New Zealand’s hopes of success in the tri-series with India and Australia starting today will rest on resolving the long-standing puzzle of bowling at the death. This has consistently been a weak area in the New Zealand game but one which will again be sorely tested given the batting line-ups both the world champion Australians and, the runners-up, India possess.The death phase of games has so often been shown to be the vital stage of matches, the true difference between winning and losing. Control is something of an art form, and was an area where New Zealand enjoyed some ice cold composure during its outstanding era in the 1980s in the one-day game. More recently, the attention to this phase has not resulted in any significant formula being achieved.But if the side is to advance in the one-day game it is the area that most needs addressing. The facts are revealing. New Zealand has the worst of the Test-playing nations, even Bangladesh does better, albeit with less games to throw into the equation. However, New Zealand’s plight can be seen from the fact that the Netherlands has a superior record.Average runs conceded by each country in the 47th-50th overs of completed innings, between September 1 2001 and September 1 2003 (instances in brackets):

1st innings 2nd innings All innings————————————————————Pakistan (16) 28.8 ( 6) 25.3 (22) 27.9South Africa (22) 30.2 ( 6) 22.7 (28) 28.6England (13) 31.7 ( 4) 24.3 (17) 29.9West Indies (14) 31.1 ( 2) 24.5 (16) 30.3Australia (19) 31.7 ( 3) 27.0 (22) 31.1Sri Lanka (21) 32.9 ( 5) 27.0 (26) 31.7India (19) 35.1 ( 4) 24.8 (23) 33.3Zimbabwe (22) 37.5 ( 2) 17.0 (24) 35.8New Zealand (17) 38.5 ( 1) 35.0 (18) 38.3Netherlands ( 3) 36.7 – ( 3) 36.7Bangladesh (13) 38.1 – (13) 38.1Namibia ( 6) 40.5 – ( 6) 40.5Kenya ( 8) 43.5 – ( 8) 43.5Canada ( 1) 52.0 – ( 1) 52.0

On Asian soil:

All innings—————————-Pakistan (11) 24.3Sri Lanka (10) 27.9England ( 2) 28.5West Indies ( 3) 31.0India (12) 34.3New Zealand ( 7) 34.7South Africa ( 3) 34.7Zimbabwe (12) 36.7Australia -Netherlands ( 1) 33.0Bangladesh ( 9) 42.9Kenya ( 4) 43.8Canada -Namibia –

Again, a measure to be considered by a side looking to be competitive on the international scene is the absence of New Zealand bowlers among practitioners regarded as death specialists. Daryl Tuffey, is the only New Zealander to feature, and his placement is a further indication of how under-valued he was by some critics before the just-completed Test series with India. But to see Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Andre Adams on the list for worst bowling at the death is of significant concern.INDIVIDUAL BOWLING AT THE DEATH:Best death bowlers (minimum qualification 10 overs):

player team overs runs rpo——————————————————-AR Caddick ENG 11 59 5.36M Muralitharan SL 18 97 5.39A Flintoff ENG 27 161 5.96CD Collymore WI 16 96 6.00GD McGrath AUS 27 170 6.30Wasim Akram PAK 22 140 6.36SM Pollock RSA 57 363 6.37Shoaib Akhtar PAK 19 131 6.89ST Jayasuriya SL 21 145 6.90TJ Friend ZIM 13 90 6.92

On Asian soil (minimum qualification 5 overs):

player team overs runs rpo——————————————————-Shahid Afridi PAK 5 14 2.80HDPK Dharmasena SL 8 40 5.00M Muralitharan SL 10 50 5.00Wasim Akram PAK 7 40 5.71RP Arnold SL 7 42 6.00Waqar Younis PAK 5 30 6.00D Gough ENG 7 43 6.14Harbhajan Singh IND 5 31 6.20DR Tuffey NZ 9 56 6.22SM Pollock RSA 9 57 6.33

Worst death bowlers (minimum qualification 10 overs):

player team overs runs rpo——————————————————-SM Ervine ZIM 14 148 10.57JDP Oram NZ 11 110 10.00TM Odoyo KENYA 15 148 9.87DT Hondo ZIM 24 235 9.79PW Gunaratne SL 11 104 9.45IJ Harvey AUS 10 93 9.30AR Adams NZ 21 192 9.14A Nehra IND 10 90 9.00WPUJC Vaas SL 17 150 8.82JN Gillespie AUS 11 97 8.82

