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Points tableNortherns 228 for 4 (van Jaarsveld 77, McKenzie 73*) beatBoland 226 for 9 (Euley 88, Kemp 4-37, Thomas 3-32) by 5wickets.
ScorecardMartin van Jaarsveld (77) and Neil McKenzie (73*) added 107 for the third wicket, taking Northerns to an easy six-wicket win against Boland. They overhauled the target of 227 in just 43.2 overs.Earlier, Boland had been saved from humiliation when Wesley Euley, playing his first Standard Bank Cup innings, scored 88 at nearly a run a ball, batting aggressively against Justin Kemp in particular. Kemp returned figures of 4 for 37, and 27 of those runs were off Euley’s bat. Euley’s 94-run fourth-wicket partnership with Gerhard Strydom ensured that Boland ended on 226 for 9. Alfonso Thomas took 3 for 32.Border 188 (Sugden 42*, Boucher 41, Louw 5-27) beat EasternProvince 116 for 8 (Langeveldt 3-21) by 11 runs (D/L Method).
ScorecardAn undefeated 42 from Craig Sugden and 41 from Mark Boucher could not save Border from being bowled out, inside the allotted 45 overs, for 188. Johann Louw, playing for Eastern Province after moving from Griqualand West at the begining of the season, returned career-best figures of 5 for 27.A 150-minute rain delay, after the supper break, had the slide rule out, and Eastern Province was set a Duckworth-Lewis target of 128 off 24 overs. For the second time this series Border had been caught on the wrong end of the weather but they turned it around with some good attacking bowling, especially from Charl Langeveldt, who took 3 for 21.Continuous pressure on the batsmen resulted in chances being taken and wickets being lost at crucial periods, and Border walk away victorsin an exciting finish.

DuckworthLewis Photo CricInfo

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming believes cricket authorities should review the Duckworth/Lewis system as the result of changes that have been made to the one-day game.The system is applied for rain-interrupted one-day matches.Fleming believes the introduction of the one bouncer per over law has altered the nature of the game and will therefore affect the calculations on which the Duckworth/Lewis system is based.”I would like to see it reviewed every now and then, even if it does remain in place. Keep reviewing it, it is like everything, when the game evolves, every rule around it has to evolve,” he said.Changing it by use of modern data may prove easier said than done because the D/L system was built up on factual analysis based on the history of all One-Day Internationals.As the new law has only come into effect, there is not the historical perspective on which to base any decisions for change.”I don’t think we can just be happy with it. Keep reviewing it, don’t accept it as being the best form all the time,” he said.Fleming felt that, initially with the new law, the quality of fast bowling would improve and bowlers would get better at using the short-pitched ball. There was still a lot of bowlers’ time left before a different style of batting emerged as batsmen worked the bowling out.”Basically, you’re asking for a more complete batsman, you’re asking for back foot and front foot, so a lot of guys, especially from the subcontinent, are plonking that front foot down and just swinging from the hip may be found out.”You will get a different style of batsman playing in one-dayers,” he said.

