When Allan Donald took his 300th Test wicket on the third day of the first Castle Lager/MTN Test match against New Zealand in Bloemfontein on Sunday, his thoughts turned immediately to disgraced former teammate and captain Hansie Cronje.On a day when New Zealand were bowled out for 229 in the first innings and followed on to reach 82 for one in reply to South Africa’s 471 for nine declared, Donald took centre stage. But even in his moment of triumph South Africa’s finest fast bowler could not help wondering what might have been.”My mind went out straight to Hansie,” Donald said afterwards. “I felt that it would have been great for him to have been there at mid off. I almost felt like looking round to see if he was charging towards me. That’s something that stuck out immediately – that Hansie wasn’t there next to me. Always when we’ve taken wickets or broken partnerships or reached milestones, he was always the one there first to congratulate me. I shall ring him tonight, but I’m sure he’ll ring me first.”It was, said Donald, a milestone that had started to preoccupy him a little and he had felt relief when it finally arrived. He intends to go on, but said he might wait for more responsive pitches, perhaps in Port Elizabeth or at the Wanderers before setting 350 or possible even 400 wickets as his next goals.Donald conceded that it would not be easy to bowl New Zealand a second time on a pitch that has steadily played slower and lower. But South Africa have two days to do it in, two days during which New Zealand will have to mount an heroic rearguard action if they are to avoid going one down in the series.The tourists started the day at 54 for two and lost wickets steadily throughout the next two sessions. Craig Spearman went to Shaun Pollock in the eighth over of the morning before Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle mounted the only worthwhile partnership of the innings, 79 in 71 minutes for the fourth wicket.But shortly after Fleming had reached his 25th Test fifty – the significance being that he has only twice kicked on to three figures – that man Nicky Boje reappeared to bedevil New Zealand once again.He bowled the Kiwi captain between bat and pad for 57 and three balls later Makhaya Ntini had Astle superbly caught by Jacques Kallis diving across in front of first slip for 37.New Zealand were to lost another wicket when Craig McMillan was caught at the wicket to become Donald’s 299th victim, and two quickly after the interval as Pollock accounted for Adam Parore and Daryl Tuffey.Then Brooke Walker, the young legspinner playing his first Test innings, and Shayne O’Connor stuck it out for 22 overs. Pollock used all his bowlers except Donald, who was kept back for the second new ball. And when it came due, it worked immediately as Donald bagged O’Connor with his first delivery to the left-hander.The armoured car boomed out three times and the crowd rose. The only disappointing feature was that there weren’t many of them. Fewer than 6 000 turned up to watch one of Bloemfontein’s sons become only the 15th bowler in the history of the game to reach 300 Test wickets.Kallis ended the innings when Chris Martin was taken by Mark Boucher, leaving Walker unbeaten on 27, and Spearman made only 15 before splicing a pull off Ntini to have New Zealand 33 for one in the follow on.With Mark Richardson making 50, the tourists survived to the close without further mishap, but they are still 160 in arrears with two days to play. It is not, as Donald pointed out, a pitch that affords the seamers a great deal of help now, but it is starting to come through low and it won’t get any better before the end of the match.And Boje did manage to get one or two to turn on the third day. He had a terrific one-day series against New Zealand and it is entirely possible that he hasn’t finished with them yet.

The following is a statement by the Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Gregory Shillingford on the West Indies’ Team Management and Arrangements for the Training Camp in Trinidad:”THE West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) confirms that on Friday, May 25, 2001, the manager of the West Indies cricket team, Mr. Ricky Skerritt, was written and directed not to participate in the training camp in Trinidad. At that time, he was also informed that a letter of termination of his contract would be sent to him within seven days.”The WICB held a series of meetings last week and, after further meetings are concluded, the WICB will make an overall statement on the management team for our cricket tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya.”Meanwhile, I wish to confirm that the Board of Directors has approved the nomination of Carl Hooper as captain of the West Indies cricket team for that tour.”At present, Director of Coaching Reg Scarlett, is in charge of the training camp which began today in Trinidad with 21 of the 22 cricketers chosen in attendance. Leg-spinner, Dinanath Ramnarine, will join the camp next Monday following special dispensation for his honeymoon. Obviously, Mr. Ramnarine will be expected to pass the fitness test to be considered for selection on the team.”The team’s trainer, Ronald Rogers, is running the first week of the camp with the assistance of the Trinidad & Tobago Defence Force’s Physical Training Instructors’ Department.”This week’s programme will focus on conditioning and will include agility drills, weight training, swimming, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, running, cross-country walking and basic gymnastics (to improve the players’ balance and co-ordination). The cricketers began this morning with a seven-mile, back-pack run.”The focus of the camp next week will be technical training and tactical preparation. Former West Indies cricketers, Andy Roberts and Gordon Greenidge, have been recruited as the bowling and batting coaches respectively. The conditioning programme will continue but on a lesser scale during this time.”

