Andrew Flintoff linked up with England’s one-day squad in Adelaide in the hope and belief that his recent fitness problems are behind him.Flintoff has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation in England since before Christmas, when he was sent home after making a slower-than-expected recovery from a double hernia operation in September.”I have just been on an intense four-week programme under the guidance of (ECB medical officer) Dr Peter Gregory and I spent anything from three to six hours a day training,” Flintoff said.”A range of building up the groin area, a lot of leg weights, a lot of running, rowing, cycling, cross training and running around hills in Bolton. It’s been a hard few weeks but I am probably as fit as I have ever been.””The time-spans we were talking about meant I should have been fit, it was just unfortunate that I took a bit longer to heal. I did all the rehab that was asked of me before I came out and I have done rehab since then. I just needed time to get fully fit.”I have worked hard since I had the operation and looking forward now, everything else is behind me. I am probably as fit now as I have been for 12 months.””My weight is the same I have just lost body fat. I have not put a pound on since the tour of New Zealand last year. A lot of it was to do with the series in India and New Zealand, bowling long spells.”Before that I had never bowled those type of overs before. Also my diet is probably better and I have spent a lot more time down the gym. There was a spell when I was younger, between the age of 14 and 22 where my back was playing up so I didn’t do a great deal of running because of that.”Now I am on the treadmill, running outside and the back has been good for two years, touch wood.”Flintoff confessed to extreme frustration at missing the Ashes series, but now feels fit to challenge for a position in England’s World Cup team after securing a place in England’s 15-man squad.”Before it was a case of being in pain and there wasn’t a lot of confidence in my groin because of it, it was nowhere near the level it is now. I feel fully fit, have every confidence the groin is going to hold up and I am pain free.”Bowling is such an unnatural action; if you talk to bowlers a lot of them have had hernias and I think with the amount of cricket played that it’s inevitable from time to time that you are going to pick up injuries and hernia is quite a common one.”I was obviously disappointed and frustrated not to be involved in the Ashes. But there was not a great deal I could do, I had to look forward and look at the World Cup and get fit for that.”I have not played international cricket now since the Headingley Test match so that’s four months gone and I am definitely fresh and raring to go.”

Was it the finest one-day win by New Zealand? Was it the finest individual innings by a New Zealander in a One-Day International? Was it a sign of greater consistency to come in the one-day game?All are questions that could rightfully be asked after New Zealand’s nine-wicket win over South Africa at the World Cup at the Wanderers’ Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday.Was it the finest one-day win?It was certainly an outstanding win, achieved under some pressure with the refusal to go to Kenya the main reason.But the finest?It was an early game in the competition. It was a rain-affected result, and yes, New Zealand were right up and over the Duckworth/Lewis requirement. But the fact remains that scoring 307 to win would have been the real icing on the cake.So far, the victory in the ICC KnockOut at Nairobi in 2000 still ranks above it. That too, was achieved under pressure from the first time New Zealand had been in a major international tournament final.Yesterday is up there, but is one of a cluster of matches of impact: the 1992 World Cup opener against Australia, the victory over South Africa in Brisbane last summer, Jeff Wilson’s victory over Australia at Hamilton in 1992/93, the win over England at Adelaide in 1982/83 when scoring 297 to win, the victory over Australia at the 1999 World Cup and so on.As for the finest individual innings?Again, it is a matter of situations. Certainly, it was a vital innings for New Zealand, a World Cup-saver. History may judge it more significantly in the context of the tournament.But there is still the feeling that Chris Cairns’ effort in Nairobi still edges it out.It was great to see Stephen Fleming finally realise his potential, and it may be the forerunner of things to come. However, it too must rest among a clutch of innings in more recent times at least that include Cairns’ effort against South Africa in the afore-mentioned match at Brisbane, Nathan Astle at Carisbrook in the last two summers against Pakistan and England respectively where his centuries won both series.Whatever the call on great innings, it is to be hoped that with this team now playing as a side that could almost last through until the next World Cup, that some consistency can develop in the New Zealand game.That has been sadly lacking in recent times, to the eternal frustration of supporters.But knowing they can compete, away from home, against the best in the game, has to be a big boost to New Zealand.They did it at the 1999 World Cup, but didn’t kick on, largely as the result of injuries.This time they have a great opportunity. Even if injuries should occur over the next season or two, there is a core of players developed and more waiting in the wings to at last allow New Zealand supporters to believe that they might reasonably expect their side to win more often than they lose.

ADELAIDE, March 6 AAP – South Australian opener David Fitzgerald batted throughout the opening day to put the Redbacks in firm command of their Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval today.At stumps, SA was 1-266 after winning the toss, Fitzgerald unbeaten on 127 from 283 balls for his third century of the season and skipper Greg Blewett on 61.Fitzgerald shared an opening stand of 137 with Shane Deitz, who was bowled by paceman Damien Wright for 57 late in the second session when he played an attempted pull shot onto his stumps.The openers scored only 60 from 29 overs in the opening session on a flat pitch, but it laid a solid platform from which SA was able to launch an assault in the final two sessions.An increasingly confident and free-scoring Fitzgerald and Blewett put on an unbroken 129-run second-wicket stand, including 106 in the final session.”We’ve had a tendency to get one little partnership and then lose a few quick wickets, so it was important to just keep building and building and play to our strengths,” Fitzgerald told reporters.The SA batsmen were helped when Tigers paceman Adam Griffith suffered a strain to his right hamstring in the second session and he did not bowl in the final session.Tasmanian coach Brian McFadyen said Griffith was to receive an ultrasound tonight and depending on the result of that test, might not bowl again tomorrow.The young paceman had already missed last week’s match against SA in Hobart with thigh and calf injuries.Should he be unavailable, it would leave the Tigers with a very thin pace attack of Gerard Denton and Wright, himself returning from injury.Left-arm orthodox spinners Daniel Marsh and Xavier Doherty both had little impact today, Doherty in particular with 0-81 from 22 overs, tiring late in the day and conceding 14 runs from his final over.With SA having no chance to make the Cup final after last week’s outright loss in Hobart, Fitzgerald said the team had been intent simply on getting the best out of each discipline in this match.He said his century gave him something positive to take away from the summer.”It’s been a funny season, this is my third century, but I’ve had quite a few starts and probably haven’t gone on, so that’s been disappointing, but to get another century is very pleasing,” he said.

