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IN MEMORIAM -Maureen Boller – dear wife of Kevin Boller-CCA PRO/Historian.The CCA Board and Executive extend heartfelt condolences to Kevin Boller, ourlong-standing PRO and Historian, on the loss of his beloved wife andcompanion, Maureen on Sunday 16th February at Mt. Sinai Hospital Toronto.Maureen had been hospitalized for some months after having been ill over thepast year.A memorial service will be held for Maureen Boller next Saturday 22 February 2003 at 1:00p.m at the Humphrey Funeral Home-A. W. Miles Chapel, 1403 BayviewAve. Toronto, ON. Tel: (416) 487-4523.In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Canadian Cancer Society, 20Holly Street, Suite 101, Toronto, M4S 3B1.We ask for your prayers and support of Kevin in this tragic loss.Dr. Geoff Edwards

No praise is too high for this Australian side. They are anincredible one with unparalleled levels of self-belief.It’s hard to think of any side which could afford to do without players of thecalibre of Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds andboth Waughs, and still be competitive.It’s hard to think of any side being seven for 128 at the 40-over mark and making ascore remotely near 200.The Kiwis must be scratching their heads wondering what went wrong becausenot much did, yet still they lost by 96 runs.The decision to send Australia in was a brave one by Stephen Fleming. Itturned out to be an inspired one as Shane Bond ripped out the heart of theAustralian batting line-up. With Martyn and Bevan getting Australia backinto the game, he returned for a devastating second spell which yielded anadditional three wickets.New Zealand had Australia on their knees. They were bowling to a plan andcatching everything. For them it was a case of déjà vu. In a one-day game atMelbourne in January 2002, New Zealand were defending 245 and had Australiareeling at seven for 143 in the 37th over for Bevan, Lee and Bichel to guide themhome.Unfortunately for Fleming, just when he needed his strike bowlers most, hecouldn’t use them. He had to bowl Australia out for sub-150 knowing fullwell that the wicket would only get harder to bat on as the day went on.This must be a different pitch to the one Australia successfully chased 326on in April 2002.Australia must feel insurmountable now. They have won games they had noright to and are now looking at the prospect of playing Kenya in the semifinal.Assuming no wash outs or ties, the only way Kenya will miss out on the semifinals is if they lose both their remaining games and New Zealand defeatsIndia.New Zealand’s problem arose when they didn’t have a batting approach as sophisticatedas their bowling one. A target of 209 was still a very reachablescore and could easily have been attained with sensible batting.This tournament has thrown up some major surprises to date, but on the basisof what has happened at St George’s Park in the last two games, they wouldbe nothing if Australia do not end up defending their title.

Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell, who along with James Anderson and Paul Collingwood has been one of the success stories of the winter for England, spoke about the frustrations of missing out on the dramatic World Cup victory against Pakistan at the weekend.He told me: "The game was absolutely fantastic, it was probably more tense for me being on the sidelines because I couldn’t do a thing to influence the result. Albeit a resounding victory but I genuinely turned into a spectator watching from the outside.”He continued :"I must admit I really hope that I play on Wednesday as I haven’t got any finger nails left, and that was after a comfortable win!"Regarding his injury he said: " I had a fitness test on Saturday morning and I honestly would have said that I was around 80% fit. I felt as if I could have got through the game and I was bowling pain free during warm up. Dean Conway the physiotherapist and the captain chatted about my situation and thought that an extra four days recovery and treatment would be far more beneficial than risking me in the match."He continued: "I was gutted not to play and watching on the sidelines in such a big game the atmosphere just made me realise why we play this game in the first place. There must have been 15,000 people barracking for England. The ground had a real buzz to it, very similar to the atmosphere of the Lords Final two years ago when we beat Leicestershire."What about afterwards I asked him. "After the game I was delighted that we won but I found it hard to join in all the celebrations. I had a couple of beers and a glass of wine and went to bed while most of the other guys went out. I just couldn’t get worked up, the normal adrenaline rush of a win eluded me. Not like me I hear people cry" he said.Looking ahead to Wednesday’s game he said: " Everyone in the camp has a real sense of victory for the India game. They are a similar side to Pakistan, very talented but sometimes don’t fire."He went on: "Maybe someone is smiling on us after the fiasco of Zimbabwe and who knows it could be fate that we qualify. I’m not that superstitious but there seems to be that funny confident air about the team that was lacking in Australia."Did `Blackie’ think that he would be in the line up to face India in Wednesday’s crucial match. He told me: "I knew that giving up my place to Ashley Giles would possibly cause the management a few headaches and such an emphatic win will make it hard for them to change a winning side and that would hurt me. Giles didn’t put a foot wrong, he did what was asked and that is going to make their decision that little bit harder."He concluded: "I’m desperate to play against India and resume normal service. I don’t want to feel that bad after such a great win ever again."I’m sure that all Somerset readers will want to thank ‘Blackie’ for all the information that he has sent back for website and will be hoping that he is in the team on Wednesday and wish him every success in the match.

