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If you are travelling to the Cricket World Cup think carefully about what you’re bringing back to the UK. There are strict controls on bringing meat, milk, fish, shellfish, plants, and their products into EU countries because they can carry animal and plant pests and diseases.Diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease are endemic in parts of southern Africa, and you should bear in mind the disastrous effects of FMD on Great Britain in 2001.You MAY NOT bring back any meat, dried meat, milk, or their products for your personal consumption.You may bring back up to 2kg of fruit and raw vegetables (but not potatoes), a bouquet of flowers and five retail packets of seeds (but not potato seeds).There are penalties for breaking the rules that include an unlimited fine and/ or up to two years imprisonment.If you are in any doubt about what you can, or cannot bring in to the UK, please contact the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Helpline on:From the UK 08459 335577From outside the UK: +44 20 7270 8961 between 9-5 Mon-Friwww.defra.gov.uk/animalh/illegaliPlease stop, think and check the import rules carefully – IF IN DOUBT LEAVE IT OUT!

Sri Lanka face a rigid international program at home from this month.Following the tri-nation one-day tournament at home against India and New Zealand, they play three Tests against India which end on September 2nd at the SSC.Then from September 6-10 they meet Bangladesh in Colombo in their first match of the Asian Test championships, after which there is a short break with a trip to Sharjah thrown-in in November for the tri-nation series against West Indies and Pakistan.In fact, Sri Lanka have the advantage of playing all their qualifying round matches of the Asian championships at home.West Indies are due to arrive for their first-ever three-Test series against Sri Lanka in mid-November after which they will participate in a triangular one-day contest with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe comprising seven matches from December 8-19th. Zimbabwe will stay back after the triangular to play a series of three Tests against Sri Lanka from December 27-January 20, 2002.Sri Lanka will resume their matches of the Asian Test championships again when they meet Pakistan from January 31-February 4 and India from February 8-12th. Both matches will be played in Colombo.The final of the Asian Test championships will be played in Dhaka from February 15-19. The dates of the championships are tentative. Thus, Sri Lanka will play at least 90% of their matches in the international calendar between July 18 and February 19, 2002 at home.The schedule includes 12 Tests (plus one Test in Dhaka, if they qualify) and 12 One-Day Internationals (plus five or six ODI’s in Sharjah).In the meantime, the national squad (sans Aravinda de Silva) left Colombo for Dambulla on Tuesday to prepare themselves for the tri-nation one-day series.De Silva failed to arrive with the other three national cricketers Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu and Chaminda Vaas after participating in two fund-raising cricket matches at Trent Bridge for the Trent Bridge pavilion on June 30th and July 1st.Sri Lanka is due to play New Zealand on July 25th and India on July 28th at Dambulla in the second round of matches of the tournament, and the national pool of 26 players will train and play a one-day match there over the next three days, prior to the events.”We have played just one One-Day International against England at this venue and it is imperative that we familiarise ourselves to the conditions here,” said Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore.The tri-series comprises ten matches, of which Sri Lanka will play amaximum of seven, if they qualify to play in the final.

Sunderland journalist Scott Wilson has given his reaction to some early team news that has now emerged involving Aiden McGeady.

The Lowdown: Serious injury

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match at home to Gillingham in League One this afternoon, Alex Neil casted doubt over whether McGeady will play again this season.

The manager said that it will be determined by how he gets on in his rehab, and then whether he is able to get himself up and running.

The Latest: Wilson reacts

Taking to Twitter, Wilson, who covers North East football for The Northern Echo, has since given his reaction to Neil’s verdict:

“It’s not sounding especially positive in terms of Aiden McGeady’s hopes of playing for SAFC again this season.”

The Verdict: Big blow

It is certainly a big blow for the Stadium of Light faithful not just to lose McGeady for the Gillingham clash, but for potentially the rest of the campaign.

He currently ranks as their fourth-best performer in the league, having notched up three goals and four assists, and also ranks highly among his teammates in terms of average shots, key passes, crosses and through balls per game (WhoScored).

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The Black Cats could really do with the 35-year-old’s experience and know-how going into the end of the term, especially given their ambition to finish in the play-off places, and ultimately gain promotion up to the Championship.

In other news, find out what ‘major concern’ Kevin Phillips has now shared ahead of Gillingham here!

