Western Province is the 2002-03 Standard Bank Cup Champions after completely outplaying and outclassing Griqualand West in almost every department of a one-sided final played at Newlands.Set to make 126 in the allocated 45 overs, Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten took the hosts to a nine-wicket victory in what must be one of the shortest and easiest limited over finals in the history of South Africa domestic cricket.The losing of Graeme Smith for five, when Western Province was on 11, gave Griqualand West a glimmer of hope, but that was ripped away by the two local internationals.Gibbs was at his utmost best. Taking the Griqua attack by the scruff of the neck he smashed the ball to all parts of the ground finishing with an undefeated 67 off 44 balls which included 10 fours and two sixes, one clipped off his heels over long leg and the other sailing over the ropes at long off.Not to be outdone, Gary Kirsten, worried about the threat of rain, ended undefeated on 46 from 28 balls that included nine fours.The game was over in 12.4 overs and Griqualand West’s record as giant killers had seen a sad ending.One always had the feeling that Western Province was going to be too strong for the visitors from Kimberley and once wickets started to fall the writing was on the wall.An excellent 59 from Martin Gidley in the end had no significance, with no one else prepared to spend time at the crease. A 54-run partnership between Gidley and Brett Tucker, scoring 19, was all the Griqua Diamonds could over in resistance.Far too many of the top order batsmen fell to soft dismissals and a collapse in the middle order, going from 109/4 to 125 all out, all but gifted the final to Gary Kirsten and his men.Alan Dawson, man-of-the-series, was again in the wickets and his disciplined line and length added additional pressure to the Griqua batsmen. Ending the match with figures of three for 15 off 7.2 overs helped him to the top wicket taker (16) of the tournament.Claude Henderson, assisted by some poor shot selections, picket up four for 26 in his nine over spell.Griqualand West however should not feel too desponded and should have learnt some valuable lessons and experience from their outing. By reaching the final they had outplayed 10 other unions, but happened to catch Western Province at their very best.For Western Province it was just reward for a season that saw them lose the first class final against Easterns, but coming back to finish the season with another trophy in the cabinet.

Austria will take on Portugal, twice winners of the ECC Indoors Championships, in the opening fixture in the ECC Indoor Championships to be held in Herning, Denmark. Austria has had an instrumental role in the development of the championships, holding the first ever European Indoor Championships, in 1995, on a boat on the Danube. In 1996, Austria won the European Championships, winning the competition at the Lords Indoor School.Austria’s full group fixtures are as follows:Friday 14th February, 20031800 vs Portugal (Hall 1)Saturday 15th February, 20031000 vs Greece (Hall 2)1200 vs Spain (Hall 2)1500 vs Holland (Hall 2)1700 vs Denmark (Hall 3)In the event that Austria finish either fifth or sixth in the A group, they will play a qualifying game against either the fourth or sixth placed team in the B group (at 1900 on Saturday in either Hall 2 or 3). Thereafter, there will be a knock-out tournament with a plate competition also being introduced this year.Further information and scores can be obtained from the Danish Cricket Federation website.

