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There are only five matches on Sunday in the penultimate round of Norwich Union League matches, but there is something significant at stake in all of them to make sure they will be played with the intensity of cup-ties.The big two in Division One are involved, with Glamorgan Dragons set to take the title if they can go to Canterbury and beat Kent Spitfires. It was back in 1993 at this time of year that they took a similar journey when either Kent or Glamorgan could have won the title on the final day of the season. The Welsh county had a certain I.V.A Richards in their ranks at the time as they took the title in front of a crowd that had started queuing in the early hours of the morning.If the Dragons should slip up, Worcestershire Royals are ready to pounce. They are six points behind and know that only a win at Trent Bridge will keep them in the hunt. They will not be able to take too much solace from the fact that Nottinghamshire Outlaws are already relegated.The big match in Division Two is at Northampton where the Steelbacks meet the Essex Eagles. The Eagles allowed Surrey Lions to clinch promotion alongside Gloucestershire Gladiators when they lost by a mere two runs last week, but can clinch their own promotion with a win here. They are two points in front ot the Steelbacks. Should the home side prevail, the fight goes into the final week of the season.Lancashire Lightning go to Shenley to meet Middlesex Crusaders knowing that they cannot get into the promotion frame, but wanting to avoid a bottom four placing in League to avoid first-class opposition in the third round of the C&G Trophy next season. The same thought will be on Derbyshire Scorpions’ minds as they go to Hove to meet Sussex Sharks who, like the Crusaders, could escape that fate if all the results go in their favour.

South African captain Shaun Pollock and vice-captain Mark Boucher frustrated the Sri Lankans with a record seventh wicket partnership to leave the home side with a clear advantage at the end of the third day of this second Test at SuperSport Park on Sunday.The lower order pair came to the crease with the South African innings wobbling on 264 for six but quickly regained the initiative, first wiping out the first innings deficit and then building a valuable lead during the 132 run stand.They were separated when Boucher (63) drove a return catch straight back to Chamila Gamage, but by then the damage had been done and at the close South Africa were 421 for nine, already 98 runs ahead.For Sri Lanka it was a long hot afternoon of frustration. Unlike at Wanderers they retained their discipline and made South Africa work hard for their runs, especially during the morning, but they lacked penetration and by the time the top order had been winkled out they were running out of steam.The pair batted positively, raising the tempo after a slow scoring morning and early afternoon. They wiped out the deficit before tea and then pressed on purposefully after the break, delighting the largest crowd of the series that lounged on the grass banks that ring this ground.Shaun Pollock, who scored a century against the Sri Lankans at the same venue on the last tour, finished the day unbeaten on 78 from 139 balls having hit eight fours and one six. He will now be hoping that Makhaya Ntini can accompany him to a third Test century tomorrow.Even Muttiah Muralitharan was forced to toil, bowling a remarkable 49.2 overs before claiming his first victim. For a side that have reputation for being susceptible against spin, South Africa have handled the master spinner with surprising ease.Muralitharan did, at least, have the satisfaction of moving past Kapil Dev’s 434 Test victims to become the third highest wicket taker in Test history when, late in the day, he trapped Andrew Hall lbw for a duck and then had Steve Elworthy (5) caught at silly point late in the day.Sri Lanka are not out of the game. In theory all three results are still possible. However, with only two days now remaining, Sri Lanka will have to score very quickly if they are to overhaul the South African lead and set a target that gives them sufficient time to force a win. A draw appears the likeliest result.Muralitharan said afterwards that Sri Lanka were still looking for victory: “We wanted to get them out for somewhere around our score but we can still put pressure on them in the final day if we score around 300 tomorrow – chasing 200 on the last day will not be easy.”Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka had started well, ending a 139 run partnership for the third wicket between Jacques Kallis (84) and Herschelle Gibbs (92) thanks to a suicidal piece of running from Gibbs who was left stranded half way down the pitch after being sent back by Kallis.It was a major bonus for the Sri Lankans, who had rarely troubled the pair, and it was followed soon after by the fall of Kallis, who was bowled by a perfect leg-cutter from Hasantha Fernando, the medium pacer’s first ball of the day.At 219 for four Sri Lanka were pulling themselves back into the game. That became to 264 for six after lunch when Chaminda Vaas used the second new ball to good effect, surprising Ashwell Prince (20) with a sharp short ball, and Gamage trapped Neil McKenzie (28) lbw.

