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A total of 182 000 people attended the 15 events which were held in the first week of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, a figure which the tournament’s executive director Dr Ali Bacher has described as “very pleasing”.On reviewing the attendance figures for the tournament’s first 14 matches and the Opening Ceremony, Bacher said: “We are particularly pleased with the attendance and support for the tournament so far. The figures are especially good when one takes into account the fact that this is term time for schools and universities, as well as a busy time of year for all businesses.”He noted that particularly good crowd attendances had been reported for the Bangladesh-Canada match at Kingsmead in Durban (10 482) and the Canada v Kenya match at Newlands in Cape Town (12 590).”The South African public and overseas visitors have been supporting the tournament exceptionally well. We have a maximum attendance of about 800 000 for all 47 events of the tournament which are held inside in South Africa (46 matches and the Opening Ceremony) and we believe we will reach our target of about 700 000 for those particular events,” Bacher said.A total of 24 169 people attended the Opening Ceremony at Newlands, with a crowd of 24 180 watching the South Africa v West Indies match there the next day. The biggest crowd of the tournament so far has been the 31 305 who filled the Wanderers in Johannesburg to watch South Africa play New Zealand last Sunday. (This was also one of the biggest crowds ever at a cricket match in South Africa.) The Australia-India match at SuperSport Park in Centurion was watched by 17 694 people and the Australia v Pakistan match at the Wanderers by 27 057.Bacher has praised the South African public for their conduct at the matches that have taken place, as well as thanking the tournament Volunteers and the South African Police Services for the outstanding roles they have played in ensuring the smooth running of the tournament.”So far we have seen very good behaviour from the crowds around the country,” said Bacher today. “There have been no pitch invasions, and very little drunken behaviour.” He said that the principle of closing the bars for an hour-and-a-half after the break between innings had been well received and had helped to alleviate alcohol-related crowd problems.”I have personally tried to speak to as many spectators as I can, and their feedback to me has been tremendous. Most people have complimented the volunteers and the security officials and have stated that the event so far has been world class,” Bacher said.Bacher did, however, ask spectators to arrive at grounds early to avoid long queues at security checks and turnstiles. “For the two hours before the match, the public can watch the teams warm up and train on the playing field. It is worthwhile getting there early – especially to the bigger grounds and bigger matches. Not only will spectators find they get through the gates quicker, but they can watch the players long before the game starts.”Organisers have requested that spectators try to arrive at the ground for day matches by 8am and by noon for day/night matches.Bacher also sounded a warning to anyone who bought tickets illegally outside the grounds. “As soon as tickets are reported lost or stolen, they are cancelled on the system. Many fans who have bought tickets from illegal ‘touts’ outside the gates have wasted a lot of money on tickets which don’t get them into the ground. I appeal to the public not to buy tickets from any unauthorized source.”

