Somerset paceman Andy Caddick was the hero in England’s resounding victory over the old enemy Australia in the final Test match in the Ashes series at Sydney.The Ciderman’s 7 for 94 off 22 overs, makes him by far the leading English wicket taker of the series with a total of twenty at an average of 34 .50, which is almost certain to mean that the thirty four year old remains an important part of the Test attack for the foreseeable future.At the end of the match he said: "Even though the Ashes series was lost before coming into this match it’s still nice to beat the Australians, not too many countries do that over here. To have played a leading part in that will be a special memory for me."He continued: "I was feeling a bit down and wondering where my international career was going. Hopefully I’ll draw inspiration and rejuvenation from this performance."The Somerset player’s fine performance earned considerable praise from the first team coach and the chief executive back at Taunton.Kevin Shine told me: "It was a great return and thoroughly deserved It was so pleasing to see Andy back at the top of his game and bowling so well. When the first innings ended almost level it could have gone either way, but he ran in and gave it all he had, and on the last day won the match single handed."Chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "Before Christmas the coach and I were getting quite excited at the prospect of Andy Caddick’s international career looking likely to be over and therefore him being available for Somerset. We should have known never to write him off and today he has reminded just what an outstanding bowler he really is."The Somerset boss continued: "His exploits in the series have been overshadowed by the media hype referring to Darren Gough’s wicket taking exploits who he has now overtaken. Andy is not a natural showman in the style of `Dazzler’, which was why the media probably find him less interesting as a player."Regarding the England victory at Sydney overall, Peter Anderson told me: "Three interesting aspects have come out of this. Firstly there is a huge question mark over an Australian side that is shorn of two gems- Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and secondly there is also a big question mark over the leadership of Steve Waugh, who is still a fierce competitor master batsman.""Thirdly, are we really sure that the way forward for English cricket is to play on the benign wickets that the ECB want to play on at county level. The Aussies were decidedly vulnerable when the ball swung and had an uneven bounce."He concluded: "Why then don’t we play on these types of wickets in England which always occurred in the past and let the Australians see if they can compete on that."

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has called for the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) to take firm action against Shane Warne as the worldwaits to hear the outcome to the biggest drugs scandal in cricket history.Ranatunga, famously outspoken during his playing career and now as atelevision commentator and politician, warned the world’s governing body(ICC) that the Asian world would be watching carefully what action would betaken against Warne."What interests me more is how the ICC will treat the case,” Ranatunga isquoted as saying by the Times News Network. “If Warne was an Asian he wouldhave been buried for sure by now. Whenever an Australian or a white guy doesa crime, he is found to be innocent… This one will be tough for the ICCbecause he’s an Aussie."Warne left the World Cup in apparent disgrace after drug samples revealedthat he had consumed a banned diuretic normally used to aid fluid loss or asa masking agent for performance enhancing drugs.The spin legend, who claims he popped a single pill on the advice of hismother Bridgette, apparently to improve his appearance for a pressconference, will discover his fate on Saturday morning when an ACBAnti-Doping committee announce their decision after an eight-hour hearing onFriday.Warne faces a maximum two years ban if found guilty although he could bereprieved under “exceptional circumstances” according to a clause in the ACB’s anti-doping policy. A two-year ban would almost certainly end the careerof the 33-year-old spinner.Ranatunga, a longtime foe of Warne ever since the leg-spinner claimed thatthe game would be better off without him prior to the 1999 World Cup,apparently believes that authorities have protected Warne, suggesting acover-up over his role in the match-fixing scandal."It’s ridiculous to say that a bookie paid Warne thousands of dollars for aweather report or some information on the wicket,” said Ranatunga. “Thenewspapers have the weather report every day and why should a bookie payWarne dollars for pitch information.”The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) warned Warne after it had emerged that hehad accepted cash for pitch and weather information from an Indian bookmakerduring Australia’s 1994 tour of Sri Lanka”In Sri Lanka, he just has to stuff a grand into the curators pocket and hewill tell you what he has done with the wicket in the whole of last week,"added Ranatunga scornfully.

