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SYDNEY, Nov 16 AAP – Steve Waugh hit back at his critics ahead of next week’s second Ashes Test with a spirited century for NSW but he still handed first innings points to South Australia in the Pura Cup cricket match at the SCG today.Waugh’s dismissal after a confident 135 prompted the Blues and Australian Test skipper to close the NSW first innings at 9(dec)-296, well short of the SA’s 397.Another strong performance from Brett Lee then helped skittle the Redbacks for 181 in their second innings.After an outstanding third day in which 18 wickets fell and 404 runs were scored, NSW went to stumps at 2-11 needing another 272 runs to win with Michael Slater four not out.When Waugh reached his ton, an announcement came over the loud speakers that the canteen was giving away 100 free Drumstick ice creams to celebrate, scattering a large portion of the 2,144-strong crowd.His highest score against SA came off 199 balls, including 13 fours and four sixes, and was a welcome return to form after disappointing scores of seven and 12 in the first Ashes Test.He put on a solid 85-run stand in an hour for the ninth wicket with Nathan Bracken before he sent a top edge off paceman Paul Rofe to David Fitzgerald who ran from first slip to third man to take the catch, leaving Bracken not out 27.”I’ve been reading that a few people think I’m past my best and I’m certainly not past my best,” Waugh said.”I think I can get better. People want to read into a lot of things.”When you’re not scoring well, all of a sudden you’ve lost and you can’t play well anymore. It would be good for some people to show a bit of faith.”John Davison rewarded the Redbacks for his recruitment from Victoria in the off season with a career-best 5-81 to help contain the home side.The Canadian-born spinner, who helped the country of his birth qualify for next year’s World Cup, added to his one wicket from one over yesterday when Mark Waugh (one) scooped him straight to Ben Higgins at short leg for the easiest of catches.Three overs later, Nathan Pilon swept Davison to Mark Harrity at deep backward square leg to be dismissed for six and, two balls after that, Davison bowled Lee for no score.When Don Nash (10) was caught by Higgins, again at short leg, Davison had his first bag of five wickets.Lee, who took 10 wickets in last week’s win over Tasmania, again unleashed his firepower, bettering the feat by adding four wickets to his seven from SA’s first innings.Lee shared the spoils with legspinner Stuart MacGill, who took 3-4 in eight balls, including two in his first over, before finishing with 3-51.Quick Bracken also chipped in with 3-45, including the important wicket of former NSW representative Mark Higgs, who looked dangerous with 70 before he was bowled.Paul Rofe trapped Matthew Phelps (four) lbw in the first over of the Blues’ second dig and Ryan Harris dismissed night watchman Bracken in the same fashion for three with the last ball of the day.

England’s women slipped to a comprehensive 63-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the final of the 2002 Tri-Series tournament at Chester-le-Street.After winning the toss and putting the tourists in, England started well with two quick wickets. Isa Guha induced an outside edge from Nicola Payne in the first over and Laura Harper held the catch at first slip. Emily Drumm was dismissed two balls later when she top-edged for wicketkeeper Mandie Godliman to take the catch.However a superb half-century from Katherine Pulford enabled New Zealand to recover to 161 before they were bowled out in the 49th over.England’s run-chase began slowly, and wickets fell steadily throughout their innings. Opener Claire Taylor top-scored with 32, but only two other Englandplayers reached double figures as they were bowled out for 98 in the 44th over.

Somerset Cricket Museum continued it’s close association with the famous I Zingari Cricket Club when the curator Tony Stedall announced that Charles Clive Ponsonby-Fane had agreed to become the new patron.Mr Ponsonby-Fane, who resides at Little Brympton near Yeovil will be well known in cricketing circles because it was his great great grandfather Sir Spencer Ponsonby- Fane who back in 1845 was joint founder of I Zingari, which is probably the most well known of all wandering cricket teams.Those who have visited the Somerset Cricket Museum will know that one of the most impressive exhibits which has pride of place is a display of I Zingari memorabilia.The I Zingari items on show at the museum consist of a remarkable collection of material relating to the club and were originally assembled by the new patron of the Somerset Cricket Museum at Brympton before being kindly loaned to the museum.Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane played most of his first class cricket for Surrey, but had a long association with Somerset County Cricket Club and between 1891 until he died in 1915 at the age of 91 he held the post of President of the club.Speaking for the museum Mr Stedall told me: "We are absolutely delighted that Mr Ponsonby-Fane has agreed to become our new patron."

