Test of temperament

Playful banter and jelly beans cause a flap at Trent Bridge

There's only so much self-flagellation you can take, so it was a relief to escape the woe-is-us bloodletting of the Tour de France with a trip to Trent Bridge for the second Test match against India. In contrast to the repeated revelations of cycling's iniquity, there was something decidedly wholesome about Nottingham's cricket ground. Perhaps it's because the stadium is so well designed - its modern stands manage to feel just as homely as its 19th-century pavilion, and there's none of the jostling you get at larger-capacity grounds. Perhaps it's because of the family atmosphere, with spectators self-editing their chants for good taste. Perhaps it's because Trent Bridge only sells wine in 175ml bottles, and so, at £3 a pop, getting drunk is rather an extravagance.

And yet . . . et in Arcadia ego. Cricket is no stranger to controversy, and by mid-afternoon we were in the middle of a full-blown confrontation, involving an Indian player, both umpires and the England captain. I won't spoil the surprise, but suffice it to say this was a diplomatic incident involving performance-enhancing substances being consumed on the pitch, not to mention a flagrant breach of health and safety laws.

While most sports bemoan the influence of drugs, thugs and bungs, cricket usually gets its knickers in a twist about other things, such as a dodgy lbw decision, or a bloke falling out of a pedalo. Last year Pakistan forfeited an entire Test match because they felt their honour had been impugned, in a gesture that managed to be both admirable and utterly laughable at the same time. Maybe because it's a game stretched over such epic time frames, cricket has always refused a sense of perspective. A decade ago it was captains causing uproar because they hadn't shaved, and stewards refusing to let you into pavilions without a blazer or a penis. (Happily, they've modernised, and now you just need the blazer.) Today, it's pompous Tannoy announcements at the start of every session, reminding spectators that any intrusion into the playing area carries a £1,000 fine and possible prosecution - a point re-emphasised by the security men who stand guard around the wicket, their black suits and earpieces suggesting that any violation will be met with a loaded .38 pressed to your neck.

Anyway, back to the incident. Towards the end of a beautiful day, Zaheer Khan, one of India's less competent batsmen, made his way to the crease. He asked for his mark, faced one ball, then turned and walked straight for the slip cordon, where he started shaking his bat angrily at England's Kevin Pietersen. Now, I wouldn't put it beyond Pietersen to get up someone's nose just by being there, although the papers reported the next day that Pietersen had been giving Zaheer a few unwelcome words of batting advice.

But the truth was much darker. According to Graham Gooch, the England team had been - quite openly - ingesting high-energy sugar lozenges, known on the street as jelly beans, and one of the players had left some on a good length as a little welcome present for Zaheer. Naturally shocked and offended, Zaheer remonstrated fiercely and called the umpires over to complain. One of the jelly beans was impounded as evidence. (Probably.)

By the way, a final thought on the Tour de France: why did cycling commentators sound so surprised that the Tour had hit yet another low? They need to revisit King Lear: "The worst is not/So long as we can say, 'This is the worst.'"

Buffoonery over brilliance

A small Indian contingent waited outside the dressing room for several hours after India had sealed the second Test at Trent Bridge. As the cricketers celebrated with beer and bhangra indoors, the fans frolicked with drums, flags and posters outside. Glimpses of their heroes were met with loud cheers; anyone within earshot was mobbed.

Amid the frenzy, Sreesanth emerged. Almost no one took the initial step of greeting him; one young man even sniggered, "Don't approach that fellow, he might hit you." It took a pleasant smile from Sreesanth to break the ice, following which he obliged with autographs and photos. He was so charming that one young girl asked, "Sreesanth, are you nice only when you wear your glasses?"

And therein lies the single biggest paradox in the Indian team at the moment - Sreesanth's normalcy off the field compared to his maniacal instincts on it. Nobody, not even the bowler himself, knows which Sreesanth is going to take the field on any given day. Very rarely has India seen match-winning potential and extreme buffoonery combine so explosively. When it comes off, like at the Wanderers last year, it makes for gripping theatre; other times, like at Trent Bridge, it's slapstick.

Sreesanth baffles. Before the start of the fourth day of this second Test, he spent 15 minutes asking the groundsman to clear up the footholds at the Pavilion end. When play began, he was running in from the Radcliffe Road end. A high-velocity beamer, a huge front-foot no-ball and a shoulder-barge capped a wretchedly erratic spell. But he still conjured up gems amid the rubbish. When least expected, a perfectly pitched away-swinger would beat the bat; another would hustle the batsman. Like some random number generator, one ball in ten would surprise.