	Stephen Moore on his way to 66 as Worcestershire took control at Edgbaston © Getty Images

Division One

Mark Ealham put his former county to the sword as Nottinghamshire built a lead of 272 against Kent at Canterbury. When Darren Stevens claimed his fourth wicket the visitors were 219 for 7 and the advantage looked like being held to manageable proportions. However, Ealham added 87 with Paul Franks and 93 with Darren Pattinson, who followed his five wickets on the opening day with a sturdy 33. Ealham’s century took 196 balls – he survived a stumping chance on 99 off James Tredwell – before Chris Read declared in his first match as captain. Kent survived 10 overs before the close but face a tough task to salvage something from the match.Click here for a full report from the match between Hampshire and Sussex at The Rose Bowl.For a full report from The Oval, where Surrey have piled on the runs against Lancashire, click here.

Division Two

Worcestershire had to do without Simon Jones on the second day against Warwickshire at Edgbaston – he was suffering from a stiff neck – but that did not prevent them from polishing off the home side for 215 and then extending their lead to 184 after closing 150 for 2. Gareth Andrew grabbed three wickets in seven balls to help Worcestershire to a first-innings lead of 34, and then half-centuries from Stephen Moore (66) and Vikram Solanki (75*) in a second-wicket stand of 141 added to Warwickshire’s poor day.Ravi Bopara and Jason Gallian, two players at opposite ends of the career spectrum, pounded Northamptonshire with an unbroken stand of 266 as Essex took control at Chelmsford. The early stages of the season are an important time for Bopara as he tries to re-establish his credentials following a troubled winter with England. He brought up his century from 164 balls, following his three wickets yesterday in what is becoming an impressive all-round game. Gallian is one of county cricket’s long-serving members and is starting life at his third county following lengthy spells at Lancashire and Nottinghamshire. His hundred was a more sedate affair, taking 220 balls, but helped his new side take a strong hold on the match.At Bristol, Derbyshire’s batsmen showed much more fight after their first-innings capitulation, but they still face a tough task to avoid defeat after closing on 235 for 4, a lead of 45. It took Derbyshire almost all morning to take the last four Gloucestershire wickets, by which time the home side’s first-innings lead had grown to 190. Derbyshire were wobbling on 67 for 2, but Chris Rogers and Dominic Telo (65) put on 129 for the third wicket to erase the deficit, Rogers bringing up his hundred off 155 balls. Marcus North removed Telo, driving at a wide one, and then held a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to end Rogers’ innings.Tom New’s maiden Championship hundred helped Leicestershire reach 246 for 1 in reply to Middlesex’s 312 on a bitterly cold day at Grace Road. It was Leicestershire’s day from the off as they took the remaining five Middlesex wickets for 48 – the visitors lost eight for 72 – and then New and 22-year-old Matt Boyce added 143 for the first wicket. Steve Finn removed Boyce for 69 soon after tea but HD Ackerman took to the bowlers. He was 63 at the close with New, who brought up his century off 228 balls shortly before the end of the day, on 104.

Now that Andy Pick has dived back into coaching England Under-19 it’s essential Canada replace him soon © Getty Images

Canada must appoint a coach soon if they are to qualify for the next World Cup, says Andy Pick their former coach. Pick, who has resumed his role with England Under-19 after his year-long sabbatical with Canada, has warned that, with the qualification stages in just 18 months, steps have to be taken now.”It’s essential to get a coach in place,” he said. “If Canada miss out on qualification that will be a massive step backwards.”The importance of qualifying has taken on even more weight now that the ICC is likely to increase the amount of money given to the Associates on the back of its deal with ESPN. Without qualifying, then the gap between them and the Full Members could widen massively and so “they need to beg, steal or borrow to get a programme in place for the next 18 months.”While coaching Canada in their recent World Cup campaign was “a very, very enjoyable experience”, Pickadmits to being disappointed at the restrictions he found when it cameto putting his ideas into practice. “It’s frustrating. I was takenthere as a Level 4 coach to implement frameworks and structures butthere was no money to implement them. Money was between very, verytight and non-existent.”

You can’t buy consistency… but youcan put in programs that help you be consistent

The ICC did contribute and, as Pick acknowledges, it’s not abottomless pit, but the conditions that came with the funding were, at times,restrictive. “They put the money in, but it’s all ringfenced.” Still,Pick believes the solution has to come from within: “Hopefully thenational government will start funding cricket to a certain level.”CCA were missing certain criteria to make them eligible for government assistance, but these arenow being addressed. What’s needed is an initial input of cash to fund appointments such as a marketing manager to raise more money and such schemes as a junior development programme, and “that’s when it will get exciting.”There is enough potential, he says, within Canadian cricket: as somany play the game, there must be “a trickle, if not a stream, ofnatural talent.” He adds: “It’s just a question of putting programs inplace.”