Durham Dynamos simply cannot get going this season in the Norwich Union League. Yorkshire Phoenix won the only Division One match played today – Worcestershire Royals and Warwickshire Bears meet tomorrow because of the Bears’ involvement at Lord’s on Saturday – by 30 runs at Chester-le-Street, thanks to a good all-round batting display. Darren Lehmann top scored with 70 before off-spinner Richard Dawson took four wickets.Chris Silverwood continues to play an important role as pinch-hitter. Going in at number three in the order, he smashed 58 from 32 balls with 11 fours and a six. With Lehmann’s 70 coming from only 63 balls and Michael Lumb and Anthony McGrath both providing forties, the Phoenix total was an impressive 269 for five from their 45 overs.It was a good job McGrath got some runs, for his two overs in the Dynamos’ reply went for 22 – exactly the same analysis as produced by Gary Fellows. Gary Pratt was top scorer with 61, but he became one of Dawson’s four victims as the England off-spinner brought some order to the attack as one of eight bowlers used and the Yorkshiremen won with a certain amount of ease.In Division Two, Ed Giddins took five for 20 as Surrey Lions bowled out the Sussex Sharks for just 150 at The Oval. The only Shark with teeth was Robin Martin-Jenkins who scored exactly a third of the total. Otherwise the batting was unproductive against the bowler who learned his trade with Sussex. The Lions had slipped to 77 for four at one stage, but then Nadim Shahid with 50 and Adam Hollioake took the Lions home with an unbroken fifth wicket partnership that sealed the win by six wickets.Derbyshire Scorpions’ Stephen Stubbings was 98 not out as his side beat Lancashire Lightening by a healthy seven wicket margin at Derby. It was a very efficient bowling display by the Scorpions who stung Lancashire Lightening by keeping them to 174 for seven in their 45 overs. Stubbings had 12 fours and a six in his innings to secure yet another win for the Scorpions who move up to second place in the table, level on points with leaders Gloucestershire Gladiators.

Damien Brandy hit a brilliant 149 as Leicestershire drew their Second X1 match against Warwickshire at Kenilworth.There was also an excellent century from John Maunders as Leicestershire piled up an impressive 413 for six declared in their first innings.Maunders has recently been released by Middlesex and is having a trial with Leicestershire in a bid to earn himself a contract at Grace Road.Coach Lloyd Tennant was full of praise for both players and said of Brandy: “It was fantastic knock and he never gave a chance. He was run out on 149, otherwise he would have still be batting now.”Warwickshire were then dismissed for 294 on the second day with the wickets shared around between a strong Leicestershire attack which included Matthew Whiley, Charles Dagnall and Jamie Grove.But with the pitch getting slower all the time a draw always looked the most likely result. Leicestershire eventually set Warwickshire a target of 313 in 72 overs, but they finished well short for the loss of only one wicket.