What Sreesanth could have done with was some introspection. Here was an ideal chance to play second fiddle, an opportunity to sustain the pressure at one end while Zaheer Khan got aggressive at the other. Had Sreesanth made the batsmen play more often, it was he who had the better chance of taking wickets, what with them trying to see out Zaheer at the other end. Instead he turned showman, waiting for the cameras to focus on him, and responding to a few sledges from the crowd. "I think he has a great example in Zaheer," said Rahul Dravid at the end of the match. "Zaheer has been as aggressive as anyone, without going over the top - just performing and getting wickets."

Coming from a state that's a cricketing backwater, Sreesanth was bound to be overawed by all the attention. Three years back he was a first-change bowler for Kerala in the second division of the Ranji Trophy; now he's expected to win Test matches. It's a gigantic leap and one that few 24-year-olds can achieve seamlessly. There's a lesson for Sreesanth to learn from Tinu Yohannan, his predecessor from Kerala who managed just three Tests, unable to cope with the expectations. India cannot afford to lose another talented youngster as they did the likes of Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Sadanand Viswanath, Maninder Singh and Vinod Kambli.

So how does the team get the best out of him? A rap on the knuckles is an easy short-term solution but here is a young lad who needs careful handling. Greg Chappell, it is learned, knew how to deal with him - coaxing and admonishing in equal measure.

Team-mates have in the past been exasperated with Sreesanth's "naatak" (theatrics) but acknowledge that he is a vital member of the side. The good thing is, he has been talking to India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, who rarely bowled a ball in anger during his playing days - except once, when taunted by Aamer Sohail in a high-pressure World Cup quarter-final. "It's a concern," said Prasad when asked about Sreesanth's on-field antics, "but we're trying to tell him not to cross the line. We need to respect the game and the rules. He needs to focus on his cricket rather than the other stuff."

Dinesh Karthik, one of Sreesanth's closest friends in the team, will no doubt understand his situation, having struggled to come to terms with international cricket when he was first picked, before returning far more assured. A chat with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, another superstar from a traditionally non-cricketing state, could help. Seeking out an elder statesman like Anil Kumble, a highly aggressive yet unassuming bowler, wouldn't be out of place either. Nobody is asking Sreesanth to mellow down - in fact he needs all the aggression he can summon - but more channelising, and less Bollywood, will be the way to go.

Candy upstages cricket

To be successful as an international sportsman, a certain degree of arrested development is undoubtedly a useful character trait. After all, any profession that requires you to "play" for a living is best left to those who still giggle at fart jokes and delight in the delinquency of dressing-room humour. But at Trent Bridge this week, England's cricketers were left looking rather childish, after an incident involving jelly beans that has become the talk of the tabloids.

"It's not the reason we've lost a game of cricket, because of some jelly beans," said England's captain, Michael Vaughan, but his protestations were falling on deaf ears. Not since Dean Jones demanded that Curtly Ambrose remove his wristbands during a one-day international in 1992-93 has something so innocuous roused such a vehement response. Fuelled by a sense of righteous indignation, Zaheer Khan swung the second new ball both ways at will to cut England's batting to ribbons, and set his side up for a famous win.

There was more to the story of course. England lost a crucial toss and were ambushed on a damp first-innings track, and to compound that misfortune, India's batsmen responded with the sort of unilateral determination of which few of their followers believed they were capable. And then, when Vaughan himself was threatening to charm the initiative back to his team, he was bowled freakishly off his thigh pad - a moment of misfortune that India's fans might argue was karma, given the controversial dismissals of both Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

All in all, it added up to a classic no-holds-barred Test match - a contest from first day to last, and one that bloomed like a lotus flower on that magnificent fourth afternoon. And yet, all that mattered in the aftermath was the saga of the sugar-coated candy, which perhaps says more about the attention span of the average news consumer than the cricketers who've been vilified for their actions.

On an American news channel recently, the anchorwoman Mika Brzezinski first refused to read, then burned and finally shredded the day's lead story - Paris Hilton's release from jail, which had been given precedence over a major political development. India's fifth victory in 75 years of Test cricket in England has similarly been shunted down the pecking order.

"It's all been blown out of proportion," said Vaughan. "I know it's a great story, but the guys eat jelly beans, jelly babies and chewing gum for energy out in the middle. A few were brought on at the drinks break, and one or two might have been left on the floor as a prank for the new batsman. If we offended Zaheer in any way, we apologise, but there were no jelly beans thrown from the slip cordon, they were just left there. Again it's not the reason we've lost a game of cricket."