The second warm up game for the Indians touring Zimbabwe, playedagainst the CFX Academy side, was heartwarming and at the same timeset off some alarm bells at the back of the mind. Playing against aninexperienced side, the Indians showcased their batting might toperfection. Shiv Sunder Das (110 retired), VVS Laxman (100 retired),Hemang Badani (112 not out) all notched up tons and had an opportunityto spend time out in the middle in Zimbabwean conditions. SouravGanguly retired after making a half century, suggesting that he toowas comfortable out in the middle. It must be remembered that he didnot have a particularly memorable run with the bat in the three Testseries against Australia that concluded recently.However, all this is not source for any worry. If anything, it bodesextremely well for the touring side. But a look at the batting orderin the second innings is cause for minor concern. Opening the inningswith Sadagoppan Ramesh was statemate Badani, another southpaw. Havingdone well in the first innings, Badani is seen by some as aprospective candidate for higher honours. However, with Laxman, SachinTendulkar, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid forming the middle order therereally is no place for Badani in the playing XI. Unless of course, hereplaces Ramesh at the top of the order.Although it might be premature to speculate on the possibility ofBadani being asked to fill in as a makeshift opener, the rumblingshave already begun in Zimbabwe. Ramesh, looked upon as the dashing andeven reckless half of India’s opening partnership ‘needs to provehimself’ says a report. Ramesh’s scores of 42 and 52 (retired) in thesecond warm up game have not inspired enough confidence it seems.Although there is enough truth in the statement that Ramesh does havea somewhat cavalier approach to opening the innings, often chasing atballs that are best left alone, it would be a touch unfair to suggestthat he has failed at the highest level. In the 15 Tests and 29innings that Ramesh has played, he averages a healthy 40.17 and hasnotched up a score of 50 or more almost once in three Tests. What hasgiven detractors fuel for fire is a recent lack of consistency inRamesh’s batting. The last eight innings in Test cricket have yieldedscores of 13, 0, 48, 2, 44, 0, 30, 61 and 25.Through the recently concluded Australia tour of India, there werecries from all quarters to replace Ramesh. However, coach John Wrightbacked Ramesh to the end. The focus however seems to be a bitdifferent on an away tour for India. In recent interviews, Wright, aleft handed opening batsman himself, has stressed the need for a solidopening partnership.”We need a bit of consistency in the opening position. I would be veryhappy if we could go to lunch with only one or two down in the firstsession,” he said, speaking to the Press Trust of India. “Just getthrough the first session and see the new ball off and we have got themiddle order to take advantage of that situation,” added Wright.It goes without saying that Das is seen as the calming influence andthe more solid of the two openers. Ramesh himself is not one to runaway from things. “We start with the basic advantage of a right and aleft-handed opening pair. There is another advantage which comes withour batting techniques. While Das is defensive, I tend to go for myshots. It doesn’t allow bowlers to settle down,” said Ramesh.In recent times however, India have experimented unsuccessfully withmakeshift openers on more than one occasion. The last time India werein Zimbabwe, in 1998-99 stumper Nayan Mongia was asked to open theinnings. As it happened Mongia made 1 and 0 as India slumped to a 61-run loss in the one-off Test match. Another foreign tour and anotherscapegoat was found going back to India’s disastrous tour ofAustralia in 1999-2000. MSK Prasad, sent in at the top of the order inthe Sydney Test scored 3 and 5. It must not be forgotten that VVSLaxman opened in four Tests during the tour of the West Indies in 1997when India lost the series 0-1, failing to get 120 in the famous gameat Barbados. Fortunately, wisdom has prevailed in the end and Laxmanis now firmly ensconced in his rightful position in the middle order.Yet another foreign tour has come about and the rumours have startedonce more. If they remain rumours for the duration of the tour, Indiawould have done right by two talented left handed cricketers oneopener and one middle order bat.

A big Newcastle United transfer claim has emerged regarding Bayer Leverkusen attacker Moussa Diaby… 

What’s the talk?

Sport1 journalist Patrick Berger has claimed that the Magpies are among the clubs who are keen on a deal to sign the Frenchman at the end of the season. The attacker is said to be available for a fee in the region of £50m, whilst two other Premier League clubs are also in the running for his signature.

Berger tweeted: “Manchester United, FC Arsenal and Newcastle are interested in Moussa Diaby. The French winger from Bayer Leverkusen (16 goals/9 assists this seasons) has no release clause. Price tag: €60m. As a potential successor Bayer monitoring Carles Pérez from AS Roma.”

Excitement

This update will surely leave Eddie Howe excited for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it shows that PIF are eyeing up players within the £50m price range. If they did not believe that they could strike a deal of that magnitude, then it would be strange for them to be showing an interest in Diaby, which is why the 44-year-old Newcastle boss can feel excited about the calibre of transfer that the club is aiming to complete this summer.

Instead of fishing for bargain deals in Europe or trying to secure loans from other Premier League clubs, Newcastle may look to poach outstanding performers to bolster their squad in mega-deals. Diaby falls into this category because of his potential price and his displays for Leverkusen this season.

His performances in the Bundesliga are another reason why Howe will be buzzing with this news. The 22-year-old has been in electric form for the German club, with 12 goals and seven assists in 24 outings this term. He has also caught the eye in the Europa League as he has four goals and two assists in seven starts in the competition.

This shows that he is able to regularly contribute with quality end product in the final third. He is a game-changer who can win valuable points for his team, as he has proven throughout the campaign with Leverkusen.

