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Mark Boucher felt a bit sad breaking Ian Healy’s Test dismissals mark this week, but the former record holder is now excited to see how far South Africa’s wicketkeeper can take it. Healy, who held the prize until Wednesday with 395, said Boucher could add another 200 and achieve a tally that might never be passed.”He has been a great, solid performer who is held in the utmost respect by his team-mates,” Healy said in the Courier-Mail. “He has been a great competitor and now it will be interesting to see how far he can take it. That record may never be surpassed if they decrease the amount of Test cricket played.”Healy, who appeared in 119 Tests, had a bottle of champagne ready to give to Boucher, but the record “snuck up on me a bit”. Instead he sent a note of congratulations via the umpire Simon Taufel, who is standing in the match in Karachi.Boucher moved ahead of Healy when he stumped Umar Gul in Pakistan’s first innings and had mixed emotions about the achievement. “In a way it’s a great feeling, but it is also sad to break such a good keeper’s record,” he said.”Ian Healy is someone I used to watch on television as a schoolboy and I used to love the way he kept.” While Boucher is only 30, Adam Gilchrist, who is the closest current gloveman with 381 dismissals, is 35 and nearing the end of his wonderful career.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Playing what will probably be his penultimate one-day game at his home ground of Queen’s Park Oval, Brian Lara produced a glorious matchwinning 69 as West Indies romped home to a six-wicket win to seal the series with an unbeatable 3-1 lead. Set a target of 218 after the Indian batting misfired again, West Indies stuttered briefly when they lost Chris Gayle, but Lara found a willing ally in fellow Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo, who remained unbeaten on 61, and their 91-run stand shut out all hopes for India.On a pitch which tested a batsman’s run-scoring abilities – the pace and bounce was variable, and the spinners got significant turn – the Indians were again found wanting after being put in to bat. The West Indies fast bowlers – led by Fidel Edwards, who added impeccable control to his usual pacy offerings – shackled the Indian top order early in the piece. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif subsequently injected some momentum with half-centuries, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced some fireworks at the end, but India were restricted to a total far below what they would have liked.The run-chase was to a large extent about Lara’s magic, but the initial dent to the Indians’ psyche came from Gayle’s terrific blitz at the start. Two strokes were especially memorable – a one-handed hoick over midwicket for six off Sreesanth, and an apparently hurried defensive prod off Pathan that still had enough momentum to race to the long-off fence.Gayle slowed down noticeably after his frenetic start – his last 16 runs took him 40 deliveries – but by then the Lara show had begun. Hesitant at the outset, especially against Ajit Agarkar – again India’s standout bowler – Lara gradually found his rhythm, pacing his knock quite superbly. The first few runs came mostly off singles, but as the confidence returned so did his breathtaking footwork against the spinners, which was easily the highlight of his innings.Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh would have fancied their chances on this pitch, but Lara won that battle, and quite convincingly. His tussle against Powar was especially engrossing – Powar repeatedly tried to beat Lara in flight, and each time Lara rose to the challenge, padding it away when he wasn’t to the pitch, but willing to take a few chances as well. A sashay down the pitch for a flick past mid-on off Powar brought up the fifty partnership, before he turned his attention to Harbhajan, in his last over. Twice, Lara shimmied down the wicket and hoisted him over midwicket for fours, and then followed it with a glorious lofted stroke – high backlift and complete follow-through – high over long-on for six.At the other end, Bravo, promoted to No.5 ahead of Wavell Hinds, proved to be an ideal foil, batting sensibly when Lara was blazing away, but then taking the initiative himself after the master left. He brought up his fifty by spanking a straight six off Powar, and his all-round display – he had taken three wickets with his usual clever mix of slower balls earlier in the day – won him the Man-of-the-Match award.If West Indies’ batting was authoritative, their performance in the field was equally without blemish. Fidel Edwards ended up with only one wicket, but could easily have had a few more, and his economy rate of 2.37 suggests just how much he made the Indians struggle. Dravid, especially, was all at sea against the late swing that Edwards obtained. Ian Bradshaw kept up his excellent form in the series with two early strikes as Virender Sehwag couldn’t repeat his St Kitts act and Suresh Raina failed for the second time at No.3. When Dravid was finally put out of his misery by Corey Collymore, India were struggling at 47 for 3 in the 16th.

