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When the recent competition winner’s name was announced as Maddy Ferrari, Somerset Cricket Development Officer Andrew Moulding contacted the club website to say that he knew the winner and he felt that reader’s of the site would be interested to hear it.In his office at the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground Andrew Moulding told me at, “Maddy Ferrari made contact with me in my official capacity, from her home at Witham Friary last summer to say that she had a group of youngsters who wanted to play cricket.”Andrew continued, “I went up to meet her and half a dozen Mums in the village which is in the north east of the county not far from Frome.They told me that they were determined to set something up.”The Cricket Development Officer went on, “The local parish has given them some ground, and we are trying to get a new Flicx pitch to help them out and give them a start. We have also put them in touch with the Lord’s Taverner’s who will hopefully be able to help them.”Well done Maddy on winning the prize, and well done to all the Mums in Witham Friary. If any of you read this please contact the site so that we can report any progress that has been made in recent months.

Amit Jaggernauth, the Trinidad and Tobago offspinner who was the leading wicket-taker in the Carib Beer Series last season, expressed his disappointment after being overlooked by the selectors for the West Indies squad.Jaggernauth has been one of the main match-winners in the T&T team in recent years but has not managed to catch the eyes of the selectors, who continue to depend on a four-pronged pace attack.”It is rather disappointing not making it in a West Indies team after performing consistently for the past three years,” Jaggernauth said. “But I will keep working on my game and keep doing what I do and leave the decision to those in authority.”Jaggernauth took 30 wickets in the 2007 regional four-day competition; 17 in four games last year; 33 in 2005; and 30 in 2004 and said he would keep up his performances and try to continue to be consistent in the upcoming season.Jaggernauth, who plays his club cricket for CLICO Preysal, spent two seasons playing in England for Lewes Priory in the Sussex league premier division, where he took 22 wickets in eight games and scored 269 runs with one half-century and one century.That was not enough, though, to keep the club from being demoted this season. “I played with them last year when they were promoted. It was not a bad experience…I just did not enjoy losing [this time around].

Mombasa will stage its first one-day international next month when the Mombasa Sports Club hosts three matches between Kenya and Bermuda. The games will take place on November 11, 12 and 14.The venue was given full ODI status in August following an inspection by ICC officials including Mike Procter.Cricket Kenya received another welcome boost with news that Petro Kenya Limited had been signed up as a series sponsor. The income from the deal – believed to be around 400,000 Kenya Shillings (US$ 5,500) – will be used to cover the costs of staging the matches.Prior to their visit to Mombasa, Bermuda play Kenya in an Intercontinental Cup fixture at Nairobi Gymkhana starting on November 5.

Paul Collingwood has insisted England can achieve a 3-0 whitewash in the forthcoming Test series in Pakistan. England fly to Pakistan today, and play a warm-up match against a Patron’s XI at Rawalpindi on October 31.”That’s our goal,” Collingwood told BBC Sport. “We’re looking at things to achieve and going to Pakistan and India we want to win these series. Whether we win them 2-1, 1-0 we’re going to be happy to win the series but I certainly think our main goal in Pakistan will be to win 3-0.”England last toured Pakistan in 2000-01 under the captaincy of Nasser Hussain. After two draws in the first two Tests, England clung on in the gloom to achieve their first series victory on Pakistani soil since 1961-62. Ashley Giles and Marcus Trescothick are the only two survivors from that win at Karachi – although Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard all toured with the side.Even though England’s triumphant summer has heightened the expectations of the team, Collingwood was quick to warn against complacency: “It’s a major challenge but everybody is looking forward to it. There are not many players in the squad who have experienced the subcontinent but this is a very good side and players can adapt very quickly.”The first Test starts on November 12 at Multan, followed by two more Tests and a five-match one-day series.