Vaughan looked rather embarrassed at the barrage of questions, and even refused to answer one query as to the exact significance of the "prank". Either way, the saga rather undermined England's tough-nut image that Matt Prior had attempted to portray on Sunday evening.

"It's important to have 11 people hunting together on the pitch," he said, "creating an intensity and an environment that's uncomfortable for people to bat in." Somehow, peppering the opposition with boiled sweets doesn't give off the same aura that you'd find in an Australian slip cordon.

Images of Zaheer brandishing his bat in the direction of Kevin Pietersen were flashed around the world over the weekend, but in the manner of his bowling, as well as his emphatically humourless reaction afterwards, Zaheer emerged with every ounce of the dignity that he had laid on the line during the incident. "I just felt it was insulting," he said. "I'm here to play cricket."

His captain, Rahul Dravid, was delighted with the net result, and tweaked England's embarrassment ever further. "If he's going to perform like this, can we please get him upset after every game!" he said. "I've never seen him as fired up. He came into the dressing-room really keyed up, so please, if you're going to upset our boys, and they're going to perform like this, I'll be more than happy."

And yet, if England's childishness (or "mental disintegration" as Vaughan would dearly love to be able to call it) was seen to backfire on one of India's players, then it arguably scored a direct hit on another. Sreesanth, the breakdancing bundle of energy from Kerala, had a shocking Test match. Teased for his apparent resemblance to Harry Potter while batting, he bowled like one of Voldemort's stooges - ineffective, erratic and at times downright ugly. He sent Pietersen, the object of India's ire, crashing to the turf with a whistling beamer, and then aimed a vicious bouncer at Collingwood after overstepping by almost a metre.

"I hope to God that wasn't meant to be," said Vaughan. "He's young and a really good talent, but I don't see how you can be bowling a two-foot-over-the-line no-ball. It's a tactic that could be used in most games, and it's something we don't want to see." Dravid, for his part, said that Sreesanth would be taken to one side and that the matter would be dealt with internally.

"Sree is a talented bowler, but he's young and very excitable. He's going to learn along the way, and it's part of our responsibility to see that he learns."

Sreesanth may have emerged from a fiery match with a 50% fine, but India emerged with a precious 1-0 lead, and when all the jellybeans have been done and digested, that tasty fact will remain. "We lost this match because we didn't get enough runs in tricky conditions," said Vaughan, in a vain attempt to keep the cricket at the centre of the attention. Had England taken that attitude a few days' earlier, they still might not have averted defeat, but they'd have done away with the embarrassment.

Resurgence of Indian Cricket

I've been reading articles and people's comments on the last test match and how Indian cricket is on the up again, I think people are getting a little bit carried away.

I think that there should not be to much read in to the last test, India won a "very very" favourable toss, England played very under par on day one and landed themselves in it.

We'll see a repeat of the Lords Test at the Oval except this time we wont let India off the hook.

What do others think?

Lara and Inzamam vow to return to cricket

The cricket World Cup held every four years brings unprecedented honour and pride for the winners and varying degree of joy for the teams reaching the semi-finals. It causes disappointment to the teams that get ousted in the preliminary round and humiliation to the team hitting the bottom. The worst effect of every World Cup competition is the massacre of some outstanding players whose ouster takes away lot of thrill and excitement from the game. The bottom teams lose faith in their players and adopt the tedious process of rebuilding their squads by inducting young players. They ignore the facts that the world-class teams are not rebuilt in a year or even in four years and that there being ‘no short cut to experience’, showing the door to senior players is a costly exercise.

The World Cup 2007 caused a lot of casualties, the top among them being the two skippers, Brian Lara and Inzamamul Haq. Since they were not yet the ‘spent force,’ not only that they have a burning desire to stage a come back, even the cricket lovers around the globe wish them to renounce their retirement and take the field to enthrall them with their magnificent stroke play.

In a recent statement, Lara stated that despite the fact that he was instrumental in bringing many victories to the West Indies, there was a group of self-seekers in the team who did not like his presence in the side. He was in his top form and sincerely felt that he could play for another 3-4 years. The World Cup disaster combined with the displeasure of this gang compelled him to announce his retirement. There is no doubt about the greatness of Lara. He was the top batsman with the highest scorers in Test cricket and also for creating some world records. Such players are born once in a century.

