PEARCE CUPNorth City v Onslow

OnslowFirst Innings 147Second InningsR Morgan c Bowden b Taylor 29N Parlane c Carey b Riley 44M Parlane run out 18N Pirihi c Gillespie b Quarterman 11G Howell c Quarterman b Bowden 4M Pasupati b Gillespie 46T Parker c & b Kropp 11M Martin c Gillespie b Carey 11A Penn not out 9D Johnson run out 0F Diver b Riley 2Extras (8b,3lb,5nb) 16Total 201Fall: 66,91,100,105,118,132,181,198,198,201Bowling: Gillespie 12,2,62,1; Riley 8,0,29,2; Taylor 5,1,17,1; Bowden 13,6,30,1; Quarterman 4,0,14,1; Kropp 3,0,27,1; Carey 5,2,11,1North CityFirst Innings (Overnight 114-7)D Bowden b M Parlane 56J Kerse lbw b Johnson 34B Kropp lbw b M Parlane 0F Quarterman not out 0Extras (5b,3lb) 8Total 198Fall: 194,194,198Bowling: Penn 6,2,16,0; Pasupati 13,3,52,2; Diver 23,6,65,2; Johnson 11.5,3,33,3; Morgan 5,3,6,0; M Parlane 7,1,18,2Second InningsD Gore lbw b Penn 4D Bowden c – b Diver 55C Riley not out 84S Mills c – b Diver 2M Gillespie not out 1Extras (6lb,1w) 7Total (for three wickets) 153Fall: 5,138,140Bowling: Penn 5,1,29,1; M Parlane 6.4,1,38,0; Johnson 4,0,19,0; Pasupati 4,0,30,0; Morgan 2,0,14,0; Diver 4,0,17,2North City won by 7 wicketsPoints: North City 22.51 Onslow 6.73Petone/Riverside v Upper ValleyUpper ValleyFirst Innings 105Second Innings (overnight 44-1)R Jones b Taylor 24C McLauchlan run out 4L Morgan c Morgan b Jones 20G Donaldson lbw b Jones 31M Walker c Bonner b Jones 6D Ruscoe b Jones 19A Roberts c George b Jones 0P Hutchison not out 14M Cornish b Jones 5M Billmore b Jones 8Extras (6b,5lb,5nb) 16Total 172Fall: 58,59,82,90,134,134,139,155,172Bowling: Taylor 11,1,43,1; O’Brien 19,5,35,0; Jones 18.2,5,52,8; Dawson 6,2,23,0; Hewson 2,0,8,0Petone/RiversideFirst Innings 140Second InningsJ Morgan c Jones b Hutchison 0A George lbw b Walker 16S Bonner c Walker b Cornish 7B Dawson lbw b Hutchison 9R Chatfield lbw b Cornish 17M Rose b Hutchison 0B Jones c Morgan b Hutchison 38D Haste c Roberts b Cornish 0M Hewson lbw b Cornish 4I O’Brien not out 26P Taylor not out 0Extras (5b,5lb,11nb) 21Total (for nine wickets) 138Fall: 0,20,30,41,41,93,93,101,131Bowling: Hutchison 13,4,36,4; Cornish 11.4,2,34,4; Walker 10,0,58,1; Billmore 1,1,0,0Petone/Riverside won by 1 wicketPoints: Petone/Riverside 19.78 Upper Valley 7.52Eastern Suburbs v KaroriEastern SuburbsFirst Innings 103Second Innings (overnight 17-2)D Houpapa lbw b Mercer 20T Boyer c Atkin b Cakebread 27L Chrisp c Sommerville b Cakebread 7S Golder lbw b Cakebread 0R Sewell c Wilson b Atkin 42L Dry b Hill 32S Hotter lbw b Mercer 0J Stuart not out 5R Fouhy c Sommerville b Hill 0Extras (7b,7lb,4w,11nb) 29Total 169Fall: 51,71,71,84,135,142,169,169Bowling: Mercer 27,6,52,3; Edwards 18,4,42,1; Kent 1,0,4,0; Gray 1,0,1,0; Cakebread 7,1,18,3; Hill 6.4,3,15,2; Atkin 6,1,23,1KaroriFirst Innings 121Second InningsW Sommerville lbw b Fouhy 16C cakebread lbw b Patel 14S Murdoch c Sewell b Patel 26M Hill b Patel 32S Pomare b Dry 15M Atkin c Houpapa b Patel 18R Wilson b Dry 6L Edwards not out 7A Meachem not out 10Extras ( 2b,5lb,2w,2nb) 11Total (for seven wickets) 155Fall: 23,49,85,106,114,138,138Bowling: Hotter 5,0,17,0; Fouhy 12,4,35,1; Dry 10,3,35,2; Patel 14,3,61,4Karori won by 3 wicketsPoints: Karori 19.76 Eastern Suburbs 6.97Naenae v TaitaNaenaeFirst Innings 145Second InningsM Young b Scott 114D Crook not out 100L Reeves not out 6Extras (1b,7lb,2nb) 10Total (for one wicket decl) 230Fall: 214Bowling: Little 12.2,1,65,0; Webster 10,2,45,0; Scott 9,1,46,1; Taylor 4,0,22,0; Pegg 2,0,23,0; Boyle 2,0,21,0TaitaFirst Innings (overnight 74-8)D Pegg not out 20D Scott b S Cross 0C Taylor b Bascand 0Extras: ( 8b,2lb,2w,2nb) 14Total 81Fall: 80,81Bowling: S Cross 15,8,17,4; Bascand 16.4,6,29,1; C Cross 7,2,7,1; Reeves 6,3,3,2; Crook 2,1,1,0; Maher 2,0,8,0; Hatwell 3,1,6,0; Young 2,2,0,1Second InningsJ Boyle`run out 51R Webster c C Cross b Reeves 34S McGavin lbw b C Cross 27A Crummy lbw b S Cross 32D Little lbw b S Cross 0E Binns not out 23B Lee c Smith b S Cross 0S Teepa not out 5Extras (15b,6lb,1nb) 22Total (for six wkts) 194Fall: 55,86,162,162,163,163Bowling: S Cross 15,1,38,3; bascand 1`4,0,51,0; Reeves 10,2,35,1; C Cross 10.,5,10,1; Maher 8,5,9,0; Young 1,0,14,0; Crook 3,1,16,0Match DrawnPoints Naenae 7.75 Taita 5.50Pearce Cup Points: North City 28.51, Petone/Riverside 19.78, Karori 19.76, Upper Valley 13.52, Easts 12.97, Onslow 12.73, Taita 11.50, Naenae 7.75Hazlett TrophyHutt 133 & 232-9d ( C Dixon 87, G Dodd 60,D Gyles 3-34, S Kirk 3-60) beat Collegians 149 & 132 ( M Burroughs 54, M Jefferson 4-50, C Dixon 3-31) by 83 runs Points Hutt 20.65, Collegians 7.56Johnsonville 123 & 169-7d( M Judge 37, A Woodcock 32*, G Rabie 4-51) beat Eastern Suburbs 143( L Woodcock 4-51, T Antequil 3-14, A Woodcock 3-41) & 123 by 26 runs Points Johnsonville 19.92 eastern Suburbs 6.91Wainuiomata 153 & 155 ( B Kennedy 40, A Coleman 4-36, C Mason 3-35) beat Upper Valley 131-8d & 148 ( A Coleman 64*, B Kennedy 4-29, J Symonds 3-25) by 29 runs Points Wainuiomata 19.58 Upper Valley 7.79University 201-8d & 66-1 beat North City 92 & 172 ( B Waite 55, C Alderdice 37, N Hillier 32, S Chan 4-41, L Woods 3-51) by 9 wickets. Points University 21.67 North City 4.89