Sri Lanka’s under performing middle order burst back to life at thePremadasa International Stadium today, as the home side completed afive-wicket victory against New Zealand in the fourth match of theCoca Cola Cup.New Zealand had dominated an overcast day until Marvan Atapattu andRussel Arnold rescued the Sri Lankan innings with a 110-runpartnership for the fifth wicket. After Atapattu was run out, SureshPerera joined man of the match Arnold and the pair took their side tovictory in an unbeaten 103-run stand from just 98 balls.When New Zealand scored 236, having won the toss and batted, historysuggested that Sri Lanka would lose the game; firstly, because theKiwi total was the highest of the tournament thus far and, secondly,because no side had previously won batting second.Sri Lanka’s chances looked even slimmer when the New Zealand openingbowlers impressed for the second game in a row with a metronomic newball burst, which reduced Sri Lanka to 27 for four in just the ninthover of the innings.Captain Sanath Jayasuriya was trapped leg before wicket as he wanderedinto an inswinger from Kyle Mills; Romesh Kaluwitharana was turnedinside out by an outswinger in the same; Avishka Gunawardeneslashed straight to the Velcro like hands of Chris Harris; and MahelaJayawardene was run out without scoring.Atappatu and Arnold, both short of runs so far in the tournament, setabout repairing the early damage with a string of positive strokes,especially Atapattu, who looked far from the stodgy anchor that he issupposed to be.In fact, the pitch, which was also used on Sunday, never displayed thehorrors that we saw in the second game between India and New Zealandand the Sri Lankan batsmen were able to hit 22 boundaries in theirinnings.Atapattu’s flowing innings came to an abrupt end when he chanced hisarm once too often and, returning for a second run, was run outdespite a desperate dive. He had scored 66 and Sri Lanka were 137 forfive with 16.1 overs remaining.The body language of the Kiwi’s perked up and they rightly sensed thatthe breakthrough could pave the way to victory. Such wistful hopesthough were dashed, as Perera followed Sunday’s man of the match awardwith the finest innings of his career and probably the first of manyhalf centuries in international cricket.Arnold played cleverly and maturely for his unbeaten 91 from 116balls, but Perera unveiled some scorching strokes, just when the runrate was creeping above seven an over.Suffering from a bruised hip, which necessitated the confusion of arunner (amusingly Jayawardene, who had been run out second ball), andwith 40 runs needed from the final five overs he went into overdrive,carving the bowlers over cover and straight down the ground.Craig McMillan, acting captain in place of Stephen Fleming, who spentmost the day clutching his stomach in the team hotel, was particularlyharshly dealt with and conceded 35 runs from his 3.3 overs. UltimatelySri Lanka cantered to victory with nine balls to spare.Earlier in the day the Clear Black Caps had attacked the seamers inthe first 15 overs and made full use of the fielding restrictions.Bouncing along at nearly six runs per over, the first wicket fell withthe score on 70.Nathan Astle followed his 117 last week with another robust 54 today,though he will be kicking himself for being bowled by Arnold’s firstdelivery. In fact, Arnold proved to be one of the most economical ofthe Sri Lankan bowlers, conceding 22 runs from his six overs andtaking two wickets.McMillan (38) impressed against the spinners, shuffling outside theline against Muralitharan, though the off spinner had the final saywhen he bowled him, Lou Vincent (30) batted solidly, and Adam Parorefinished the innings in style with 37 from just 25 balls.

Alan Mullally chose a good day to pick up a career best nine wickets, with England playing a test match just 77.4 miles up the road, but, by the close of play Hampshire were still struggling to catch the Derbyshire’s first innings score of 310.Mullally added four wickets to his overnight haul finishing with 9-93, with Peter Hartley taking the wicket of Matthew Dowman who had added just nine runs to his overnight score when his luck finally ran out.Hampshire started their reply badly, and at 53 for four, the follow on target seem a distance. White was lbw to the first ball of the innings, emulating the fate of Stubbings in the Derbyshire innings, a feat that had statisticians and the wonderers asking whether this had been done before. Will Kendall was strangled down the leg-side off Munton and Stephenson was lbw to the in-form Dean pushing forward. Jason Laney then edged Dean to second slip, and the batting horrors of Hampshire’s season were raised again.Robin Smith, batting despite some pain in his hamstring joined Kenway in an attempt to bring things around. Smith grafted well through some indifferent light that forced Derbyshire to bowl their spin attack, rather that persevering with seam. Paul Aldred enticed Smith lbw to a ball that kept low and he departed for only his second half century of the season.Kenway held on with Mascarenhas but much work has to be done to salvage something for the visiting side.

Paul Millman, Kent’s chief executive, has appealed to players’ associations across the world to hold talks with India’s Twenty20 leagues as well as the ECB to avoid a possible legal showdown over the status of players in county cricket.Kent are concerned that Justin Kemp and Azhar Mahmood, currently playing in the unofficial Indian Cricket League, may be unavailable to them if regulations outlined by the ECB last week prevent them from honouring their county contracts. There is also uncertainty over the future of Yasir Arafat, who has yet to receive Pakistan Cricket Board clearance to re-join Kent. “If Pakistan put a stop on Yasir Arafat and the ECB prevented Azhar and Justin from joining us then the consequences would be catastrophic, we would be left in a hole,” Millman said. “But should we be allowed to sign two out of the three, then I think we’d have a fighting chance.”This is moving rapidly, even as we speak, but as we stand we have filed our player registration applications for Kemp and Mahmood – Justin as a Kolpak signing and Azhar as a newly-qualified British citizen, and we await the board’s response.”There are so many different interpretations floating around right now it’s difficult to know which to believe and it’s not my job to pre-empt what the ECB’s stance will be. All I hope is that pragmatism will prevail, otherwise this will end up in the courts.”If these Indian leagues truly want to help cricket, they must find a window to play their games that doesn’t conflict with the international programme or with domestic schedules in other countries.”Millman told the Kent Messenger that Kemp’s “preference was to play IPL, but because that clashed with county cricket, he turned it down”. He continued: “I’ve spoken with Justin extensively. He’s locked in hotel rooms with dozens of other potential county cricketers out there in India who are all left feeling a bit rudderless.”We have lots of documentation going back to 2006 stating Justin’s intent to play county cricket for us long-term. He’s just turned 30 and has said to me on a regular basis his greatest wish now is to play cricket for Kent. All he was looking to do was supplement that with off-season opportunities, as most overseas players look to do. Since then the war has escalated and retribution is being sought against players are about to go out on the pitch over in India.”Millman concluded by asking FICA (The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations) and the PCA (Professional Cricketers Association) to broker a solution.

