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Kenya, keen to attain full Test status, have an opportunity to put forwardtheir case for full membership status of the ICC when they start a series ofthree four-day unofficial Test matches against Sri Lanka A on Thursday atP.Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo.”The boys are aware of what is expected of them. We’ll try and take it session by session,” said Kenyan manager Harilal Shah, captain of East Africa in the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975.In their solitary two-day warm up game against a Development Squad, Kenya’sopeners Kennedy Otieno and Ravindu Shah compiled a worthy partnership of 106, but the rest of the batting managed only 128 runs, which according to their Indian coach Sandeep Patil, was not the type of batting Kenya were capable of.Kenya’s transformation, from a good one-day team to one that can hold its own in a four-day game, won’t be easy unless they have a strong domestic cricket structure.After nearly two decades, Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket structure is not whatit should be. They can count themselves lucky that despite the poor standardof cricket that is dished out in the Premier competition they are still ableto produce players of quality.But the gap is widening, with many players finding it difficult to bridge the gap between Premier competition and Test cricket. Those who will represent Sri Lanka A in the upcoming series belong to that category.Sri Lanka A coach Roshan Mahanama has a tough task of helping these players make the grade. Many of them have played for their country at the highest level, but have been unable to retain their places due to lack of consistency.A clear example is middle-order batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan who made a great start to his Test career when only in his second Test he scored a scintillating 163 not out to pave the way for a series clinching win over Zimbabwe at Harare two years ago. Today he is no nearer to a permanent place in the Test squad.To be fair, his role in the side has not always been clearly defined. He has played as both a middle order batsman and as a wicket-keeper/batsman. In the present series he will play purely as a batsman.Another player who has got a raw deal from the selectors has been wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene who after just one rain-affected Test against Pakistan at Kandy last year, where he neither batted nor fielded, has continued to be overlooked.Avishka Gunawardana, Michael Vandort, Chamara Silva, skipper Upul Chandana,Ruchira Perera and Rangana Herath are all players who have been tested, tried and discarded over the years.There is also the young crop waiting to earn recognition like Ian Daniel,Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Kaushalya Weeraratne and Prabath Nissanka.”I’ve told the players to make use of this opportunity and to play with apurpose. If they perform well they stand a chance of being picked for the tours ahead to England, South Africa and Australia,” said Mahanama.”This series is very important to the players because tours of this nature are not regular. So whatever comes along they must grab it with both hands and perform,” he said.”Although the players must perform they must also play to win. There is no way they can play as individuals which can lead to negative cricket,” Mahanama said.Mahanama said this series gave a good scope for fast bowlers because of thetours that are ahead.”Sri Lanka may take as many as 17 players on the tour to England and extrabatsmen and bowlers are needed for a lengthy tour,” said Mahanama.He hoped that decent pitches would be provided for all the matches, givingequal opportunities to both batsmen and bowlers.SRI LANKA A (from):Upul Chandana (captain), Ian Daniel, Avishka Gunawardane, Michael Vandort, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardene, Ruchira Perera, Rangana Herath, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Prabath Nissanka.KENYA:Maurice Odumbe (captain), Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Steve Tikolo, Hitesh Modi, Thomas Odoyo, Tony Suji, Collins Obuya, Martin Suji, Mohamed Sheikh, Lameck Onyango.UMPIRES: Tyronne Wijewardene and Ranmore Martinesz, Match Referee: RanjithMadurasinghe.

