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Northwest surprised Western Province with a four wicket victory off the penultimate ball of the match in the Standard Bank Cup clash in Potchefstroom on Friday.Northwest scored 261 for six in response to Western Province’s 258 for five in their allotted 45 overs.Home side opener Hendrik de Vos scored 82 not out while West Indian Mark Lavine blasted 44 off 21 balls down the order that swung the match in favour of the hosts.Western Province’s bowling was well below par as they conceded 23 wides to compound their misery.It started well for the visitors, who won the toss and elected to bat. Spearheaded by a maiden one-day century from opener Graeme Smith they looked well placed to record a win that seemed a mere formality.Smith scored 106 and took three for 46 in 8.2 overs to earn the man of the match award. His heroics were not enough as the rest of the team failed to raise their game when it was needed.Western Province openers Smith and suspended national team player Herschelle Gibbs put on 40 for the first wicket. Gibbs blitzed 22 that included five boundaries before being caught by De Vos off the bowling of seamer Garth Roe.Zimbabwean international Neil Johnson played the dominant role in a 103-run second wicket partnership with Smith, scoring 58. It was an aggressive knock that included four boundaries and one six. He holed out to Craig Light off spinnner Corrie Jordaan.Lloyd Ferreira then played the support role as Smith moved to his century. Ferreira was Roe’s second victim caught in the covers by West Indian Mark Lavine.Smith was run out two overs from the end of the innings as he tried to force the pace further. But he had already done enough to put his side into a strong positionThe Northwest response was spirited as they tried manfully to stay with the required run rate of five and a half to the over.They had fallen behind with the loss of opener Glen Hewitt (42), Arno Jacobs (18) and Martin Venter (3) before Lavine made hay and turned the match on its head.When he holed out to Herschelle Gibbs at point, the way was paved for De Vos to steer his side to victory.

Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain, has been named as the new manager of West Indies Under-19s ahead of the World Cup in Sri Lanka. Adams replaces Roger Harper who left the position to take up the coaching role with Kenya.Zorol Bathley, the cricket operations manager of the WICB, told the : “We have appointed Jimmy because of his leadership skills and knowledge of the game and what goes on within the game.”Adams added that he was pleased to have a part to play with the future generation: “I’m excited about the role and I’m happy to serve West Indies cricket again. I’m excited to work with the boys and help to guide the next generation of West Indies cricketers.”His first role will be to co-ordinate the five-day training camp being held at the cricket development centre in Trinidad. The squad then leaves to play five matches against Pakistan Under-19s before the World Cup starts on February 5. West Indies’ first match is against the USA a day later.Adams played 54 Tests and 127 one-day internationals for West Indies in a nine year career.

South Africans 286 for 5 dec and 224 for 7 dec (McKenzie 49*, Hamilton 4-67) drew with Central Districts 239 for 6 dec and 195 for 8 (Englefield 53*)
ScorecardA stubborn 50-run stand for the eighth wicket allowed Central Districts to draw their three-day match against the South Africans. Requiring 272 for a victory, Central Districts slumped to 129 for 7 before Jarrod Englefield, who finished with an unbeaten 53, and Andrew Schwass (37), came together to deny the South Africans.Earlier, Neil McKenzie made a strong case for selection for the first Test with his second unbeaten innings of the match. McKenzie, who had notched up 100 not out in the first innings, remained undefeated on 49 as the South Africans declared their second innings on 224 for 7. The other encouraging performances for them came from Nicky Boje, who made 46, and David Terbrugge, who took 3 for 29 in Central Districts’ second innings to finish with match figures of 5 for 60.The first Test starts at Hamilton on March 10.

Division One

Points TableRamnaresh Sarwan fell one short of his second century for Gloucestershire, who ended the day on 181 for 6, leading Surrey by 181 with four wickets in hand. Surrey resumed on 409 for 7, and although Mark Ramprakash only added seven to his overnight 185, Tim Murtagh smashed his way to 66, his second half-century of the season. Sarwan and Kadeer Ali put on 151 for the second wicket, wiping out their first-innings deficit of 113. Sarwan’s wicket triggered a mini collapse, however, with four wickets falling for 59. Gloucestershire’s lead is only 181 with four second-innings wickets in hand, but rain is forecast for London tomorrow.