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Meanwhile, no Newcastle player has more than six goals or three assists in the Premier League. This suggests that Diaby would be a major upgrade on their current options at the top end of the pitch if he is able to replicate his Bundesliga form in England, which is why Howe will be excited by the prospect of working with him in the 2022/23 campaign.

PIF must now ensure that they are able to beat Manchester United and Arsenal to his signature in order to seal the £50m deal to improve the ex-Bournemouth coach’s squad at St James’ Park.

AND in other news, Howe’s first mistake: NUFC dud who lost possession every 3.1 touches flopped big time…

Mark Dobson has resigned as England women’s head coach midway through the tour of Australia and New Zealand. Citing personal reasons, the ECB level-three coach apologised to the England team and returned home.Surrey’s Mark Lane, drafted in after assistant coach Vince Wells opted out of the tour for personal reasons as well, will take over on a temporary basis for the remainder of the tour.Dobson, 40, was appointed coach in June 2007 and his first assignment was New Zealand’s visit last August. He had a brief first-class career at Kent and Glamorgan and has been in the game as a coach ever since.

Rahul Dravid admitted that the batting came a cropper on a seaming pitch © AFP

Rahul Dravid, the captain, says India will have to play out of their skins to qualify for the Super Eights following their shock defeat to Bangladesh. Dravid blamed the batting for the loss and said they were 30 to 40 runs short as Bangladesh chased down the required 192 to win by five wickets.The chase was fashioned by half-centuries to the young brigade of Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Saqibul Hasan. “Our backs are up against the wall,” Dravid said. “We didn’t get enough runs on the board. I thought 240 would have been a good score but the wicket surprised us.”Their bowlers kept it really tight and they didn’t let us get away. We know we’ve got to win two games now. We’ve got our backs to the wall and have got to fight pretty hard.” India now have to beat both Bermuda, on Monday, and Sri Lanka, on Friday, to avoid the risk of elimination.He also defended his decision to bat first on a pitch which had plenty of bounce and movement, which was fully utilised by the Bangladesh seamers, Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel.”I don’t know if we can regret it,” he said. “We could have just batted a lot better. The ball did seam around a lot more and for a bit longer than we had expected. The wicket had a pretty dry look about it.”Dravid’s counterpart, Habibul Bashar, was upbeat and gave due credit to the bowlers who set up the victory. After losing the toss, Mortaza picked up two early wickets, before the spinners made life difficult for the middle order. Mortaza picked up two further wickets in his second spell to clean up the tail and restrict India to less than 200.”The boys did a terrific job – it was a good toss to lose,” Bashar said. “When I saw the wicket I was in two minds. Because we only played with two seamers we knew we needed to take a wicket early and Mashrafe did that. Playing against a team like India you have to work hard – and this will give us a fair chance to qualify for the second round. It’s a great day for Bangladesh.”

Sialkot Stallions 156 for 4 (Naved-ul-Hasan 40*) beat Faisalabad Wolves 152 for 8 (Imran Ali 41, Naved-ul-Hasan 3-37) by six wickets
ScorecardSialkot Stallions were crowned the new champions of Pakistan’s Twenty20 Cup, beating the holders Faisalabad Wolves by six wickets in the final at the National Stadium on Saturday night.The match was marred by unruly crowd behaviour, causing a delay of almost two hours. When order was restored, the Wolves batsmen appeared visibly shaken. Their eventual score of 152 for 8 in 20 overs never looked enough to help them retain their title.The Stallions didn’t find the task too taxing. They reached 156 for 4 in reply and won the match as well as the glittering trophy with four deliveries to spare.The final ended at 2.35am on Sunday instead of the scheduled finish at half-past midnight. Although no official figures were available, according to television commentators the attendance before the trouble was around 35,000. After the long delays many left, but still several stands remained quite thickly populated.Initially, Imran Nazir’s decision to field first surprised many. But he was vindicated as the Wolves were contained to a reasonable total. Opener Imran Ali was the top-scorer with 41, made off 30 balls with five fours and a six. Faisalabad skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored 33 off 34 balls and hit three fours while Naved Latif’s cameo of 21 included three sixes and came off only 14 deliveries.Sialkot were powered by a 14-ball 29 from Imran Nazir, with five fours and a six. Youngster Shahid Yousuf hit 30 off 21 balls then, after the fourth wicket fell at 87 made in the 11th over, the fifth-wicket pair took the Stallions through.Shoaib Malik followed his two quick wickets in the Wolves’ 20th over with a run-a-ball 31 not out. With fellow Pakistan player Naved-ul-Hasan their unbroken stand of 69 came in just 50 deliveries.After taking three wickets in his four overs, Naved required only 26 balls to hammer an unbeaten 40 that included three fours and as many sixes. He was the deserving winner of the Rs20,000 Man-of-the-Match award.Sialkot, who are also the reigning champions of Pakistan’s first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship, beat the Faisalabad side in the final of that competition too.