Jermaine Lawson widely acknowledges a couple of things about his sensational 15-ball burst of six wickets for no run that finished off Bangladesh in the first Test here Tuesday.One is that it gave him a headstart in his ambitious, if not far-fetched, stated quest to overhaul the record 519 Test wickets of one of his heroes and mentors, fellow Jamaican Courtney Walsh.It was not until his 33rd Test, when he was 27, that Walsh had his first return of six wickets in an innings – although he never had the benefit of bowling to opposition as inexperienced and weak as Bangladesh.Lawson is 20 and it was in his third Test.His second realisation is that his goal is a very long way off and that early success against a team hardly even first-class level doesn’t mean he has arrived. Quite the opposite."Now that I’ve taken six, I’ve got to lift my game every time I play," he says. "I want to carry on from here so that means I can’t relax or anything. I’ve got to keep my composure, keep my focus."Lawson states that he has always concentrated on his fitness. It’s evident in his sculptured, 6-feet-2-inch physique."I’d work out in the gym at least three times a week when I’m back home, along with the practice," he reveals. "I’ve got to be fit so that I can do well whenever I take the field.""You can’t go out there and bowl for two days if you’re not fit and certainly not if you want to be at the top level at all times," he adds.Potential spottedHis potential, first spotted when he was at Waterford High School in the southern parish of St Catherine, carried him into the Jamaica Under-19 team from where he graduated to the West Indies Under-19 team to the Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka in 1999.There was the advantage that Walsh and Michael Holding, two of the finest fast bowlers the game has known, were close by to offer encouragement and advice.Others like Jamaican coach Robert Haynes and Under-19 manager Linden Wright have also been solid supporters.Lawson was the leading wicket-taker in the regional youth tournament in Barbados in 1999 and attracted immediate attention at the World Cup in Sri Lanka later that year with a hat-trick against Zimbabwe.His speed, from a long, bounding run and loose-limbed delivery, marked him out as a definite prospect for a West Indies team needing to replenish the supply of fast bowlers that had worryingly dried up.He got his first senior call to the triangular series of One-Day Internationals in Sri Lanka last year.He had just a couple of matches but took the only two Sri Lankan wickets to fall in the second in Kandy, among them Sanath Jayasuriya, who was too late on a bouncer and lobbed a catch to mid-on.It was his 140 kph (90 mph) speed that secured his selection for the tour of India, traditionally not the most encouraging environment for fast bowlers, and Bangladesh.Chosen for the last two Tests in India, he managed only four expensive wickets (average 51.5). But they included Sachin Tendulkar twice and Rahul Dravid once and he got approving nods from thesit in judgement of their successors in the commentary box and in the Press.Such assessments were confirmed with his opening burst that accounted for Virender Sewag, V.V.S. Laxman, Dinesh Mongia and Dravid and virtually guaranteed a series-clinching victory in the decisive last One-Day International after the batsmen had amassed 315 for six.The yorker that flattened the left-handed Mongia’s off-stump and almost knocked him off his feet was a television image that excited every watching West Indian."Getting those four wickets in the final helped my confidence, no doubt," he says. "It made me work even harder on my game and I came to Bangladesh focused on doing well.""Doing well" is an understatement for his performance at the Bangabandhu Stadium that has placed him in the pages of Wisden.Record featNo other bowler has taken six wickets in a Test innings as cheaply as his three runs. Arthur Gilligan’s six for seven against South Africa in Birmingham in 1924 had been the previous mark.It was comparable, if only in statistical terms, with some of the bursts of the great Curtly Ambrose – his seven for one against Australia at Perth in 1993, his match-winning five for eight (final figures eight for 45) against England in Bridgetown in 1990, his six wickets as England tumbled towards their 46 all out in Port-of-Spain in 1994.Ambrose’s various bags included David Boon, Damien Martyn, Mark Waugh, Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart, Graeme Thorpe and Robin Smith. Aminul Islam, Khaled Mashud, Alok Kapali and the other Bangladeshis don’t have quite the same ring about them.But Lawson already had big names in his book – Jayasuirya, Tendulkar, Dravid.The next challenges are imminent – the World Cup in South Africa in February and March, immediately followed by the series against the daunting Australians in the Caribbean in April and May."The World Cup is the biggest tournament in the game and the Australians the strongest team at present," he says. "That’s the kind of opportunity any cricketer looks forward to. I’m no different. I can’t wait."

