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MTN Domestic Championship

A fine allround performance from Zander de Bruyn handed the Warriors a tight 12-run win over the Eagles at Goodyear Park on Friday, and booked their place in the final of the Championship. After losing HD Ackerman for a duck, de Bruyn and Robin Peterson steadied the innings with a fine partnership of 75. Once de Bruyn departed for a patient, anchor-like 62 the Warriors’ innings rather fell away to 241 for 8. However, Makhaya Ntini took two wickets in his first two overs to leave the Eagles’ top order struggling – despite 50 from Loots Bosman. It was de Bruyn who made the difference in the end, removing Bosman and picking up two more at crucial times. Fittingly, he effected the run out of Thandi Tshabalala to seal the match. However, de Bruyn, the captain, might be forced to miss the final against Cape Cobras this Friday due to his side’s slow over-rate against the Eagles.A brisk 50 from Vernon Philander and five wickets from Alan Dawson sealed an easy five-wicket win for Cape Cobras over the Dolphins at Newlands who now join the Warriors in Friday’s final. Dawson ripped through the top order to reduce the Dolphins to 64 for 5. In spite of a fighting fifty from Hashim Amla, they collapsed to an uncompetitive 191. However Johann Louw and Shaun Pollock both struck to leave the Cobras in trouble at 72 for 4 – Pollock removing Herschelle Gibbs for just 3 – before Philander and Ashwell Prince (40*) saw the Cobras home with more than six overs spare.

SAA Provincial Challenge

A fine spell of 5 for 48 in 11 overs from Alan Kruger helped Griqualand West crush Limpopo by 8 wickets at Kimberley. Griqualand held a useful first innings lead of 74, thanks to Adrian McLaren’s 131 and a magnificent, brisk 158 not out from Mohammad Akoojee. Limpopo capitulated meekly in their second innings, limping to 64 for 5 with Kruger ripping out the top order. Johannes Shokane and Pieter Haasbroek offered some resistance, in the process setting Griqualand 39 runs to win, but they cantered to victory in the eighth over for the loss of two wickets.Western Province romped to what was, in the end, a comprehensive victory over South Western Districts in a low-scoring encounter at Cape Town. Mark de Stadler rocked the South Western Districts batting with 5 for 22 as they declared on 103 for 9. Western Province didn’t fare much better in reply and they were indebted to a gutsy 60 from Myles Williamson to salvage a vital first innings lead of 23. Enter Quinton Friend and Colin Birch who left South Western Districts’ second innings in tatters at 26 for 5, before ending their nightmare on 107 to leave Western Province needing just 85 to win. Williamson again batted aggressively to take them over the line, with good support from Bob Homani (21) and Alistair Gray (33).

SAA Provincial Cup

Adrian McLaren’s maiden one-day hundred, an innings bristling with intent and bravado, led Griqualand West to a convincing six-wicket win over Limpopo at Kimberley on Saturday. McLaren’s hundred, from just 109 balls with 16 fours, was a lone effort; five of their top six failed to reach double figures and at one point Griqualand were 49 for 5 in the 18th over. McLaren refused to be contained, lifting three sixes while also receiving good support from Frans Holtzhausen and Alan Kruger whose lovely cameo of 37 injected vital pace in the final five overs. Chasing 250, Limpopo began encouragingly with Sonnyboy Letshele smashing 62 at better than a run-a-ball – but he received scant support as Anthony Mabuya’s slow left-arm-spin ran through the lower-order. Limpopo were finally dismissed for 203 in the 39th over.John Geoghegan’s highest one-day score enabled Western Province to record a simple six-wicket win over South Western Districts at Cape Town on Saturday. Chasing 176, the openers Myles Williamson and Bob Homani fell cheaply before Geoghegan’s stablising innings; Mark de Stadler propped up the other end with a patient 39 as Western Province reached their target with more than eight overs to spare.