Yuvraj and Kaif then got together for the brightest phase of the Indian innings. From the outset, they looked to break the shackles, placing the ball in the gaps, running hard between the wickets, and putting the loose balls to the boundary. Their 80-run stand came in 16.2 overs, with Yuvraj – back in the side after missing the previous match due to injury – continuing the form, and the drives down the ground, which had almost taken India home in the second match. Kaif, meanwhile, produced his most fluent innings of the series. The runs under his belt showed as he timed the ball well from the start, getting off the mark with a spanking cover-drive, and then found the gaps far more consistently than he had in the previous matches.Once the stand was broken, though – and it took a magnificent delivery from Edwards to do it – West Indies tightened the screw again. Dhoni, struggling for confidence and runs in this series, was denied for long periods by deliveries fired in at the blockhole – there was a passage of play, between the 39th and 45th over, when Dhoni could only manage eight runs in 21 balls. With the overs fast running out, Dhoni finally got his act together, belted a few boundaries in characteristic style, but with Lara and Co. in such sparkling form, a target of 218 was hardly adequate.

IndiaVirender Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11 (13 for 1)
Suresh Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7 (28 for 2)
Rahul Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15 (47 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh c Baugh b Edwards 52 (127 for 4)
Mohammad Kaif b Bravo 63 (188 for 5)
Irfan Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8 (206 for 6)
Ajit Agarkar b Bravo 0 (206 for 7)
West IndiesMarlon Samuels lbw b Pathan 9 (28 for 1)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6 (49 for 2)
Chris Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46 (91 for 3)
Brian Lara c Raina b Powar 69 (182 for 4)

