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Bing Crosby might have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but Steve Waugh was still dreaming of a whitewash after the first day’s play in the fourth Ashes Test at the MCG. Waugh won the toss and then sat back as Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer each compiled hundreds and, in the process, broke a 95 year-old record. By the close, Australia had reached 356 for three with Langer unbeaten on 146 and Waugh relieving pressure on his own place in the side with an innings of 62 not out.Australia, already three-nil up in the series, made two changes from the last Test in Perth. Leg-spinner Stuart MacGill replaced the injured Shane Warne, while Martin Love made his Test debut at the expense of Darren Lehmann who was unable to shake off his leg infection. With Alec Stewart failing to recover from his bruised hand, James Foster was included to keep wicket for England with resulting changes to the composition of the rest of the side. They opted to play an extra batsman with John Crawley returning in place of Alex Tudor while Andrew Caddick was recalled for Chris Silverwood.This left England’s attack looking thin, with only four recognised bowlers in Caddick Steve Harmison, Craig White and off-spinner Richard Dawson. The same paucity could not be detected in the Australian batting line-up as Hayden and Langer made full use of a pitch promising plenty of runs when Waugh won the toss.Hayden has been in unstoppable form during the series, but he did offer the odd moment of hope to England’s bowlers who far from disgraced themselves during the morning session. In the first over he hooked Caddick just over Harmison’s head at long leg for a boundary and another opportunity went begging when Crawley failed to sight the ball at deep backward square leg and it bounced in just front of him before going over the rope.The Queenslander, averaging 94 in the first three Tests, was also inconvenienced in the ninth over of the morning when struck a blow on the knee by Caddick. However, he took only a short time to recover before going on to pass the milestone of 3,000 Test runs including 400 in the current series. He also survived a convincing shout for lbw when Dawson was introduced into the attack for a single over just before lunch.The score had reached 88 without loss at the interval before the Australian batsmen cut loose in the afternoon session, adding a further 147 runs. Hayden and Langer, drawing inspiration from one another, broke the ground record of 126 for an opening partnership in Australia-England Tests established in 1907/08 by Monty Noble and Victor Trumper.When Hayden went to his hundred off 138 balls with a somewhat fortunate shot to the fine leg boundary, it was his third in the series and twelfth in Tests. He acknowledged the applause of a crowd in excess of 64,000 but perished 11 balls later when he was caught at mid-ff by Crawley off the bowling of Caddick.Langer’s hundred came up in three balls less than Hayden’s as he took a six and a four off consecutive balls from Dawson. Not for him the nervous nineties as the man who has been forced to play second fiddle to his opening partner emerged in his own right. He displayed his composure when three wickets fell in relatively quick succession at the other end.After he had lost his opening partner, Langer watched as Ricky Ponting chopped a ball from White onto his stumps and then, ten overs later, saw Damien Martyn edge a ball from the same bowler low to first slip where Marcus Trescothick held on to a good catch. That reduced Australia to 265 for three and there was a glimmer of hope for England.That was extinguished by Langer and a defiant innings from Waugh. There has been much speculation that the Australian captain’s international career is drawing to a close, but he obviously has other ideas. He did survive an awkward moment when it seemed that he had edged the sixth delivery with the new ball from Caddick low to Butcher at slip, but the third umpire ended lengthy deliberation in Waugh’s favour.His fifty came from only 49 balls and now he will want to at least double that personal tally before leading Australia to an unassailable first innings total. He and they are well on the way and England’s depleted attack will not be looking forward to trying to stop them with any confidence.

Alec Stewart has been interviewed by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) investigator Sir Paul Condon in connection with allegations that he took money for information on matches.An ICC Media Release announced:”On Tuesday 26 June 2001 Alec Stewart was interviewed in the presence of his legal advisor by investigators of the ICC Anti Corruption Unit.A report in relation to the allegation against Alec Stewart will be submitted to the England and Wales Cricket Board.”It is the second time that Stewart has met with Condon.The notorious bookmaker MK Gupta has declared that he will not substantiate his claims that Stewart took money from him (but refused to fix matches). Stewart’s name also appears in the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation report.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on where things currently stand with Leeds United’s ongoing case involving former striker Jean-Kevin Augustin.

