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• It was the 1712th ODI in cricket history.
• It was West Indies’ 418th and South Africa’s 223rd match.
• It was the 19th match between these two sides. The record now reads :South Africa 12, West Indies 7.
• It was the fourth match between these two sides on West Indies soil.West Indies has won all four.
• Justin Ontong became 64th player to represent South Africa inODIs,while Leon Garrick became 106th debutant for West Indies. UmpiresSteve Bucknor and Basil Morgan were officiating in their 81st and 13thmatch respectively.
• Mervyn Dillon was playing his 50th match. He became 30th West Indianand 230th player overall to do so.
• Carl Hooper was captaining West Indies for the fifth time in hiscareer. He had last captained West Indies against South Africa atBloemfontein on 05-02-1999. Incidentally Hooper had faced defeat inall his previous four matches. The second wicket partnership of 64runs between Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis was South Africa’s bestfor this wicket against West Indies. This obliterated the previoushighest of 54 between Mike Rindel and Daryll Cullinan at Dhaka on01-11-1998.
• Lance Klusener was getting a golden duck (that is, out off the firstball) for the fifth time in his career. His other first balldismissals are : v India at Nairobi on 03-10-1999 and at Sharjah on27-03-2000, v Pakistan at Sharjah on 31-03-2000 and v Sri Lanka atColombo SSC on 11-07-2001.
• The duck was 11th for Klusener ,which equalled the record of mostducks by a South African in a career. Allan Donald also has 11 ducksfrom 132 matches and 33 innings to his credit.
• The catch of Neil McKenzie was 100th for Ridley Jacobs in his 73rdmatch. He became second West Indian after Jeff Dujon (183 catches from167 matches) and 12th wicket-keeper overall to complete century ofcatches behind the stumps.
• The wicket of Chris Gayle was 150th for Allan Donald on `foreign’soil. He became first South African and 11th bowler overall to reachthis milestone. The accompanying table has the details :</ul

  	Wkts	For	Mdns	Balls	Runs	Ave	Best	SR	RpO	5W
  Wasim Akram	371	Pak	251	13242	8320	22.43	5/16	35.69	3.77	4
  Waqar Younis	268	Pak	169	8442	6476	24.16	6/26	31.50	4.60	7
  Saqlain Mushtaq	197	Pak	113	5863	4145	21.04	5/29	29.76	4.24	4
  M Muralitharan	192	SL	127	6955	4683	24.39	7/30	36.22	4.04	4
  CA Walsh	181	WI	155	8281	5076	28.04	5/1	45.75	3.68	1
  J Srinath	171	Ind	124	6529	4844	28.33	5/23	38.18	4.45	1
  WPUJ Vaas	169	SL	128	6374	4501	26.63	5/14	37.72	4.24	1
  A Kumble	168	Ind	137	7235	5024	29.90	5/33	43.07	4.17	1
  CEL Ambrose	160	WI	124	6602	3788	23.68	5/17	41.26	3.44	4
  N Kapil Dev	153	Ind	140	7137	4228	27.63	5/43	46.65	3.55	1
  AA Donald	151	SA	84	4368	2924	19.36	6/23	28.93	4.02	2

  • The catch of Hooper was 50th for Gary Kirsten in his 149th match. Hebecame fourth South Africa (after Jonty Rhodes, Hansie Cronje andDaryll Cullinan) and 43rd fielder overall (excluding wicket-keepers)to do so. Incidentally Kirsten is the slowest among the South Africansto reach this landmark. Cullinan had taken only 112 matches tocomplete his 50 catches, while Rhodes and Cronje did so playing intheir 120th and 133rd match respectively.Just for the record, SriLanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga is the slowest among all players to achievethis milestone having taken as many as 224 matches to do so.
  • It was the third occasion when West Indies won a match off the lastball of the match while batting second. The other occasions beingagainst Pakistan at Karachi on 21-11-1980 and against England at thissame ground on 03-03-1990.
  • West Indies has now played 12 matches at this ground and has won onall but one occasion. West Indies’ only defeat came against Australiaon 26-02-1991.
  • Neil McGarrell was winning his maiden MoM award in his sixth match.

