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On Thursday, just two days before the Cidermen take on Yorkshire in the 2002 final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy at Lords, the Somerset Board XI face Cornwall in the first round of the 2003 competition.The Board XI, who were unlucky to miss out against Norfolk at the end of last year will be hoping to beat the Minor County side, and if they are successful on Thursday they will play the Wales Minor County team.Success against Wales will ensure that Somerset Board XI a tie against a first class county in the third round which will be played next season.Board XI manager Peter Robinson has named team combining experience with youth for the match at Camborne, several of whom will have played earlier in the week for Somerset Under 19’s in their semi final against Essex at Uxbridge.The Board XI team will be; Tom Webley, Kevin Parson (capt), Wes Durston, Arul Suppiah, Michael Coles, Kevin Sedgebeer, James Hildreth, Alistair Garnsworth, Gareth Andrew, Matt Dimond and Michael Parsons.Peter Robinson told me: “We are taking a strong side down to Cornwall, and we will be hoping to win to progress to the next round. Over the next few days there are several big matches and my ideal way to end the season would be for the Under 19’s to win their semi final, the Board XI to win on Thursday, Somerset win the C and G on Saturday, and then the Under 19’s win their final at Bristol next week.”

Somerset Sabres will be looking to end their NUL National League season with a third consecutive victory when they take on Durham Dynamoes at the County Ground tomorrow.Both sides are already relegated, but since booking their place in the second division the Sabres have enjoyed an easy home victory over Kent Spitfires, who included Steve Waugh in their line up, and squeezed home to a last over win in a day night match at Grace Road against Leicester Foxes.A feature of the last three matches have played has been the introduction of some of the younger players, including all rounders Wes Durston, Arul Suppiah and seventeen year old bowler Michael Parsons.Looking ahead to the Sabres final match which gets underway at 12 noon Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "We will be going out there tomorrow determined to get a win from our final match of the season. We need to go away with a victory from our last match to give us that feel good factor to take into the winter."He continued: "We will be regrouping after our championship defeat on Thursday and will include some of the younger players on Sunday."With paceman Richard Johnson missing through injury the squad for the final match of the 2002 season is likely to be: Jamie Cox , Matt Wood, Piran Holloway, Mike Burns, Arul Suppiah, Keith Parsons, Pete Trego, Rob Turner, Keith Dutch, Matt Bulbeck, Simon Francis and Michael Parsons.

Robin Smith played a captains roll with a brave century after watching his middle order collapse around him, at the Rose Bowl on today.

Smith’s vital five hours at the crease on a wicket of uneven bounce was a superb exhibition of defence and attack. He showed an array of shots in his well worn armour, and was helped first by Nic Pothas and then with a century partnership with Shaun Udal.At 86 for five, with the Kent seamers Ben Trott and Martin Saggers moving the ball in both directions, Smith with wicket-keeper Pothas rallied with a partnership of 74. Pothas recently arrived from South Africa has found it difficult to come to terms with English spring conditions. Today he seemed to have mastered these before becoming the first of the admirable Trott’s three wickets. Mascarenhas also went to Trott in the same over, and now it was time for the two Hampshire veterans to pitch together and repel everything the visiting bowlers had to offer.Smith was finally out having reached his 60th first-class century, when he edged the second new ball to Symonds at slip, he fell just 19 runs short of the milestone of 25,000 runs in all first-class matches.Udal, who struck a mighty six off Min Patel, was disappointingly out for 88, adjudged lbw, he departed an unhappy man, but he had seen the 300 posted a figure that did not look possible after the morning session.Martin Saggers with 4 wickets bowled with venom, with able support from Ben Trott, but it may be that Hampshire’s seamers will also be looking forward to the second days play.

