A strokeful and chanceless century by Imran Javed put Karachi Whites in the drivers seat against Faisalabad at stumps on the second day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match at the National Stadium Wednesday.The fast-improving 21-year-old Imran finished unbeaten at 112 as the home team recovered from a precarious 135 for five to 311 for six. They lead Faisalabad by 88 runs with two days and four wickets to spare.Imran added 134 runs for the fifth wicket in as many minutes with Shadab Kabir who battled flu to contributed 48 at No 6 before being declared caught behind. Shadab’s walk to the dressing room suggested he might have been a bit unlucky.Faisalabad paceman Moazzam Ali caused the maximum damage when he finished with four wickets for 95 runs from 23 overs, including three wickets in 38 balls in a post-lunch spell. But the hero of the day was Imran Javed who is rapidly blossoming into a fine stroke-maker.The youngster has fully capitalized from his excellent form as he has amassed runs 456 (67*, 78*, 125*, 0, 41, 18, 15, 112*) in the ongoing tournament. He averages 114.Imran’s commitment and concentration can be judged from the fact that he has faced 160 balls during his 205 minutes innings while 82 of his runs have come from 19 boundaries and a six.Experienced Ghulam Ali was the other notable Karachi batsman while scoring a typical attractive 54 that included nine punishing boundaries. Fortunate to have been caught off a no-ball and then dropped when 24, Ghulam Ali added 82 for the second wicket with Saeed bin Nasir (38) who also benefited from a dropped catch by Aqeel Khan off his own bowling.If three Karachi players were down with flu, three Faisalabad boys were injured. But the injury to Aqeel while attempting to catch Saeed proved costly as he failed to take the field after bowling 28 deliveries.

What should have been the clash of the titans, turned into a wet squid as rain in Cape Town forced the Standard Bank Cup fourth round match between Western Province and Free State into a 32 over smash and grab with the hosts running out victor by six wickets.Free Sate winning the toss batting first, on an overcast afternoon, lost the wicket of Jonathan Beukus in the second over minutes before rain forced the players off the field for three hours.Restarting with the game reduced to 32 overs Free State immediately lost the wicket of Morne van Wyk and then had to leave the field again as the Newlands lights went out.Play eventually got under way with Free State unable to recover or get on top of some good swing bowling from Charl Willoughby taking 3-29 in seven overs.A 44 from Neil Dippenaar helped the cause with Nicky Boje (20) and Rayno Arendse (28*) helping Free State to 125/7 when the 32 overs were completed.With the two breaks in the innings, and Free State having lost early wickets, the Duckworth/Lewis method calculated a Western Province target of 124.With the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis in the Province line up the target was never going to be enough.Herman Bakkes was not going to let names get the better of him, having Gibbs (15) and Smith (12) back in the pavilion to leave Western Province 33/2 in the eighth over.Gary Kirsten, in excellent recent form, stabilised the innings with the help of first HD Ackerman scoring 17, and then Andrew Puttick making 15. Kirsten finished on an undefeated 53, seeing the hosts through to a 6-wicket win.For Free State, Bakkes ended with 2-26, Boje 1-27 and Allan Donald 0-19.

An aggressive hundred from opener Connor Williams and a five-wicket haul by off-spinner Ramesh Powar helped West Zone get the better of South Zone in a Deodhar Trophy day-nighter at Bangalore’s MA Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday.In the afternoon, South Zone won the toss and put West in. Williams and Vinayak Mane (61 off 71 balls with five fours) laid the foundation for a huge West Zone total with a 140-run second wicket stand following opener Robin Morris’ early dismissal.Despite Mane’s dismissal at this juncture, Williams went on to make 112 off 114 balls with 13 fours before becoming the fourth West Zone wicket to fall with the score on 204 in the 39th over. With Abhijit Kale (54* off 46 balls) and Rakesh Dhurv (24* off 22) scoring quick runs in the end overs, West ended up with a formidable 295/6 in their 50 overs.South made a rousing start to their reply, rattling 126 runs before their first wicket, that of the dashing Ambati Rayudu (73 off 67 balls with eight fours and two sixes), fell. But after that most of the remaining batsmen struggled as the hosts were dismissed for 266.West Zone were rewarded with four points for their win.

