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Kent today announced a pre-tax profit of £51,725 for the year ending October 31, 2003. This compares with a profit of £20,927 in 2002, and a loss of £22,083 in 2001.Carl Openshaw, the chairman, said, "It is encouraging to be able to report an increased profit for the year and a continuation of the improving trend in recent years."Openshaw added that the major factors which contributed to the increased turnover were the weather, which helped a record number of match receipts, the success of the Twenty20 Cup, and the launch of the new ground at Beckenham."Although we enjoyed a successful year both on and off the field, we are aware that finances in cricket remain precarious, and we continue to be grateful for the excellent support we receive from our sponsors, members and commercial partners."

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) officials have given Westpac Stadium the thumbs-up for the third New Zealand – South Africa ODI after an inspection of the weather-affected ground.Martin Snedden, the chief executive, said that the ground was in good condition, barring dampness in the field, which was expected to dry out in time for the game on Friday.”NZC high performance manager John Reid inspected the ground today and he was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the ground given the recent high levels of rain in Wellington,” Snedden said. “The wicket looks good and Trevor Jackson [the groundsman] is comfortable that the dampness in the outfield will dry out over the next couple of days. He is confident everything will be ready for this Friday provided the weather is reasonable.”

The ICC has revealed that Namibia will host the semi-finals and final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup in October.The semi-finals will take place between October 23 and 25 with the final taking place from October 27 to 30. All matches will be staged in the capital Windhoek with the final scheduled to take place at the Wanderers Club.Namibia Cricket Board President, Laurie Pieters, said that the preparations for the finals were already underway. “The awarding of the finals of this prestigious ICC event to our country is a major boost for cricket and those that love the sport in Namibia. We already have the grounds and facilities required and preparations have now begun to ensure that we are ready to welcome the regional winners.”The second season of the Intercontinental Cup will begin later this month. The reigning champions, Scotland, will begin their title defence with a difficult away tie against Holland on July 29. Scotland won the inaugural competition last year without losing a match, but Holland ran the winners closer than any other side in a keenly-contested draw at Aberdeen. With home advantage in 2005, Holland will be looking to inflict a first defeat on the holders.Hong Kong are the only new side in the 12-team tournament. They replace Malaysia in the Asia regional qualifiers and will begin their campaign in Nepal on 24 April.The Americas region looks set to produce an intense contest with the three qualifying matches scheduled for Toronto in Canada between August 23 and September 2.The competition format remains unchanged. The top team from each of the four regions will progress to the semi-finals and final in Namibia.There have been minor changes to the points structure with more rewards available for first innings runs. Full details of the tournament rules and playing conditions can be found at www.icc-intercontinentalcup.com.

Australians planning to watch next year’s Ashes series at home may have to fork out for pay television after the Seven and Nine networks said they were unlikely to cover the tour, The Age has reported.David Hurley, a Nine spokesman said a final decision had not been made, but according to the newspaper it was unlikely to bid for the series, which clashes with winter football competitions and Wimbledon. Nine last broadcast the Ashes in 1997, when Australia won 3-2 and the coverage didn’t begin until the second session.Seven received heavy criticism for the way it screened the 2001 series and The Age reported a spokesman saying “the time zone and scheduling difficulties across Australia are significant”. Ten, the third major network, presumably cannot program seven consecutive hours without an episode of The Simpsons.With England finally in regular good form, the five-Test series shapes as a gripping contest that will only be available on Fox Sports. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said it would be disappointing if it was not available on free-to-air television, but there was little they could do. “We don’t have ownership of the rights and ultimately it is the England and Wales Cricket Board who are trying to sell these rights for the best price,” he told ABC Online.

Andrew Symonds will miss the tour-opening Twenty20 International against South Africa tonight after injuring his hip in training. Symonds, who has withdrawn from only two games for Australia with injury, suffered a low-grade strain to his left hip-flexor muscle during a session at the Wanderers on Thursday.Errol Alcott, the Australia physiotherapist, said Symonds had responded well to treatment but would not play in the Twenty20 match. “He will continue to receive treatment and will be monitored over the next couple of days,” he said. “A decison regarding his availability for Sunday will be made in due course.”Ricky Ponting said he hoped to have both Michael Hussey and Symonds in the team for the first of five one-day matches at Centurion on Sunday. Hussey is expected to arrive in South Africa on Saturday after his wife this week gave birth to their second child, a boy named William Oliver.Symonds said he did not expect the problem to worry him for long. “I’ve only ever missed two games for Australia through injury so I am considerably frustrated,” he said. “But I have a great mechanic in Errol.”

