The West Indies squad arrived in Zimbabwe this afternoon to begin their five-week tour which includes two Test matches and five one-day internationals.Brian Lara, the captain, gave a brief press conference on his arrival at Harare airport after touching down via London. He said that his team were as advertised and contained “quite a lot of youngsters”.Lara was briefly on the previous West Indies tour of Zimbabwe in the winter of 2001, but had to return home before the international matches due to an injury. On that tour, West Indies won the two-match Test series 1-0, with one match drawn. They also won the triangular ODI tournament which included India as the third team. And in 1989, at the age of 20, Lara captained a young West Indian team to tour Zimbabwe in their pre-Test days.Lara said he was conscious of the need for West Indies to improve their record away from home, and diplomatically stated that he expected a hard tour. He added that he did not yet feel in prime batting form, but was sure he could raise his game in time for the Test series.The first tour match begins on Thursday October 30, with a three-day match against a Zimbabwe A team to be captained by Dion Ebrahim. The venue has been changed from the CFX Academy to Takashinga Sports Club, a new ground in the Harare suburb of Highfield, from which such players as Tatenda Taibu come from.Grant Flower, who missed the recent tour of Australia due to a hand injury, will definitely miss the two Test matches, but he hopes to be fit for the one-day series. Meanwhile, Douglas Hondo, who was also unable to play in Australia due to a thumb injury, is on course to recover in time for the first Test, due to start on November 4.

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ScorecardWest Indies closed the fourth day of the final Test at Bulawayo needing only one more wicket to take the match, and the series, after an astonishing day’s play in which 18 wickets fell. It wasn’t easy on a crumbling pitch, but the batsmen had only themselves to blame for their own indiscipline, as was the case with West Indies, and faint hearts, as it was with Zimbabwe.West Indies started the day in confusion, crumbling to 128 all out, but finished with fierce determination, and now need only to turn up on the final morning to wrap up this topsy-turvy match. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, began with brilliance and finished in ignominy, surrendering their earlier advantage to collapse to 90 for 9.There have been many stirring passages of play in this all-too-brief series, but none more than than today. Zimbabwe needed early wickets to put West Indies under pressure, and that’s exactly what happened. Daren Ganga, who didn’t add to his overnight score of 8, drove Andy Bilgnaut straight to Stuart Carlisle at cover (17 for 2). Then Heath Streak produced the ball of the series to remove Brian Lara with a wicked inswinging yorker which pierced his high backlift and knocked his middle stump clean out of the ground (21 for 3).Zimbabwe were on fire. Wavell Hinds and Ramnaresh Sarwan did stem the vibrant bowling for a while, but without conviction. Sarwan, on 9, slashed at Blignaut and Craig Wishart picked up a sharp catch at slip (51 for 4). Hinds then played forward to Ray Price and was given out, caught at short leg by Carlisle, although television replays suggested it was pad and arm (51 for 5).Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ridley Jacobs, the last two recognized batsmen, tried to retrieve the situation before falling in consecutive overs. Streak returned to take the vital wicket of Chanderpaul, trapped lbw for 15, with a fast, straight ball (82 for 6). In the next over Jacobs edged an attempted drive at Price on to his pads, and was snapped up by Trevor Gripper at short leg (82 for 7).Omari Banks and the rest of the tail were left with the virtually impossible task of giving their team a respectable second-innings score. He and Merv Dillon fought on for more than half an hour before Price broke through, having Banks caught off pad and bat by Mark Vermeulen for 16 (127 for 8). Corey Collymore was then surprised to be bowled behind his legs by Price, and Fidel Edwards was bowled by Blignaut, ending the innings in a hurry on a meagre 128. Price took 4 for 36 – his poorest figures of the series, but still impressive – and Streak and Blignaut finished with three wickets apiece.It was a fine performance by Zimbabwe, but now came the real test of their nerve. The highest target they have successfully chased was 162, against India at Harare in 2000-01, when they won a titanic struggle by four wickets. With Zimbabwe’s tendency to choke though, nothing could be taken for granted – and they did their best to uphold their reputation.Vusi Sibanda edged Dillon to second slip in the first over of the innings, without a run on the board. Then Gripper edged a ball from Collymore low to Jacobs, and West Indies believed they had another wicket. Gripper stood his ground though, and the third umpire finally ruled not out. For once the luck was going Zimbabwe’s way, but the question remained as to whether they could take advantage of it.

