A $185,000 turnaround to a loss of $33,154 has been reported by Canterbury Cricket this year.In the annual report, which will be presented to Wednesday’s annual general meeting, the greatest increase in costs was for domestic teams where costs increased by $148,110 to $808,600 while marketing and promotion costs also lifted by $90,425.Total operating revenue available also dropped by $19,668 to $2,091,372.In his report, chairman David Shackleton made no reference to the loss but did warn that the changes of the past year would be followed by more changes this year.”It is especially important for Canterbury Cricket that the changes which are being faced are well managed to ensure that we remain in a strong position, and more importantly build a stronger organisation particularly at grass roots level,” he said.Progress had been made on a number of issues, one of which was the provision of more permanent indoor training facilities.Negotiations for premises with office and storage facilities are nearly completed and should be completed well before next season. Canterbury expects to relocate to the new venue in the new year.Then in the matter which appears to have driven a wedge between the board and its retiring chief executive Tony Murdoch, the development of Canterbury’s second tier ground, Shackleton said a suitable alternative ground needed to be easily accessible and to satisfy the demands of players, spectators and sponsors alike.”The board spent considerable time determining the required attributes of such a ground,” he said.”After much deliberation the board decided to consider the possibility of a joint development with other key codes of a Sportville concept at Addington.”Much work and further consultation is still required to be completed before a decision will be made to proceed with this development.”It is important that the funding for both the initial capital cost and ongoing operating costs are well entrenched with little likelihood of any burden being placed on future cricket administrators,” he said.CCA president Brian Hastings added on the issue: “If this partnership between the four sporting codes and the City [Council] comes to fruition we will have a superb cricket oval and a fantastic sporting complex.”There will be long term benefits for all the codes, sponsors and the city.”However, you board is fully aware that it cannot put the association ‘at risk’ financially and any decision must be in the interest of Canterbury Cricket in the long term.”

National first league Champions Old Hararians recovered from their disappointing start to the season with a 39-run home win over Bulawayo Athletic Club in the second round of matches.OH, who lost their opening game to Kwekwe Sports Club by seven wickets, opened the batting and compiled 220/6 in a 45-over match. Opener Ryan Butterworth top-scored with 96 while all-rounder Paul Strang weighed in with 50. Trevor Penney took three wickets for five runs off 2.1 overs while Nyasha Chari claimed three for 38 off nine overs.While Old Hararians got back to winning ways, it was a different case with Bulawayo side Queens Sports Club, runners-up last season, as they slumped to their second successive defeat of the new season. Queens, who lost to Mutare Sports Club in the opening week, suffered an embarrassing 82-run home defeat to Kwekwe Sports Club.The only success story of the Queens performance was the bowling of former national team paceman Mpumelelo Mbangwa who took four for 35 off 10 overs in Kwekwe’s total of 240/8. The hosts were dismissed for 158 in 47.3 overs with spinner Raymond Price claiming four wickets for 30 off 10 overs.Takashinga continued their fine start to the 2001/02 Castle Lager National First League season with a 47-run win over visiting Bulawayo Sports Club at Eaglesvale on Sunday. It was the second straight win for the Highfield-based outfit who won only two matches during the whole of last season. Last week Takashinga beat another Bulawayo side, Bulawayo Athletic Club, by six wickets.On winning the toss, Takashinga batted first and made 267/8 with opener Tatenda Taibu top-scoring with 102. The Sixth-Form Churchill High School student featured in a 70-run first wicket partnership with EltonChigumbura, who made 23. Givemore Makoni made a quickfire 65 batting at number five, smashing seven sixes. Dash Vaghmaria, the BSC captain, was the pick of the visitors’ bowlers with four wickets for 37 off 10 overs.In reply, Bulawayo Sports Club were dismissed for 220 in 47.1 overs. Taibu was once again the best bowler for Takashinga, taking four wickets for 41 off 6.1 overs. Taibu had been the wicketkeeper until the middle of the innings when he handed over the gloves to Alester Maregwede.Mutare beat Old Georgians by 21 runs, their second win in as many matches. Mutare batted first and were dismissed for 229 in 49.5 overs with Richard Sims making 51. The hosts could only score 208/9 off their allotted 50 overs. Former national team vice-captain Guy Whittall was the pick of the bowlers with three for 27 off 10 overs, while colleague Alistair Campbell took three for 54 off 10 overs.At Alexandra Sports Club, the hosts beat Harare Sports Club by 35 runs, while Universals recorded their first win of the season, beating Macdonald Club by 33 runs in Bulawayo.Results from the Second Round of National First League played on 28 October, 2001.Winstonians v Bulawayo Sports ClubWinstonians won by 47 runs.Winstonians 267 for 6T Taibu 102, G Makoni 65, W Chawaguta 37D Vaghmaria 4 – 20B.S.C. 220 all outT Sibanda 38, M Kenny 35, M Ranchod 31T Taibu 4 – 41Mac Club v UniversalsUniversals won by 33 runsUniversals 294 for 9 in 50 oversC Coventry 63, D Matambanadzo 30, B Mahwire 97, N Chouhan 37Mac Club 261 for 9 in 50 oversW Siziba 55, H Price 35, S Wilson 56*D Mutendera 3 – 58Alexandra Sports Club v Harare Sports ClubAlexandra won by 35 runsAlexandra 220 all out in 49.5 oversB Benhura 39, C Anticevich 57*, S Marillier 35A Hoffman 3 – 35H.S.C. 185 all out in 46.2 oversB Taylor 33, M Brundle 49G du Plessis 3 – 41, C de Grandhomme 3 – 26Old Hararians v Bulawayo Athletic ClubOld Hararians won by 40 runsO H 220 for 8 wickets in 45 oversR Butterworth 96*, P Strang 50N Mukondiwa 3 – 54B A C 181 all out in 43.1 oversG Manchip 32, C Williams 62N Chari 3 – 38, T Penney 3 – 5Queens Sports Club v Kwekwe Sports ClubKwekwe won by 82 runsKwekwe 240 for 8 in 50 oversT Duffin 41, D Viljoen 70, D Houghton 35M Mbangwa 4 – 30Queens 158 all out in 42.3 oversR King 32, N van Rensburg 48, O Msundire 32C Sanders 3 – 30, R Price 4 – 30Old Georgians v Mutare Sports ClubMutare won by 21 runsMutare 229 all out in 49.5 oversR Sims 51, K Went 47, L Soma 31A Mackay 3 – 48, B McCoun 3 – 37O G 208 for 9 in 50 oversL Malloch-Brown 31, B Rogers 67, W Mwayenga 31A Campbell 3 -54, G Whittall 3 – 27

