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Hampshire 353 and 81 for 5 lead Essex 158 (Tremlett 4-29) by 276 runs at Chelmsford
ScorecardHampshire took control of a fluctuating match and should complete their fourth win of the Championship season despite a late blip on a day in which 18 wickets fell, and Essex were dismissed for a sorry 158 on a decent, but deteriorating, batting track. Hampshire closed the day on 81 for 5 with a valuable lead of 276.The Essex wickets were shared around, but it was Shane Warne who turned the game in Hampshire’s favour. The pitch was offering a little turn, and an immature top six facing a man who has taken 517 Test wickets did not bode well. It was always likely to be Essex’s mice to Warne’s alley cat. He didn’t bring himself on until past 3 o’clock, but he made an immediate impact.Aftab Habib and Ravinda Bopara – in for the injured captain Ronnie Irani – were playing comfortably for the fourth wicket, picking up singles and running well as they added 32 to take the score on to 105 for 3. But the prospect of facing Warne seems to hang over a batting side like a silent room for a comedian. Warne removed both of them with only one run added in between.The lack of confidence derived from the inability to win any of their seven Championship games this season took another dive as Chris Tremlett and Dimitri Mascarenhas took advantage of the doubt Warne had spinned into the minds of the Essex batsmen. Together, and with the help of some sharp catching at slip from the two Michaels – Clarke and Brown, they accounted for the last five Essex wickets for only 40 runs. Essex may be top of the first MCC Spirit of Cricket table, but the kind of help they offered Hampshire should be reserved for licensed charities.Essex had started well, with Darren Gough picking up the remaining three Hampshire wickets in under an hour, and with it his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket since August 2001, against the Australians at Headingley. Essex, who have dismissed a side for less than 335 only once this season, were grateful for Gough’s 5 for 57. He looked fitter and sharper than he has done all season, and he accounted for the dangerous Nic Pothas by trapping him on the crease early on. Soon after he beat Chris Tremlett’s defences and wrapped up the innings by inducing an edge behind from Billy Taylor. Only Shaun Udal’s big hitting unbeaten 43 ensured that Hampshire posted 353, only the second time they’ve passed 350 this season.At 55 without loss in their second innings, Hampshire appeared to be driving home their advantage. But Danish Kaneria took two wickets in two balls for the second time in the match – John Crawley being the unlucky recipient of a first-ball snorter from Kaneria that was well taken behind by James Foster. Kaneria picked up another one and Andy Clarke, bowling a steady line, chipped in with two wickets as Hampshire lost their top five for only 17 runs. But it seems to be a little too late for Essex, and the prospect of facing Warne on the last two days will still be hanging over them.

The Indian team has great faith in experimentation. That was the indication given bythe captain-coach combine of Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell, apart from three members of the Indian squad, who spoke at the team’s media briefing in New Delhi before they kick off their Champions Trophy campaign.Criticised in the media for not having a settledlook yet, with just under six months to go for the World Cup, Greg Chappell clarified that experimentation is basically development of the squad and a “constantprocess.”Giving a positive spin to the experiments, Dravid said that they(experiments) provided results. “What you have always calledexperimentation I have generally called it as strategy, which is whatgives us the best chance to win a game. Whatever strategy will work bestto win a game I will use it. That will depend on the players I have, theform they are in, the fitness of all the players and we have to take a lotof things into consideration that other people are not privy to or [have] accessto.”After a string of successes last year, where India scoredconvincing victories over Sri Lanka, England and Pakistan, the team losttrack first suffering a 4-1 defeat in the Caribbean last season and thenbeing ousted in the tri-nation DLF Cup in Malaysia after managing to winjust one game.The indifferent form of matchwinners like Virender Sehwag, Mahendra SinghDhoni and Irfan Pathan had deeply affected the winning momentum, and thetop order in batting had been shuffled frequently. But seniors likeDravid and Sachin Tendulkar are not losing much sleep. “We had a dip because fewof our key players who were really performing well for us in the period wewere successful haven’t been able to hit