Essex fast bowler Ashley Cowan will miss the whole of the 2003 season afterhaving surgery on his right knee. He was forced to restrict the majority ofhis appearances in 2002 to one-day cricket due to continuing problems withan arthritic condition.Essex Chief Executive David East commented:
“Ashley has undergone a grafting treatment on his knee. The operation wasconducted in stages, but the final surgery was delayed until January so thatall other options could be considered. He has been advised by hisconsultants not to play during 2003 as the graft will take time to settledown, although it is hoped that he will be fit for the start of the 2004season. There is no question that Ashley will be missed, but it is essentialthat we give him the best chance of extending his career with thisrevolutionary new treatment.”

The form guide in this World Cup can be hard to read.After all Kenya beat Sri Lanka who beat New Zealand who beat theWest Indies who beat South Africa who beat Kenya?It appears that there is no method to the madness of predicting the winnersof any game, but there has been some semblance of a recurring theme when itcomes to the day/night games.To date, there have been just five day/night games in the World Cup. Fourtimes the side batting first has won and when Kenya defeated Canada battingsecond, it was a lot closer than Kenya would have liked.There are only two more day/night pool games and both will have a majorinfluence in deciding the final shape of an incredibly tight Pool B.Sri Lanka play West Indies and South Africa in day/night games.Sri Lanka’s record in day/night games is 61 wins, 65 losses, one tie andfive no results. When winning the toss in day/night games, their record is35 wins, 30 losses and five no results.Interestingly enough, they have never lost a World Cup game under lights.Mind you, they only played two; the 1996 World Cup semi-final and final andthat was a much stronger side than the present one.Kingsmead hosts the pivotal South Africa-Sri Lanka game and also is thevenue of a super six day/nighter and a semi-final which is played underlights. What is Kingsmead’s history when it comes to day/nighters?The ground has hosted 20 games overall, of which the side batting first haswon 10, the side batting second nine times and one no result. So nothingmuch there.When it comes to the 13 day/nighters played at Durban, the side battingfirst has won five times to the seven of the side batting second with one noresult.Of those 12 games, the side winning the toss has won nine of them so thetoss is going to play an incredibly decisive factor in the outcome.At Newlands, the venue of the Sri Lanka v West Indies game, there have been18 day/nighters. Of those, the side winning the toss has won 14 of thegames.The side which finished second in Pool B has two day/nighters in their threesuper six matches. That may work in their favour, or against them, dependingon the outcome of the toss.There is no doubt that the ball has been swinging around in the SouthAfrican conditions at night. James Anderson and Ashish Nehra made the mostof the conditions and had the ball talking as they captured 10 wicketsbetween them and both were named men of their matches.Sri Lanka only require to win one of their final two pool games to qualify forthe super sixes. But those two games are against the West Indies today and South Africa on Monday.Ultimately, if the worst comes to the worst, under the rules of the competition it may boil down to the toss of a coin.

THE West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association held a meeting on Friday afternoon.Rev. Wes Hall, President of the WICB, Evelyn Greaves, the Industrial Relations Consultant of the WICB, and myself met with members of the executive of the WIPA, Dinanath Ramnarine, President; Phil Simmons, Vice President; and Wavell Hinds, Treasurer.At the end of the discussions, we are able to report that play in the semifinals of the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series will commence in Barbados and Guyana, starting on Saturday, March 29. We outlined to the WIPA we cannot operate under a situation of durest and the first issue facing the WICB is that the players would have to commence play.We also established a number of issues that will be placed on the agenda for immediate discussion between the WICB and the WIPA.BOARD ISSUES1. The establishment of future collective bargaining procedures between the WICB and the WIPA.2. The WICB is prepared to commence negotiations with the WIPA from Wednesday, April 3, with both sides being represented by their industrial relations advisors.3. The development of a mutually agreed format for identifying membership of the WIPA.4. The WICB will unreservedly recognise the WIPA as the Bargaining Agent for the players as long as it is satisfied of the authenticity of its membership.5. The WICB is prepared to financially support training in leadership and industrial relations for the members of the WIPA and the WICB.PLAYERS ISSUES1. For the purposes of this negotiation, the WIPA represent the interest of all first-class players.2. The issues for negotiation and discussion are:

a. Player fees for Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series .
b. Compensation for injury and loss earnings for West Indies players from 1999 onwards.
c. Payment for Ryan Hinds.

The above issues form a binding agreement on all parties.