It might not have been of great significance in the overall context of the World Cup, but for Namibia and the Netherlands this match represented the summit of their ambitions to return from South Africa with a victory of which to boast. It was the Dutch who proved to be just a little bit too strong and they claimed their first one-day international victory by 64 runs.Having lost their captain, Roland Lefebvre to injury, the Dutch won the toss and batted first on a belter. After an early wicket, it became evident that the bowlers had had their confidence battered by battles against the bigger nations. The batsmen, on the other hand, were finding life against Gerrie Snyman and Burton van Rooi rather easier than facing Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar as they had earlier in the competition. That is no disrespect to the Namibian bowlers, but a fact of life in this hardest of cricketing schools.A second wicket partnership between Feiko Kloppenburg and Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk worth 228 scored at a shade under six an over established a position of Dutch supremacy.Kloppenburg was the first to reach his hundred and so became the first Dutchman to attain that score in a one-day international. He passed the milestone with what was a dangerous run that could have seen him out for 99, but the ball missed the stumps at the non-striker’s end and Kloppenburg began a celebration that involved swinging his bat around as if it was the sail of a windmill. It was not an altogether inappropriate gesture from a Dutchman.Van Noortwijk soon followed him. He was on the point of exhaustion, dropping to one knee and gasping for breath as his score matched the number on his shirt – 99. However, pushing the ball out on the off-side he raced to the other end although he too might have struggled had the shy at the stumps hit.Kloppenburg eventually fell to a tired shot of his own, top-edging an intended slash through the off-side to the wicket-keeper. He was out for 121 from 142 balls with four sixes and six fours.His demise preceded something of a collapse to give the Namibians some sort of reward for their efforts. Bas Zuiderent, the one professional in the Dutch side, has endured a poor World Cup. He came in after a long partnership and went out again after facing seven balls.Louis Burger returned to the attack to bowl Zuiderent and then inflict the same fate on Tim de Leede first ball. The hat-trick ball was a poor one – a leg-side wide. Burger then suffered as Luuk van Troost and van Noortwijk, almost immobile with cramp, plundered runs aplenty off the final overs.Van Noortwijk was undefeated on 134 from 129 balls with 11 fours and three sixes as the Netherlands reached the second highest total in this tournament by putting 314 for four on the board. The words `Dutch’ and `mountain’ rarely appear in the same sentence, but the Namibians certainly had a mountain to climb in pursuit of such a large Dutch total.Nevertheless, they set off bravely in pursuit with an opening partnership betweenJB Burger and Morne Karg keeping the required rate within their sights. Burger already had a big score in the tournament when he embarrassed the English bowling, while Karg had only one previous innings when he was not alone in falling to Glenn McGrath. Both batted with the belief here that they could win and it was looking good until the 14th over when the score had reached 76.That was when Kloppenburg came into the attack, fresh – if that is the right word – from his hundred. Burger tried to lift his fourth ball over mid-wicket and got the height if not the distance. He found substitute fielder Ruud Nijman on the boundary and was out for 41.Karg followed when his score reached 41 and also fell to a catch by Nijman. This time it was a very good one as the batsman lashed de Leede high over the infield and Nijman came racing in from the cover boundary to slide under the ball right at the end of its travel.After a period of reappraisal following the fall of those two wickets, Daniel Keulder and Gavin Murgatroyd began to take Namibia back towards the required rate with some sensible batting and the occasional lusty blow. Their third wicket partnership realised 92 in 18 overs and was beginning to cause the Dutch serious concern whenKloppenburg returned to bowl Keulder.Keulder had scored 52 when he went, and so too had Murgatroyd when he lofted an intended big hit to Zuiderent at mid-off off the bowling of Hendrik-Jan Mol. That was virtually the end of the challenge that had lasted for a creditable 35 overs.Kloppenburg claimed the wickets of Louis Burger and Snyman to be on a hat-trick, but finished his ten over allocation before he could claim a fifth wicket. Adeel Raja had Sarel Burger stumped by the impressive Jeroen Smits and bowled Melt van Schoor before claiming the last wicket to seal the win.Van Noortwijk had to sit out the second half of the match as the exertions of his innings had caused him to suffer dehydration. He watched from the cool of the pavilion on a saline drip as his colleagues clinched the win. He could have been refreshed by going out onto the field, for midway through the Namibian innings an automatic sprinkler suddenly popped up out of the ground to give a cooling spray to anyone within range.Wicket-keeper Smits looked on as the groundsman rushed to the middle while waving frantically to the control room to have the system switched off. The Dutch, however, have years of experience when it comes to dealing with water where they do not want it. Smits simply trod on the sprinkler head and it obligingly went back into the ground.