The ongoing saga of Stephen Fleming’s fitness took another twist when he was ruled out of playing for Wellington against Canterbury at the weekend following an examination by New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) medical experts.Fleming missed the recent tour of Pakistan after he failed to recover from a stomach-muscle strain picked up on the tour of India. Although NZC said that Fleming was not fit to play, it refused to rule him out of the reckoning for the first Test against Pakistan which starts on December 19. A spokesman said that Fleming experienced some discomfort during a range of stretching exercises and further investigations were planned.With Shane Bond and Nathan Astle confirmed non-starters, the selectors will hope that Fleming returns to boost the morale in a side which was hammered 0-5 in the just-completed one-day series in Pakistan. Although Chris Cairns led New Zealand in those matches, Craig McMillan is the favourite to captain the side should Fleming fail to recover in time.

The former Test umpire Charlie Elliott died on New Year’s Day, at the age of 91. Elliott played 275 matches for Derbyshire, mostly as an opening batsman, between 1932 and 1953, featuring in 19 games in their only Championship-winning year of 1936. He was at his best after the war, when he topped 1000 runs in a season in six consecutive summers (1947-52).But it was as an umpire that Elliott really excelled. He joined the first-class list in 1956, and within a year stood in the first of his 42 Tests.His first match – the first Test between England and West Indies at Edgbaston in 1957 – was steeped in controversy as Peter May and Colin Cowdrey repeatedly padded away Sonny Ramadhin to earn a draw. Ramadhin was never the same bowler again, and he always claimed that he should have had both batsmen leg-before dozens of times.And his last – the second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s in 1974 – was no less controversial, but not because of anything Elliott had done. Water leaked under the covers, and Pakistan were left fuming as Derek Underwood wreaked havoc with 13 for 71. Justice was done when rain washed out the final day with England on the brink of victory.Following his retirement as an umpire at the end of that season, Elliott was appointed as an England selector, a post he held until 1981. He also retained his links with Derbyshire, serving as chairman of the cricket committee and then as their president in 1993 and 1994.Elliott was also a useful footballer, representing Coventry City in 101 league and cup matches, as well as acting as caretaker-manager for six months in the 1954-55 season.Until shortly before his death Elliott ran a guest-house in Nottingham, which was festooned with cricket memorabilia and popular with itinerant journalists.

Scorecard

Ricky Ponting guided the Australians to a comfortable warm-up win against a Sri Lanka President’s XI at Moratuwa. Chasing 284, the Australians cruised home by five wickets with nearly six overs to spare, as three batsmen, Ponting, Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds, retired.Matthew Hayden got things going with 35 off 27 balls, Adam Gilchrist hit a quickfire 43, and Ponting, who retired on 57 off 58 balls, all set the platform. Martyn then made enough to retire unbeaten on 42, while Symonds also walked in unbeaten after belting the ball through the window of the press box in his 47 off 35 balls, including three fours and two sixes.Michael Clarke and Simon Katich finished the job off having earlier bowled well as the Australians otherwise struggled to restrict the President’s XI to 8 for 283 on a small ground with a fast outfield.Katich took 1 for 35 off seven overs, while Clarke had 0 for 12 from four to be the most economical of the nine bowlers used. Katich was impressive with his left-arm wrist spinners, getting some sharp turn, and he was rewarded with the wicket of top-scorer Jehan Mubarak for 56.However, there was no place for Michael Bevan in the starting line-up, and his hopes of pushing for an immediate recall to the side suffered a blow. Bevan, who cracked a rib during the VB Series in Australia last month, was declared fit to tour just a day before the team was named.A regular in the Australian middle order with 227 one-day internationals, Bevan would normally expect to force his way straight back into the team, but the form of the young allrounders, Clarke and Katich, could count against him for the opening one-dayer at Dambulla on Friday.