Investigation of allegations against former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe are striking problems similar to those outlined by Anti-Corruption Unit boss Sir Paul Condon.While Crowe and his lawyer David Howman have been very helpful to the New Zealand investigating unit, more evidence is still required and inquiry units overseas.In a statement today, the chairman of the New Zealand unit Sir Ian Barker said:The publication of the Report by Sir Paul Condon has not altered the focus of the New Zealand Inquiry into statements about Martin Crowe contained in the Indian CBI Report.Sir Paul’s Report demonstrates some of the difficulties experienced by his Anti-Corruption Unit in obtaining evidence.This Inquiry is to a large degree dependent on ACU assistance in obtaining access to primary evidence overseas referrable to the statements regarding Martin Crowe.In New Zealand considerable progress has been made in preparation for the interview of Mr Crowe and receiving other evidence. While the interview is scheduled for June, it may yet be delayed depending on current inquiries by the ACU.New Zealand Cricket through its Board and Sir John Anderson have provided whatever resource is needed for this Inquiry, and given an unfettered discretion as to how it should be conducted. Martin Crowe and his counsel David Howman have throughout provided full co-operation.The Panel and those parties are concerned to see this Inquiry concluded as soon as possible, but only when all relevant evidence is obtained or else a point is reached that the Inquiry must proceed without it. Any other course would be unsatisfactory to this Panel, Martin Crowe and New Zealand Cricket.It should be emphasised again that the Panel can proceed only with co-operation. From some quarters it has had that, and is pressing hard through all available channels for further information.

With South Africa as competitive as at any stage this summer, the second day of the second Test match at Newlands contained just about everything: aggressive Australian batting, a collapse and a 100th wicket for South Africa’s Paul Adams. Above all else, though, towered the figure of Adam Gilchrist.The Australian wicketkeeper and vice-captain followed his unbeaten 204 with 138 not out as the tourists replied to South Africa’s 239 with 382 all out. When stumps were drawn 10 overs early because of bad light, Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs had knocked seven off the 143-run deficit.Gilchrist was simple awesome, playing better than he had at the Wanderers in more challenging circumstances. Australia had continued the good start made on Friday evening until a mid-innings collapse saw them slip from 162 for two to 185 for six as Makhaya Ntini and Adams, in his comeback Test match, scythed through the middle order.For once the Australians were under pressure, but you might not have believed it as Shane Warne joined Gilchrist to carry the attack right back to the South Africans. It took the pair just 102 minutes to put together 132 for the seventh wicket with Warne just about matching Gilchrist blow for blow.In the context of the match, though perhaps not the series, it was a vital stand and while for once South Africa’s head did not drop, they were virtually helpless as the game was wrenched away from them.Ntini and Adams bowled with great courage and no little skill. Adams hasn’t really been even on the fringes of the Test side since fracturing a finger against England two years ago, but he was instrumental in engineering the collapse as he had Ricky Ponting caught at the wicket and then bowled Steve Waugh off his pads for a duck. Ntini chipped in with the wickets of Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn and Australia were wobbling.It seemed to make not the slightest bit of difference to Gilchrist, although he was prepared to concede afterwards that "it was nice to come out of a challenging position, a bit of adversity, on top".As unlikely as it may seem, Gilchrist played better than he had at the Wanderers when he scored the fastest Test double-century recorded in terms of balls faced. Even when Warne finally departed for a 66-ball 63, Gilchrist carried on attack. Indeed, if anything he upped the tempo.The last three Australian wickets added 65. Of these Glenn McGrath scored exactly 2 with the rest going to Gilchrist apart from a bye or two here and there. He rather spoiled Adams’ figures towards the end, taking the aerial route whenever it was pitched far enough up and he has now passed 2 000 runs in just 30 Test matches at the extraordinary average of 61,48. Of those who have played in 15 or more Tests, only one other player, another Australian, has a better average.Adams was excellent in his comeback match, bowling with control and confidence. In a summer overshadowed by political wrangling in South African cricket, perhaps the greater significance is that he is the first South African player of colour to take 100 Test wickets and although he initially claimed he was "just a player, just a South Africa", he conceded that "it’s something special for a lot of non-white kids, something they can look up to and achieve".Both Adams and Warne, on the first day, have turned the ball, but this is not to say that the pitch is likely to break up. All things being equal, Australia’s lead is still likely to prove decisive and if South Africa are to save this Test they will produce a sustained and determined effort, the likes of which has only been rarely apparent this summer.

