A report in today’s Times newspaper claims that two new competitions are being planned to cash in on the success of Twenty20 cricket.The first, launched tomorrow by a group called the Get Fit Foundation (GFF), heralds itself as the “first-ever 20-20 World Cricket Classic.” While the publicity might be impressive, cursory investigation indicates that while GFF trumpets that the “world’s greatest cricketers” will be on show, it is in fact an over-35s tournament and will feature players of yesteryear rather than any current ones. The event, in Bermuda next May, came about as a result of the successful over-35s rugby tournament held on the island.The other competition, run by Investors in Cricket (IC), the group of businessmen who now have a large stake in Leicestershire, is more relevant and will be of far greater concern to those running the game.The IC plan centres on an end-of-season international competition in September, involving the leading Twenty20 club sides from around the world. With the format likely to feature in most domestic programmes within the next year – it has already been a huge success in England, South Africa and Pakistan – this competition could soon become an unofficial Champions League of domestic cricket.Twenty20 lends itself to such a format. It would take no more than three or four days for the entire event to take place, with as many as three games a day, and it would be perfect for television. It is unlikely that IC would consider staging anything on this scale without TV backing, and given the group’s Asian orientation, the target market would seem to be India and Pakistan. And as a private competition, it would also fall outside any existing media deals.Until all other countries embrace Twenty20, the teams would probably initially come from England and South Africa, with guest sides from Asia and the rest of the world making up the numbers and increasing the appeal. But as the concept spreads, the logical conclusion is that the domestic champions from all the major countries could take part.The ECB are hardly likely to welcome the venture with open arms, and sources indicate that it will not allow any of its centrally-contracted players to play. But as it does not involve either England or any other national teams, and is effectively a private county-run event, there would seem to be little the ECB could do to prevent it being staged.

It wasn’t the greatest day on which to break a world record. Australia was switched on to the one-year anniversary of the Bali bomb blast and the start of the Rugby World Cup, but Matthew Hayden and his innings of 380 at Perth managed to elbow their way into the consciousness of Australians when they awoke to read their daily newspapers today.Peter Roebuck, in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age:”Matthew Hayden has put his name in the record books alongside the sweetest names the game has known.”None of them, not Don Bradman nor Garry Sobers nor Len Hutton nor Brian Lara, has scored more runs in a Test innings than this tall and muscular Queenslander. He has proved himself worthy of this company.”None of them has batted with the command shown by the Australian opener when his feet are moving. None of them hits the ball as hard or with a straighter bat. None is as strong, none was blessed with greater stamina. None was as full of desire in the middle years of their careers.”Hayden had to wait a long time before he was treated with the respect the rest claimed as young men. Dismissed not so long ago as a slow-witted banana-bender, Hayden has emerged as a batsman of beautiful brutality. Sustaining a plunder that began on the Indian subcontinent in 2001, he wore down and eventually destroyed an attack that could hardly be called a defence.”But Roebuck also made the point: “Through the glory of the moment, though, comes a nagging sense of unease. What does it all mean? Take the manner in which the two most significant landmarks were passed. By the time Hayden had reached 334, the Zimbabweans were on their knees and Trevor Gripper was sending down undemanding off-breaks…”Of course the notion that Bradman and the rest scored their runs against tight and fresh attacks operating on helpful pitches is false. Nonetheless, there was always a feeling the teams belonged on the same field. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the teams appearing in Perth. Test cricket has compromised its most precious asset – its legitimacy.”Although it was hardly Hayden’s fault, this was not so much a contest as a demolition. Among the Zimbabweans only the captain has earned his stripes as a Test player. Hayden was not wrenching runs from a reluctant opponent. He was taking sweets from a child. Test status has been spread around in an attempt to widen the game and to secure votes on the governing body.”Malcolm Conn, The Australian: “Rejected by the Australian Cricket Academy in his youth, Matthew Hayden yesterday strode to the pinnacle of greatness with the highest score in 126 years of Test history.”Driven by an iron will and a refusal to accept failure, the powerful Queenslander’s resurrection became complete in Perth yesterday when he scored 380 in the first Test against Zimbabwe, beating Brian Lara’s 375 scored against England in Antigua in April, 1994.”Yesterday was the ultimate triumph for a bold young man considered by experts who followed his early development as too ungainly and heavy-footed for Test cricket.”Robert Craddock, The Daily Telegraph: “Fifteen years after he was told he had no future as a first-class cricketer, Matthew Hayden yesterday claimed the game’s most coveted individual record . . then dedicated it to the memory of Bali.”The Queensland outdoors boy scored a world record 380 against Zimbabwe in the first Test at the WACA, beating the previous highest Test score of 375 scored by West Indian Brian Lara against England in Antigua in 1994.”Modern cricket has become overloaded with numbing statistics but this is truly special and quite appropriate that arguably the greatest side in cricket history now has a milestone that will stand as eternal testament to the cavalier way they play the game.”The farmer’s son from Kingaroy, who still finishes most of his sentences with ‘eh?’ has gone where none of the 2367 men to play the game have gone in 1637 Tests since cricket began in 1877…”A modest opposition and a lifeless wicket were the portents for a Hayden hurricane but, even given the conditions, some of his power play was simply awesome.”John Townsend, The West Australian: “RECORDS are made to be broken but Matthew Hayden used a sledgehammer to smash the Test batting mark at the WACA Ground yesterday.”While Zimbabwe wilted but never surrendered under the most clinical batting barrage in Test history, Hayden guaranteed himself cricketing immortality.His 380, the 17th triple-century in Test ranks and the highest in nearly 130 years and 1660 matches, has given him a raft of records and confirmed his standing as one of the world’s three best batsmen. ..”Few observers doubt Zimbabwe is competing out of its league during this inaugural Test series but Hayden only had one opponent – himself – as he batted flawlessly for more than 10 hours.”

Pakistan’s youthful inexperience was exposed by Steve Waugh’s Australians on the final day of this opening Test match, but Waqar Younis’s team gained respect for a performance that dented the world champions aura of invincibility.Australia eventually won by 41 runs, a slender margin of victory that wouldhave appeared inconceivable after their dominance during the first two days.However, a wonderful burst from Shoaib Akhtar, described afterwards by SteveWaugh as “one of the great spells of fast bowling,” and a dogged 88 from opener Taufeeq Umar yesterday had threatened a famous Pakistani victory.But Pakistan, needing just 137 with seven wickets remaining when the fifth day started, finally lost their nerve when Waugh gambled on the second new ball shortly before the luncheon interval. On 248 for five at the time, requiring just 68 more, they lost four wickets in the space of 23 balls.Glenn McGrath, Australia’s best fast bowler, who finished with three for 38 from 24.2 overs of plugging accuracy, wrapped up the game soon after the break as Faisal Iqbal (39), the last recognised specialist batsman, aimed an impetuous shot through the off-side to be caught in the covers.Whilst McGrath and Jason Gillespie – who claimed two wickets with the new ball before limping off the field with a calf injury, and possibly out of the series – had rushed the match towards its eventual conclusion, it was Shane Warne, the eventual man of the match, who had played the greatest hand.Clearly benefiting from a new slimline physique, he had passed ten wickets inthe game for the sixth time in his career – his largest haul since taking 11wickets against England at the Oval over year ago – when Misbah-ul-Haq (10) had been caught in the covers by Steve Waugh off a leading edge.He then grabbed perhaps the crucial wicket, although somewhat fortuitously as the ball struck Younis Khan marginally outside the line of off-stump, with the kind of well-oiled flipper that confounded so many batsmen in his pomp but has struggled to control since his shoulder operation.Younis, the most senior of the frontline batsman, had enjoyed a charmed morning when he was dropped on 33 as Mark Waugh’s butter-fingered nightmare continued with another two spilled slip chances today, Faisal Iqbal being the other beneficiary when he had scored just 13.Younis’s presence at the crease was a reassuring sight for his side and hisdismissal