The Sri Lanka team was named as the recipient of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Johannesburg on Monday.The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the team which, in the opinion of the elite panel of umpires and referees and the captains of the ten Test teams, has best conducted themselves on the field within the spirit of the game. The award was presented to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene by former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes.Upon receiving the award on behalf of his team Jayawardene said: “I think it’s important to remember the spirit of cricket. We try to enjoy what we do, playing against other countries. That was shown in the World Cup with Ireland – they really enjoyed themselves there and it was great to play against that team too.”We are there to win a match but we are also entertainers as well. The most important thing we can do is enjoy the game. We are very lucky to do what we do and it is vital that we remember that. We play a different brand of cricket and we all enjoy playing. There is so much pride to wear the cap for our country. Spirit of cricket can be explained in many different ways.”This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself.”This is the first time Sri Lanka has won the award, after England collected the last two and New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004. Sri Lanka was one of several teams that demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket to great effect over the past 12 months and they narrowly defeated Ireland and New Zealand for the prize.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Australia surfed a tide of emotion in front of a packed fourth-and-final day crowd, sealing their first Ashes whitewash in 86 years with a ruthless demolition job at Sydney. They had a full two days available to do the necessary, but in the end they needed just under two hours, as England’s battered and bruised cricketers surrendered by ten wickets in an abject and embarrassing fashion.Fittingly, it was Glenn McGrath who took centre stage in his final appearance at his home ground, the SCG. After Shane Warne’s heroics with the bat, McGrath took over with the ball, grabbing 3 for 38 in 21 typically metronomic overs, before Justin Langer – in partnership with his best mate, Matthew Hayden – rattled off the necessary 46 runs in just 11 overs.It was Hayden who sealed the win, clubbing Sajid Mahmood for six then, after a consultation with Langer, slapping the next for four past point, but McGrath, Langer and Shane Warne were the inevitable stars of the show. McGrath, ever one to rise above the emotion, started the festivities with his third ball of the day. He scalped Kevin Pietersen, England’s last hope, before instigating the run-out of the nightwatchman, Monty Panesar.In his desperation to score England’s first runs of the morning, Chris Read took off for a suicidal single to Australia’s best fielder, Andrew Symonds, who pinged the top of middle stump from ten yards, with Panesar still a foot short. Read was himself then blasted from the crease by a Brett Lee lifter deflected to second slip, before McGrath bowled Sajid Mahmood off the pads for 4.Warne, to a raucous ovation, then entered at the Paddington End for his final spell in Test cricket, and the last rites of England’s innings developed into a mini-tussle between Australia’s two champions, as McGrath and Warne fought for the honour of claiming the last wicket of the innings, and of their Test careers.Warne so nearly won the race via a stumping, as Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails with Steve Harmison’s back foot shuffling back towards the crease, and the drama was intensified by a five-minute wait for the not-out verdict, as umpire Peter Parker studied the replay from all angles. And in the next over, the dream conclusion was narrowly missed, as James Anderson edged McGrath inches short of Warne at first slip.Harmison did at least club a clutch of defiant boundaries to carry England to the drinks break, but upon the resumption, McGrath could be denied no longer. Anderson swished at the sixth ball of his next over, and Michael Hussey at midwicket pocketed the simplest of catches. McGrath had signed off with three wickets in the innings, six for the match, 21 for the series, and 563 for a magnificent 124-Test career. And Australia needed just 46 to win.They started watchfully, adding just ten runs in the first five overs, but there were no alarms as a dispirited England team went through the motions to the strains of “The Last Post” from the Barmy Army bugler. The scenes at the end were euphoric and poignant, with Warne, McGrath and Langer leading the lap of honour, as a mighty era of Australia cricket ended in the most immensely fitting manner imaginable.Short CutsDismissal of the day
Kevin Pietersen was England’s only hope for a miracle, but Glenn McGrathsnuffed that dream by catching his edge with the third ball of the morning.It was vintage McGrath and a fitting farewell.Man of the Match
Stuart Clark’s five wickets for the game earned the prize, which was a finereward for a series in which he chipped in with at least a victim in everyinnings. He finished with 26 at 17.03, a total he achieved without afive-wicket haul.Speech of the day
There was a fair bit of competition, but Clark wins easily for telling hiswife and young son how much he loved them in front an almost-full SCG.Tunes of the day
The trumpeter showed his full repertoire today, mixing pop, rock andpatriotism. The Way We Were was on the song sheet along with Oasis’Don’t Look Back in Anger, Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer, RuleBrittania and The Last Post.What England didn’t need to hear
“It was the best Harmy’s bowled all series,” Justin Langer said afterAustralia had knocked off the 46 for the series whitewash. England had beenwaiting for Steve Harmison to turn up since they arrived in November.

Ajit Agarkar has passed a fitness test on his left thumb and been cleared for India’s forthcoming tour of South Africa, starting in a week’s time.Agarkar, who injured himself while fielding during India’s Champions Trophy game against West Indies at Ahmedabad, was tested in Mumbai under the supervision of Dr Anant Joshi, the Indian board’s doctor, and John Gloster, the Indian team physio.”Agarkar has been declared fit. He has been practising with the Mumbai team for the last two days,” Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s Chief Administrative Officer, told , after Gloster submitted the fitness report.Agarkar’s injury forced him out of India’s virtual quarter-final against Australia at Mohali. The selectors had named VRV Singh, the Punjab fast bowler, as a standby in case Agarkar was unfit to travel.Agarkar said that he felt “perfectly alright” and that the pain had reduced considerably. “It was a bit painful in the first week and then it subsided,” he said. “I was doing some fitness work and bowling was not a problem. Fortunately it [the injury] was not in my bowling arm. It did not stop me from bowling but it was painful to grip the bat or even take catches.”Agarkar has been one of India’s most consistent bowlers in one-dayers in the last year, leading the inexperienced pace attack. In 28 matches since November 2005, he has taken 40 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 4.67, an improvement from his career rate of 5.03. Following an impressive showing in the five one-dayers in the West Indies earlier this year, his omission from the Test squad was questioned, especially with Irfan Pathan struggling for form, and the likes of Sreesanth, Singh and Munaf Patel with barely any experience at Test level.

