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Ricky Ponting said Australia would not be getting too carriedaway after their emphatic 83-run victory over the world No. 1 SouthAfrica, adding that his team’s bid for a third consecutive World Cupwas only just building up its momentum.”It was a big win for us,” Ponting, whose team now travels toAntigua for the Super Eights stage of the competition, said. “Taking thosetwo points with us and a pretty healthy run-rate as well – it’s anideal start to the tournament. But that’s all it is for us, it’s oneof the games down and we’ve got to focus and turn things round prettyquickly for the big game against West Indies on Tuesday.”Tuesday’s match will be the inaugural fixture at the new Sir VivianRichards stadium in Antigua, and Ponting said his side had to bewary when facing West Indies on home soil. “They’re a very dangerous team, and they should know these conditionsvery well,” he said. “They have great crowd support from all over theCaribbean, and once again it’s one of our biggest games in this WorldCup. Every step you take in this tournament becomesmore and more exciting.”Right at the moment things are going really well,” Ponting said,as Australia have won three matches out of three in the group stages inSt Kitts. “We just wanted to go out there and play a great game today.This win is no more satisfying than any other against South Africa.They’re a good side so whenever we beat them it’s a good achievement.”Though South Africa eventually slumped to a sizeable defeat, it wasnot until Australia’s bowlers had been given a fright in the opening25 overs of the run-chase that they began to take control. “To get through that challenge today willbe great for us,” Ponting, whose bowlers failed to defendconsecutive scores of 330-plus against New Zealand last month, said. “Thelast few times we’ve been challenged that way, we haven’t performed atour best, but today we really kept in there and waited forsomething special.”That something special came courtesy of a brilliant run-out from theboundary’s edge by Shane Watson, and Ponting admitted that the throwhad probably changed the course of the game. “The way we executedtoday after that first breakthrough was terrific,” he said. “We justhung in there, our fielding was good, and once we got a bit of a sniffwe were all over them and went in for the kill.”Whenever a side is chasing a total like that, if they have one littleslip-up or one brilliant piece of fielding from us, then it puts themon the back-foot pretty quickly and that’s what happened today. It’salways hard work chasing big totals like that. South Africa have doneit reasonably well in the past, but in this big game they weren’t ableto do it.”Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, was proud of the effort that hisside had put into the chase, but admitted that they had “lost theirway” at crucial moments of the match. “We bowled well at times at thedeath, for little bursts, and even with the bat, going into the 35thover, we were ahead of our targets,” he said. “But we just left ourselves toomuch to do in the last ten. We had opportunities to win and we move onwith confidence to our next game against Sri Lanka.”

South Africa Cricketers’ Association chief executive Tony Irish has responded to claims that some members of the national team could be sanctioned and perhaps even sacked on their return from Bangladesh by saying they are “groundless”.Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport chairman, Butana Komphela, said on Tuesday that alleged talk of a strike amongst the national players in protest at president Norman Arendse’s interference in the selection of the squad amounted to “a mutiny against the president”.”You should sack them, fire them – meet them at the airport and tear their contracts up,” Komphela told Arendse and Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola. “It is a mutiny and it is not acceptable.”Irish responded yesterday on behalf of the national players saying: “There is no basis for any disciplinary action against any of the players. SACA made an internal complaint against the president for the public statements he about the team before they left and we will wait for that to be processed in due course.”Arendse was quoted in Sondag newspaper as saying that the players “they love money too much. Moreover, the majority of blacks are waiting for them to strike, because if they did it would be difficult to come back in politically.”Irish said that, although the references to money had upset the national players, that was not their greatest concern. “Far more upsetting to the players was the divisive references to race and politics. They are a team playing with a common purpose and to be referred to as anything else was matter they wanted addressed.”

Ireland will now play South Africa and not Pakistan as part of their World Cup warm-ups, the ICC has confirmed.An ICC spokeperson said: “This is to rectify an anomaly that was indentified in the original practice match schedule. The changes have been made with the agreement of all the teams involved.”Ireland were due to play Pakistan in Trinidad on Tuesday March 6, and then again in Group D in Kingston on March 17. To resolve the issue, it has been agreed that South Africa will now warm up against Ireland on Monday March 5.Ireland’s other warm-up game is against Canada on Thursday March 8.Anyone who has purchased tickets for the two affected matches will be contacted by the ICC shortly.