And they couldn’t. Vermeulen was in fine form while scoring 24 off as many balls, but he fell just before tea to the curse of modern cricket – the one-day diagonal bat – trying to drive Hinds through the off side dragging the ball onto his stumps (32 for 2). Gripper reverted to the stonewaller he used to be, nudging a dogged 8 off 34 balls, and on tea he was given out caught at short leg by Ganga off Banks (33 for 3).Zimbabwe’s pusillanimity then reached new heights. Wishart started well, pulling Banks for a flat six over midwicket, but once again he flattered to deceive, slashing Hinds to first slip for 13 (54 for 4). With Edwards nursing a dodgy ankle and unable to bowl, Hinds did a useful job in putting the ball on the spot and letting the batsmen – and occasionally the pitch – do the work.After Wishart’s departure, the floodgates opened. Wickets fell steadily and ingloriously as the batsmen seemed to lose the will even to hit the ball off the square. Stuart Matsikenyeri ran himself out (62 for 6) and Blignaut padded up to Banks and was lbw (63 for 7) – two of the softest of dismissals imaginable. Tatenda Taibu and Price then both fell to Collymore and the white flag had well and truly been raised.Streak hit Banks over long-on for a final defiant six, and he and Blessing Mahwire showed more fight than their predecessors. But they only delayed the inevitable, and ensured that Zimbabwe survived until what will be a token fifth day.

Close West Indies 232 for 8 (Drakes 40*, Sanford 13*) v South Africa
Scoreboard

Brian Lara produced a vital half-century to mark his 100th Test appearance, and Ridley Jacobs and Vasbert Drakes chipped in with invaluable contributions of their own, as West Indies recovered from a dreadful start to reach the close of the first day’s play at Durban on 232 for 8.It wasn’t a great score, but after slumping to 50 for 5 inside the first 20 overs of the match, it was riches indeed. Lara’s contribution was an easy-paced 72, as he and Jacobs added 98 for the sixth wicket to ease the momentum of the match away from the South Africans.Lara came to the crease in the type of situation that he has known only too well in recent years – a crisis. After Graeme Smith had won a useful toss and opted to bowl first, West Indies lost two wickets to Shaun Pollock in the first three overs of the innings, and were in disarray when Jacobs emerged from the pavilion to help piece together the innings.The rot began with the sixth ball of the match. Pollock, on his home turf, had Wavell Hinds caught behind for a duck, before Ramnaresh Sarwan became Pollock’s second wicket, as Jacques Kallis pouched a fine offcutter at second slip. When Ntini whistled in with the scalps of Daren Ganga and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in consecutive overs, West Indies were 17 for 4 and in desperate trouble.Carlton Baugh, the reserve wicketkeeper, had been selected to play as a specialist batsman after hamstring injuries had ruled out Chris Gayle and Corey Collymore, and he provided some temporary relief with a belligerent 21. But Andre Nel struck in the penultimate over before lunch, and South Africa were one wicket away from exposing a lengthy tail.After lunch, however, Lara and Jacobs came into their own. They needed some luck, and Jacobs in particular rode his, as a sharp chance off Ntini flew past the outstretched hand of second slip, before Boucher dropped him in front of first. But he was unashamedly attacking, and cracked Kallis for three fours in succession, including a pair of hooked bouncers.But Jacobs’s luck could not hold, and Nel eventually nailed him lbw for 58 (148 for 6). Although Lara looked set to carry on the good fight, even he couldn’t defy South Africa’s momentum forever, and on 72, Ntini suckered him with a fast bouncer that flew comfortably to Pollock in the slips (172 for 7). Ntini then followed up by spreadeagling Merv Dillon’s stumps with a fast yorker (191 for 8).But Adam Sanford thumped Pollock on the up through the covers as West Indies hauled their total past 200, and by the close he and Drakes were still undefeated, having added 41 for the ninth wicket. If they can eke the total towards the 250 mark tomorrow, their fast bowlers will fancy their chances on a seamer-friendly wicket.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Gary Kirsten, 6 Neil McKenzie, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Andrew Hall, 9 Shaun Pollock, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Paul Adams.West Indies 1 Wavell Hinds, 2 Daren Ganga, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Carlton Baugh, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Vasbert Drakes, 9 Merv Dillon, 10 Adam Sanford, 11 Fidel Edwards.

