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The Kwekwe first team travelled to Bulawayo to play against the MacDonald club first team. Kwekwe won the toss and decided to bat first.Kwekwe scored 321 runs for five wickets in their allotted 50 overs, the top scorers being Doug Marillier with 96 runs, which included 10 fours and 2 sixes, Raymond Price with 89 runs which included 11 fours and 1 six, and Terry Duffin, who scored 84 runs which also included 11 fours before he was run out chancing a short single so as to increase the run rate to over six an over. This was once again an excellent spell of batting by the Kwekwe batsmen, who got off to a rather slow start.The partnership between Raymond and Terry was worth 133 runs off 128 balls; it lasted 85 minutes and included 17 fours and 1 six. The partnership between Terry and Doug was worth 60 runs off 69 balls and lasted 46 minutes and included 6 fours.Best bowlers for Mac Club were Gavin Wren, who took two for 67 in his ten overs, including the wicket of Doug Marillier, and Stephen Brown, who took one for 58 from his ten overs. Brown’s wicket was that of Raymond Price.Mac Club then batted after lunch and scored 179 for eight in 33 overs. The top scorer for Mac Club was Frank Marara with 57 runs that included 6 fours.The best bowlers for Kwekwe were Dirk Viljoen (2/13), Colin Delport (2/20) and Heath Fourie (2/30). Raymond Price and E. Rainsford each took one wicket. It was a fine spell of disciplined bowling by all concerned.The second team hosted Old Georgians Second Team and unfortunately, although I know that they won, at the time of writing this report no information was available.Kwekwe Queens, who take part in the Northern Zone League, travelled to Harare to play against Shamva and yet again no results are available for this game.I am pleased to report yet again that the development sides here in the Midlands are doing well and have again started having their friendly games on Saturday mornings. There are plans under way for this little tournament to include the Gweru Sports Club side.The Inter-town 30-over a side matches played on Saturday afternoons here in the Midlands are due to start shortly, as well as the Logan Cup games, and this year there are going to be three games played at the Kwekwe Sports Club.

England’s stand-in captain Alec Stewart made no excuses for his team’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Australia in the latest NatWest Series encounter at Old Trafford.England were bundled out for their lowest-ever one-day score of 86 to lose by 125 runs. It was their ninth consecutive one-day defeat and means the remaining qualifying matches in the triangular competition are largely meaningless.Stewart said:”We have lost heavily and we were never at the races.”I am not going to use excuses. The fact is that they bowled well in helpfulconditions and we were not up to it.”He found some solace in the performance of Ben Hollioake whom the Australians struggled to get away. Stewart said: “Ben Hollioake’s bowling was very good – ten overs for 30 was very impressive and he has grown in stature in each game he has played in this series.”To keep them to 208 at the close of their innings was a good effort.”But then you get the first four wickets knocked over early in our innings and you do not recover from that.”Australian skipper Steve Waugh had some sympathy for his opposite number. “I do not think he made any tactical errors out there,” said Waugh.”I thought he captained pretty well but what can you do when your side getsbowled out for 86?”He is the captain but he cannot work miracles.”The next game in the series is between Pakistan and Australia at Chester-le-Street on Saturday while England are back in action against Pakistan at Headingley on Sunday.

Sunderland will be looking to extend their five-game unbeaten run in League One as they travel to face Lincoln City on Saturday.

The Black Cats have won three of their last four games and have the chance to head into the international break on a high with another three points this weekend.

They beat Crewe Alexandra 2-0 at the Stadium of Light last time out as Dan Neil and Patrick Roberts both came off the bench to score, which could see them force their way into the team against the Imps.

Game-changer

One player who Alex Neil must unleash from the start alongside the pair is wide forward Nathan Broadhead. The club have reportedly been monitoring his fitness this week in the build-up to the game, and Neil must select him in the starting XI if he is available to play.

The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland previously lauded the young attacker’s form at the Stadium of Light, tweeting: “Nathan Broadhead excelling at Sunderland. Regular competitive games making world of difference but too good for League One really.”