Result summary of all series (16)Season Pakistan New Zealand Mt Pak NZ DCaptain Captain1955-56 (P) AH Kardar HB Cave 3 2 – 11964-65 (N) Hanif Mohammad JR Reid 3 – – 31964-65 (P) Hanif Mohammad JR Reid 3 2 – 11969-70 (P) Intikhab Alam GT Dowling 3 – 1 21972-73 (N) Intikhab Alam BE Congdon 3 1 – 21976-77 (P) Mushtaq Mohammad GM Turner (1) 3 2 – 11978-79 (N) Mushtaq Mohammad MG Burgess 3 1 – 21984-85 (P) Zaheer Abbas JV Coney 3 2 – 11984-85 (N) Javed Miandad GP Howarth 3 – 2 11988-89 (N)† Imran Khan JG Wright 2 – – 21990-91 (P) Javed Miandad MD Crowe 3 3 – -1992-93 (N) Javed Miandad KR Rutherford 1 1 – -1993-94 (N) Saleem Malik KR Rutherford 3 2 1 -1995-96 (N) Wasim Akram LK Germon 1 1 – -1996-97 (P) Saeed Anwar LK Germon 2 1 1 -2000-01 (N) Moin Khan (2) SP Fleming 3 1 1 1In Pakistan 20 12 2 6In New Zealand 22 7 4 11Totals 42 19 6 17(N) – played in New Zealand, (P) played in Pakistan.† The first Test at Dunedin was abandoned without a ballbeing bowled and is excluded.The following deputised for the official touring captain:(1) JM Parker (3rd Test), (2) Inzamam-ul-Haq (3rd Test).TEAM RECORDSHighest innings totalsPak in Pak 565-9 d Karachi 1976-77Pak in NZ 616-5 d Auckland 1988-89NZ in Pak 482-6 d Lahore 1964-65NZ in NZ 492 Wellington 1984-85Lowest innings totalsPak in Pak 102 Faisalabad 1990-91Pak in NZ 104 Hamilton 2000-01NZ in Pak 70 Dacca 1955-56NZ in NZ 93 Hamilton 1992-93Highest match aggregateIn Pakistan – 1585 for 31 wickets at Karachi in 1976-77In New Zealand – 1167 for 33 wickets at Auckland in 1972-73Lowest match aggregateIn Pakistan – 572 for 30 wickets at Rawalpindi in 1964-65In New Zealand – 708 for 35 wickets at Auckland in 1993-94BATTING RECORDSHighest individual inningsNZ in NZ 174 MD Crowe Wellington 1988-89NZ in Pak 152 WK Lees Karachi 1976-77Pak in NZ 271 Javed Miandad Auckland 1988-89Pak in Pak 209 Imtiaz Ahmed Lahore 1955-56Highest aggregate by a batsmen in a rubberPak in Pak 507 (@ 189.0) Shoaib Mohammad 1990-91Pak in NZ 389 (@ 194.5) Javed Miandad 1988-89NZ in Pak 296 (@ 59.20) JR Reid 1964-65NZ in NZ 333 (@ 83.25) JF Reid 1984-85Century in each innings of a matchFor Pakistan – 104 & 103* by Javed Miandad at Hyderabadin 1984-85For New Zealand – no instanceIndividual hundreds (59)Pakistan (35)Javed Miandad 271 Auckland 1988-89Imtiaz Ahmed 209 Lahore 1955-56Javed Miandad 206 Karachi 1976-77Hanif Mohammad 203* Lahore 1964-65Shoaib Mohammad 203* Karachi 1990-91Yousuf Youhana 203 Christchurch 2000-01Mushtaq Mohammad 201 Dunedin 1972-73Waqar Hasan 189 Lahore 1955-56Asif Iqbal 175 Dunedin 1972-73Saeed Ahmed 172 Karachi 1964-65Saeed Anwar 169 Wellington 1993-94Sadiq Mohammad 166 Wellington 1972-73Asif Iqbal 166 Lahore 1976-77Javed Miandad† 163 Lahore 1976-77Shoaib Mohammad 163 Wellington 1988-89Javed Miandad 160* Christchurch 1978-79Saeed Anwar 149 Rawalpindi 1996-97Younis Khan† 149 Auckland 2000-01Shoaib Mohammad 142 Faisalabad 1990-91Saleem Malik 140 Wellington 1993-94Inzamam-ul-Haq 135* Wellington 1993-94Zaheer Abbas 135 Auckland 1978-79Inzamam-ul-Haq 130 Christchurch 2000-01Mohammad Ilyas 126 Karachi 1964-65Ijaz Ahmed Sr. 125 Rawalpindi 1996-97Majid Khan 119* Napier 