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The Victorian Selectors have named an unchanged line up from the team which defeated the Western Fury in Perth two weeks ago. The Victorian Spirit team to take on the NSWIS Blues at Hurstville, Sydney on Saturday December 7 & Sunday December 8 is as follows:

Belinda Clark (c)
Cathryn Fitzpatrick (vc)
Clea Smith (vc)
Kelly Applebee
Louise Broadfoot
Jodi Dean
Jane Franklin
Amelie Hunter
Melanie Jones
Brooke McFarlane
Ingrid Noack
Shannon Young
Coach – Ken Davis
Assistant Coach – Nicole Taylor
Manager – Pam Allen

Victorian Spirit currently heads the WNCL Points Table with 14 points from 2 matches, followed by the Southern Scorpions who have 13 points from 4 matches. The NSWIS Blues are sitting third with 6 points from 2 matches.

	Mickey Arthur and Makhaya Ntini, one of the squad members most in danger in the one-day side© Getty Images

South Africa’s coach, Mickey Arthur, has hinted that some of his senior members may have played their last one-day internationals following the 4-0 one-day series defeat by England.England completely dominated the one-day series after losing the Tests 2-1 in August. Bad weather in Cardiff on Wednesday denied them the chance to claim a historic 5-0 series win, as rain allowed just three overs of play.Three of South Africa’s most experienced cricketers – Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and Makhaya Ntini – all endured a difficult limited-overs series. Gibbs did manage 74 from 75 balls at Lord’s on Sunday, but he was the only batsman to lose his wicket on Wednesday, falling for just 3 to complete a disappointing series.Arthur conceded it may be time for a change of direction in one-day cricket. “I’m going to take a couple of weeks to go away and reflect and then come to those selection decisions,” he said. “We’ve got five one-dayers at the end of October and early November against Kenya and Bangladesh, which will give us a good base to start from with a young new side.”One possible route is for South Africa to try and encourage some of the Kolpak players in county cricket back to their home country. Arthur has been keeping tabs on their performances while he was on tour, with the likes of Ryan McLaren at Kent catching his eye.”We’ll look at the squad composition closer to the time,” he said. “We were missing some key personnel and we are trying to identify a brand of cricket to play in one-day cricket and then identify players to pick to play that kind of brand.”In the past we have been lucky to have a lot of multi-skilled players which has made it seem that we had 12 or even 13 players on the field at the same time,” Arthur said. “This is what England had in the recent series with Andrew Flintoff giving them two players in one.”We will now have to decide whether we can continue to follow the multi-skilled route or whether we need to go for pure specialists.” Arthur’s thoughts came after captain Graeme Smith admitted that South Africa’s ODI team had failed to fill the void created by Shaun Pollock’s retirement.South Africa’s lacklustre conclusion took some of the gloss off their first Test series win in England since 1965, and Arthur admitted he had put too much emphasis on winning the Tests, although he denied the one-day series had deflated his squad.”We compartmentalised the two series which were played by slightly different sides,” he said. “We had goals and objectives set for our Test team which I think we conquered. The one-day series we always knew was going to be a bit of a struggle.”We’re disappointed about the one day series but very excited about what we achieved in the Tests. The one thing I would criticise myself about on this tour was putting too much emphasis on winning the Test series. When we won it we felt we had achieved our goal.”

Another good sized crowd were treated to another fascinating days play’s in the England v India Women’s Test Match at the County Ground in Taunton today.Resuming on 280 for 7, England were eventually bowled out for 329. After struggling early on against some tight England bowling, by close of play India had taken their score onto 156 for 3.Once again the match has attracted a substantial number of girls who have all enjoyed a free coaching session during the day that has been arranged at the centre of Excellence.Many of the younger girls once again took part in a Kwik Cricket match at lunchtime out on the pitch.One group of girls who are making the most of the week are the fourteen pupils from Bishop Foxes who are taking part in a summer school that is being run at the County Ground by the Somerset Playing for Success manager Simon Lowe.During the week the youngsters have focussed all of their activities on the England v India Test Match, and have interviewed the players, and a number of the other staff at the ground, they have produced a video diary of the match and have produced player profiles on both teams.In addition the girls have also enjoyed the two hour free coaching sessions that have been available to all girls who have attended the game.Earlier today Simon Lowe told me: “This has been one of the most rewarding activities that I have ever been involved in professionally, The girls have worked very hard on a wide range of tasks that have all been focussed on the Test Match.”This afternoon I asked Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson for the club’s perspective on the match. He told me: “Somerset County Cricket Club regard it as an honour to stage a women’s international cricket match between England and India at the County Ground, and we hope that the players from both sides are enjoying their time in Taunton.”He concluded : "I have been impressed with the high level of skills that have been demonstrated by both groups of players.”With another good day forecast, tomorrow promises to be another interesting day’s play for all of those who go along.