His Pakistani counter-part Inzamam is a player of no lesser merit. Having scored 8813 runs in 119 Test matches including a triple century that made him the second Pakistani to do so after Hanif Muhammad rendered him eligible for placement in the distinguished category of world’s cricketers. He was not wholly responsible for the Pakistan team’s World Cup disaster. To some extent the team management and the board were evenly responsible for the fiasco. There may have been some lapses in his command and control and possible flaws in tactical handling of the team but as a player he was certainly not yet down the hill. The pressure of unexpected disaster combined with the media hype and criticism compelled him to resign from captaincy as well as one-day cricket.

As for the Test cricket he considers himself fully fit to continue. He is only 20 runs short of Javed Miandad’s Test total of 8832 runs. Inzamam has a burning desire of not only crossing this figure but also achieving the land mark of 10,000 runs in Test cricket, that will certainly be an honour for Pakistan. Having made his intentions clear, he is not only practicing regularly but also attending a gym to keep him physically fit. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has, however, not yet given a positive response to Inzi’s desires, aims and objectives. Initially, they were very reluctant to have him back in the game. With a slight change of heart, the selection committee has now linked his return to Test cricket with his form and fitness. Knowing the calibre of the young crop of players, one does not find an outstanding youngster to replace Inzamam in the Test side. It will thus be in the best interest of Pakistan cricket to let him be a part of the Test XI. The two great players’ vow to return to cricket is luring them towards the Indian Cricket League (ICL) planned to be staged in India in October 2007. The contest is a purely private venture sponsored by India’s biggest media firm, Zee Telefilms. The Twenty20 tournament will be an international sort of a competition between six teams composed of two Indian internationals, four overseas players and eight juniors in each side. The ICL organising committee is approaching the former top players of the world to participate by offering lucrative financial terms. Although not approved by the BCCI, the contest has stirred the cricket world by evoking visions of a Kerry Packer style circus.

Lara who is a free man since his team’s defeat in the World Cup was the first foreign player to enlist himself with the ICL while Inzamam is still considering the offer. When questioned on the subject he remarked, ‘they have been in touch with me and I am considering the offer. If the terms are right, I will play’. The ICL has also invited a few more Pakistani players who are not a part of the present team. The PCB has, however, forbidden the contracted players from playing in this contest but has kept the door open for the ex-internationals. Still it is a dicey situation for Inzamam. He must get proper clearance from the board. Considering his future plans of returning to Test cricket, he should not take any risks. Among other internationals, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming have accepted the offer while Jonty Rhodes is considering the same. While Kapil Dev is a director, Tony Greig and Dean Jones are members of the ICL Board. Explaining the aims and objectives of the contest Kapil said that the idea was to spread the game and give players an opportunity to make a living. I, however, feel that it is a wonderful means of promoting veterans’ cricket at international level.

Sledging healthy for cricket: Andy Bichel

London, Aug. 3 (PTI): Far from being a menace, sledging is a "healthy" way of putting the opposition off their game, feels Australian pacer Andy Bichel.

"I think sledging is healthy for the game. I don't really call it sledging - at the end of the day it is gamesmanship," Bichel was quoted by 'The Guardian' as saying.

"These mind games will always go on when you are out there fighting for your country. There is a lot at stake," he added.

However, Bichel admitted that taking things too far can backfire and players should know where to draw the line.

"...you have to be careful as it can all too easily be portrayed in the wrong light with the number of cameras on the players able to play everything back from all different angles," he explained.

"I have never agreed with personal sledging, no Australian has, but everyone will try to throw another cricketer off their game if they can. The only two people who actually know whether something has gone too far are those involved out on the field," he added.

Referring to the jelly bean prank played on Indian pacer Zaheer Khan by England during the second cricket Test at Trent Bridge, Bichel said the episode was a perfect example of how sledging can backfire.

"In the second Test at Trent Bridge the sledging may have fired Zaheer Khan up. It can work in a bowler's favour because they have six chances to then get the sledging batsman out in every over and it only takes one bad shot."

"The sledging probably did backfire, but the conditions were in his favour and very few batsmen in the world would have been able to handle that situation," Bichel said.

Cricket: Curry aims to spice up North West showpiece

The biggest crowd of the season - including Ireland internationals in Belfast - will converge on Eglinton over the next two days for the Northern Bank Senior Cup final between Limavady and Glendermott.


Limavady, captained by the legendary Decker Curry, will be favourites because of the strength in depth but Hasan Raza, who played Test cricket for Pakistan at the age of 14, is in the Glendermott line-up and is hot favourite to be the top individual scorer in the match.