The last day’s play for the Indians before the Lord’s Test that starts on Thursday ended as expected, in less than spectacular fashion. Chasing 253 for victory on a wicket that was increasingly difficult to bat on, Hampshire were bowled out for 186 in 46.2 overs, giving India victory by 66 runs.The day’s play was of purely academic interest, with the result almost a foregone conclusion. It began with Hampshire’s Robin Smith and John Francis attempting to keep the Indian bowlers at bay. With deliveries continuing to surprise batsmen by bounce or the lack of the same, there was little the bowlers needed to do besides putting the ball in the right place.Sanjay Bangar got one right on target to trap Smith (19) in front of the stumps. Lawrence Prittipaul, a cousin of the popular West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul, entered to encouraging cheers. The middle-order batsman gave those gathered at the Rose Bowl reason to smile, as he played a few fierce cuts that raced to the fence. On a day where batting was a bit of a lottery, Prittipaul livened things up with an innings of 32 in just 40 balls. By the time he had begun to look good, however, wickets were falling at the other end. John Francis (19) gave Tinu Yohannan his only wicket of the innings.From then on to 129/8 there was little batting of note, and it appeared that the game would be over well before the scheduled luncheon interval at 1 o’clock. But Hampshire’s batting can hardly be expected to fold up to suit those looking out for a good lunch. Shaun Udal batted imaginatively to reach an unbeaten 36, putting on 57 for the ninth, and effectively last wicket.James Tomlinson (23) supported Udal as best as he could, but could not get the bat down in time to keep out a Kumble skidder. When the appeal for lbw was upheld, it was all over for the hosts. John Crawley, due to do duty for England in the forthcoming Test series, did not bat. The middle-order batsman, laid low by a virus, could have just as easily been kept back to avoid the risk of injury on this Rose Bowl wicket.While sections of the media have been quick to decry the Hampshire authorities for the wicket, Indian coach John Wright was his calm, collected self. “Obviously we would have liked a better surface,” he told reporters soon after the match. “But we don’t like to moan and groan about it. This is a new surface and it will take a bit of time to settle down,” he added.The decision to rest both left arm seamers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan raised a few eyebrows, but once again Wright had his answers close at hand. “They’ve all done a lot of bowling in the recent past and it was a conscious decision on our part to give them a rest. We’ve simulated match conditions in practice sessions and preparations are fine.”In contrast to India, England have had their share of injury worries. With Darren Gough, Alex Tudor, Marcus Trescothick and Andy Caddick all on the injured list, Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher have a bit to worry about.Wright, though, was happy to leave the worrying to the opposite camp. “We don’t really want to think too much about the injuries in the England team. It’s not the way we think. They’re a highly competitive side and we know that from their recent tour to India. What we need to do is concentrate on playing well, as close to our potential as possible. We nearly did that in the one-dayers, and that’s what we need to take forward to the Tests as well,” said Wright.It is true that India’s preparations for the Test series have been hampered by the two-paced nature of this wicket. But Wright was quick to reassure journalists that the Indian team was well prepared. When pressed to make further comment on the wicket, Wright sprang a surprise. Departing from his usually guarded and careful style of answering, he said: “I’m told wickets are a bit like red wine. They need a bit of time to settle down.” There was a twinkle in is eye as he ended the press conference and moved over to the nets where the Indians were having a session. Wine apart, the Indian team certainly appear in high spirits going in to the Test series.

Warwickshire’s 19 year-old batsman Ian Bell has been called up to join the England Test squad in New Zealand as cover for the injured Mark Butcher and captain Nasser Hussain. Both sustained their injuries while in the field during England’s 98-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch.Butcher has a cracked bone in his right hand, while Hussain jarred the middle finger on the same hand. Hussain expects to be fit to lead the side in the second Test starting in Wellington on Thursday, while Butcher hopes to be fit for the final Test starting on March 30th in Auckland.Meanwhile Bell is due to fly to Wellington today with the man responsible for his selection, David Graveney. The chairman of selectors has been keeping an eye on the exciting progress of the Coventry-born, right-handed batsman as he has made his way through all the age-group sides.A former England Under-19 captain, he appeared at under 14, 15, 16 and 17 age groups before that and was called up as a replacement for the England A side touring the Caribbean last winter where he made an immediate impression. Put into the team to face the Leeward Islands with a battery of fast bowlers on a bouncy pitch in Anguilla, he played an innings that realised only 31 runs but he survived for three hours. He has been highly recommended by Rod Marsh after his performances with the National Academy in Adelaide this winter.Bell has only played 13 first-class matches, during the first of which he was bowled for a third ball duck. That was in 1999, but he put the disappointment behind him and last season finished ninth in the first-class averages, scoring 836 runs in 11 matches, including 103 against Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston when he became the youngest Warwickshire century-maker in the championship at the age of 19 years and 115 days.That was one of three centuries he scored in his 16 innings as he averaged 64.30. His career average stands at 55.37. He captained the Academy to a 112-run victory over Western Australia in Perth in a match that finished only last Wednesday. He has featured prominently as a batsman with the Academy, and has bowled his right-arm medium pace with good effect.It augurs well for Bell that his first international century came against New Zealand Under-19s at Alexandra during the 1998-99 tour.While it is stressed that he is being taken to New Zealand now as cover for the injured batsmen, there is no reason to believe that he would be over-awed if he does get the chance to play. Failing that, this very mature teenager can only benefit from being around the England dressing room becoming acquainted with the atmosphere of Test cricket. If he does not get his chance now, it can only be a matter of time before he does.