Will Harbhajan Singh get a chance to work his magic at the Eden Gardens again?© Getty Images

Eden Gardens has been a Test venue for the last 71 years, and has hosted 33 Test matches. India has won seven of those matches, while the opposing teams have prevailed eight times; the other 18 matches have been drawn.(Click here to check the results of all Tests at Kolkata.)

While the first five Tests here were all drawn, of late, Eden Gardens has become a more result-oriented venue: six of the last seven Tests have produced a decisive result, with India winning four of them – twice against Australia, and once each against England and South Africa.

Pakistan have an excellent record here – they’ve won one Test and drawn four, and have beaten India all three times in ODIs. In fact, Pakistan have won four out of five one-dayers here – the only time they lost was when Sri Lanka trumped them in the second final of the Independence Cup in 1997.

There have been reports suggesting that the pitch might favour the seamers this time, but if past record is any indication, the decision at the toss should be a no-brainer – the captain winning it should bat. Only five times in 33 matches has a team chosen to field after winning the toss.The last time it happened was nine matches back, in 1986-87, when Imran Khan put India in to bat. India ended up making 403 in their first innings, and the match was drawn.

Teams have usually opted to bat after winning the toss, but the average first-innings total isn’t a huge one – in the last five Tests here, going back to 1997-98, teams average 30.32 per wicket in the first innings, 43 in the second, 41.04 in the third and 25.64 in the fourth. This suggests the pitch offers something to the bowlers early on, then settles down into an excellent batting track, and then aids the bowlers again on the final day. That’s almost the perfect Test wicket isn’t it?

In the last five Tests, each team chose to bat after winning the toss, but the average score at the end of the first day was only a modest 247 for 8. In fact, the decision backfired rather badly on two occasions – in 1997-98, Australia were bowled out for 233, while Pakistan were reduced to 26 for 6 a year later, though they recovered to score 185 and ended up winning the match.

Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, or both? That’s the question that India’s think-tank have to answer, and while Kumble has been the in-form bowler in Tests lately, Harbhajan’s record at Kolkata is a compelling reason for him to find a place in the XI – 29 wickets in four matches at 18.75. Kumble’s numbers at this venue pale in comparison – 25 wickets in six matches at 35.08, more than seven runs off his career average.

Since 1998, fast bowlers have done better than spinners here. The 89 wickets by fast bowlers has come at 32.62 apiece, while spin has accounted for 67 wickets at 41.31. Indian spinners, though, have had a much better time of it, taking 52 wickets at 28.96.

If it’s Kolkata, then the VVS factor has to be mentioned. In six Tests here, he averages 84.67, with two centuries and three fifties. Sachin Tendulkar, in contrast, hasn’t had such a good time here, while for Sourav Ganguly, his home venue has been a nightmare – in ten innings, he has only managed one fifty. Rahul Dravid’s numbers here are almost as good as his career stats.