What’s the story?

During a Q&A for The Athletic, Hay revealed: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport has heard the case (on March 15). Now we wait for a verdict, and the timing of that is solely in the hands of CAS. Leeds can only hope that CAS takes a different view to FIFA, because FIFA pulled no punches in saying they should cough up.”

A big financial hit for Leeds

The Whites stand the prospect of having to shell out the £18m that was allegedly agreed between them and Leipzig over Augustin’s permanent transfer, and that would blow a major hole in their finances, just when they’re looking ahead to the summer transfer window.

At £18m, that kind of fee would actually represent the joint-third highest sum Leeds would pay out for a player, with only the deals for Rio Ferdinand and last summer’s signing Rodrigo costing more – a real indication of just how desperate Radrizzani and the Whites will be not to pay it.

Augustin ended up playing just three times in the Championship, totaling a measly 48 minutes of football for Leeds, scoring no goals and providing no assists – his only outings for the club all came in the month of February, when he featured against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Bristol City.

Given the kind of troubles Jesse Marsch’s side have faced in the Premier League this season, having this dark cloud hang over them is unwelcome to say the least, and certainly would throw a major spanner in the works heading into the summer.

FIFA ruling in favour of Leipzig last year back in June has certainly ramped up the tensions behind-the-scenes at Elland Road, and there will be a worry among the club’s supporters too on the impact of what CAS’ verdict could have.

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Should the court dismiss Leeds’ case, and insist on the Whites paying the fee discussed, then it would be a massive financial hit for the club to take.

AND in other news – Forget Joffy: Marsch can get Leeds rocking by finally unleashing “phenomenal” 20 y/o

South Africa have named an unchanged 15-member squad for the fourth and fifth one-dayers against West Indies. South Africa have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series after their seven-wicket win in the third ODI in Port Elizabeth.Joubert Strydom, South Africa’s chairman of selectors, said it was time to give opportunities for players on the bench. Allrounder Justin Ontong remains in the squad despite a troublesome knee.”We are obviously very happy with the way the team has played so far, but we also want to give opportunities to those players who have been sitting on the sidelines,” Strydom said. “We will also have to wait to see how Justin Ontong’s knee is responding to treatment when the squad reassembles on Thursday.”The last two games are scheduled for Durban and Johannesburg on February 1 and February 3 respectively.Squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Justin Ontong, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini

He is concerned…and with good reason as it turns out © AFP

Inzamam-ul-Haq mulled over a state of affairs turbulent enough to rattle even the most implacable souls, and admitted that Pakistan are in considerable bother just days before the side departs for the Caribbean.At a press briefing at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore during Pakistan’s training camp, Inzamam told reporters of his worries over the make-up of the final 15-man squad. “We are yet to give a final shape to our squad for the World Cup and that makes it evident that we are facing a very difficult situation.”At the root of the strife lie Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar, who are both in the squad but still uncertain of participating due to concerns over their injuries and a dope test they have yet to undergo.”It is very important for us that Shoaib and Asif play for us in the World Cup because they are our main wicket-taking bowlers. They add balance to our line-up,” Inzamam recognised. “We will be in the race for the title if all our players are fit and available for the World Cup,” he added.Inzamam added that Pakistan’s fielding would also have to tighten up were they to be considered as one of the favourites in what he says is the most open World Cup. “With better fielding, a team can save 30 to 40 runs and that makes a big difference in most matches.”If we are to have any real chance of doing well in the tournament, we have to show tremendous improvement in both our fitness and fielding.”