1978-79Saleem Malik 119* Karachi 1984-85Javed Miandad 118 Wellington 1988-89Shoaib Mohammad 112 Auckland 1988-89Majid Khan 112 Karachi 1976-77Majid Khan 110 Auckland 1972-73Mohammad Wasim† 109* Lahore 1996-97Mushtaq Mohammad 107 Karachi 1976-77Mudassar Nazar 106 Hyderabad 1984-85Shoaib Mohammad 105 Lahore 1990-91Asif Iqbal 104 Napier 1978-79Javed Miandad 104 Hyderabad 1984-85Sadiq Mohammad** 103* Hyderabad 1976-77Javed Miandad 103* Hyderabad 1984-85Hanif Mohammad 103 Dacca 1955-56Basit Ali 103 Christchurch 1993-94Ijaz Ahmed Sr. 103 Christchurch 1995-96Mushtaq Mohammad** 101 Hyderabad 1976-77Saqlain Mushtaq 101* Christchurch 2000-01Hanif Mohammad 100* Christchurch 1964-65** – Mushtaq and Sadiq Muhammad, at Hyderabad in 1976-77,provide the fourth instance in Test matches, after theChappells (thrice), of brothers each scoring hundreds inthe same innings.New Zealand (24)MS Sinclair 204* Christchurch 2000-01MD Crowe 174 Wellington 1988-89JF Reid 158* Auckland 1984-85WK Lees 152 Karachi 1976-77JF Reid 148 Wellington 1984-85MJ Greatbatch 133 Hamilton 1992-93BW Sinclair 130 Lahore 1964-65BA Edgar† 129 Christchurch 1978-79JR Reid 128 Karachi 1964-65SA Thomson 120* Christchurch 1993-94BA Young 120 Christchurch 1993-94MG Burgess 119* Dacca 1969-70GP Howarth 114 Napier 1978-79JV Coney 111* Dunedin 1984-85SN McGregor 111 Lahore 1955-56MG Burgess 111 Lahore 1976-77GM Turner† 110 Dacca 1969-70BF Hastings 110 Auckland 1972-73MD Crowe 108* Lahore 1990-91RE Redmond† 107 Auckland 1972-73JG Wright 107 Karachi 1984-85JF Reid 106 Hyderabad 1984-85MH Richardson 106 Hamilton 2000-01MD Bell 105 Hamilton 2000-01† – signifies hundred on first appearance inNew Zealand-Pakistan Tests.PARTNERSHIP RECORDSHighest partnership for each wicketPakistanRuns Wkt Batsmen Venue Series172 1st Ramiz Raja & Shoaib Muhammad Karachi 1990-91262 2nd Saeed Anwar & Ijaz Ahmed Sr. Rawalpindi 1996-97248 3rd Shoaib Muhammad & Javed Miandad Auckland 1988-89350† 4th Mushtaq Muhammad & Asif Iqbal Dunedin 1972-73281† 5th Javed Miandad & Asif Iqbal Lahore 1976-77217† 6th Hanif Mohammad & Majid Khan Lahore 1964-65308† 7th Waqar Hasan & Imtiaz Ahmed Lahore 1955-5689 8th Anil Dalpat & Iqbal Qasim Karachi 1984-8552 9th Intikhab Alam & Arif Butt Auckland 1964-6565 10th Salah-ud-Din & Muhammad Farooq Rawalpindi 1964-65New ZealandRuns Wkt Batsmen Venue Series181 1st MD Bell & MH Richardson Hamilton 2000-01195 2nd JG Wright & GP Howarth Napier 1978-79178 3rd BW Sinclair & JR Reid Lahore 1964-65147 4th CD McMillan & SP Fleming Hamilton 2000-01183 5th MG Burgess & RW Anderson Lahore 1976-77145 6th JF Reid & RJ Hadlee Wellington 1984-85186† 7th WK Lees & RJ Hadlee Karachi 1976-77100 8th BW Yuile & DR Hadlee Karachi 1969-7096 9th MG Burgess & RS Cunis Dacca 1969-70151† 10th BF Hastings & RO Collinge Auckland 1972-73† best against all countries.BOWLING RECORDSBest innings bowling analysisPak in Pak 7-66 Mohammad Zahid Rawalpindi 1996-97Pak in NZ 7-52 Intikhab Alam Dunedin 1972-73NZ in Pak 7-52 C Pringle Faisalabad 1990-91NZ in NZ 6-51 RJ Hadlee Dunedin 1984-85Best match bowling analysisPak in Pak 12-130 Waqar Younis Faisalabad 1990-91Pak in NZ 11-130 