FULL NAME: Brighton Tonderai Watambwa
BORN: At Harare, 9 June 1977
MAJOR TEAMS: Mashonaland A (1997/98); Mashonaland (1999/2000 to date); ZimbabweBoard XI (1998/99 to date). Present club team: Harare Sports Club
KNOWN AS: Brighton Watambwa. Nicknames: Bulb, Spikey, Slim
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Fast Medium
OCCUPATION: Professional cricketerFIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 28-30 August 1997; Mashonaland A v Mashonaland, at HarareSouth Country Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaitedBIOGRAPHY (updated April 2002)Brighton Watambwa is one of Zimbabwe’s young black pace bowlers who has improved steadily until he broke through into the Test team during 2001/02. This followed a real impact in the Board XI matches in the UCBSA Bowl Competition during the previous season. Tall and gangling, he generates a good pace and has developed his skills to the point where he is now able to trouble the top batsmen.Like most other emerging black players, Brighton has no family background in cricket. His interest first came at primary school, when he had the good fortune to attend Lilfordia Primary School a short distance to the west of Harare, where his headmaster was Iain Campbell, father of Test player Alistair. He started playing in about Grade Three, and many will be surprised to learn that throughout his schooldays he was better known as a batsman than a bowler, although he did bowl regularly and quickly. It was not until he played club cricket, where the limited-over game rules and promising players are so often placed in the lower middle order where they get very little opportunity to bat that he began to concentrate on bowling.At Lilfordia he spent three years in the school colts team and a further two in the seniors. He remembers scoring his first fifty in Grade Five but cannot remember his highest score. He does remember taking nine cheap wickets in an innings in one match. He did well enough to be chosen for the national primary schools team, which played a match against the previous year’s team. "That was hard cricket because they were a lot older than I and I wasn’t as quick as I thought I was," he says.For high school he attended Falcon College, nursery of so many of Zimbabwe’s recent top players. Unlike the others, though, he does not have very good memories of his cricket there. He played for his age-group first teams for his first three years there and the school second team in Form Four, before progressing to the first team for his final two years. "When you play for a strong side and someone always scores runs and someone always takes wickets, you have to share everything around," he says. His only representative cricket was for the Matabeleland Under-16 team in Form Three; he was injured during much of his final year when he might have had ambitions for the national schools team.He finished his schooling with a year at St John’s College in Harare in 1996, when he played Under-19 cricket for Mashonaland and was in the national squad for that age-group. He had a much more enjoyable year, succeeding mainly as an opening batsman, scoring several fifties and averaging in the thirties, and also bowling well enough to win the school’s all-rounder of the year award. He got full colours in one year, which he believes is a unique achievement. He also played in the Zone Six cricket tournament for Africa that was hosted by Zimbabwe that year.In his final two years at Falcon he played for Bulawayo Athletic Club without achieving anything outstanding, but when he moved to St John’s he joined Harare Sports Club and immediately struck gold with some fine performances, even recording a fifty in one match. He has stayed with the club ever since, with his best performance a six-wicket haul a couple of years back.After leaving St John’s he took a gap year in 1997, when he coached at Bryden School in Chegutu, and also made his Logan Cup debut for Mashonaland A. The following year he attended Rhodes University in South Africa where he played a lot of cricket and won a place in the South African Universities team after being joint top wicket-taker in the Universities Week.Back in Zimbabwe in 1999, he attended the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai with Dennis Lillee and played against the touring England A team. Shortly afterwards he was selected for the Zimbabwe Board XI in the UCBSA Bowl competition. He has played frequently for that team ever since, with the 2000/01 season proving his best. He remembers a particularly good match at Harare South the previous season, though, against Northerns, when he felt at the top of his game and bowled as well as he has ever done, yet took only three wickets."I think a bit of soul-searching has brought about an improvement this season," he said at the time. "I’ve had a bit of trouble with injuries in the past and I have come to accept that I had to change a few things in my action. I’ve done that, and since I’ve come back from injury I’ve been thinking a lot more about my game. I’ve slowed my run-up and brought about a slight change in my action, and they seem to be working out well for me." The need to slow down his run-up was first suggested to him by Robin Jackman when he was in Zimbabwe several years ago, and this was confirmed by Lillee and the Sri Lankan Rumesh Ratnayake who also coached him in Chennai, and followed him up when he played for the Zimbabwe A team in Sri Lanka during 2000/01.He is uncertain whether he is actually bowling as fast as ever he has done, as he recalls a school match for St John’s against Churchill where he feels he bowled as quickly as he has ever done. "But I think right now I’m bowling with more consistent pace than I have ever done," he says. "I’m a genuine swinger of the ball [predominantly away from the bat], though, and I think that’s my main strength. Most of my wickets are bowled or caught behind."He spent the 2000 season in Hertfordshire in England, playing for a club called Langbury. He took two five-wicket hauls for them and was their top wicket-taker. He has been injury-prone at times, struggling most with his groin and quadriceps. He is now a fulltime professional cricketer with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.Brighton was eased into Test cricket against Bangladesh, making their first tour of Zimbabwe in April 2001, replacing Henry Olonga. He began shakily, but took his first wicket when he had Naimur Rahman caught in the slips. He took nine wickets in the two Tests, and another three in the First Test against India in June, and looked to have gained a permanent Test place.Then came personal tragedy. In the Second Test against India, at Harare Sports Club, he took a crucial early wicket, but then tore a hamstring, limped off the field, and that ended his season. He was working hard to get fit for the new season, but then had knee problems, on top of which he tore a quadricep muscle in his right leg.When he was finally fit to play club cricket again in October, he was quickly put into the Board XI team as the selectors were eager to have him back in Test cricket. It proved to be a long, slow haul to recovery, but he was eventually selected for the tour to India in February. He had little success on the dead pitches there. He followed this with selection for Zimbabwe A in the triangular tournament in Namibia, where he found the pitches a little more helpful. He took a few wickets in Logan Cup cricket, but his main concern was to hold out until the end of the season without further injury, and then enjoy a long break to recover his strength.His batting is unrecognized to the point where he usually goes in at number eleven. His highest score in any class of cricket is 89 in a Country Districts match for Selous or Chegutu, teams he represented for winter cricket at times in the past. He has taken eight wickets in an innings two or three times, but never equalled his nine at junior school.When fielding, he prefers the covers but is usually to be found on the boundary when bowling. "I like fielding," he says. "It’s a very big part of my game. I’m very quick and I like to think of myself as a very good fielder as well."Cricket heroes: Dennis Lillee, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, "and I do admire Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee, the genuine quicks in this world."Toughest opponents: "Andy Flower. Maybe Mark Vermeulen."Personal ambitions: "To play for Zimbabwe as soon as possible – and stay there! I want to open the bowling for Zimbabwe in both one-day games and Test matches. I’ll work on my batting, but I’ll look for my bowling to do the talking for me, because I am in essence a fast bowler."Proudest achievement so far: "My selection for South African Universities."Best friends in cricket: "I get on well with most guys and don’t really have a problem with anybody."Other qualifications: "I did my first-year Bachelor of Commerce and then dropped out to carry on playing cricket. My parents wanted me to go back to university this year, but then the ZCU offered me a contract and my parents agreed with that, so everything seems to be working out okay at the moment."Other sports: "At varsity I played a lot of soccer. I played a lot of hockey at school as well, and just generally all ball sports. I played a bit of rugby until I got a bit small for the heavy guys. The only sport I can say I never really liked is swimming. I’ve played tennis and I play a lot of squash nowadays. I now play social tennis and a little bit of soccer."Outside interests: "Reading, movies, music and junk food."