March 28
Jamaica police were reportedly ready to launch a second autopsy on Woolmer’s body in a bid to quash media speculation that he might have died after hitting his head on the bathroom sink rather than have been murdered; that followed comments from an unnamed Pakistan board official who said: “We believe that the autopsy by the pathologist may have had error counts and [the police] are now considering having a second autopsy to confirm the cause of death”;March 27
Jamaican police were reported to be searching for three mystery fans who they want to question; they also said that an examination of Woolmer’s laptop showed no evidence of anything to do with match-fixing; Mark Shields, the deputy police commissioner, explained that the meal Woolmer had in his room was also being examined. “We are looking at whether his food was drugged, the meal was thrown away after he put the tray outside his room, but we are conducting toxicology and tissue tests,” he said. Pakistan were officially eliminated from the police investigation into the murder.March 26
Pakistan start their long journey home, but not before police had again questioned three members of the group. A Pakistan official complains that the team have been kept in the dark over the investigation.March 25
As investigations continue, reports that the murder was related to match-fixing continue, Lord MacLaurin, the former head of the England board, launches a stinging attack on the way the ICC is run.
Shaharyar M Khan – A gentle man, a superb coach
News – Inzamam controlled the team, not WoolmerMarch 24
The “>police order an inquest. It emerges that Woolmer was preparing to write a book on his time as Pakistan coach, in addition to one he had just completed on coaching in general. A clearly emotional Pakistan side play their final match, beating Zimbabwe.
News – Bob’s loss hurts more than elimination – Inzamam
March 23
Speculation abounds, with match-fixing groups widely rumoured to be involved in the murder. There are calls for the “>World Cup to be cancelled, while others suggest the tournament is played in Woolmer’s honour. The PCB reveal Woolmer had sent an email shortly before he died resigning as coach. The Pakistan side are questioned and undergo DNA testing as part of the routine enquiries. Officials deny the squad have been asked to stay on in Jamaica after their final game. Michael Vaughan, England’s captain, admits he has a “gut feeling” that there is still corruption in the game.
News – Woolmer had decided to retire
News – Academy to be built in Woolmer’s honour
News – Musharraf honours Woolmer
March 22
Police confirm that they have launched a murder investigation. “The pathologist’s report states that Mr Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation,” Karl Angell, a police spokesman, says. “In these circumstances, the matter … is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder.”March 21
Shields reveals that Woolmer’s death is now being treated as “suspicious” although he refuses to go further. Two Jamaican newspapers run headline stories claiming that a senior police source says Woolmer was murdered.
News – Bob was more than a coach – Rhodes
March 20
The first autopsy is inconclusive and the pathologist asks for more tests before the cause of death can be identified. The police refuse to be drawn on rumblings in the media that there is more to the death than meets the eye: “Any sudden death is treated as suspicious till we can say otherwise,” says Mark Shields, Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner.March 18
News filters through that Bob Woolmer has been found unconscious in his hotel room, within hours it is confirmed that he has died. Tributes pour in from across the world.
Obituary – Woolmer: a creative and adventurous coach
Tributes – ‘He gave his life to cricket and died for it’
Osman Samiuddin – Thanks Bob, you did make a big difference
Comment – The price of passion
Kamran Abbasi – The tragedy of Bob Woolmer
Audio – ‘Woolmer changed the way we played’ – Cullinan
Audio – Cricket world poorer with the passing of Woolmer
Timeline – An eventful life, a premature end
Gallery – A life in pictures
Archive – Wisden Cricketer of the Year – 1976