As the West Indies were coasting to their 3-1 victory in the Testseries in England in 1963, the critics in their analysis wrote inglowing terms of the victors being a superbly balanced outfit. TheWest Indies line-up was made up of five batsmen, two all-rounders, awicketkeeper and three bowlers. And with one of the all-rounders beingGary Sobers, it was no wonder that the side remained the top team ofthe sixties.Glance at any all-conquering team in history and it will be seen thatit has been graced by the presence of at least one, preferably two allrounders. Warwick Armstrong’s formidable Australian outfit of the1920s had the omnipotent presence of Jack Gregory. One of the reasonsbehind the success of the great Australian side of the late 1940s andearly 1950s was the presence of the dynamic Keith Miller whose greatrival Trevor Bailey was England’s No. 1 all-rounder during thatcountry’s heyday in the midand late-1950s. And as has been mentionedbefore, the incomparable Gary Sobers provided substance and style tothe superbly-balanced West Indies side of the sixties.

Over the last quarter of a century however there have been exceptionswherein the outstanding Test sides of the period have run roughshodover opposition without the presence of a genuine all-rounder. TheAustralians of the 1970s, the West Indians of the 1980s and early1990s and the current Australian side are all examples of this. But inthe cases under study, it will be observed that the batting andbowling have been so strong that even the non-availability of theubiquitous all-rounder has scarcely been felt.Indian cricket has generally never been blessed with so formidable abatting and bowling line-up and so have always depended on their allrounders to lend a helping hand. And fortunately there have been quitea few players who have displayed their skill with both bat and ball.CK Nayudu played an admirable role in the formative years in the1930s, and in the 1940s and 1950s, India had the good fortune ofhaving in their ranks, Vinoo Mankad, Lala Amarnath, Dattu Phadkar andGulabrai Ramchand. In the 1960s, fulfilling this utility role wereChandu Borde, Salim Durrani, Bapu Nadkarni and Rusi Surti. And in the1970s, India could depend on the all-round skills of Abid Ali,Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal and Karsan Ghavri.In the late 1970s, Kapil Dev burst upon the scene and for a decade anda half, he bestrode the scene like a colossus. By the time he retiredin 1994, he had run up an all-round record fit to be ranked with thebest of all time. And through the 80s and early 90s, even under theshadow of Kapil Dev, all-rounders like Roger Binny, Ravi Shastri andManoj Prabhakar did make their presence felt.India’s all-round problems commenced with the summary banishment ofPrabhakar in 1996. Over the last half-a-dozen years, the team hassearched in vain for an all-rounder. The lack of a player withomnipresent qualities has worked to the detriment of the team’sfortunes. They have been forced to field six batsmen and four bowlers.And while four bowlers may be good enough to win matches in India, aquartet is just not enough to repeat the trick abroad. The moreattacking policy of five batsmen and five bowlers was tried out for afew matches in the late 1990s but this involved playing wicketkeeperNayan Mongia as an opening batsman. In any case, a more defensiveoutlook took over in the 21st century and for some time now it hasbeen back to six batsmen and four bowlers. There is a crying needright now to fill the breach with a genuine all-rounder.For some time, Sunil Joshi looked to be filling this role. Given hisbig break in England in 1996 following a tremendous domestic season in1995-96 when he became the first player to complete the double of 500runs and 50 wickets in one year in the Ranji Trophy, he did reasonablywell initially but somehow could never consolidate his position asillustrated by his career figures of 41 wickets at 35.85 apiece and abatting average of 20.70 over 15 Tests. This, despite a splendid allround show of eight wickets in the match and a top score of 92 in thevictory over Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2000.Robin Singh then looked to be a candidate but he was tagged as a oneday cricketer and this limited his Test appearances to just one. Thencame Ajit Agarkar towards the end of the 1990s and he seemed to be theanswer to our prayers. But after 11 Tests, he has taken only 26wickets at an average of almost 42 and with a number of ducks to hisname, has a batting average of just 7.81. So, obviously he too hasn’tfitted the bill.At the end of another disappointing campaign in the Caribbean, theexperts are divided whether the batting or the bowling failed us most.In the ultimate analysis, it was perhaps the lack of an all-rounderthat saw India fail in yet another overseas campaign. There is littledoubt that Indian cricket’s most urgent requirement right now is thepresence of an all-rounder. Besides strengthening the batting andbowling, he could also lend stability to the side. With some luck, hecould even help solve the problem at the top of the order, if one goesby the record of players like Mankad, Shastri and Prabhakar. The huntfor such a player has been on for some time but the situation hasnever been so desperate as it is now.