Hampshire Hawks start their Norwich Union League Division Two campaign, when they entertain the Gloucestershire Gladiators at The Rose Bowl on Sunday.Robin Smith faces a late fitness test after damaging his finger in the recently concluded championship match, with Lawrence Prittipaul standing by.Jimmy Cook, Hampshire’s first eleven coach told the web site, “The lads are determined to go one better this season, after just falling short of promotion in 2001. A good start against the west-country boys will be just the fillip we need.”Hampshire chose from 12: James Hamblin, Neil Johnson, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, John Crawley, Robin Smith, Giles White, Nic Pothas, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alan Mullally and Lawrence Prittipaul.

LAHORE – Shoaib Akhtar failed to embark on the London-bound plane with the Pakistan squad last Wednesday and is now most likely to miss at least the first two of a trio of three-day games leading up to the first Test on May 17. That is, if at all he recovers enough to clear a series of fitness tests and is allowed to proceed to England for the tour, this correspondent learnt from a Pakistan Cricket Board official.The injury-prone speedster, who is said to be averse to training sessions and fitness tests, was suffering from a rather mysterious stomach ailment. The condition caused dehydration, and he felt so drained of energy that he asked to be excused from the fitness tests, claiming that he had been administered saline drips.The PCB in turn did not allow him to board the plane with the rest of the team. “The PCB thought that an unfit player should not be allowed to go on tour. If he can get fit quickly enough, he should clear his tests here and then go on tour. Unfit players on tour create unnecessary hassles”, said the PCB official, on conditions of anonymity.Answering a question as to when Shoaib was expected to present himself for fitness tests, the official said that the onus was now on the speedster. As soon as he requests to undergo tests, he would be put through them.As to why he was selected in the first place if his fitness was in doubt, the PCB official said that the report from Down Under, where he had been sent for evaluation after being reported for chucking (for the second time in his career) during the recent one-day series in New Zealand, had confirmed that he had clocked speeds of more than 150 kilometres an hour for 12 days running. “It obviously is beyond someone who is not physically fit to bowl at such speeds consistently for 12 consecutive days. So, on the basis of that report, he was selected for the tour. By the time Akhtar, dubbed as the ‘Rawalpindi Express’, was asked to submit himself for pre-tour tests, he had contracted this stomach ailment, the latest in a series of physical misfortunes which have seen him appear only in three one-day matches in about a year.In the meanwhile, the PCB has spent a fortune on his rehabilitation – according to an estimate the cumulative expenses are anywhere between UKP600,000 to 1 million. The PCB expects to cash in on this huge investment in quick time in England. It remains to be seen whether Akhtar recovers quickly enough to live up to those high expectations and that massive investment.

Somerset County Cricket Club captain Jamie Cox returns to England in April with his new wife and baby after a very successful season down under playing for Tasmania.After leading Somerset to victory in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy in 2001 there is just one problem that he faces when he returns to captain the Cidermen in 2002. At the moment he has nowhere to live with his wife Helen and baby son Lachlan.For the last couple of seasons Jamie has lived in a flat within walking distance of the County Ground, but this year he needs extra space to accommodate his new family.Earlier this week his accommodation problem seemed to be solved, but just before all the arrangements could be finalised it fell through, and Jamie and his family are still homeless.Now the club are once again on the lookout for a house for the Somerset skipper and his family. Ideally Jamie would like to rent a three or four-bedroomed house within easy reach of the County Ground, and would need it to be available from April 1st until September 30th.If there are any readers of the website who think that they could help to solve Jamie Cox’s housing problem please could they give Sally Donoghue a call at the County Ground on 01823 272946.