Michael Vaughan has confirmed his interest in taking over the one-day captaincy from Nasser Hussain, insisting that he believes the future is bright for England in the limited-overs game.Vaughan returned from South Africa with the rest of the squad this morning after their elimination from the World Cup and a disappointing Ashes tour.Speaking at Manchester Airport, Vaughan said: “I seriously think we have come on leaps and bounds, not just over the tour but the last two years. When Australia came here in 1999 and played us in one-day cricket they hammered us in every single game.”Three out of the last five games we have played them in one-day cricket weshould have come out on top. You just see what they are doing to other teams in world cricket. So to get near to Australia in a few games is quite a good achievement.”Vaughan has little experience of captaincy, but would relish the challenge of leading England in one-day games.”The only way to find out is by having a go,” he said. “The best way to learn and gain experience is by going out and doing it. I am up for the challenge.If the selectors sit down and offer me the job there is no way I can refuse.”At the moment I am physically and mentally drained from a long winter, so the next six weeks I am going to sit down and work out a few things. Within those six weeks if I get offered the job I am going to take it.”But there are going to be plenty of candidates, not just within the team butoutside the team. The selectors are going to have a hard job and will have to make some tough decisions. Obviously, if they offer it to me I would be delighted.”It’s been a good winter and the Test matches against Australia went reallywell,” he added. “I am reasonably happy with the way I played. To get knocked out of the World Cup and not reach the Super Sixes is a bitter disappointment as it is a spectacular event.”I would love still to be in South Africa. But it has been a long haul afterleaving in October and I am looking forward to seeing family and friends.”Lancashire’s James Anderson intends taking his game further after a rapid rise through the ranks. He won two watches for man-of-the-match performances.”They are going on the mantelpiece when I get home,” Anderson said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but being around the team has been incredible. The atmosphere everywhere was unbelievable.”I tried to enjoy every minute, the only shame was we had a disappointing finish. Now it is important I build on what I have learned. The senior players were all very helpful. I have got to keep trying to improve and keep working on my action.”

Test (result) No. How out Runs Ct/St No. O M R W(* = not out; + = highest scorer in innings)1992/93, v INDIA IN ZIMBABWE1 Only Test (D) (7) b M Prabhakar 59 1/0(Harare SC) (6) not out 1* -1992/93, v NEW ZEALAND IN ZIMBABWE2 First Test (D) (7) c M J Haslam b M L Su’a 81 + -(Bulawayo AC) did not bat – 1/03 Second Test (L) (6) c D N Patel b D J Nash 14 4/0(Harare SC) (6) c +A C Parore b D N Patel 9 0/11992/93, v INDIA IN INDIA4 Only Test (L) (5) st V Yadav b Maninder Singh 115 + 1/1(Delhi) (5) not out 62*+ -1993/94, v PAKISTAN IN PAKISTAN5 First Test (L) (5) lbw b Ata-ur-Rehman 63 + 4/0(Karachi) (5) c Inzamam-ul-Haq b Mushtaq Ahmed 21 -6 Second Test (L) (5) c Wasim Akram b Waqar Younis 12 1/0(Rawalpindi) (5) c +Rashid Latif b Waqar Younis 0 2/07 Third Test (D) (5) not out 62*+ -(Lahore) did not bat – – (8) 0.1 0 0 01994/95, v SRI LANKA IN ZIMBABWE8 First Test (D) (5) c +P B Dassanayake b W P U J C Vaas 26 1(Harare SC) did not bat – -9 Second Test (D) (5) c M Muralitharan b HDPK Dharmasena 50 -(Queens SC) did not bat – 110 Third Test (D) (5) c +HP Tillakaratne b W P U J C Vaas 10 3(Harare SC) did not bat – -1994/95, v PAKISTAN IN ZIMBABWE11 First Test (W) (5) c Wasim Akram b Kabir Khan 156 1/0(Harare SC) did not bat – 2/012 Second Test (L) (5) c Ijaz Ahmed b Kabir Khan 14 2/0(Queens SC) (5) lbw b Wasim Akram 8 -13 Third Test (L) (5) c Aaqib Javed b Manzoor Elahi 37 + 1/0(Harare SC) (4) c Aamir Nazir b Manzoor Elahi 35 + 4/01995/96, v SOUTH AFRICA IN ZIMBABWE14 Only Test (L) (3) b B N Schultz 7 1/0(Harare SC) (5) c +D J Richardson b A A Donald 63 + 1/01995/96, v NEW ZEALAND IN NEW ZEALAND15 First Test (D) (5) c C M Spearman b R J Kennedy 6 3/0(Hamilton) (5) not out 58* 1/016 Second Test (D) (5) lbw b G I Allott 35 3/0(Auckland) (4) not out 45* 1/01996/97, v SRI LANKA IN SRI LANKA17 First Test (L) (4) c A Ranatunga b H D P K Dharmasena 2 1/0(Colombo Pre) (5) c R S Mahanama b M Muralitharan 0 -18 Second Test (L) (5) run out (?) 