The reporter added: A lot to like. Mobile, finishes well, can play across the front line.”

The 23-year-old has the quality to be a game-changer for the Black Cats, as he has shown that he can find the net at an impressive rate. Boyland believes that the forward is too good for the third tier and his goalscoring record from out wide backs that up, with five goals in nine starts and 0.8 key passes per game.

Broadhead has scored six goals in his last seven matches for Sunderland in all competitions, which proves that he can change games by finding the back of the net. He could also come in at the perfect time after a disappointing performance from one of his team-mates last weekend.

Lynden Gooch started out wide on the right against Crewe but struggled badly. As per SofaScore, he only completed 16 passes and failed to complete a single chance as he lost four of his seven duels. He lacked the ability to make a difference in the final third, which is why he must be axed in favour of Broadhead.

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Neil must select the on-loan winger to play instead of the American, as the statistics suggest that the 23-year-old would be a major upgrade to the starting XI. If he is not 100% fit, then he would still be a terrific option to bring off the bench as a substitute to potentially win the game for Sunderland.

AND in other news, Moyes flop who’s “like Eden Hazard” has seen his value rise by £14.4m after leaving Sunderland…

	Allan Donald manages to bring a smile to Steve Harmison’s face © Getty Images

As Steve Harmison lurches into his latest crisis following an insipid performance in Hamilton, Allan Donald, the man who last summer was charged with trying to coax him into action, has revealed Harmison came to him and admitted he was ‘scared’.Donald was England’s bowling coach during the 2007 season but turned down the full-time position so that he could spend more time with his family and has joined Warwickshire as their bowling coach. The moment when Harmison opened up came at Old Trafford during the third Test against West Indies after he’d struggled to hit the cut strip.”He needed confidence,” Donald told the . “He needed to feel appreciated. I’ve never seen a cricketer as low as he was. He came off the field in the Test at Old Trafford and told me he was scared. It was so sad.”From his low point in the first innings at Old Trafford, Harmison did manage to regain some composure with an improved performance on the final day and in the fourth Test on his home ground at Chester-le-Street. However, just as he was finding some confidence another injury came along and he missed the rest of the summer. He has continued to suffered fitness issues, especially with his back, during the winter tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand.Harmison’s fate is now in the hands of Ottis Gibson after Donald opted against a full-time role. “To be honest with you, I wouldn’t have taken the England job even if this role at Warwickshire hadn’t come up,” Donald said. “Working with the England team was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel I made a positive impact. And, I have to say, the ECB were brilliant. They are a highly professional organisation and, in many ways, everything about the job was great.”But I’ve been on the road for years. At some stage you have to put the family first. I want to see my children grow up.”

There probably will never be a cricketing atmosphere to match that of a full house for Test cricket at the Kensington Oval. Click to enlarge © Getty Images

Will the new look inspire a new attitude? Probably not, but it would at least be a small step in the right direction if the players walking out at the new Kensington Oval for the match against Bangladesh had even a cursory appreciation of the significance of the old ground in the history of West Indies cricket. We can dream, can’t we?The fixture against Bangladesh will be the first for a West Indies team since the old structure was torn down two years ago, although the cynics will argue that, based on the evidence of their distressing performances so far in the Super Eights, there is no real ‘team’ at the moment. Maybe so, but it will be the official West Indies team taking on Habibul Bashar’s side, so let’s leave those deeper issues for another time. Since the president of the West Indies Cricket Board has chided those of us for apparently rushing to condemn Brian Lara and his squad, there will be ample time when this is all over for proper assessment.Of course, it could be all over on Saturday with the last of the Super Eights matches against England, so that will give us almost a full month to get on bad before the first Test against the same side at Lord’s. So instead of weeping and wailing, let’s reflect a bit on the Kensington Oval’s long association with the team that has been the object of so much emotion in these parts for so many years.It may have been quaint, too dilapidated and therefore too unsafe for the modern era, especially with all the 21st century demands placed by the ICC for their global event, but there probably will never be a cricketing atmosphere to match that of a full house for Test cricket at Kensington. One-day cricket, of course, has a more celebratory feel to it with all of the noise and jumping and waving for no apparent reason, but for sheer intensity, I can’t imagine it getting much better than Tests at that old ground in Bridgetown. Yes, other established Caribbean grounds like the Queen’s Park Oval, Bourda, Sabina Park and the Antigua Recreation Ground will have their own legitimate claims, especially when the stands are full and the contest at its most riveting.Still, the memories of the Kensington theatre, even the more recent recollections, stand out. With the proximity of the spectators, it was like witnessing gladiators fighting for their lives, with the thousands looking on responding to every thrust and parry, every attack and counter-attack, whether it was [Wes] Hall versus [Bob] Simpson, [Jeff] Thomson versus [Viv] Richards or [Michael] Holding versus [Geoff] Boycott.