Intikhab Alam Dunedin 1972-73NZ in Pak 11-152 C Pringle Faisalabad 1990-91NZ in NZ 9-70 FJ Cameron Auckland 1964-65Highest aggregate of wickets in a seriesPak in Pak 29 (@ 10.86) Waqar Younis 1990-91Pak in NZ 25 (@ 17.24) Wasim Akram 1993-94NZ in Pak 17 (@ 25.35) SL Boock 1984-85NZ in NZ 18 (@ 23.00) RJ Hadlee 1978-79Hat-tricks (1)For Pakistan – no instanceFor New Zealand – PJ Patherick on his Test debut at Lahorein 1976-77Five or more wickets in an innings (52)Pakistan (37) Haul Venue Test SeasonIntikhab Alam 7-52 Dunedin 2nd 1972-73Mushtaq Ahmed 7-56 Christchurch 1st 1995-96Mohammad Zahid 7-66† Rawalpindi 2nd 1996-97Pervez Sajjad 7-74 Lahore 2nd 1969-70Waqar Younis 7-76 Faisalabad 3rd 1990-91Waqar Younis 7-86 Lahore 2nd 1990-91Mohammad Nazir 7-99 Karachi 1st 1969-70Wasim Akram 7-119 Wellington 2nd 1993-94Khan Mohammad 6-21 Dhaka 3rd 1955-56Zulfiqar Ahmed 6-42 Karachi 1st 1955-56Wasim Akram 6-43 Auckland 1st 1993-94Waqar Younis 6-78 Christchurch 3rd 1993-94Mushtaq Ahmed 6-84 Lahore 1st 1996-97Mushtaq Ahmed 6-87 Rawalpindi 2nd 1996-97Intikhab Alam 6-127 Auckland 3rd 1972-73Abdul Qadir 6-160 Auckland 3rd 1988-89Waqar Younis 5-22 Hamilton 1st 1992-93Pervez Sajjad 5-33 Karachi 2nd 1969-70Mohammad Sami 5-36 Auckland 1st 2000-01Zulfiqar Ahmed 5-37 Karachi 1st 1955-56Saleem Jaffer 5-40 Wellington 2nd 1988-89Pervez Sajjad 5-42 Auckland 2nd 1964-65Wasim Akram 5-45 Hamilton 1st 1992-93Asif Iqbal 5-48 Wellington 1st 1964-65Mushtaq Mohammad 5-49 Dunedin 2nd 1972-73Asif Iqbal 5-52 Auckland 2nd 1964-65Wasim Akram 5-53 Christchurch 1st 1995-96Waqar Younis 5-54 Faisalabad 3rd 1990-91Wasim Akram 5-56 Dunedin 3rd 1984-85Mushtaq Mohammad 5-59 Christchurch 1st 1978-79Wasim Akram 5-72 Dunedin 3rd 1984-85Iqbal Qasim 5-78 Hyderabad 2nd 1984-85Intikhab Alam 5-91 Dhaka 3rd 1969-70Intikhab Alam 5-91 Dhaka 3rd 1969-70Imran Khan 5-106 Napier 2nd 1978-79Abdul Qadir 5-108 Hyderabad 2nd 1984-85Azeem Hafeez 5-127 Wellington 1st 1984-85New Zealand (15) Haul Venue Test SeasonC Pringle 7-52 Faisalabad 3rd 1990-91SL Boock 7-87 Hyderabad 2nd 1984-85RJ Hadlee 6-51 Dunedin 3rd 1984-85W Watson 6-78 Lahore 2nd 1990-91FJ Cameron 5-34 Auckland 2nd 1964-65DK Morrison 5-41 Hamilton 1st 1992-93SB Doull 5-46 Lahore 1st 1996-97RJ Hadlee 5-62 Christchurch 1st 1978-79SB Doull 5-66 Auckland 1st 1993-94ML Su’a 5-73 Hamilton 1st 1992-93HJ Howarth 5-80 Karachi 1st 1969-70RJ Hadlee 5-104 Auckland 3rd 1978-79SL Boock 5-117 Wellington 1st 1984-85RJ Hadlee 5-121 Lahore 1st 1976-77CL Cairns 5-137 Rawalpindi 2nd 1996-97Ten or more wickets in a match (11)Pakistan (10)Waqar Younis** 12-130 (7-76, 5-54) Faisalabad 1990-91Zulfiqar Ahmed 11-79 (5-37, 6-42)† Karachi 1955-56Intikhab Alam 11-130 (7-52, 4-78) Dunedin 1972-73Mohammad Zahid 11-130 (4-64, 7-66)† Rawalpindi 1996-97Wasim Akram 11-179 (4-60, 7-119) Wellington 1993-94Wasim Akram 10-128 (5-56, 5-72) Dunedin 1984-85Waqar Younis** 10-106 (3-20, 7-86) Lahore 1990-91Mushtaq Ahmed 10-143 (4-59, 6-84) Lahore 1996-97Mushtaq Ahmed 10-171 (3-115, 7-56) Christchurch 1995-96Intikhab Alam 10-182 (5-91, 5-91) Dacca 1969-70** – Waqar Younis’s performances were in successive matches.New Zealand (1)C Pringle 