In the one outstanding Division One match in the Frizzell County Championship, Hampshire hung on for a draw against Sussex but it was a result that consigned them to relegation. Robin Smith and John Francis took their fifth wicket partnership to over a hundred in the first innings with Smith reaching 60, but with James Kirtley taking six wickets Hampshire were forced to follow on. In the time available, they reached 67 for one in the second innings with a fifty for Neil Johnson.The Division Two match between Glamorgan and Worcestershire also ended in a draw. Stephen Peters went on to 130 but Vikram Solanki was out for 94 as Worcestershire were bowled out for 381 with five wickets for Andrew Davies. David Hemp and Michael Powell were both in the sixties when Glamorgan batted out time in their second innings.The unfinished match at Trent Bridge that was so badly affected by the weather on the first two days caught up with itself on day three. Usman Afzaal completed his hundred before Nottinghamshire declared at 400 for six, before Durham were hurried out for 132 in their first innings. Following on, Michael Gough (40) and Gary Pratt (65) provided a sound start to the second innings, but the fall of five wickets after that has left Durham precariously placed still 115 runs behind.

Toby Radford has a back injury and is a major doubt for the Hampshire Board’s opening ECB 38-County Championship group match against the Channel Islands at the Rose Bowl Nursery ground on Sunday, 11am.Radford missed both of Andover’s opening Southern Electric Premier League wins and, having hardly played a competitive match since early last season, seems certain to be sidelined.Either Winchester’s Paul Marks or top Lymington batsman Ben Craft is expected to play.Even without Radford, the HCB should prove too strong for the Channel Islanders, who lost all their group games last season.Hampshire are placed in a demanding south-east counties zone this season, with Kent, Surrey and Sussex the other sides in the five-team group.Hampshire Board: PN Gover, RJE Hindley, AHD Perry (Havant), RTP Miller (Andover), D Banks, DB Goldstraw, RR Dibden, DC Shirazi (BAT Sports), DJ Peacock (Lymington), DJ Greetham (Normandy), PA Marks (Winchester) or B Craft (Lymington).James Hibberd, the in-form Calmore Sports all-rounder, Bashley’s Kevin Nash and prolific South Wilts batsman Russell Rowe are in the Wiltshire side to play Cornwall at St Just.