Kruger van Wyk, the Titans wicketkeeper-batsman, has decided to pursue his career in New Zealand with Canterbury following advice from Dave Nosworthy, his former coach in South Africa, who is now coach of Canterbury.Van Wyk said: “I am most grateful to the Titans for everything that they have done for me during the past 6 seasons. I also appreciate the amicable way in which the Titans released me from my contractual obligations to them and wish them everything of the best in the future.”I am most appreciative to Canterbury for allowing me the opportunity to make this important change in my career and look forward to making a substantial contribution to their cause”.Andy O’Connor, the chairman of the Titans thanked Van Wyk for his loyalty and commitment to the cause of the Titans. “Kruger has been a passionate Titans player for many seasons and we thank him for his selfless attitude. We are obviously sad to see him go, but wish him well in his new endeavours.”Richard Reid, the CEO of the Canterbury Cricket Association added: “It is wonderful to have gained a player with the pedigree of Kruger van Wyk, and now look forward to a long and successful future with him.”van Wyk, 26, has notched up 156 dismissals and has a batting average of 29.18 in 48 first class matches. In one-day cricket he has been more impressive, collecting 71 dismissals and holds a batting average of 38.45. In the 20-over version of the game, van Wyk averages an impressive 45 with the bat at a strike rate of a 132.35.

Plan B for Bouncer sounds like it might be the title of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, but there was not a lot of mystery or intrigue about the storyline as conjured by Stuart Broad on a day heavily punctuated by bad light and heavy rain. As the hardiest spectators filed out, puddles were still swelling on the outfield.Warwickshire had added 48 runs to their overnight 181, for the loss of Dominic Sibley, when Broad began the 109th and by far the most eventful over of the contest. Nottinghamshire had scarcely used the short ball up to that point and, if nothing else, the change of tactic would challenge the home side to score the quick runs they needed for a second batting point.Three fielders took their place on the leg-side boundary primed for the misplaced hook. Another crouched at a deepish short leg. On the offside the straightest man was located at cover. Broad was about to spring either the most audacious double-bluff in cricketing memory or the worst-disguised trap since Douglas Jardine clapped his hands and shouted: “Let him have it, Harold.”Adam Hose, nicely set, ducked the first ball and defended the second. The third struck a glancing blow on the helmet which left him briefly on his backside. Springing up quickly, he jogged through for a leg bye before being cleared by the physio to continue. Liam Banks evaded a bouncer in relative comfort and umpire Martin Saggers stepped in to warn Broad for running on the pitch.This would have done nothing for Broad’s disposition, and when Banks swayed inside the line of ball five, Saggers signalled that the bouncer allocation for the over was up. Think of all this as background, the build-up of suspense. Now came the big event.The designated last ball was an absolute snorter. The most hostile of the over, of the day, perhaps of the game so far. Short, yes, but how short? That was the difficult question for Saggers. It certainly seemed too quick for Banks who could not get out of the way and appeared to glove through to wicketkeeper Tom Moores tumbling to his right. But as Broad began to celebrate, Saggers signalled no ball.The umpire felt that it went through above shoulder height. Broad in turn pointed out that it had taken the glove and must therefore be deemed a legitimate wicket. He opened his arms, palms upwards beseeching justice before a theatrical gesture of ball brushing glove. At one point, astounded, he seemed to appeal to the batsman himself, while captain Steven Mullaney joined the conversation as though seconding the proposal of his team-mate.Saggers remained unmoved, and to add to the sense of theatre Banks stroked the eventual seventh ball, the fullest of the over, to the off side boundary. Cheers roared from the stands; Broad must have felt he was in Brisbane rather than Birmingham. He re-opened conversation with Saggers while taking his sunhat and Mullaney came in for a second time, this time to usher away his team-mate before things became even more fractious.Perhaps they did go too far. While Saggers may not literally Dial L for Lord’s, his match report might well conclude that Broad’s behaviour represented dissent. Alternatively, he could look at the replays and agree that he was wrong. Peter Moores, the Nottinghamshire head coach, believes so. “I think it [the decision] was probably a mistake,” Moores said. “It happens, and you move on. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t.”Sequel: Next over, Banks attempted to sweep the off-spin of Matt Carter and was adjudged leg-before by Tim Robinson. Justice was probably done, albeit with no personal advance to Broad’s haul of wickets. Warwickshire didn’t get their extra point. And Broad didn’t bowl again. People did, indeed, move on.After the slow pace of Monday, Warwickshire showed more urgency in the 37 overs possible. Sibley added only six more runs to his overnight 81 before opening the face, slightly, to a ball from Luke Fletcher of perfect length, but Hose, with 101 runs in eight Championship innings hitherto, played soundly in defence, batting out of his crease to combat swing, while capitalising on opportunities.Forcing sixes off both spinners, Carter and Samit Patel, he played efficiently either side of the wicket and will resume on 84. Overall, though, the bowlers offered very few freebies and Mullaney’s disciplined swing earned wickets before the worst of the weather hit. Tim Ambrose shouldered arms before Henry Brookes fell lbw.Jeetan Patel gave a brief insight into the way Warwickshire may try to move forward from here when he forced his second ball from Samit Patel over the ropes. As Peter Moores said, Nottinghamshire must hope that time taken from the game delays any deterioration of the surface until they have at least batted once themselves.