For 15 minutes, a quartet of the game’s most treasured commodities paraded their off-field repertoires in a discussion devoted to spin. Shane Warne currently leads the friendly jostle with Muttiah Muralitharan for the most Test wickets, and he assumed the role as unofficial master of ceremonies as the pair joined Daniel Vettori and Stuart MacGill for a pre-Super Test meeting.Never has a group of slow bowlers with so many Test wickets – 1553 in total, with MacGill the junior on 160 and Warne the senior on 623 – been together like this and, after next week, the chances of a reunion are as likely as both sides naming five-man pace-attacks on a pitch expected to turn. Watching the spinners’ banter was fascinating as they played their roles by displaying subtle psychological digs, wise-cracking and genuine love of their craft.In a press conference, Warne can show similar characteristics to an over of his bowling – brave, offended, attacking, mock-surprised, in control and, most of all, appealing. Vettori was steady, penetrative with a well-placed one-liner and aware of his place in the pecking order, while Muralitharan was quieter and focused, masking the damage of his potent wrist.A spot for the Test was what MacGill craved, and he grabbed some of the attention with self-deprecating and clever, up-front humour. The selectors, who oversaw his Test-free tour of England, will probably take notice when he turns up at “my house” on Friday.”I guess that means I’m fresh and that you can’t blame me for what happened [in the Ashes],” he said. “Now we’re back at my house I think the story will be very, very different. The SCG has always been very good to us.”To MacGill’s right, Warne predicted Muralitharan would reach 1000 Test wickets and the compliment was reversed. “He’s young, he’s fresh and will be around forever,” Warne said. “I don’t think there’s any rivalry there [for the record], I’m just happy to hang on to it and I have a little lead.”As Muralitharan tipped Warne to play for another “five or six years”, Warne interrupted with “I’ll be 42 then” and MacGill shouted “no” across the table. “Let me clear that up for you, no!” MacGill repeated to a laughing audience. If MacGill, 34, had been born in another country, he might have already retired with 300 Test wickets. Instead, he challenged Vettori to a competition to see who could be first to reach the half-way mark of the other two’s tallies.Vettori settled for being pleased that he was on the verge of a Test in Sydney, something neither he nor Muralitharan have done. “It’s pretty exciting, it’s been a long time since New Zealand have played a Test here. Usually, New Zealand get a couple of Tests in Hobart and one in Perth,” he said dryly. “So, it needs a marquee event to bowl with Murali and to have the two guys on the opposition is exciting.”The Test will be only Muralitharan’s third in Australia and his first for ten years. “It’s a big challenge for me as I’ve got three wickets here for 300 runs,” he said. “That’s 100 runs per wicket so hopefully my performance will be better than that.” Warne said Australia would happily give Muralitharan 3 for 200.As the showmanship neared its end, the predictable yet virtually unanswerable question of who was the best went to Vettori. “The guys to the left [Warne] and right [Muralitharan] of me have obviously proved themselves,” he said, as MacGill cheerfully chirped in with “I’m to the left of you”.”Both have done it all over the world,” Vettori continued. “I’d hate to put anything between them. We’ve got a spectacle here and we get to appreciate the two greatest spinners in the game, and myself and Stuart as well.” The quarter of an hour was over, but there will be six days – although Warne doubts the match will last that long – for more absorbing byplay.

Australia’s selectors have retained faith in the 12-man squad that routed New Zealand 2-0 in the Test series last month. Ricky Ponting will lead the side in the first Test against Pakistan at the WACA in Perth, with Brett Lee once again the most likely candidate to miss out, even on a pitch tailormade for fast bowling.Lee has made an impact during the one-day internationals against New Zealand, but with Michael Kasprowicz having bowled so magnificently on tours of Sri Lanka and India, there is unlikely to be a change in the Australian mindset, with Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne being the other components in a formidable four-man bowling attack.Pakistan struggled with the bat on the opening day of their tour game against Western Australia, and were ruthlessly dismantled by Steve Waugh’s side when they played at the WACA in 1999-2000.Australian squad for first Test
Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee.