Division Two

Points TableAnother hundred from Andrew Symonds put Lancashire in a strong position against Yorkshire. Click here for a full report.A stabilising innings by Ronnie Irani, useful lower-order runs from Darren Gough and more excellent bowling from Danish Kaneria put Essex on top against Derbyshire at Derby. Irani hit 99, one short of what would have been his second hundred of the season. Having lost Grant Flower, who only added one to his overnight score of 60, Irani was involved in partnerships of 104 with James Middlebrook and 77 with Gough, who made an enterprising half-century from just 38 balls. Derbyshire, in reply, slumped to 34 for 4 before Jono Moss (74) and Luke Sutton (38*) checked the slide with a stand of 121. Kaneria took 4 for 53, giving him ten wickets in the match so far. Derbyshire, who lead by 314, are seeking their first win of the season.Somerset were on the verge of defeat against Worcestershire, with just two second-innings wickets remaining at the end of the third day at New Road. Worcestershire’s imposing first innings finally came to a close as they declared on a massive 696 for 8. Ben Smith’s excellent season continued, as he went on to a season’s-best score of 172. Steven Davies, 19 and playing in only his sixth first-class game, hit a magnificent 148 – his maiden first-class century – and became his side’s third centurion of the innings. In reply, Matthew Wood struck a solid 72 but Worcestershire never allowed Somerset to settle. Gareth Batty and the Zimbabwean Ray Price bowled in tandem for most of the afternoon, picking up seven of the eight wickets to fall. Somerset still trail by 158 runs with just two second-innings wickets in hand.

Chris Cairns, one of New Zealand’s greatest allrounders, has announced his international retirement a year before he was expected to bow out at the 2007 World Cup. Cairns, 35, walked away from the Test arena in 2004 hoping it would extend his career, but he could not find regular rhythm as a one-day specialist and will now focus on his expanding business interests.”I still enjoy playing for New Zealand and want to leave at a time when that enjoyment has not diminished and when I feel that I am still performing at the top level and contributing to the success of the team,” Cairns said in a statement. “It is also important to retire at a time which allows NZ Cricket to develop other options well ahead of the World Cup.” Cairns’s farewell match will be the Twenty20 international against West Indies at Auckland on February 16.New Zealand will need two players to replace Cairns and he leaves with 4950 runs at 29.46 and 201 wickets at 32.80 in his 215 one-day matches. He was only 50 runs short of joining Jacques Kallis and Sanath Jayasuriya as the only men to reach the 200-wicket, 5000-run double, but his recovery time after games had increased while his impact had reduced.Dropped from last year’s South Africa tour, Cairns vowed to regain his place with the plan of pushing on to the World Cup, and he improved his fitness and returned to domestic cricket to prove his form. However, he struggled with the ball in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against Australia and produced scores of 10 not out, 2 and 28 against Sri Lanka.Cairns will be best remembered for his ferocious limited-overs hitting – he belted 153 sixes alongside 87 in Tests – and New Zealand will also miss his penetrative seam bowling. He collected 26 fifties and four centuries, including one in the 2000-01 version of the Champions Trophy when he smashed an unbeaten 102 to defeat India in the final. His one five-wicket haul came against Australia at Napier in 1997-98 and he scraped to 200 victims when he added Tillakaratne Dilshan on January 3.John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said Cairns would be missed. “He is very much the elder statesman within the team and plays an important role in mentoring players,” he said. “He has shown great commitment in returning to full fitness this season and I believe that he had the ability to push towards the World Cup.”Cairns, the son of the big-hitting Lance Cairns, made his debut as a 20-year-old in 1990-91 and would have played more if he was not hindered by regular injuries, particularly to his knees and ankle, which now has no ligament support. The wear and tear forced his Test retirement in England after 62 Tests, 3320 runs and 218 wickets.Until last year he was an automatic selection when fit, and he is expected to fulfil a contract playing club cricket with Bacup in the Lancashire League after finishing the current domestic season with Canterbury. He has developed business interests and has a proposal with the ECB relating to ball-by-ball video capture and analysis of all domestic cricket in England.

Ray Jennings, the South African coach, has hinted at a return to the national team for Mark Boucher. “I don’t really know why he [Boucher] was taken out of the equation, but I think he’s paid his dues, or whatever the case may be, and I think he will definitely be back in contention for the national team,” said Jennings to the SuperSport website. “If we want to beat England, we’ve got to come out blazing with our best players.” Boucher was left out of the South African team that toured India, and his replacement, Thami Tsolekile, hardly distinguished himself.But, Jennings was less optimistic about Herschelle Gibbs, the opening batsman, making it back to the national team in a hurry. “There are no guarantees,” he said. “We have found other opening batsmen, for instance, so Gibbs won’t necessarily just walk back into the team. And do we go on past performance or on current form?”Jennings also stressed on how important it was for South Africa to develop world-class spinners. “You don’t know until you get there how much the ball spins,” he said. “Our spinners may be called spinners in South Africa – in India people would laugh at that. They will have to work on their skills and extend their attention to detail.”Meanwhile Grame Smith, the captain, speaking ahead of South Africa’s series against England, praised his team for their performance in India. “We played a lot better cricket, and we extended ourselves,” he said. “We took a younger side, and we performed a lot better than people had expected.”I think we all gained something from the experience, especially the younger players – the heat, the crowds, the intensity. I don’t think you can get any more intense than in Kolkata when you’re trying to get the best out of a Test match.”