South Africa and Sri Lanka practice and media arrangements ahead of Monday’s match

South AfricaFriday 28thFrom 16h00 Practice at KingsmeadPlayer may be available after practiceSaturday 1stFrom 10h00 Practice at KingsmeadPlayer may be available after practiceSunday 2nd09h00 Media conference at Elangeni Hotel10h00 Practice at Kingsmead CLOSED TO MEDIASri LankaSaturday 1st14h00 – 17h00 Practice at KingsmeadSunday 2nd14h00 – 17h00 Practice at KingsmeadCaptain and coach available after practice

Contacts:Sue Miles – Media liaison 083 222 5211
Gerald de Kock – SA media manager 083 299 5920
Ajit – Sri Lankan team manager 072 621 9224

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) will hold electionsafter a government decision to end a two-year period of control by interimcommittees.The sports ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the BCCSL Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place in approximately one month – probably on June 6.Lakshman Kiriella, the then sports minister, disbanded the last electedadministration in March, 2001 on legal grounds, amid rumours off financialmismanagement.A series of interim committees followed, the first headed by VijayaMalalsekera and the last by Hemaka Amarasuriya, who was appointed by thecurrent sports minister Johnston Fernando.Leading contenders for the presidency include Thilanga Sumithipala, who hadserved two previous terms as president, and Arjuna Ranatunga, the formercaptain.Once the sports ministry has issued formal notification to the BCCSLmembership, contenders have two weeks to forward their nominations.Milton Amarasinghe, the director of sports, will conduct and oversee theelection, trying to avoid a repeat of the controversial 1999 AGM -­ anelection marred by physical intimidation.

All Today’s Yesterdays -May 29 down the years 2000
A thrilling finish to a series decider in Antigua. West Indies needed 216 to beat Pakistan, but looked dead in the water at 197 for 9 as Courtney Walsh strode out twirling his arms. But his captain Jimmy Adams was still there, and drip by drip (Adams’s 48 not out came in almost six hours, with not a single boundary) they saw West Indies to the ninth one-wicket win in Test history. It shouldn’t have been so: replays showed Walsh was caught via bat and pad off Saqlain Mushtaq, who then missed two clear run-out chances, one of them a sitter when Adams and Walsh ended up at the same end. Wasim Akram, who had put the burgeoning match-fixing scandal aside to bowl heroically for figures of 11 for 110, was the unluckiest of losers.1902
The beginning of the inaugural Test at Edgbaston, and England picked an XI who all had first-class centuries to their name. It was also, according to some very good judges including Frank Keating, the greatest team they’ve ever picked: Archie MacLaren, CB Fry, Ranji, FS Jackson, Johnny Tyldesley, Dick Lilley, George Hirst, Gilbert Jessop, Len Braund, Bill Lockwood and Wilfred Rhodes. Rhodes – a man who scored almost 40,000 first-class runs – was some No. 11. He made 38 not out, and with Tyldesley cracking 138, England made 376 for 9 declared. That was worth plenty more on a pitch so poor that Australia were then skittled for 36, their lowest Test score. Rhodes took 7 for 17, but as England moved in for a quick second-innings kill, rain ruined the last day and the match was drawn.1999
Having already qualified for the Super Six stage by demolishing all comers, South Africa were probably not overly concerned when they lost their final group game against Zimbabwe at Chelmsford. But the repercussions were considerable: as well as knocking England out, it meant that South Africa carried two fewer points to the Super Six stage. With those two points, they’d have finished above Australia in the Super Sixes; had they done that, it would have been the Australians in tears after that fateful tie in the semi-final.1950
Talat Ali, who was born today, played ten Tests for Pakistan in the 1970s, but he is better known as a match referee: he was in charge for the 2001 Ashes series in England. Talat was a dogged opener whose Test career got off to a traumatic start when he fractured his thumb on debut, facing Dennis Lillee at Adelaide in 1972-73. Pakistan won only one of his 10 matches, when he made 40 and a Test-best 61 at Christchurch in 1978-79.1839
Birth of the first man to be dismissed in a Test. Australian allrounder Nat Thomson was bowled by Yorkshire’s Allen Hill for 1 at the MCG in the inaugural Test in 1876-77, but within three weeks his Test career was over. Thomson was dropped after the second Test, despite making 41 in the second-innings of a match where no Australian reached 50. He died in his native Sydney in 1896.1839
On the same day that Thomson was born, so was Edward James “Ned” Gregory. He also played in that first Test, and became the first batsman to fall for a duck in a Test. It was his only appearance. His son Syd, who was born on the sight of the SCG, later captained Australia. Ned was curator at the SCG for 30 years, where he died in 1899.Other birthdays
1953 Rangy Nanan (West Indies)