10.5 overs

In the end it wasn’t the thrilling finale that the competition deserved, but it nevertheless produced worthy champions as Surrey became the first ever Twenty20 Cup winners at Trent Bridge. After Jimmy Ormond had helped reduce Warwickshire to a miserable 115 all out, Ian Ward and Alistair Brown led Surrey to an emphatic nine-wicket win.Ormond was the star of the show and deservedly picked up a healthy cheque for the Man of the Match award. He led the way for Surrey on a seaming and bouncy pitch under the lights with an immaculate display of seam bowling. He ended with 4 for 11 and immediately put Warwickshire on the back foot with those four early wickets.Neil Carter and Nick Knight both played on to Ormond, and Jim Troughton couldn’t repeat his heroics of the morning as he and the other batsmen found life more difficult under the evening lights. Troughton only lasted three balls before he was caught by Brown at first slip off Ormond (22 for 3). Azhar Mahmood then got in on the act when Ian Bell fell to a peach of a delivery. The ball seamed and spat from just short of a length, and Bell could only fend it to Rikki Clarke at point (32 for 4).Batting wasn’t easy and the batsmen were just looking to survive, making it easy to forget this was a Twenty20 game – let alone the final. And things got worse for Warwickshire when the impressive Ormond picked up his fourth wicket, Dougie Brown, who nicked him to Jonathan Batty, the wicketkeeper, for a three-ball duck to leave Warwickshire in dire straights at 33 for 5.Trevor Penney (33) and Tony Frost (31) did their best to post some sort of challenging score with the odd big hit, but after they both fell the wickets continued to tumble. Collins Obuya heaved a few lusty blows, including a six off Saqlain Mushtaq over midwicket to bring up the 100 in the sixteenth over, but that was as good as it got.Obuya was caught in the deep going for another big hit, and when Neil Smith was needlessly run out by Waqar Younis with two overs remaining, it summed up a sorry batting display from the Warwickshire Bears – who were nursing very sore heads.Warwickshire needed quick wickets, so Ward smashing 20 off the first over, from Neil Carter, wasn’t quite what they were looking for. Ward spanked four boundaries off the wayward Carter, and Waqar, who must have been licking his lips with the seaming conditions and playing against his old club, couldn’t produce any magic.Ward and Brown were keen to wrap things up as quickly as possible and the fifty partnership came off only 33 balls, and they continued to shine under the lights and treat the full house to some dazzling strokeplay. Brown showed signs of getting back to his buccaneering best, especially when he launched the other Brown, Dougie, for a cracking straight six in amongst his three maximums.Knight turned to Obuya in a last throw of the dice, but he disappeared in to the Nottingham night, conceding 18 off his one and only over. Ward smote his fifty from 26 balls, and Brown notched his first half century of the competition from 32.In a comical touch fitting for such a successful new innovation, Knight bowled the last over himself among smiles and laughs with his old England team-mate Mark Ramprakash, who then put on a more familiar straight face, and cracked him through the covers for the winning boundary.Second semi-final

Scorecard

What promised to be a run-fest of a semi-final turned out to be a low-scoring thriller, in which Surrey scraped home by five runs and booked their place in the Twenty20 Cup final at Trent Bridge. Surrey’s score of 147 for 9 didn’t look like a winning one, but after an opening burst from Jimmy Ormond and Azhar Mahmood, Gloucestershire couldn’t quite recover.After their disappointing effort with the bat, Surrey made immediate amends with a blistering start in which Gloucestershire’s tri-nations top three only managed eight runs between them. Craig Spearman was bowled by Ormond for 1, Jonty Rhodes went first ball, edging Azhar Mahmood to Jonathan Batty, the wicketkeeper, and Ian Harvey skied Mahmood to Saqlain Mushtaq at mid on. That left Gloucestershire reeling on 17 for 3, and time for Alex Gidman and Matt Windows to step up.However, Saqlain gave it a rip in his mixed spell of 1 for 24, and Windows fell to a quicker ball which clipped his off stump. Gidman and Mark Hardinges then stopped the rot with a partnership of 52. Hardinges knocked 24 from 26, including three fours, and when he was bowled by Adam Hollioake, Chris Taylor carried on the good work with a four from his first ball.It was Gidman though, who kept Gloucestershire’s hopes alive with six fours and three sixes to all parts of Trent Bridge, including two huge hits over midwicket off Ian Salisbury in the sixteeenth over. But just as the game was tilting back Gloucestershire’s way, Mahmood struck again to remove Gidman for a fighting 61 from 49 balls.That left Gloucestershire needing 28 from 14, and then 17 off the last over, bowled by Mahmood, who was by then suffering from cramp and is a doubt for the final. Martyn Ball hit the third ball for four over extra cover, but Mahmood held his nerve to see Surrey through.Gloucestershire though will be kicking themselves after their usual one-day wonders in the field restricted Surrey to 147 for 9. Harvey was again at the fore. He mixed up his yorkers and slower balls to good effect and finished with 2 for 32, including Graham Thorpe, bowled second ball. Mike Smith, the most economical bowler in competition, was his miserly self with 0 for 11 from his four overs, and Ball looped his way to 2 for 26.However, Ian Ward battled away with a valuable 49 from 48 balls, by far the top scorer as the other batsmen struggled, and they will be hoping they can do better against the Warwickshire attack under the lights this evening. But in the meantime, let’s all enjoy a bit of Atomic Kitten.First semi-final