Vince Wells has announced his retirement from first-class cricket. Wells, who began his career at Kent before moving to Leicestershire in 1992, signed for Durham at the start of the 2003 season.A typical bits-and-pieces English allrounder (he bowled medium-pace wobblers and batted in the middle order) Wells – at 33 – was a surprise choice for the England one-day side in Australia in 1998-99. He took 3 for 30 – including three of the top four – in the first Carlton & United Series final against Australia and then cracked 33 in 39 balls. It was enough to keep him in the squad for the 1999 World Cup, but although he featured in England’s warm-ups in Sharjah, he didn’t play a game in the tournament.He explained that the decision was brought about by a desire to pursue business interest in southern England. “I’m disappointed to have to draw a line under my time at Durham early,” he said, “but this opportunity is too good to turn down.”David Harker, Durham’s chief executive, added: “We are sorry to lose the services of such an experienced and admired player, but we understand his need to move on. On behalf of everyone at Durham I wish him the best of luck for the future.”Durham will retain his registration for the coming season in case of emergencies.

ScorecardKevin Pietersen enhanced his claims for an England place, when he completes his qualification next summer, after picking up his second century of England A’s Duleep Trophy game against South Zone.Pietersen followed his first-innings 104 with a brutal 115 from 79 balls, as England declared their second innings on 297 for 8, a lead of exactly 500. By the close, South Zone had recovered from a dreadful start to reach 171 for 2, but England still remain favourites to complete their victory on tomorrow’s final day.England began the day in a healthy position, leading by 291 with seven wickets in hand, but they had added just one run to their total when Matt Prior was bowled by Sree Santh. But Pietersen found a staunch ally in Bilal Shafayat, whose 34 was his first innings of note since he was suspended for one match for dissent. The pair added 79 for the fifth wicket, before both men fell to South Zone’s spinners – Pietersen was bowled by Sridharam Sriram and Shafayat was stumped off Sunil Joshi.Graham Napier picked up where Pietersen had left off, cracking 64 not out to add to his first-innings 76, while England A’s captain James Tredwell also impressed with 36. Joshi struck twice to remove Tredwell and Sajid Mahmood in quick succession, but the declaration soon followed with South Zone needing to bat out the rest of the match – or score an improbable 501 for victory.That prospect looked extremely distant indeed when Mahmood and Simon Francis took the new ball. They each grabbed an opener apiece as South Zone slumped to 1 for 2, but Venugopal Rao and Sriram took the attack to England’s attack. By the close they had added 170 for the third wicket, to leave the victory just about within their grasp.

Justin Langer has been cleared by the match referee, Chris Broad, of a possible breach of the ICC’s code of conduct, after being reported by umpiresSteve Bucknor and David Orchard for an on-field incident during the third day of the Colombo Test between Sri Lanka and Australia.Langer attended a disciplinary inquiry after the close of play on Friday night, following a bizarre incident during the morning session, when Australia belatedly appealed for a hit-wicket decision against Hashan Tillakaratne. The umpires referred the decision to the third umpire to verify how Tillakaratne’s bail had been dislodged.The television pictures showed that Langer dislodged the bail with his hand while he crossed over the pitch to take up a new fielding position for the right-handed Thilan Samaraweera. Langer insisted that he did not intentionally flick off the bail.”Justin was disappointed that the charge was brought and explained his position in a very honest and succinct way,” said Broad, following a hearing attended by Langer, Ricky Ponting, Steve Bernard (Australia’s team manager), and the three match umpires. “He was, however, reminded that in future to steer clear of any instances such as this.”

Less than 24 hours after wrapping up their historic series victory in the Caribbean, four of England’s key players have been awarded six-month summer contracts by the England & Wales Cricket Board.The new contracts, which take immediate effect, have been awarded to England’s pacemen Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard – who shared 47 wickets between them – as well as the veteran batsman, Graham Thorpe, who scored 274 runs in the series, including a matchwinning century in Barbados.”Each of these players has made an outstanding contribution to England’s successful tour of the Caribbean,” said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, “and the award of contracts is richly deserved. The team now faces a busy period of international cricket this summer and all four players will have an important part to play in our plans.”The contracts system, which was introduced at the beginning of the decade, has been a vital component in England’s steady improvement over the past four years. “The lads face a really heavy schedule,” Graveney told BBC Radio. “We won in the West Indies as we kept our bowlers fit and we need to keep doing that.”The game isn’t flushed with money but it’s a balancing act between cricketing needs and finances,” added Graveney. “Harmison and James Anderson were on summer contracts last season. These give control to look after bowlers and counties get compensated for services lost by these lads.”Harmison’s county, Durham, was delighted by the news. “Stephen is proving what a great bowler he is,” said Martyn Moxon, the head coach. “The contract is justification for all the effort he has been putting in. The downside, for Durham, is that we are unlikely to see much of him this year.””We are delighted that Stephen’s continued excellent form has led to him being granted a central contract,” added David Harker, Durham’s chief executive. “The contract is the result of months of hard work following his back injury in Bangladesh and no one deserves it more than Stephen.”The four join eight other players who were awarded 12-month contracts by the ECB last September: James Anderson, Mark Butcher, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.