Former England captains reacted with dismay at England’s spectacular defeat to Australia in the second Test at Adelaide on Tuesday. Duncan Fletcher’s team selections came under the microscope, especially his decision to play Ashley Giles ahead of Monty Panesar, who Fletcher hailed as the best finger spinner in the world earlier this year.A downcast Geoff Boycott, commentating for BBC Radio, feared the upbeat Aussies could “bury” England. “I personally don’t think they can pick themselves up,” Boycott said. “Australia are cock-a-hoop, they are in good form and are confident.”The batsmen are making too many mistakes. You can’t keep depending on Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones are not making enough runs. And I don’t see how England are going to get 20 wickets.”Alec Stewart also said England’s bowling attack was under-performing. “Flintoff and Hoggard have caused Australia problems but Steve Harmison has taken one wicket in two Tests while both Giles and Anderson have struggled,” Stewart said. “And we are not looking like taking 20 wickets. That is my biggest issue. Harmison has improved slightly but he has only taken one wicket in the series.Nasser Hussain said Fletcher’s men now faced the “biggest test” of his reign. “He will come under the immense pressure in the next week or so,” Hussain said, according to London’s newspaper. “His selections have let him down and let England down in Giles and Jones. There have been no runs and no wickets and Giles dropped a crucial catch.Ian Botham insisted Fletcher had to wield the axe ahead of the third Test in Perth, and wondered whether Panesar would finally be deployed. “I am asking questions,” Botham said. “A lot of people are asking questions. Is Monty Panesar here or has he gone home? I am totally confused. I was confused at the start of the series and I am even more confused now.”I am not taking anything away from Australia, they have been magnificent, but we have two players who have hardly played any cricket in a year – Jimmy Anderson and Ashley Giles, two key bowlers.”

May 1997 – At 20, makes his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka at Hyderabad. Scores 10 as a fragile New Zealand batting order falls 53 short of its target.November 1997 – Has more success in his Test debut, scoring 54 against a strong Australia at Brisbane. Would prefer to forget the second innings, when Glenn McGrath trapped him lbw first ball.February 1998 – Takes advantage of a weaker opponent, Zimbabwe, to score his maiden Test century at Wellington in his fourth match. Displays the style he will become known for by bringing up the milestone with a six over long-on and finishes with 139.May 1998 – Strikes a blistering 142 from 179 balls in a Test against Sri Lanka at Colombo, launching six sixes and helping New Zealand to a comfortable victory.August 1999 – Scores an unbeaten 107 in the third Test against England at Old Trafford. He struggles through the rest of the tour but New Zealand register an important 2-1 series win.December 2000 – Joins with Nathan Astle to set a New Zealand Test record fifth-wicket partnership of 222 against Zimbabwe at Wellington. McMillan’s contribution is 142 and he earns the Man-of-the-Match award.February 2001 – Scores his first ODI century in crunching style, belting five sixes on his way to 104 from 75 balls against Pakistan at Christchurch. He equals Chris Cairns’ record for the fastest ODI hundred by a New Zealand player.March 2001 – Breaks the record for most runs in a Test over when he clubs 26 from Younis Khan’s part-time legspin at Hamilton. McMillan makes batting look ridiculously easy, hitting five fours – including three reverse- pulls and scoops – and one six.October 2003 – After being dropped from the tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year, McMillan returns with a superb fighting 83 not out against India at Ahmedabad to save New Zealand from what looked like a certain defeat. In the second Test at Mohali, he is one of four batsmen to score a century, but his unbeaten 100 is his last Test hundred.