Scorecard

Namibia finished their tour of Zimbabwe with a good match against Matabeleland, although they lost in the end by 23 runs with 13 balls unbowled. The decisive performance was a century from Mark Vermeulen, who should have played his way into the national team for the upcoming one-day series against England. He made a rapid century, although the most notable incident was the unusual manner of his dismissal.Namibia were required to field first for the only time on their tour. Matabeleland’s openers battled through some very good early bowling, with Tinashe Hove going on to make an impressive 80. This laid the foundation for Vermeulen’s 105 off 96 balls, with ten fours. He was finally dismissed when he went for a hasty second run to his partner’s hit into the deep. He was probably not in real danger of being run out, but as the throw passed him, with the bowler preparing to receive it, he thrust his bat at it and deflected it to the boundary. On appeal he was given out obstructing the field.Matabeleland totalled 272 – exactly the same score as in their previous game, in which Vermeulen made 91 – but Jan-Berrie Burger gave Namibia a rollicking start with 71 off 58 balls. The rest put up a good effort right to the end, but did not have quite enough batting depth to pull off an unlikely victory. Chris Mpofu was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 45.
Scorecard
In a good match at Kwekwe Sports Club, Midlands beat Manicaland by 65 runs. It was a good allround performance, with the most encouraging individual effort being a disciplined 64 from the often-prodigal prodigy, Vusi Sibanda.Midlands, batting first, scored 254. Besides Sibanda, Conan Brewer made 46, and Prosper Utseya contributed an aggressive 41 from just 24 balls. Manicaland looked in the hunt at 135 for 3 at the halfway stage, with Stuart Matsikenyeri going strong. But Matsikenyeri was then dismissed for 59, and the rest of the batting failed sadly, with the offspinner Hilary Matanga returning the best figures of 3 for 27.

Ricky Ponting is unsure who will get the nod as Brett Lee’s new-ball partner in the first Test against South Africa starting on Thursday. Australia are heavily favoured to pick the spinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill on a surface expected to turn and Stuart Clark and Michael Kasprowicz are the leading contenders for the second fast-bowling place.”It’s going to be wicket-reliant as much as anything,” Ponting said in . “I spoke to the Newlands groundsman leading up to the one-day game, and he seemed to think it might spin a bit here in the Test match. If we go in with two spinners, then as to which other quick I’m really not sure yet.”Ponting said the decision could rely on how the fast men, including the spare bowler Shaun Tait, perform in the nets. The Australians had a full session on Tuesday and will have a top-up training today as they attempt to gain Test focus in the three days after Sunday’s dramatic one-day loss. “It might just come down to whoever impresses the most in the nets,” Ponting said.Clark has been with the squad for the entire tour and his similarities to Glenn McGrath were expected to help him towards a Test debut. However, he has been part of the one-day attack belted by South Africa and Kasprowicz, who picked up 44 Pura Cup wickets this summer, could play his first international match since Trent Bridge in 2005.The work of Clark, who collected four victims in his past four matches at an economy rate of 5.82, has impressed Ponting. “He’s bowled beautifully,” Ponting told . “He hasn’t bowled with the new ball, but he’s been on fairly early in every game. He’s been difficult and uncomfortable for their batsmen.”Clark has not played a first-class match since November but Ponting did not think his lack of bowling would be a problem. “He’s in really good touch at the moment and I don’t think [not playing a four-day game] will worry him too much. He’s done a lot of bowling since he’s been here.”Ponting said Kasprowicz also had “a few things going for him” and the decision would be a difficult one. “One of my strengths is adaptability, both in my style of bowling and having an impact in different conditions,” Kasprowicz said in .South Africa have picked a 14-man squad for the first two Tests and Ponting said he had a good idea how they would play. “They’ll try and grind out their runs as much as they can, bat for long periods of time and try to make us bat for a long time in order to score our runs,” he said in . “They won’t let us get away too much.”