The Titans see their participation in the event as having been a long time coming. They are one of three teams to have missed out on the inaugural Champions League and have had to wait four years to make it back.Surprisingly so, perhaps, because they are the most successful franchise on South Africa’s domestic circuit. Since the system was formed in 2004, the Titans have won the first-class competition four times (once was shared), the one-day cup twice and the 20-over competition three times. Along with the Cobras, they have produced a large chunk of South Africa’s national contingent.Under coach Matthew Maynard, their style of play has changed from conservatively dominant to excitingly so. And the results are there to see. The Titans lost just three of their 14 T20 matches, two against the team they eventually defeated in the final, and were involved in the only tied match of the domestic season and the only Super Over.In the process, they produced South Africa’s newest T20 cap, Farhaan Behardien. He was their top-scorer with 333 runs from 12 matches at an average of 66.60 but was fourth overall. Martin van Jaarsveld, the veteran captain, was second on the run-charts, with 316. The wickets mostly came from experienced hands. Roelof van der Merwe and Alfonso Thomas both took 15 scalps, six behind the leader Chris Morris.Like many domestic teams who are not IPL franchises, Titans’ strength lies in team unity and not major superstars, especially since they will lose many of their top players in this tournament. Albie Morkel and Faf du Plessis will both play for Chennai Super Kings and Morne Morkel is due to turn out for the Delhi Daredevils. They would have had the services of AB de Villiers and Marchant de Lange for this event but back injuries have ruled both out.

How they qualified

Won the South African domestic 20-over competition, after beating the Lions by 45 runs in the final.

Key Player

Alfonso Thomas is most experienced 20-over cricketer the Titans have and also the most travelled. He has spent years playing in UK where his reputation of being tough has made him one of the most respected shorter-form players and he was contracted to the Pune Warriors for the last IPL. He has 167 wickets in this format at an average of 21.56 and his bowling will be important on both the pacy surface in Centurion and at the coast, where seam movement and swing will be on offer.Test batsman Jacques Rudolph will also be one to watch in the tournament as it was at the Titans where he fought his way back into the national side. Not known as a 20-over cricketer, Rudolph could have a thing or two to say to change that perception in this tournament.

Surprise package

Allrounder David Wiese has been described by Maynard as being key to the Titans success. He has not made headlines but he has established himself as almost indispensable to the squad and the numbers show it. Wiese is a powerful hitter of the ball and has scored 275 runs in 28 20-over matches. His strike-rate is evidence of his ability. It sits at 162.72.Wiese has taken 13 wickets, and at respectable average of 25.76 and has been identified as one of the go-to men to break a partnership. With multi-skilled men being most valued in the shortest format of the game, this will be Wiese’s chance to catch the attention of national selectors and even IPL teams.

Weakness

They won the domestic competition without their international stars but they were playing against other South African domestic sides then. Now, they will not only have to do without them but there is the possibility that they will come up against some of them. Morkel will be a definite opponent when they play Delhi in the final group stage game and the mere thought of him could strike fear in some of the younger batsmen.

Indian batting star, Sachin Tendulkar, steered his team to a excitingten-runs win over Rest of India with a sterling 117, despite runninghigh temperature, in the former Mumbai spinner Ravi Thakkar’s benefitcricket match at Thane on Saturday.Batting first, Tendulkar Eleven, scored 298 allout in 35 overs withJatin Paranjape getting 50 apart from Tendulkar’s ton while Indian newball bowler Zaheer Khan picked up three for 42 for the Rest of Indiateam led by Indian vice captain Rahul Dravid.Despite a quick fire 73 by Sunil Joshi and patient knocks of 56 and 42by Dravid and V V S Laxman respectively, the Rest of India, fell shortby eleven runs with still two overs to spare making 288 allout off 33overs. Thakkar (two for 16) and Vinod Kambli (two for 24) were amongwickets for Tendulkar Eleven.Thakkar, speaking to PTI after the match said it was very kind of allthe top cricketers especially Tendulkar, who was suffering from feverand sore throat, to participate in my benefit tie despite their heavyschedules.”The match was a big success with nearly 25,000 people turning out towitness the match and the total collection was just over Rs sixlakhs”, he added.Brief scores: Sachin Tendulkar Eleven 298 allout off 35 overs (STendulkar 117, J Paranjape 50, Z Khan three for 42) beat Rest of India(S Joshi 73, R Dravid 56, V V S Laxman 42, R Thakkar 2/16, V Kambli2/24).