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Bashley (Rydal) lie second in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League after an convincing three-wicket win over lowly Liphook & Ripsley.The victory took them above Havant – who lost by 70 runs to the Hampshire Academy – and into the runners-up slot behind runaway leaders BAT Sports, who put their unbeaten nine-match record at risk at the BCG on Saturday.Seventeen wickets fell for 190 runs at Ripsley Park, but former Bashley skipper Neil Taylor felt that poor batting was to blame, rather than an undistinguished pitch."Lets say it was lack of application that caused most of the wickets to fall," he said diplomatically."It wasn’t a great strip to bat on, but it was more a 140 wicket than 94 all out in Liphook’s case."John Whiting (4-13)and Kevin Nash (3-28) were more than a handful for Liphook, who sank from 31-2 to 43-7 against the two Bashley seamers.David Wade (32) and Glyn Read (17) showed the application that was needed, but despite their eighth-wicket rally, Liphook were almost bowled out for 94 by lunch.Bashley hardly batted much better, with Andy Sexton (17) the only batsman in the top six to get into double figures.Tim Wheatley (3-32) and left-armer Read (2-20) created panic in the visitors’ ranks as Bashley faced an improbable defeat at 41-6.But Neil Sexton, with a carefully hit 33, and Neil Taylor (15 not out) turned the match in Bashley’s favour by doubling the total with a decisive eighth-wicket partnership which all but secured the points.Bournemouth experienced far less hassle in beating struggling Portsmouth by six wickets at Chapel Gate – but they did make rather hard work of their victory.Nick Reeves (2-30) struck two key blows early on, having former Hampshire all-rounder Lee Savident caught behind and re-arranging South African Andrew Locke’s stumps, both without scoring.It meant Ben Thane (28) and Naqeeb Ali Mohamed (19) having to squeeze out every run, particularly off Jo Wilson, who sent down his initial 13 overs of seam at a personal cost of five runs !The Liverpudlian, who finished with 3-25 off 18 overs, removed Naqeeb, Dean Oliffe and Paul Ancell in quick succession to have Portsmouth reeling at 68-6.Matt Keech, who made 87, found himself fighting a lone battle, although either side of lunch student Dan Neville provided valued support.With left-arm spinners Shaun Walbridge (5-48) and Adam Voges bowling in tandem, runs were always hard to come by and once the Dorset vice-captain had removed Portsmouth’s seventh-wicket pair, the end was nigh.When the watchful Nick Park (45) and Voges (40) took Bournemouth’s reply to 96-1, Portsmouth’s 159 all out appeared an academic target.But Bournemouth found themselves bogged down and lost four wickets before Matt Swarbrick (28 not out) and Charlie Holcomb took them home.

John Wright will continue as India’s coach for the next two months.Top Board of Control for India (BCCI) sources told the that the adhoc decision had been made to ensure Wright’s availability for the forthcoming tri-nations tournament in Dhaka, involving India, South Africa and hosts Bangladesh.When contacted at his home in Christchurch, Wright said that BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya had told him about the decision on Sunday. “I am quite happy with this arrangement and look forward to a successful campaign in Dhaka,” he said.The formal selection of the long-term Indian coach will, meanwhile, be made during the working committee meeting in two weeks’ time.

LAHORE, Feb 25: The South African Cricket Board has confirmed a 35-day tour to Pakistan from Sept 22 to Oct 28. Cricket in Pakistan suffered a major blow after 9/11 as with the exception of New Zealand in 2002 , no other team toured the country due to major security concerns.New Zealand, could also not complete its tour after a suicide bomb blast occurred in Karachi on the same day when the third and final Test was to start.A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman, said on Tuesday that South Africa will play three Tests and just as many One-day Internationals besides one three dayer and a warm up one-day match during the tour.The venues of the matches will be decided later.Itinerary (without venues):Sept 22: Arrival.Sept 23: Practice.Sept 24: One-day practice match.Sept 25: Practice.Sept 26: First ODI.Sept 27-28: Travel/ Practice.Sept 29: Second ODI.Sept 30: Travel/Practice.Oct 1: Practice.Oct 2: Third ODI.Oct 3-4: Travel/ Practice.Oct 5-7: Three day tour match.Oct 8: Practice.Oct 9-13: First Test.Oct 14-15: Travel/Practice.Oct 16-20: Second Test.Oct 21-22: Travel/Practice.Oct 23-27: Third Test.Oct 28: Departure.