perform”, said Dravid, who feltthese were quality players and there was no cause for concern.”Unfortunately in the our last six to seven matches four to five of ourplayers couldn’t click. That is where Australia are good at: they are ableto build a good squad because of the depth they possess. It doesn’t reallymatter if players are out of form as they can always rely on differentpeople,” Dravid added. Instead, he felt that over-reliance on certain players was an areathey should be looking into.Tendulkar, who recently came back during the DLF Cup after a four-monthlayoff, felt that “Not all batsmen are going to be in good form. The oneswho are in good form make it up for the other guys and the same holds forthe bowlers. That adjustment is necessary.” While lending his support forthe team’s flexible methods, Tendulkar thought the need of the hour wasbalance. “Experiments should go on to certain extent. I know it is equallyimportant to settle down and figure individual roles, but that doesn’tmean we should totally stop experimenting. There should be a nicebalance.”Sehwag, who was asked to move down the order to No. 4 in Malaysia, had noqualms adapting to the challenge. Sehwag, who started his career as amiddle order bat, confirmed that he is ready to open in the ChampionsTrophy, but explained “I enjoy batting both as an opener as well in themiddle. More important for me is the challenge. If you are batting in themiddle order and if two or three wickets fall you need to responsible,make runs and at the same time not lose your wicket. When you open theball is new and that is another kind of challenge.”Chappell, who has come in for a lot of flak for his lateral thinking,strongly felt that experiments would benefit in the long run.Refusing to be disappointed about the team’s recent losses, and insteadhappy with the way “Rahul is going about developing the squad”, Chappelltried explaining why what he and his team are doing was necessary. “Thereason that we have done most of these things (experiments) are wellthought through, they are not done at the spur of the moment. Since peopleoutside are not privy to most of our discussions, therefore they are notable to understand what we are trying to do. There are positives that comeout it, like things that individuals learn about themselves, things thatthe individuals learn about the different roles that are required within ateam.”Yet questions remained. A case in point is Irfan Pathan, who is goingthrough an extended bad run with the ball. Dravid adamantly refused tobelieve that and said that his opinion about Pathan remains the same as itwas back when Pathan was performing well with the ball and batting up theorder. “I have always maintained that Irfan Pathan is primarily a bowlerto me first who contributes with the bat. Irfan himself has told us thatbatting up the order has no relevance to his bowling.”Dravid felt it was for the player now to hit back as “There is a certainamount you can do as a captain or a coach. At the end of the day there iscertain thing called individual responsibility and individual performance- you control your own destiny, which is something you should neverforget. We’ve a lot of faith in Irfan and we know how important he is forthe team. We were able to play five bowlers consistently last seasonbecause of the success of Irfan and Dhoni, and I mention them as keyplayers.”Tendulkar felt it was important to have the winning momentum. “Ithas to be with you (momentum) – that is what happened to us in the 2003World Cup where towards the start of the tournament we struggled a bit andtowards the end we were a different lot altogether. That was because westarted gradually but surely, so that was a big turning point for us.”Yuvraj Singh echoed Tendulkar’s thoughts, saying consistency waswhat India need now. “You can’t keep winning for six months and fall awayin the next six months.”

The South Africa Cricket Board has announced contracts for 18 players for the period from May 2004 to April 2005. The categories under which the players will be contracted will be announced after the domestic season.Alan Dawson and Mfuneko Ngam, who were contracted for the 2003-04 season, have not been offered new contracts, while Gary Kirsten opted out by announcing his intention to retire after the tour of New Zealand.Contracted players 1 Paul Adams, 2 Nicky Boje, 3 Mark Boucher, 4 Boeta Dippenaar, 5 Herschelle Gibbs, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Jacques Kallis, 8 Lance Klusener, 9 Neil McKenzie, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini, 12 Robin Peterson, 13 Shaun Pollock, 14 Ashwell Prince, 15 Jacques Rudolph, 16 Graeme Smith, 17 Martin van Jaarsveld, 18 Monde Zondeki.Garnett Kruger, Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong were shortlisted for national contracts.