Unlike their counterparts in the Northern union and Leinster, North West still play four limited overs innings in the cup final and with huge neutral support it is still proving as popular as ever.

With the bating on both teams much superior to their bowling, a high-scoring final is promised and the attraction of the best batsman playing for the underdogs sets up a showdown which will not be as clear-cut as the last cup final meeting between the teams in 2003, when Limavady won by 10 wickets.

The action today and tomorrow starts at noon.

Lord's, London Home of Cricket, to Host Skating, Shakespeare

Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Lord's is prepared to become more than just the ``Home of Cricket'' by opening the 193-year-old London stadium to public skaters, tennis players and Shakespearean actors, its owner said.

``We need to be more inclusive,'' Keith Bradshaw, chief executive officer of the Marylebone Cricket Club, or MCC, which owns Lord's, said in an interview. ``I aspire for us to be like a Nike brand.''

International match day at Lord's in north London has been central to the U.K. sports calendar for more than a century, luring some of the top names in finance and entertainment. MCC members, who wear ``egg and bacon'' yellow-and-red striped ties and blazers, include former Vodafone Group Plc CEO Christopher Gent, ex-Prime Minister John Major and rock star Mick Jagger.

Bradshaw wants to open a store selling Lord's apparel such as straw panama hats on London's Oxford Street and to build a temporary ice rink for the public this winter. The MCC needs to increase sales outside cricket because the 28,000-seat Lord's stadium may lose one of the two elite five-day matches it stages every year. The venue makes about a third of its annual sales of 25 million pounds ($51.1 million) from such so-called Tests.

A private box at Lord's, which can accommodate 18 people and includes a buffet-style lunch, cost as much as 7,500 pounds for last week's Test against India. The cheapest ticket is 40 pounds.

New Locations

The England & Wales Cricket Board has earmarked Cardiff and Durham as new venues in a bid to spread matches around the country. The board's agreement with Lord's expires in 2009.

``I'd be a fool not to think there's a danger'' of losing a Test match, Bradshaw said. ``We're trying to remind people that this is where Test cricket should be played.''

Bradshaw, a 43-year-old Australian, is the first non-English chief executive of an organization that began as a gentlemen's social and gambling club in 1787 and is now synonymous with English cricket. Until 10 years ago, national team players wore the MCC colors on the field during overseas tours and before 1998 the only woman allowed in the pavilion during play was Queen Elizabeth II.

As part of his vision to make Lord's a brand as recognizable as Nike Inc., the biggest maker of athletic shoes, Bradshaw set up a ``Master Plan Working Party'' to look into proposed redevelopments.

``I have a very heavy responsibility in terms of shaping the future both in a traditional sense and a commercial sense,'' said Bradshaw. ``The members will embrace change as long as they have input into that change.''

Archery, Shakespeare

Among the ideas are adding 10,000 seats to the arena, building hotels and apartments, and creating a cricket academy. This summer, matches will be interspersed with international archery tournaments and a production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. The venue's first cricket contest under floodlights is scheduled for September.

``We have to move with the times,'' David Weston, an MCC member for 20 years, said between sips of pink champagne at the India match. ``I'm not sure about baseball but I think an ice rink and archery would be absolutely splendid.''

Meetings will be held in October to gauge the views of the 18,000 members, who only voted to allow women to join their ranks in 1998. There are limits to what they'll bear, Bradshaw said.

``We're not going to stage an AC/DC rock concert,'' he said. ``But perhaps we could have opera.''

Bradshaw is talking with the Lawn Tennis Association about building a temporary court on the field. Companies may also be invited to stage corporate matches on the Lord's square.

Spiderman, Razorlight

Bradshaw showed his intention to get the message out during England's two Test matches at the ground this summer. He hired an aircraft to fly over London with a banner declaring ``Lord's: Home of Cricket'' and children at the event were offered erasable tattoos bearing the motto.

He also invited `Spiderman' movie actress Kirsten Dunst and her boyfriend Johnny Borrell of pop group Razorlight to join MCC members in their box during May's match against the West Indies.

Dunst and Borrell weren't allowed in the 127-year-old terracotta Pavilion, which is strictly for players and members. Anyone seeking to become a member faces an 18-year wait and must be proposed, seconded and sponsored by insiders.

Haydn Turner, who coaches children's teams at Lord's, backed Bradshaw's plans, so long as they don't turn the ground into ``another Blackpool,'' a reference to the U.K. seaside town known for amusement arcades, roller coasters and low-grade hotels.