JONATHAN TROTT scored 140 for Bellville against Kuils River yesterday, setting up a big victory for his team in the season’s first limited-overs series of cricket matches.Bellville won by 116 runs. The young batsman, who now plays for Warwickshire in the English county championship, figured in a partnership of 153 for the third wicket with all-rounder Sean Ackermann. Ackermann made 66. Trott, whose innings included 14 fours and two sixes, surpassed Bellville’s highest individual score from last season – 122 by Lloyd Ferreira. Trott, who batted at No 4, and Ackermann came together after Bellville had lost three wickets for 73. Earlier they had lost two wickets for only 15 runs when Trott came to the wicket.Almar recorded an impressive win over Tygerberg. Almar’s bowling was well organised as Gareth Berg, Nick Dunn and Craig Totton taking two wickets each. Almar reached the required total with only 13 balls left with Andy Kalis and Kenny Jackson scoring half-centuries.At Langa, Rygersdal were rescued by a seventh-wicket partnership of 87 by Wally Crossland and Tony Thomas. Both batsmen were unbeaten at the end of Rygerdal’s 50 overs, with Crossland on 73 and Thomas on 51. They took the score from 57 for five to 180 for six to set up an 81-run win after dismissing Langa for 99. Crossland’s innings included six fours and lasted 145 minutes while Thomas’ innings came off 53 balls and included five fours and three sixes.At the Boon Wallace Oval, Cape Town easily beat St Augustines by 90 runs. Cape Town made 197 for six with Quasim Sheikh top-scoring with 60. Mark Ritchie also impressed with his undefeated 48. At Theo Marais Park visitors University of Cape Town scored a 31-run victory over Milnerton. UCT were dismissed for 180 with Neil Kruger top-scoring with a fluent 72.

Langa v Rygersdal

RYGERSDALE Carter c Gwayi b Dyantyi 4J Higgs c Nwuoni b Mlumbi 16S Willoughby c Botile b Dyantyi 2W Crossland not out 73R Horton b Gwayi 6A Cupido b Gwayi 7J Harris lbw Lobi 13T Thomas not out 51Extras 8TOTAL (for six wickets) 18050 oversFalls: 1/4, 2/9, 3/32, 4/47, 5/57, 6/93Bowling: Dyantyi 8-1-35-2, Mlumbi 10-3-29-1, Gwayi 8-1-34-2, Knoop 10-3-21-0, Sibinda 4-0-16-0, Lobi 5-0-24-1, Sigaga 5-0-20-0

LANGAA Sibinda lbw b Willoughby 27A Sigaga c Cupido b Carter 0V Zonkwe c Hortin b Dugtig 4P Lobi lbw b Willoughby 23N Botile c Crossland b Cupido 14T Cagwe c Williams b Willoughby 2K Nuweni stumped Williams b Cupido 0N Dyantyni c and b du Plessis 0J Knoop c Higgs b du Plessis 4S Mlumbi lbw b Carter 7S Gwayi not out 1Extras 7TOTAL 9945 oversFalls: 1/3, 2/16, 3/61, 4/65, 5/72, 6/81, 7/81, 8/82, 9/95Bowling: Carter 10-2-29-2, Dugtig 10-2-20-1, Willoughby 10-1-26-3, Cupido 10-4-9-2, du Plessis 5-1-15-2

Rygersdal won by 81 runs

Bellville v Kuils RiverBELLVILLER van Niekerk c Jonas b Van Wyk 4JB Burger c Fouche b Claasen 8S Stephens c Van Wyk b Isaacs 18J Trott not out 140S Ackermann c H du Plooy b Haupt 66S Kristal b Claasen 0A Johnson b Isaacs 3A Vermaak not out 0Extras 16TOTAL (for six wickets) 25550 oversFalls: 1/13, 2/15, 3/73, 4/226, 5/230Bowling: Claasen 10-1-38-2, Van Wyk 10-2-33-1, Haupt 9-0-46-1, Isaacs 9-1-58-2, B du Plooy 8-0-46-0, Logenstein 4-0-23-0

KUILS RIVERB du Plooy c Theron b Burger 37J Jonas lbw Trott 6H du Plooy c Kristal b Trott 0R Langley not out 59A R Tray b Smith 5K Fouche b Smith 6J Isaacs run out 15Q Loggenstein not out 3Extras 8TOTAL (for six wickets) 13950 oversFalls: 1/23, 2/24, 3/71, 4/80, 5/94, 6/128Bowling: Du Plessis 6-2-10-0, Johnson 7-2-11-0, Trott 10-0-41-2, Burger 10-2-20-1, Smith 8-1-20-2, Kristal 6-0-24-0, Vermaak 2.4-0-8-0, Ackermann 0.2-0-0-0Bellville won by 116 runs