Australian captain Steve Waugh admitted one blow from New Zealand’s Chris Cairns was the difference between a loss and a draw for his team during a dramatic day of high stakes in the first Test at the Gabba today.The match finished in a draw under lights not long after Cairns was caught on the long-on boundary by Ricky Ponting, ending an irresistible campaign by the New Zealanders to steal the Test.Waugh said if Cairns’ swipe had cleared the boundary, New Zealand would have won a Test which was brought to life by the rival captains after rain had ruined theprevious three days.Waugh and Stephen Fleming made bold declarations on the final day, engineering a finish which seemed unlikely when a torrential downpour swamped the Gabba onthe fourth night.New Zealand was set 284 to win from 57 overs and fell short at 6-274 following valuable knocks from Cairns (43 from 38 balls), Fleming (57), Mark Richardson(57) and Nathan Astle (49).The final day had it all, including 459 runs – the highest in the last 47 years of Test cricket.But that was a backdrop to the overall plot, which included the likelihood of an Australian win, the probability of a tame draw and then the real chance that NewZealand would knock over cricket’s best team only after they had been invited to the party by Waugh.”You’re here to entertain and enjoy yourself and you’re trying to win a Test match if you can. I don’t see any point playing out a dull draw,” Waugh said.”They definitely had their chances and I guess if that ball went for six they probably would have won the game so it was a fine line.”It was an ending that seemed unlikely when New Zealand began the final day at 5-186 in its first innings, trying to avoid the follow-on mark of 286.They squeaked past that with two wickets to spare and Fleming immediately called his players in, waiting for a response from the Australians.They obliged with 2-84 from 14 overs before Waugh called a halt midway through the day, setting up a one-day style chase on a perfect Brisbane afternoon.The foundations were laid before Cairns lit up the Gabba with 43 from 38 balls, dragging the Kiwis within 21 runs of victory with just 18 balls remaining.Fleming’s approach was refreshing for an Australian public which has put up with touring teams which have worked on safety-first cricket, with some even refusing to play under lights in Test matches.”It’s about the traditions of a game and it’s about breaking new mould and if you can create entertainment, I’m massively for it,” Fleming said.”I’m convinced it’s the way Test cricket has to go entertainment-wise.”The fifth day was extended to 105 overs because of the previous rain delays, and it was rewarded with plenty of action.But it was still headed for a draw until Cairns and Craig McMillan (23 not out from 22 balls) scared the wits out of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in the finalovers, taking 31 runs from two overs.But McGrath pulled the shutters down when he bowled a wide line outside off-stump, just inches inside the legal width, and Waugh later defended the tactic.”We did it when we had to and New Zealand did the same thing,” Waugh said.”There was a lot of wide stuff from their bowlers. It’s Test match cricket and you’re not going to hand out a victory on a platter.”They had to work hard for it – that’s what it’s all about.”Both teams head for the second Test in Hobart on Thursday week, with New Zealand resigned to life without paceman Dion Nash.He will return home tomorrow with an abdominal muscle injury, but he braved the pain today for an invaluable 25 not out in the first innings.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced that the EnglandManagement Advisory Committee (EMAC) is to be disbanded following a structural review.Following a meeting at Lord’s, the ECB’s Management Board voted to replace EMAC with a new seven-strong panel to be known as the International Teams Management Group (ITMG).The new group’s remit will include all international teams and the NationalAcademy. It will be chaired by a non-executive who will be elected by the First Class Forum and have a seat on the Management Board.Executive members of the ITMG will include the ECB Chief Executive, Tim Lamb, Director of Cricket Operations, John Carr, Performance Director, Hugh Morris, Finance Director, Brian Havill plus the England Head Coach, Duncan Fletcher, and the Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney.Tim Lamb and David Graveney both currently serve on the England ManagementAdvisory Committee, which is chaired by Brian Bolus, together with four other non-executive members.The decision to disband EMAC is one of the principal recommendations made bythe ECB Structure Working Party which has on-going responsibility for reviewing the Board’s constitutional and governance process.Announcing the decision, Tim Lamb said: “This move, following the earlierdisbanding of the International Affairs and the Development of Excellencesub-committees, will help to further streamline our administrative anddecision-making procedures, and this has been clearly recognized by theManagement Board.”