proved disastrous for their cause, opening up the lower order to the lethal final Australian attack with the new ball.Although Waqar claimed afterwards he was pleased with his side’s overallperformance, praising the youngsters for “some excellent cricket,” he must have been bitterly disappointed with the final collapse, especially the suicidal dismissal of the experienced Saqlain Mushtaq (1).Rashid Latif had just edged Gillespie’s first ball back to the wicket andPakistan needed to survive the handful of minutes before lunch without further losses. Afterwards the tailenders could have supported Faisal, who was batting well at that stage.But Saqlain charged down the wicket to McGrath, completely miscuing an uglysmear and was caught by Steve Waugh at short cover. Waqar (1) then feathered a catch into the gloves of Adam Gilchrist second ball and the frenetic Shoaib shouldered arms to the penultimate ball of the session.Steve Waugh claimed afterwards that Pakistan should be “proud of the manner in which they fought themselves back into the game” but said he felt comfortable going into the final day.”We were very confident going into the last day,” said Waugh. “Pakistan probably woke up for the first time believing that they could win the game and that put them under pressure. We could feel that they were more pensive today.”He defended his brother’s performance in the field, which at one time lookedlike it would cost Australia the game: “That just happens sometimes. He’scaught well for 125 Test matches and today he had an off day. I am not overly concerned, we will sort it out by the next Test.”Waqar hoped that his young side learned from the experience: “It was touch and go today, we just needed one partnership. It was disappointing but we played some excellent cricket during the course of the match and although we have lost the youngsters will have learned a lot.”

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has asked England to target Adam Gilchrist and prevent him from taking the game away with his aggressive batting in the upcoming Ashes series. “Someone must bowl as if Gilchrist is their bunny,” Woolmer told . “England should be targeting Gilchrist. He scores quickly and almost inevitably turns the game around.”Woolmer, who was the coach when Pakistan toured Australia early his year, saw his team thrashed 3-0 largely due to the efforts of Gilchrist, who averaged 76.66 and rescued his team on several occasions.”They are so dangerous because they have a top seven who are all capable of taking the game away from you, but Gilchrist is the most destructive batsman in the world and will be the key,” Woolmer insisted. “We had Australia in trouble a few times when he came in and changed the game. My feeling is there are two ways to trouble him: take the pace off the ball and try and swing it and make him come at you, maybe through Mathew Hoggard. The other way is with genuine pace.”Tell Steve Harmison to bounce him early and get stuck into him and try to rush him in his strokes. I don’t think teams bowl enough short stuff at him and it’s something England should be looking to do. They have to find a way of unsettling him. Harmison’s pace and bounce could make it more difficult for him to hook and pull. And once you can knock him over, you can get through the tail.”Woolmer, who represented England in Ashes series back in the 1970s, also offered some advice to Michael Vaughan. “Australia are like the West Indies of the Eighties: they try to bully you and you have to stand up to it. Teams become overawed by them. Michael Vaughan’s team have to make them feel unwelcome in England instead of being all pally, pally,” he continued. “The captains who have succeeded over the years have usually been aggressive: Jardine, Illingworth, Gatting, they were all hard men.”Woolmer also noticed that Shane Warne wasn’t quite the same dominating force he was once. “I say this in all humility, but I don’t think he’s the bowler he used to be,” Woolmer said. “He’s still a very fine bowler, but he bowls you more bad balls than he has in the past. Watching him against us, he didn’t seem to have that fizz. Our blokes played him pretty well.”Pointing out certain weaknesses in Australia’s batting, Woolmer said, “There are ways to trouble them if the bowlers have the skill to put the ball in the right areas: Ricky Ponting can be vulnerable to the ball coming back into him; Damien Martyn plays away from his body early on; Matthew Hayden goes for his shots a lot early and gives you a chance.”Justin Langer is a stickler who will play on the bowlers’ patience and, while Michael Clarke is one of the most exciting cricketers the world has seen for some time, I’m not sure he enjoys genuine pace and bounce. Flintoff hits the deck hard and could give him problems as well as Harmison.”