``I don't want swings and roundabouts but a tennis court and an ice rink would be a lot of fun,'' he said. ``Cricket on ice? Why not?''

Pakistan consider Proteas venue change

Karachi - Pakistan cricket officials said on Thursday they might move two matches against South Africa from Peshawar and Rawalpindi, but denied any action would be linked to security concerns.

"There may be changes in two venues of one-day internationals in the home series against South Africa but it's an internal decision and has nothing to do with security," Pakistan Cricket Board director of operations Zakir Khan told AFP.

South Africa is due to tour Pakistan in September-October to play two Tests and five one-day internationals.

They were scheduled to take part in a one-day match at Peshawar, where they refused to play in 2003 because of security fears due to its close proximity to Afghanistan.




They are also due to play a match in Rawalpindi, twin city to capital Islamabad, where violence has erupted in the aftermath of a raid on a radical mosque last month that left more than 100 people dead.

Recent reports from South Africa suggested the team had concerns over playing in Pakistan because of the deteriorating security situation.

Cricket South Africa general manager Brian Basson told a newspaper earlier this month that cricket bosses were worried about the situation in Pakistan but their tour was still on.

South Africa have confirmed a tour itinerary in which they play a Test in the southwest city of Karachi, where they also refused to play on security concerns four years ago.

More than 40 people were killed in Karachi two months ago in some of Pakistan's worst political violence.

Khan said the possible venue change was an internal matter.

Meanwhile, a Cricket Australia delegation was in Pakistan to assess security and venue arrangements for next month's A team tour and an under-19 team tour in October.

Pakistan had to play their home series against Australia and the West Indies at neutral venues in 2001 and 2002 as both teams refused to tour the country for security reasons.

New Zealand agreed to tour in 2002 but were forced to cut it short after a bomb blast near their hotel killed 14 people, including French naval staff. South Africa then refused to play any match in Karachi on their tour in 2003.

The Proteas are due to arrive in the last week of September and open the Test series with the first Test in Karachi from October 1. - Sapa-AFP

'Godfather' David English continues cricket aid

David English, founder of the ESCA Bunbury Under-15 festival, held his hands up yesterday and admitted that the seeds of England's "great jellybean mystery" could never have been sown at a Bunbury festival.

"Barging and nasty sniping, vindictive, bully-boy tactics are something we would never condone at a festival," said English yesterday. "Cricket must remain a gentlemanly game, played with humour but in the right spirit. We try and educate our boys that there is no room for sledging in the game."

English, regarded by many senior cricketers in the land as "the godfather of English cricket," oversaw the 21st staging of the Bunbury Festival this year in Kingston-Upon-Hull.

For those 21 years, English cricket's avuncular figure has assisted in the development of 178 15-year-olds going on to play first-class cricket, with 48 of those players earning full England caps. He is still in contact with many of the England senior team.

There were no jelly beans evident during play this year, but there were plenty of visits to the tuck shop at Hymers College in Hull, with play interrupted by rain.

At the close of the festival, when the England under-15 squad was announced, four boys were chosen as Bunbury/Telegraph scholars and they will attend the ECB National Academy at Loughborough University early next year with senior England cricketers.

This is the fifth year of the Bunbury/Telegraph scholarships, and the boys who have attended the week have been greatly influenced by those they rub shoulders with. Several of the scholars are already making their mark. Four years ago, Adil Rashid was the Telegraph 'outstanding player of the tournament,' and he has gone on to become the Amir Khan of English cricket: a knock-out talent with both bat and ball.

Another scholar, James Harris, of Glamorgan, became the youngest cricketer to take 10 wickets in a match, aged 17, for his county on debut earlier this season. Other scholars are also making their mark: Rory Hamilton-Brown has been selected to captain England under-19s, with fellow scholars Stuart Meaker, Greg Wood, Alex Wakely and Billy Godleman also selected for the side.

This year's quartet heading for Loughborough are Adam Davies, a wicketkeeper/batsman, from Brighton College, who has recently set a record score of 177 for his school, to eclipse the 149 mark set by incumbent senior Test wicketkeeper Matt Prior when he was at the College.

The second scholar is Lewis Gregory, a batsman, from Hele's School, Plymouth and Plympton Cricket Club. His top score is 125 and his hero is Michael Vaughan.

Matthew Dunn, a bowler from Bearwood College and Egham Cricket Club, plays for Surrey.

Dunn has best figures of seven for 21 in an eight-over spell.