The drain of experienced players from Zimbabwean cricket has continued with the retirement of the former left-hand opener, Gavin Rennie. Though he is only 27 years old, Rennie has chosen not to renew his contract with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and has instead opted to venture into business.Rennie started his career brightly by scoring a fifty in each of his first four Tests in 1997-98 but, like Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle, he had been in and out of the side ever since. For the recent tour of England, he was overlooked despite the serious shortage of experienced batsmen, and he has admitted he was losing his enjoyment of the game."I certainly didn’t expect my international career to end this prematurely," said Rennie at the start of the new season. "I think that the management of my career by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the poor timing of selection forced me into this decision. I understand that the ZCU and the selectors have a tough task in trying to fulfil the policies they have, but I believe that in the best interests of Zimbabwe cricket the ZCU have lacked forward planning and player management."Rennie insisted that he is not departing in bitterness or under pressure, but that it was entirely a personal decision. "I also had to consider my personal life and my marriage," he said. "And I have certainly been under a lot of strain during the past 18 months with the way cricket has gone in this country and with my non-selection, even though my performances have justified my selection for some tours."The recent tour of England failed to vindicate the selectors’ policy ofplaying a young, inexperienced side, and often the team went into the field with only four specialist batsmen. Dion Ebrahim battled manfully, but lacked a reliable opening partner, while the only two experienced players in Carlisle and Grant Flower generally struggled for runs in the international matches. Even when Carlisle was injured, the selectors failed to call on either Rennie or Wishart, and it was clear to all that more experience was vital."It’s unfortunate that I was not selected for the tour, because the position I find myself in now might have been a little different," he said. "But the ZCU and selectors had their reasons for not selecting me, and perhaps they have realised their error in preferring so many young players on such an important tour. A lot of the senior players and a large portion of the cricketing community felt I should have been on that tour."Had he struck good early-season form, Rennie may well have found himself in the frame for national selection again, but by now he had lost his passion and enjoyment of the game. "There’s only so much disappointment a cricketer can take, and I’ve found I have reached that level," he said. "With selection there are no guarantees and I’m not asking for any, but I feel I have done my years as a Zimbabwe A cricketer and toured with the national team many times, successfully and otherwise."He did not make his decision without a great deal of thought, as he spoke to ZCU managing director Vince Hogg, and then to Heath Streak and Geoff Marsh as well as two of the selectors. They understood the reasons for his decision and asked him to reconsider but, as Rennie said, "it had got to the stage where it was no longer a financial issue but an enjoyment issue. I found that the passion I had for playing cricket had been eroded."Most batsmen tend to reach their peak in their late twenties and earlythirties, so Rennie has wisely not burnt his boats. He does not plan to play any cricket this season at any level, but has not ruled out thepossibility of a return to the game in the future. "I need a completebreak, but perhaps the passion I had will be rekindled in the years tocome," he said. "At my stage of life I’m looking for financial security and stability, which is obviously not evident at present with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union for various reasons. Maybe in the future when I have regained my passion for the game, maybe I will be ready to come back into cricket."He has moved into business as a transport broker, on a consultancy basis, and as he realises, once his business is established, it should be possible for him to become financially secure and take time off to play cricket again should he wish. He has a great deal to offer to Zimbabwe cricket, not just with the bat and ball, but as a senior player capable of nurturing the youngsters when there are so few father figures to turn to at present. He has also been respected as a quiet, capable captain who handles his team well on the field but, apart from a short spell in charge of Zimbabwe A, this ability has been recognised less than it should.His first four Tests he names as the most memorable time of his career,although since then he made his highest scores of 84 against India and 93 against New Zealand, both as opener. Yet after that 93 he was dropped for a year. He scored 1023 Test runs, with seven fifties, at an average of 22, which would surely have been higher given a good run in the side. He played 40 one-day matches, averaging almost 20, and was one of the most skilful players at keeping the score bubbling over at the death. Many believe that increasing political pressure to fast-track young black players into the national side has worked against players like him.Team highlights for him were his involvement in Zimbabwe’s first Test series win away from home, against Pakistan in 1998-99, and their first one-day series away, in New Zealand in 2000-01. Both are `fantastic memories’, and he concludes by saying, "I would like to thank the Zimbabwe Cricket Union for the memories I have had, and I wish them the very best in the future as they continue to manage cricket in this country. I would also like to thank the supporters I’ve had, who have gone a long way to inspiring me to reach greater heights." No doubt they too are hoping Gavin Rennie’s retirement will be a brief one.