In what has become something of a Super Max tradition, only one ball remained in today’s last semi-final to decide who would play in tomorrow’s 2000 final at Eden Park’s Outer Oval.Because Auckland got up to score the 124 runs needed for victory, it was decided that the preliminary semi-final between Auckland and Wellington scheduled for tomorrow morning will not now be played, leaving the way open for the same two teams to contest the final.Otago was keen to make the final after being forced to play two games today and came within an ace of doing so.After being well beaten in its first game by the defending champion Wellington, Otago came out after lunch with all guns blazing. Andrew Hore, who had another fine day of big hitting, hit 45 from 20 balls in the first innings and set Otago on its way to 116-3.Auckland was tied down by some fine Otago bowling and could post only 95-4. But then in a reversal of batting form Otago slumped badly to be 21-4 in its fourth over of the second innings. That proved crucial in the final outcome as its hardest hitters were all back in the pavilion.Craig Pryor and Mark Billcliff added 73 runs but were parted in the ninth over at just the stage Otago could not afford to lose momentum. Only eight more runs were scored and while it set a stiff target for Auckland, it needed a repeat of its first innings bowling effort.That wasn’t forthcoming however. Auckland seemed determined to knock Otago’s bowlers off line, and it succeeded.Aaron Barnes and Llorne Howell launched a blistering assault and with 51 on board in four overs, Otago was staring down the barrel. Howell played a vital role by remaining until the 10th over by which time Auckland had enough batting left to ensure it would take the win.It was injured Black Caps medium pace bowler Dion Nash who took some satisfaction from a disappointing summer by hitting the second ball he faced to the boundary for four. It was a controversial end, as Billcliff was ruled to have bowled a wide from the previous delivery, a ball that looked a more than reasonable delivery.Auckland got home with a ball to spare however and will now play out a repeat of last summer’s final.

Everton have a unique chance to call upon some of the younger players on the fringes of the first-team squad so late in the season tonight, as they take on National League side Boreham Wood at home in the FA Cup fifth round.

The hosts, who as you can imagine are massive favourites to go through and book themselves a place in the quarter-finals, are expected to make wholesale changes, with a number of youngsters being given the opportunity to shine, including Nathan Patterson who is expected to make his debut after joining from Rangers in January for £16m.

Dele Alli might also feature from the start for the first time since his move from Tottenham, while youngsters Reece Welch and Isaac Price have been confirmed by Lampard to be in the squad for the game.

As has 19-year-old striker Lewis Dobbin, who signed a new long-term deal in January after speculation he could run his contract down and follow in the footsteps of former Everton youngster Mohamed-Ali Cho, who joined Ligue 1 side Angers from the Merseyside club in 2020 and has since gone on to become a first-team regular at the age of just 18.

Despite strong interest from German clubs, Dobbin remained committed to the club, saying: “It’s a huge honour that the club has put their faith in me with this new deal.

“I love Everton and I’ve been here for such a long time now. I’m so grateful for the chances I’ve been given and to all the coaches I’ve had during my time in the academy.

“I’m going to keep working hard and keep pushing. Hopefully I can get more opportunities in the first team and score my first goal.”

The teenager has already appeared three times for the first team, having impressed in the U23s, particularly against Tottenham in January when he scored the only goal of the game with a fantastic header, which, among other impressive performances, led to him being nominated for the January Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.

As a result, it’s hardly a surprise to see him dubbed an “exciting talent” by The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland

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With Salamon Rondon having scored just one goal in all competitions for Everton, it would seem like a wasted opportunity should Lampard, who has excelled at developing youth so far in his managerial career, deploy the Venezuelan striker up top, instead of the exciting youngster.

In other news: Everton ruing sale of “complete” left-back after his value rises 428%…

According to commentator Dean du Plessis, Zimbabwe’s are suffering because of their rapid rise to international level © Getty Images