The Interim Committee, who have been appointed by the Minister of Sports to run the affairs of the Sri Lankan cricket board, unveiled their plans for the future tonight when they spoke to the public for the first since their appointment on the 29th March.Vijaya Malalsekera, the Chairman of the Interim Committee, was careful, however, to not be drawn into any matters pertaining to the legal status of the board, which is currently being disputed by sacked Sumathipala led board, and is due to be brought before the Court of Appeal on the 4th May. He also refused to comment on the expected length of the Interim Committee’s term in office.He did though outline potentially far reaching changes to the way that the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka is managed, including a review of the present constitution by a committee of lawyers, which is already underway, and a clear separation between policy making and financial management.Choosing his words with the care that one would expect from one so well versed in law, he said: "It appears that certain procedures have not been followed." With particular reference to the construction of Dambulla International Stadium and the fact that the agreed expenditure had been exceeded by approximately Rs 100 million, he said: "There seem to have been some discrepancies and the indications are that there appears to have been cases of financial mismanagement."Malalsekera announced that Price Waterhouse Coopers have been appointed to investigate into the finances of the previous administration. Moreover, to overcome the widespread public perception of corruption within the cricket board, he proposed that a Trustee Council, composed of respected lawyers and accountants, be set-up to approve plans and monitor the spending of the board.The Chairman said: "The Board has to be totally transparent and accountable. The public has the right to know how and why money is spent. Money should be used prudently."Explaining the Interim Committee’s terms of reference he said: "The Interim Committee has been appointed to manage the day to day affairs of the board, put a structure in place for the development of the game, and to support the players to ensure the enhancement of their ability. We are not here for a witch-hunt. What has happened is water under the bridge."Malalsekera shrugged off fears that Sri Lanka’s membership of the ICC was in jeopardy: "You can rest assured that we know what we are doing. The lawyers have looked into the ICC’s Articles and Memorandum of Association and we are confident that there is no threat to Sri Lanka’s Test status."He confirmed that the ICC had sought clarification on the status of Sumathipala: "The ICC has sought clarification. The nomination of the past President as the ICC representative will now have to be revoked."