3 2/1(Colombo SSC) (5) c A P Gurusinha b M Muralitharan 31 -1996/97, v PAKISTAN IN PAKISTAN19 First Test (D) (5) lbw b Shahid Nazir 11 1/1(Sheikhapura) (5) b Shahid Nazir 18 -20 Second Test (L) (6) c Mohammad Hussain b Shahid Nazir 61 + 4/0(Faisalabad) (6) c Saeed Anwar b Waqar Younis 23 -1996/97, v ENGLAND IN ZIMBABWE21 First Test (D) (5) c +A J Stewart b P C R Tufnell 112 + 1/0(Queens SC) (5) c J P Crawley b P C R Tufnell 14 -22 Second Test (D) (5) lbw b D Gough 6 2/0(Harare SC) did not bat – -1997/98, v NEW ZEALAND IN ZIMBABWE23 First Test (D) (3) c C M Spearman b C L Cairns 8 2/0(Harare SC) (3) c +A C Parore b S B O’Connor 20 2/024 Second Test (D) (3) c C Z Harris b D L Vettori 39 0/0(Queens SC) (3) c and b C Z Harris 7 -1997/98, v SRI LANKA IN SRI LANKA25 First Test (L) (4) lbw b W P U J C Vaas 8 0/0(Kandy) (5) c R S Mahanama b M Muralitharan 67 -26 Second Test (L) (5) c and b S D Anurasiri 8 3/0(Colombo SSC) (6) not out 105*+ 2/01997/98, v NEW ZEALAND IN NEW ZEALAND27 First Test (L) (5) c +A C Parore b S B O’Connor 2 3/0(Wellington) (6) c S B O’Connor b D L Vettori 6 -28 Second Test (L) (5) c C D McMillan b D J Nash 65 + 2/0(Auckland) (5) c +A C Parore b C L Cairns 83 + -1997/98, v PAKISTAN IN ZIMBABWE29 First Test (D) (5) c +Rashid Latif b Shoaib Akhtar 44 2/0(Queens SC) (6) not out 100* 2/030 Second Test (L) (5) lbw b Waqar Younis 1 2/0(Harare SC) (5) c Inzamam-ul-Haq b Mushtaq Ahmed 49 1/11998/99, v INDIA IN ZIMBABWE31 Only Test (W) (5) c R R Singh b J Srinath 30 2/0(Harare SC) (6) not out 41* 2/01998/99, v PAKISTAN IN PAKISTAN32 First Test (W) (5) b Waqar Younis 0 2/0(Peshawar) (5) not out 17* 2/033 Second Test (D) (5) not out 60*+ 1/0(Lahore) did not bat – -1999/2000, v AUSTRALIA IN ZIMBABWE34 Only Test (L) (5) c M E Waugh b G D McGrath 28 3/0(Harare SC) (6) c +I A Healy b G D McGrath 0 -1999/2000, v SOUTH AFRICA IN SOUTH AFRICA35 Only Test (L) (5) lbw b S M Pollock 13 1/0(Bloemfontein) (5) lbw b J H Kallis 39 -1999/2000, v SOUTH AFRICA IN ZIMBABWE36 Only Test (L) (5) c +M V Boucher b S M Pollock 8 2/0(Harare SC) (5) b A A Donald 14 -1999/2000, v SRI LANKA IN ZIMBABWE37 First Test (D) (5) cM Muralitharan b GP Wickremasinghe 86 + 4/0(Queens SC) (5) not out 15* -38 Second Test (L) (5) lbw b W P U J C Vaas 74 + 3/0(Harare SC) (6) c M S Atapattu b S T Jayasuriya 129 + 1/039 Third Test (D) (5) c R P Arnold b W P U J C Vaas 14 4/0(Harare SC) (5) not out 70*+ 1/01999/2000, v WEST INDIES IN WEST INDIES40 First Test (L) (5) not out 113*+ 2/0(Port-of-Spain) (5) c +R D Jacobs b F A Rose 5 2/041 Second Test (L) (5) b F A Rose 66 4/0(Kingston) (5) b R D King 10 -2000, v ENGLAND IN ENGLAND42 First Test (L) (5) c M A Atherton b E S H Giddins 24 + 1/0(Lord’s) (6) lbw b D Gough 2 -43 Second Test (D) (5) b D Gough 42 0/0(Nottingham) did not bat – 5/02000/01, v NEW ZEALAND IN ZIMBABWE44 First Test (L) (5) c N J Astle b C L Cairns 29 2/0(Queens SC) (5) lbw b N J Astle 22 0/045 Second Test (L) (5) lbw b C D McMillan 48 2/1(Harare SC) (5) c M S Sinclair b S B O’Connor 65 0/02000/01, v INDIA IN INDIA46 First Test (L) (5) not out 183*+ 1/0(Delhi) (5) lbw b A B Agarkar 70 + 0/047 Second Test (D) (5) c +V Dahiya b A B Agarkar 55 1/0(Nagpur) (5) not out 232*+ -2000/01, v NEW ZEALAND IN NEW ZEALAND48 Only Test (D) (5) c +A C Parore b C S Martin 79 1/0(Wellington) did not bat – 2/02000/01, v BANGLADESH IN ZIMBABWE49 First Test (W) (5) c Naimur Rahman b Monjurul Islam 73 2/0(Queens SC) did not bat – -50 Second Test (W) (5) run out (Javed Omer) 23 1/1(Harare SC) did not bat – 3/02000/01, v INDIA IN ZIMBABWE51 First Test (L) (5) c S S Das b A D Nehra 51 3/0(Queens SC) (6) c S Ramesh b A D Nehra 83 -52 Second Test (W) (5) c S S Das b Harbhajan Singh 45 1/0(Harare SC) (8) not out 8* 4/02001/02, v SOUTH AFRICA IN ZIMBABWE53 First Test (L) (5) lbw b S M Pollock 142 + 1/0(Harare SC) (5) not out 199*+ -54 Second Test (D) (5) c N D McKenzie b C W Henderson 67 1/1(Queens SC) (5) not out 14*2001/02, v BANGLADESH IN BANGLADESH55 First Test (D) (5) b Enamul Hoque 28 2/0(Dhaka) did not bat – -56 Second Test (W) (5) not out 114* 1/0(Chittagong) did not bat – 0/12001/02, v SRI LANKA IN SRI LANKA57 First Test (L) (5) b T T Samaraweera 42 3/0(Colombo SSC) (6) lbw b D N T Zoysa 10 -58 Second Test (L) (5) c +K Sangakkara b M Muralitharan 8 1/0(Kandy) (5) lbw b T C B Fernando 11 -59 Third Test (L) (5) c H P Tillakaratne b M Muralitharan 6 2/0(Galle) (5) c DPMD Jayawardene b S T Jayasuriya 3 -2001/02, v INDIA IN INDIA60 First Test (L) (4) b Z Khan 3 1(Nagpur) (4) c R S Dravid b A R Kumble 861 Second Test (L) (4) c S S Das b Harbhajan Singh 92 -(Delhi) (4) c S S Das b Harbhajan Singh 0 12002/03, v PAKISTAN IN PAKISTAN62 First Test (L) (5) c +Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Sami 29 2(Harare SC) (5) c and b Shoaib Akhtar 67 -63 Second Test (L) (5) c Inzamam-ul-Haq b Shoaib Akhtar 30 – (6) 