Cricket Australia has celebrated its 100th anniversary by naming Don Bradman and Kerry Packer as the most influential figures in its history. The choices initially appear strange – a great player alongside a media mogul – but both men revolutionised the sport.Bradman’s 20-year batting blitz will never be matched and while Packer’s determination to fight the establishment over television rights split the game in the late 1970s, it also produced World Series Cricket, day-night matches and marketing and broadcasting innovation. During this period Bradman was nearing the end of his three-decade administrative career.Bob Merriman, the Cricket Australia chairman, said Bradman and Packer had made huge contributions locally and globally. “Kerry still has a deep passion for cricket,” Merriman told The Australian. “He still wants laws changed to make it more entertaining. He’s proactive and his ideas are very sensible.”Merriman said Packer has a “strong view” on television programming and the negotiating for rights between Cricket Australia and Nine, which Packer owns, could lead to every home Test and one-day match being broadcast live into the host cities. “Through 100 years we have wanted to make cricket Australia’s favourite sport,” Merriman said. “We can’t do that if we keep locking a whole lot of people out of seeing it.”The paper reported television rights contributed 70% of the game’s revenue with gate-takings making up 20%. Today marks the 100th birthday of the organisation after its first meeting as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket Matches.

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Darren Gough took a hat-trick as England crushed Hampshire by 155 runs at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire slid to 85 all out in desperate pursuit of 239, but England’s display was not altogether convincing, with their top order faltering. They were in trouble at 72 for 4, before Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen joined forces to rescue them with a fifth-wicket stand of 133. Strauss struck 85 and Kevin Pietersen cracked 77 against his home side.Hampshire’s innings got off to a terrible start – Jones striking with his first ball to remove Derek Kenway – and never recovered. But the day was Gough’s. He proved that he still has what it takes in the one-day arena, removing Craig McMillan, John Crawley and Chris Benham in quick succession.Hampshire had nowhere to hide and the match was wrapped up within 20 overs, with Chris Tremlett the top scorer – shooting 21 from No 10. Shaun Udal and Greg Lamb were the only other players to make double figures – they both made 17 – while their side posted five ducks. One of these was their guest, Vikram Solanki, who had been included in the side along with Jon Lewis to allow all 13 of England’s one-day squad (with the exception of the injured Steve Harmison) to get a run-out ahead of England’s one-day series with Australia and Bangladesh. And he was indeed run out, as his short, sharp practice came to an end on just his third ball.But he fared much better in a hastily arranged 12-over match, striking a quickfire 41. It was a match England had requested to give them practice ahead of Monday’s Twenty20 international with Australia. But it didn’t appeal to everyone – half of the crowd of 10,000 had already gone home, as had the umpire, Peter Willey – and he was replaced at square-leg by the dressing-room attendant.But for Solanki and Hampshire, the first match was painful stuff, with England at their most merciless, and continuing in the same crushing vein as when they destroyed Bangladesh. But it’s a killer instinct worth refining as they know stiffer tests are on their way – and they come no bigger than Australia.But their top order will be a cause for concern. Geraint Jones, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff all failed to fire, while Michael Vaughan made a patient 24. It was Tremlett who started the rot, removing Jones without scoring. Tremlett took 3 for 43. His new-ball partner Lewis also took three wickets.Strauss and Pietersen halted the slide. Strauss cracked his 85 from 108 balls, with four sixes. But the 8000-strong crowd had come to see their man, Pietersen. He has a penchant for performing on his doorstep, usually the teams that he could – or indeed does – play for. Today was no different.Pietersen had set the tone back in January at Bloemfontein where, having turned his back on South Africa, he returned for England to destroy their attack; a brutal response to a sarcastic `Welcome home’ message. The home crowds at his latest abode, The Rose Bowl, were also to be disappointed as he savaged their bowlers – county team-mates – with similar fireworks. His blistering 77 from 80 balls included five fours and two sixes. It proved more than enough.

Jacob Oram, the 26-year old allrounder who departed for the tour of Bangladesh today, confirmed that he would reject any advances to play in England next summer.