The Centre of Excellence at the County Ground in Taunton has certainly been a very busy place to be over the last few days, with cricketers of all ages making use of the first class facilities that are available.Somerset Cricket Development Officer Andrew Moulding told me: "Being the first week of the Easter holidays everyday we had almost one hundred youngsters at the centre, across three age groups, 6-9,10-13 and 14-16 year olds all being put through their paces by our team of coaches."On Saturday the Centre of Excellence hosted the Junior Sabres bash, which attracted over one hundred and twenty youngsters, whilst this coming week E.C.B. National Coach Keith Tomlins will be running a course for the E.C.B. Academy for selected young players across the South West.Starting on May 13th the very popular Somerset County Cricket Club Skills Awards, which are sponsored by the Birmingham Midshires Financial Services will be on offer again.The scheme ran before Christmas last year from October and December and was very well received, so a large amount of interest is expected.For the 6-9 year old age group the sessions will be on a Monday evening between 6 pm and 9 pm, and for 10-13 year olds the sessions will take place on a Tuesday between 6 pm and 8 pm.Andrew Moulding told me: "The Birmingham Midshires Awards Scheme has been extremely popular with young cricketers who can achieve skills awards at five different levels."Any young cricketers who want to find out more about the Birmingham Midshires Cricket Skills Award Scheme should contact Guy Wolfenden at the Centre of Excellence, telephone number 01823 352266, as soon as possible.

Here are the results of the Zimbabwe A matches in the recent tournament in Namibia, where they finished third behind Kenya, the winners, and Sri Lanka A.7 April 2002, at United S.C.
KENYA 262/7 (50 overs; S O Tikolo 75, M O Odumbe 36, T M Odoyo 43, H S Modi 43*).
ZIMBABWE A 244 (46.3 overs; G J Rennie 40, G J Whittall 77, D A Marillier 81; M O Odumbe 4/45).
Kenya won by 18 runs.8 April 2002, at Transnamib S.C.
ZIMBABWE A 188 (45.1 overs; C K Coventry 89).
NAMIBIA 181/9 (50 overs; R Walters 39, D Kotze 41; D A Marillier 3/25).
Zimbabwe A won by 7 runs.10 April 2002, at Wanderers S.C.
ZIMBABWE A 241/7 (50 overs; T R Gripper 103; R Herath 3/38).
SRI LANKA A 243/5 (45.4 overs; J Mubarak 30, C Silva 89, T Samaraweera 76; D T Hondo 3/45).
Sri Lanka A won by five wickets.11 April 2002, at Transnamib S.C.
ZIMBABWE A 252/7 (50 overs; C K Coventry 62, R W Sims 39, D A Marillier 99*; A Patel 3/36).
CANADA 186 (38.2 overs; J Davison 32, J Harris 59*; R W Sims 3/12).
Zimbabwe A won by 54 runs (Duckworth-Lewis).13 April 2002, at Wanderers S.C.
ZIMBABWE A 204/9 (50 overs; A Maregwede 41; L van Troost 3/33).
HOLLAND 147 (41 overs; L van Troost 31; D T Hondo 3/29).
Zimbabwe A won by 57 runs.

England’s counties have agreed in principle to extend the number of centralcontracts to 20, after a meeting of the First Class Forum in Nottingham.The FCF agreed to a proposal to extend the number from 11 to 20 from September1, provided a financial system can be worked out.All but two members of the FCF, which comprises the 18 first-class counties and the MCC, voted in favour of the proposal, which will enable those contracted players to become full-time employees of the England and Wales Cricket Board.Counties will retain the registration of those players, and will have to pay when they turn out at domestic level. A capping system will be agreed to limit the amount of money counties pay back to the ECB.Speaking to the FCF today, ECB chairman Lord MacLaurin said: “I hope we can start putting our finances on a firmer footing as from next year as a result of the substantial increase in TV broadcasting revenue that we’re due to receivein 2003 together with a significant payment from the ICC for participating inthe 2003 World Cup.”If ratified, today’s agreement will move England towards the Australian andSouth African system of 25 contracted players.The FCF also agreed an increase in overseas players at each county from one to two, to allow for the loss of their England players.