0.2 0 4 0(Queens SC) (5) lbw b Waqar Younis 13 -RESULTS OF TEST MATCHES PLAYED INPlayed 63 Won 7 Lost 34 Drawn 22(65 possible since debut)MOST CONSECUTIVE TESTS PLAYED52, from 1992/93 to 2000/01MOST CONSECUTIVE TESTS MISSED2 (injury) in 2000/01TEST CAREER RECORDNote: for statistical purposes, the English season of 2000 is included here under 1999/2000.RECORD IN EACH SERIESM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI1992/93 v I (H) 1 2 1 60 59 60.00 – 1 1/0v NZ (H) 2 3 0 104 81 34.66 – 1 5/1v I (A) 1 2 1 177 115 177.00 1 1 1/11993/94 v P (A) 3 5 1 158 63 39.50 – 2 7/0 0.1 0 0 0 –1994/95 v SL (H) 3 3 0 86 50 28.66 – 1 5v P (H) 3 5 0 250 156 50.00 1 – 10/01995/96 v SA (H) 1 2 0 70 63 35.00 – 1 2/0v NZ (A) 2 4 2 144 58* 72.00 – 1 8/01996/97 v SL (A) 2 4 0 36 31 9.00 – – 3/1v P (A) 2 4 0 113 61 28.25 – 1 5/1v E (H) 2 3 0 132 112 44.00 1 – 3/01997/98 v NZ (H) 2 4 0 74 39 18.50 – – 4/0v SL (A) 2 4 1 188 105* 62.66 1 1 5/0v NZ (A) 2 4 0 156 83 39.00 – 2 5/0v P (H) 2 4 1 194 100* 64.66 1 – 7/11998/99 v I (H) 1 2 1 71 41* 71.00 – – 4/0v P (A) 2 3 2 77 60* 77.00 – 1 5/01999/00 v A (H) 1 2 0 28 28 14.00 – – 3/0v SA (A) 1 2 0 52 39 26.00 – – 1/0v SA (H) 1 2 0 22 14 11.00 – – 2/0v SL (H) 3 6 2 388 129 97.00 1 3 13/0v WI (A) 2 4 1 194 113* 64.66 1 1 8/02000 v E (A) 2 3 0 68 42 22.66 – – 6/02000/01 v NZ (H) 2 4 0 164 65 41.00 – 1 4/1v I (A) 2 4 2 540 232* 270.00 2 2 2/0v NZ (A) 1 1 0 79 79 79.00 – 1 3/0v B (H) 2 2 0 96 73 48.00 – 1 6/1v I (H) 2 4 1 187 83 62.33 – 2 8/02001/02 v SA (H) 2 4 2 422 199* 211.00 2 1 2/1v B (A) 2 2 1 142 114* 142.00 1 – 3/1v SL (A) 3 6 0 80 42 13.33 – – 6/0v I (A) 2 4 0 103 92 25.75 – 1 22002/03 v P (H) 2 4 0 139 67 34.75 – 1 2 0.2 0 4 0 –63 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –SEASON BY SEASON IN TEST CRICKETM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1992/93 4 7 2 341 115 68.20 1 3 7/21993/94 3 5 1 158 63 39.50 – 2 7/0 0.1 0 0 0 –1994/95 6 8 0 336 156 44.00 1 1 15/01995/96 3 6 2 214 63 53.50 – 2 10/01996/97 6 11 0 281 112 25.54 1 1 11/21997/98 8 16 2 612 105* 43.71 2 3 21/11998/99 3 5 3 148 60* 74.00 – 1 9/01999/2000 10 19 3 752 129 47.00 2 4 33/02000/01 9 15 3 1066 232* 88.83 2 7 23/22001/02 9 16 3 747 199* 57.46 3 2 13/22002/03+ 2 4 0 139 67 34.75 – 1 2 0.2 0 4 0 –63 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –(+ still in progress)200 RUNS IN A SERIESM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 502000/01 v India (Away) 2 4 2 540 232* 270.00 2 22001/02 v South Africa (Home) 2 4 2 422 199* 211.00 2 11999/00 v Sri Lanka (Home) 3 6 2 388 129 97.00 1 31994/95 v Pakistan (Home) 3 5 0 250 156 50.00 1 -RECORD AGAINST EACH COUNTRYM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wIv England 4 6 0 200 112 33.33 1 – 9/0v Australia 1 2 0 28 28 14.00 – – 3/0v South Africa 5 10 2 566 199* 70.75 2 2 7/1v West Indies 2 4 1 194 113* 64.66 1 1 8/0v New Zealand 11 20 2 721 83 40.05 – 6 29/2v India 9 18 6 1138 232* 94.83 3 7 18/1v Pakistan 14 25 4 931 156 44.33 2 5 36/2 0.3 0 4 0 –v Sri Lanka 13 23 3 778 129 38.90 2 5 32/1v Bangladesh 4 4 1 238 114* 79.33 1 1 9/263 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –RECORD IN EACH COUNTRYM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wIin Zimbabwe 32 56 8 2487 156 51.81 6 13 81/5 0.2 0 4 0 –in England 2 3 0 68 42 22.66 – – 6/0in Australia -in South Africa 1 2 0 52 39 26.00 – – 1/0in West Indies 2 4 1 194 113* 64.66 1 1 8/0in New Zealand 5 9 2 379 83 54.14 – 4 16/0in India 5 10 3 820 232* 117.42 3 4 5/1in Pakistan 7 12 3 348 63 38.66 – 4 17/1 0.1 0 0 0 –in Sri Lanka 7 14 1 304 105* 23.38 1 1 14/1in Bangladesh 2 2 1 142 114* 142.00 1 – 3/163 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –RECORD PER RESULTM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMWins 7 10 4 507 156 84.50 2 1 22/2Defeats 34 68 5 2713 199* 43.06 7 15 79/5 0.2 0 4 0 –Draws 22 34 10 1574 232* 65.58 3 11 50/2 0.1 0 0 0 –63 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –RECORD IN EACH INNINGSI NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1st innings 63 5 2822 183* 48.65 7 17 107/6 0.2 0 4 0 –2nd innings 49 14 1972 232* 56.34 5 10 44/3 0.1 0 0 0 –112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –RECORD IN EACH POSITION IN THE BATTING ORDERI NO Runs HS Av. 100 50No 3 5 0 81 39 16.20 – -No 4 8 1 193 92 27.57 – 1No 5 82 13 3788 232* 54.89 9 22No 6 14 4 584 129 58.40 3 2No 7 2 0 140 81 70.00 – 2No 8 1 1 8 8* — – -112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27RECORD AS CAPTAIN/NON-CAPTAINM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCaptain 20 34 6 1380 156 49.28 3 9 61/0 0.1 0 0 0 –Non-capt 43 78 13 3414 232* 52.52 9 18 90/9 0.2 0 4 0 –63 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –RECORD AS