Ricky Ponting hurt his stomach batting in the nets in the lead-up to the first ODI © Getty Images

Errol Alcott, the Australia physiotherapist, is worried Ricky Ponting will almost certainly miss the second and third matches against South Africa and there are fears he will not take any part in the one-day campaign. Ponting, who pulled out of the opening game with a stomach problem, could not train on Tuesday and while he remained optimistic of leading the team at Cape Town on Friday, Alcott doubted he would make it.”I think he’s struggling for this weekend, that’s for sure,” Alcott told . The third match is on Sunday at Port Elizabeth before a five-day break and games in Durban and Johannesburg. “The trouble is we play Fridays and Sundays, so if you miss one week he might miss three games straight away,” Alcott said. “We’ve just got to keep assessing him.”Ponting suffered the injury batting in the nets and Alcott said he was still feeling tender. “He’s very optimistic each day, and then I have a session with him and it brings him back to reality again,” Alcott said. “He’s very powerful, he’s got short levers and he’s like a little pocket dynamo. Everything he does he’s 100%, even his position and also his batting. [The stomach] is the centre of movement for all of us, so it’s got to be in good order.”Andrew Symonds and Stuart Clark are also on the injury list, but Clark is hopeful of returning on Friday. Symonds is improving from a hip injury that he first felt a week ago, although Alcott also rated him “doubtful”. “We put him in the nets today to do some straight-line hitting, but he was aware of some discomfort, so I’ll get him back in the workshop and keep working on him,” he said. “You’ve got to be careful because if you let them out there and they re-injure it then you are looking at two or three weeks longer, and I don’t want to do that with a Test series [coming up].”The first Test is at Cape Town on March 16 and the squad will be named next week. Phil Jaques is expected to arrive in South Africa today as cover for both Ponting and Symonds.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A delighted Stuart Clark lifts the Pura Cup© Getty Images

New South Wales clinched the Pura Cup with a thrilling one-wicket win against Queensland at Brisbane. Requiring 183 for victory in the fourth innings, New South Wales seemed to be cruising at 4 for 158. However, three wickets fell at that score, and then two more at 161, before Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill put together 22 for the last wicket to see the Blues home. It was Queensland’s third successive defeat in a Pura Cup final.Earlier, a splendid 116 by Martin Love lifted the Bulls to 268 in their second innings. Love’s knock came off 269 balls and included 19 fours, and was easily the stand-out effort in an innings in which the second-highest score was Shane Watson’s 39. Matthew Nicholson was the star bowler for the Blues, dismissing Love and then wrapping up the tail to finish with 5 for 60.The Blues lost wickets regularly in the run-chase, but Brad Haddin, who had made an unbeaten 68 in the first innings, followed it up with an aggressive run-a-ball 41 to put his team on the brink of victory, before Queensland fought back. Joe Dawes and Andy Bichel took five wickets for just three runs to swing the match Queensland’s way, before MacGill joined Bracken. Queensland had a final chance to snatch victory, but Wade Seccombe, the wicketkeeper, dropped a difficult chance from Bracken with only two required for victory.

Matthew Nicholson took five wickets to restrict the Bulls to 268 in their second innings© Getty Images

After the match, Jimmy Maher, the Bulls captain, was distraught, describing the defeat as the “toughest moment in his career”. “Everyone’s pretty emotional and pretty upset,” Maher said. “It’s like someone’s ripped a great big piece out of your heart. This hurts more than anything. Anyone with any sort of a brain knows that we gave it all we had but it still feels like we let everyone down.”Two points separated us all year and one wicket separated us in the last outing so, as I said before the game, it was the right final. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the ledger but full credit to them, they played well.”Haddin, meanwhile, indicated that the Blues had complete faith in the batting prowess of MacGill. “I knew there was a twist and he’s spent a lot of time on his batting. If he gets through the first couple [of balls] he’s got a very good eye and he usually does the job for us.”