As Zimbabwe Cricket continues to hog the limelight on and off the field, Dean du Plessis, a top cricket analyst and commentator in Zimbabwe, says the board must return to the old system of player development and selection on merit.”The way forward is very simple,” du Plessis says. “We have got to bring back a lot of the former players. Not because the current players are not good enough, there’s a lot of talent in these young players, and I mean seriously talented cricketers, but they need to go through the system like those other players.”All these other players went through the system, and I’ll speak in particular of the non-white players, such as Henry Olonga, Pommie Mbangwa, Tatenda Taibu, Bernard Pswarayi, Brighton Watambwa, all these guys had a correct system, none of these players that are playing now had a correct system.”du Plessis says the fall of the domestic structure in Zimbabwe has led the game to the brink of collapse. “First of all in the past they played club cricket. For example you had a young Trevor Madondo facing the likes of [Heath] Streak and [Eddo] Brandes at club level,” he said. “Then if you did well there it was one step further, you would proceed to the Logan Cup level.”Bear in mind in those days in one-day cricket when the likes of Madondo were around making their debut, there was no such thing as a bouncer. You were not allowed to bowl short-pitched deliveries. Now you are allowed one per over.”When Madondo or Dion Ebrahim or Alester Maregwede made their debuts for Mashonaland, or whoever they were playing for that time, suddenly they had to adjust their game plan because guys like Eddo Brandes, who we all know was a very good bowler, and Streak, were able to bombard them with bouncers. But if they still passed the test, they then went one step further. They then represented what was known as the Zimbabwe Board XI. So it was basically like a Zimbabwe A side.”He explains how the system in the past was successful: “The A side in those days used to play against South African provincial sides in the B section of the Supersport Series. Fine it was the B section, but it was a lot more competitive than our Logan Cup. So if the likes of Ebrahim got a hundred or Olonga took five or six wickets, they had still proved themselves like any other cricketer should. Only when they proved themselves at every level, club level, Logan Cup level, then the Board XI, then, and only then, did they play for Zimbabwe. It wasn’t just a huge jump.”For example Johnson Marumisa went to the ICC World Twenty20. Fine he didn’t play, but that man had never represented Zimbabwe at any form of international cricket. Yet he was in the Zimbabwe side simply because he was quite impressive at club level. You cannot gauge a player by playing club cricket. He has to go through the system. And that is what every single one of those players I mentioned went through.”Taibu, we all know what a good cricketer he is, Olonga, well, he was an injury-prone cricketer, but I tell you what, when he was on the park he was special. As was Watambwa, although his work ethics you had to question, his heart wasn’t on the game, he had other things on his mind. But he was a seriously talented cricketer, Brighton’s talent came naturally, he didn’t even have to work on it, and the list is endless.”

	They are not ready to play yet, and at the end of the day, not only is it Zimbabwe that are not benefiting because they continuously get beaten, but think of the cricketer himself

du Plessis says players are being fast-tracked into the national side, thereby exposing their insufficient development. “At the end of the day it’s all well and good, we all want the masses to be playing cricket…well I certainly do because it’s the way forward,” he said. “As a white man I’m telling you that if there were 11 black men out there on merit I would be very proud to support my team. If there were 11 white men out there I will still be proud to support my team.”But unfortunately what is happening now is that these guys are being picked for various reasons. They are not ready to play yet, and at the end of the day, not only is it Zimbabwe that are not benefiting because they continuously get beaten, but think of the cricketer himself. You are responsible for destroying his career because he is not ready to play international cricket.”So he goes out knowing that he has to perform. And he is not going perform because he is not ready yet. You know what damage you are doing to his confidence?”du Plussis, probably the best commentator left in Zimbabwe despite being blind, believes he has suffered for his criticism of Zimbabwe Cricket’s administration. He has been sidelined from doing commentary for the current ODI series against West Indies.”I have made some comments and remarks about cricket in this country in the past that haven’t gone down well with Zimbabwe Cricket,” he said. “But they weren’t unjust, they were fair, and I speak my mind and I will never change that until the day I die.”If a guy needs a compliment I will compliment him, but if he’s played badly, or if the administrator is not running the cricket the way it should be then I will mention it, because that is my job. And if they don’t like it then change the radio station or go and watch another channel, or watch cartoon network.”

James Hopes is set to take a break from cricket to recover from a shoulder injury © Getty Images

James Hopes, the Australian allrounder, is set to be forced out of his Derbyshire contract with a shoulder injury. He is currently playing with the aid of injections and is still aiming for the World Cup before taking a break from the game.Hopes, who has nine one-day internationals under his belt, was recalled by Australia for the Twenty20 International against England following the withdrawals of Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee. However, he didn’t make the final XI in Australia’s 77-run win.He said missing his first season of county cricket is a major blow. “I know it leaves the club in a difficult position but there is just no way I’ll be able to play,” he told the club website. “I have always wanted to play county cricket and was delighted at the prospect of linking up with Derbyshire this season. I am waiting for final confirmation from the medics with both Queensland and Cricket Australia later this week but it’s not looking good.”Tom Sears, the Derbyshire chief executive, added: “This is obviously a massive blow as James is an outstanding all round player who will be very hard to replace. We are in the position where we have the financial resource to look at the best possible alternative and Dave Houghton [the director of cricket] has drawn up a list of potential replacements.”There are very few genuine allrounders of James’s ability available so it may be that we look at a specialist.”