Ed: Maria Naureen is our correspondent from Karachi, a FM 101 radio talk-show host, cricket radio commentator and sports journalist

An unbeaten 42 from wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt guided Durham to a four-wicket win at Derby and kept them on top of Division Two of the National League.Pratt worked the ball around intelligently on a slow pitch to record his best one-day score and Michael Gough also batted well in a match winning sixth wicket stand of 65 in 11 overs.Derbyshire were handicapped by a rib injury to Paul Aldred which prevented the seamer bowling and had to fill in nine overs with the occasional spin of Rob Bailey and Michael Di Venuto.But it was still a tight contest and Durham had only three balls to spare when Ian Hunter hit Richard Illingworth over mid off for the winning runs.The wicket restricted all the batsmen with the exception of Di Venuto who made 71 from 95 balls but a middle order collapse in which three wickets fell in six balls shattered Derbyshire.It needed an eighth wicket stand of 36 in 6 overs between Karl Krikken and Illingworth to get the home side up to 179-7 but when Graeme Welch removed Nicky Peng and Danny Law, Durham were in trouble at 11-2 in seven overs.Martin Love and Martin Speight took the score to 58 before Tom Lungley had Speight taken at deep backward square and the seamer then moved one away to bowl Love for 39.When Jon Lewis drove a full toss back to Illingworth, Durham were 107-5 in the 33rd over but Pratt and Gough found the gaps to swing the game back to Durham.Although Tim Munton bowled Gough for 35 in the penultimate over, only five were needed off the last and Pratt removed any doubts by driving the first ball for three before Hunter completed the formalities.

Group BSeedings

• Ireland (2)
• Denmark (3)
• Hong Kong (6)
• Bermuda (7)
• USA (10)
• PNG (11)