Nasser Hussain: set to return at No. 4 after recovering from a viral infection © Getty Images

It may have been guarding Sri Lanka’s southern coastline for the best part of 400 years, but the old Dutch fort at Galle can rarely have witnessed a more magnificent backs-to-the-ramparts effort than England’s tailenders produced to save last week’s first Test. From a position of apparent hopelessness at lunch on the final day, England rallied sufficiently to cling to their positions until nightfall, before being airlifted to Kandy on Sunday in a military helicopter, with their spirits at a higher ebb than at any other stage this winter.It was a match in which an English defeat ought to have been a formality, especially after losing the toss at Muttiah Muralitharan’s most prolific hunting-ground. Instead, they held out, and for all the brave words being uttered publicly by the Sri Lankan players and officials, their failure to break through England’s defences has been a shattering disappointment. On a local radio phone-in on Sunday afternoon, the presenter referred bleakly to “Sri Lanka’s defeat” on more than half-a-dozen occasions, and not one single caller felt the need to correct him.By escaping with a draw, England are already in a stronger position in this series than they were two years ago, when Kandy was the venue for one of the most explosive Test encounters in recent years. England eventually won a nailbiter by just three wickets, although the result said nothing of the main incidents of the match – dodgy umpiring that brought even the mild-mannered Sanath Jaysuriya to the brink of apoplexy, a finger-jabbing face-off between Kumar Sangakkara and the rarely ruffled Mike Atherton, and most crucially of all for England, a hard-fought (if fortunate) century by Nasser Hussain, which brought an end to the most desperate run of form of his career.Two years on, and Hussain is once again at the centre of England’s thoughts for the match which starts tomorrow (0430 GMT). He withdrew on the morning of the first Test after succumbing to flu-like symptoms, but his return to the side was guaranteed as soon as he had come through a tough two-hour net session on Monday afternoon. “He’s a fighter and he has declared himself fit, so Nasser will play and bat at No. 4,” said Michael Vaughan. It will be Hussain’s 90th Test – 89 more than the man who stood in for him at Galle. But Paul Collingwood capped his debut with a crucial second-innings 35, and may yet retain his place if England opt to go into the Kandy Test with six specialist batsmen.That decision will depend on the management’s assessment of the pitch. “We might go in with six batters,” admitted Vaughan, “But we also have to try to get 20 wickets out there as well. We will just try to work out over the next few days what we think the best formula is.” At the centre of England’s considerations will be Andrew Flintoff, whose hit-the-deck bowling style has traditionally made more impression at Kandy than the approach favoured by, say, James Anderson, who is back in the reckoning after twisting his ankle before the first Test.Despite England’s eagerness not to overburden Flintoff, he was nonetheless the most hard-worked of their seamers at Galle, largely because of the measure of control he was able to exert from his high-kicking length. Flintoff sent down 40 overs in the match – almost twice as many as Richard Johnson – and with two more Tests in the next fortnight, this is bound to be a concern.Ironically, one of the best ways of limiting Flintoff’s workload would be to promote him to the new ball in place of Johnson, and hand the donkey work to the third spinner, Robert Croft. This option was considered but ignored at Galle, and is even less likely to be taken up at Kandy, for the simple reason that Johnson and Matthew Hoggard have overs under their belts and deserve another chance to cement their partnership. But Vaughan expects plenty of assistance for the spinners at Kandy’s Asgiriya Stadium. “This pitch is damper than last time,” he remarked. “It will probably dry out with a couple of days’ sunshine, and be a bit slower than last time and help the spinners more.”For a time on Sunday afternoon, Croft looked as though he might be vying for one of two spinning slots. Ashley Giles, the man who produced the most famous asterisk in Galle since Goscinny and Uderzo, was struggling with a throat infection and rated a doubt for Kandy. But he has since been fed some magic potion, and will resume his partnership with Gareth Batty. Giles missed Monday’s net session, but Vaughan termed his absence as “optional resting”.Sri Lanka’s permutations are equally numerous. Although they have announced an unchanged squad for this second Test, it would be a surprise if they entered the match with the same ill-balanced line-up they settled for at Galle. By anyone’s standards, the selection of five spinners was excessive, and it seems likely that one of these, Kumar Dharmasena, will make way for an extra batsman. The two men in contention are Tillekaratne Dilshan and Michael Vandort, who would open the innings if selected. Given the importance of the match, however, Sri Lanka are more likely to go with Dilshan and retain their tried-and-tested opening partnership of Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu.One further change is possible in the bowling department, with Dilhara Fernando fit and ready to resume the new-ball duties at the expense of his namesake Dinusha, who recovered from an ineffectual first innings to bowl a fearsome spell on the final morning at Galle. Muttiah Muralitharan caused a ripple or two when he appeared with his shoulder strapped in ice and failed to bowl during Tuesday’s nets session, but he was rated as a 100% starter by Sri Lanka’s coach, John Dyson.”Our morale is very good,” said Dyson. “On this tour, we gave England a whacking in Dambulla in the one-dayer, and we were the only team that looked like winning at Galle.”All the more galling, then, that they are not 1-0 up with two to play.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Marvan Atapattu, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillekaratne Dilshan, 6 Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), 7 Thilan Samaraweera, 8 Kumar Dharmasena, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Gareth Batty, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Richard Johnson, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