A thunderstorm brought relief on the fourth afternoon of the opening Test: relief from the sweltering heat and also from the dreary cricket, which had reached a stalemate after a dour, unbeaten 11th Test century from Hashan Tillakaratne. As the players fled the field for the safety of the dressing rooms, Sri Lanka were 424 for six.With thick black clouds piling down from the central highlands, and lightning criss-crossing the skies, the players took an early tea, though the prospect of play later in the day appeared slim. It mattered little. With Sri Lanka just 91 in arrears, the match was drifting towards an inevitable draw.Tillakaratne had played an uncharacteristically sparky hand on day three, gliding to 71 at the close, and outscoring the normally free-flowing Mahela Jayawardene. However, his determination to save this game, his first since taking over the captaincy, was evident as he crawled along today, finishing unbeaten on 126, having hit 21 fours.During the morning, Sri Lanka cantered along, powered by a blazing display from Romesh Kaluwitharana, who was returning to Test cricket after two years. Kaluwitharana cracked 76 from just 90 deliveries, hitting 13 boundaries, during a 107-run partnership with Tillakaratne for the sixth wicket.New Zealand had made the perfect start to the morning, removing Mahela Jayawardene in the first over, after he feathered a leg-cutter from Jacob Oram into the gloves of Robbie Hart behind the stumps (267 for 5). With Sri Lanka still needing 49 runs to avoid the follow on, New Zealand had an opportunity to make inroads into the Sri Lankan lower order.But Kaluwitharana and Tillakaratne saw off the second new ball, sped past the follow-on target and carried Sri Lanka to a position of safety during an entertaining partnership that spanned just 156 balls.Kaluwitharana was responsible for the bulk of the scoring, as Tillakaratne – all his concentration focussed on survival – contributed just 26 runs to the partnership. He wasted no time in launching his attack. He lived on the wild side, flashing a couple of early boundaries through the slip cordon, including an edge that bisected second and fourth slip when he had made just 15.Afterwards, however, apart from an edge off Daniel Vettori that dropped just short of Fleming at slip, his strokeplay was imperious, most of his runs coming from rifle-crack cuts and pulls. Scott Styris, who bowled his first spell of the game after recovering from a shoulder injury, was treated particularly harshly, being flayed for 28 runs in three trundling overs.Kaluwitharana had a chance to score his fourth Test hundred in a single session, but with the adrenaline pumping fast, he perished 30 minutes before the break. Dancing down the pitch to Paul Wiseman, he mistimed a lofted drive and was caught by Matthew Sinclair at midwicket(374 for 6).Soon after, Tillakaratne, who was joined by the first of the bowling allrounders, Kumar Dharmasena, kicked back into life with a brace of fours off Wiseman. A square cut off Shane Bond in the next over brought up his second consecutive hundred in Tests, the last one having come against South Africa at Centurion. He finished the session unbeaten on 105, having hit 17 fours. It was a knock that made the game safe, with a little help from the weather.