Richard Logan, a right-arm seam bowler, has signed a two-year deal with Hampshire.Logan, 24, was released last month by Nottinghamshire, who he has represented for the last four years, taking 88 wickets at just over 35. He had spent two years at Northants before joining Notts. In June this year, he returned match figures of 8 for 90 against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.”I’m very excited to be signing for Hampshire,” Logan said, “and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of bowling in the top division of the County Championship and the National League next season. It’s a great move for me.”Both Nottinghamshire, who won the second division, and Hampshire who finished second, were promoted in the 2004 County Championship.

Division One

Third day

Lancashire continued to battle against Warwickshire at Blackpool, forcing the follow-on after bowling them out for 231. All the Lancashire bowlers had performed impressively with Murali Kartik producing a probing spell of left-arm spin in his first Championship match of the season. Ian Westwood offered the major resistance with a 198-ball 67 but the pressure created by the bowlers was too much for the rest. Earlier, Lancashire declared on 456 for 9, after Naqaash Tahir had bagged 7 for 107. For the second time in the match play was halted when a water bomb landed on the pitch and Mal Loye, the Lancashire batsman, even climbed a wall to try and find the culprit. It had earlier happened on the first day.Middlesex totally unraveled at the hands of Yorkshire‘s spinners at Scarborough, leaving Yorkshire with a target of 274. In heartening sight, two young legspinners took all 10 wickets. Mark Lawson took 6 for 88 and Adil Rashid, on the ground where he burst onto the scene a few weeks ago against Warwickshire, had 4 for 96 as the visitors fell away for 224. The bulk of those runs came from Ben Hutton, who stuck 105 from 166 balls, with ten fours and two sixes. Yorkshire had started grafting their way towards a win, and were 39 without loss by stumps.Second day
Murray Goodwin fired a century for table-topping Sussex in their crucial match against Hampshire at Hove. David Nash joined him in a third-wicket partnership of 132 to boost the home side to 416 for 8, a first-innings lead of 69. Sean Ervine removed both openers early, but firstly Nash, then Chris Adams, steadied the innings. Adams passed 1000 runs for the season before Shane Warne managed to stem the runs with late wickets. However, Sussex have already notched up maximum bonus points.

Division Two

Third day

Surrey clinched promotion against Glamorgan at The Oval. Chris Taylor’s century provided some much-needed stability for Derbyshire, as he shared a second-wicket stand of 191 in the second innings at Derby. Northamptonshire were finally all out 424, a first-innings lead of 267, but Taylor and Stubbings (64) had gone some way to stubbing out that lead after the early loss of Hassan Adnan. Still, Northants will be confident of pushing for victory tomorrow.The indomitable Graeme Hick another century to give Worcestershire a boost in their clash for the second promotion with Essex at New Road. Earlier, Essex successfully avoid the follow-on reaching 330 in reply to the home side’s 473 for 6. But Worcestershire continued to build on their lead, mainly through Hick, and went on to make 331. Essex reached 19 for 1 by the close, still 455 behind. Worcestershire will be confident of sealing the deal tomorrow if the rain holds off.First day
Leicestershire crumbled at the hands of Somerset, falling away for 170 at Grace Road. Andrew Caddick took the 73rd five-wicket haul of his career, bagging 5 for 46. HD Ackerman (53) and David Masters (43) played the only innings of note for the home side as they were blown to pieces, Charl Willoughby and Richard Johnson helping themselves to two wickets apiece, and Keith Parsons grabbed the other. But Somerset’s batsmen found the going tricky, too, Nicholas Walker snapping up the openers to leave them in some trouble at 32 for 2.