Faisalabad comfortably defeated Sialkot by the convincing margin of 130 runs, on the final day of their Pentangular Cup match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and took a big lead over the other participants at the top of the table with the full 18 points from two matches.After having set Sialkot a stiff victory target of 389 on Friday, Faisalabad bowled them out for 258. While Samiullah Niazi, the left-arm seamer, captured four wickets for 73 runs, opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez employed his offspin effectively to take three inexpensive wickets and hasten Sialkot’s demise. Hafeez, following his scores of 113 and 60, polished off the Sialkot lower order with figures of 3 for 16 from 5.4 overs.Only opener Majid Jahangir and middle-order batsman Shahzad Malik showed some resistance, contributing scores in the 80s, although their fourth-wicket stand together amounted to a modest 66 runs. Majid faced only 108 balls for his 80, hitting 14 boundaries. Shahzad remained unbeaten with 83.Faisalabad will now meet National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) — this season’s Patron’s Trophy champions — in their third-round match at the Multan Cricket Stadium from Tuesday. NBP have played one match in the Pentangular and gained nine points from an outright win.Sialkot, who have been defeated in both their matches so far, have the opportunity to redeem themselves, as they will be playing their next game against Karachi Harbour at Lahore, also from Tuesday.

Daren Ganga, the Trinidad & Tobago captain, has been appointed to lead the West Indies A side for the Sri Lankan tour which starts on June 19. Ganga, 26, has played 31 Tests for West Indies, and was also the captain on the last A tour to England in 2002.The naming of the 15-man squad had been delayed owing to pay disputes between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA). Both parties finally reached an agreement earlier this week. The squad also includes players who took part in West Indies’ recent series against South Africa and Pakistan – Tino Best, Narsingh Deonarine and Dwayne Smith have all been named in the line-up.Others, like Marlon Samuels, Dave Bernard jnr, Jermaine Lawson and Carlton Baugh, who have been out of the West Indies side, get another chance to reclaim their spots. Nikita Miller, the left-arm spinner from Jamaica, and Ryan Ramdass, the Guyanese opener, have been rewarded for the consistent domestic performances.West Indies A squad
Daren Ganga (capt), Ryan Ramdass, Xavier Marshall, Marlon Samuels, Narsingh Deonarine (vice-capt), Dwayne Smith, Runako Morton, Dave Bernard jnr, Carlton Baugh (wk), Dave Mohammed, Nikita Miller, Dwight Washington, Tino Best, Jermaine Lawson, Kerry Jeremy.Tour itinerary
June 23-26: First Test, Dambulla
June 29 – July 2: Second Test, Colombo
July 5-9: Third Test, Colombo
July 11: 1st one-dayer, Colombo
July 13: 2nd one-dayer, Colombo
July 15: 3rd one-dayer, Colombo
July 17: 4th one-dayer, Colombo
July 19: 5th one-dayer, Colombo

Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, has insisted his side will be going back to basics for the remainder of their one-day series against New Zealand, starting with the rescheduled fourth one-dayer tomorrow."In the last two games we have been outdone in the basics and we know that," Smith said, "that’s something we have been really good at over the last couple of months. It’s something we really want to pick up on again tomorrow."One of the problems Smith and his side have faced has been adapting to the conditions in New Zealand, including the different shapes of the grounds. "We’ve travelled a bit on the smaller grounds here," he said, "and tomorrow will see where we go with that, you’ll probably have to wait and see."Smith added that while the pressure was on the bowlers to perform, he expected more from everyone. "Where we were in the game batting-wise last time, we should have won the game. I expect a little more from everyone, including myself."