Talented Calmore Sports all-rounder James Hibberd, 21, is preparing to take the first tentative step on the road towards becoming a professional cricketer with Kent.Hibberd, who won the Southern Electric Premier League’s prestigious Young Cricketer award last summer, has been invited to Canterbury for pre-season training, starting later this month.”Simon Willis, Kent’s new Director of Cricket, wants me at the squad training sessions starting on March 24, after which there’s the opportunity of playing some more Second XI games.”I’m really looking forward to it,” Hibberd said.The Sholing-based right-hand all-rounder, who made his Southern League debut as a raw 16-year old, initially caught Kent’s eye when he was playing for the Hampshire Board side in the ECB 38-County Cup.”I played in Kent’s triumphant Second XI Trophy final team last season, ironically against Hampshire 2nds at the Rose Bowl last September, finishing with 2-17 off six overs.”Hibberd, whose father Dave was on the MCC Groundstaff at Lord’s and played regularly for Hampshire 2nd XI in his prime, was on a hat-trick after removing Alex Morris and Laurie Prittipaul in successive deliveries.He enjoyed an oustanding 2002 season for Calmore, scoring 466 runs and taking 31 wickets, while also playing regular Minor Counties Championship cricket for Wiltshire.”I’ve done a lot of work in the gym preparing myself for what is certain to be pretty strenuous pre-season training – something I’ve not previously experienced.”And I knocked local football on the head this winter, simply to ensure I didn’t pick up any injuries,” he added.

A World Cup record low score against Australia did nothing to harden New Zealand’s batting resolve in their last-chance Super Six match with India at Centurion yesterday and summed up the failings of this side not only at the World Cup but in recent One-Day International history.At a time when it might normally have been expected that circumstances demanded extra vigilance, New Zealand collectively showed the attention span of an American diplomat listening to opponents of their plans for Iraq.The result was just as explosive as far as New Zealand was concerned.This collective failing was an unmitigated disaster which sadly has been all too symptomatic of New Zealand’s preparation for this tournament.New Zealand’s effort lacked for basic intelligence at times. Surely the situation for the New Zealanders attempting to come back from their record-low effort in the Australian match demanded that at least a look be taken at the bowling before launching into shots.Craig McMillan went into the match with the selection chairman Sir Richard Hadlee stating that McMillan had been asked to take more time in establishing his innings. A second-ball dismissal did nothing to suggest the request had registered.That preparation for South Africa started after the last tour of England in 1999, where New Zealand had made the semi-finals.It was apparent even then that New Zealand needed to establish an opening partnership.Nothing has worked.The situation got so bad that Craig McMillan and Daniel Vettori were press-ganged into opening during this tournament. Yet Mathew Sinclair was never given a chance.Has there been a clearer admittance of failure in New Zealand’s one-day history?The whole campaign has smacked of an ad hoc policy in regard to the vital opening role. Opening the batting is the most crucial area of influence in the one-day game. That is why Australia have Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, why India have Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and Sri Lanka have Sanath Jayarsuriya.The opening game which saw McMillan opening, Lou Vincent ‘keeping and Nathan Astle at No 3 for the first time this summer, seemed a strange place to be trying something so radical. That’s not to forget the decision not to play Daniel Vettori.This was more worrying given the job confronting New Zealand in their pool which demanded they win as many games as possible, knowing they were going to lose four points to Kenya.Stephen Fleming addressed the shortcomings of his game to be the dominant batsman in the side in South Africa, and all credit to him for doing that.But why was it necessary to “protect” Astle by having a makeshift opener in McMillan fill a role where Astle had developed into an opener regarded as one of the world’s leading one-day batsmen? What suddenly changed?And if there was a compelling reason, why was it not tried in New Zealand beforehand?Against the West Indies and South Africa, New Zealand seemed to get it right. They were under pressure and responded. It was a team batting performance in the West Indies game, and the superb effort of Stephen Fleming in the South African match, that spelled the difference.McMillan did score 75 against Bangladesh, but the opposition had to be put into context while Astle paced himself well to a century against Zimbabwe.But the fact of the matter is that the only two players who scored anything like the number of runs New Zealand needed during the tournament were Fleming and Scott Styris, who achieved his century in the first round loss to Sri Lanka.Chris Cairns never produced when it was required. His scoreline read: 32, 37, 33no, 31, 54, 16 and 20 – hardly the sort of return that could be expected of a player of his stature.What was most infuriating about his return was the number of times he got himself out to soft options. It was typified by his dismissal to Harbhajan Singh against India and that against Andy Bichel in the earlier match against Australia.Cairns also had an unfortunate tendency to be quoted before the last two matches especially about what was possibly going to happen.The words were not matched by actions and, quite frankly, they were embarrassing.That word probably best sums up New Zealand’s campaign, embarrassing.The claims before the Australian game that McMillan was being dropped because he was out of form came back to haunt chairman Sir Richard Hadlee, and the team, when Lou Vincent’s inability to produce the form expected of him at the World Cup, required McMillan to be tried again against India.He lasted two balls.That’s embarrassing.Too often in the early stages of the tournament, New Zealand’s bowling was indisciplined with wides and no-balls too prevalent.These are fundamental requirements that should have been ingrained into players long before they landed on South African soil.Shane Bond was outstanding. He was one of the tournament’s personalities and a rare asset. The quality of the batsmen he removed at the top of the order was testimony to his touch.But in reviewing the bowling options New Zealand again had a fatal flaw as bad as that which has developed over the opening batting position – their bowling at the death.New Zealand consistently have failed to bowl sides out. It is not a new problem and even the player selected with the idea of bowling at the death, Andre Adams, was rarely in a position where his skills could be put to the test.And that was because he was suddenly drafted into being an opening bowler. That was surely the role for which Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills were selected. The haste with which Tuffey was discarded after the first game was embarrassing, a point he at least reacted to by bowling 10 overs in the final game against India for 41 runs, a more than reasonable effort given the 12 runs taken in the three balls before he dismissed Tendulkar.It says something too, that for all the pre-series talk about pitches with pace and bounce from which New Zealand’s big men, Tuffey, Mills and Jacob Oram would benefit, the opposite was more the case. Matches were more like those from New Zealand in the early 1990s which allowed Chris Harris to revive a career that looked to be on the ropes.Having at least had the good sense to have selected him was one thing in the selectors’ favour in the final outcome of it all.Upon reflection it was probably New Zealand’s worst World Cup since 1987. At least when the 1996 campaign foundered in the quarter-final stages, the side went down fighting with an outstanding effort against Australia.Similar qualities were far from evident in the capitulations to Australia and India at the business end of this tournament.Still, in Bond, Styris, Oram, Vincent (when his role is finally decided upon), Vettori, Adams, McCullum, Mills, Tuffey there is a core around which a side can start to be developed with the West Indies in 2007 in mind.Whether McMillan is part of that will depend on how he responds to the clear problems he has had this summer, a similar situation for Sinclair, while longevity of service and avoiding the ravages of time will determine the fates of Fleming, Cairns, Harris and Astle.