As if by rote, questions of psychological advantages began as soon as Matthew Hoggard was bowled in the final Test at Lahore. `Does Pakistan now hold a psychological advantage over England in the ODI series?’ `Is England psychologically down already before the series starts?’ `Psychologically, are Pakistan favourites?’ No psychologist has been on hand to answer the queries, only Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani captain. And, along with Bob Woolmer, he has only told us that one-day cricket is indeed a different game to Test cricket.Psychology aside, there is little doubt that Pakistan is not lacking for confidence at the moment. That much, at least, Inzamam is willing to admit. “Obviously the team has been very confident after the Test win,” before obviously adding, “but ODIs and Tests are a different game. We will have to work hard. In ODIs one player can change the match completely but yes we are confident.”Even disregarding the Test results, Pakistan’s ODI record, recent and over the last 18 months, is impressive. They begin Saturday having won their last seven matches and 22 from 34 since June last year. Their success in that time has been moulded out of Pakistani and Woolmerian principles; allrounders (multidimensional if you’re a psychologist) are not bits n’ pieces, they are spectacular and a clinical batting line-up revolving largely around the bulwark of Inzamam but boasting cavaliers such as Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi at either end of the line-up. Spearheaded by the unassuming Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and backed up by Mohammad Sami (who does still cut it over ten overs) and a motley crew of spinners and medium-pacers, the bowling has also never lacked for options or incisiveness.But for and from tomorrow, with Shahid Afridi missing (“He will definitely be missed as he is one our main players,” said Inzamam) the line-up will float. With the World Cup now 15 months away and seven ODI series till then, mild experimentation, as Woolmer said, has begun. “This is part of the build-up to the World Cup. The start of getting our team together, getting the players together, making sure they know their roles, getting ideas together. We’ve got seven series leading up to the World Cup and we treat them all as a build-up.”Shoaib Malik, responsible for much of Pakistan’s batting thrust from number three for the last year (947 runs from 22 matches at 45.09 from one down), might play tomorrow or he might not, depending on whether he has recovered from an exhausting three-day jaunt to Australia to have his action examined again. If he does, he might open, or he might not. No clue came from Inzamam either, who said only, “, he will play.”If he doesn’t, then it is understood Kamran Akmal might open. Then again, he might not. Younis Khan, somehow still to fit into Pakistan’s ODI scheme of things, may move to number three, or he may come in lower down, a finisher in the making. With the bonus return of Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq and the possibility of playing Danish Kaneria, the final XI and its order is only more uncertain.For the first time though, Pakistan will be taxed by the dilemma of the Supersub. When the rule first emerged, it was designed seemingly with Pakistan in mind: one wildcard who can come in and throw all plans out the window, preferably with bat and ball. Cards don’t come much wilder than Razzaq, Afridi or even Malik. Not that Pakistan seem particularly disturbed by the prospect. Frankly, Inzamam said, “I can’t say too much about it because I don’t have experience of using it. From tomorrow I will get a clearer idea of it. We haven’t decided yet who it will be.” Woolmer offered only gentle criticism. “We haven’t used it so it is unfair for me to criticise it. But there is an anomaly in it that you have to announce your Supersub before the toss and that is unfair on one side in particular.”Talk of pitches for ODIs borders on the irrelevant in any case and Gaddafi Stadium is unlikely to buck that trend. Runs will come off it and because of the 11.00am start, dew is unlikely to play such a factor later in the game. Inzamam psychologised, “Because of the start, dew might only play a part in the last hour or so of the match but I think the late start covers the effects pretty much. It is a batting pitch but there is nothing in it really that will give a decisive advantage to whoever wins the toss.”All of which brings us back, of course, to the only question: Who starts favourite? England, said Inzamam after much pestering and with a hint of exasperation, but as it was followed by laughs all around, are we to assume that Pakistan start favourites? Maybe not, Inzamam retorted: “They are a big team. They can come back at any time so we can’t be overconfident.” With Woolmer adding he never regards himself as favourite for anything, the only thing left to do is to call for the psychologist and ask him.Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Younis Khan, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Danish Kaneria. Supersub Yasir Arafat