With their batsmen coming good, Himachal Pradesh defeated Jammu &Kashmir in their Ranji one-day match at Jullundar on Monday.Winning the toss, Himachal Pradesh opted to bat. Although they lostRajiv Nayyar early, opener Sandeep Sharma put on 66 runs with AmitSharma for the second wicket. Sharma combined again with Sangram Singhto post 158 runs for the fourth wicket.Himachal Pradesh ended their innings on 304/7, with Sharma making 92and Sangram a quick 93 off 97 balls. The bowlers then swung intoaction; GP Singh (44) top-scored in a total of 209/7 as HimachalPradesh’s bowlers restricted Jammu & Kashmir admirably. HimachalPradesh thus registered a 95-run win to start their Ranji one-daycampaign.

Bangladesh-A is taking on a mighty Pakistan squad for a three-day match inBKSP starting from January 5. Pakistan, one of the super powers of the game, isnot taking this first class match lightly. They will be on the field with theirprobable best eleven – disclosed Mudassar Nazar, the coach.

In absence of Saeed Anwar the opening slots are lacking flair, but Mudassarhardly agrees with this idea. He is thinking of giving a break to Shadab Kabirand Taufeeq Umar as openers in the BKSP match. Among the three openers in thesquad left-handed Shahdab is back in the team after almost five years. He wasdropped after his disappointing performance in England followed by a streak offailures against India in Sahara Cup 1996.

On the contrary, Taufeeq Umar saw a debut success against Bangladesh in Multanwhere he hammered a scintillating century. Naved Latif, regarded as the mosttalented among the young stars, is a very good hitter of the ball. There arechances he may open too. These three are embarking on their career.

Are Pakistanis touring here in a relaxing mood? The answer is a strict no.Waqar is not indulging himself with such thinking. They are here to get a cleansweep and anything less than a win would be very disappointing. The renownedsuper powers have missed two series due to security fear; first New Zealandpulled out of the October tour and now its West Indies, who are not coming nextFebruary. So, Bangladesh is going to face a hungry Pakistan.

Their net practice session today laid enough proofs that they are prettyserious about the baby Test nation Bangladesh. They came early in the morning,did some stretching for hours, played football to warm them up and ended up witha stern net session, which lasted almost three and half an hour. After threemonth’s lay-off from International cricket they were looking very positive toshake off the lethargy. In a word the tourists are not cynical about playingagainst a team that lost eight matches out of nine they have played so far.

Akram Khan, the skipper of Bangladesh-A is giving more stress on batting. Hisaim is plain and simple – to draw the 3-day match anyhow. The former Bangladeshcaptain is not unnerved to steer his team against Pakistanis as he hassubstantial experiences to lead the national side in International arena forfive years.

If someone from his team pulls off big success in BKSP match, will he get aseat in the national squad? Akram Khan said that this single match would hardlyprove one’s ability to cope up with bigger situations in Tests. If one scoresa hundred or a 80 or takes 6 wickets do not have anything to do with having aseat in the national side right this moment. This thing is applicable to him aswell.