LAHORE: Allied Bank and Pakistan PWD recorded victories in the first round action of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy but not a single ball was bowled in seven other matches on the final day on Tuesday because of rain.Allied Bank collected maximum points against Multan at Multan Cricket Stadium by an innings and 33 runs when they dismissed the home team for 251 in their second innings. Multan, who conceded a 284-run first innings lead, had resumed the day at 184 for seven. Off-spinner Arshad Khan picked up three wickets for 63 runs to finish the match with figures of seven for 117.Pakistan PWD outclassed Dadu at the UBL Sports Complex by 97 runs. Off-spinner Aftab Ahmad picked up four wickets for 13 runs while medium-pacer Shakeel-ur-Rehman bagged four for 52 as Dadu, chasing 246 for victory and starting the day at 117 for five, were shot out for 140.At the National Stadium in Karachi, hosts Karachi Whites were held to a draw by Bahawalpur, who after conceding a 160-run first innings, were 321 for five when the match ended. Opener Mohammad Rashid top scored with 80 that came after 205 minutes of batting during which he received 177 balls.Only 25 balls were bowled at the Saga Cricket Stadium in Sialkot where the home team progressed from an overnight score of zero for one to 10 for one against Gujranwala who had to settle with three first innings lead points.The second round action will begin from December 27.Scores in brief (close of play on day four of four):Group-IAt Sports Stadium, Sargodha:
National Bank: 171 (Sajid Ali 57, Akhtar Sarfaraz 39, Ahmad Hayat 4-50, Mohammad Sarfraz 3-21) and 89-4 (Saeed Anwar 22, Naumanullah 20, Mohammad Sarfraz 3-33)
Sargodha: 218 (Majid Saeed 62, Mohammad Farrukh 31, Mushtaq Ahmad 5-54)
Result: Match drawn (Points Sargodha 3, NBP 0)At LCCA Ground, Lahore:
LCCA Blues: 195 (Latif Gohar 40, Ali Hussain 39, Shahzad Butt 26, Farooq Iqbal 3-14, Moazzam Ali 3-65) and 28-0 (Musharraf Ali 17 not out, Ali Hussain 7 not out)
Faisalabad: 352 (Asif Hussain 121, Ijaz Mahmood 50, Sami-ul-Haq 42, Wasim Haider 42, Sajid Ali 6-82)
Result: Match drawn (Points Faisalabad 3, LCCA Blues 0)Group-IIAt Multan Stadium, Multan:
Multan: 158 (Zeeshan Khan 31, Arshad Khan 4-54, Ata-ur-Rehman 3-38) and 251 (Mohammad Fazil 91 not out, Mohammad Ali Niazi 82, Arshad Khan 3-63, Tanveer Ahmad 3-57)
ABL: 442-8 declared (Bilal Asad 151, Naved Latif 120, Aamir Hanif 50 not out, Usman Tariq 33, Azhar Abbas 4-114)
Result: ABL won by an innings and 33 runs (Points: ABL 12, Multan 0)At National Stadium, Karachi:
Bahawalpur: 167 (Ahsan Raza 31, Nasir Khan 3-42, Owais Athar 3-55) and 321-5 (Mohammad Rashid 80, Ahsan Raza 44, Hasnain Raza 36, Kamran Hussain 35, Bilal Rana 34 not out)
Karachi Whites: 327 (Maisam Hasnain 116, Fahadullah 85, Rizwan Saeed 36 not out)
Result: Match drawn (Points: Karachi Whites 3, Bahawalpur 0)At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi:
Pak PWD: 116 (Saad Wasim 53, Athar Laiq 4-39, Kashif Ali 4-46) and 196 (Iqbal Imam 34, Saad Wasim 31, Athar Laiq 6-34, Khair Ali 3-69)