Scorecard

Adam Voges blunted the South African attack with an innings of 101 © Getty Images

A century by Adam Voges gave the home side the honours on the first day of South Africa’s three-day tour match at Perth. At the close, Western Australia were 5 for 306 with David Bandy unbeaten on 59, and Shawn Gillies on 10 to deny the South Africans from striking any early psychological blows.Voges and Marcus North blunted South Africa’s early assault with a 146-run stand, with North making 71. Voges, 26 – who hit a record 62-ball century in an ING Cup match last year – fell shortly after making his hundred, which came in 168 balls and included 17 boundaries.The South African bowlers made early inroads after Mark Boucher, standing-in as captain for Jacques Kallis, won the toss and chose to field. Charl Langeveldt made the initial breakthrough, bowling Justin Langer with a legcutter for 21. He then caught Chris Rogers (22) on the boundary off Andre Nel to reduce Western Australia to 2 for 51. Shaun Pollock capped a hostile spell, conceding just 10 runs in nine overs, with the wicket of Clint Heron, caught behind for 11.Rain interrupted play after lunch with Western Australia struggling at 3 for 73, and after the break, Voges and North pressed on resolutely to deny the bowlers any success. Resuming at 3 for 177 after tea, the pair immediately attempted to lift the run-rate and, finally, it was Langeveldt who made the breakthrough when Voges, on 101, attempted a straight drive and was caught by Garnett Kruger at long-off. Bandy, who struck his maiden half-century, and Gillies guided Western Australia safely through to stumps.Boucher replaced Kallis as captain after he had damaged a tendon in his left elbow. Kallis had originally sustained the injury while practising in the nets during the tour of India and was supposed to stand-in for Graeme Smith, who had hurt a finger in the final ODI against India at Mumbai. Shane Jabbar, South Africa’s physio, hoped Kallis would be fit to play the second warm-up game against a Western Australian XI on Sunday.

Azhar Mahmood: back in favour with Pakistan’s selectors© Getty Images

Pakistan have recalled Azhar Mahmood and Taufeeq Umar to their squad for the VB Series, the triangular one-day tournament which also features Australia and West Indies. Mohammad Hafeez and Iftikhar Anjum have also been included, while Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Asim Kamal, Imran Farhat and Mohammad Asif will return home after the Test series.Mahmood has been a star performer for Surrey over the last couple of seasons, but has struggled to make a permanent place for himself in the Pakistan team. He last appeared an ODI in 2003-04, when Pakistan toured New Zealand, and has played only 13 of them in the last two years. His return will be especially pleasing for Bob Woolmer, who has often spoken highly about Mahmood’s allround ability.Taufeeq and Hafeez, meanwhile, return after being dropped due to poor form. Taufeeq, a left-handed opener, was earlier seen as a Test specialist, but has slowly been part of the mix for the one-dayers as well – the last of his 18 one-dayers came against India at Lahore last year. Hafeez, an allrounder who bowls offspin, made an impressive start to his international career in a triangular tournament in Sharjah immediately after the 2003 World Cup, but was then dropped after a string of dismal performances.A media release from the Pakistan board also announced that Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq would be fit for the tournament. Both missed the ongoing Sydney Test – Inzamam failed to recover from a back injury while Razzaq was struck with a mystery ailment during the second Test at Melbourne.The VB Series starts on January 14, while Pakistan play their first match against Australia a couple of days later.Pakistan squad for the VB Series
Salman Butt, Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Hafeez, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shoaib Akhtar, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Khalil, Iftikhar Anjum.

The MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai has hosted eight one-day internationals so far, of which four have been day-night matches. India have a 50% win record in the four ODIs they have played here.

New Zealand’s only ODI here – a quarter-final match of the 1996 World Cup against Australia – was a high-scoring game with two memorable batting performances. Chris Harris smashed 130 off just 124 balls as New Zealand amassed 286, but Australia found their man for the moment in Mark Waugh, whose beautifully paced 110 took his team to a six-wicket win with more than two overs to spare.

Past record suggests that the toss doesn’t have much of a bearing on the result of a day-night match at Chennai. In the four games played under lights, captains winning the toss have won two and lost two. Also, batting first seems as good an option as batting under lights, with both options achieving a success rate of 50%.

The first ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium was also the most thrilling of the eight played here so far. In a league match of the 1987 World Cup, Australia scored 270 and scraped through by one run after India’s middle and lower order fluffed their lines and made a mess of an excellent start provided by the top three. In fact, Chennai has been a particularly favourable ODI venue for Australia, who have won all four matches.