The new-look South Africa team take another step forward in Chittagong on Thursday when the first Test against Bangladesh gets under way at the MA Aziz Stadium.The squad arrived in the bustling coastal city mid-morning on Wednesday and had a nervous wait for their playing kit and luggage that had been sent by road from Dhaka on Tuesday night.It was a mighty relieved Manager Goolam Rajah who welcomed the truck to the hotel just forty minutes before the team was to leave for training. “I was getting a little worried, we would have had to share kit with the Bangladeshis,” he joked.A journey that should not take more than seven hours had taken fifteen hours thanks to a mechanical failure in the truck.The first thing the team noticed upon arriving at the ground was the bare, rock-hard outfield. The pitch was not a lot different, devoid of any grass and baked hard. There are numerous cracks throughout the length of the strip and they could be hazardous for batsmen as the Test unfolds.It’s been 28 Tests since South Africa played two spinners. The last time was on August 6, 2000 in the third Test against Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo when Paul Adams and Nick Boje both played.The scenario is rather similar this time, Adams is back in harness having played in South Africa’s last Test, a convincing win over Pakistan at Newlands over New Year this year, and orthodox left-armer Robin Peterson is also in the mix.Should they both play then the decision will revolve around which of Andrew Hall, Alan Dawson and Charl Willoughby gets the nod as the third pace bowler.All three bring strong claims to be included. Hall showed in the ODI series that he has mastered bowling on these sluggish pitches and of course he is a seriously good lower-order batsman.Dawson took 11 wickets in the TVS Cup and was named Man of the Series. He has great control over pace and length and is the in-form man.Left-armer Willoughby brings extra pace and an ability to swing the ball late, however he has not played since the opening match of the triangular tournament where he endured a baptism of fire against the rampant Indian batsmen.Of course there is the option of playing one spinner and including two of the above three mentioned seamers, with the Graeme Smith and Jacques Rudolph to provide support to either Adams or Peterson.One thing is certain; there will be new caps.Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Nicky Boje and Nantie Hayward all played at Newlands in January, none are on this tour.Jacques Rudolph looks likely to make a long-awaited and richly-deserved Test debut, 33-year-old Dawson could be rewarded for his good form and Willoughby and Peterson are also on the brink of playing at Test level for the firsttime.Add to that Graeme Smith who will be leading his country for the first time in just his ninth Test match.One area that both teams will have no control over is the weather. Storms, called “nor’westers” in Bangladesh, have brought heavy rains and destructive winds to the country over the past week and more are predicted for the Chittagong area over the next four days.