England captain Nasser Hussain admitted he was disappointed with England’s finishing after the six-wicket defeat by India in the NatWest Series.”I thought we played well for large parts of the match but obviously the last 10 or 12 overs didn’t go our way and they bowled pretty well and we lost wickets at regular intervals,” Hussain said.”We were 20 or 30 runs short in the end; we had a chance to get a score theywould struggle to get but converted into a score which they could get. Their bowlers got it into good areas and we struggled to get it away. And we found out that their batting line-up is very long and very strong.”Their side can turn it around in a matter of overs whereas we have to playwell all the way through.”India’s skipper Sourav Ganguly said that the fifth-wicket partnership was vital to his team’s success.”Yuvraj and Dravid played two splendid innings,” Ganguly said.”I thought England would get 300 when they were 200 after 35 overs with sevenwickets in hand but we bowled well. We have been trying to get the batting line-up right and I hope it works in the long run as it did today. It’s not the first time Yuvraj has won a game for India.”Meanwhile Yuvraj praised his partner Dravid, saying: “Rahul told me to hit it along the ground and he would take the risks if we needed to take them.”

The England batsman Mark Butcher has been fined £1,000 plus £500 costs at adisciplinary hearing at Lord’s, for claiming that the Sri Lanka seam bowler Ruchira Perera “throws”.Butcher appeared before a three-man panel at the England and Wales CricketBoard’s headquarters after making the comments Perera’s action in the Croydon Advertiser shortly before the second Test at Edgbaston.The remarks were in breach of the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct. The Surrey player initially refused to accept a fine imposed by the ECB, thought to be around £1,600.Butcher said: The matter has been discussed at length, I have already apologised for the comments that were made in the article and the decision wasmade that it was a breach of my contract, so I shall stand by that.”I realise it caused some trouble to the Sri Lankan board and Perera himselfand I realise the comments were perhaps inappropriate. As soon as the story cameout I knew I had made an error of judgement.”An ECB statement read: “The panel took into account that an immediate apology was made after the publication appeared.”Butcher, who has 14 days to appeal against the decision, is recovering from keyhole surgery to his knee.”My rehabilitation is going very well. I was walking around after the operation after just two or three days, so things are on course for the first Test against India,” he said.

Kent took a substantial first-innings lead over Surrey, bowling the Championship leaders out for 225 in their first innings at Canterbury. Despite another blistering century from Adam Hollioake, who made an unbeaten 122 off 103 balls, and 34 from the re-habilitated Mark Butcher, no other Surrey batsman reached double figures. Martin Saggers took five for 66 and Amjad Khan four for 91. When rain brought an early close Kent, on 172 for six, had extended their lead to 321, with Robert Key unbeaten on 61.Darren Gough took two early wickets in his first Championship match of the season for Yorkshire in the Roses Match at Headingley, including that of his former captain, David Byas, for 15. Earlier two towering individual efforts had enabled the hosts to declare at 515 for five. Darren Lehmann made 187 and Anthony McGrath a career-best 165. At stumps Lancashire were 89 for two.Another career-best innings, from Robin Martin-Jenkins, took Sussex to a massive 589 for seven at Taunton, a lead of 319 over Somerset. After Tony Cottey completed a century earlier in the day, Martin-Jenkins made an unbeaten 171, adding 238 for the eighth wicket with Mark Davis (91*)Division Two leaders Middlesex go into the final day in a strong position against third-placed Essex. Although Ronnie Irani went on to complete an unbeaten 182, the visitors’ total was still 97 runs short of Middlesex’s effort. By the close Andy Strauss (55*) and Ben Hutton (44*) had taken them to 116 for one, a lead of 213.Dominic Cork celebrated his England recall with three wickets as Derbyshire took control of their game against Nottinghamshire at Derby. After eventually reaching 353 in their first innings, the hosts reduced Notts to 182 for eight at stumps. Matthew Dowman also took three wickets, with Kevin Pietersen making an unbeaten 72.An unbeaten 79 from Ian Fisher helped Gloucestershire reach 438 against Glamorgan at Cheltenham before Robert Croft ended the innings, taking his wicket tally to three. In reply Glamorgan closed on 204 for four, with Matthew Maynard unbeaten on 48.At Worcester, an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 188 between Ben Smith (104*) and Vikram Solanki (91*) has given the hosts a good chance of overtaking Northants’ 387. Worcestershire ended the day on 273 for three.