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)

Day 3

The Trinidad and Tobago second innings was over and the ground staff were preparing to go and re-mark the crease for the Barbados victory chase. But the Barbadians were still on the field, all in a huddle.Set a total of 276 to win the Carib Beer Challenge Final at Guaracara Park, it was as if they were trying to reassure themselves of the real possibility of victory and dedicate themselves to the task.And in that same spirit of determination, Barbados, the new Carib Beer Cup champions, were soldiering on at 99 for one (Wayne Blackman 54, Shamarh Brooks 36) as day three drew to a close.T&T skipper Daren Ganga needed wickets bad. He called back strike bowler Ravi Rampaul. It was ole mas time.When play had ended, heart and soul Ravi had capsized the Bajan mango cart with three wickets for five runs in 12 balls.Second ball: Brooks was flummoxed and lbw to a ball which cut back so sharply, it caught the teenager playing no shot.Next over: Floyd Reifer went down to one of the catches of the season, steering a ball around off-stump to Kieron Pollard in the gully who flung his big frame to his right, stuck out his right hand and held onto a stunning snare.Two balls later: A full inswinger won a plumb lbw verdict against Dwayne Smith.Rampaul was giving people cold sweat. He had answered the call of the crew at the southern end: “We want ah wicket, right now!”Onto the field some of them swarmed, delirious at the way T&T had rallied and put themselves in place to retain the Shield. The scene prompted a stern warning from the umpires.It had been a hectic day for messrs Billy Doctrove and Norman Malcolm, who, between them, made several debatable calls against both sides. At the end of it, Barbados were in the bamboo at 118 for five, captain Ryan Hinds and night watchman Tino Best holding on. Another 158 are still needed.A gripping contest had ebbed and flowed as the bowlers held sway. But Rampaul (10-3-18-4 overall), irresistible with his combination of swing and seam, claimed the day’s honours for T&T.He was assisted, too, by Rayad Emrit, the other half of Ganga’s late double change, who accounted for Blackman to a low catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. It was a fine end to what had largely been a tense day for the teeming Guaracara crowd.T&T had already lost Lendl Simmons when they resumed yesterday morning on six for one. But with a first innings lead of 75, they had the chance to seize decisive control of the match by batting and batting and batting on an accommodating pitch. They didn’t.The application required for a lead of more than 300 was just not there. Opener Adrian Barath’s early removal by left-arm seamer Pedro Collins, via a Smith slip catch with the scoreboard reading 15 for two, really demanded that his teammates buckle down against a determined Bajan attack.But in all, T&T managed to bat just 62.4 overs for an even 200.The third wicket pair of plucky night watchman Amit Jaggernauth (30-four fours) and innings top-scorer Ganga (44) had the right idea in producing the second highest stand of the innings-45.Jaggernauth, dropped in successive overs to the massive dismay of Best, nevertheless made a success of his promotion, staying at the crease for 77 minutes before Corey Collymore, who troubled him repeatedly in his excellent spell of 10-3-26-1, eventually had him caught in the gully by Hinds.Jaggernauth’s was the kind of concentrated work which the Guaracara posse would have demanded of Dwayne Bravo who replaced him. But he stayed just 22 minutes for four before he cavalierly helped Hinds into the hands of Collymore at short midwicket.In came Kieron Pollard, one of the heroes of T&T’s season, but a youngster with a recent string of low scores behind him. Perhaps that knowledge made him stand his ground when, first ball, he seemed to edge a delivery which turned across him from left-arm spinner Hinds, into the hands of Reifer at slip. The jubilant Bajans were sure they had their man. But Doctrove evidently did not see the deviation.Hinds could not believe it. And his subsequent tantrum ended with him sitting on the ground in disbelief.It was an unbecoming moment all round. And the fielding side seemed to lose their focus somewhat from then until the lunch break in an extended first session which ended with T&T on 120 for four.Pollard got there on a subdued 22, Ganga, playing with the same great assurance as in his first innings century, 43. They had put on 48 by then and seemed to have weathered the storm.But back after the break came Collins, the trouble man from the first innings. In his first over, the second after lunch, he got Ganga to make his first real mistake of the match, driving at a wide delivery which he snicked to Reifer at first slip.That was the beginning of a slide which saw the remaining five T&T wickets go down for 77 runs. Having removed Ganga (44, 145 minutes, six fours) who during the innings crossed 600 runs for the season, Collins returned next over to also snare Pollard. Struggling of late to play with the freedom which brought him so many runs earlier this season, he succumbed on 24, edging an attempted booming drive to wicketkeeper Patrick Browne.Ramdin (29), Richard Kelly (10), Emrit (19) and Dave Mohammed (15) all got starts. But they had not the carry through their team so desperately needed-the quartet all falling to the slow seamers of Smith (7.4-2-22-4).The large crowd, eager to make some noise, had been put on mute. They were not so sure T&T could defend 275, especially with two days and a session to go. But relentless Ravi made them all believe.

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