The last of the round-robin matches in the NatWest Series, between SouthAfrica and Zimbabwe, could well have been one of those dreadful dead-rubberevents when one team has qualified for the final and the other is out of thetournament. It’s often a case of going through the motions to honour thefixture list – but this one is not like that any more.There are two reasons for the sudden change. One was the heavy defeat ofSouth Africa by England at Edgbaston. If a margin of four wickets does notappear to be too wide a margin, the reality was that South Africa were fortunate to get as close as that, helped by two late wickets when the match was as good as over. The other factor that will result in this match being anything but a non-event is that Hampshire’s Rose Bowl is staging international cricket for the first time. Throw in the fact that Zimbabwe always enjoy an opportunity to have a crack at their neighbours, and there is every reason to believe that nobody concerned will be going through the motions.South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith said before the Edgbaston game that he was hoping to inflict some mental scars before the final and the Test series to come. The first over, when he personally took 19 off James Anderson, showed that he meant business. However, any scars seemed to heal pretty quickly as Anderson came back to claim four wickets, and it was South Africa’s confidence that ended the evening more disfigured.Smith might have been hoping to rest some of his key players in Southampton, in advance of a final for which his team has already qualified, but now he will probably need to play them all in the hope that they can regain form and self-belief.Paul Adams will be one of those hoping to get a chance to repair the Edgbaston damage. After the injury to Nicky Boje – a fractured tibia and ankle-ligament damage that will require surgery – Adams is the only specialist spinner available for selection at Lord’s. But his 1 for 44 from six overs against England means there is plenty of room for improvement.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe can go into this match with no fear. They are expectedto lose, but will not want to miss out on the opportunity to leave Englandwith a decent result, to say nothing of being able to further bloody thoseSouth African noses. Zimbabwe’s captain, Heath Streak, has striven manfully to make something of his understrength team throughout this tour, and he is sure to be welcomed back warmly to Hampshire, where he played a few years ago.The Rose Bowl deserves a proper contest as it makes its first appearance onthe international scene. To move away from cosy little Northlands Road,Hampshire had to make a great leap of faith, utilise tremendous imagination,and pour in vast amounts of money and resources. This match represents thefirst repayment on that vision. The venue has made an important improvementto the infrastructure of English cricket, and if a near-capacity crowd caninspire Zimbabwe to inflict another defeat on South Africa prior to the Lord’s final, they could be doing even more for the health of the English game.South Africa (probable) 1 Herschelle Gibbs, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Jacques Rudolph, 5 Martin van Jaarsveld, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Paul Adams, 10 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Zimbabwe 1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Grant Flower, 3 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 4 Tatentda Taibu (wk) 5 Richard Sims, 6 Travis Friend, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Sean Ervine, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Douglas Hondo.