Derbyshire have signed the Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif, 22, as their secondoverseas player for the current season. Kaif, who has a four-month contract,will replace Shahid Afridi at the end of May, and is expected to make hisdebut against Glamorgan at Swansea on June 4.Derbyshire’s original choice, the New Zealander Nathan Astle, ruled himselfout after undergoing surgery on a tendon tear in his left knee and for ahernia earlier this month.Kaif played for India in the recent World Cup, and is well-known to Englishfans, after his combination with Yuvraj Singh in a 121-run sixth-wicketpartnership as India successfully chased England’s 325 in last year’sNatWest Series final at Lord’s. Kaif scored an unbeaten 87 in the two-wicketvictory.”He is a top signing. A real quality batsman and wonderful fielder,” saidDerbyshire’s coach Adrian Pierson. “Kaif should provide great value andentertainment for Derbyshire. We are very lucky to have him.”

The launch of Cutting Edge, the long-awaited autobiography of the controversial former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad, attracted a gathering of the great and the good in Karachi at the weekend. And Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, used theoccasion to praise Miandad’s many achievements.”Javed is the most committed cricketer I have come across in my three-and-a-half years’ association as board’s chairman,” Zia told thegathering. “Some players underachieved and never did justice to their talent, but Javed was one exception. When I took over as PCBchairman, Javed was the first man that I discussed cricket with. To know Javed one does not have to read the book because he is such a famous personality.”Miandad has never baulked at speaking his mind, but nevertheless he insisted that there were some things that he had not dealt with before that he had revealed in the book. “I wanted to express my feelingssince I had experienced a lot of difficulties during my career,” he explained. “I don’t want the current players to go through the ordeal I had to face.” With a mind to sales, he quickly added: “If you go through the book you will find out a lot about me which was never published in the past.”Miandad on his infamous clash with Dennis Lillee “I played a delivery from Lillee towards square leg and pushed off for a single.About three-quarters of the way down the pitch, I collided with him as he blocked my path and on his way back he kicked my pads and swore at me.”Miandad on playing against India “One of the greatest things about Pakistan-India cricket has been that despite the political uneasiness, relations between the players have always been excellentand players have come to loathe the mixing of politics and sports.”Miandad on Indian supporters “Rivalry with Pakistan apart, Indians are among the best cricket connoisseurs and know how to appreciate a performance.”Miandad on sledging “Sledging is one of the things that gives cricket an aggressive edge and it should be thought of asgamesmanship. Sledging is an art form in Australian cricket and Lillee used it better than most.”Cutting Edge, My Autobiography is published by the Oxford University Press.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 10 down the yearsJuly 9 | July 111949
In Bombay, one of the greatest openers of all time is born. Sunil Gavaskar was exhibiting little-mastery before Sachin Tendulkar was even born. A genius whose technique was absolutely immaculate and powers of concentration unending, Gavaskar had a career chock-full of highlights. He began with the most sensational debut series imaginable, in West Indies in 1970-71: four Tests, four centuries, 774 runs at an average of 154. That started Gavaskar’s Caribbean love-in. In 13 Tests there he made seven hundreds and averaged over 70. (By contrast, he averaged only 38 against England, his lowest against any country.) He made a record 34 Test hundreds – 22 of them in draws – although that doesn’t include one of his greatest knocks. In his last Test innings, in the series decider against Pakistan on a raging Bangalore turner in 1986-87, Gavaskar made a brilliant 96, and India lost by a heartbreaking 16 runs. There was the odd lowlight too – that infamous go-slow in the first World Cup match at Lord’s in 1975, being dismissed by the first ball of a Test a record three times, and a Test bowling average of 206. Zaheer Abbas made for a decent sole wicket, mind you.1976