Brian Lara’s unbeaten 153 in a pulsating one-wicket win over Australia in 1999 was almost the stuff of fantasy © Getty Images

That lethal opening over by Holding to Boycott on the second day of the 1981 Test will remain one of the most talked-about experiences. Even listening to the live radio commentary and then seeing the highlights a couple days later, you could feel the excitement building, culminating in those unforgettable images of the off stump cartwheeling and the fans almost jumping out of the stands in their excitement.There was also the luxury of being able to sympathise with yet another opponent being torn to shreds in our bastion of invincibility.For 59 years, West Indies were unbeaten in Tests at Kensington. There were some narrow escapes, none more so than when the last-wicket pair of Andy Roberts and debutant Colin Croft played out the final overs to deny Pakistan victory in 1977. But most times, it was a period of unprecedented domination. Inevitably, the moments become larger than life as time passes. The brief assault by a teenaged Garry Sobers as a makeshift opener on Australia’s feared opening pair of [Ray] Lindwall and [Keith] Miller in 1955 hinted at greatness in the making. Lawrence Rowe so captivated the masses in caressing his way to 48 not out at stumps on the third day of the 1974 Test against England that the place was packed beyond capacity for the next day and a bit as he stroked his way to 302.Two years earlier, in the midst of West Indies’ leanest run until the present era, there was also a full house on the last day to see Sobers and Charlie Davis deny New Zealand victory. So the Kensington faithful were prepared to support through thick and thin, although the 1992 boycott of the historic first Test against South Africa will be a blot on their record.However, the current period has certainly tested their resolve more than any other time. Ever since Alec Stewart’s two hundreds saw the English storm the battlements in 1994, many have come and conquered. Yet, even in the midst of such despair, the magic of Lara’s unbeaten 153 in a pulsating one-wicket win over Australia in 1999 was almost the stuff of fantasy.Just a few weeks later, there was also the shame of bottle-throwing that prompted the reinstatement of Sherwin Campbell after he was initially ruled run-out after colliding with the bowler, Brendon Julian. Just to reinforce how desperate the times have become, that was the last West Indian victory in a one-dayer at this ground. Seven defeats have followed since that hollow victory, turning the once impregnable arena into the scene of our latest humiliation.Victory against Bangladesh won’t change anything, but at least the Kensington Oval will be associated with West Indian success once again. Then again, you never know.

Cricket writer Peter Robinson has died at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 54. He had been suffering from cancer.Robinson was sports editor of The Citizen at the time of his death, and he had previously worked for The Star, The Sunday Independent, Sports Day, This Day, and the Natal Witness. He was also the South African editor of Cricinfo for a number of years.”Robbo was a naturally gifted writer, someone for whom the words just flowed,” former colleague Guy Hawthorne told news24.com. “He was a superb columnist and many of his offerings reduced the sub-editors at This Day to either fits of laughter or tears of sorrow. He loved his job and his passion for writing was evident in the many excellent articles he produced.”