Stuart MacGill claimed ten wickets for the match as Australia completed an impressive lead-up to Thursday’s third Test with a six-wicket victory over the University of West Indies XI in Barbados.Australia won with more than one session to spare, reaching 4-95 in its second innings after the University XI was bowled out for 162 with MacGill (5-45) completing his second five-wicket haul of the match.MacGill ensured he would be the first spinner picked for the Test at nearby Kensington Oval as Australian selectors decided on the most suitable attack with the return of spearhead Glenn McGrath.McGrath claimed 1-22, bowling 19 overs for the match in a solid workout before he returns to the Test arena for the first time this year as Australia tries to seal the series after winning the opening two Tests.Captain Steve Waugh was satisfied with the performance against a University XI clearly outclassed by the tourists, despite the presence of Test batsman Chris Gayle and former Test representatives Philo Wallace and Corey Collymore.The home team still threw some punches in the final session, claiming the wickets of Waugh (one), Andy Bichel (17), Martin Love (15) and Michael Clarke (47) as the Australians reshuffled their batting order.Clarke batted well but his procession towards a half-century in his maiden first-class appearance for Australia ended with a sharp stumping from the bowling of guest Kenyan spinner Collins Obuya (1-24).Brad Hogg was unbeaten on four, following his haul of 2-34 in the morning, but the left-arm wrist spinner is no certainty to retain his Test spot on Thursday as selectors consider MacGill as the support for a possible four-man pace attack.MacGill was on a hat-trick after removing Matthew Sinclair (one) and Obuya (0) with consecutive deliveries to continue his improving performances over the tour.The Australians will train on Wednesday at the University’s Cave Hill campus in their last major hitout before the Test

Somerset Second XI got their one day season off to a flying start yesterday when they travelled to Neath and beat their Glamorgan counterparts by two wickets in the 2nd XI Trophy.Batting first the hosts were all out for 231 in the 45th over. In reply Somerset hit the winning runs for the loss of eight wickets with overs to spare.Skipper Wes Durston top scored with 56 to add to the two wickets that he had taken earlier and Piran Holloway scored 54.The Seconds are next in action when they take on Worcestershire in the 2nd XI Trophy at North Perrott next Monday.

Although most of the Test world is preparing for slaughter when Australia and Bangladesh meet in two Tests starting next week, Bangladesh’s coach Dav Whatmore is optimistic, saying that the series was the start of “something wonderful”.As Bangladesh prepare for their last tour match – against a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI in Darwin – before the first Test, Whatmore said that Bangladesh would use this series to better themselves rather than seek an impressive final outcome.”It’s no secret that performances with the team haven’t been as good aswhat anybody would like. We are here to make sure that we get on the righttrack and play the sort of cricket that world cricket demands Bangladeshplay,” he said. “We see this series as hard, as it’s going to be against a team ranked number one … the commencement of something really wonderful for our cricket and the region in the subcontinent area and world cricket as well.”Michael Clarke, Cthe captain of the Northern Territory XI, said that he had “seen a little bit of Bangladesh” but could not really launch into preparation based on his knowledge. “I think all the boys have prepared as well as they possibly can. I just hope they get out there and give their best.”