November 2004 – McMillan clashes with Adam Gilchrist in a Test at Brisbane when the two disagree over the etiquette of walking. Gilchrist, a self-proclaimed walker, gives McMillan a spray because he does not walk after Steve Bucknor turns down an appeal for caught behind.June 2006 – Loses his national contract after a poor run of ODI form. Considers taking up a career as a salesman to help pay the bills.December 2006 – Is recalled for the home one-day series against Sri Lanka. Has little impact but keeps his spot for the CB Series in Australia.February 2007 – Caps off his comeback with the fastest century in an ODI by a New Zealand player. Blasts 117 from 96 balls – the century comes from 67 deliveries – as he overshadows Matthew Hayden’s 181 and steers New Zealand towards a successful chase of 347 at Hamilton. In typical McMillan fashion, he brings up his hundred with two successive sixes off Adam Voges.September 2007 – Proves that the frenetic Twenty20 format suits his destructive style as he finishes the World Twenty20 as New Zealand’s leading run-scorer. He makes 163 at 40.75 with an impressive strike-rate of 181.

The BCCI has retained Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh among its seven-member support staff team for the three-Test South Africa, but dropped assistant coach Lalchand Rajput who had managed the team since the Bangladesh tour last May.Prasad, the former India new-ball specialist, will remain in charge of bowling while Robin will handle the team’s fielding. The South Africa series, starting March 26 in Chennai, will mark the debuts of Gary Kirsten as coach and his associate Paddy Upton as mental conditioning coach and physical trainer.Paul Close, the physio of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore will assist the team as its physiotherapist till the BCCI appoints a permanent candidate. “The BCCI will appoint a full-time physiotherapist for the Indian team by the end of April,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said.Prasad, Robin and Rajput have also signed up to coach IPL teams while Kirsten has shied away, saying he wants to focus on the Indian team. Prasad has tied up with the Bangalore franchise and Robin with Hyderabad, while Rajput will coach the Mumbai IPL team.Mumbai-based Ramesh Mane remains the Indian team’s masseur while Chennai’s Russell Radhakrishnan will continue to be the team’s travel assistant.

Matthew Hayden has bid farewell to his Test opening partner Justin Langer and nowwants to join Adam Gilchrist in the Australian team all the way to this year’s World Cup final.Hayden’s one-day career appeared over when he lost his spot after the 2005 tour of England, but he is now intent on staying put throughout 2007. Shane Watson opened with Gilchrist during last year’s Champions Trophy win in India, but his hamstring injury has given Hayden passage into Tuesday’s Twenty20 clash against England at Sydney and Friday’s opening tri-series clash against England at Melbourne.Hayden wants to take that chance all the way to the World Cup in the Caribbean,having opened with Gilchrist through the 2003 triumph in South Africa. “Safe to say I’m pretty happy,” he told reporters on Saturday. “It’s a great opportunity for me and I just feel really lucky to be a part of the next six months of cricket.”The Hayden-Gilchrist combination averaged 52 throughout the 2003 World Cup, and put on 105 in the win over India in the final. The pair is the third-most prolific opening stand in the shortened game, having put on over 3,800 runs in 80 matches together.”Our partnership has got an opportunity to blossom over the next few months,” Hayden said. “Adam is a big player in tournaments and our partnership was very strong rightthrough the last World Cup. It’s great to get that opportunity again and deep down we’ve got a lot of hunger to play for Australia and play well, and if that takes us to the World Cup – hopefully it will do – it will be a tremendous honour and achievement.”Hayden lost his one-day spot to Simon Katich after the 2005 England tour, who in turnlost it to Watson in India. Hayden’s last one-day internationals were the two matches he played in Malaysia last September.