IT is 29 years since the West Indies players on the 1973 tour of England formed their association.It was, wrote Deryck Murray, one of the driving forces behind the move, "the concept of worker participation being applied to cricket"."In any industrial relations, money is a vital part of any discussion," stated the wicket-keeper and vice-captain at the time. "But it is by no means the whole story and cricketers are as much concerned with facilities such as hotels and travel, insurance against accident or injury, provisions for retirement – in other words, conditions of work – as with wages.""Like any group of professionals, we need an avenue through which to raise pertinent points," Murray added. "The major consideration, however, is that it is co-operation between worker and management which is essential to the success of any venture."For reasons, many of which are not entirely clear, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has not quite functioned in the way Murray and his colleagues envisaged back then.Its dealings with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have centred mainly around the conditions of work for those in the Test team. Its membership has not extended to all first-class players in the West Indies and that has compromised its relevance.When Pat Rousseau took over as WICB president in 1996, his business background alerted him to the need for a stronger players’ body. Like Murray before him, he saw that "co-operation between worker and management is essential to the success of any venture".By then, the WICB had instituted its provident fund that has proved such a boon to Test players on their retirement. But Rousseau was not convinced the WIPA was functioning effectively enough and one of his first decisions was to allocate it an annual grant of US$50 000 so that it could be restructured "to include both Test and first-class players" and establish a permanent secretariat.It was also decided that representatives of the WIPA would be invited to attend future WICB meetings "for discussions on players’ welfare".The secretariat was duly set up with an office at the Gymnasium at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex and David Holford, the former West Indies Test player, team manager and selector, appointed the first chief executive. But it hasn’t been able to organise to the extent hoped and it has remained not so much a players’ association as an association of Test players.And, in spite of Rousseau’s objective, a communication gap has remained.It was most starkly, and embarrassingly, revealed in the week-long stand-off at Heathrow Airport that preceded the tour of South Africa in 1998."The dispute originally stemmed from a misunderstanding between the two parties," the WICB and the WIPA acknowledged in their joint statement after a settlement was reached.The latest issue that has prompted fears of a players’ boycott of the upcoming Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka was also provoked by a "misunderstanding" that arose from a clear lack of communication.The International Cricket Council (ICC) – and, by extention, the national boards that comprise it – included the contentious clause restricting individual player sponsorship without consulting the players first. The subsequent backlash was inevitable.The WIPA has recently had a change of leadership, in what was something of a coup by the younger members of the Test team.At a meeting in Jamaica in May, they voted in Dinanath Ramnarine as president, in place of Courtney Walsh, and Phil Simmons, the former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies all-rounder, as vice-president with Wavell Hinds as treasurer. Roland Holder retained his position as the long-serving secretary.Ramnarine, the Trinidad and Tobago leg-spinner, and his new executive are understandably eager to establish their credentials. The problem over the ICC contracts has presented an immediate test but the need to embrace all players in the West Indies, from youth to Test to retired, is more significant.When I spoke to him by telephone from St Lucia last week, Ramnarine said the WIPA had started to mobilise all players in the Red Stripe Bowl to sign membership forms. Most had already done so and he was confident all would soon be aboard.He must know that the association he now heads cannot properly achieve its purpose until it represents the interests of every player who participates in cricket organised and administered by the WICB.*Tony Cozier is the leading cricket writer and commentator in the Caribbean.