On Asian soil (minimum qualification 5 overs):

player team overs runs rpo——————————————————-DT Hondo ZIM 13 118 9.08SB Styris NZ 6 55 9.17TCB Fernando SL 5 46 9.20JDP Oram NZ 9 87 9.67Z Khan IND 12 120 10.00SM Ervine ZIM 8 82 10.25M Dillon WI 6 62 10.33Mohammad Rafique BDESH 9 96 10.67V Sehwag IND 6 67 11.17TM Odoyo KENYA 7 83 11.86

All New Zealand bowlers at the death:

player team overs runs rpo——————————————————-KD Mills NZ 4 15 3.75NJ Astle NZ 1 5 5.00CL Cairns NZ 7 43 6.14DR Tuffey NZ 11 83 7.55PA Hitchcock NZ 2 17 8.50SE Bond NZ 16 138 8.63DL Vettori NZ 5 45 9.00AR Adams NZ 21 192 9.14SB Styris NZ 8 78 9.75JDP Oram NZ 11 110 10.00CD McMillan NZ 2 25 12.50CZ Harris NZ 2 25 12.50JEC Franklin NZ 4 57 14.25

On Asian soil:

player team overs runs rpo——————————————————-KD Mills NZ 2 2 1.00DR Tuffey NZ 9 56 6.22AR Adams NZ 4 31 7.75SE Bond NZ 2 18 9.00SB Styris NZ 6 55 9.17JDP Oram NZ 9 87 9.67CD McMillan NZ 2 25 12.50DL Vettori NZ 1 13 13.00

Most expensive death over:

runs player for against venue season—————————————————————-28 RJ van Vuuren NAMIB AUS Potchefstroom 2002/0327 AA Donald RSA AUS Perth 2001/0227 JEC Franklin NZ RSA Perth 2001/0226 MA Suji KENYA IND Paarl 2001/0226 AR Adams NZ ZIM Bloemfontein 2002/0325 WPUJC Vaas SL PAK Tangier 200224 JN Gillespie AUS PAK Nairobi (Gymk) 2002/0324 SM Ervine ZIM PAK Sharjah 2002/0323 SM Pollock RSA WI Cape Town 2002/0323 CZ Harris NZ ZIM Bloemfontein 2002/0323 GD McGrath AUS PAK Brisbane 200223 DT Hondo ZIM PAK Sharjah 2002/03

Most economical death over:

runs player for against venue season—————————————————————-0 Mohammad Sami PAK NL Colombo (SSC) 2002/030 Alok Kapali BDESH WI Benoni 2002/030 AA Donald RSA BDESH Benoni 2002/030 DR Tuffey NZ PAK Dambulla 20030 B Lee AUS RSA Melbourne 2001/020 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/020 A Symonds AUS BDESH Darwin 20030 A Flintoff ENG NAMIB Port Elizabeth 2002/030 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/020 KD Mills NZ SL Dambulla 20030 GD McGrath AUS WI Gros Islet 2002/030 Inzamam-ul-Haq PAK BDESH Chittagong 2001/02

Most expensive death spell (2 overs):

runs player for against venue season—————————————————————-40 RJ van Vuuren NAMIB AUS Potchefstroom 2002/0336 JEC Franklin NZ RSA Perth 2001/0235 WPUJC Vaas SL PAK Tangier 200234 TM Odoyo KENYA RSA Cape Town 2001/0233 LJ Burger NAMIB ZIM Harare 2002/0333 CM Willoughby RSA IND Dhaka 200333 ML Nkala ZIM PAK Bulawayo 2002/0333 IJ Harvey AUS RSA Port Elizabeth 2001/0233 Z Khan IND ZIM Faridabad 2001/0232 D Gough ENG RSA The Oval 200332 V Sehwag IND WI Vijayawada 2002/03