11-152 (7-52, 4-100) Faisalabad 1990-91† – on first appearance in New Zealand-Pakistan Tests.WICKETKEEPING RECORDSMost dismissals in an inningsPak in Pak 5 (all ct) Saleem Yousuf Faisalabad 1990-91Pak in NZ 7 (all ct) Wasim Bari Auckland 1978-79NZ in Pak 4 (2 ct, 2 st) WK Lees Karachi 1976-774 (all ct) IDS Smith Karachi 1984-85NZ in NZ 5 (all ct) KJ Wadsworth Auckland 1972-735 (all ct) AC Parore Auckland 2000-01Most dismissals in a matchPak in Pak 7 (all ct) Saleem Yousuf Faisalabad 1990-91Pak in NZ 9 (all ct) Rashid Latif Auckland 1993-94NZ in Pak 6 (4 ct, 2 st) WK Lees Karachi 1976-77NZ in NZ 6 (all ct) KJ Wadsworth Auckland 1972-73Most dismissals in a seriesPak in Pak 15 (all ct) Saleem Yousuf 1990-91Pak in NZ 13 (12 ct, 1 st) Wasim Bari 1978-7913 (all ct) Rashid Latif 1993-94NZ in Pak 9 (5 ct, 4 st) WK Lees 1976-77NZ in NZ 10 (all ct) KJ Wadsworth 1972-7310 (all ct) TE Blain 1993-94INDIVIDUAL RECORDSLeading run-makers in Pak-NZ Tests (= 500 runs)Batsmen Mt Inn No Runs Avg Hs 0s 50s 100sJaved Miandad (Pak) 18 29 5 1919 79.96 271 – 6 7Asif Iqbal (Pak) 17 28 2 1113 42.81 175 2 4 3MD Crowe (NZ) 11 20 3 973 57.24 174 1 6 2Saleem Malik (Pak) 18 29 5 946 39.42 140 4 5 2Majid Khan (Pak) 11 17 1 936 58.50 119 – 5 3Shoaib Mohd (Pak) 7 10 2 854 106.80 203 – – 5Mushtaq Mohd (Pak) 10 17 1 779 48.69 201 – 3 3MG Burgess (NZ) 12 23 3 753 37.65 119 1 3 2Sadiq Mohd (Pak) 9 16 1 740 49.33 166 – 3 2JR Reid (NZ) 9 17 – 658 38.71 128 1 5 1Hanif Mohd (Pak) 10 15 2 622 47.85 203 – – 3JF Reid (NZ) 7 12 1 584 53.09 158 2 1 3JG Wright (NZ) 11 19 – 576 30.32 107 – 3 1Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 9 15 2 573 44.08 135 2 2 2RJ Hadlee (NZ) 12 19 4 559 37.27 89 1 3 -JV Coney (NZ) 9 15 2 528 40.62 111 – 2 1Leading wicket-takers in Pak-NZ Tests (= 25 wickets)Bowlers Mt Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Avg Best 5/10wWaqar Younis (P) 12 2895 122 1313 68 19.31 7-76 5/2Wasim Akram (P) 9 2526 106 1021 60 17.02 7-119 6/3Intikhab Alam (P)15 3484 143 1317 54 24.39 7-52 4/2RJ Hadlee (N) 12 2949 65 1449 51 28.41 6-51 4Pervez Sajjad (P)12 2824 155 902 45 20.04 7-74 3Mushtaq Ahmed (P) 6 1545 60 702 35 20.06 7-56 3/2Imran Khan (P) 7 2191 68 874 31 28.19 5-106 1DK Morrison (N) 8 1754 55 993 31 32.03 5-41 1SL Boock (N) 9 2404 93 1025 28 36.61 7-87 2RO Collinge (N) 9 1945 58 940 28 33.57 3-41 -HJ Howarth (N) 6 2053 86 763 26 29.35 5-80 1Abdul Qadir (P) 9 2056 83 940 26 36.15 6-160 2Sarfraz Nawaz (P) 9 1949 47 855 26 32.88 4-61 -Asif Iqbal (P) 17 1481 77 505 26 19.42 5-48 2Leading keepers in Pak-NZ Tests (= 10 dismissals)Keepers Mt Dis Ct StWasim Bari (Pak) 11 32 27 5IDS Smith (NZ) 11 23 22 1Rashid Latif (Pak) 5 23 21 2Saleem Yousuf (Pak) 5 22 22 -Anil Dalpat (Pak) 6 18 17 1AC Parore (NZ) 7 18 18 -WK Lees (NZ) 6 16 12 4KJ Wadsworth (NZ) 6 15 14 1AE Dick (NZ) 5 10 9 1Leading fielders in Pak-NZ Tests (= 10 catches)Fielders Mt CtJaved Miandad (Pak) 18 20Majid Khan (Pak) 11 19Mushtaq Mohd (Pak) 10 17MD Crowe (NZ) 11 16Saleem Malik (Pak) 18 15Asif Iqbal (Pak) 17 14BA Young (NZ) 6 13Hanif Mohd (Pak) 10 12SP Fleming (NZ) 6 11JJ Crowe (NZ) 8 11JV Coney (NZ) 9 10- All data updated to April 30, 2002.