Nasser Hussain has delivered a riposte to Mike Gatting, who had said last week that Hussain was putting personal ambition ahead of the interests of the national side.Hussain has insisted that he is still the right man to lead the Test side even though Gatting said that England’s new one-day captain, Michael Vaughan, ought to be in charge of both teams.Speaking to the , Hussain said: “I believe that England will be a better side because I’m leading them – and no one else. If that sounds selfish or big-headed so be it.”I’ve told the selectors – and this is not selfish – that if they believe Michael Vaughan or anyone else will do a better job or I’m not doing a particularly good job, I’ll step aside.”Gatting, the last England captain to lead the team to an Ashes win, in 1986-87, said that Hussain’s pursuit of 100 Test caps and the desire to lead England to more Test wins than anyone else was “self-centred”. But Hussain insisted that there was nothing wrong about goal-setting.”I’m not apologising for having ambitions. That’s part of being a professional sportsman, captain or not. It’s the English mentality. When someone states ‘I’m ambitious’, he gets knocked. Here, everyone loves a loser.”Everyone loved me when I got back from Australia and South Africa last winter. ‘Poor old Nasser, having to try to deal with the Aussies and the Zimbabwe issue.'”England lost the Ashes series in Australia and subsequently boycotted their World Cup match in Zimbabwe, a decision that cost them points and contributed to their failure to make it into the second round. After England’s exit, Hussain announced his retirement from one-day international cricket, saying that it was the right decision for England as well as himself.And he insisted that staying on as Test captain was an equally selfless act on his part. “I’m taking the difficult road. I’m not taking the selfish road. I’m putting my neck on the line this summer because if we lose to Zimbabwe or South Africa [England’s Test opponents this season] it will be me the finger is pointed at.”

A pair of Australians have already come blisteringly close to the first century in the Twenty20 Cup, and last night it was Nick Knight’s turn to come, see and all but conquer, as Warwickshire made it two wins out of two in the Midlands/West/Wales division.Like Andrew Symonds and Brad Hodge, Knight fell agonisingly short of his hundred, but his 89 from 58 balls was too much for Worcestershire. Using a strong crosswind to pepper the short boundaries, Knight chipped reverse-sweeps over the infield and flayed through the covers. Even his own team-mates couldn’t keep pace – the next highest score was Ian Bell’s 16. Kadeer Ali kept Worcestershire in the hunt with a stroke-filled 53, but Ian Carter was unstoppable, finishing with 3 for 19.
ScorecardIf Knight took the individual honours, then the team award had to go to Somerset, who chased a barely-credible 194 for victory over Glamorgan, and still won with two whole overs to spare. They were catapulted towards the total by their captain, Jamie Cox, who opened the innings and clattered a six and 11 fours in his 21-ball 53. Somerset were 86 for 2 after five overs, and the Keiths Dutch and Parsons eased them to a stunningly simple seven-wicket victory.
ScorecardDown under the floodlights at Hove, with fire-eaters guiding their route, Sussex got their campaign up and running by beating fellow stragglers Middlesex by 41 runs. Matt Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins were the mainstays for a decent total of 177 for 9, and Martin-Jenkins was back in action with the ball as well, picking up 4 for 20 in his four overs as Middlesex lost their way.
ScorecardThat man Hodge was back in the runs at Chester-le-Street. Not content with his 97 in Leicestershire’s previous match (and why would he be?), Hodge vented his spleen at Durham, cracking 64 in a total of 168 for 9, a target restricted by some impressive work in the field. Still, it was all too much for Durham, who were given a decent start by Nicky Peng and Phil Mustard, but then lost five wickets for 18 runs. Virender Sehwag, better known as an explosive batsman, detonated the tail with three wickets in three overs.
ScorecardAnd if anyone was in any doubt about how much this competition means to its competitors, then they needed only to witness Wasim Akram’s bat-flinging tantrum after narrowly failing to beat Essex. Wasim had lamped 20 runs off 11 balls to resuscitate Hampshire’s run-chase, but he and Simon Katich could not quite manage the 12 runs needed from Jon Dakin’s final over. Essex’s sub-par total of 155 for 6 had been built on a handy 49 from Andy Flower, and a promising 32 from Essex’s 18-year-old star-in-the-making, Mark Pettini.
Scorecard

Sachin Tendulkar is expected to play for the national champions Mumbai against a Rest of India side on September 18 – his first outing since undergoing hand surgery after the World Cup.Tendulkar, 30, damaged the ring finger of his left hand while attempting a catch last November. It did not hinder him in the slightest during a magnificent World Cup campaign, in which he was named Man of the Tournament for his 673 runs in 11 games, but he opted out of a subsequent trip to Bangladesh and flew to Baltimore, USA for an operation.The fixture is India’s traditional domestic-season opener, and many Indian players are keen to use it as a warm-up for their international programme. India have had a lengthy lay-off since April, but return to action with two Tests against New Zealand in October, before taking on Australia in a triangular one-day tournament.Tendulkar is the highest scorer in the history of one-day cricket with 12,219 runs in 314 games. He has also made 8,811 runs in 105 Tests, including 31 centuries – a total exceeded only by Sunil Gavaskar.