At the moment New Zealand have a gap in their schedule between the home series against Australia in March and a tour to Zimbabwe provisionally earmarked for September. But Oram preferred to have a break than earning cash. “It is best for my body not to do it. We get so few breaks I should use it as rest. Financially, it is hard to look past it. But it is in the best interests of myself and playing for New Zealand to stay here and get my body right for the Zimbabwe and South Africa tours next season.”The grind of the county treadmill put him off. “Playing for county teams is not all it’s cracked up to be,” Oram said. “You’re playing five or six days a week: it’s pretty tough. I would go over there as an allrounder and would have to do everything.”Neil Perry, his coach at Manawatu, agreed. “It’s different when you’re up and coming trying to make a name for yourself. But for a quick bowler it’s a hard life; there’s a lot of overs to be bowled and not a lot of recovery time.” Perry, who had a brief career with Glamorgan, explained that this was one reason for the shortage of fast bowlers emerging from England.However, Andre Adams, who spent three productive months with Essex this summer, replaces Oram in the one-day series in Bangladesh. “It is purely a resting period [for me], from three one-dayers in six days,” Oram indicated. “It was basically a command – it came straight from the top, from the selectors. I think it’s good because we’ve got a huge series coming up [against Australia]. And you want to keep playing for your country.”

There has been little good news where Kenyan cricket is concerned since the World Cup in March 2003. The national side has hardly been seen, and when it finally emerged from hibernation last month it was humbled in the Champions Trophy; in July, Maurice Odumbe was banned for five years for his association with bookmakers; at home, the dispute between the Kenyan board on the one side, and most players and officials on the other has grown increasingly bitter, and last week 13 leading players went on strike.So, when one or two remaining experienced players, supplemented by raw recruits, took to the field for the Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia at the Aga Khan Sports Club last weekend, there was little reason to think that they would earn the draw necessary for Kenya to reach November’s semi-finals in Sharjah. Shortly before lunch on the second day, when Kenya were 24 for 4 in reply to Namibia’s 357 for 6, the writing seemed on the wall.But this time it was different. As one insider explained, the team spirit in the young side was remarkable, and they refused to roll over. They battled back to reduce the first-innings deficit to under 100, and then on the third day would have pulled off a remarkable victory had Namibia not thrown in the towel with 10 overs remaining and only 43 runs needed.The players and coaching staff were clearly delighted, and justifiably so. Less pleased were the striking players.Until the end of last week, there was considerable sympathy for them. They had been treated in a shabby manner by the KCA, were owed money, had seen their salaries cut as cash ran out, and to cap it all had been offered new contracts which had every appearance of being designed to suit the board and not the players.But that sympathy evaporated when some of them turned up at the Aga Khan. It seemed unlikely they were there to support the side, but more to watch over what was expected to be their humiliation. While they silently scowled, a few former players and a couple of dozen vocal supporters turned on their replacements. The chanting and insulting comments did the cause of the strikers no good, nor did it enhance the image of Kenyan cricket. The reaction of the players on the field was admirable, and as Ravindu Shah batted Kenya towards the semi-finals with his last-day hundred, the dissenters slowly disappeared.What was also shameful were the racist undertones of the protests at the ground. With all the strikers black, and all but one of the side playing Asian, the taunting centred on the ethnic background of the team. There were many chants that the side was actually “Kenyan Asians” or “Kenya Indians”. Some comments were even less palatable. It was, therefore, satisfying that the man who rescued Kenya’s first innings was Lameck Onyango with a gutsy 67. Onyango was the only black in the side.The KCA should not really take any credit for Kenya’s success at the Aga Khan and it continues to be at loggerheads with most of the people it should be representing. But it should now encourage the selectors to stick with the side that got them to Sharjah. They might not be as talented man-for-man as many of those they replaced, but they showed a heart and determination which has been missing from the Kenya side for a long time.