The Western Australian Cricket Association selectors today announced the Western Warriors team to play Tasmania in a Pura Cup match in Hobart on February 5-8.The team is:Justin Langer (Captain), Mike Hussey (vice-captain), Jo Angel, Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Murray Goodwin, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Callum Thorp and Brad Williams.The Warriors are in Adelaide this weekend for a crucial ING Cup limited-overs match against the Southern Redbacks on Saturday, February 1.This entire match will be televised live on Channel Nine, from 7am (Perth time) on Saturday.The team travels to Hobart on Sunday morning, February 2, to prepare for the four-day Pura Cup encounter with the Tigers.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has named a thirteen-man squad for the ING Cup clash against the Queensland Bulls to be played this Saturday, February 8 at Adelaide Oval.The game will see Callum Ferguson and Lachlan Stevens make their debut for the Redbacks.Ferguson, 18, is a Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy graduate and a member of the South Australian Under-19 squad. The stylish right-handed batsman already has scored 451 at an average of 41 for Prospect this season, including 151 against West Torrens in round two.Ferguson’s figures in the second XI (ACB Cup) competition this season include a 108 not out against the Western Australian second XI in October.Stevens, a left-handed batsman and slow left-arm orthodox spinner, captains the Adelaide Cricket Club and has amassed 541 runs at an average of 45, and has taken 30 wickets in the Grade competition so far this season.The 24-year-old last year made the move from Queensland to South Australia to continue pursuing his first-class career. He has represented Australia in the Under-19s and is a graduate of the Queensland Academy of Sport.Bowling all-rounder Mick Miller returns to the one-day side, following the departure of Mark Harrity from the State competition.

Greg Blewett (c)	Mick Miller
Mark Cleary	Paul Rofe
Mark Cosgrove	Mike Smith
Callum Ferguson	Lachlan Stevens
Mark Higgs	Shaun Tait
Ben Johnson	Brad Young
Graham Manou

A 13th man will be named on the morning of the match.The ING Cup game starts at 9.30am, with gates opening at 8.30am. Tickets are available from the Adelaide Oval gates.

Wednesday 12 MarchThe Australian squad will travel from Port Elizabeth to Durban, ahead of its third and final Super Six match against Kenya on Saturday 15 March. The squad departs Port Elizabeth on South African Airways flight SA 676 at 0815, arriving into Durban at approximately 1000. Vision only is available of the side upon arrival in Durban. There is no practice scheduled following the squad’s arrival. Media access will be co-ordinated upon request.Thursday 13 MarchThe squad will train at Kingsmead, Durban from 1200. A media opportunity will follow practice at approximately 1500.Friday 14 MarchThe squad will undertake an optional practice session at Kingsmead from 0900.A pre-match media conference will take place following the session.Saturday 15 MarchAustralia takes on Kenya at Kingsmead, Durban in its third and final Super Six match of the tournament. The match is a day / night fixture, commencing at 1430.For further information please contact (in South Africa): Jonathan Rose, ACB Media Manager, on +27 (0) 833 107 662.