Eighty minutes of sheer hell for Brian Close and John Edrich. England needed the small matter of 552 to beat West Indies at Old Trafford, with two days and a bit left. That bit turned out to one of the most terrifying passages of play in Test history. West Indies’ over-zealous pace attack landed virtually everything in their own half of the pitch, and Close in particular took some sickening blows, a process not aided by his penchant for chesting the ball like a centre-back. The venerable pair – at 45 and 39 respectively, Close and Edrich were both playing their last Test innings – were still there at the close, though. Edrich’s 24 was the highest by an England player in the whole match. The Wisden Almanack called it “disquieting cricket … [the bowling] was frequently too wild and too hostile to be acceptable”. West Indies’ captain Clive Lloyd said simply: “Our fellows got carried away.” Not much consolation for Close as he counted his bruises.1940
In Victoria, Keith Stackpole is born. A sanguine opener whose idea of seeing off the new ball involved hooking and cutting the life out of it, Stackpole actually started his Test career at No. 8. That nonsense didn’t last long, though. His highest score was a punishing 207 at Brisbane in the first Test of the 1970-71 Ashes series, although he should have been given run out on 18. If Stackpole made a century – there were seven in 43 Tests – Australia did not lose. But he ended his Test career with a pair, against New Zealand at Auckland in 1973-74. In 78 previous innings he had made only three ducks.1971
The slowest day of Test cricket in England. It was cool to play the tortoise all of a sudden as England and Pakistan crawled to only 159 runs off 107.4 overs on this, the third day of the third Test at Headingley. In a masterful piece of understatement, the Wisden Almanack described it as “poor fare for the Saturday crowd”.1990
The last day of Test cricket for Sir Richard Hadlee – and a rare series win for England, their first at home for five years. They beat New Zealand by 114 runs, with the unlikely pair of Devon Malcolm and Eddie Hemmings sharing 15 wickets. Hadlee bowed out with an immaculate performance – his 5 for 53 in the second innings gave the Kiwis a sniff after they trailed by 186 on first innings. And his last ball produced a wicket: Malcolm, lbw for 0. Hadlee nailed Malcolm for 0 in each innings – and then signed Malcolm’s rather bald run-chart.1975
The end of Mike Denness’s troubled reign as England captain was as good as assured once he put Australia in to bat after winning the toss in the first Test at Edgbaston. Australia rattled up 359 and then even the elements seemed to conspire against Denness. Heavy rain left the pitch treacherous, and seven wickets each for Dennis Lillee and Max Walker and five for Jeff Thomson sealed an innings victory. Denness resigned and was replaced by Tony Greig. It was also the debut for a moustacheless Graham Gooch who bagged a pair.1900
A dasher is born. South Africa may have been a poor side in the 1920s and `30s, but that didn’t affect Bob Catterall’s approach. He went after the bowling from the start, and was a high-class driver through the off side. He made back-to-back 120s in England in 1924, at Edgbaston and Headingley, even though South Africa lost on both occasions. Four years later Catterall did help win a Test against England, with 119 at Durban. He died in Transvaal in 1961.1975
A debut centurion is born. New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris was originally marked down as a bit of a one-day player, and made 45 appearances before his Test debut. That finally came in Antigua in 2002, and he marked it with 107, 69 not out – and the wicket of Brian Lara. Had rain not intervened on the final day, he might well have only the second man after Lawrence Rowein 1971-72 – ironically for West Indies, against New Zealand – to make two centuries on Test debut.1884
Persistent rain ruling out any play on the scheduled first day of a Test in England isn’t exactly unusual. But this one was to be the first day of Test cricket at Old Trafford. Washouts don’t come much more prescient – Tests in Manchester have been dogged by the weather ever since.Other birthdays
1928 Jack Nel (South Africa)
1934 Munir Malik (New Zealand)
1970 Klaas van Noortwijk (Holland)

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Surrey 401 and 249 for 3 lead Kent 352 for 5 by 300 runs at The Oval