Bevan, 33, was the only Australian player to have no role in today’s practice game, in which the teams agreed to use 13 players. The Australians stretched that to 14 when Brad Haddin replaced Gilchrist in the 23rd over.With Ponting indicating Australia would try to field their best batting line-up for this match in order for them to get used to the conditions, Bevan’s prospects are not bright for a recall. While he sat on the sidelines, his team-mates helped themselves to the runs against an average attack."The pitch was a little bit slow and there was a little bit of turn but we didn’t see a lot of spin bowling,” said Australia’s coach, John Buchanan. “I think it was good to just get out on the field and feel the conditions. We adapted to it well."The match gave all the bowlers an opportunity to bowl which is important. We gave most of our top order batsmen virtually a chance of a knock in the centre. We achieved what we set out to achieve. The match was designed to give people a hit out in the middle. The result was inconsequential.”Australia now head to the highland town of Dambulla for two one-day matches against Sri Lanka, starting with the day-nighter on Friday.

Chris Taylor has been named as Gloucestershire’s new captain, and the Pakistan fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed has been signed as their second overseas player, as preparation for the 2004 season gets underway at Bristol.Taylor, 27, takes over from Mark Alleyne, who has become the new club coach, although he will remain in charge of the one-day team. Taylor only made his county debut in 2001, but according to the club chief executive, Tom Richardson, he has been in their thoughts for some time. “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to captain the four-day side,” said Taylor. “It is an exciting challenge.”Meanwhile Shabbir, 27, who has taken 33 wickets in his six Test matches, will join compatriot Shoaib Malik as Gloucestershire’s second overseas player. “Shabbir is an exciting bowler who is well suited to English conditions and I think he will greatly strengthen our side,” explained Alleyne. “We are very excited by the prospect of fielding these two Pakistani stars this year. I feel they will feed off each other and, as a pair, they will add great value to what is already an exciting squad.”The only slight concern is that Shabbir’s action was reported during a one-day international in New Zealand in January. He is currently working with Daryl Foster in Australia to correct any faults. “We do not anticipate any further problems,” said Alleyne. “We greatly look forward to Shabbir having a successful season with us.”

Chris Cairns refused to be drawn on continuing rumours that he is set to announce his retirement from Test cricket and concentrate on playing one-day internationals.But he did offer a broad hint that reports of him quitting might be premature. When asked to comment, he merely said: “"Maybe I want to carry on." He then added that he was enjoying playing in the environment that has been developed under coach John Bracewell and with the youngsters coming into the side.Some pundits believe that Cairns is keen to play in the Test series in England in May before bowing out.Cairns has struggled in recent years to maintain his fitness, with knee and back injuries leaving him increasingly sidelined. The consensus is that by concentrating on the one-day game, he should be able to extend his career.