In the Logan Cup this weekend, Matabeleland travel to Harare to play what was once the major domestic fixture of the season against Mashonaland, while Midlands host Manicaland at Kwekwe Sports Club.Mashonaland again will be favourites to overcome their rivals, especially after the way they dispatched Manicaland last weekend. Matabeleland have not beaten the champions since 1995/96, which was actually the last time Mashonaland lost at first-class level at all. In 11 matches between the two teams since the Logan Cup was granted first-class status in 1993/94, Mashonaland have won seven and Matabeleland just that one. Both Andy and Grant Flower average over 100 in matches between the two provinces.Mashonaland still lack Douglas Hondo, whose strained shoulder has not yet healed, and have named the same team as last week. Matabeleland too expect to play an unchanged team.Manicaland and Midlands have met only twice at first-class level, excluding a washout at Mutare Sports Club two years back, and have recorded one victory each. Midlands will be favourites to win this match, especially on their home soil, where the bowling of Raymond Price, who took ten wickets in the drawn match at Queens Sports Club last weekend, is so often the vital factor. Midlands also have a strong pace attack and powerful batting line-up, and may well prove too powerful for the young Manicaland side.Manicaland are still without Guy Whittall, not yet fit, and have made four changes to their team, dropping the Soma brothers, Lance Malloch-Brown and Justin Lewis. In come Kingsley Went, who had a good innings for the B team last weekend; Paul Strang, grabbed from Matabeleland B; former Academy all-rounder Blessing Mahwire; and Harare off-spinning all-rounder Prosper Utseya. This gives them a long batting line-up, with captain Henry Olonga either having to bat at eleven himself or giving that post to one of the all-rounders. They will be putting their hopes on off-spinner Richie Sims to emulate Price and take advantage of a helpful pitch. Midlands expect to play the same team that drew with Matabeleland.The nominated teams are as follows:Mashonaland: Trevor Gripper, Stuart Carlisle, Dion Ebrahim, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Craig Evans, +Tatenda Taibu, Andy Blignaut, *Brian Murphy, Gus Mackay, Alfred Mbwembwe.Matabeleland: Gavin Rennie, Mark Vermeulen, Charles Coventry, Barney Rogers, Andre Hoffman, Mluleki Nkala, Gavin Ewing, +Wisdom Siziba, *Pommie Mbangwa, Keith Dabengwa, Jordane Nicolle.Manicaland: +Neil Ferreira, Kingsley Went, Alistair Campbell, Richie Sims, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Guy Croxford, Paul Strang, Blessing Mahwire, Gary Brent, Prosper Utseya, *Henry Olonga.Midlands: Terry Duffin, Vusi Sibanda, Doug Marillier, *Dirk Viljoen, Sean Ervine, Travis Friend, +Alester Maregwede, Don Campbell, Raymond Price, Innocent Chinyoka, Campbell Macmillan.B DIVISION TEAMSMatabeleland B play at home against Mashonaland B, while Masvingo make their debut, travelling to Mutare to play Manicaland B. Midlands B have a bye.Mashonaland B: Tafadzwa Mufambisi, +Glenn Goosen, *Darlington Matambanadzo, Ryan Butterworth, Conan Brewer, Tom Benade, Ishmael Senzere, Neeten Chouhan, Elton Chigumbura, Nyasha Chari, Stephen Zesengwa.Matabeleland B: *Ryan King, Clement Mahachi, Neil van Rensburg, Jason Hitz, Mark McKillop, +Romeo Kasawaya, Piet Rinke, Steven Brown, Michael Springer, Norman Mukondiwa, Tawanda Mupariwa.Manicaland B: Paxton Chatura, +Adiel Kugotsi, +Kudzai Taibu, Shepherd Makunura, *Glen Barrett, Paddy Obank, Sintu Khan, Guy Penford, Gerald Makota, Marvin Vogel, Keegan Taylor.Masvingo: No team list has yet been forthcoming from Masvingo.

On the state of the game
It’s a nice position to be in, with a 250-run lead. But it’s still a very good pitch for batting. And in that respect, our bowling today was superb. Glenn McGrath was brilliant in his 100th Test, and he got great support from Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz. And I thought Shane Warne deserved better figures in the 20 overs he bowled. We need five more wickets. It’ll take time, and patience, and then we have to follow it up with some good batting.On the possibility of enforcing the follow-on, given Australia’s past experiences
We’ve always been mindful of enforcing the follow-on. We’re playing back-to-back Tests, and to put the bowlers and fielders back in straight away will be a big test for them. But the bowlers will get some rest tonight, and if we can get them out early tomorrow, it remains an option. There has been enough movement on offer for the new-ball bowlers, and it’s been difficult for top-order batsmen.On Darren Lehmann’s injury
Brett [Lee] will continue to field, but we’re doing everything possible to make sure that Darren recovers quick enough to play a part in the Mumbai Test.On whether he was surprised at how quickly India went into a defensive shell after Virender Sehwag was dismissed
Sehwag can ignite an innings, and losing him quickly made it harder for the Indians to adjust. If anything, this shows that the Australian batting was better than the score indicates. All the bowlers have got some assistance from the pitch, and I thought we bowled exceptionally well today. We didn’t allow India any sort of momentum.On the off-side cordons that were frequently employed
The pitch produced bounce and pace, with some seam movement. It was conducive to getting edges, and the line of attack needed to be different here.On whether a chat with Glenn McGrath might have contributed to Sehwag’s dismissal
I think apart from McGrath’s bowling, you have to credit Kasprowicz’s previous over. He contained Sehwag and tightened him up. As we all know, he likes to go for his shots. So I’d say Kasprowicz contributed in part to the dismissal.On the role played by Errol Alcott, the physio
It’s not just Errol, it’s been the total support from the backroom staff. Errol’s knowledge and experience of the subcontinent are unmatched, but the trainer and the masseurs have all done their bit. The performance of the players can be attributed to the work done off the field.