Most economical death spell (2 overs):

runs player for against venue season—————————————————————-0 Shahid Afridi PAK BDESH Dhaka 2001/022 KD Mills NZ SL Dambulla 20032 JM Anderson ENG PAK Manchester 20033 GD McGrath AUS WI Gros Islet 2002/033 SM Pollock RSA IND Colombo (RPS) 2002/033 Alok Kapali BDESH WI Benoni 2002/034 RC Irani ENG NAMIB Port Elizabeth 2002/034 TM Odoyo KENYA CAN Cape Town 2002/034 Mohammad Hafeez PAK ENG Manchester 20035 V Sehwag IND KENYA Paarl 2001/025 A Kumble IND KENYA Paarl 2001/025 MR Ramprakash ENG ZIM Harare 2001/025 SM Pollock RSA KENYA Benoni 2001/025 CRD Fernando SL BDESH Colombo (SSC) 20025 GD McGrath AUS WI Jamaica 2002/03

Run scoring in death situations is also not healthy. The statistics show that New Zealand, especially in the second innings of matches, is the worst performed of the Test-playing nations in scoring runs at the death. It is better placed in the first innings of games, but only slightly.BY COUNTRY AVERAGE RUN SCORING AT THE DEATH:Average runs scored by each country in the 47th-50th overs of completedinnings (instances in brackets):

1st innings 2nd innings All innings————————————————————Pakistan (25) 40.2 – (25) 40.2South Africa (26) 39.1 ( 3) 30.5 (29) 38.2West Indies (15) 38.5 ( 4) 31.3 (19) 36.9India (18) 37.2 ( 1) 30.0 (19) 36.8Zimbabwe (10) 38.3 ( 7) 28.3 (17) 34.2Australia (23) 33.9 ( 2) 30.0 (25) 33.6New Zealand (16) 33.1 ( 4) 24.8 (20) 31.5Sri Lanka (26) 28.7 ( 3) 26.3 (29) 28.4England (20) 27.3 ( 1) 25.0 (21) 27.1Kenya ( 9) 27.2 ( 1) 10.0 (10) 25.5Bangladesh ( 3) 28.7 ( 4) 19.3 ( 7) 23.3Netherlands ( 3) 25.7 ( 1) 11.0 ( 4) 22.0Canada – ( 1) 16.0 ( 1) 16.0Namibia – ( 1) 14.0 ( 1) 14.0

On Asian soil:

All innings—————————-West Indies (11) 39.0India ( 9) 39.0Pakistan (13) 37.8South Africa ( 4) 35.8Australia ( 1) 35.0Zimbabwe ( 5) 33.4Sri Lanka (13) 30.8New Zealand ( 7) 30.4England ( 4) 28.3Kenya ( 1) 29.0Bangladesh ( 5) 19.2Netherlands ( 1) 19.0Canada -Namibia –

Statistics compiled by Duane Pettet.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the ICC today announced the venues for the ICC Champions Trophy, taking place in September 2004.The Oval, Edgbaston and The Rosebowl are the three grounds which will stage the 15-match tournament, taking place from September 10 to 25, with rain days scheduled for all matches. Teams will be seeded on the basis of their official one-day international ratings on December 1, 2003.”The ICC is very pleased that the ECB will be hosting this showpiece tournament next year", Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said." Using the official ODI ratings is the fairest way to seed teams. This system ensures that all teams are treated in an equal manner as it provides an objective assessment of form over the last two to three years”.The tournament will be contested by the ten main countries along with Kenya and the winner of the ICC Six Nations Challenge, to be played in the United Arab Emirates in March 2004.Tim Lamb, the ECB chief executive, said: “The ECB is looking forward to welcoming the world’s top teams here next year and the ICC Champions Trophy will provide a terrific climax to our summer of international cricket throughout England and Wales in 2004”.

India play Victoria in their first game of the Australian tour tomorrow at the MCG.After a successful trip to India with Australia’s one-day team, Ian Harvey returns to the Victoria side for the first time this season.Meanwhile, Brett Harrop and Brendan Joseland, Melbourne University team-mates, will both make their first-class debuts.Victoria squad
1 Cameron White (capt), 2 Jason Arnberger, 3 Matthew Elliott, 4 Brett Harrop, 5 Ian Harvey, 6 Brad Hodge, 7 David Hussey, 8 Mathew Inness, 9 Brendan Joseland, 10 Andrew McDonald, 11 Jonathan Moss, 12 Peter Roach.