Scorecard

Just as Australia thought things could not get much worse, their second string players suffered a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat on the third day of their opening tour match against Pakistan A.Mohammed Sami was the catalyst for Pakistan’s victory as he tore through the Australian top order in their second innings. He removed Mike Hussey, Brad Hodge and Dominic Thornely in his opening burst and returned to dismiss Brad Haddin, the top scorer, for 34.Pakistan had stretched their first innings into a slender of 17 before Shane Watson wrapped it up to finish with four wickets. Australia were quickly in deep trouble with Sami’s opening burst and two wicket for Umar Gul reducing them to 33 for 5.Haddin and Nathan Bracken fought hard but Shahid Nazir and Mansoor Amjad completed the demolition job, leaving Pakistan with a target of 114. Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik put them on course with an aggressive stand of 76 and despite three wickets for Cameron White they completed the chase in under 20 overs.

If there was one question in recent years that has been asked more than any other in New Zealand One-Day International cricket it would have to be, “How does Craig Spearman keep his place in the Black Caps?”The answer has been confined to the New Zealand cricket selection panel.Glenn Turner first picked Spearman to international duty in 1995/96 as one of his choices to implement the blazing top order assaults Turner wanted.Going into yesterday’s ODI with Zimbabwe in Harare, Spearman with an average of 17.41 after 44 matches had seen off Turner and Ross Dykes as selection conveners and had won over the new man Sir Richard Hadlee.This despite the fact that his best score was 78 scored against the United Arab Emirates in the 1996 World Cup. He twice scored 68, in the 1996 World Cup against the Netherlands and against India at Rajkot last summer.He was overdue, well overdue.However, New Zealand cricket is still overdue for some fire at the top of the order.It is amazing that since the days when Turner and Bruce Edgar were paired in the mid-1980s and John Wright and Edgar shared the duties before that, New Zealand has not enjoyed a consistently successful opening pair.There were some heady days at the 1992 World Cup when Mark Greatbatch and Rod Latham were paired but they were fleeting.What makes the opening question all the more frustrating is that another of Turner’s selections, Nathan Astle has blossomed as a one-day opener. He’s scored eight ODI centuries and has had five scores in the 90s.He is New Zealand’s most successful one-day batsman even if he has yet to claim the overall run scoring aggregate from Martin Crowe.Ironically, Spearman produced his highest score yesterday with 86 against Zimbabwe when he was originally named as a lower middle-order player. He only moved to No 3 when skipper Stephen Fleming was laid low with a stomach complaint.It is one of the indictments of New Zealand’s one-day play that only 14 centuries have been scored by openers, eight of them by Astle and three by Turner. Wright, Edgar and Crowe have scored the others.While Spearman lifted the monkey from his back, the problem at the top of the order still exists for New Zealand. Wicketkeeper Chris Nevin has a great opportunity to make his mark as a partner for Astle.With such a concentration of limited overs cricket at the start of the season, it would be helpful to New Zealand’s future, and its build-up to the next World Cup, if Nevin could solidify the opening berth and if Spearman could reap a harvest of consistency in the middle-order.Few batsmen hit the ball harder with so little effort than Spearman. He is capable of taking good attacks apart.If New Zealand could rely on a top order assault from Astle, Nevin and Spearman, what fireworks there could be.Zimbabwe was just a start for Spearman. He has had generous selectorial support. It is dividend time for New Zealand.A final thought on the Zimbabwe match.Zimbabwe was always going to struggle after the loss of Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin.But New Zealand went into the game without Chris Cairns, Dion Nash and Geoff Allott who were all injured and Fleming couldn’t bat due to illness.Daryl Tuffey and Glen Sulzberger made their ODI debuts. They have both been part of New Zealand’s coherent development policy. It is but one step but some depth is finally starting to emerge.