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A generous declaration from Kent’s captain, David Fulton, gave Surrey an unlikely chance for victory, as Mark Butcher and Ali Brown set up a final-day run-chase with some bold hitting at The Oval. Kent had resumed on 101 for 2, still 300 runs adrift of Surrey’s first innings 401, but Ed Smith transformed the reply with a brilliant 135. He was given great support, first by Andrew Symonds (52), then by Matthew Walker, who added 124 for the fourth wicket, before setting up the declaration with 82 not out. Surrey, as expected, came charging out of the blocks. Butcher followed his first-innings century with 90 from 74 balls, and Brown was still there at the close on 63, a lead of 298.Lancashire 218 and 327 for 7 lead Essex 208 for 337 runs at Chelmsford
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Glen Chapple scored an unbeaten 101, his third first-class century and the timeliest yet, as Lancashire recovered from a dreadful start to take the upper hand against Essex at Chelmsford. Lancashire had established a slender lead of 10 by grabbing Essex’s last three wickets for 30, but that proved irrelevant as Scott Brant tore through the top-order in his now customary fashion. Brant removed Jamie Haynes and Mal Loye for ducks, before Carl Hooper and Mark Chilton counterattacked in a 79-run stand for the fifth wicket. Brant then left the field with a groin strain, and Chapple cashed in, with support from Chris Schofield and Warren Hegg. By the close, Essex couldn’t get off the field fast enough. Warwickshire 253 and 261 for 3 lead Leicestershire 328 by 186 runs at Leicester
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Mark Wagh and Ian Bell set up an intriguing final day, adding 224 for Warwickshire’s third wicket to leave them 186 runs ahead at the close, with seven wickets standing. It was an impressive recovery from Warwickshire, who had been left 75 runs adrift on first innings, thanks to Phil DeFreitas’s 45, and had been reduced to 20 for 2 by DeFreitas and Charlie Dagnall. But Wagh and Bell counterattacked superbly on a slow and flat pitch. Wagh reached his second Championship century of the season off 165 balls, and Bell was on course for one of his own, until he was run out for 93 by Virender Sehwag’s direct hit.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire 128 and 238 for 5 trail Yorkshire 314 for 7 by 78 runs at Derby
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Mohammad Kaif put his poor form behind him with a maiden Championship half-century, to lead Derbyshire’s rearguard against Yorkshire at Derby. Needing 316 runs to avoid an innings defeat, Kaif batted for over four hours to finish on 76 not out, as Derbyshire closed on 238 for 5, still 78 runs adrift. Nathan Dumelow provided Derbyshire’s inspiration in the morning session, scoring an unbeaten 60 from No. 10 to hoist their first-innings effort into triple figures. It wasn’t enough to avoid the follow-on, but Michael di Venuto kept up the good work, before being dismissed by Ryan Sidebottom for 74. It was Sidebottom’s seventh wicket of the match – he had finished with 6 for 38 in the first innings.Northamptonshire 218 and 87 for 3 beat Hampshire 125 and 179 by seven wickets at Northampton
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Northamptonshire recorded their third successive Division Two victory, beating Hampshire by seven wickets with a day to spare at Wantage Road. After Northants had resumed on their overnight 163 for 9, Ben Phillips and Jason Brown spun their tenth-wicket partnership out to a vital 77, a lead of 93. Hampshire, who had been bundled out for 125 in their first innings, fared scarcely better second-time around, reaching 179 as Damien Wright and Mike Cawdron picked up three wickets each. Northants were left the small matter of 87 for victory, and achieved it with ease, despite a three-wicket burst from James Tomlinson. Gloucestershire 228 and 436 for 5 lead Somerset 477 by 187 runs at Taunton