Pinelands v VictoriaVICTORIAA Fernandez b McConochi 58J September c Wilkinson b Adams 1B Beelders lbw Tarr 17R Jacobs c Tarr b McConochi 18M Williamson c Franke b McConochi 3J White b Franke 22D Kemp c Little b Katz 8R Ebden run out 12G Rushin c Ambrose b Franke 7O Lodewyk not out 6V Veldsman b Franke 1Extras 16TOTAL 16944.1 oversFalls: 1/7, 2/54, 3/85, 4/87, 5/117, 6/130, 7/148, 8/162, 9/169Bowling: Adams 6-1-22-1, Franke 9.1-2-24-3, Tarr 9-0-42-1, Bannatyne 10-2-22-0, McConochi 10-1-35-3, Katz 5-0-15-1

PINELANDSC Ambrose lbw b Lodewyk 10R Ballantyne c Ebden b Kemp 31A Little b Williamson 13R Clark b Williamson 30R Beukes b Williamson 7S Tarr b Kemp 27N McConochi run out 12B Wilkinson not out 13L Katz not out 1Extras 26TOTAL (for seven wickets) 17048.2 oversFalls: 1/32, 2/59, 3/82, 4/106, 5/120, 6/155, 7/169Bowling: Lodewyk 10-2-40-1, Williamson 10-3-29-3, Veldsman 9-2-34-0, Kemp 9.2-2-16-2, Rushin 10-2-28-0Pinelands won by three wickets

Alma v TygerbergTYGERBERGA Simpson c Dunn b Hemmings 22B Johnson c Kalis b Berg 27B Gilbert c Tatton b Dunn 27V Philander c Leibrecht b Dunn 5A Botha lbw Snyman 55S Buys c Berg b Dunn 10C du Preez lbw Tatton 14L Harris c Dunn b Berg 9L Timmet c and b Tatton 12L Simpson not out 3K Kotze not out 7Extras 11TOTAL (for nine wickets) 20250 oversFalls: 1/49, 2/56, 3/85, 4/90, 5/110, 6/162, 7/170, 8/191, 9/194Bowling: J Hemmings 9-0-39-1, G Berg 9-0-44-2, S Leibrecht 10-3-20-0, N Dunn 8-1-35-2, C Tatton 9-1-35-2, Z Snyman 5-0-27-1.

ALMARA Kalis run out Philander 59A Bonora c Philander b Simpson 24K Jackson b du Preez 55S Leibrecht not out 31G Berg not out 14Extras 21TOTAL (for three wickets) 20347.5 oversFalls: 1/51, 2/150, 3/168Bowling: Philander 8.5-0-40-0, Simpson 10-0-33-1, Gilbert 8-1-37-0, Du Preez 9-0-39-1, Timmet 6-0-26-0, Buys 6-1-19-0

Cape Town v St AugustinesCAPE TOWNL Moore lbw Mullins 1Q Sheikh lbw Williams 60K Coetzee c Kuiler b N Jacobs 22J Holgate c Roberts b Kuiler 20M Ritchie not out 42D Holgate b Miller 5M de Beer run out 3S Martin not out 23Extras 21TOTAL (for six wickets) 19750 oversFalls: 1/4 2/49 3/110 4/122 5/128 6/149Bowling: Mullins 10-0-37-2, Kuiler 10-2-32-1, Miller 10-0-52-1, N Jacobs 10-1-32-1, Daniels 10-1-36-0

ST AUGUSTINESS Fransman run out 16E Jacobs c D Holgate b Gie 0S Davids b Gie 4D Newkirk b Martin 22S Roberts c D Holgate b de Beer 1R Daniels lbw Palmer 0P Reid c and b Holman 27I Kuiler c Martin b Gie 18N Jacobs b Gie 1A Mullins not out 0D Miller b Holman 2Extras 16TOTAL 10740 oversFalls: 1/1 2/6 3/10 4/50 5/56 6/61 7/96 8/106 9/107Bowling: Gie 10-2-28-4, de Beer 7-3-7-0, Martin 10-1-21-2, Palmer 10-2-25-1, Holman 3-0-16-2 n Cape Town won by 90 runs