Today (Wednesday) marks exactly 249 days to go before the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2003 – a global sports event that will have a major music component throughout its 44 days’ duration.A committee set up to co-ordinate the big music component for the tournament has been hard at work in order to finalise among others, the theme song.Big names in South African music have been appointed to serve on the committee headed by playwright and chairman of the South African Music Awards, Duma ka Ndlovu. Members of the committee have been sourced from the government, musicians, recording companies and entertainment consultants.The ICC Cricket World Cup marketing director and member of the committee Ms Nomsa Chabeli said Monday that the committee has its work cut out in co-ordinating the huge music component that will keep the world on its feet as the 14-nations tournament gets underway.The World Cup starts on February 8 next year with a planned spectacular opening ceremony in Cape Town and the final will be played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on March 23. For the first time in a World Cup, a closing ceremony will be held.The music committee is currently going through a selection process for the official theme song and an announcement is expected to be made soon.Commenting on the music component of the 44-day tournament, Ms Chabeli said: "We will have three usages for the theme song. There will be a ceremonial version to be performed during the opening ceremony, a commercially popular version and one for radio and television advertisements."We hope to involve as many South African musicians as possible. We must create a situation where we can celebrate our African culture, create excitement, fun and camaraderie among not only cricket lovers, but all South Africans and indeed the whole world since this is an international event," said Ms Chabeli.She also announced that a national music co-ordinator would be appointed towards the end of June. "This person will look after all our music-related activities, including 12 night-before-match concerts at various venues, 54 carnivals during each day of the tournament, "meet-and-greets" at airports and official hotels, the massive roadshow from Nairobi, Kenya to Cape Town and other live performances."Artists interested in taking part in these performances will be called for later in the year. Details will be announced in the media.In addition it was announced that for the first time at cricket matches in South Africa, no fewer than five languages – Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans and English – will be used by PA announcers during the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa next year.Twelve venues will host World Cup matches, and the predominant languages of the respective regions will be in use for all announcements in and around the grounds.For example, English and Zulu will be the order of the day at matches in Durban, English, Afrikaans and Xhosa at Port Elizabeth and East London, and English, Afrikaans and Sotho in Bloemfontein.Two PA announcers will be appointed at each venue.

Mark Ramprakash has hit back at criticism of him by former England all-rounder Ian Botham.Reacting to comments made by Botham that players such as Ramprakash and Hick have received enough opportunities, and applauding the decision of the selectors to look at different players, such as Ward and Sidebottom.But Ramprakash, who has begun the season at new club Surrey in fine form, feels Botham has singled him out for criticism.”I’ve been criticised before so that’s nothing new, but certainly Ian Botham does seem to get on my case a little bit. I don’t know why that is,” Ramprakash told Sportinglife.com.”It’s disappointing. Most players can accept constructive criticism, but when it appears to go beyond that then it’s disappointing.”From my point of view I would say I had 18 months in the side and averaged over 40. Then I was left out and I had a go at opener, which I was asked to do. I did my best but it didn’t work out.”I would hope that if I’m playing well and scoring runs then there’s not a line drawn through anybody’s name. I’m still working very hard to achieve all I can, and at the present time I’m very happy to be in the frame and be talked about as a possibility.”