South Africa have confirmed that their 14-man squad to tour India in November will include five non-white players, after a government official said Gerald Majola, the board’s chief executive, had promised the quota last week.”Majola said there will be five black players in the squad,” Butana Komphela, chairman of the South Africa government’s portfolio committee on sport, told the Reuters news agency. “He said the United Cricket Board’s succession plan was beginning to yield results, and they would demonstrate this by including five black players in the tour party.”It is widely believed that the squad will include the first cricketer of Asian origin to represent South Africa. Durban-born Hashim Amla, 21, has struck four centuries for KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa A so far this season.And as Nicky Boje is unlikely to be available for the series, a non-white spinner in slow left-armer Robin Peterson, 25, who made his Test debut in 2003 against Bangladesh, is likely to be includedIt is expected that Boje and opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs will pull out of the tour over fears they face arrest in India over alleged links to match-fixing and corruption last time South Africa travelled to India, in 2000. Gibbs’s father, Herman, has said his son will not tour India.The fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini, 27, and Charl Langeveldt, 29, could spearhead South Africa’s bowling attack, alongside Shaun Pollock, while Garnett Kruger is likely to be the reserve fast bowler. Kruger led South Africa A to a series win over New Zealand A in September.The 24-year-old non-white batsman Justin Ontong could also be included in the squad, which is to be announced on Wednesday.The first of South Africa’s two Tests in India starts at Kanpur on November 20.

The Telstra Dome is on standby to host the Boxing Day Test after fears the MCG will not be ready following heavy rain that has delayed its reconstruction. Cricket Victoria have taken the radical step of offering an alternative to the traditional venue, which is due to host the second Australia-Pakistan Test in seven weeks.Ken Jacobs, the Cricket Victoria chief executive officer, said they had put the Dome – a purpose-built AFL stadium – on notice as a precaution. “We will continue to monitor the program of works at the ground with the Melbourne Cricket Club over the coming weeks,” he said. “A decision regarding the suitability of the ground will not be made for some weeks.”However, Tony Ware, the MCG’s curator, said it would be ready despite more than 120mm of rain in the past two weeks turning the surface into a bog. “We lost a few days last week with wet weather,” Ware told the Herald Sun. “We are ahead in some areas, we are behind in some areas, on balance we are about where we thought we should be.”Ware said the picture would be clearer in another week but more heavy rain would delay the project. “Re the question of the Boxing Day Test, we don’t have too many major concerns at this stage,” he said.Stephen Gough, the Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive, said the extra rain was unwanted but the work was on schedule. “I think we’re okay, but in all good planning arrangements you’ve got to have a back up, and Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria certainly wanted to have that if something went wrong,” he told ABC Online.Since the AFL grand final in September a 70cm slope has been removed in order to have the surface ready for the 2006 Commonwealth Games track and field competition. The pitches will be dropped in once the levelling is completed.The ground is the only one in Melbourne used for Test cricket and hosted the first match between Australia and England in 1877. Since then it has been used for a further 95 Tests and 117 one-day internationals.Australia first played at the Telstra Dome, which has a retractable roof, in a three-match exhibition series against South Africa in 2000 and two years later faced Pakistan in two matches. The opening game of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy between Australia and New Zealand will be held there on December 5.

The South Africa A squad have escaped unhurt from a road accident when their team bus collided with a truck carrying wood while travelling between Dambulla and Kandy.”A truck driver appeared to have lost control of his vehicle when he was overtaking,” Vincent Barnes, the South Africa A coach, was quoted as saying in a media release. “He came straight at us and collided with our bus and although, we did not get hurt, our police escorts were seriously hurt when the truck slid and hit them. I want to assure everybody back home that we are fine and the match will go on as planned.”South Africa A were preparing for a 3-day match against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla and were returning from practice when the accident occured.