The ICC’s inaugural awards ceremony confirmed Muttiah Muralitharan’s status as a pariah of world cricket. How else can his exclusion from their Test team of the Year be explained?Naturally Australia dominated the world Test XI, with five players named: Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne. There was one Sri Lankan: the ever-deserving Chaminda Vaas. But how the voting panel can justify Warne’s inclusion ahead of Muralitharan is beyond comprehension.Selection panel chairman Richie Benaud had a go when he said in a statement: “As a group, we deliberated for some time about the balance of the team – it was no easy task. We considered the players’ performances and the strength or otherwise of the competition these individuals faced over the course of the year.”Then we approached the statistical side of things, and again the competitive nature of matches came under scrutiny. The aim was to produce a well-balanced XI able to win matches played on a good pitch.”As is always the case with only 11 positions to be filled, there will be disappointments. Shane Warne came back and made an immediate impact with 36 wickets in just five games, and deserved his place as the first spinner; leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan was unlucky.”But a quick look at the statistics reveals the panel shied away from raw statistics and the strength of the opposition. In the qualifying period – August 1, 2003 to July 31, 2004 – Murali played nine Tests, taking 73 wickets at an average of 18.56. He took his wickets against Australia (28), England (26), South Africa (5) and Zimbabwe (14). Australia and England are the ICC’s two top-ranked teams, and not long ago South Africa was challenging Australia for No. 1 status.Warne, by comparison, missed more than half the qualifying period because he was still serving a one-year doping ban. When he came back he played five Tests – all against Sri Lanka. Admittedly he routed the fifth-ranked Lankans, taking 36 wickets at 22.25, but is that enough? In the year under scrutiny, Murali took twice as many wickets at a better average and played much tougher teams than Warne – beating the Aussie in two of the criteria Benaud listed.Perhaps the debate over which of the two most successful bowlers was more deserving of a place in a World XI reveals some hard truths about world cricket and its bias. Warne appears to have gained his place by virtue of reputation. The fact he was serving a drug ban during the voting period should have been taken into consideration, but Warne is one of those characters whose flaws and misdemeanours are constantly brushed aside or ignored.Murali, whose only fault is a wonky arm, endlessly pays the price for his controversial bowling action. During the voting period he was placed under review and his doosra was banned. He played only one Test with the doosra ban in place – the rest of the matches were effectively legal and he cannot be punished retrospectively. But it seems he has been.Joining Benaud on the selection panel were Ian Botham, Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Holding and Barry Richards. Perhaps someone from New Zealand should have been on the panel. After all, the Kiwis won the inaugural Spirit of Cricket award, and fair play seems to have been missing in this team selection.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 17 down the yearsJuly 16| July 181941
One of England’s most accomplished wicketkeepers is born. It was Bob Taylor’s misfortune that he was around at the same time as Alan Knott, and in an era when wicketkeepers were expected to deliver with the bat for the first time. Taylor couldn’t – he made only three fifties in 57 Tests – but he could certainly keep. His glovework was near perfect at times, and nobody in history can match his 1649 dismissals (1473 caught, 176 stumped), most of them in a 28-year career with Derbyshire. Ten of those catches came at Bombay in the Golden Jubilee Test of 1979-80, when Taylor stole a bit of the limelight from Ian Botham. Taylor’s last Test was in Pakistan in 1983-84, but two years later, against New Zealand at Lord’s in 1986, he took over the gloves from the injured Bruce French. He was only at the match as a media relations officer for Cornhill Insurance, the sponsors.1981
The second day of England’s Headingley escapology act, and an Australian total that was “worth 1000”. That’s what the Australian captain Kim Hughes thought about his side’s score of 401 for 9 declared. Hughes himself ground out 89, although his cap was sent flying at one point by a nasty bouncer that hinted at the demons that lurked both in the pitch and Bob Willis’s head. If one thing seemed certain, it was that England couldn’t win. The one bright spot on an increasingly ominous horizon was the return to form of Ian Botham. Freed of the captaincy shackles, and spurred on by Mike Brearley christening him the “sidestep queen”, Botham took 6 for 95 with a zealous and muscular bowling display – his first five-for since the last match before he took over the captaincy. By the end of the match, his bowling would hardly be recalled at all.1944
The New Zealand batsman Mark Burgess, who was born today, made five hundreds in his 50 Tests, and three of them came in consecutive Tests. It looks like the ultimate purple patch – except those three Tests were spread over two years. Burgess was only on a winning side five times, but one of those came when he was captain for the first time – the Wellington demolition of 1977-78, when New Zealand beat England for the first time in 42 attempts and 48 years.1960
Birth of the man with the highest batting average in one-day internationals.Kim Barnett did only play one game, when he carved 84 against Sri Lanka at The Oval in 1988, but it’s enough to put him top of the tree. A few weeks before that he hit 66 on his Test debut, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, and then thumped a merry 80 in England’s next Test, against Australia at Headingley a year later. But Barnett’s on-the-walk technique was soon found out, and after being dropped he went on the rebel tour to South Africa in 1989-90. That was his international career done, but he ploughed on as county cricket’s elder statesman for another 13 years, mostly with Derbyshire but later with Gloucestershire, until his retirement in 2002.1893
Against Australia at Lord’s, England’s Arthur Shrewsbury became the first man to make 1000 runs in Tests when he hammered 106 in the first innings.1919
With a bowling average in excess of 50, New Zealand legspinner AlexMoir, who was born today, didn’t exactly have a Boy’s Own Test career.That was after something of a dream start, when he took 6 for 155 against England at Christchurch in 1950-51. But overall, New Zealand lost 12 and won none of Moir’s 17 Tests.1933
In Rhodesia, a South African batsman is born. Tony Pithey’s 17-Testcareer had one distinct highlight: a patient 154 against England at Cape Town in 1964-65. It was his only Test hundred. His brother David also played eight Tests for South Africa.