Dadu: 66 (Shakeelur Rehman 5-15, Ali Raza 3-23) and 149 (Mohammad Saleem 52 not out, Shahid Qambrani 36, Aftab Ahmad 4-13, Shakeel-ur-Rehman 4-52)
Result: Pak PWD beat Dadu by 97 runs (Points: Pak PWD 12, Dadu 0)Group-IIIAt Lahore Country Club, Muridke:
Customs: 276 (Naseem Khan 92, Shadab Kabir 44, Azhar Shafiq 34, Danish Kaneria 5-71) and 165-8 (Naseem Khan 40, Hanif Malik 35)
Habib Bank: 244 (Akram Raza 43 not out, Khaqan Arsal 37, Atiq-uz-Zaman 33, Imran Ali 4-70, Abdul Rauf 3-86)
Result: Match drawn (Points: Customs 3, Habib Bank 0)At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore:
LCCA Whites: 353 (Aamir Sajjad 153, Mohammad Hussain 51, Wahab Riaz 31, Waqas Chughtai 4-111)
Sheikhupura: 397-6 (Mohammad Salim Mughal 137 not out, Mohammad Islam 69 not out, Waqar Ahmad 40, Maqsood Raza 33)
Result: Match drawn (Points Sehikhupura 3, LCCA Whites 0)At Saga Ground, Sialkot:
Gujranwala: 280 (Kamran Younis 61, Iftikhar Ahmad 51, Imran Tahir 5-88) and 275 (Mohammad Khalid 60, Fayyaz Ahmad 42, Asim Munir Butt 38, Tahir Mughal 4-89, Shahid Khan 3-85)
Sialkot: 231 (Faisal Khan 88, Shahid Khan 44, Naved Arif 5-67) and 10-1
Result: Match drawn (Gujranwala 3, Sialkot 0)Group-IVAt Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi:
Rawalpindi: 133 (Babar Naeem 91, Rao Iftikhar 4-37, Saad Janjua 3-22, Mubashir Nazir 3-36)
ADBP: 311-8 (Hafiz Majid 83, Faisal Naved 62, Javed Hayat 57, Mohammad Fayyaz 3-59, Mohammad Akram 3-62)
Result: Match drawn (Points: ADBP 3, Rawalpindi 0)At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar:
Peshawar: 414 (Mohammad Jahangir Khan 168, Mohammad Fayyaz 68) and 125 (Imranullah 4-48, Sharif Asadullah 3-60)
KCCA Blues: 288 (Sajid Hanif 91, Khurram Manzoor 73, Imranullah 53, Nauman Habib 4-80)
Result: Match drawn (Points: Peshawar 3, Karachi Blues 0)At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi
PIA: 196 (Kamran Sajid 52, Bazid Khan 45, Mahmood Hamid 32, Jaffar Nazir 5-44) and 1-0
KRL: 238 (Saeed Anwer Jnr 93, Intikhab Alam 42, Umer Gul 6-97)
Result: Match drawn (Points: KRL 3, PIA 0)
On Monday:
Wapda beat Service Industries by 10 runs at At Gymkhana Ground, Okara:
Wapda: 136 (Tariq Aziz 64, Imran Adil 3-38, Mohammad Irshad 3-49) and 177 (Adil Nisar 69, Mohammad Irshad 4-38, Asim Butt 3-36, Imran Adil 3-50)
Service Industries: 110 (Hammad Tariq 24, Faisal Irfan 6-29) and 193 (Rizwan Ahmad 51, Rehan Raffique 30, Mohammad Irshad 30, Kashif Raza 4-48, Waqas Ahmad 4-58)
Points: Wapda 12, Okara 0
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With confirmation that veteran fast bowler Paul Reiffel will play on for at least one more summer, Victoria is still leaving the way open to appoint separate first-class and one-day captains next season.In announcing its list of contracted players for the 2001-02 domestic summer today, the Victorian Cricket Association has confirmed that 35-year old Reiffel will again be one of its key players. But, as yet, there is still no official word as to the complexion of the side’s leadership team for either its Pura Cup or ING Cup campaigns.Before matters need to be finalised at the end of September, the Victorians still have the opportunity to add