You would be forgiven for thinking that beating England and India in succession would be among any Pakistan cricketer’s most cherished achievements but not Younis Khan. Writing on Bigstarcricket.com recently, Younis rated the recent Test and ODI series win over Sri Lanka as the best of Pakistan’s recent wins, including those at home against England and India.”I think this latest victory against Sri Lanka at Kandy is the best of the lot in my opinion because, to win a one-day and Test series in Sri Lanka is a great achievement. The win at Kandy was huge and better than those over England and India for a variety of reasons.”I say this because after nearly losing the first Test, it required a lot of character for us to come back in Kandy but that’s exactly what we did and even there, we were 109 runs behind after the first innings. The bowling of [Mohammad] Asif and [Abdul] Razzaq really got us back into the match. They bowled tremendously well. Not just that but everybody was saying that the pitches were dodgy and some also questioned Pakistan’s batsmen, so with all that in mind it was a satisfying win,” Younis explained.Younis also revealed that his vital 73 not out, which marshaled the run-chase in Kandy, was inspired in part by Damien Martyn’s gritty, matchwinning century against South Africa in the third Test in Johannesburg. “I was happy to score 73 not out to help us over the finishing line. In fact, the night before, I was sitting in my hotel room watching Damien Martyn batting against South Africa and I was inspired by how he grafted away for his team in a tight position. He ended up with a hundred and helped Australia win the match. It made me think that I should go about my innings like Martyn and play a good knock for my team. I’m a very big fan of Martyn’s and of Rahul Dravid also. I think the three of us play in quite a similar way as we are all slow starters but can play our shots once we are set.”With an important tour to England looming in the summer, Younis insisted Pakistan were strongly placed to do well. “The teams start as 50-50 but if Shoaib Akhtar comes back as fit as he was against England before, and the signs are he will, I think it might tip the balance in our favour, 60-40. Why not? We already have a very balanced team and Shoaib will make a big difference when he comes back.”And as one of the few Pakistani batsmen in recent years with some county experience (he had a brief, largely unsuccessful stint with Nottinghamshire last year) Younis said he was keen to further his county experience before Pakistan’s tour, revealing that three county teams including Lancashire had shown some interest in him. “It’s too early to say yet whether anything will come of it, but I would welcome a two-month spell in county cricket before our tour of England. It would be good experience to get acclimatised to the English wickets after batting for six months on the slower-paced subcontinent pitches.”

Division One

4th dayNo surprises at Edgbaston where Hampshire consigned Warwickshire to an expected defeat. Warwickshire started the day at 69 for 2 needing a further 338 for an unlikely victory. Instead, their batting collapsed and they lost by 193 runs. While most batsmen managed to get a start, none could hold it together and Nick Knight ended up the topscorer, with just 34. Wickets were shared, with Chris Tremlett (3 for 50) the most successful, and the job was wrapped up inside 100 overs.3rd dayA brisk hundred from Justin Kemp powered Kent to a 151-runlead on the third day against Yorkshire at Canterbury.Resuming on 196 for 3, Martin van Jaarsveld (82) and Matthew Walker(60) put on an excellent fourth-wicket stand of 118. And thoughRichard Dawson removed both batsmen in quick succession, Kemp stoodtall, smashed five sixes and nine fours. He received good support fromNeil Dexter (39) who, though only 21-years-old and playing in hissixth first-class game, already has two fifties to his name. Together,the pair put on a vital 81-run partnership to hand Kent a very usefullead of 151 going into the final day.A good day for Middlesex restored some balance to their game against Durham at the Riverside but it is still unlikely to be enough to save them. Although Durham are still firmly in control of proceedings, helped by a fourth-wicket stand of 86 between Jon Lewis and Dale Benkenstein, Middlesex chipped out the last seven wickets for 91 runs. Chris Silverwood did the damage with 5 for 47, well supported by Alan Richardson who took 4 for 50. Middlesex were left chasing an unlikely 386, and by the close they 87 for 4.