Claremont vCape Tech-Green PointCAPE TECH-GREEN POINTD Henry c Loebenstein b Stockton 0J Baykom b Stockton 2R van Harte c Swanson b Loebenstein 21A Smith lbw Cullen 16J Fortuin c Swanson b Loebenstein 6S Olivier b Van Duiker 13L Davids lbw Loebenstein 0S McDonald lbw Stockton 25H Ngxoweni b Van Duiker 0J P van Wyk b Van Duiker 4R Williams not out 1Extras 14TOTAL 10232.1 oversFalls: 1/0, 2/6, 3/40, 4/46, 5/50, 6/60, 7/74, 8/74, 9/94Bowling: Stockton 7,1-2-15-3, Van Duiker 10-2-27-3, Loebenstein 7-1-17-3, Cullen 4-2-10-1, Barham 4-0-23-0.

CLAREMONTP Lawson c Henry b Ncxoweni 26J Louw b McDonald 11S Hobson b Henry 0W Havenga c Henry b Davids 10M Adams not out 12M Barham not out 17Extras 28TOTAL (for four wickets) 10427.3 oversFalls: 1/27, 2/30, 3/70, 4/72.Bowling: Henry 10-2-29-1, Smith 4-1-14-0, McDonald 4-0-19-1, Davids 5,3-2-19-1, Ngxoweni 4-1-18-1. n Claremont won by six wickets.

Milnerton v UCTUCTC Vadas c Van Blerk b West 12D Worth b De Jager 36R Short lbw West 0N Kruger c Van Blerk b De Jager 72D Ridley b De Jager 2D Slater c and b D Jager 16D Murphy c Green b Japhta 11W Morrick b Lebanon 20E Williams run out 2B Jugmohan run out 0J Crooke not out 0Extras 9TOTAL 18044.2 oversFalls: 1/21, 2/21, 3/204, 4/120, 5/134, 6/146, 7/166, 8/169, 9/180Bowling: West 7-0-28-2, Milne 5-1-18-0, Japhta 10-0-37-1, Taylor 2-0-20-0, De Jager 10-1-36-4, Hardenberg 3-0-13-0, Lebanon 7.2-1-26-1

MILNERTONW Green lbw Morrick 11I Taylor lbw Morrick 7B van Wyk st Ridley b Murphy 20D van Blerk c Murphy b Morrick 22J du Toit lbw Crooke 5R Milne b Murphy 5G West st Ridley b Murphy 0G Japhta st Ridley b Slater 15L de Jager b Crooke 24A Lebanon s Ridley b Short 3Z Hardenberg not out 9Extras 28TOTAL 14944.5 overFalls: 1/19, 2/21, 3/60, 4/74, 5/74, 6/74, 7/82, 8/135, 9/137Bowling: Worth 9-0-28-0, Morrick 10-2-37-3, Crooke 10-0-32-2, Murphy 10-2-23-3, Williams 3-0-9-0, Slater 2-0-8-1, Short 0.5-0-3-1. n UCT won by 31 runs

Northerns-Goodwood v WPCCNORTHERNS-GOODWOODC Laars lbw Preston 31N Hill b Ten Doeschate 15L Vermaak lbw Colussi 16M le Roux c Clarke b Colussi 0C Raubenheimer b Ten Doeschate 31C Milne b Preston 27J Rudman not out 9B Bischoff not out 15Extras 18TOTAL (for six wickets) 16250 oversFalls: 1/25 2/67 3/73 4/74 5/134 6/138Bowling: Smith 5-0-24-0, Ten Doeschate 10-4-35-2, Colussi 8-2-22-2, Preston 10-2-18-2, Clarke 9-0-27-0, Mansina 8-1-28-0

WPCCG Colussi lbw Bischoff 0N Quayle not out 76R Hendricks not out 58Extras 29TOTAL (for one wicket) 16347.2 oversFalls: 1/0Bowling: Bischoff 6-0-25-1, Wesraad 8-0-26-0, Groenewald 3-0-13-0, Vermaak 4-0-17-0, Rudman 4,2-0-19-0, Raubenheimer 10-0-36-0, Holman 10-2-20-0 n WPCC won by nine wickets