The one result no-one expected in the Bridgetown Test, as the third day began, was a draw. But the greatest confrontation of the series – the one between the West Indies board and the English spectators over admission charges – can probably now be assessed. And both sides, in different ways, have lost.The thumping premiums demanded by the board for tickets bought outside Barbados failed to produce the threatened boycott by visitors. The ground has been booked solid for every day except the last (which may never happen). And local supporters, as is now the norm in Bridgetown Tests against England, have been totally outnumbered by English visitors.By charging foreigners prices that have edged close to $200 a day – far more than ever gets charged even in England, until now the most expensive place in the world to watched cricket – Caribbean cricket has eased its pressing financial problems. The payday here, and for the Antigua Test, is unlikely to be repeated this side of the 2007 World Cup. The board was right to the extent that the market was strong enough to bear the cost.This is a bonanza that makes a difference not merely to the game but to the whole economy of the islands. Every hotel bed on Barbados has been filled – assuming the late-night boozers do get back to their rooms eventually. Tourist officials do not expect this to happen until England’s next Test here.Against that, it is clear a great many visitors have found their own way round the price structure. The trouble with differential pricing is that it is a recipe for smart people to evade the system. Some 60% of the tickets were supposedly held back for Barbadians and other Caribbean nationals, and sold at normal prices.Though they were officially restricted to four tickets each, shrewd Bajans were able to grab the maximum for all their family members, and sell them on for less than the official prices, enabling them to turn a tidy profit and their English buyers to save on the official cost.There will still be a legacy of ill-will that may well linger at least until the 2007 World Cup, when England will in all probability be seeded into a group based in Barbados to try to maximise tourist revenue yet again.And the dual structure has certainly not brought Bajans back to the ground (though they are still following it avidly via TV and radio), so there is still what you might call cultural damage. Every Test ground has its own unique flavour. And the atmosphere at Kensington Oval is now uniquely insipid. Take away the palm trees, the rickety stands, the heat and the flying-fish sandwiches, and this could easily be Edgbaston.The low stands to the right of the pavilion remain mostly occupied by locals. But the old sounds of the Caribbean – the wit, the songs and the cheering – are entirely drowned out. Almost every other section of the ground is dominated by British tourists turning various shades from pink to scarlet. And three of them are given over to the mostly young, hard-drinking shouters colloquially known as the Barmy Army. For an outsider, though, it is not easy to judge which might be the official army and which might be organised by rival warlords.The real Barmies seem to be in the Michie Hewitt Stand, where a cheerleader with his back to the cricket leads them in chants which even to the trained ear are barely comprehensible. The look of utter bewilderment on the faces of the Bajan minority is hard to convey in words.Hundreds more were in the new Carib Beer Stand, getting through can after can of lager in the one section of the stand without shade. This is what anyone with experience of the tropics would call truly barmy. One group was dressed as schoolgirls; another, looking a touch more realistic, was in a neat uniform of panama hat, blue shirt and ties, doing passable imitations of MCC members. They were shouting and chanting as loudly as their rivals.The locals were equally bemused why, on an island where even the stuffiest Brits dress down, anyone would decide to dress up to watch eight-hour days in baking weather. The British used to send anthropologists to tropical islands to fathom the quaint customs of the locals. Now they send the people with the quaint customs. This method of cricket-watching is, I suppose, part folk-ritual, part quasi-religious cult, part harmless fun, part boorish idiocy.But successful tourist destinations like this one long ago learned to shrug their shoulders at their visitors’ antics, and count their money. And, one way and another, it has been rolling in like billy-o.

As first days of the seasons go, Hampshire could not have asked for a much better one as they finished the day with a first innings lead of 67 with 5 wickets in hand.Hampshire gave debuts to Michael Brown, Michael Clarke and Billy Taylor, and new Hampshire captain Shane Warne played his first game for the county since 2000. Durham too had new faces, but were without their overseas signings Hershelle Gibbs and Shoaib Akhtar and two players on England duty, Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood.Durham captain Jon Lewis’ decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired on him, The home sides four pronged seam attack took full advantage of the conditions. Mullally and Tremlett both looking fit caused all sorts of problems, dismissing Lewis and Muchall with 6 on the board.Billy Taylor and Dimitri Mascarenhas also bowled tightly and were rewarded for their efforts. Shane Warne the return of the prodigal son not only took two wickets but also three sharp slip catches.When Hampshire batted, Derek Kenway and Brown gave the innings a solid start, and when both were dismissed to the persevering Davies, John Crawley was joined by the Aussie Clarke. Clarke delighted the sizable opening day crowd with a stirring 73 not out, an innings of just 73 balls and 14 beautifully struck boundaries. Hampshire supporters are going to be in afor a treat this season if this is a taste of what is to come.The loss of two late wickets put a damper on the day, but skipper Warne and manager Terry promised Hampshire fans an exiting season. After day one we now know what they mean.