The fourth scholar is Zafar Ansari, the first Bunbury cricketer to be awarded the scholarship two years running and who was also named England U-15 captain at the closing ceremony. He was 14 when he went to the ECB Academy earlier this year with Joe Root (batsman, Yorkshire), Michael Bates (wicketkeeper, Hampshire) and Nathan Buck (bowler, Leicestershire).

Ansari, who attends Hampton School, is a formidable all-rounder (although he is still the smallest of the four scholars this year), with a career best 145 not out against Cornwall, for Surrey, and figures of 20-6-33-6 for the South against the Midlands in the Bunbury Festival. By all accounts, he has magic not only in his fingers for spinning the ball, but also he is a gifted concert pianist. Some guys have all the luck.

Cricket: World Cup elite target a Cup fillip

The Bob Kerr Irish Cup semi-finals tomorrow will be a not-so-mini World Cup reunion with no fewer than nine of the 15-man squad from the Caribbean involved.


Match of the day is North County, the winners in 2001, '03 and '05 against holders Railway Union and as Paul Mooney, one of those World Cup heroes, put it this week:"Any one of 12 players could win this game."

It is likely it will be more than one but with Andre Botha and the Mooney brothers on one side, not to mention emerging Ireland A all-rounder Reinhard Strydom, up against the Railway quartet of Ireland captain Trent Johnston, Kenny Carroll and the O'Brien brothers plus Roger Whelan, another full international, there is an all-star cast to decide a match which would have graced the final.

Having said that, the other 'semi' is a pretty good second with Ireland's openers in the West Indies, Jeremy Bray and William Porterfield on opposite sides when The Hills face last year's beaten finalists, Rush.

The Hills were the last quarter finalists to be decided but they did it in emphatic style last Friday, beating Malahide by 10 wickets, despite a victory target of 189. Bray scored 109 with seven sixes and 13 fours in his 68-ball century. Patrick Byrne finished 62 not - it was over in 23 overs.





WEEKEND FIXTURES:

TODAY: Ulster Bank Premier League: Bangor v Civil Service North (1.00), Waringstown v Lurgan (1.45).

TOMORROW (12.00): Bangor v North Down, Carrickfergus v Civil Service North, Downpatrick v Lisburn, Instonians v Lurgan, Waringstown v Derriaghy.

Section Two: Armagh v Dunmurry, CIYMS v Woodvale, Cliftonville v Cooke Collegians, Holywood v Muckamore, Laurelvale v Ballymena.

Section Three: Academy v Drumaness, Larne v Dungannon, Portadown v Millpark, Saintfield v Donacloney, Templepatrick v Dundrum.

Section Four: Donaghadee v BISC, Victoria v PSNI.

Bob Kerr Irish Cup semi finals (1.00): The Hills v Rush, North County v Railway Union.

Goldblatt McGuigan Junior Cup final (11.00): North Down II v Lurgan II (Wallace Park).

Intermediate Cup Final: Civil Service II v Derriaghy II (Pollock Park).

SUNDAY (12.00): Ulster Bank Premier League: Carrickfergus v Instonians, Civil Service II Waringstown II.

Section Two: Cliftonville v Holywood, Cooke Collegians v Dunmurry, Woodvale v CIYMS.

Section Three: Drumaness v Millpark, Dundrum v Larne, Saintfield v Academy.

Cricket: Thompson handed surprise call-up

Greg Thompson was yesterday named in the Ireland squad for next week's Inter-Continental Cup opener against Scotland in Belfast.


It is a big call by Ireland coach Phil Simmons and his fellow selectors after watching the Lisburn leg spinner take four for 133 in 23 overs in the Ireland A game which finished in an exciting draw at Malahide yesterday.

Thompson, like most leg spinners, will take wickets but he is still bowling one too many loose ball every over and although he turns it more than Gary Kidd, the Waringstown slow left armer, who played all three games in last month's Quadrangular series, will feel unlucky to be left out.

Ireland A captain Andrew White, who had a good three days with the ball against MCC, proved he is still Ireland's No 2 slow bowler and is certain to play at Stormont. The last place would appear to be between Thompson and Thinus Fourie depending on the pitch.

The game at Malahide yesterday got the finish it deserved after a high-scoring, closely matched contest. MCC needed 17 off the last over, bowled by Fourie, but the South African-born Ireland international restricted the ninth wicket pair to 10 off the first five balls and then, with Aaron O'Brien going for a six to level the scores, he held the skyer himself.