Durbanville v UWCDURBANVILLEA Northcoate c Du Plessis b Albanie 7T de Grooth c Solomon b Albanie 20A Schipper b Albanie 27G Langner c Poole b Albanie 0N van Rensburg run out Poole 18T Crous b Albanie 1D Nagel c Harris b Nkomo 6M Brown b Koopman 2L da Silva c Masinda b Koopman 2J Rossouw not out 38F Gantz not out 4Extras 26TOTAL (for nine wickets) 17850 oversFalls: 1/14, 2/56, 3/56, 4/63, 5/72, 6/91, 7/115, 8/125, 9/132Bowling: Knott 5-0-28-0, Albanie 10-0-36-5, Nkomo 10-2-22-1, Van Wyk 8-2-31-0, Masinda 10-1-32-0, Koopman 7-1-22-2.

UWCJ Koopman c Langner b Nagel 57C Williams run out Crous 2P du Plessis b Rossouw 0E van Wyk c and b Nagel 28E Poole not out 51G Knott c Rossouw b Brown 0E Solomon c Gantz b Da Silva 6L Harris c Van Rensburg b Da Silva 15J Albanie not out 0Extras 17TOTAL (for seven wickets) 17550 oversFalls: 1/12, 2/17, 3/86, 4/120, 5/122, 6/145, 7/171Bowling: Rossouw 10-3-29-1, Da Silva 10-2-33-2, Gantz 10-0-46-0, Brown 10-01-31-1, Nagel 10-0-31-2 n Durbanville won by three runs

Glamorgan v Fish HoekFISH HOEKD Pedersen c Brown b Barros 2R van Eeden run out 0J Fifé b Japhta 1N Round c Japhta b Arries 13C Lyons run out 21D Bowditch c and b Rossouw 20G Snowball not out 66G Conway run out 0S Howells b Rossouw 0J Lowry run out 0S Brand not out 1Extras 15TOTAL (for nine wickets) 13850 oversFalls: 1/3, 2/4, 3/4, 4/44, 5/44, 6/107, 7/111, 8/117, 9/118Bowling: Barros 10-3-29-1, Japhta 10-6-12-1, Rossouw 10-3-30-2, Arries 10-0-37-1, Williams 10-1-24-0

GLAMORGANA Jackson lbw Howles 15R Brown c Conway b Lowrey 32Z Allie c Snowball b Lowrey 10D Arries not out 50D Jackson c Bowditch b Brand 14C April not out 3Extras 16TOTAL (for four wickets) 14039 oversFalls: 1/24, 2/45, 3/73, 4/118Bowling: Howells 7-1-16-1, Pederson 10-1-26-0, Lowrey 8-2-30-2, Snowball 9-0-44-0, Brand 4-0-12-1, Bowdich 1-0-6-0. n Glamorgan won by six wickets

Flintoff- off with the shirt Photo Reuters

The men in suits at Lord’s might not approve, but the touring England cricketers are not unhappy that their big all-rounder Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff did a soccer-style strip of his shirt after England beat India by five runs on Monday to square the one-day series three-all.Flintoff was at the sharp end of the action when he took two wickets and made a run out during the last over of the Indian innings.Flintoff, a strapping 1.85m 105kg all-rounder, stripped off his shirt as he was surrounded by his cheering team-mates. The action drew some tut-tuts from Lord’s, and a slap on the wrist from David Graveney, chairman of the England selectors.But Nasser Hussain, the England captain, was not at all concerned about Flintoff becoming “Shirtoff” when he arrived at Auckland today for the England tour which will contain five One-Day Internationals and three Tests, plus other games between Friday and April 3.”Our team enjoyed that victory,” said Hussain, “and if you don’t enjoy winning off the last ball before 50,000 spectators, you never will.”There was a lot of character behind that win, and Freddie’s brought a lot of character to the side. You win on character.”We will keep these things down to a minimum, but I don’t think that was the worst thing – or it may be close to the worst thing as far as Freddie’s body goes – that has happened on a cricket field.”Flintoff, nick-named the “large lump from Lancashire” by some Indian spectators, was part of the new strength coming into the England side according to Duncan Fletcher, the England coach.Three or four years ago Flintoff was regarded as most promising, and while his early results were not outstanding his development work had continued. Now, said Fletcher, all-rounders like Flintoff and Ben Hollioake, were giving England more strength in depth.