Close v Pakistan
Scorecard

Having decided to bat first, New Zealand struggled to 151 for 5 on a day in which only 71 overs were possible in the second Test against Pakistan at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Shoaib Akhtar was the star performer for Pakistan, bowling with plenty of fire to take 3 for 14 from 11 hostile overs, but Mark Richardson retrieved the situation somewhat with a typically dogged unbeaten 53.Coming back from a hamstring strain that kept him out of the first Test, Shoaib bowled fast enough to send at least one delivery down at 157 kmph, but he was also handled carefully by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Shoaib bowled only short spells, and that was still enough to cause all manner of problems for the New Zealanders. However, on completing his 11th over he pulled up lame and was in obvious discomfort when leaving the field.The match started under gloomy skies, and only 2.5 overs had been bowled when the players went off for bad light. It was enough time, though, for Shoaib to create more misery for Lou Vincent (0), who was beaten by a quick delivery which crashed through his defences (1 for 1). When they returned 30 minutes after the lunch break, Shoaib trapped Stephen Fleming in front with his first ball, which was also the last of his still-to-be-completed second over.It then became a battle for New Zealand to try and recover the situation. Richard Jones, playing his first Test, worked hard with Richardson but after scoring 16, Jones inside-edged an Abdul Razzaq delivery onto his stumps (41 for 3).Scott Styris upped the momentum, using the straight-drive to good effect. By the tea break he had scored 25, only three less than the more stolid Richardson. Styris was on the offensive immediately after the break but a promising innings ended on 36 when Akhtar returned to the attack and bowled a fast rising ball which Styris failed to evade. The nick was easily taken by Moin Khan (94 for 4).Styris was replaced by Craig McMillan, who shared a 51-run stand withRichardson. Richardson’s patience was rewarded with the 17th half-century of his career, which took all of 262 minutes to achieve. But of the many battling, grafting innings Richardson has played for the country, it was among the most valuable. McMillan was beginning to grow in confidence when he received a controversial lbw decision from Asoka de Silva off Shabbir Ahmed. McMillan had scored 26 and television evidence showed an inside edge onto his pad (145 for 5).Soon after, Robbie Hart, the nightwatchman, survived an appeal for caught behind off his gloves from Shoaib, a decision which upset the Pakistanis. Shoaib then bowled a short ball that struck Hart on the head. But in pushing for more pace, Akhtar strained himself and was unable to bowl the last over of the day. Richardson had been solid in defence throughout, and he will play the critical role in ensuring that New Zealand drive home the advantage of winning the toss.

Scorecard

Nathan Bracken lifted New South Wales’s prospects of an unlikely win, by skittling through Western Australia’s top-order on the third day at Perth.In the final session of the day, Bracken produced a lethal display of swing bowling picking all five wickets to fall. By stumps, WA were 223 for 5 and led by 330 runs – a lead that is not yet out of sight in a high-scoring match.New South Wales desperately need a victory to put their Pura Cup defence back on track, and when Steve Waugh declared the first innings 107 runs in arrears, he was relying on a fighting performance from his bowlers.That didn’t happen immediately, as Justin Langer and Michael Hussey cracked along to 157 in double-quick time. But Hussey played the ball onto his stumps for 71, and Bracken had made his incision. Bracken removed the first-innings centurion Chris Rogers for 2, also playing on, before following up with the big wicket of Langer for 94. Murray Goodwin was caught behind for 25, before Marcus North was trapped lbw just before stumps.NSW had resumed on 204 for 2, and in pursuit of quick runs. Simon Katich and Dominic Thornely put on 101 for the third wicket, before Steve Waugh thumped a 53-ball half-century.