WICKET-KEEPER/NON-KEEPERM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMWicket-keeper 55 100 18 4404 232* 53.70 12 23 142/9Non-keeper 8 12 1 390 92 35.45 – 4 9 0.1 0 0 0 –63 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –RECORD ON DIFFERENT GROUNDSM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wIIn Zimbabwe:Harare SC 20 35 5 1535 199* 51.16 4 6 60/4Bulawayo AC 1 1 0 81 81 81.00 – 1 1/0Queens SC 11 20 3 871 112 51.23 2 6 20/132 56 8 2487 156 51.81 6 13 81/5Outside Zimbabwe 31 56 11 2307 232* 51.26 6 14 70/4In England:Lord’s 1 2 0 26 24 13.00 – – 1/0Nottingham 1 1 0 42 42 42.00 – – 5/0In South Africa:Bloemfontein 1 2 0 52 39 26.00 – – 1/0In West Indies:Kingston 1 2 0 76 66 38.00 – 1 4/0Port-of-Spain 1 2 1 118 113* 118.00 1 – 4/0In New Zealand:Auckland 2 4 1 228 83 76.00 – 2 6/0Hamilton 1 2 1 64 58* 64.00 – 1 4/0Wellington 2 3 0 87 79 29.00 – 1 6/0In India:Delhi 3 6 2 522 183* 130.50 2 3 3/1Nagpur 2 4 1 298 232* 99.33 1 1 2/0In Pakistan:Faisalabad 1 2 0 84 61 42.00 – 1 4/0Karachi (Defence) 1 2 0 84 63 42.00 – 1 4/0Lahore 2 2 2 122 62* — – 2 1/0Peshawar 1 2 1 17 17* 17.00 – – 4/0Rawalpindi 1 2 0 12 12 6.00 – – 3/0Sheikhapura 1 2 0 29 18 14.50 – – 1/1In Sri Lanka:Colombo (Premadasa) 1 2 0 2 2 1.00 – – 1/0Colombo (SSC) 3 6 1 199 105* 39.80 1 – 10/1Galle 1 2 0 9 6 4.50 – – 2/0Kandy 2 4 0 94 67 23.50 – 1 1/0In Bangladesh:Chittagong 1 1 1 114 114* — 1 – 1/1Dhaka 1 1 0 28 28 28.00 – – 2/063 112 19 4794 232* 51.54 12 27 151/9 0.3 0 4 0 –The following bowlers have captured Andy Flower’s wicket (numbers in the brackets indicatenumber of innings during which they faced each other):6 – Waqar Younis (P-20)5 – M Muralitharan (SL-22), W P U J C Vaas (SL-16)3 – C L Cairns (NZ-16), D Gough (E-6), Harbhajan Singh (I-10), S B O’Connor (NZ-10),S M Pollock (SA-8), Shahid Nazir (P-4), Shoaib Akhtar (P-7)2 – A B Agarkar (I-6), H D P K Dharmasena (SL-4), A A Donald (SA-6),S T Jayasuriya (SL-18), Kabir Khan (P-3), G D McGrath (A-2), Manzoor Elahi (P-4),Mushtaq Ahmed (P-7), D J Nash (NZ-8), A D Nehra (I-4), F A Rose (WI-4),P C R Tufnell (E-3), D L Vettori (NZ-9)1 – G I Allott (NZ-4), S D Anurasiri (SL-2), N J Astle (NZ-11), Ata-ur-Rehman (P-5),Enamul Hoque (B-3), T C B Fernando (SL-6), C W Henderson (SA),E S H Giddins (E-3), C Z Harris (NZ-4), J H Kallis (SA-2), R J Kennedy (NZ-4),Z Khan (I-8), R D King (WI-4), A R Kumble (I-10), C D McMillan (NZ-5),Maninder Singh (I-2), Mohammad Sami (P-4), Monjurul Islam (B-2),M Prabhakar (I-4), D N Patel (NZ-7), T T Samaraweera (SL-5), B N Schultz (SA-2),J Srinath (I-6), M L Su’a (NZ-3), G P Wickremasinghe (SL-8), Wasim Akram (P-17),D N T Zoysa (SL-6)Particularly impressive is Andy’s record against Wasim Akram, who dismissed him only once inthe 17 innings in which they have faced each other. In addition Saqlain Mushtaq has yet todismiss him in 11 innings.Details of dismissals:bowled 11 11.83lbw 18 19.35caught 41 44.09caught by wicketkeeper 17 18.28caught and bowled 3 3.23stumped 1 1.07run out 2 2.15TOTAL 93 100.00%BREAKDOWN OF INNINGSScore Out Not out0 5 11-9 22 110-19 14 320-29 11 -30-39 8 -40-49 6 250-59 4 160-69 9 370-79 4 180-89 4 -90-99 1 -100-109 – 2110-119 2 2120-129 1 -130-139 – -140-149 1 -150-199 1 2200-250 – 1DOUBLE-CENTURY232* off 444 balls (200 – 392 balls) 30×4 2×6 v India (Nagpur) 2000/01CENTURIES1 115 off 236 balls (100 – ? balls) 15×4 v India (Delhi) 1992/932 156 off 245 balls (100 – 157 balls) 18×4 1×6 v Pakistan (Harare SC) 1994/953 112 off 330 balls (100 – 312 balls) 12×4 v England (Queens SC) 1996/974 105* off 238 balls (100 – 233 balls) 10×4 1×6 v Sri Lanka (Colombo SSC) 1997/985 100* off 217 balls (100 – 217 balls) 6×4 v Pakistan (Queens SC) 1997/986 129 off 304 balls (100 – 220 balls) 8×4 v Sri Lanka (Harare SC) 1999/007 113* off 290 balls (100 – 262 balls) 12×4 v West Indies (Pt-of-Spain) 1999/008 183* off 351 balls (100 – 201 balls) 24×4 2×6 v India (Delhi) 2000/019 232* off 444 balls (100 – 196 balls) 30×4 2×6 v India (Nagpur) 2000/0110 142 off 200 balls (100 – 149 balls) 21×4 1×6 (v South Africa (Harare SC) 2001/0211 199* off 470 balls (100 – 196 balls) 24×4 1×6 (12 114* off 150 balls (100 – ??? balls) 13×4 v Bangladesh (Chittagong) 2001/02HIGHEST SCORE AGAINST EACH COUNTRYv England 112 Queens Sports Club 1996/97v Australia 28 Harare Sports Club 1999/2000v South Africa 199* Harare Sports Club 2000/01v West Indies 113* Port-of-Spain 1999/2000v New Zealand 83 Auckland 1997/98v India 232* Nagpur 2000/01v Pakistan 156 Harare Sports Club 1994/95v Sri Lanka 129 Harare Sports Club 1999/2000v Bangladesh 114* Chittagong 2001/02TWO CENTURIES IN THE SAME MATCH142 and 199* v South Africa Harare Sports Club 2000/01CENTURY AND FIFTY IN THE SAME MATCH115 and 62* v India Delhi 1992/9374 and 129 