A century from Paul Grayson provided the backbone as Essex fought out a draw against Surrey at the Oval. The county champions were unable to break a resilient, defiant batting display by the visitors who had started the day requiring a further 332 runs for victory with all wickets intact.Surrey though made an encouraging start with the wickets of Paul Prichard and Darren Robinson in the fifth over of the day to raise their hopes of being able to force their first win of the season in the competition as Martin Bicknell struck twice in three deliveries.Whilst Stuart Law was at the crease, the visitors retained an interest in pursuing their victory target as the Australian added 103 with Grayson for the third wicket to endorse those hopes. But with his score on 57, Law nicked a delivery from Ian Salisbury to give Alec Stewart his third catch of the innings and Essex decided to put up the shutters.Grayson then fashioned the draw, his indefatigable studiousness negating the Surrey attack in a compelling contest. He did survive one chance at 73, when Martin Bicknell spilled a mid-wicket catch off the bowling of Ian Salisbury, but thereafter he moved inexorably on to complete his vigilant century having batted for 334 minutes and hit 11 boundaries.He was finally dismissed in the second over after tea for 115 when surprised by a delivery from Alec Tudor that kept low and rattled middle stump but his fourth wicket partnership with Ronnie Irani that occupied 34 overs whilst realising 73 runs had virtually ensured the draw for his side.Irani then assumed the dominant, impassive role and found a staunch ally in Stephen Peters who resisted further vain efforts from Alec Stewart’s side to find another breakthrough.

ScorecardCallum Ferguson carried on from the first day to bring up his highest first-class score•Getty Images

Queensland’s Wade Townsend and Joe Burns scored half-centuries and shared an unbeaten 80-run fourth-wicket stand to end the second day 267 runs behind South Australia in Adelaide. Queensland were jolted at the start of their innings when they lost their opener Alex Kemp in the sixth over. They were in a tricky situation early in the third session at 3 for 55 after Dan Christian struck in quick succession to remove Usman Khawaja, who scored 19, and Peter Forrest.Further damage in the day was prevented, as Burns and Townsend put up a fight in the last session. Burns was the more aggressive of the two and hit eight boundaries in his half-century. Townsend, who was dropped in the slips earlier in the day, remained unbeaten on 50 off 132 balls.Queensland had a tough session in the morning. After keeping a tab on the scoring rate on the first day, Queensland bowlers were unable to control the flow of runs as Callum Ferguson brought up his highest first-class score of 164 and shared an attacking 162-run sixth-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman, who scored 78. Both batsmen were out early in the second session and the tail helped South Australia past 400 and declared immediately after the fall of the ninth wicket. Ben Cutting was the most successful bowler for Queensland with 3 for 73.

“It was the perfect ball at the perfect time.” That’s how Ravi Rampaul, the West Indies seamer, described his delivery that got rid of Sachin Tendulkar in the first over in Chennai. Rampaul, in his first World Cup match, went on to take a maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs but his team was at the receiving end of an 80-run defeat. Despite the eventual loss, the five-for, and delivery, marked a personal highlight for Rampaul.”It was the best ball of my cricket career. It was one of those moments in life you dream of. When I saw him walk I felt great. It was an amazing feeling. I wasn’t sure how to celebrate. Here was I, in one of the biggest matches of my career, getting the wicket of one of the greatest batsmen. I felt really great to get such a massive breakthrough for the team,” Rampaul said.Rampaul was drafted in to the XI due to an illness to Kemar Roach. He began on an unsavoury note, conceding five wides off his first delivery in World Cup cricket. But off the final ball of that first over, he got a shortish delivery on off stump to straighten, one that Tendulkar stabbed at and ended up feathering an edge to the keeper. Tendulkar walked off immediately after he was caught, even though Steve Davis, the umpire, shook his head.”I was happy to get into the team and play my part. It was very exciting to play in front such a large crowd on such a big stage,” Rampaul said. “I went out and got five wickets and I was really happy to get the full support of everyone in the team. I was happy to be able to make the most of my opportunity.”Rampaul returned in his next spell to break a century-stand between Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh, and continued to chip away in the death overs when India, as they had done against South Africa, collapsed. He finished with 5 for 51. “The pitch had some extra bounce at the start of the India innings and I knew if I got the ball in the right areas I would be successful,” he said. “Later in the innings I got the ball to reverse swing and I attacked the stumps. Things went in my favour and I felt good to get my first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket.”The defeat for West Indies meant they finished fourth in Group B, setting up a quarter-final clash in Dhaka against Group A leaders Pakistan on March 23.