New Zealand Cricket’s sports science medical co-ordinator Warren Frost is hopeful an injury surveillance programme can be in place at first-class and international level this summer.The move was necessary because medical staff were finding a steady stream of players stepping up to international play with injury concerns.”We only know what happens at TelstraClear Black Cap level at the moment and we need to know information from the level below.”Because there is no information available we tend to end up chasing our tails when players are selected and we can’t address the injury problems in a competitive environment,” Frost said.He made the announcement when asked to comment on research out of Australia dealing with fast bowling injuries.The report done in Australia was by Dr John Orchard of the South Sydney Sports Medicine Centre, and the report has been published recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.The study was done of elite level Australian cricket between the seasons of 1995/96-2000/01 in order to present a profile of injuries and a preliminary analysis of the risk factors for injury.Orchard’s study produced results even before it was completed. During the course of analysis it was revealed that seven injuries occurred in Australia in the first five years of the study from players colliding with boundary fences when sliding to field the ball.On seeing this, the Australian Cricket Board instituted a policy of using a boundary rope. As a result no similar injuries were recorded in the last season of the study.Frost, who heard about the study when with the New Zealand team in Australia last summer, disagreed with some of the findings but said the numbers backed up what had been occurring in New Zealand.”The numbers are comparable. The report quantifies the situation and has given us impetus in establishing the numbers in New Zealand, especially below international level.”The Australian report also made injury comparisons with other sports, including rugby, and Orchard found that overall injuries in cricket were eight percent, compared to Australian Rules football at 15%, first grade rugby league 16% and 13% in state rugby union.But fast bowlers were right up there among the other sports at 14%.Orchard found spin bowlers and batsmen had only a four percent injury percentage and wicket-keepers were down at two percent.Orchard claimed that bowlers were more likely to be injured when their team was bowling second because teams warmed up before the start of play on the first day of games, and there wasn’t enough time between innings for bowlers to prepare.Frost said he didn’t agree with that contention. Orchard also claimed there needed to be more monitoring of the bowler’s workload, as in the way baseball pitchers are monitored.But Frost, who recently returned from a trip to the United States where he studied the baseball treatment of pitchers, found the monitoring was more due to historical precedent than medical fact.”I spoke with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres about their handling of pitchers. Their best pitchers would start on the first day and throw 100-120 pitches before they were taken off and replaced by their finish-off pitchers.”But when I asked their coaches why they did that, they shrugged their shoulders and said they didn’t know.”Those pitchers would then throw and catch over the next four or five days before they pitched again, but nobody could say why it worked that way,” he said.Frost was loath to make comparisons across different sports, for example rugby was played over 80 minutes and cricket six hours. There was an endurance component to cricket that was required in rugby and there was repetitive action for bowlers which meant it wasn’t surprising they suffered injury.Because of this it was an overuse problem for cricketers, especially with their tendons while rugby players tended to suffer muscle strains or haematomas which could be gone a week later. And rugby injury numbers didn’t seem to be quite as obvious as in cricket such as when a Chris Cairns got injured in the first innings of a match and wasn’t able to play in the rest of it.Frost returned from the United States with the distinct impression that New Zealand was ahead of the US in what it was doing in the sports medicine area.There was much more sharing of information between the disciplines of medicine here.”The value of our medical panel at New Zealand Cricket is that anyone is free to question anyone else. There is no hierarchy.”But in the US they tend to stick to their own areas, and they tend to use machines to look at problems rather than thinking about what might be causing them.”A classic example of difference was at one of the baseball clubs he visited a coach opened a drawer and said the things he was showing Frost were the greatest things going.Frost told him, “They are made in the city I come from.” They were formthotics which are made in Christchurch.Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket’s medical advisors are busy doing their winter screening of 32 players in matters of medical, mechanical, skeletal, dietary and podiatry aspects of their fitness, something that has been done over all recent winters.