Scorecard

Trevor Penney and Jim Troughton led Warwickshire through to the first ever Twenty20 Cup final at Trent Bridge. Chasing Leicestershire’s under-par 162, Penney and Troughton overcame a mid-innings wobble, and cruised home with four balls to spare.Penney, who earlier kept wicket, made sure Warwickshire kept ahead of the run-rate with a classy 43 not out from 30 balls, and Troughton put his England disappointment behind him with a much more assured 33 not out from 21.Neil Carter was a surprise promotion to the top of the order, and the move paid off as he whipped a quick 35. But once Ian Bell was out for only four, and Nick Knight ran himself out for 32, the Leicestershire Foxes were back in with a sniff. However, Penney and Troughton put them back off the trail with 67 in six overs before Penney hit the winning boundary off Darren Maddy.Leicestershire made a disastrous start after choosing to bat first. Virender Sehwag was caught by Knight off Waqar Younis (3 for 21) for 5 and Trevor Ward fell for the same number of runs after he was brilliantly run out by Dougie Brown. However, Brag Hodge gave Leicestershire some sort of total with a dashing 66 from 50 balls, including a steepling six off Collins Obuya to bring up his fifty. He put on 59 with Maddy (26), but their 162 was never going to be enough.After the game, Philip DeFreitas, the Leicestershire captain, who only bowled one over due to a groin strain, said: “We were 20 runs short, and our fielding and bowling was not up to scratch. Warwickshire played extremely well and good luck to them in the final.”

Cape Town, Oct 23 – The parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport andRecreation today praised the organizing committee of the 2003 ICC CricketWorld Cup (CWC) for “accommodating all sectors” of society in its plans forthe 54-match tournament to be staged in South Africa in 15 months’ time.Ms. Ruth Bhengu, MP, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, said she andher colleagues were impressed with a special presentation delivered today byDr Ali Bacher (CWC executive director), Prof Jakes Gerwel (CWC policycommittee chairman), Adv. Percy Sonn (United Cricket Board president), MrGerald Majola (United Cricket Board chief executive officer), Ms BanguMasisi (CWC public relations director) and Mr Rodney Hartman (CWCcommunications director).The cricket delegation also included Prof Andre Odendaal of the UnitedCricket Board’s Transformation Monitoring Committee and, Mr Arnold Bloch,the president of the Western Province Cricket Association.In thanking the CWC committee for a thorough overview of the tournamentplanning, including its policies for black empowerment, the appointmentprocess for official suppliers, and the envisaged legacy of the tournamentfor the previously disadvantaged, Ms Bhengu said: “You have tried your levelbest and went out of your way to accommodate all sectors. We are alsoimpressed that you were able to spell out what the benefits will be thatwill be left behind (after the tournament in March 2003) … and we arecommitting ourselves to give you all the support that you need.”Ms. Bhengu said a parliamentary sub-committee dealing with broadcastingwould seek clarification from the SABC on the number of games that thepublic broadcaster would televise after Patrick Chauke, MP, had raisedconcerns that people without decoders might be able to watch all the games.The Portfolio Committee representatives at today’s meeting were Ms N RBhengu (chair), Mr H P Chauke, Mr J T Louw, Mr R D Pieterse, Dr E ASchoeman, Ms N E Lamani (all ANC), Adv P S Swart and Mr T D Lee (both DP),Mr E T Ferreira (IFP) and Mr C T Frolick (UDM).Enquiries: Rodney Hartman, Communications Director: 083-389-0904