a maximum of three other players to join the list of fully contracted players – a list from which current Australian Cricket Board contract holders Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, Colin Miller and Ian Harvey are exempt. In naming their initial group of seventeen, though, they have only made marginal changes to the squad which has carried them into successive Pura Cup Final matches during the last two Australian seasons.Instead, it is principally from the signing of their first four ‘rookies’ (under the terms of the newly-introduced system that allows previously unsigned players under the age of 23 to be tied to twelve-month retainers) that the Bushrangers have sourced newcomers for the upcoming season.All-rounder Jonathan Moss and outstanding young leg spinner Cameron White are the two players to win elevation to the core group of contracted senior players for the first time. Each featured prominently in the state’s colours during the closing stages of 2000-01, not least of all in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales in Sydney as the Bushrangers clinched their berth in the Final.Moss, 26, only arrived in Melbourne part of the way through the season after crossing from New South Wales in a bid to advance his career. White, 17, originates from Bairnsdale and is an exciting hard-hitting batsman and accurate leg spinner who has already made a big impression in state underage teams and in district cricket with Dandenong.The four players who have won rookie deals are batsman Travis Birt and all-rounders Liam Buchanan, Andrew McDonald and Tim Welsford. Birt is a current scholarship holder at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy and each of the quartet has played in both Victorian and Australian representative underage sides.Out of favour among the players contracted last season are batsmen Laurie Harper, Clinton Peake and Graeme Vimpani, and pace bowlers Simon Burriss and Lea Hansen. Off spinner John Davison is also not among the names to have been re-signed, although it is understood that it is merely his preparations for the upcoming ICC Trophy tournament in Canada that have delayed the negotiation of a new deal.Reiffel, for his part, is expected to be re-appointed as captain of the first-class team, thereby continuing to serve in a post that he has held for each of the last two seasons. But there has been conjecture in some quarters that he may not appear in the limited-overs arena again, leading in turn to suggestions that left handed opener Matthew Elliott may be elevated to the Bushrangers’ leadership position in that form of the game.The full list of players with Victorian state contracts for 2001-02 is: Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Shawn Craig, Simon Dart, Matthew Elliott, Shane Harwood, Ian Hewett, Brad Hodge, Mathew Inness, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Moss, Matthew Mott, Ben Oliver, Paul Reiffel, Peter Roach, Cameron White.Rookie contracts: Travis Birt, Liam Buchanan, Andrew McDonald, Tim Welsford.ACB contracts: Damien Fleming, Ian Harvey, Colin Miller, Shane Warne.