Fidel Edwards has been ruled out of the three-nation NatWest Series tournament in England due to a hamstring injury. Edwards, who played the recently concluded series against Bangladesh, has been replaced by Jermaine Lawson in the 15-man line-up. Edwards bowled well in the one-dayers against them, taking four wickets at just 10.75, but struggled in the Tests, averaging 51.25 per wicket.Apart from Brian Lara, who was rested for the one-dayers against Bangladesh, the squad includes two other players who didn’t figure in that series – Darren Sammy, the allrounder, and Carlton Baugh, the wicketkeeper.The squad leaves for England on June 13, while their first match of the tournament is on June 26, against New Zealand at Edgbaston.West Indies squad for the NatWest Series
Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Carlton Baugh (wk), Ian Bradshaw, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson.

The ICC has agreed to the Sri Lankan board’s request to hurry up their bowling-review process. After discussions at the ICC’s annual conference, representatives from the Sri Lankan board challenged the ICC on how they currently deal with illegal bowling actions.The result of the discussions was that the ICC will speed up the process of looking at illegal actions as far as they can, as long as it doesn’t hinder the Cricket Committee and the Chief Executives’ Committee, the groups which will specifically be researching these issues.The ICC has promised to look further into the problem of throwing during the Champions Trophy in England this September. After that, members of the Cricket Committee, including the former cricketers Tim May, Aravinda de Silva and Angus Fraser, will have another look at how the current process of reviewing bowling actions is dealt with.The Sri Lankan board’s request came in response to the ICC’s recent handling of Muttiah Muralitharan’s action. After Murali was put through a series of high-tech tests at the University of Western Australia earlier this year, it was confirmed that when he bowled the doosra his elbow did exceed the permitted five-degree tolerance level for spinners. However, Bruce Elliott, the biomechanics expert who led the testing, then called for further research into the setting of tolerance levels for bowlers.As a result, Murali escaped any punishment and was allowed to continue bowling, although he was advised not to deliver any doosras. He went on to break Courtney Walsh’s Test-wickets record during Sri Lanka’s tour of Zimbabwe. However, his decision not to tour Australia for personal reasons – not unconnected with Aussie disapproval of his bowling action, not least from their prime minister John Howard – has put his position in danger, with Shane Warne hot on his heels only seven wickets behind going into the second Test against Sri Lanka at Cairns.The ICC’s stand on throwing has been scrutinised, and its tolerance levels for throwing have been criticised by Elliott, who believes that the limits are set on illogical data. He said that “the five-degrees [rule] is based on illogical data because they’ve just tested fast bowlers and assumed that there is some relationship between fast bowlers and spin bowlers. Fifteen degrees is the right angle for fast bowlers and you probably should come down to 10 degrees for spin bowlers.”While Elliott’s suggestion would ensure that fewer bowlers are reported for throwing, a current player told that even under the current method of reporting a bowler, too few bowlers were called. The batsman went on to say that the degree of extension for the bowlers had to be on a lower scale and that special allowances should not be made for bowlers with deformities, as there were no such provisions for the batsmen.But of late, what has become even clearer is that most bowlers bend and straighten their arm to a certain degree, which goes against the traditional definition of a legal delivery. Resolving this issue is what the ICC’s goal is, come September.

Daan van Bunge, who was the youngest member of the Holland side at the 2003 World Cup, entered the record books earlier this week when he hit the fastest century in the history of MCC’s Young Cricketers.van Bunge, 21, smashed a 38-ball hundred, including 14 fours and nine sixes, against the Surrey Under-19 team at Weybridge on Monday. His innings of 121 eclipsed Surrey’s total of 119, and helped his side to a 258-run victory. His record-breaking knock was made all the more impressive considering the other players who have passed through the young cricketers programme, including Ian Botham, Martin Crowe and Mark Waugh.”It’s a tremendous achievement for Daan to have scored a faster century than any previous MCC Young Cricketer,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s new Head of Cricket. “He is a player of enormous promise and, ever since he joined MCC, he has been a great credit to the club – on and off the pitch.”van Bunge, who is in his second year on the MCC staff, has been part of the Dutch international side since 2002, and had an impressive World Cup last year. He scored 62, his highest score in an international, against India in a losing cause, and then took 3 for 16 against England, taking the wickets of Nick Knight, Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff.Darren Sammy, who is part of West Indies’ squad for this summer’s NatWest Series, is also a current MCC Young Cricketer, while England’s Rikki Clarke and Hamish Marshall of New Zealand are recent graduates of the scheme.