Somerset got off to a disappointing start in their quest to win the last-ever Benson and Hedges Cup, when they lost to Warwickshire at Edgbaston in a rain-affected match today.Somerset skipper Jamie Cox won the toss and invited the home side to bat first. In an innings reduced to 41 overs Warwickshire made 263 for 6 with Nick Knight making what turned out to be a match winning 126.Less than an over into the Cidermen’s innings the rain fell heavily and the players left the field yet again. When they returned the Somerset batsmen faced the daunting task of scoring 222 off 27 overs, a rate of just over 8 runs per over.From the start the home attack of Sean Pollock and Douggie Brown were quickly on top, and Warwickshire were aided by two fine catches, one by Trevor Penney to dismiss Peter Bowler, and the second by Nick Knight to dismiss Jamie Cox for 25.A further rain stoppage left Somerset chasing 173, and by the end of their 19 overs they had reached 77 for 5, with Keith Parsons unbeaten on 25, to leave Warwickshire the winners by 94 runs, by the Duckworth Lewis method.Somerset can justifiably feel that they fell foul of both the weather and the Duckworth Lewis method at Edgbaston today, and will already be looking forward to their next game in the competition that is against Glamorgan at Taunton on Tuesday.With four games left in the regional rounds of the Benson and Hedges Cup Somerset will be keen to put today’s disappointment behind them and get back to winning ways on Tuesday.

Pakistan International Airlines, boosted by the presence of test stalwarts Wasim Akram and Moin Khan, overcame Pakistan Customs by 4 wickets in a rain curtailed 35-a-side encounter of the fourth round of the One-day tournament (departments), played at Sheikhupura Stadium.Although both former captains could not give a performances that’s always expected of them, yet their mere presence in the playing eleven proved a great morale booster for PIA.Asif Mujtaba, the captain of PIA, won the toss and elected to field first, considering perhaps that the wet outfield and moisture in the pitch would help seamers early on.However, this decision started looking fatal when Ali Naqvi, a former test player, compiled 152 for the second wicket with Azhar Shafique in just about 23 overs, thus, setting pace for a fighting total for his side.Naqvi, who has been in magnificent the whole of this season, hammered all bowlers with spite, not even sparing a seasoned Wasim, to score an unbeaten 117 off 97 balls, which contained 9 fours and 3 sixes. Azhar made 56 off 79 balls, hitting one four and a six.Scoring the required 230 at an average of 6.57 was never going to be easy, especially when PIA lost their first wicket with only 24 on the board. Yet, Ghulam Ali, with his power-laden shots to all parts of the ground, made the target immensely simple. He scored 82 (10 fours, 2 sixes) off just 55 balls, adding 97 for the second wicket with Yasir Hameed (32 off 36 balls, 4 fours) in around 11 overs to take the game completely out of Customs’ grasp.PIA reached the target in the 33rd over, with Wasim Akram contributing 19 off as many balls and Moin Khan hammering 26 off 19.A magnificent second-wicket partnership of 149 between Saeed Bin Nasir and Mohammad Wasim eased Khan Research Laboratories to an 8-wicket win over Allied Bank in another 4th-round match.After adding 89 for the first wicket with Saeed Anwar Jnr (28 off 47 balls, 6 fours), Saeed went on to build another big partnership with the in-form Wasim, while remaining unbeaten on 108 (127 balls, 11 fours). Wasim, a former test player, contributed with a fine 79 (91 ball, 8 fours) to help his side reach the target of 249 in 43.4 overs.Earlier, KRL bowlers did well to contain ABL to 248 for 7 in their allotted fifty overs, after an ominous-looking 89 by Aamer Hanif had provided them a sound platform to pile up runs. However, all other batsmen, with the exception of Taimur Khan (44 off 50 balls, 1 four, 1 six), could not build up their innings.For the winners, Saeed Anwar Jnr claimed three wickets for 50, whereas Jaffir Nazir and Mohammad Sarfraz got one each for, respectively, 37 and 47.In the third match of this round, Wapda clinched a narrow 2-wicket victory over National Bank at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala.Requiring 187 to win, Wapda made an impressive start, with their openers getting 65 for the first wicket. However, NBP bowlers struck back by claiming three wickets without the addition to the score, and another just 20 runs later.At this point, Rafatullah Mohmand (51 off 100 balls, 4 fours) joined with Zahid Umar (18 off 33, 2 fours) to add 43 valuable runs for the 5th wicket, bringing Wapda very much back into the contest. In the end, it was an unbeaten 34-run partnership between Sarfraz Ahmed and Shafique Ahmed, which led Wapda to victory in the 50th over, after their 8th wicket had fallen at 166.The fourth match of the round, between Habib Bank and Agricultural Bank was washed out due to overnight rain and subsequent wet ground conditions.

There are few surprises in the Indian team to tour Zimbawe later this month. The team was announced at Bangalore on Thursday during the preparatory camp for the 26 probables.Following is the squad: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (v-capt), Sadagopan Ramesh, Shiv Sundar Das, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sameer Dighe, Hemang Badani, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Sairaj Bahutule, Debashish Mohanty and Ashish Nehra. Coach: John Wright, Manager: Chetan Chauhan.