South Australian captain Darren Lehmann has used the Pura Cup match against NSW to remind selectors he may be the man to lift the struggling national one day team, after hitting a cavalier 143 at Adelaide Oval today.Lehmann’s dashing innings, which included 22 boundaries and a six from 130 balls, set the scene for a NSW run-chase for outright points on tomorrow’s final day.The Blues were 0-10 at stumps, with openers Brett van Deinsen on nine and Greg Mail on one, needing a further 305 runs to win in a minimum 96 overs tomorrow.After leading by 27 on the first innings, SA made 287 in its second innings today to lead by 314 overall.Lehmann’s creative knock, which included several boundaries clipped over the slips and wicketkeeper, as well as many more elegant shots to all parts of the field, was easily the highlight of a day in which none of his team-mates could manage more than 28.”I was really happy to get 100 today, mainly from a team point of view,” Lehmann said.He said he was giving little thought to any openings that might be created in the Australian line-up by the current run of one-day losses.”Any time’s a good time to be making runs, I can’t really worry about that, I’ve just got to worry about playing for South Australia and if it comes up it comes up,” he said.He was dismissed by part-timer van Deinsen attempting to hit the medium pacer over the mid-wicket fence for the second time in an over, instead managing to sky the ball to cover, where Mail took the simple catch.Mail’s catch failed to make up for two costly missed chances earlier, when he dropped Lehmann in the slips off van Deinsen when he was on two, and off NathanBracken when on 58.Van Deinsen also provided the SA skipper with a life when he dropped him off Stuart Clark’s bowling when he was on three, with NSW likely to look back onthose three errors as if it fails in its run-chase on a wearing pitch tomorrow.Bracken bowled just eight overs in two spells in SA’s second innings, claiming the wickets of Ben Johnson and Ben Higgins, but spent long periods off the field after being diagnosed with chicken pox.Earlier, former Australian under-19 captain Michael Clarke completed an impressive 132 in NSW’s first innings as the Blues lost their last four wickets in under an hour to be all out for 332 this morning.Young SA paceman Paul Rofe took 4-8 in 3.4 overs with the new ball today, including the wicket of Clarke, to finish with career-best figures of 6-60.Rofe has now taken 27 Pura Cup wickets so far this season at an average of 21.1.

The Somerset trio, Ian Blackwell, Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick and the rest of their England colleagues have now moved onto the next stage of their World Cup preparations.Over the weekend Ian Blackwell told me: "We are now in Port Elizabeth having just come to the end of a well deserved three day break in Sun City which was absolutely fantastic."For `Blackie’ who is a very capable and competitive golfer, Sun City with it’s well appointed golf courses was an ideal venue for a break. The young all rounder who has been one of the success stories of the England tour this winter continued: "We had two days golfing playing both courses, the Lost City and the Gary Player, where they play the Nedbank Two Million Dollar Challenge, and what fantastic courses they are. The Gary Player is ranked the third best course in the world and boy it was in good nick."He continued: "We picked two sides and played a Ryder Cup format competition. Our side lost 7 points to 3 although I did bring in 2 of the points playing really well. I shot a 90 on the Lost City course which wasn’t too bad in the circumstances. There is a crocodile pit on the side of the green by the thirteenth hole which was a bit scary, but thankfully I didn’t lose a ball in there."`Blackie’ went on: "I then shot an 85 on the Gary Player which I was over the moon with. The best thing was meeting Darren Clarke who played with Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff on one of the days. He shot a lazy 70 apparently."He continued: " We had three cracking days and we are now in Port Elizabeth where we are going to be based for a while. We play against Eastern Province on Tuesday in our first game, and their side will include James Bryant, one of Somerset’s new signings, which will be interesting. It will be good to meet him and also gauge how good he is. I’m sure our coach Kevin Shine will be after a report."Looking ahead to the World Cup `Blackie’ said: "Things are looking in good shape for the big tournament. We regroup now and will be practicing in Port Elizabeth ahead of our first game, which is not too far away now and I’m really looking forward to it."