O'Brien, the batsman of the match, followed up his classy 111 in the first innings with an equally impressive 143 yesterday. The 25-year old Australian, who has played 20 first class games for New South Wales, could only be blamed for taking 10 singles through the 90s which, it could be argued cost his side the victory but in the end a draw was the fair result.

Andrew Poynter was the batting hero for Ireland in the morning, the Clontarf batsman scoring an undefeated 114 off 116 balls with 13 fours and three sixes.

It was a stark contrast to his first innings when he took 120 balls over his first 20 runs.

The MCC target was 292 from 59 overs.



SCORES: Ireland first innings 328-6 dec (A Cusack 67 not out, D Joyce 64, A White 59, A Poynter 42)

MCC first innings 375 (D Christian 113, A O'Brien 111, A Balbirnie 61 not out; A White 4-44, P Connell 3-79, G Thompson 2-66)

Ireland second innings 338-6 (D Rankin 59, R Strydom 82, A Poynter 114 not out, A Cusack 1, G Thompson 26, F McAllister 7 not out; C Salmons 2-31, J Wightman 2-69).

MCC second innings 285-9 (A O'Brien 143 G Mail 65; T Fourie 5-28 (off 10 overs), G Thompson 2-77 (13), R Strydom 1-14 (4), A White 1-47 (13), P Connell 0-32 (7), R Whelan 0-18 (4), P Eaglestone 0-22 (3), A Cusack 0-36 (5).

Ireland squad (to face Scotland at Stormont, August 9-12): T Johnston (Railway Union), A Botha (North County), A Cusack (Clontarf), T Fourie (Merrion), D Langford-Smith (Phoenix), K McCallan (Waringstown), E Morgan (Middlesex), K O'Brien (Railway Union), N O'Brien (Northamptonshire), W Porterfield (Rush), G Thompson (Lisburn), A White (Instonians).

Cricket: Waringstown aim to run up a triple boost

Waringstown return to league action today, eight points adrift of leaders North Down but with the chance to end the weekend as joint leaders, at least.


A couple of weeks ago, it was the Comber side who faced a triple header to Waringstown's one game and duly won all three. It is the reverse this weekend and the Villagers know that anything less than 12 points over the next three days will make them second favourites to retain the championship.

They are also handicapped by the absence of international Kyle McCallan for certainly the first two games and, almost certainly Sunday's game as well, because of work commitments. But the Ireland international is confident there is enough strength in depth to see the champions complete a hat-trick of wins, despite back to back cup defeats last weekend.

"It is never nice to lose a cup final," said McCallan, referring to the Challenge Cup showdown at Downpatrick, "but if we were critical we didn't score enough runs and North Down bowled well.

"But I thought we took it very well. We arrived at Shaw's Bridge on Sunday (for the Ulster Cup semi final) without James Hall and Simon Harrison who was injured but Keith Allen arrived on the scene on Sunday, Ben McKnight is also coming in, and with Lee Nelson already in the team there are youngsters coming through.

"I thought we did well to reach 160 after being 40 for six and although even that wasn't enough, there was enough fight there and with the bottle we've seen over the last few weeks we should be OK this weekend."

McCallan knows it will not be easy, however.

"We have Lurgan first and not only is it a local derby but they are fighting relegation and will be coming out with all guns blazing, on Saturday it is Derriaghy who are the sort of team who can beat anybody on their day and have Peter van Niekerk is scoring runs-a-plenty. And on Sunday it is Civil Service North away who are another side in the thick of things at the bottom.

"So all three days, both teams have everything to play for, but we would hope to win our two home games and see what happens on Sunday," added the Ireland vice-captain who will miss two more weekends this month because of international action. He is around, though, for the probable championship decider, at The Green on August 18.

North Down's only game this weekend is at Bangor but that will not be as easy as it looked even this time last week because the Seasiders have leapt from rock bottom to joint fifth place after back to back wins last weekend.

With 12 games played, more than anyone around them, however, Bangor know today's game, at home to Civil Service, the team that has replaced them at the basement, is a game they dare not lose while the Stormont side, who welcome back Ireland international Gary Wilson for the weekend, will also be looking for maximum points, not just today but also at Carrickfergus tomorrow.

Carrick are back in action on Sunday, at home to Instonians, whom they play twice in the next fortnight, and the Ulster Cup finalists will be doing Ryan Eagleson's side a huge favour by getting off to a winning start tomorrow, at home to Lurgan.

The other relegation duel tomorrow is at The Meadow where Downpatrick and Lisburn meet and the tension will be as palpable as in last week's cup final at the same venue, only this time it is increasingly desperate league points which are at stake.