The new Twenty20 Cup competition will see the Glamorgan players take to thefield as the ‘Leeks’ in 2003.A new green and white playing kit, in keeping with the ‘Leek’ nickname, willbe worn for the Twenty20 Cup and replica shirts will be available from theClub Shop by the end of May.A Glamorgan Spokesperson confirmed that the County wanted to move away fromthe more aggressive nicknames of old and hoped that the ‘Glamorgan Leeks’would convey a softer side to the game, which would prove attractive to awider audience, particularly women.Breaking from tradition, the Club also plan to introduce a female mascot.’Lynwen Leek’ will debut at the County’s first home Twenty20 match againstNorthants on Monday, 16th June.Chief Executive Mike Fatkin said:
“It took us a long time to come up with a name for the team for the Twenty20Cup and we just thought that the ‘Glamorgan Leeks’ sat well with our othertwo recognisable welsh emblems of Daffodils and Dragons.”Club Captain Steve James added:
“I can’t say that the players were over keen with the name, after all, itdoesn’t exactly strike the fear of God into the opposition when you run onas Leeks. But we accept that in the current climate, organic food has animportant role to play in day-to-day life”.With three home Twenty20 fixtures being played within the space of 8 days inmid-June, the county hope to continue the theme by offering leek based foodproducts only in each of their catering outlets.Catering Manager Anthony Quilter said:
“We’re looking to offer a complete Twenty20 experience – which will differfrom what we offer on other matchdays. Health foods will take the place ofpies and chips and we’re also looking at the possibility of a low-fat, leekice-cream”.Mark Hodgson of the England and Wales Cricket Board said:
“We applaud Glamorgan’s initiative in the Twenty20 Cup and are looking atthe possibility of each of the counties linking in with a vegetable of somedescription. I certainly feel that this approach could attract a whole newgeneration of health conscious cricket spectators”.

Clare Connor, the England women’s cricket captain and Channel 4 cricket presenter, will lead her team The Braves in defence of their Super Fours title in Oxford on Saturday 17th May.Clare is one of forty-eight elite female players, selected for four teams: The Braves, The Knight Riders, The Super Strikers and The V Team. Opening matches will be played at The Parks and Marston University grounds, Oxford.Super Fours was devised to ensure that the country’s leading players faced each other in regular competition before the international season, and was implemented by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to bridge the gap between the domestic game and international arena.England selectors will attend the matches and players know they are competing for a place in the England squad to face South Africa in August.England’s vice-captain, Charlotte Edwards, will lead The Knight Riders who include England’s phenomenal bowler Lucy Pearson. Lucy took a world-record eleven wicket haul in the recent Ashes Test Match against Australia in Sydney; including a career best 7-51 in the first innings. The record had stood for 46 years.The four teams compete in a round-robin basis, playing matches over five weekends between 17th May, before returning to Oxford for the concluding matches on Saturday 21st June.Last year’s competition was decided on the last day, and Clare Connor thinks it will be as close this year, Last year, two young players Isa Guha and Lydia Greenway, both performed exceptionally well in the competition and earnt England call-ups in 2002/3.Isa Guha went on to take the BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year award for 2002 and was described as ‘the girl who bowls it like Botham’.Super Fours fixtures:

The Braves v Super Strikers The Parks, Oxford 12 noon Saturday 17th MayThe V Team v Knight Riders Marston, Oxford 12 noon Saturday 17th MayThe Braves V Knight Riders King’s College, Taunton 12 noon Sunday 25th MaySuper Strikers v The V Team King’s College, Taunton 12 noon Sunday 25th MaySuper Strikers v Knight Riders King’s College, Taunton 10.30am Monday 26th MayThe Braves v The V Team King’s College, Taunton 10.30am Monday 26th MaySuper Strikers v Knight Riders Reading Cricket Club 12 noon Sunday 1st JuneThe Braves v The V Team Reading Cricket Club 12 noon Sunday 1st JuneThe Braves v Super Strikers Worksop College 12 noon Sunday 15th JuneThe V Team v Knight Riders Worksop College 12 noon Sunday 15th JuneThe V Team v Super Strikers Radley College, Oxford 12 noon Saturday 21st JuneThe Braves v Knight Riders The Parks, Oxford 12 noon Saturday 21st June

Super Fours Teams:

THE KNIGHT RIDERSCoach: Neil RiderCharlotte Edwards – Captain (Kent)Kathryn Doherty (Yks)Jenny Gunn (Notts)Jane Cassar (Notts)Lyndsey Askew (Kent)Helen Wardlaw (Yorks)Lucy Pearson (Staffordshire)Lydia Greenway (Kent)Caroline Atkins (Sussex)Raddi Nannalal (Berkshire)Sarah Collyer (Somerset)Rosale Birch (Sussex)THE SUPER STRIKERSCoach: Duncan MartindaleClaire Taylor – Captain (Berkshire)Sarah Clarke (Surrey)Jan Godman (Somerset)Laura Newton (Lancashire)Laura Spragg (Yorks)Alexia Walker (Sussex)Beth Wild (Essex)Penny Arnold (Kent)Hannah Lloyd (Somerset)Sallyann Briggs (Yorks)THE V TEAMCoach: Richard NewtonClare Taylor – Captain (Yorks)Laura Joyce (Surrey)Kathryn Leng (Yks)Clare Atkinson (Yks)Arran Thompson (Lancs)Jackie Hawker (Somerset)Kelly Evenson (Staffs)Alexis Mannion (Essex)Dawn Prestige (Durham)Gill Richards (Staffs)Leanne Davies (Lancs)THE BRAVESCoach: Charlotte DickensonClare Connor – Captain (Sussex)Isa Guha (Berkshire)Natalie Lane (Kent)Beth Morgan (Middx)Laura Harper (Somerset)Mandie Godliman (Sussex)Ebony Rainford-Brent (Surrey)Steph Davies (Somerset)Sue Redfern (Derbyshire)Melissa Reynard (Yorks)Yvonne Craven (Berkshire)

Wales have taken a further step towards being recognised as an international side in their own right. With just three days to go until their unofficial ODI against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, they have run into an injury crisis.Wales won last year’s inaugural fixture by a massive eight wickets, but this time around they will be without the man who carried them to victory. Glamorgan’s captain Steve James, who top-scored with an undefeated 83, has been ruled out by a knee injury.Tony Cottey has damaged his back and will miss out as well, while Andrew Davies broke a thumb during a Second XI Trophy match at Neath on Monday and he will be out for four to six weeks. Jonathan Hughes also sustained a hand injury but the extent of that is not known at present, though his participation is in doubt.There is some good news for Wales. Steffan Jones had been released by Somerset and will be available to play, while the captaincy has been passed to that most passionate of Welshmen, Robert Croft, who took 2 for 36 and lamped a rapid 30 in last year’s match. Mike Kasprowicz, Glamorgan’s overseas player, follows in the footsteps of Jacques Kallis as an honourary Taff.Wales squad Ian Thomas, Robert Croft (capt), Mike Powell, Matthew Maynard, David Hemp, Adrian Dale, Jonathan Hughes, Mark Wallace (wk), Michael Kasprowicz, Alex Wharf, David Harrison, Darren Thomas, Steffan Jones, Dean Cosker.

Hampshire Hawks will be flying high and fast tonight (Wednesday 18th June) to outwit and outplay the Essex Eagles in their next Twenty20 match at The Rose Bowl.Following the roaring success of Friday’s sell-out inaugural match, the non-stop action and carnival atmosphere will return as feathers fly on the pitch and fireworks light up the sky over the cricket and Westlife’s tribute concert by Westlives.Gates will be opening at 2.30pm for a 5.30pm match start. Tickets covering the cricket, concert and fireworks are £10 for adults and £5 for under sixteens and parking is available at The Rose Bowl for £5 but get there early to avoid the rush."This is an important match for the Hawks with everything still to play for in qualification for the Twenty20 Cup finals" says Nick Pike, Managing Director of The Rose Bowl. "We’re definitely setting our sights on a fast and furious win."It looks like being another great night at The Rose Bowl – one not to be missed!EndsPress Contact: Katie Hall 023 8047 2009 / 07900 433242Jane Kerr 07976 549705