v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club 1999/2000183* and 70 v India Delhi 2000/0155 and 232* v India Nagpur 2000/01TWO FIFTIES IN THE SAME MATCH65 and 83 v New Zealand Auckland 1997/9851 and 83 v India Queens Sports Club 2000/01200 RUNS IN A MATCH341 (142 and 199*) v South Africa, at Harare Sports Club 2001/02287 (55 and 232*) v India, at Nagpur 2000/01253 (183* and 70) v India, at Delhi 2000/01203 (74 and 129) v Sri Lanka, at Harare Sports Club 1999/20007 SUCCESSIVE FIFTIES2000/01 65 v New Zealand Harare Sports Club183* and 70 v India Delhi55 and 232* v India Nagpur79 v New Zealand Wellington73 v Bangladesh Queens Sports ClubThis sequence of 7 successive fifties equals the record of E D Weekes (West Indies) in 1947.48 and1948/49. He scored 2 more fifties in the next three innings, making it 9 fifties in 10 inningsaltogether.TOP SCORER IN BOTH INNINGS OF A MATCH142 (286) and 199* (391) v South Africa Harare Sports Club 2000/01(In this match he scored more than half his team’s total runs)115 (322) and 62* (201) v India Delhi 1992/9337 (243) and 35 (139) v Pakistan Harare Sports Club 1994/9565 (170) and 83 (277) v New Zealand Auckland 1997/9874 (174) and 129 (292) v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club 1999/2000183* (422/9d) and 70 (225) v India Delhi 2000/0151 (173) and 83 (328) v India Queens Sports Club 2000/01Andy Flower has been top scorer in 29 innings of a possible 112. The other instances are:81 (out of 219) v New Zealand Bulawayo Athletic Club 1992/9363 (out of 289) v Pakistan Karachi 1993/9462* (out of 230) v Pakistan Lahore 1993/9463 (out of 283) v South Africa Harare Sports Club 1995/9661 (out of 133) v Pakistan Faisalabad 1996/97112 (out of 376) v England Queens Sports Club 1996/97105* (out of 299) v Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 1997/9860* (out of 183) v Pakistan Lahore 1998/9986 (out of 286) v Sri Lanka Queens Sports Club 1999/200070* (out of 197/7d) v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club 1999/2000113* (out of 236) v West Indies Port-of-Spain 1999/200024 (out of 83) v England Lord’s 2000232* (out of 503/6d) v India Nagpur 2000/01114 (equal – out of 542/7d) v Bangladesh Chittagong 2001/0242 (out of 184) v Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 2001/02CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS277* for 5th M W Goodwin (166*) and A Flower (100*) v Pakistan (Queens SC) 1997/98(This is the record stand for any wicket for Zimbabwe in Test cricket.)269 for 4th G W Flower (201*) and A Flower (156) v Pakistan (Harare SC) 1994/95(This is a record partnership for brothers in Test cricket.)209 for 4th A D R Campbell (102) and A Flower (232*) v India (Nagpur) 2000/01192 for 4th G W Flower (96) and A Flower (115) v India (Delhi) 1992/93186 for 4th H Masakadza (85) and A Flower (199*) v South Africa (Harare SC) 2001/02176 for 4th M W Goodwin (113) and A Flower (66) v West Indies (Port-of-Spain) 1999/00165 for 6th D L Houghton (121) and A Flower (59) v India (Harare Sports Club) 1992/93149 for 4th G J Whittall (119) and A Flower (73) v Bangladesh (Queens SC) 2000/01131 for 5th A Flower (65) and G J Whittall (188*) v New Zealand (Harare SC) 2000/01130 for 4th G J Rennie (93) and A Flower (79) v New Zealand (Wellington) 2000/01125 for 7th A Flower (129) and G J Whittall (53*) v Sri Lanka (Harare SC) 1999/00122 for 4th M W Goodwin (148*) and A Flower (42) v England (Nottingham) 2000121 for 4th D L Houghton (266) and A Flower (50) v Sri Lanka (Queens SC) 1994/95117 for 4th T R Gripper (41) and A Flower (113*) v West Indies (Port-of-Spain) 1999/00116 for 4th A Flower (92) and D D Ebrahim (94) v India (Delhi) 2001/02113 for 6th A Flower (232*) and D P Viljoen (38) v India (Nagpur) 2000/01101 for 5th M W Goodwin (48) and A Flower (129) v Sri Lanka (Harare SC) 1999/00101 for 6th A Flower (83) and G W Flower (71) v India (Queens SC) 2000/01He also shares in the record for the following partnership:97* for 10th A Flower (183*) and H K Olonga (11*) v India (Delhi) 2000/01WICKET-KEEPING DISMISSALS10 DISMISSALS IN A SERIES13 (all ct) v Sri Lanka (Home – 3 Tests) 1999/200010 (all ct) v Pakistan (Home – 3 Tests) 1994/95WICKET-KEEPING CATCHESAndy Flower has dismissed 142 batsmen to catches as a wicket-keeper in Test cricket. His victimsare as follows:5 – Saeed Anwar (P), A C Parore (NZ)4 – N J Astle (NZ), M S Atapattu (SL), R S Dravid (I), M J Horne (NZ), S T Jayasuriya (SL),R S Kaluwitharana (SL)3 – Inzamam-ul-Haq (P), C M Spearman (NZ), H P Tillakaratne (SL), G P Wickremasinghe (SL)2 – Aamer Sohail (P), A B Agarkar (I), Ali Naqvi (P), R P Arnold (SL), Azhar Mahmood (P),A R Caddick (E), S Chanderpaul (WI), S S Dighe (I), S P Fleming (NZ), S C Ganguly (I),Habibul Bashar (B), Ijaz Ahmed (P), G Kirsten (SA), Manzoor Elahi (P), C D McMillan (NZ),Rashid Latif (P), F A Rose (WI), Saleem Malik (P), Shakeel Ahmed (P), Shoaib Mohammad (P)1 – Aaqib Javed (P), C E L Ambrose (WI), Aminul Islam (B), R P Arnold (SL), Ashfaq Ahmed (P),Asif Mujtaba (P), A M Bacher (SA), Basit Ali (P), C L Cairns (NZ), J P Crawley (E),W J Cronje (SA), M D Crowe (NZ), D J Cullinan (SA), S S Das (I), S I de Saram (SL),T M Dilshan (SL), Enamul Hoque (B), A Flintoff (E), C H Gayle (WI), L K Germon (NZ),H H Gibbs (SA), M J Greatbatch (NZ), M J Haslam (NZ), G A Hick (E), N Hussain (E),I A Healy (A), R D Jacobs (WI), Javed Omer (B), D P M D Jayawardene (SL),Khaled Mashud (B), R D King (WI), N V Knight (E), A Kumble (I), R T Latham (NZ),R S Mahanama (SL), Mashrafe Mortaza (B), Moin Khan (P), Monjurul Islam (B),M Muralitharan (SL), Mushfiqur Rahman (B), Mushtaq Ahmed (P), M Prabhakar (I),M R Ramprakash (E), J N Rhodes (SA), K R Rutherford (NZ), T T Samaraweera (SL),Saqlain Mushtaq (P), N S Sidhu (I), M S Sinclair (NZ), M J Slater (A), J Srinath (I),A J Stewart (E), S R Tendulkar (I), R G Twose (NZ), S K Warne (A), Yousuf Youhana (P)Andy Flower’s catches have been made off the following bowlers:38 – H H Streak17 – B C Strang16 – H K Olonga9 – M Mbangwa, P A Strang, G J Whittall6 – D H Brain5 – A M Blignaut, E A Brandes, N C Johnson3 – A G Huckle2 – G B Brent, T J Friend, B T Watambwa1 – M G Burmester, G J Crocker, T R Gripper, D T Hondo, M P Jarvis, A C I Lock,D A Marillier, E Z Matambanadzo, B A Murphy, M L Nkala, S G Peall, R W Price,J A Rennie, A J TraicosSTUMPINGSAndy Flower’s nine stumpings in Test cricket have been at the expense of:1 – C L Cairns (NZ), Habibul Bashar (B), Inzamam-ul-Haq (P), A H Jones (NZ), Kapil Dev (I),G Kirsten (SA), Mashrafe Mortaza (B), Saeed Anwar (P), W P U J C Vaas (SL)His stumpings have been made off the following bowlers:3 – P A Strang2 – R W Price, A J Traicos1 – A G Huckle, D A MarillierCATCHES IN THE FIELDAndy Flower has dismissed the following 9 batsmen with catches in the field:2 – A P Gurusinha (SL)1 – H D P K Dharmasena (SL), R S Dravid (I), R S Mahanama (SL), K R Pushpakumara (SL),Saqlain Mushtaq (P), Taufeeq Umar (P), S R Tendulkar (I)The catches have been taken off the following bowlers:2 – R W Price, G J Whittall1 – A M Blignaut, D H Brain, M P Jarvis, P A Strang, H H Streak4 OR MORE DISMISSALS IN AN INNINGS5 (all ct) v England Nottingham 20004 (all ct) v New Zealand Harare Sports Club 1992/934 (all ct) v Pakistan Karachi 1993/944 (all ct) v Pakistan Harare Sports Club (3rd Test) 1994/954 (all ct) v Pakistan Faisalabad 1996/974 (all ct) v Sri Lanka Queens Sports Club 1999/20004 (all ct) v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club (3rd Test) 1999/20004 (all ct) v West Indies Kingston 1999/20004 (all ct) v India Harare Sports Club 2000/015 OR MORE DISMISSALS IN A MATCH5 (4 ct, 1 st) v New Zealand Harare Sports Club 1992/935 (all ct) v Sri Lanka Colombo (Sinhalese Sports Club) 1997/985 (all ct) v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club (3rd Test) 1999/20005 (all ct) v England Nottingham 20005 (all ct) v India Harare Sports Club 2000/01CAPTAINCYPlayed Won Lost Drawn Toss: Won Lostv England 2 – 1 1 1 1v Australia -v South Africa 2 – 2 – 1 1v West Indies 2 – 2 – 2 -v New Zealand 2 – – 2 1 1v India -v Pakistan 6 1 4 1 4 2v Sri Lanka 6 – 1 5 1 5v Bangladesh -TOTAL 20 1 10 9 10 10SERIES BY SERIESPlayed Won Lost Drawn Toss: Won Lost1993/94 v Pakistan (Away) 3 – 2 1 1 21994/95 v Sri Lanka (Home) 3 – – 3 1 2v Pakistan (Home) 3 1 2 – 3 -1995/96 v South Africa (Home) 1 – 1 – 1 -v New Zealand (Away) 2 – – 2 1 11999/2000 v South Africa (Home) 1 – 1 – – 1v Sri Lanka (Home) 3 – 1 2 – 3v West Indies (Away) 2 – 2 – 2 -v England (Away) 2 – 1 1 1 1TOTAL 20 1 10 9 10 10

Daniel Vettori and Marvan Atapattu have escaped serious injury after agruesome fielding collision on the third afternoon of the second Testbetween Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Kandy.However, the participation of both players in the last two days of the Testmatch is in doubt. The teams will wait until the morning before decidingwhether they are fit enough to continue.Both players were carried from the field and rushed to hospital in anambulance following a collision after Atapattu ran out Vettori to end theNew Zealand first innings.Fortunately, x-rays have revealed no serious damage to Vettori’s ankle or toAtapattu’s neck, which was fitted with a precautionary neck brace, althoughAtapattu, the Sri Lanka vice-captain, was mildly concussed.The players were discharged from hospital and sent back to their hotel,where they were advised to rest by doctors.Jeff Crowe, the New Zealand team manager, said: "The good news is that Dan[Vettori] does not have a fracture. His left ankle is heavily swollen and isin a splint.""We can make an assessment of it only after 24 hours," Crowe added. "Wewould err on the side of caution rather than rush him back into action."Ajit Jayasekera, the Sri Lanka team manager, said: "Marvan had two injuries,a spiked ankle and mild concussion after being hit behind the ear byVettori’s helmet. He should be okay in a day or two."