India’s other defeat here came courtesy a stupendous effort by Saeed Anwar, whose 194 – still the highest score in an ODI – allowed Pakistan to notch up 327. Rahul Dravid led India’s reply with 107 – the only Indian centurion at Chepauk – but Pakistan still eased to a 35-run win.

Sachin Tendulkar, in the throes of a horror run with the bat, hasn’t had as much success in ODIs in Chennai as he has had in the Tests. In three one-dayers, Tendulkar has scored just 80 runs, 68 of them coming in one match against England in 2001-02.

The England and Wales Cricket Board today announced a 16-man squad to tour New Zealand this winter.With Andrew Caddick returning to the squad and Andrew Flintoff retained after playing in all three Tests before Christmas, Martyn Ball and Richard Johnson are the players omitted from the party which toured India.Ball and Johnson were called up into the squad for India after Andrew Caddick and Robert Croft chose not to tour following heightened fears about security in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York.Croft, who was named in the original 16-man Test squad announced last August, is not included in the squad for New Zealand. James Ormond has been included subject to passing a fitness test on a shoulder injury.Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney, said: “In picking this squad, we werekeen to retain the nucleus of the team which exceeded many people’s expectations in India before Christmas in drawing two Test Matches and losing one.”Andrew Flintoff made a significant impact with the ball on the sub-continent and he thoroughly deserves to retain his place in the squad. Andrew Caddick is a high-class bowler of proven pedigree at Test level and we are delighted to have him back in both the Test and One-Day squad.”It was always our intention to reduce the number of spinners in the party from three to two for the second leg of this winter’s tour as we expect to encounter more seamer-friendly surfaces in New Zealand.”While Robert Croft remains in our thoughts for the future, Richard Dawsonshowed great promise in India and we are keen to give him an opportunity todevelop his international career still further.”England Test Squad to tour New Zealand – 2002

1. Nasser Hussain (Captain) Essex 28.3.682. Usman Afzaal Nottinghamshire 9.6.773. Mark Butcher Surrey 23.8.724. Andrew Caddick Somerset 21.11.685. Richard Dawson Yorkshire 4.8.806. Andrew Flintoff Lancashire 6.12.777. James Foster Essex 15.4.808. Ashley Giles Warwickshire 19.3.739. Warren Hegg Lancashire 23.2.6810. Matthew Hoggard Yorkshire 31.12.7611. James Ormond Leicestershire 20.8.7712. Mark Ramprakash Surrey 5.9.6913. Graham Thorpe Surrey 1.8.6914. Marcus Trescothick Somerset 25.12.7515. Michael Vaughan Yorkshire 29.10.7416. Craig White Yorkshire 16.12.69

Coach – Duncan Fletcher
Assistant Coach – Graham Dilley
Operations Manager – Phil Neale
Physiotherapist – Dean Conway
Physiologist – Nigel Stockill
Media Relations Manager – Andrew Walpole
Scorer – Malcolm Ashton

Struggling at lunch time on the second day to save the follow on, the target was achieved more easily than expected, due in the main to an innings of patience coupled with an array of fine stokes by Hampshire wicket-keeper Adrian Aymes. His three hour innings of 71 brought an air of respectability to the home sides reply. Hampshire finishing 38 runs behind on the first innings, a score that looked a long way away at the lunch break.He soon lost Robin Smith shortly after the interval but found Dimitri Mascarenhas as foil to a 52 run partnership. Mascarenhas was bowled off stump trying to drive, and Aymes was joined by the left handed Alex Morris and together they brought Hampshire their one batting point with a gathering of 54 runs for the ninth wicket.Aymes eventually fell to a diving catch from wicket keeper Burns, his 71 had lasted three hours and was by far the leading scorer of the innings. Morris pulled a loose ball to deep square leg where Ben Smith took the catch to conclude the innings.The Leicestershire bowlers minus their main attack acquitted themselves admirably. Boswell and Wells each took three wickets. Dakin who dismissed both openers in the morning looked an excellent prospect for the future.When Leicestershire started their reply with 17 overs remaining in the days play, Maddy and Sutcliffe looked in little trouble against four Hampshire bowlers in the evening sunshine to advance to 42 without loss, a useful a lead of 80.