Glamorgan County Cricket Club has today confirmed that David Hemp is torejoin the county on a three-year contract. Hemp, 31, began his career withGlamorgan before leaving to join Warwickshire prior to the 1997 season butafter five years with the Bears, where he was Vice Captain, he has decidedto return to Wales.David Hemp said:”I’ve enjoyed my five years with Warwickshire but when I knew Glamorgan wereinterested in re-signing me it was just too attractive a proposition for meto turn down. I learned all of my cricket in Wales and I’m looking forwardto playing my part in helping the side regain their place in theChampionship first division and hopefully pressing for some one-day honoursas well. It’s a great move for me, a fantastic opportunity, and I can’twait to get started.”Glamorgan Captain Steve James said:”I think David is an outstanding cricketer and I’ve no doubt his best yearsare still to come. It’s nice to be welcoming him back into the fold and I’msure he’ll have a significant impact. His signing means we can target anoverseas bowler to fill the gap left by Steve Watkin’s retirement but we’dlike to publicly thank Jimmy Maher for his contribution on and off the fieldlast summer. Hopefully there will be the opportunity for Jimmy to return toGlamorgan in the future”

The four day Goa-Hyderabad Ranji encounter at the Panjim Gymkhana Grounds ended in a draw on Friday. Hyderabad secured five points by virtue of the 94-run first innings lead that they had secured on Thursday. Goa, meanwhile, had to be content with three.Earlier, Goa, who resumed their second innings at 28 for no loss, decided to bat out the remainder of the day. Their openers – captain Vivekanand Kolambkar and Sudin Kamat – put on 90 before Kolamabkar was dismissed for 36. Kamat went on to make 47.Of the remaining batsmen, No. 4 Kiran Powar stood out, making an unbeaten 101 off just 142 balls before stumps were drawn. Powar went after the bowling on completing his fifty, scoring his last 51 runs off just 48 with five fours and two sixes. Goa ended the match with their second innings score reading 263 for six.

England today named a 15 man squad for the forthcoming NatWest Challenge against Pakistan and the NatWest Series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.The squad contains six players yet to make their One-Day International debut; Kabir Ali, Rikki Clarke, Robert Key, Richard Johnson, Anthony McGrath and James Troughton. There are also recalls to the One-Day squad for Yorkshire’s Darren Gough, Nottinghamshire’s Chris Read and the Worcestershire batsman Vikram Solanki.Announcing the squad, Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney, said: “The bulk of this squad is under thirty years of age and has been chosen with the next World Cup firmly in mind. We are anticipating two tough series this summer, but we believe that now is the right time for us to look at younger players and give them an opportunity to develop on the international stage.”We did consider a number of more senior players and we have not drawn a line against any particular individuals. But it is our clear intention now to develop a strong nucleus of players who, we believe, will be approaching their peak come the West Indies in 2007.”Darren Gough’s inclusion is clearly an exception to this rule. But he is a proven match-winner who was badly missed during the World Cup and his inclusion will add experience to our bowling attack. As well as providing a strike bowling capacity, we also believe Darren can play an important role in passing on advice to the younger bowlers within the squad.”Chris Read has a broken right thumb and he has been included in the squad subject to fitness. The medical advice we have received is that this is an undisplaced fracture and it will take him around three weeks to recover. James Foster will be on stand-by to replace him.”Chris received an excellent report from the Academy during the winter. His game has clearly progressed with both bat and gloves and we believe that he can now fulfill the potential he showed at international level earlier in his career. “England Squad for The NatWest Challenge and NatWest Series

Players D.O.BMichael Vaughan (Yorkshire) (Captain) 29.10.74Kabir Ali (Worcestershire) 24.11.80James Anderson (Lancashire) 30.7.82Rikki Clarke (Surrey) 29.9.81Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire) 6.12.77Ashley Giles (Warwickshire) 19.3.73Darren Gough (Yorkshire) 18.9.70Stephen Harmison (Durham) 23.10.78Richard Johnson (Somerset) 29.12.74Robert Key (Kent) 12.5.79Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire) 6.10.75Chris Read (Nottinghamshire) 10.8.78Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire) 1.4.76Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) 25.12.75James Troughton (Warwickshire) 2.3.79The NatWest ChallengeTues June 17 England v Pakistan Old TraffordFri 20 June England v Pakistan AMP OvalSun 22 June England v Pakistan Lord’sThe NatWest SeriesThurs 26 June England v Zimbabwe Trent BridgeSat 28 June England v South Africa AMP OvalSun 29 June Zimbabwe v South Africa CanterburyTue 1 July England v Zimbabwe HeadingleyThu 3 July England v South Africa Old Trafford(D/N)Sat 5 July Zimbabwe v South Africa CardiffSun 6 July England v Zimbabwe BristolTue 8 July England v South Africa Edgbaston(D/N)Thu 10 July Zimbabwe v South Africa Rose BowlSat 12 July Final Lord’s(13 July reserve day)