The battle for cricket supremacy amongst Christchurch and Canterbury Country Primary Schools gets underway tomorrow with the start of the 2003 MILO Trophy Cricket Competition. A record 65 teams will represent their primary schools over the next eight weeks to find the overall competition winner.Schools from within the Canterbury Country area will this year come together for a one-day tournament. This is a new initiative and is aimed at reducing the pressure on schools to travel long distances. Tournament winners will progress through to the knockout phase.Sides to watch this year will be last year’s winners, Amberley, finalist from the last two years Elmwood while Paparoa Street, Fendalton, Thorrington, Springston and Windsor have strong representation and are likely to be there at the business end of the competition.CCA development manager Mike Harvey commented that “the number of team entries in this season’s competition is fantastic and the schools are all approaching the competition with enthusiasm. We will continue to support the competition with umpires/scorers at each game and look forward with interest to watching the competition progress.”The competition with culminate with the final on December 12th.

David Sales has been announced as Northamptonshire’s new captain. Sales, widely expected to take over the reigns, replaced Mike Hussey, who has opted to take a year out to concentrate on earning an Australian call-up.Sales, who made 210 not out on his Championship debut, became the youngest Englishman to make a first-class triple-century, when he made 303 not out against Essex in 1999.”I was hoping to be offered the job when it became available, and now I’m looking forward to taking it on. It’ll certainly be a challenge.” Sales said today. “We’ve had a couple of good captains recently in Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey, and I hope I can follow in their footsteps.”Sales added, “Obviously Mike got it right last year with the way he led the guys. We will have a pretty young side this season – but I know we’re all very keen to succeed.”Northants have signed the South African batsman Martin van Jaarsveld to fill Hussey’s overseas place. He will team up with Andre Nel, who made his debut for the club last summer and is currently playing a major part in South Africa’s series win over West Indies.The squad has been further strengthened by the recruitment of Usman Afzaal, the former England batsman, from Nottinghamshire, and the Welsh seam bowler Steffan Jones from Somerset.

Close Attacking batting from West Indies lit up the second half of the second day’s play in the inaugural Test in St Lucia. Wavell Hinds led the way with a forthright 74 not out as West Indies made a spirited reply to Sri Lanka’s stolid 354.Hinds, who biffed four sixes off the spinners, as well as three fours, played the major role in an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 95 with Brian Lara, who was also in attack mode during his innings. Neither batsman allowed the spinners to settle – important after Muttiah Muralitharan struck early on, pinning Chris Gayle in front with his arm ball for 27 (66 for 2). That followed another lbw decision, when Daren Ganga (12) was beaten by Chaminda Vaas (18 for 1).Thoughts of the follow-on were banished by the aggressive Hinds, and at stumps – which again came a few overs early, this time because of bad light – West Indies had reached 161 for 2.Earlier Corey Collymore had marked his return to Test cricket with his first five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka were pegged back. Chaminda Vaas provided some dour resistance in the afternoon session, squeezing precious runs out of the tail, before the innings finally folded for 354.After their lacklustre efforts yesterday, the West Indian bowlers were a rejuvenated lot this morning. Collymore and Merv Dillon troubled the batsmen with swing and seam, but it was Hinds’s part-time wobblers which accounted for Marvan Atapattu for 118. Hinds coaxed Atapattu into a loose drive outside off stump, which he nicked straight to Lara at second slip (266 for 5).Now Collymore took over. First Romesh Kaluwitharana (2) was adjudged leg-before to one that was slipping down the leg side (269 for 6). Then Kaushal Lokuarachchi edged low to Lara (285 for 7), and Thilan Samaraweera nicked one through to Ridley Jacobs (288 for 8).Vaas and an uncharacteristically cautious Muralitharan (69 balls for 14) then dug in either side of lunch, putting on 38 for the ninth wicket. Hinds again proved the partnership-breaker, trapping Muralitharan leg-before with the fourth ball of a new spell (326 for 9).But there was more frustration for West Indies as Vaas and Prabatha Nissanka eked out 28 for the last wicket in nearly an hour, before Vaas, whose 38 occupied 125 balls, was caught behind off Gayle. Hinds finished with 2 for 28, but the bowling honours went to Collymore, with 5 for 66.Lara will be looking to continue the attack on the third morning. West Indies need a big score, as the pitch is already taking spin and they will not want to face a big fourth-innings target with Murali on the case.