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Venugopal Rao, who has distinguished himself for Andhra Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy, scored a fine century, and added 162 runs for the fifth wicket with Parthiv Patel as Rest of India consolidated their already considerable gains on the third day of the Irani Trophy match against Mumbai at Mohali. Rao’s 205-ball 113 left Mumbai pondering an improbably run chase over the final two days if they are to wrest back the trophy.Resuming at 84 for 2, Rest of India lost three wickets in the first session. Dinesh Mongia, one of those pushing for a place in the Indian squad, did himself no favours with a second low score in the match, caught behind off Aavishkar Salvi for just 12 (103 for 3). And fellow Test aspirant Aakash Chopra soon followed, caught and bowled by Sairaj Bahutule for 41 (126 for 4).When Joginder Sharma followed three balls later, caught by Ramesh Powar, Mumbai glimpsed an opening, but that was rudely shut in their faces as Rao and Patel dominated the second session, wearing down the bowlers. They batted on till after tea before Patel edged one from Salvi to Vinayak Mane. His 68 came from 150 balls, and having made 60 in the first innings, he is now virtually a certainty to keep his place behind the stumps for the first Test against Australia.Rao duly brought up his ninth first-class century before hitting a Powar delivery to Salvi (311 for 7), and Mumbai’s misery was complete when Zaheer Khan smacked an unbeaten 41-ball 46 in the final hour, including four big sixes. With both Zaheer and Shib Sankar Paul in excellent bowling form, Mumbai could be on a hiding to nothing tomorrow.

Shane Warne believes Australia hold a marginal advantage after his 5 for 118 left England 319 for 7 at the end of the first day of the deciding Test.”I think we’re just slightly ahead,” Warne told reporters after stumps. England, as they had done for much of the series, were going well against Australia’s quicks before Warne came on in the 14th over and were 82 for 0 when Warne began a spell of four for 16 in 38 balls.Strauss and Andrew Flintoff (72) then revived the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 143 in nearly 37 overs before Warne caught Flintoff at slip off Glenn McGrath.”At one stage when Freddie and Straussy were batting pretty well we were starting to stare down the barrel a little bit but we fought back. It’s been a trademark of the series,” added Warne. “But it’s probably the best we’ve bowled on day one in the last couple of games. If we keep them to 350 we’ve probably done pretty well.”Warne, who also said he felt tired and admitted to a slightly sore shoulder after bowling almost double the number of overs of any other bowler, praised Strauss’s innings despite having labelled the batsman the “new Daryll”, a reference to South Africa batsman Daryll Cullinan whom he dismissed on several occasions.”He played well, he hung in there and toughed it out. For me, it’s hard when you bowl day one because there’s not a lot on offer. You need subtle variations and change of pace,” added Warne, whose current series haul of 33 wickets is the most by any Australian bowler in a five-match series in England.Strauss said that his century was would rank near the top of his seven Test hundreds: “In terms of importance it’s probably the best I’ve ever played. Today was a massive day in the context of the series and it was vitally important that at least one of us went on and got a hundred.He added that England were not disappointed at their close of play position: “It’s fairly positive. Being 131 for four, we’ve come back pretty well.”