Bill Hughes (Romsey)Bill Hughes has been a stalwart member of the Hampshire committee for a number of years and had the vision and hard work capability to obtain The Rose Bowl site for the club and to see through the design, planning and construction start of the project.He sits on the ECB pitches research sub-committee, giving the club important representation at the top.When not at the cricket, 57 year old Bill is a Chartered Surveyor for Cluttons. Married with four sons he enjoys playing golf and taking part in country sports.

Just how close are India and Pakistan to playing each other in bilateral international cricket at the senior level? Not too close, if one goes by a statement yesterday from Yashwant Sinha, India’s foreign minister. Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Sinha said that the time hadn’t yet come for cricketing relations between the two countries to be fully restored.”We will resume sporting ties on a bilateral basis only when the time is right,” said Sinha. “Cricket will form part of the normalisation process.”When it comes to Pakistan, the Indian government has long linked cricket with politics. The recent thaw in relations at the political level led to resumption of cricketing ties being planned at the junior and A-team levels. India’s sports ministry green-lighted the BCCI’s request to send its junior team to Pakistan; meanwhile, Pakistan is organising a tournament in December with the A teams of the two countries, as well as Sri Lanka.But Indo-Pak relations have since deteriorated, with talks of peace giving way to the political rhetoric that has been standard fare for the last few years. That does not augur well for cricket fans.

The national final of the inaugural ECB Lady Taverner’s Under 15 and Under 13 Club Championship will be held on Saturday 12th July at Loughborough University.Over 150 girls teams began the tournament in April, with the winners from each of four regions (Midlands, North, South East and South West) securing places in the round-robin finals.Each team will play the other once, in a 8-over match and the team with the most points will win the competition.The teams competing in the U15 Club Competition are:Gilmortan (Derbys) representing the North; Lullington (Leics) representing the Midlands; The Mote (Kent) representing the South East and Mid Glamorgan (Wales) representing the South West.In the U13 Club Competition, teams competing are:West Notts (Notts) from the Midlands; Durham City (Durham) from the North; Aylesbury Girls (Bucks) from the South East and Bath (Somerset) from the South West.In May 2000, the ECB appointed four women’s club cricket development officers (WCCDOs), funded by Sport England, for the four regions. The emergence of 147 new girls’ cricket clubs since that time, culminating in the national finals, is a testament to the growth in the women’s game spearheaded by the WCCDOs.Speaking on the tournament, Gill McConway, ECB Executive Director for Women’s Cricket said Margaret Price from The Lady Taverners said In addition to the regional winners, the regional runners-up will compete for the ECB Lady Taverner’s Plate at Loughborough. In the U15 age group, the four clubs are: Tutbury (Staffs), Knaresborough (Yorks), Gerrards Cross (Bucks) and NW Dorset (Dorset).In the U13 age group, the teams are: Yardley (Warks), Headstone Dollies (Middlesex) and Bradnich (Devon).

SK Nair, the BCCI secretary, has denied reports of the Indian government refusing permission for the under-19 team’s tour to Pakistan. Speaking to Wisden CricInfo, Nair said that the board was awaiting the government’s sanction for the tour. “We are following it up with the Indian government at various levels.”Nair also said that the dates given in the news report in question were incorrect. He said that the Asian Cricket Council had proposed to hold four tournaments for junior, academy and A teams from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The tournament for the National Cricket Academy teams was proposed to be held in Sri Lanka in September, followed by an under-19 event in Pakistan in November. India were scheduled to host the last two tournaments – the A-team competition in December and the under-17 Asia Cup in January 2004.