All Today’s Yesterdays – June 27 down the years1939
An unlucky charm is born. Fast bowler Neil Hawke did most of his best work in Australian defeats, when he took 29 wickets at an average of 21, including his Test-best figures, 7 for 105 against England at Sydney in 1965-66. Hawke is one of the few men to play for three states – Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania – and was a top-quality Aussie Rules player as well. His nickname wasn’t the most original, though: “Hawkeye” was prowling round cricket circles long before Channel 4’s technology hit the screens. An extremely tough character, Hawke lived for 20 years after bowel surgery kick-started a terrible run of ill-health. After he died on Christmas Day 2000, in Adelaide, his Wisden Cricket Monthly obituary was headlined: “They could not break his will.”1939
A renowned performance from the great George Headley. He became the first person to score two centuries in a Lord’s Test, although West Indies still went down by eight wickets to England. It was the second time in his career that Headley had made two centuries in a Test, making him only the second person (after Herbert Sutcliffe) to do so. Headley’s was a one-man show, though. Only one other West Indian passed 29 in the match, and England only lost seven wickets in completing victory.1949
Another famous Lord’s innings. Martin Donnelly, one of New Zealand’s greatest batsmen, stroked a glorious century against England, which he extended to 206 on the third and final day. It completed a unique treble, which only Donnelly and Percy Chapman, another left-hander, have managed – Donnelly also made Lord’s hundreds for Gentlemen against Players and for Oxford against Cambridge. In addition to that he made a famous ton at Lord’s for the Dominions against England — after which, a probably apocryphal story runs, a spectator went into a nearby pub, said “I have just seen the most marvellous day’s play,” drank a double whisky and dropped dead.1886
The Governor General of Australian cricket is born. That’s how Charles Macartney, an outstanding allrounder from New South Wales, was known. He was a charming improviser of a batsman, who finished his Test career with a flourish, when he made three centuries in a row in his last series, in England in 1926. His left-arm spinners could also be very handy, and he took 11 for 85 against England when Australia won at Headingley in 1909. Macartney died in Sydney in 1958.1924
Birth of Bob Appleyard, the Yorkshire and England offspinner whose career was dogged by poor health. As a result he only played nine Tests, but England won seven of them and Appleyard snared 31 wickets at an average of only 17. He was like Derek Underwood: quickish, flat, and devastating on damp wickets. Appleyard did not make his first-class debut until he was 27, and had to retire at 34 because of sickness, but managed to take almost as many wickets (708) as he made runs (776).Other birthdays
1917 Khanderao Rangnekar (India)1938 Gordon Rorke (Australia)

Chaminda Vaas the Sri Lankan left arm bowler is set to make his debut at The Rose Bowl when Hampshire Hawks entertain the Scottish Saltires on Monday 4th August (1pm).Vaas who arrived in England today, met up with his new team mates during the tea interval of the Championship match against Northamptonshire. “The only three players I have met before are Robin Smith, Alan Mullally and Simon Katich”, said Vaas. He arrived at Heathrow this morning (Sunday) with his wife and child, to be met by Director of Cricket Tim Tremlett.Hampshire Hawks include him in their squad of thirteen which includes the eleven that defeated Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Wednesday evening last, plus Alan Mullally.Hampshire could go top of Divison Two of The National League if they beat their Scottish rivals. “This is a banana skin fixture” said one Hampshire cricketer, “the sort of game we could win, but also easily lose as Sussex Sharks found out today”.Hampshire 13: James Hamblin, Simon Katich, Derek Kenway, John Crawley, John Francis, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Lawrence Prittipaul, Shaun Udal, Chris Tremlett, James Bruce, Alan Mullally, Chaminda Vaas,

After a disappointingly lacklustre season, Somerset are already plotting their bid for a return to the first division of the County Championship. Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid are both being earmarked as possible overseas players in 2004.”Somerset are talking with Dravid and Ponting with a view to them joining the county for 2004,” said Peter Anderson, Somerset’s chief executive. Two batsmen of the highest class are precisely what Somerset need at the moment – several of their first-team players were threatened with the sack earlier in the season, after a terrible run of results.One of those was the England one-day allrounder, Ian Blackwell. But he is once again the flavour of the month after a stunning 247 not out in Somerset’s latest championship victory, over Derbyshire, and Anderson is keen for him to stay at Taunton.”Ian still has one more year of his contract to run," said Anderson. "He is very happy here, and we are currently in negotiation to extend his contract.”

South Africa 251 for 3 (Smith 72) beat City Nazim XI 250 for 4 (Farhat 64) by eight wickets (12 men per team)
Scorecard
South Africa dusted off the cobwebs and applied themselves to some much-needed batting practice under the lights at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, South Africa saw off a strong City Nazim XI by eight wickets, in a match that was arranged as a 12-a-side affair to ensure maximum time in the middle ahead of Friday’s first ODI.Graeme Smith continued his happy habit of leading from the front. His 72 underpinned South Africa’s pursuit of a handy total of 250 for 4, and he was ably supported by all his batsmen. Jacques Kallis was the second-highest scorer with 55, while Herschelle Gibbs, Neil McKenzie and Mark Boucher each chipped in with timely 30s.The basis of City Nazim’s total came from an eyecatching innings by Imran Farhat, whose impressive 64 contained seven fours and three sixes, and only came to an end when he skied Andrew Hall to Herschelle Gibbs at point. Gibbs also accounted for the captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was turned down for a quick single and run out by a smart pick-up-and-throw to Mark Boucher behind the stumps.About 2,000 police, outnumbering a handful of spectators, were deployed in and outside the ground as part of tough security measures in place for the South Africans.