England v South Africa, Old Trafford, Thursday, 1330GMT

After the disappointment of the rain at Headingley, it is ironic that the NatWest Series caravan now moves on to Old Trafford for a day/night match between England and South Africa. Manchester is not known for its droughts, and it must be hoped that the weather allows what promises to be a fascinating contest to run its full course.The no-result recorded at Headingley proved frustrating to both England and Zimbabwe, as both of them would have fancied their chances of a win. Zimbabwe had the confidence of beating England first time out, while England were buoyed by their own victory against South Africa.Now England must aim for back-to-back wins against South Africa, who themselves will be smarting from their defeat at The Oval. However, it is difficult to draw a form-line from the initial round of matches. What has become evident is that England’s middle order has shown a certain fragility, while South Africa’s bowling resources are somewhat thin.Both teams will be striving to amend those shortcomings, while building on the progress to which both can point. For South Africa, Jacques Kallis is in fine form, with the bat at least, while Andrew Hall has emerged as an allrounder of true international class. However, there is also a doubt about their youthful captain, Graeme Smith, who injured his left shoulder in the field at Canterbury on Sunday.England can point to Marcus Trescothick’s batting form, now in partnership with Vikram Solanki whose hundred at The Oval will not be forgotten quickly by anyone who saw it, and the continuing development of Jimmy Anderson.Add to that the progress of Chris Read, the return of Darren Gough and the growing authority of Michael Vaughan, and it is clear that the England selectors are making significant strides towards building a competitive one-day outfit.Whether it will be good enough to achieve that second successive win over South Africa remains to be seen. What is certain that England will be hoping to win the toss and bat, to be spared the problems usually associated with batting under lights, to say nothing of having the advantage of bowling in the twilight zone.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Vikram Solanki, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Andrew Flintoff, 5 Anthony McGrath, 6 Jim Troughton, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Kabir Ali, 9 Richard Johnson, 10 Darren Gough, 11 James Anderson.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Jacques Rudolph, 5 Andrew Hall, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Martin van Jaarsveld, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Alan Dawson, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Hampshire 2nd XI choose from twelve to take on Sussex 2nd XI in the ECB Trophy semi-final match at The Rose Bowl on Monday 11 August, starting at 11am.Hampshire reached the semi-final of the 50-over contest by winning all eight of their group matches, and will go into this clash as favourites.From the twelve, the only injury worry is Jimmy Adams, who sustained concussion and a bruised eye in the Frizzell County Championship match against Northamptonshire at The Rose Bowl. He is to see a specialist today (Friday) to gain clearance, but coach Tony Middleton is confident that he will be ready.The home side have reached the final in three of the last four seasons, without success and will be looking to redress this, starting with the semi-final.Admission is free to this game.Live scores of this match will be shown on the Hampshirew Web Site throughout the day.Hampshire squad: James Hamblin, Jimmy Adams, Will Kendall (capt), Lawrence Prittipaul, Greg Lamb, Chris Benham, Kevin Latouf, Iain Brunnschweiler (w-k), Charlie van der Gucht, James Hibberd, James Bruce, James Tomlinson.

Alec Stewart has confirmed speculation in the weekend’s newspapers by announcing his retirement at the end of the season. With it unlikely that he will play in Surrey’s final Championship match starting on Wednesday, his last game was the final Test against South Africa, fittingly at The Oval.Yesterday, Surrey announced that financial contraints meant that Stewart would not be offered another contract, and in The News of the World he ended suggestions that he would look to extend his career at another county. “I’m not that sentimental,” he explained. “I said my goodbyes to the Oval crowd during the South Africa Test and that couldn’t have gone better. If Surrey had still been in the hunt for the Championship, it would have been different. I’ve always striven to get to the top, ie England. Once that has gone, why are you playing?”In a press release today Stewart said that it had been a “fantastic privilege” playing for Surrey. “I have been lucky enough to play with some great players and particularly to be a part of the huge success the Club has achieved over the last eight years. I look forward to contributing to Surrey’s continued success both on and off the pitch in years to come.”Keith Medlycott, Surrey’s first-team coach, had earlier confirmed that Stewart – and Ian Ward – had been released because of a need to cut outgoings. “We are part of a bigger industry and that is the business itself and we have to deal with what is put in front of us. We have to abide by certain rules and as much as we’ve tried to bend those and eke out extra money we weren’t able to do that. It’s an unfortunate scenario but players’ worth in recent years has gone up in astronomical amounts but income has not followed suit.”Stewart made his debut for Surrey in 1981 and scored 26,165 runs at an average of 40.06 in 447 first-class matches.Alec Stewart – his career in numbers