Border made short work of Eastern Province on the second day of their season opener at Port Elizabeth, winning by an innings and eight runs as EP collapsed to 113 all out just before tea. Earlier, Border extended their first-innings lead to 121 when they declared at 297 for 8 after the mandatory 85 overs. Border’s captain, Murray Ranger(57 not out) and Lundi Mbane (48) put on 94 for the sixth wicket as Border pushed towards bonus points. The Border seamer, Phaphama Fojela, then took 4 for 33 as EP collapsed with only Sithembile Makongolo (56) showing any resistance.A maiden first-class hundred from Craig Thyssen (157) and 97 from Riel de Kock allowed Free State to declare at 478 for 8 at Bloemfontein, a lead of 236. At the close, Gauteng had progressed to 82 for 0, when bad light stopped play nine overs early. Stephen Cook was undefeated on 56.Fighting innings from Griqualand West’s captain, Wendell Bossenger (62) and the debutant Frans Holtzhausen (52) enabled the visitors to recover from 94 for 5 to 241 all out, still 140 behind the North West total of 381. At stumps the lead had been extended to 375 as North West finished the day on 234 for 3, thanks to 96 not out from Mohammad Akoojee. With the pitch becoming more batsman-friendly a draw could be on the cards.Despite taking a very experienced team to Benoni, Northerns have their backs against the wall after being bowled out for 134 and taking a three-run lead into the second innings against neighbours, Easterns. The Easterns bowlers shared the wickets with Morne Morkel and Brendon Reddy taking three and Siraag Abrahams four. An undefeated 117 by Andre Seymore then raised the Easterns hopes as they reached 201 for 8 at the end of the day’s play. A feature of the innings was the use of nine bowlers by Northerns in an attempt to gain the upper hand.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indian bowler and useful lower-order batsman, has signed a two-year contract with Durham. Gibson spent two seasons with Leicestershire, and has played two Tests and 15 one-day matches for the West Indies.Coach Martyn Moxon said, “We are absolutely delighted that Ottis has agreed to join the club for the start of the 2006 season. He is an important addition to our seam attack – his proven ability and experience will undoubtedly be an asset to the squad.”Gibson has been Leicestershire’s leading wicket-taker for the past two seasons, but he is looking forward to playing for a new county. “After their promotion to Division One in both forms of the game, this is a really exciting time for Durham,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. There [are] a talented bunch of young bowlers at the club and the opportunity to work with them and to help them develop is an exciting one.”

The Queensland captain Jimmy Maher has predicted his state team-mate Andrew Symonds will earn a Test average of 50. Symonds has been included in the squad to face West Indies at Hobart from Thursday and Maher, who played 26 one-day internationals, said he could become a regular in the middle order if he kept things simple.”He is the sort of player who if he gets to 20 is very difficult to remove,” Maher said in . “The biggest thing is keeping it simple. When he keeps it simple with bat and ball he is dynamic.”Symonds has replaced Shane Watson, who is another Queensland allrounder, and his mixture of offspin and medium pace is not as attractive as his potentially brutal batting. “There is no reason why he can’t average 50 in Tests,” Maher said. “He’s a great player of spin and he’s sorted out his game against the quicks and medium pacers. The way the selectors are going with the allrounder role I see Shane Watson batting at No. 4 down the track and Symonds at five or six.”After playing two Tests on Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka last year, where he scored 0, 24, 6 and 23, Symonds is within touching distance of his first match at home after a long run in the one-day side. “If you need an injection of something when there is nothing happening, he is the man who can change things around,” Maher told the paper. “We used to call him ‘Golden Bollocks’ because he used to come on after the quicks had busted their guts and he would bowl gentle outswingers and get a wicket.”