Bangladesh XI 199 and 174 beat Zimbabwe A 183 and 161 (Aziz 6-46) by 29 runs
ScorecardBangladesh gave themselves a massive morale boost ahead of next week’s first Test, by beating Zimbabwe A in a tense finish at the Harare Country Club. After losing their last three wickets for four runs in the morning session, it seemed as though Bangladesh’s bubble had burst, but Tareq Aziz popped up with career-best figures of 6 for 46 to seal the win.Overnight, Bangladesh had led by 186 runs – hardly an advantage to crow about, but an advantage nonetheless, especially in a match where neither side had exceeded 200. But by the time Doug Hondo had torn through their tail, Bangladesh had left themselves much to do to turn the game back around. Hondo needed just two overs to whip out the remaining three wickets for four runs, including Khaled Mashud for his overnight 22.But the wickets continued to tumble when it came to Zimbabwe’s turn to bat. Trevor Gripper and Richard Sims fell for ducks in consecutive deliveries from Aziz, and though Stuart Matsikenyeri and Vusimusi Sibanda added 55 for the third wicket, they too fell in quick succession, as Alamgir Kabir and Manjural Islam got in on the act (72 for 4).Doug Marillier was next to go, caught behind off Aziz for 4, and Aziz struck a huge blow with his very next delivery, as Zimbabwe’s first-innings hero, Gavin Ewing, was bowled for a duck (82 for 6). Travis Friend followed suit four runs later, and when Manjural picked up his second wicket, Zimbabwe were still 80 runs from victory with two wickets remaining.One of those, however, was the captain Alester Maregwede, who had played extremely sensibly. He received excellent support from the tail, and slowly chewed up the runs required. But it was clearly Aziz’s day, and he picked up his sixth wicket – and third bowled of the innings – to send Maregwede on his way for 41. There was yet more resistance to come from Zimbabwe’s last pair, but the target was just too far away and Manjural duly completed the victory.

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."

The Sri Lankan cricket board has been advised of the results of Muttiah Muralitharan’s suspect-bowling-action assessment, but they are yet to release the details publicly. Bruce Elliott, the biomechanist at the University of Western Australia who supervised last week’s tests, said on Monday that he had passed on the main findings to the Sri Lankan board.Elliott said he would complete a written report later this week and send it to the board. “They know what the numbers are,” Elliott told Reuters in a telephone interview from Perth. “Just the pure numbers at the elbow. That’s the key to the issue, I suppose, but that’s where we are with that.”I don’t know what the Sri Lankan board will be doing. I would hope theywould tell me that they would let us make it public, or they would make itpublic. Now really it’s up to the Sri Lankan cricket board and the ICC.”Muralitharan’s bowling was assessed after he was reported by Chris Broad, the match referee, during the recent Sri Lanka-Australia Test series. The legality of Murali’s doosra, which spins in the opposite direction to his stock ball, had been called into question.Elliott’s team analysed data relating to six doosra deliveries from a test session in Perth during which Muralitharan wore only reflective markers on his upper body.The Sri Lankan board is responsible for reviewing and, if necessary,remedying Muralitharan’s bowling action with the assistance of an ICC-appointed expert before submitting a report to the ICC within six weeks of Broad’s announcement on March 28.Muralitharan’s action has been the source of controversy ever since he was no-balled for throwing by Darrell Hair in a Test match at Melbourne in December 1995. He was later cleared by the ICC after biomechanical analysis – again at the University of Western Australia – which concluded that his bent-arm action created the “optical illusion” of throwing.

Surrey’s miserable start to the season is rapidly taking on crisis proportions, and not even the return of their Test stars could save them from humiliation at the hands of Warwickshire. Chasing a total of 241 for victory, Surrey slumped to 7 for 4, with Scott Newman, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe and Rikki Clarke all making ducks. Meanwhile at Taunton, Anthony McGrath put his winter of frustration behind him with a matchwinning 58, as Yorkshire crushed Somerset by 145 runs.

National League Division One

Scorecard
Surrey’s big guns spiked – The Daily Telegraph

National League Division Two

Scorecard
Bresnan exposes soft centre – The Guardian
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New Zealand’s growing injury worries worsened with the news that Jacob Oram will not be fit enough to play as an allrounder at Headingley.Even if his side strain is not sufficiently bad for him not to be able to bat, New Zealand’s selectors need to find another bowler to balance the side. Oram, who made a breezy 67 at Lord’s, might still be picked as a batsman in a side which has several players struggling to find their form."Jacob bowled this morning without an issue. We wanted to see how he’d back up, he bowled again this afternoon and he did feel it a bit,” Lindsay Crocker, the side’s manager, explained. “He still feels it, and he’s got a bit of settling down to do before he’s a confirmed starter.””Jacob will be considered but not necessarily selected," John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, admitted "His inability to bowl does complicate the balance.”But there was a glimmer of hope regarding Craig McMillan’s finger injury, with some sources claiming that he is now 50-50 to be fit enough to play after successfully negotiating some fairly gentle throw-downs on Tuesday. He will undergo one more net on Wednesday before the final decision is made, but the New Zealand management were reported to be optimistic about his chances. “It will be based on how comfortable he is," Crocker said. "Really only he can confirm that.”