Division Two

4th day Daniel Cherry and David Hemp put on a second-wicket stand of 172 as Glamorgan made sure of the draw against Leicestershire. After following on, Glamorgan had started the day at 37 for 1 but Leicestershire failed to make significant inroads into their batting, thanks to the efforts of Cherry and Hemp, who each made fifties. Hemp was eventually out nine short of what would have been a well-deserved hundred, while Cherry made 86. Mark Cosgrove made certain the points were shared with an unbeaten fifty.3rd dayAt the County Ground, Gloucestershire completed their second win of the season, beating Northamptonshire and leapfrogging them in the process, just to rub it in. Gloucestershire started the day at 8 for 1, needing a just 94 more runs for victory which they knocked off quite comfortably to win by six wickets. Their captain Jon Lewis was understandably delighted with the win, completed inside three days, and he told reporters: “Northamptonshire are a decent side and to beat them so convincingly is great for us.” But they weren’t so delighted with being docked one point for a slow over-rate. A sporting declaration from Essex has increased the chances ofa result against Somerset, after Ronnie Irani and Andy Flowerboth continued where they left off last night to add a further 118runs on the third day at Taunton. The home side’s batsmen lost bothopeners cheaply, but Cameron White and James Hildreth both hitattractive fifties before Keith Parsons (59*) and Will Durston (69*)carried Somerset to a commanding 346-run lead.Ray Price and Nadeem Malik’s plucky tenth-wicket stand of 60 nearlypulled off a stunning victory for Worcestershire, before IanHunter took the final wicket to hand Derbyshire a tense35-run victory on the third day at Worcester. Earlier in the day,Kabir Ali gave Worcestershire the upper hand with a brilliant burst of7 for 43 as Derbyshire collapsed to just 149 inside 41 overs. But, inchasing 210 for victory, Worcestershire’s batsmen stumbled to 114 for9 thanks to some penetrative bowling from Steffan Jones (4 for 62) andGraeme Welch (4 for 33). Though Price (56) and Malik took their sideclose, it was too little, too late.

Scorecard

Victoria will host Queensland in the Ford Ranger Cup final after a David Hussey century set up a crushing 143-run win for the Bushrangers over Tasmania. Hussey made 116 as the Bushrangers gave the Tigers a challenging target of 284 but the home side’s finals hopes evaporated and they crashed to 140.The demoralising loss was worsened for Tasmania when their captain Dan Marsh retired hurt with a potentially season-ending calf tear. The timing of Marsh’s injury would be a major worry for the Tigers, who are still in real contention for the Pura Cup final with two matches remaining.Hussey’s 103-ball innings was punctuated by six fours and five sixes and no bowler was safe as he and Rob Quiney built an important 98-run partnership for the third wicket. Quiney continued on from his impressive Pura Cup debut during the week and finished with 50, including two sixes beautifully clipped off his pads over square leg and midwicket.A quick 31 late in the innings from Adam Crosthwaite pushed Victoria to 6 for 283 and only Xavier Doherty (2 for 43) escaped with acceptable figures. Early wickets to Mick Lewis and Shane Harwood started the downward spiral for Tasmania, who virtually lost any chance when Marsh went to hospital with his leg problem.George Bailey top-scored with 35 but two wickets each to Harwood, Darren Pattinson, Andrew McDonald and Grant Lindsay sealed the win. Victoria’s home final will give them a chance to add to the Twenty20 title they earned last month.

Australia’s answer to an allrounder of Andrew Flintoff’s calibre may not lie in the national or domestic sides, according to Alan Davidson, Australia’s last great allrounder. Davidson, the first Test player to take 10 wickets and make 100 runs in a match in the famous tied Test against the West Indies in 1960-61, has encouraged the national selectors to look further than the current crop.”I think the selectors are on the right track but should also be looking at people in the Australian Under-19s. In the meantime we just need to be patient,” Davidson, 76, told the . “People like Andrew Flintoff take years to develop. He’s done a lot of hard work and had a lot of expert coaching. That’s the difference between the superstars and the others.”In Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson, Australia currently have two potential greats in the making, but the players now find themselves thrust into the role of allrounder in the longer format of the game. “That’s a very difficult thing to achieve,” said Davidson, a former national selector. “There are prospects, but nobody who shows enormous potential. I think Watson’s a very fine young batsman but he’s got an awful lot to learn about bowling.”Both men have been given limited opportunities to prove themselves in Tests and Davidson said there was little gain in contriving an allrounder if there was not one commanding national selection.Davidson, who aggregated 1328 runs and took 186 wickets in 44 Tests, added that a true allrounder should be able to take five wickets in an innings and hit 70 or 80 when the situation demanded it. “In my view our last real allrounder was Gary Gilmour, but he had specialists like Dennis Lillee and Greg Chappell around him who were great, and there wasn’t so much need for an allrounder.” Watson batted at No.7 behind Adam Gilchrist and bowled two overs in the first Test against the West Indies at Brisbane before breaking down with a shoulder injury, while Symonds’s first Test innings in almost two years was foiled by a running mix-up with Brad Hodge in Hobart. Neither Symonds nor Watson have contributed much with the ball, despite bowling first change, and Davidson is of the view that they should play as batsmen.