At the gathering of over 150 Australian cricketers in Sydney much of the talk was about former players in general, and Don Bradman in particular.”He’d be averaging 99 these days, believe me,” said Arthur Morris, who played under Bradman after the war and was a member of the 1948 Invincibles. “He might even get himself up over the 100 because he was a unique batsman. He had tremendous determination and concentration and he had all the shots. He was amazing. We really can’t compare anyone with him. Nobody comes close.”There have been very good fast bowlers over the years but there were very good fast bowlers in his day, too,” Morris continued. “Bodyline was impossible to bat against. If you had all the fast bowlers of today, bowling straight at the head with six fellas on the leg side, how would they go? Bradman had to play against that, and he didn’t have a helmet.”Steve Waugh agreed that Bradman would have stood out in the modern game. “If he dominated his era, I think it’s fair to say he’d dominate any era, including ours, to a similar degree. A genius is a genius. That’s probably the most simple way you can put it.”Bill Brown, at 90 the oldest surviving Australian player and a colleague of Bradman’s on the 1934, 1938 and 1948 tours of England, had no doubts that Bradman was in a different class. “He would have been successful whenever he played, one-day cricket, anything,” said Brown. “He was just the complete player who seemed to be able to bat as long as he wanted to. He would just go on – 100, 200, 300 and on one occasion 400. That’s just unbelievable to the average bloke.”Australia honours past and present cricketers

Chasing a target of 339 to beat Worcestershire at New Road, Jimmy Maher scored a pugnacious 84* asGlamorgan ended the third day`s play on 174/4. Much will depend on the steadfast Australian as Glamorganrequire a further 165 with 6 wickets in hand on the final day on a wicket where the bounceat times is still capricious.Jimmy Maher and Jonathan Hughes launched Glamorgan`s run chase with an opening stand of 51 in 15 overs.It was only the second time this season that the county`s openers had shared a stand in excessof 50, but it came at a most valuable time, as both Maher and Hughes adopted a positive approachagainst Worcestershire`s new ball attack. However, their purposeful partnership was ended whenKabir Ali got a ball to rear up from a good length, causing Hughes to spoon a catch into the gully.Four overs later, Matt Mason dismissed Ian Thomas, as the young Glamorgan batsman edged a driveinto Graeme Hick`s hands at second slip. Michael Powell and Maher took the score to 72-2 at tea,but with the first ball after the interval, Kabir Ali bowled Powell. However, Matthew Maynard was soon intohis stride, driving Mason to the cover boundary and then pulling Kabir over the ropes at deep square-leg.Maher reached his half-century with an off-driven four against Kabir – his tenth boundary – and theAustralian continued to play watchfully, adding 47 in 11 overs until Maynard hit a full toss fromNantie Hayward straight to cover. But this was the final wicket of the day, as Mark Wallace droppedanchor at the other end, and together with Maher, watchfully added a further 55 in 19 overs to setup the prospect of an enthralling final day.A steady innings of 87 by Worcestershire captain Ben Smith was the cornerstone of his team`ssecond innings total of 257, and without Smith`s patient efforts, Worcestershire mightnot have set Glamorgan such a challenging target. Smith enjoyed his share of good fortune, with edgesjust dropping short of fielders or in between the slips, but all credit to Smith for ruthlesslypunishing anything off line or over-pitched. However, there were not too many bad balls on offer as Glamorgan`s bowlersstuck to their task, with Robert Croft taking 4/69 and Alex Wharf 3/38.The day began with an accurate spell from Wharf at the New Road end, during which hebowled David Leatherdale for 15. When Wharf came off, Michael Kasprowicz switched fromthe Diglis End and soon trapped Gareth Batty l.b.w. Smith then added 53 in 20 overs for theseventh wicket with Stephen Rhodes either side of lunch, before David Harrison in another fine spellfrom the New Road end bowled Smith.Rhodes` defiant innings was ended by a good diving catch by Hughes at leg slip, as the Worcestershirewicket-keeper tried to sweep Croft. The Glamorgan captain claimed his fourth wicket as Mason holedout at long-on, but then some lusty slogs from Kabir took the total past 250, before Kasprowiczended the innings by uprooting Hayward`s off stump.