Purchase “Way to Play” by Chris Cairns

Walking to our net practice yesterday afternoon from the Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln to the nets on Lincoln Green with Stephen Fleming, we got to talking about how much we are looking forward to getting back into the longer form of the game.The ability to change from one-day cricket to Test cricket is part of the skill of the modern cricketer and it can often be used as an excuse when things go wrong in either form of the game.But not in this case.Both teams have had an excellent lay off. Some have used it as a chance to breathe life back into tired bodies, others have got out and had a hit for their provinces.With the diet of one-day cricket we have just completed I have to say it was tough and I am looking forward to this Test series.In the Tests there are chances to build pressure, for the better player to come out on top because the opportunity to rely on luck is decreased compared to the one-dayers.If you look at both sides, both are missing their in form strike bowlers in Shane Bond and Darren Gough so that cancels each out.We have the better spin bowler and the seamers are pretty evenly matched.The batting is where I believe we will beat England.Firstly we have six specialist batters followed by Nos 7 and 8 who have both scored test hundreds and No 9 who has a Test 90.The tail is an important part of our armoury and this is hopefully where we can beat the English.You still have to take 20 wickets to win a Test but through large scores going on the board, more pressure can be exerted in the middle.Last week I went down to Hagley Park in Christchurch to watch the England v Canterbury match.Firstly, I should have been playing in it but with my back still not quite 100% it was decided I should take the cautious option and get ready for the Test match.How the Canterbury Cricket Association had got the ground looking with the marquees and the picket fence was a real credit to them. With cricket in New Zealand being pushed more to the back in the major stadiums it brought home the need to look for cricket specific grounds for the longer form of the game.While we should still play one-day games at our major grounds, Test matches should start to be played elsewhere.Spare a thought for the Jade groundsman, Chris Lewis, who had a rugby match on Saturday and then has to get the ground ready on Wednesday for the cricket Test!Drop-in pitches are a solution but it is not only the playing pitch that comes into focus, the practice wickets are also not up to international standard because the grounds are not cricket specific and there is not enough room at venues to house a cricket net structure.What we practice on is just as vital as what we play on.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), today named former West Indies fast bowler, Joel Garner as Manager of the West Indies “A” Team for the tours to Britain and Canada.Garner has managed West Indies A-Teams in the past and has just concluded a four-year stint on the West Indies selection panel.The WICB directors have also named former Trinidad & Tobago captain and West Indies batsman Gus Logie and David Cumberbatch as Coach and Trainer respectively, for the tour.A number of players on the verge of making their West Indies debut along with a number of players seeking to revive their international careers will be making the two month tour of Britain and Canada.The West Indies “A” Team will be making a tour of Britain and Canada between June 9 and August 9 this year. The tour of Canada will follow the tour of Britain, and will be a warm up for the Canadian team ahead of this year’s Red Stripe Bowl.Revised Red Stripe BowlThe Canadians will once again be fielding a team in the regional one day tournament, having last done so in 1999. Ten teams are expected to compete in this year’s tournament. They are Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, the winner of Leeward Islands*, the rest of Leeward Islands, the winner of Windward Islands*, the rest of Windward Islands, Canada and a combined University of the West Indies team.This year’s tournament however, is expected to be played earlier than usual to accommodate the West Indies’ involvement in the ICC Knockout Tournament from 12th to 30th September, which will be followed by a tour of India involving three Tests, and possibly seven One Day Internationals.* – The winner of their respective one day tournaments.

Venkatesh Prasad’s first spell in which he dismissed both openers Sachin Tendulkar and Jai P Yadav in his first four overs, followed by a 167-run second wicket partnership between Sridharan Sriram (85) and skipper Rahul Dravid (92) paved the way for a comfortable victory for India A in their final league match of the Challenger Series at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.Chasing a target of 285, India A lost Sadagopan Ramesh for just four runs with the score on 19. But Sriram and Dravid set India A on the road to victory with their partnership which lasted 25.1 overs. While the left handed opener Sriram faced 97 balls and hit eight fours and a six, Dravid’s runs were scored off just 88 balls and he hit nine fours and a six. After they left, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Jacob Martin added 62 runs for the fourth wicket off 13.2 overs. Kanitkar left with only ten runs required. India A finally acheived their target with six wickets and eight balls to spare. However by reaching 241, India A had made sure of their entry into the final where they will play India Seniors on Thursday.Earlier, a fourth wicket partnership of 171 runs off 25.2 overs between Dinesh Mongia and Amay Khurasiya helped India B to reach a fighting total of 284.Sachin Tendulkar set the tempo by striking three boundaries in the second over from Venkatesh Prasad. Tendulkar cracked five boundaries off Prasad before driving one straight back to him. Tendulkar fell in the fourth over after making 24 runs off just 15 balls.The other opener JP Yadav (14) was caught by RS Sodhi in the covers off Prasad off the last ball of the eighth over. Mohd Kaif (5) who played a little gem of an innings last evening, was dismissed off the first ball of the following over by Agarkar, caught by Sanghvi and India B were reeling at 49 for three.However then came the stand between Mongia and Khurasiya. With both batsmen quickly into their stride, runs came in a hurry, with both the batsmen running like lightning between the wickets. The innings was punctuated with sixes and fours at regular intervals. A hapless Rahul Dravid made frequent bowling changes, but on this batting paradise, nothing could be done.Local lad Balaji Rao was brought into bowl from the pavilion end and did more harm to his dwindling reputation. Rao gave the batsmen a good stock of long hops and half volleys. Khurasiya stepped out and lofted Rao over long-off for one of the biggest six of the day, over long off.At the end of the 30th over, India B were cruising along at 192/3. In the following 20 overs, they scored 92 more runs and were bowled out for 284 runs in 49.3 overs.Khurasiya’s thunderbolt of an innings came to end when he was smartly stumped by Nayan Mongia off Rahul Sanghvi. Khurasiya made 90 runs off 84 balls with the help of four massive sixes and eight powerfully struck boundaries.At the fall of Khurasiya’s wicket, India B were 220/4 and they never really recovered after that. Mongia was caught by Martin of an impressive Agarkar after making 84 runs off 83 balls. Mongia’s innings was punctuated with six boundaries and two sixes.Rakesh Patel, playing for Dodda Ganesh, and Sukhbinder Singh departed without bothering the scorers, to leave the India B innings in shambles at 233/7. Vijay Dahiya (9) was brilliantly run out by Rahul Dravid at 249 in the 43rd over.Captain Robin Singh tried his best to resurrect the fortunes of his team. He struck a powerful blow over mid-wicket off Balaji Rao for a six. Nikhil Chopra (13) holed out a catch to Ramesh at long-off in an effort to go for big runs in the last over bowled by Prasad. Of the next ball, Prasad had Surendra Singh yorked all over for a first ball duck, wrapping up the India B innings. Robin Singh remained unbeaten on 30. Venkatesh Prasad (4/48) and Ajit Agarkar (3/37) were the successful bowlers.