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Damien Martyn stroked a wonderful 110 to take Western Australia to a five-wicket victory after some early hiccups against Victoria in their ING Cup match at Perth and then took the opportunity to attack the media for its “unfair” treatment of Australian players. WA finished on 5 for 224 after bowling out Victoria for 222 in just 47.3 overs.Martyn was dropped from the Australian side after averaging just 19.77 with the bat during the Ashes series and came in for some strong criticism in the press. Martyn insists he hasn’t made any changes to his batting since arriving back in Australia: “It’s the same as England. No different. Better bowlers in England. When I got 1200 runs in a season people asked what was different, but I was batting exactly the same way. It’s just cricket. I had a run out and two bad decisions in the Ashes, so anything could’ve happened. Guys don’t bat differently. The game’s not easy.”Martyn said he was still available if the selectors changed his mind, but when asked if Simon Katich’s poor form for Australia would open the door for his return, Martyn launched an attack on the media: “I feel sorry for [Katich], I’ve been there. I feel sorry for what the media do to those players. It’s unfair in a way. It’s a tough job what they do. They’ve been fantastic for four or five years doing what they do, so you should give them a break and let them play cricket.”All Western Australia needed were a couple of good partnerships but they got off to a disastrous start after Gerard Denton dismissed Adam Gilchrist in the first over and bowled Justin Langer in the sixth (3 for 27). Damien Martyn then put on 76 runs with Mike Hussey (35) and 112 runs with Adam Voges (48 not out) as Western Australia recovered superbly to shut Victoria out of the game.Victoria couldn’t get a decent partnership going, after Cameron White chose to bat, as they lost regular wickets at one end while Jonathan Moss hit a fluent 70 at the other. Moss smacked ten fours and a six during his 84-ball innings but was beaten by a change of pace from Peter Worthington and hit a full toss straight to Mike Hussey at cover. Adam Crosthwaite hit a plucky 52 and built handy partnerships with Graeme Rummans and Gerard Denton to take Victoria past 200 before Brad Williams, who finished with an impressive 3 for 36, mopped up the tail.

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Ashok Thakur starred for Himachal Pradesh, picking up three of the six wickets that fell today, as they held their nerve to clinch a 14-run win against Vidarbha to earn four points in a close encounter at Nagpur. Vidarbha, who started the day needing 121 runs to win, lost both the overnight batsmen quickly but fought hard through a valiant 47-run seventh-wicket partnership between Vikarant Gonnade (35) and Pritam Gandhe (25). Himachal then fought back to remove Gonnade and Harshal Shitoot, the next man in, and looked to have sewed up the game when Thakur, the left-hand medium-pacer, struck twice in an over to have Vidarbha reeling at 142 for 9. Gandhe fought on gamely, hanging around with the last man Pawan Yadav, as they inched close to Himachal before Vikramjeet Malik delivered the decisive blow removing Gandhe.
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Sanjay Pandey grabbed a five-for and Narendra Hirwani, the former India legspinner, picked up four to bowl out Rajasthan for 267, gaining a 126-run lead, to put Madhya Pradesh in a commanding position by the end of the third day’s play at Indore. Rajasthan, resuming at 10 for 1, were propped up by 113-run fifth wicket partnership between Dishant Yagnik and Ajay Jadeja, the captain, but that was not enough as the toporder could not handle the medium pace of Pandey while the others struggled against the wiles of Hirwani. Madhya Pradesh lost Naman Ojha, the opener, and were at 17 for 1 at close.
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Despite crumbling from their overnight 182 for 5 to 194 all out, Saurashtra fought back to dismiss Tripura for 119 before hitting the required 32 runs to win by eight wickets at Agartala. Sandeep Jobanputra and Sandip Maniar tore into the Tripura toporder while Kamlesh Makvana took care of the tail as Tripura were shot out for a paltry score in their second innings. Earlier, Vineet Jain, the medium-pacer, and Sujit Roy, the offspinner, triggered a collapse as Saurashtra lost five wickets for just 12 runs but that was not enough to prevent Saurashtra picking up four points from this game.
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Pravaranjan Mullick, overnight on 51, went on to a score a superb century as Orissa gained a vital 102-run lead in the Ranji Plate match against Goa at Margoa. Avinash Aware, the fast-medium bowler, cleaned up the tail to end with a five-wicket haul but Mullick by then had guided Orissa to a comfortable position. In reply, powered by Nikhil Haldipur , Goa erased the deficit and were 26 runs ahead but it might not be enough to prevent Orissa from earning at least two points from this game, courtesy the first-innings lead.
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Shahid Khan, the left-arm spinner, and Sanjeev Gupta, the medium-pacer, snared seven wickets to leave Jammu & Kashmir struggling at 155 for 8 as Jharkhand gained upper hand by the end of the third day’s play at Jammu. Earlier in the day, Sameer Khajuria, the J&K offspinner, scalped four wickets and bagged a five-for but Mihir Diwakar’s breezy 50 off 50 balls studded with 10 fours had ensured a 90-run lead for Jharkhand.
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Sreekumar Nair, the left-arm spinner, struck twice in the space of four balls to unsettle the lower middleorder after Tinu Youhannan had grabbed the key wicket of Vasanth Saravanan early on the third day to bowl out Assam for a paltry 169 to gain the upper hand at Dibrugarh. Somasetty Suresh remained unbeaten on 30, after the early dismissal of Sadagoppan Ramesh, the former India and Tamil Nadu opener, as Kerala reached 58 for 2 at close.