Gloucestershire have sent two of their bright young talents to an academy in Perth headed by Neil Holder. Neil is a highly respected batting coach in Western Australia and has coordinated some intense sessions for Mark Hardinges and Roger Sillence. Matt Nicholson is doing the equivalent with their bowling skills. Matt plays for Western Australia, taking five wickets and recording his maiden first-class century against the touring South Africans last week. He played for Australia against England at Melbourne in the fourth Test in the 1998/99 series.The players are benefiting from an all encompassing programme that includes some rigorous training schedules. Roger is playing for Hamersley and Mark is representing Claremont Nederlands in the Suburban Turf 1st Division.You might be interested to read their progress reports. The academy runs independent of the Western Australian Cricket Authority.MARK HARDINGESFITNESS AND BOWLING:Mark has progressed with his knee such that he is able to participate in some of the running exercises. After a slow start to the fitness programme, Mark seems to have made a concerted effort to make the most of his time in Australia. Mark is still a little overweight but is now working hard to remedy this. I am confident that with his current attitude we will have him fit and strong by the time he returns to England. Working with Mark’s bowling will begin as soon as his fitness allows. 1 have received his bowling tape and have formulated some preliminary ideas for the future.Matt NicholsonBATTING:The initial period of the summer has been designed for Mark to understand his own base game. In developing his base game (or blueprint), he has made enormous progress. The fact that Mark hasn’t commenced playing as yet has meant he has spent extra time developing his base. Hs set up is a lot stiller and simple, it will be interesting to see how this holds up in a game situation initially. Without getting into too much technical analysis, he has improved his front foot driving position, with all drives becoming more consistent.He has opened the top part of his stance slightly which has helped him develop his perpendicular back foot play, particularly off his body.His pulling position has gone through the roof, cut shot still needs work and now that his position on the front foot is becoming consistent we have just touched on use of his feet to the spinners.Without having seen Mark’s all round game because of injury so far, just his batting development shows me he will be a genuine batsman at first-class level. His enthusiasm toward his batting skills is very exciting.GENERAL:After the initial new environment settling in period Mark has settled into a very good routine with fitness and health. We are extremely conscious of him playing only when he feels his knee is strong enough and to this end he has been doing extra work on his knee rehab. A delightful young man with I believe a huge future in the game.Neil HolderROGER SILLENCERoger is working hard at his fitness as he is beginning to realise the importance of this part of being a quick bowler. Roger needs to increase his core (stability/strength) and his stamina to ensure he can bowl at top pace for longer spells and throughout the day. He is doing three structured core strength sessions per week as well as his own work and appears to be getting stronger.We have identified three points for Roger to concentrate on: 1) Head position 2) Front arm 3) Left leg.We are trying to get Roger to keep his head up thereby allowing his front arm and leg to pull down at his target. Roger is beginning is make progress and is starting to feel the difference himself. He is on track to have his action really well grooved by April.Matt NicholsonAs with Mark, the understanding of his base game has been the key focus. Roger has adjusted his set up with his starting hand position. His pick up is now synchronised with his feet movement.He has been working on his point of contact becoming more consistent on his front foot. He really is a terrific striker of the ball.Main emphasis has been on back foot perpendicular play, particularly getting into better position with the balls on his body, so he can access the ball easily. His back foot previously was lauding in the same position, no matter where the ball was pitched. He is also developing his sideways shots. By spending more time "in the middle” in club games, now that he is in more control of his own game, he will start to develop his batsmanship skills greater.Roger is a very focused person and has a great desire to succeed at the first-class level. He has taken a coaching role at his club and also runs a junior development programme on Friday evenings at his club. Looking forward to the next stage of his development.Neil Holder

Twenty year old all rounder Pete Trego scored an unbeaten 175 as Somerset drew their final Second Eleven Championship match of the season against Leicestershire at Hinkley.In reply to Leicestershire’s 378 for 6 declared Somerset amassed 578 for 6, which featured centuries from Mark Lathwell (118) triallist David Roberts (105) and Trego’s 175.The Weston Super Mare youngster goes to the top of the Somerset averages as a result of his innings which lasted 166 balls.Batting for a second time Leicestershire had reached 273 for 6 by close of play.A feature of their second innings was a fine bowling spell from former Millfield pupil Arul Suppiah who had figures of 18 overs, 6 maidens, 3 wickets for 62.The Seconds play their one day final against Surrey at the County ground on September 10th starting at 10.30am.