Michael Veletta still loves a challenge.Just as much as he did when he appeared in first-class cricket for the first time for Western Australia as a gangly teenager back in 1983.Or when he inherited the job as the Australian Capital Territory’s captain-coach shortly before its seminal admission into domestic competition in 1997-98.Or when he represented his state in each of 16 semi-finals and finals.Or even when he played a celebrated pinch-hitting role on the way to Australia’s stirring World Cup victory in 1987.So it’s probably little surprise to discover that he returns to a new position in Western Australian cricket – this time as state coach – in as enthusiastic a frame of mind as ever.”The biggest challenge is to keep an enjoyable and progressive atmosphere around the state squad. If we can retain that, I have no doubt that we’ll not only play well but also that we’ll keep improving,” says the 37-year old at the outset of a summer that will see him attempt to follow in the very imposing footsteps of Wayne Clark.”There’s a diverse range of things you have to contend with as a coach.”I’m now in charge of a group of 29 and they obviously all have different levels of intensity that they play and train at, for instance. Everyone’s got a level that they’re most comfortable with, and I have to be conscious of that.”But, over the course of your career and your life, you learn many basic lessons that can assist in a job like this.When the Western Australian Cricket Association chose Veletta for the role in March, it made for a reasonably low-key transition. After all, Western Australians’ attention back then was most keenly focused on how many of the state’s players might be squeezed into a soon-to-be-selected Ashes squad. And the state’s media naturally seemed just as interested in dissecting the season past as the year ahead.Scarcely is it possible in recent memory, in fact, to identify a more unfulfilling season for the men from the West than the one they endured in 2000-01. Albeit that they still made the deciding match of the Mercantile Mutual Cup competition, it was the first summer since 1995-96 in which they had failed to garner a title. Measured against the tremendous achievements of most of the last three decades, it was seen as a disappointing year.Many outsiders accordingly see the upcoming season as a baton-changing one for Western Australian cricket. With the loss of outstanding senior players in Tom Moody and Brendon Julian; the likely long-term absences of at least three players to international commitments; and the growing presence within the squad of a collection of fresh-faced youngsters, perhaps it’s even the starting point of an altogether new era.But, while it all might suggest that the Sandgropers are confined to at least a fleeting period at the crossroads, that only makes the impending Australian domestic program one of opportunity for the Warriors in Veletta’s mind.”The same happened when Wayne (Clark) took over six years ago, really.”We’ve lost a very dominant leader in Tom (Moody), and we’ve lost a very senior and a very highly respected player in Brendon (Julian). From that point of view, the baton is definitely being changed and the team dynamics will change as a result.”It offers a lot of new challenges, certainly. But I think what we’ve seen to date is that everyone has been prepared to step up and take on the new responsibilities that come with that.”Veletta’s job of shaping on-field success – which formally begins with tomorrow’s day-night ING Cup match against South Australia – will initially be made a little easier by the presence in his team of the likes of international representatives Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Simon Katich.Yet even the first part of the season will deliver the complexity of three first-class and four one-day matches in the space of 31 days and then the question of who should be elevated to replace Gilchrist and Langer in the team’s leadership roles.”We’re all conscious of the need to start well, and to play at a level that we’re happy with. I have no doubt, if we do both those things well, that the results will very much take care of themselves.”We’re fortunate too in that we’ve got some very good senior people around. We’ve not only got Adam and Justin, but we also have Damien (Martyn) and Simon (Katich), ‘Huss’ (Michael Hussey) and ‘Big Jo’ (Angel). And there are obviously guys who stand up at club level too, like Robbie Baker and Ryan Campbell for example.”Look at New South Wales: they’ve had to contend with this sort of thing for many years.”Fashioned from extensive coaching experience with the ACT and with Perth first grade side Mount Lawley, Veletta’s approach to the stewardship of the side is by no means that of a novice. And his background has also fostered in him an impressive sense of self-assurance and commitment as he details his hopes for the Warriors of 2001-02.”Obviously, if individuals within the group are not content or don’t feel as if they have a specific role to play in our success, then at some stage they’re going to lose a little bit of interest.”So it’s important for me to keep all of them interested and enthusiastic generally, and in their chances of playing cricket for Western Australia and then Australia.”The passion, for me, never leaves. I get so involved in it – in wanting to help players improve – that the love of it will probably never go. If it does, then it’s quite obviously time to pack up.”The start of a new era it might be. But, around a man intimately acquainted with Western Australia’s culture of success, it’s hard to imagine a connection with the old one being severed altogether.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKeron Cottoy bowled 13 dot balls and took four wickets•Caribbean Premier League

Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Denesh Ramdin steered his side to a slender three-wicket win after legspinner Keron Cottoy rocked their middle order in the chase of 112. After Sunil Narine’s 3 for 6 restricted St Lucia Zouks to 111 for 7, Warriors were reduced from 59 for 1 to 87 for 8 before Ramdin’s unbeaten 39 led Amazon Warriors to second place in the points table, one point behind Barbados Tridents.Amazon Warriors were given a strong start by Lendl Simmons and Ramdin after opener Assad Fudadin fell in the third over. Simmons and Ramdin put on 40 runs to bring the required run rate down to 4.41 but Cottoy struck twice in three balls in the ninth over, having Simmons caught at long-on for 31 and Brad Hodge caught and bowled for a duck. Amazon Warriors were dented further when Umar Akmal was adjudged lbw in Cottoy’s next over despite a very thick inside edge. Cottoy came back in the 13th over to knock over Christopher Barnwell’s off stump with a yorker to finish with 4 for 18 from four overs, his best T20 figures.Amazon Warriors made things worse by inflicting two run-outs on themselves. First David Wiese fell to a direct hit from mid-on, for a duck, and seven balls later Narine ran for an overthrow Ramdin did not want after the wicketkeeper failed to collect a throw from long leg. Ramdin, on 24, was now left with the tail to wipe off the remaining 25 runs in six overs. He found an able partner in Veerasammy Permaul who survived ten deliveries in their stand of 25. Ramdin eased their nerves with two consecutive fours in the beginning of the 17th over and Permaul later sealed their nervous win with a six over the wide long-on boundary, with two overs to spare.Earlier, Zouks were put in to bat and their flow of runs was stalled when Narine came on in the eighth over to dismiss Andre Fletcher and Delorn Johnson off consecutive balls. He also trapped Kevin Pietersen lbw for 24 in his next over. Only Henry Davids’ unbeaten 25 off 34 and Jerome Taylor’s run-a-ball 20 pushed their score past 100 after they were 63 for 5 in the 12th over, but it did not prove to be enough.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAhmed Shehzad applauds Umar Akmal following his 40-ball 93•PSL

Umar Akmal bludgeoned the highest score of the Pakistan Super League, his 40-ball 93 guiding Lahore Qalandars to their first win of the season, against Quetta Gladiators in Dubai. The 63-run defeat was Quetta’s first of the tournament, after they had set the early pace with three consecutive wins.Not many could have seen Akmal’s blast coming when Lahore crawled to 62 for 1 in 10 overs. But with Cameron Delport providing the initial spark and Akmal the finishing punch, Lahore cruised to 194 for 3 at the end of 20 overs. The pair added 95 runs in only 42 balls, with Delport smoking a 55-ball 73, an innings that featured eight fours and three sixes. Although the carnage could have been cut short – Akmal survived a close lbw shout off the third ball he faced and Zulfiqar Babar was visibly distraught when it was given not out.Babar eventually trapped Delport lbw when the batsman attempted an extravagant reverse flick, but any hope Quetta had of drying up the runs were quickly dashed by Akmal, who treated himself to six fours and eight sixes, including 18 runs off the penultimate over, bowled by Umar Gul. Akmal could not reach his maiden T20 ton, but he made sure Quetta needed to score at nearly 10 an over right from the off. They could not.Lahore’s spinners took wickets at regular intervals and only Mohammad Nawaz (42) and Sarfraz Ahmed (31) offered any resistance. Once Sarfraz was dismissed in the 13th over, Quetta lost their next six wickets for 13 runs and folded for 131. Zafar Gohar was the pick of the bowlers, collecting 4 for 14, while Ajantha Mendis chipped in with 3 for 17.

Darren Lehmann will miss South Australia’s Pura Cup opener against Victoria next month after tearing a hamstring last week. Lehmann had only just started training following an off-season interrupted by surgery on his achilles tendon and a case of deep-vein thrombosis.He told the that at 37 it would be a challenge to make it through a 21st season of first-class cricket. “It is disappointing breaking down again but I guess it’s a case of finding the best way to manage my body,” Lehmann said.Nathan Adcock, the new captain of South Australia, will not be able to call on Lehmann for advice in their first Pura Cup game at Adelaide Oval starting on October 14. Lehmann has also confirmed he will be on the sidelines for the KFC Twenty20 competition in January, giving the Redbacks’ less experienced batsmen a chance to shine.”Twenty20 is probably a young man’s game now,” he said. “It will be good for some young guys to get some more opportunities.”