The long and winding first-class journeys of South Australian batsmen David Fitzgerald and Ben Johnson appear over, following the announcement that they will not be offered state contracts for 2004-05.South Australia will name their full squad on Monday but have revealed that Fitzgerald and Johnson will not be on the list.”Both Ben and David have been solid contributors to South Australian cricket over many years, with outstanding individual performances throughout their careers,” said Harvey Jolley, SA’s general cricket manager. “[But] with the combination of our emerging talent and views for the future, they are not a part of our immediate plans.”Neither non-selection is particularly surprising. Fitzgerald, 31, batted 10 hours for a career-best unbeaten 202 against Tasmania last summer but averaged only 16 throughout his remaining six matches. The 30-year-old Johnson, although an occasional member of the Redbacks’ one-day side, was not picked in first-class circles at all.If this is the end of the road they finish with remarkably similar records. Johnson played two more first-class matches, 69 to 67, and averaged 0.22 runs per innings higher – 34.81 to 34.59.Both, too, can be classed as underachievers of sorts. Fitzgerald, a right-hand opener and keen cutter who moved east from Western Australia in 1995, possessed an appetite for mammoth occupation but lacked consistency.The left-handed Johnson began his career in a blaze of promise, amassing 81 and 168 against WA in his fifth first-class match at 21. In the ensuing nine seasons he managed only another eight hundreds, two of them in a fortnight in 2001-02, when he became the first man since Bill Lawry to carry his bat in consecutive matches in Australia. He was a member of SA’s last Sheffield Shield-winning squad, way back in 1995-96, but missed out on the final.Two rookie batsmen from last season, Ben Cameron and Callum Ferguson, have been awarded senior contracts. Cameron impressed observers in his three Pura Cup games while the 19-year-old Ferguson, a former Australian Under-19s vice-captain who has yet to taste first-class cricket, hit 58 from 50 balls against Victoria in an ING Cup match. Cullen Bailey, the 19-year-old Sturt legspinner, has signed a rookie contract.The dropping of Fitzgerald and Johnson, together with last summer’s premature retirement of the injury-stricken Chris Davies, marks the beginning of a substantial regeneration of South Australia’s batting order. Both Cameron and Ferguson loom as instrumental figures this summer and beyond.

After his turbo-charged start to the season, Robert Key is adamant that he can carry his first-class form into the one-day game as well, and is eager to open the batting for England during the forthcoming NatWest Series against New Zealand and West Indies.Key brought up his 1000th first-class run on June 2 – the fastest to do so since Graeme Hick in 1988 – and celebrated his England one-day call-up with a brilliant 83 from 95 balls in a one-sided defeat of Wales in Cardiff at the weekend. He was only playing as a stand-in for Michael Vaughan, who was rested along with Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison, but that sort of success cannot be easily overlooked.”My preference would be to open because it is something I have always done,” said Key. “The only time I have really batted in the middle-order is when I played Test cricket – at times it is nice to have your feet up after fielding but the thing that is most common to me is opening. At the first net session Duncan [Fletcher] and Michael [Vaughan] came up to me and asked me how I see my role. I think if I do get a go it will either be at the top or No. 3.”After a winter in which the one-day team spent most of their time treading water, there are several details yet to be finalised ahead of Thursday’s opening fixture against New Zealand at Old Trafford. Apart from the debate over Key’s role, there is the possibility that England’s keeper, Geraint Jones, will be pencilled in at No. 3.”I was shocked to be batting there,” Jones admitted to BBC Sport, but added that he was keen to carry on in the same vein. “I just look to go in there and hit out, with only two men outside the circle you can loft a few and take full advantage. [One-dayers] are more hectic than Test cricket, and when you’re keeping you have to keep buzzing around, so I was able to work on that.”Key, meanwhile is relishing his return to England colours, and is prepared to bide his time if he is not able to break into the first XI for the opening game. “I see this as a stepping stone back into the set-up,” he explained. “All this has been a bonus for me. If you look at the way the England team is going at the moment, there are not that many places up for grabs so to get this chance and play a half-decent knock in my first innings is a lot better than I expected.”Just being back in the dressing-room is fantastic. It is a special time for the England team and to be involved in it in any form I would take above anything else.”