Irelandby Gerry Byrne2001 is perhaps make or break year for Irish Cricket. The ICC Trophy in Toronto is a huge challenge and anything less than qualification for the World Cup in South Africa will be regarded as a massive disappointment. In Malaysia, Ireland finished third and just failed to qualify.This time two of those who finished ahead of them are already prequalified for South Africa (Bangladesh and Kenya) and yet there are still three slots available. The problem, however, is that the Irish side is a weaker one than played in Malaysia. We have lost batsmen of the quality of Alan Lewis, Justin Benson, Angus Dunlop, and all rounders such as Garfield Harrison and Uel Graham. The only newcomer to the batting line up that compares with those is Ed Joyce, presently under contract with Middlesex, and while there are one of two promising younger players the competition may be coming a year too early for them in terms of experience. Dominick Joyce, younger brother of Ed, came into the squad after a good Namibian tour.A key element of our team in Canada may be the slow bowling department with the evergreen Matt Dwyer, skipper Kyle McCallan, Dekker Curry, and newcomer Andrew White. As well as being good spinners, they are all recognised batsmen. On the other hand the quicker bowling department is weak with Mark Patterson and Ryan Eagleson both recovering from long term injuries.Coach Ken Rutherford has high hopes of a World Cup spot, and Ireland will still be the team to beat in Group B.DenmarkDenamrk is a young team, markedly different from that which finished 5th in Malaysia in 1997. Seeded third this year, Denmark will be a contender for a World Cup spot. The Andersen brothers return, this time with Morten as captain – and he will be a useful all-rounder. The side’s strength will be in its bowling, with Thomas Hansen’s left arm fast medium leading the way. Hansen has brief first-class experience with Hampshire, and he’ll be joined by youngster Amjad Khan, born in Copenhagen but making his first-class debut with Kent this year. together they may form the best opening attack in the tournament, matched only by Blain and Brinkley for Scotland. They’ll be supported by Vestergaard and the Andersens. Backed by a strong fielding side, runs will be hard to get against the Danes.The batting is weaker, but their wicket-keeper Frederik Klokker looks to be a promising talent. A left-handed opening bat, he is just 18, he scored well on Denmark’s South African tour, and captained the Danish under-19 squad last year. The top 5 or 6 in the batting order need to take charge and produce the runs required for Denmark to contend.Coach Ole Mortensen thinks they have a good chance of qualifcation despite a lack of experience, but they will have to improve markedly from the European Cricket Championships last year when an under-strength squad lost every match, including an embarrassing defeat by Italy.Hong KongHong Kong bring a team that in the opinion of their evergreen captain, Stewart Brew, is one of the strongest he’s seen. The Queensland-born Brew brings his experience of two previous ICC Trophy competitions, as well as his elegant batting, and useful medium pace bowling. The batting will rely much on him, and Rahul Sharma. Sharma, who played briefly for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, had an outstanding Asian Cricket Council Trophy in Sharjah, making 95 and 145; and 78 in the final. Mohammad Zubair, who along with opening bat Saleem Malik and Tabarak Dar spent time last year at the Australian Cricket Academy, will lead the bowling.Andy Moles will act as coach, replacing Adam Hollioake, who coached Hong Kong during their run to the final of the Asian Cricket Council Trophy last November. There, they established themselves as a strong all-round side, winning their group unbeaten, demolishing Nepal in the semi-finals, and losing narrowly to UAE in the final. This qualifed them for the Asia Cup one-day tournament in Karachi, alongside Test-playing nations India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In Toronto they will hope to push Denmark for second place in their group.BermudaBermuda have come close to World Cup qualification several times though the ICC Trophy – losing in the final in 1982 and losing a 3rd place play-off to Holland in 1994 – but were a disappointing 9th in 1997. Their batting is strong and experienced. The captain, Charlie Marshall, is a reliable left handed run-scorer, and Clay Smith, entering his third ICC Trophy, is also likely to score heavily. Both are useful with the ball. Albert Steede can also contribute, and Janeiro Tucker is a talented all-rounder.They gained experience of Toronto conditions at the Americas Cup, where they survived a scare against the surprising Cayman Islands, beat Argentina, and then defeated Group B rivals USA with ease before losing to Canada in the final match.Under new coach Mark Harper (who has recently replaced Roland Butcher), they will push hard for a second round place, and are more than capable of upsetting higher ranked rivals.United StatesThe US team brings a blend of experience and youth to the ICC. They have the player of the highest quality in the tournament in Faoud Bacchus. Bacchus played 19 Tests for the West Indies, including in those a memorable 250 against India, and is familiar with Canadian conditions having formerly played there. Bacchus is now 47, and age may be taking its toll, but he is a high-class bat, and will be devastating against weaker bowling. He’ll be supported by youngsters David Wallace and Rohan Alexander who form a promising opening partnership; and middle-order bat and captain Richard Staple, who played 20 first-class matches with Jamaica in the early 1990s. The other player with first-class expereince is Joy Zinto, who took 57 first-class wickets for Gujarat in the 1980s with his slow left-arm spin. He is also a useful bat with three first-class fifties. Zinto will head the bowling, which on paper at least is less impressive than the batting.The Americans had a disappointing Americas Cup, only beating the Cayman Islands thanks to a last wicket partnership, and lost to both Canada and Bermuda. The squad for the ICC Trophy is considerably stronger, however, and may be able to surprise Bermuda or Hong Kong. Syed Abid Ali will coach, and they will have to perform well to make it to the Super League.Papua New GuineaLowest seeded in Group B, Papua New Guinea will struggle to advance to the Super League. Their cricket is slowly emerging from a period of internal administrative strife that at one point threatened to remove some of their best players from the national squad. They lost to Fiji in the Pacifica Cup semi final, but finshed overall in 3rd.National team captain, Navu Maha believes batsmen John Ovia and Daniel Faunt will be key players, while Toka Gaudi and leg-spinner Ross Vagi are also expected to stand out. Maha himself is an exciting left-handed bat and useful spin bowler. Keimelo Vuivagi’s father played in the ICC Trophy in 1982, and he himself is one of five who represented PNG in the 1997 tournament.