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Philip Weston walloped a wonderful 179, as Gloucestershire turned the tables on Somerset in a brilliant fightback at Taunton. Gloucestershire had started their second-innings 249 runs behind, and were in desperate trouble at 41 for 2 when Nixon McLean picked up two quick wickets on the third morning. But he was later hampered by a hamstring strain, and Jonty Rhodes helped stop the rot with 49. Matt Windows then joined the fight, adding 89 to a fourth wicket stand of 198. Weston was particularly strong through the covers, and reached his second consecutive off 163 balls. He eventually fell to Aaron Laraman, but Ian Harvey continued the carnage, thumping a breakneck 69 not out before the close. Worcestershire 218 and 198 beat Durham 120 and 265 by 31 runs at Worcester
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Durham were bowled out for 265 shortly after lunch on the third day at New Road, as Matt Mason and Gareth Batty shared all ten second-innings wickets to extend Worcestershire’s lead at the top of the second division. Durham had resumed on their overnight 145 for 3, still needing another 153 runs for victory, and though Gordon Muchall fell early to Mason, Gary Pratt kept Durham in the hunt with an impressive 85 – the highest individual innings of the match. But Vince Wells was bowled for 18 by Batty’s first delivery, and when Pratt, Phil Mustard and Shoaib Akhtar all fell in the space of five runs, the end was nigh. Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett clung on to add 22 for the final wicket, but Mason removed Harmison for his sixth of the innings – caught, appropriately enough, by Batty.

What should be done about Sachin Tendulkar’s Ferrari? Tendulkar applied for a duty exemption for it on the grounds that it was a gift to him for sporting feats accomplished while representing India, and that it would be unfair to penalise him for it. The objections are based on the argument that the laws that hold for other Indians should hold for him too – and that his considerable achievements don’t elevate him above the law.There is a precedent that Tendulkar could point to. In 1985, Ravi Shastri won the Champion-of-Champions award at the World Championship of Cricket held in Australia, and got an Audi for his efforts. Shastri was granted a customs duty exemption for that. On that occasion, though, the car was given by the tournament organisers for an award presented officially by them. It accompanied what was effectively the man-of-the-tournament award. Tendulkar’s Ferrari, on the other hand, was given to him by his sponsors, Fiat.Sceptics have argued that the gifting of the Ferrari could have been worked out between Tendulkar and Fiat at the time they were working out his endorsement contract – and that it thus represents a payment on which he is avoiding paying tax. Whether or not this is true is irrelevant. If the exemption given to Tendulkar stands, it will set a precedent for exempting other such gifts to celebrities. It will be impossible to determine which are genuine gifts and which are just a manner of routing payments without paying tax. This waiver of duty, unlike the one given to Shastri, is thus unjust and wrong.The thumb rule as regards such requests for waivers from sportsmen, thus, should be simple: if the item is won at a tournament for achievements on the field, exemption is justified; not so if it is a gift from a brand the person endorses. The next time Fiat wants to gift Tendulkar a Ferrari, it should bring it into India, pay the relevant import duty, and then gift it to him. And if it is then liable for gift tax, he must pay it. India is obsessed with celebrities – none more so than its politicians – but the law should be equal for all.

Damien Martyn has signed for Yorkshire for the remainder of the county season, as a replacement for their current overseas players, Stephen Fleming and Yuvraj Singh, who will be away on international duty.Martyn, who has never before played county cricket, did spend the 1991 season on the Leicestershire staff as a 19-year-old. He is set to make his National League debut against Surrey at Headingley on Sunday.Martyn is currently at the peak of his powers as an international batsman. He overcame a broken finger to score an unbeaten 88 in Australia’s World Cup final victory over India in Johannesburg, and has scored exactly 2000 runs in 33 Tests, at an average of 46.51.Yorkshire will be hopeful that he will make more of an impact than either Fleming or Yuvraj. Of the two, Fleming was the more successful, scoring 392 runs in six championship games and 258 in six National League matches. Yuvraj, on the other hand, was a major disappointment, averaging just 17 in the championship and 21 in eight one-day games.