coaching. This conference is the first step in achieving that milestone,” said Sumathipala.The Conference will be open to both local and international participants and is scheduled meant for September 25 and 26. For participation details, contact the ICCC on +94-1-389673 or log on to the website: www.cricketconference.com.