Keith PIper has had his contract terminated © Getty Images

Keith Piper, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper, has been sacked by the county after he failed a drugs test and was ruled out of the rest of the season by being banned for four months. Piper’s position will be reviewed at the end of this season, but in the meantime the club will help him through a rehabilitation programme, including counselling, as recommended by the ECB panel which banned him last month.Last month Piper, 35, pleaded guilty to a doping offence involving cannabis after the first county match of the season, where Warwickshire played Glamorgan. Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said: “In the light of Keith Piper’s positive test for cannabis and the decision of the ECB disciplinary committee to ban him from professional cricket for four months until the end of September 2005, Warwickshire have terminated Keith’s playing contract for 2005 with immediate effect.”The focus now is on Keith’s rehabilitation programme to which Keith and the county club are fully committed,” Amiss added. “In that we will be supported by the ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association. We are aware of Keith’s positive response to a difficult situation and we are confident that the rehabilitation will be successful.”The ECB panel which banned him said at the time that if Piper wanted to return to county cricket he should also undergo drug counselling and undertake a drug test before September 30, which would be administered under the auspices of the ECB. The panel also added that Piper would “thereafter be target-tested six times in the following 18 months”. Piper, who had been playing mainly one-day cricket of late, was ordered to pay £250 (US$455) towards the costs of the hearing.In 1997, Piper failed an in-house drugs test for which he served a one-match ban. His fellow Warwickshire players Paul Smith, now retired, and Graham Wagg have also served drugs-related bans. Last season Wagg was given a 15-month ban by the ECB after testing positive for cocaine and, as a consequence, saw Warwickshire terminate his contract. On Sunday, Piper’s former Warwickshire captain Dermot Reeve, the retired England international, admitted that he was fighting cocaine addiction.

Chris Cairns: the injury woes continue © Getty Images

Chris Cairns has been ruled out of New Zealand’s crucial TVS Cup match against India at Cuttack. Cairns failed to recover from a hamstring injury which forced him to leave the field midway during their match against Australia at Pune on November 3. “Cairns hasn’t come through,” confirmed Ashley Ross, the New Zealand coach, after Cairns failed a fitness test.Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid has asked for an improved performance from the Indian middle order. Speaking to reporters on the eve of their match against New Zealand, Dravid said: “The middle-order batting is an area that needs work. We have to do better while batting second. I don’t know of any plans to change the batting order, but we have to be as flexible as possible.”He also called for a better display from Zaheer Khan, especially with the new ball. “Our bowlers are capable of doing better, particularly Zaheer. He did well in Gwalior, but something went wrong in Mumbai. He is working hard and should do better in the first 15 overs, because that is a key time.”The Indian team will be without Anil Kumble, who opted out of the match due to his father’s death. Sairaj Bahutule has been included in the squad, but Ashish Nehra – who has recovered from his ankle surgery – or Murali Kartik are the frontrunners to replace Kumble.

The last week has been a turbulent one to say the least. We started with a loss to the Northern Knights in our first warm up game, convincingly won our second and then lost our way in the series opener with New Zealand.

UnderIndian lights Photo Gloucs

One thing which has been obvious is the huge change in playing conditions. It is amazing how your reflexes become tuned to playing in India, and it has taken a few days to revert to home-style conditions again. The seam bowlers appear a lot chirpier now as they see some movement off the wickets, a rare sight on the sun-baked wickets of the sub-continent.So chirpy in Caddy’s case that he decided to invite everyone around to his Christchurch home for a celebratory `Barby’. All the team enjoyed the relaxing evening as we were treated to roast beef, lamb and of course prawns!! It was interesting to see a few of the senior players browsing through the local property supplement the following day! New Zealand really is a great country, and in Christchurch, we saw its most English element.The day before the opening game, we attended the official series launch hosted by the New Zealand team sponsors. On arrival at this formal occasion, we were greeted by a lady in a particularly scruffy grass skirt, which we thought was strange? It was soon explained that she was the leader of the local Maori group who were going to `welcome’ us.The welcome consisted of 20-odd grown men and women, face painted and scantily clad charging at us, screaming and sticking their tongues out in unison! We had to hold back a couple of the `Yorkies’ from retaliating and explain that it was just a ceremonial dance!! We then had to accept the welcome by calmly rubbing noses with the Maori group who performed the traditional display brilliantly. Later, we had a more conventional welcome by our hosts and enjoyed another great `summer’ buffet.