An unbeaten century from left-hander S Sriram has secured Tamil Nadu a healthy first-innings lead over Punjab at the end of third day of the Elite Group encounter between the two sides at Mohali.Sriram made 160 not out (237 balls, 19 fours) to ensure that his side gained a 101-run lead over Punjab with three first-innings wickets in hand going into the final day. Skipper S Suresh (32), S Ramesh (39), S Sharath (35) and MR Shrinivas (30*) were the others to get among the runs for the visitors. For Punjab, Vineet Sharma claimed four wickets.At Delhi, a Gautam Gambhir ton saw the hosts post a strong reply after Hyderabad declared their first innings at 297/9. Delhi were 260/3 when stumps were drawn at the end of the third day’s play.In the morning, Hyderabad, who resumed at 180/5, were well served by overnight not out batsman D Vinay Kumar, who went on to make 96. With Arjun Yadav (35) and I Khaleel (30) chipping in with useful hands, the visitors managed to post a respectable first-innings total. Amit Bhandari, who claimed four wickets, was the most successful bowler for the hosts.When Delhi replied, opener Gambhir played masterfully to make an unbeaten 140 (196 balls, 22 fours). The 19-year-old Salil Oberoi, who made 64, was the other home team batsman to make an impression on the day.Assam, meanwhile, are pushing for an outright win against Uttar Pradesh in another Elite Group encounter being played at Guwahati. The hosts, replying to Uttar Pradesh’s first-innings total of 211, made a massive 469/9 before declaring. Kiran Powar (175, 350 balls, 24 fours) and Manoj Joglekar (80, 150 balls, five fours) were the men who were mainly responsible for guiding their team into such a strong position. Fighting to avoid an outright defeat, Uttar Pradesh were 28/0 in their second essay when play ended on the penultimate day.In another match at Kolkata, Andhra needed 80 runs with all second-innings wickets in hand to complete a win over hosts Bengal.In the morning, the visitors, who resumed their first innings at 275/8, were bowled out for 319, having secured a lead of 130. When Bengal batted for the second time, Devang Gandhi (102, 143 balls, 13 fours) and Deep Dasgupta (66, 154 balls, seven fours) laid a solid platform. But off-spinner Hemal Watekar (4-73) and D Kalyan Krishna (3-41) precitipated a collapse that saw the hosts lose eight wickets for the addition of just 52 runs. Needing just 108 to complete a second sucessive win, Andhra were 20/0 when stumps were drawn on the penultimate day.At Jaipur, Mumbai earned a 12-run first-innings lead over Rajasthan. By the end of the penultimate day’s play, they had managed to extend it to 107 by reaching 95/1 in their second essay. Mumbai medium-pacer, Robin Morris was the man responsible for gaining his side the all-important first-innings lead. He claimed 6-39 in 19 overs to almost single-handedly wreck the hosts’ hopes of gaining a point out of the match. Opener Vinayak Mane (43) was the only wicket to fall when Mumbai batted a second time.In the only other Elite Group match, Railways reached 139/1 in 35 overs in their first innings against Himachal Pradesh. Amit Pagnis (59*) and Tejinder Pal Singh (60*) were the two not out batsmen. Rain had earlier prevented pplay on the first two days and most of the third day.

Shane Warne has explained how his position in the Australian side has changed in recent years, and appears to be revelling in his role out of the spotlight.”My role in the side has changed a fair bit with the three quicks in the side in the last couple of years," Warne reasoned.”We always used to bat first no matter what so I could bowl on the fourth or fifth day. Now we bowl first all the time. It’s been a change in tactics for us and that’s been something I’ve had to adjust to.”I bowl on days one, two and three and people start to say I’m not bowling big turners any more. I say ‘wait until days four and five’ but we’re winning in three days, so I don’t get that opportunity very often.”My role now is to make some handy runs at number eight, take a few catches and pick up the odd wicket here and there.”Warne endured a tough tour of India. Much was expected of him on the turning pitches but he found Laxman and co. to be wonderful players of spin and his wickets came at more than 50 apiece. India also ended Australia’s remarkable unbeaten run, but Warne does not believe that they played badly, rather that India raised their game.”People have said various things about us, but I tend to disagree about India. I think it went pretty well for all of us," he said. “It would’ve been nice to win, but I thought it was a fascinating Test series. It was one of most exciting I’ve been involved in.”Someone like Laxman, averaging 25 in Test cricket, comes out and gets 280; it’s one of the best innings I’ve ever witnessed.”When you lose you always think you could’ve done better, but you’ve got to take your hat off and say ‘Jeez mate you played well and were too good for us’.”Looking forward to the Ashes, Warne appears to revel in the resurgence of the England team, but he insists that Australia have never taken anything for granted against the old enemy.”The Ashes were never devalued in my eyes. It’s always something special. It’s irrelevant if England are playing badly or we’re playing badly. England-Australia battles always bring out the best in everybody.”The history and tradition means so much. A lot of us have been playing against each other for a long time. I know how the English batters play and they know how I’m going to bowl.”It’ll be interesting to see which way they try and go; whether they come out and have a go, which will help me, or whether they try and make it hard for me to get a wicket.”