It was a crumb of comfort after a largely one-sided series, but it will havetasted no less sweet to Carl Hooper’s men as the West Indies turned in afine all-round performance to win the seventh and final one-dayinternational by six wickets at Arnos Vale. South Africa win the series 5-2.Chasing a modest 164 for victory on a pitch that flattened out in theafternoon sun but which still offered the bowlers plenty of help, MarlonSamuels (54 not out) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (32 not out) ensured therewere no repeats of earlier collapses, seeing the West Indies home with fiveovers and four balls to spare.Samuels again proved why he is rated so highly with a languidly elegantknock which included seven fours. Chanderpaul provided sensible support atthe other end, striking three boundaries of his own – two in one over fromJustin Ontong.The innings was given a decent foundation by an opening partnership of40 between Daren Ganga and Chris Gayle before Ganga (15) was run out after adreadful mix-up, wicket-keeper Mark Boucher doing well to gather ShaunPollock’s return and throw down the stumps as Ganga clattered into him.Gayle (28) was bowled by Jacques Kallis and when Justin Kemp and HerschelleGibbs combined for the wickets of Brian Lara (18) and Carl Hooper (5), therewas just a sense that the wheels might be about to come off.Earlier, Cameron Cuffy tore through the South African top order, pickingup 3-24 as he bowled his 10 overs straight through from the start in asuperb exhibition of pace bowling. Fast and accurate and with useful supportfrom Corey Collymore at the other end, Cuffy reduced South Africa to adisastrous 40-4, a position from which they never properly recovered.Only a resolute 69 from 147 balls from Kallis held the SouthAfrican innings together and saved his side from complete embarrasment.After seeing out the first over, Gibbs (1) went intogun-slinging mood but lost a game of Russian roulette with Cuffy, top-edginga hook towrds fine leg where Collymore took a fine catch in the swirlingbreeze.Three overs later opening partner Gary Kirsten was gone, brilliantlycaught by Ganga at square-leg. Kirsten (6) pulled Collymore firmlybut turned to see Ganga fly full length to his right and pluck the ballone-handed from the sky.The 21-year-old Justin Ontong (2) received the chance he has been waitingfor with a promotion up the order to number four – but he also received abeauty from Cuffy which he edged into the safe hands of Chris Gayle atsecond slip. Neil McKenzie (13) was Cuffy’s third victim, looking to driveover the top but just failing to clear Ganga at mid-off.Jonty Rhodes also struggled to make an impression in his 200th one-daygame for South Africa, restricted to 16 off 33 balls before he looked toforce left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell through the off side and edged theball onto his stumps.The consolidation continued with the arrival of Boucher to joinKallis, but runs continued to come intermittently as neither batsman wasable to wrest the initiative away from the West Indian bowlers. Thefrustration eventually told, as Boucher (25) swung Samuels straight downMcGarrell’s throat on the mid-wicket boundary.Kallis fell as the final slog struggled to materialise, heaving Samuelsto Brian Lara at midwicket, Kemp (12 not out) and Pollock (7not out) unable to find the boundary even once as the overs ran out.