Somerset Under 15’s have got their season off to a flying start with three straight victories on the trot.Against Cornwall in the Championship at Truro, Somerset bowled the home side out for 169 with Ashley Grundy being the pick of the bowlers taking 3 for 46.Somerset hit the winning runs for the loss of just three wickets thanks to an unbeaten 103 from Richard Timms to gain a seven wicket victory.At Tondu in a friendly,Somerset bowled Mid Glamorgan out for 91 with Duncan Bingham bowling 8.2 overs and taking 3 for 16, James Keane 7 overs 2 for 10 and Bingham 3 for 26.Somerset reached their target without loss, Henry Carpenter being unbeaten on 49 and Richard Timms not out 37.Against Dorset in the Championship at Canford Magna,Richard Timms scored his second unbeaten century of the season to end with 106 not out as Somerset ended on 189 for 9.In reply Somerset dismissed Dorset for 151 to gain victory by 38 runs. Ashley Grundy had the impressive figures of 7.2 overs 5 wickets for 16 runs.

* Selectors to pick Test squad on August 2The Indian cricket selectors would meet in Mumbai on August 2 to pickthe Test squad for the three Test matches against Sri Lanka fromAugust 14.The executive secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in IndiaSharad Diwadkar, told PTI in Mumbai on Thursday that four to fivechanges are likely from the squad which is playing in the on-goingtriangular series with New Zealand as the third team.The three Test matches would be played at Galle (from August 14 to18), Kandy (from August 22-26) and at the SSC in Colombo (from August29 to September 2).* BCCI’s advisory committee to meet in Mumbai on August 1The Indian Cricket Board’s (BCCI) advisory committee, chaired byformer Indian team skipper Sunil Gavaskar, would meet at the CricketClub of India (CCI) in Mumbai on August 1.BCCI executive secretary, Sharad Diwadkar, told PTI in Mumbai onFriday on Friday that the main agenda would be to discuss the domesticcalendar and the new formats for the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophyfor the new season."The selection committee will meet the following day to pick the Testsquad for the three-match series in Sri Lanka," Diwadkar added.* CBI team in Monaco to probe award of telecast rightsA CBI team has reached Monaco to probe the alleged bungling in theaward of telecast rights of the 1999 World Cup played in England,agency sources said in New Delhi on Thursday. The Deputy InspectorGeneral of the Anti-Corrpution Unit of the CBI SP Singh reachedMonaco, an island located at the south-eastern Mediterranean coast ofFrance, earlier this week to probe the alleged bungling.CBI sources said that the television deal between the InternationalCricket Council, officials of Doordarshan and Worldtel took place inthis island and the sleuths are hopeful of “picking up some threadsabout the deal.”Singh earlier visited London and held extensive discussions with ICC’sAnti-Corruption unit officials in connection with investigation intothe controversial television rights deal for the ICC knock outtournament in Dhaka three years ago.

Pakistan has invited the Indian junior cricket team to play matches inan under-19 tournament in preparation for next year’s Youth World Cupto be held in New Zealand.”So far we have not received any confirmation regarding our invitationfrom India but we had also asked the Sri Lankan Board to send theirjunior team and they have sent in their confirmation,” PakistanCricket Board’s director Brigadier Munnawar Rana was quoted as sayingin The News today.Rana said the Sri Lankans would visit Pakistan sometime in November.He added he had extended the invitations to Sri Lanka and India duringthe International Cricket Council meeting in London in June.”We are hoping the Indians will also confirm, let us see what happens.But we have to ensure our junior team goes well prepared to NewZealand,” he said.India did not send their team to Karachi for the Asia Under-17Championship last year.Rana said Pakistan will prepare for the Youth World Cup very seriouslythis time as they had never managed to win this particular title.Pakistan juniors lost in the semi-finals of the last Youth World Cupheld in Sri Lanka.

Just minutes after seeing his side end the first day of their penultimate CricInfo Championship match against Essex on 304 for 5 Somerset Coach Kevin Shine told me, “It was an excellent recovery by the boys, it was very good. Jamie’s innings, during which he passed his 1000 runs, was absolute quality, he was back to his best, and Rob played a good supporting innings.”What were the plans for tomorrow? The coach said, “We want to keep on going to get maximum points. We will get to 400 and then see where we go from there.”

Warren Dugmore from Rand Afrikaans University will captain the South African Students XI against Kenya at the University of the Western Cape on October 20.The full team is: Warren Dugmore (capt, RAU), Andrew Cyster (Stellenbocsh),Lazola Dipha (UPE), Bruce Fredericks (UPE), Graham Grace (PE Technikon), Darren Helwick (Wits), Francois Herbst (RAU), Mathew Holmes (Potch Uni), William Motaung (Wits Technikon), Pieter van Niekerk (Potch), Mario Wilson (UPE), Eric Wyma (UPE).Manager: Mike Gardiner (Cape Tech; Coach: Riaan Osman (PE Technikon)