“We are playing against them without having anything in our head about thenational team. We are playing for Bangladesh-A and looking to play as good aspossible. It would be creditable if we could end up with a draw. To do that wewill need quite a bit of good batting and at this moment we are aiming on thatonly.”

Tomorrow both teams will run their last net sessions in BNS in the morningbefore this first-class match.

Caroline Atkins and Arran Thompson set a new record opening partnership for England by putting 150 on the board without loss at the end of the first day of the first Test against India at Lucknow.Atkins (64*) and Thompson (60*), also made their highest individual scores in internationals. They were opening together for the seventh time forEngland after captain Clare Connor won the toss.Thompson said: “Our weakness on tour has been forming partnerships and wereally worked as a partnership today.”Atkins added: “It’s great we’re still in but we’ve got a way to go to winthis Test.”Although England have already lost the one-day series after India took an unassailable 3-0 lead, both Thompson and Atkins have found form on the tour, with Thompson scoring 62 and Atkins 42 in warm-up games.

Zimbabwe Under-19 coach Steve Rhodes, who saw his side win the Plate Championship at the ICC Under-19 World Cup today, says he has unfinished business with the side but he does not know whether he will get the chance to complete it.The side flies out of Christchurch for home tomorrow with the player of the tournament, Tatenda Taibu, on board and some silverware to show for their efforts.While there was disappointment the side had not qualified for the Super League section of the tournament, it had done the next best thing by taking out the Plate. And it did so by a comfortable margin of 137 runs.Rhodes said he believed Zimbabwe had the talent and while it didn’t have the depth, there were signs of development.He had been delighted with the way players like fast bowler Waddington Mwayenga and left-arm leg-spinner Stanley Marisa had developed and the innings by Brendon Taylor, who scored a fine unbeaten 100 today, had been a delight.”I’d like to carry it on,” Rhodes said.”It is a lovely place and the job is not finished. The black kids are now starting to come through and in the high density population areas cricket is the fastest-growing sport.”They are talented and the pick things up quickly.”It is the cricket awareness they need,” he said.That has been one of the benefits of this tournament for the side and Rhodes said the Cup had been well organised and the Lincoln complex had been tremendous for the event.

Injury has ruled Jacques Kallis out of Friday’s Supersport Series match between WP and EP at Newlands. He has been replaced by Renier Munnik

NASHUA WESTERN PROVINCE V EASTERN PROVINCESUPERSPORT SERIESNewlands Cricket Ground15,16,17,18 February 2002Nashua Western Province Squad:1)Herschelle Gibbs2)Gary Kirsten3)Renier Munnik4)H.D. Ackerman ( C )5)Andrew Puttick6)Jonathan Trott7)Jean –  Paul Duminy8)Alan Dawson9)Paul Adams10)Paul Harris11)Charl Willoughby12)Th man  Jonathan McLean

He might be winning, but New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming surely knows that his luck with pitches on offer in the National Bank Series must be getting close to running out.Luck was with New Zealand as it out-lasted the Indians to claim a three-wicket win in a pathetically low-scoring match at Eden Park today where 108 scored in 32.5 overs lost to 109/7 scored off 37.4 overs.Fleming said the pitch had been “very testing” and because of the negativity that was surrounding the pitches that negative factor was just as dangerous as the pitch itself.”It was two-paced, the ball would hold and there was balloon bounce,” he said.Fleming made the point that New Zealand had not been doctoring pitches as some reports had claimed. The conditions had not been asked for. What New Zealand wanted was pitches with more bounce.Fleming said he was surprised by the qualities the pitch showed.”I thought it would be a good wicket. It took me by surprise,” he said.Fleming said he hoped the wicket in Auckland was not an indication of what lay ahead for the remainder of the series because he was sure the batsmen in both sides wanted to be able to express themselves in their build-ups for the World Cup.As New Zealand’s wickets tumbled, they were 52/6 at one stage, he admitted to nervousness, but it was more for batsman Kyle Mills. He believed his players had the ability to do the job but was nervous for them in their execution.He praised the efforts of Jacob Oram while he added that the Indians were only one performance away from cutting loose and it was his hope that he could keep them down for as long as he could.Oram, who was named man of the match as much for his five-wicket bag while bowling as for batting effort in scoring 27 not out in 96 minutes of anxious batting, said he took a lot into his innings from his experience in seeing New Zealand to victory in the second Test in Hamilton.He said it had involved a little bit of grit that he hadn’t seen in himself in the past. It wasn’t really his game to work the ones and twos as circumstances have required him to do in these matches, but he admitted enjoying finding this new aspect to his game.Oram and Mills had merely said to each other all the way through that they would see each other again at the end of the over.