It has fallen upon this final at the great venue of Kensington Oval, Barbados, not just to deliver a champion of the world but to save face for the game on its biggest stage. For all its supposed wonderful health, the tripe dished out over the past two months has been an embarrassment. All the proper players in the world plus a few others were put in the most evocative of destinations and look what they came up with. It was hoped the last week might rescue the tournament. Nothing of the sort. Two one-sided romps and fans asking each other when?In lovely St Lucia on Wednesday the occasion failed to feel like a World Cup semi-final. In inviting bids that covered a wide range of requirements the organisers may have been trying to do the fair thing. But what price a cricket culture?As absent as it was in St Lucia, so unmissable it is in Barbados. Cricket sprouts out of the very earth of Barbados. More than any other Caribbean territory, and by extension any place in the world, cricket has been its making, it has described its society, its culture, its life, its times. Whether or not there will be local flavour at the ground – even in Barbados it is not uncommon to be told they’d just sit this one out thank you, and be back when regular cricket comes around – the ethos of cricket is in the air. This thing matters, it is reassuring to feel.Two teams have shone in the ninth World Cup and their anticipated match-up is the closest fans have been able to come to a wet dream in the tournament. Australia and Sri Lanka do their thing and at their best they have between them all of cricket covered. Mahela Jayawardene, in whom captaincy has brought out the player of the calibre observers had detected from an early age, has spoken again and again about Sri Lanka needing to play their own brand of cricket. There is a defiance to this. We do not need to be Australia to beat ’em. South Africa tried it and failed, he said.What it means is that Australia’s power can be deflected rather than met head-on. It is relevant in the nature of the general vibe, and it is certainly in the batting – the Lankans prefer twirling to belting – but in the most vital aspect these two teams are more similar to each other than any other.Each has the kind of bowling line-ups usually found on paper, where specifications can be constructed to fancy. The first over is bowled by a slyly tormenting pin-point left-arm swinger at 125kph. His new-ball partner is normally a firebrand slingshot of terrible pace and inexplicable method. Each has a wrist-spinner of mystery who has had a superb tournament.Hereabouts Sri Lanka have the edge, for no matter the excellence of the Australian trio, there is something more to be said for the greatness of Chaminda Vaas and especially Muttiah Muralitharan. The difference is in the other specialist bowler. Australia have Glenn McGrath.And McGrath it is who will enjoy this Barbados pitch more than any bowler in contemporary cricket, especially if he should get to use it first. He certainly did a fortnight ago with three wickets in his opening spell in the rout of Ireland. McGrath has never really needed more than an off stump and an outside edge to aim at. Giving him bounce is presenting him nail, hammer and coffin. He is hoping it will do for Sanath Jayasuriya as it has done several times down under.

If a weakness must be found in Australia it is that they haven’t been fully tested, though if it was any other way it would have been undoubtedly played up as proof of their vulnerability. So dominant have they been that, for instance, Michael Hussey has got just two hits in the last six games, and he didn’t get past nine runs in the first four, mostly because he came in so late. Moreover, as Jayawardene says: “They are human.””This game doesn’t get any bigger,” Ricky Ponting, the finest batsman and leader of the best team in the world, said. “For guys who have been around quite a while like myself this is the reason you still play the game.”A Sri Lankan win will be the bigger story, for it will be as much a case of winning against the odds of the system as Australia’s would be direct product of theirs. Whenever Jayawardene has been asked about the ’96 World Cup he has answered within a historical context which suggests an awareness of both what the game means to the country and what it means to be good at the game. From amateurism to world champions in such a short time was one of the remarkable stories of the game, and if Jayawardene’s men can rise to this success from the pit of power-mongering and chaos that is the administration of Sri Lankan cricket then it may be almost comparable. And even as the team arose this morning in the Caribbean, back home the international airport at Colombo was closed for fear of an LTTE strike. In times of trouble citizens turn to sport for hope and those of Sri Lanka could use some now.Let us hope for a glistening, fabulous, luminous match, a match that brings forward the finest, most varied skills of the game in the most challenging of circumstances in the most stirring of ambiences: a match which does the sport proud, a match which leaves a shining gloss on this long and largely despondent affair.Likely teams
Australia – 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Brag Hogg, 9 Shaun Tait, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Glenn McGrath.Sri Lanka – 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Dilshan Tillakaratne, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Dilhara Fernando, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.