Pushing togain place Photo Gloucs

Wednesday saw us at Jade Stadium for the opening game of the series. We had discussed the importance of the first game in our meetings and were keen to get off to a good start. After 25 overs of the reduced 42-over game, the England camp was relaxed and confident, but an hour later the mood had changed dramatically. A combination of great fielding and a lack of batting partnerships meant that we fell short of the 250, which we looked at one stage like posting.As in India, we managed to get back into the game and looked like having another tense finish, but the Kiwi batsmen scraped home to take the lead in the series. Obviously we were disappointed with the game especially after we had such a commanding start, but lessons were learnt and we have four games ahead to win.The next stop for the one-day road show is Wellington and many of us breathed a sigh of relief as the plane sidled up to the Wellington airport terminal buildings. Locally known as the Windy City, our turbulent descent resembled a mosquito approaching a desk fan! Thankfully we arrived safely, and I now have a chance to reminisce over the two seasons spent playing and coaching in here during the mid-90s.Our second game is being played at the new stadium here, which again, hosts huge rugby games as well as cricket matches. Sharing resources like this means that the stadiums can be perfectly equipped but whether this time-share philosophy could work in England is open to debate.With only 2 weeks of the tour remaining, the work is still going on behind the scenes for me as I push to develop my game further and seize a regular position in this developing squad. There is a great deal to play for and we have our sights set high on winning this series, Saturday’s game will be a crucial for us and we relish the next challenge.

Bengal virtually assured themselves of a place in the knock out stageof the Ranji Trophy at the Eden Gardens today. Rohan Gavaskar’s sixthRanji Trophy hundred and his 197-run partnership for the fifth wicketwith Deep Dasgupta took Bengal past the 600-mark for the first timethis season. The home team declared their innings closed at 608 forthe loss of five wickets half an hour after lunch. In reply, Biharwere 107 for three wickets at close.Bihar have been having a poor season and today they did not fare anybetter. The bowling lacked sting and the batting was devoid oftemperament. It will be very difficult for them to save the matchunless they really apply themselves. They however, started the daywell getting rid of the Bengal skipper Devang Gandhi after only 21balls had been bowled. India under-19 all-rounder Mihir Diwakar movedone away from Gandhi and the batsman snicked it to the keeper.Then it was the younger Gavaskar all the way. Playing with a lot ofassurance, Gavaskar stroked the ball to all parts of the field. Hedecided to stick to the basics and played some lovely drives withinthe ‘V’. A straight drive of Dhiraj Kumar was a treat to watch. DeepDasgupta, however, was a bit lucky. There were a number of times whenhe flashed hard and was lucky to see the ball going wide of thefielders behind the wicket. However, both scored at more than a run aminute against the insipid attack. Rohan reached his 100 in 227minutes, cutting Tariqur Rahman to the point boundary. Dasguptahowever was to be denied a century. When he was 89 (134 balls, 11×4)he flashed hard at Dheeraj Kumar only to be caught by Kunjan Sharan atpoint. Gavaskar however, remained unbeaten on 121 (257 m, 174 balls11x4) when the declaration was made.When Bihar batted, the Bengal bowling also lacked penetration.However, bad batting resulted in the loss of three wickets. SkipperRajiv Kumar symbolised this. With about 15 minutes left for thescheduled close, he tried to lift Utpal Chatterjee over mid on only tolob a simple catch to Gavaskar. Earlier, Shib Shankar Pal had givenBengal the breakthrough, dismissing Zeeshan Yaquin after the openershad put on 59. The batsmen played down the wrong line and his middlestump went cartwheeling.With the Trinamul Congress having called for a bandh tomorrow, therewere doubts as to whether the third day’s play would be possible.However, it was decided that the entire Bengal team would stay in ahotel close to the ground so that if necessary they could even walk into the stadium.