Canada at the World Cup: “Weshowed glimpses of competitiveness” © Getty Images

And he is optimistic for Canada’s future. He has identified that theartificial pitches and nets need to be replaced, where possible, withgrass to improve techniques. He would start with Toronto, where 85% of the top players are based, and would change their nets and the Premier League pitches.He admits the chief executive Ben Sennick’s desire for Canada to be aTest team within ten years is a long-shot, but not impossible. “Thatvision is there.” A more realistic goal is being a one-day outfit inthe mould of Bangladesh and Kenya, and one that should be attainedwell within a decade.He was encouraged, in parts, by Canada’s display in the World Cup. “Weshowed glimpses of competitiveness. You can’t buy consistency… but youcan put in programs that help you be consistent. We’ve shown in placeswe have the ability.” But only by playing more will they trulycompete. And to play more the players have to be available and to beavailable they all of course need… money.

Michael Atherton says commentators were ‘asked not to mention sensitive subjects’ on air © Getty Images

Michael Atherton, the former England captain who was part of the commentary team for the India-England series, has said that commentators had been asked to stay clear of “sensitive” issues by the production company.”The Indian cricket board treat Nimbus, the production company to whom they sold the television rights, like an in-house production company,” Atherton wrote in his column in the . “Nimbus are petrified of upsetting their ’employer’, for fear of not getting any future rights, so any criticism of the BCCI is strictly frowned upon.”Local commentators are already asked to wear the BCCI logo and are asked not to mention sensitive subjects like the spat between Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly, or controversial selection issues, no matter how germane they might be to the action. There has been talk that eventually the BCCI will have their own cricket channel. No doubt the viewers will get to see only what the BCCI want them to see and, with compliant commentators on board, they will hear only what the BCCI want them to hear.”Harish Thawani, promoter of Nimbus, denied these claims. “I am the producer of the series and I have not issued any instructions to this effect,” he was quoted as saying in . “In fact, the commentators were very critical of the amount of cricket being played and of the board overusing certain cricketers. There’s no question of gagging anyone.”Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, rejected the claims made by Atherton, referring to it as a misunderstanding. He said cricketers, once out of the field, have a platform to criticise people as openly as they can write in newspapers and express in other ways. He added that the board was willing to clarify all concerns the commentators may have.Javagal Srinath, the former Indian fast bowler who was also one of the commentators during the series, had a different view. “I don’t know what was told to them [the Sky team],” he told Cricinfo, “but we had no restraint as such.”

Ricky Ponting: ‘Bigger games tend to bring the best out of this team’ © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting has insisted that his bowlers will hit top form in this weekend’s NatWest Series final against England after they let Bangladesh off the hook on Thursday. In the last group game of the tournament, Australia were set for a convincing win after reducing Bangladesh to 75 for 5. But Bangladesh, who’d stunned the cricket world 12 days earlier by beating Australia by five wickets in Cardiff, batted out their 50 overs on the way to posting a competitive 250 for 8.Australia eventually got home with 11 balls to spare with Michael Clarke (80 not out) andAndrew Symonds (42 not out) securing a six-wicket win. But while Bangladesh may not have had enough bowling to make the most of their batsmen’s recovery, England possess the likes of Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones.”We probably made harder work of it than we should have,” Ponting admitted after Thursday’s match. “We’ve bowled better at England in a couple of games than we have against Bangladesh. Bigger games tend to bring the best out of this team and certain players in our team and I think that has been proven over a long period of time so today will be forgotten about.”In the meantime Ponting will hope his attack can to stop the extras that have blighted their tournament thus far. On Thursday they conceded 23 extras including 14 wides and no-balls – the equivalent of more than two extra overs.Australia and England have beaten each other once apiece in the tournament with a wash-out at Edgbaston. “We’ve just got to get back to thinking about the basics of the game and our plans that we will have for the English batsmen,” Ponting continued. “Not knowing a lot about some of the individual players in the Bangladesh side sometimes makes it a little bit harder to set fields and have certain plans. We’ll probably have better plans for the England players when we get to play against them.”But he admitted he was concerned about the bowling extras. “The no-ball thing we see as being almost totally unacceptable in our side. It’s the most zero tolerance type of thing in our team. We have bowled a few of those in the last couple of games and I know the bowlers are working extremely hard to try and ensure they don’t bowl them.”In the meantime he said Bangladesh had provided the ideal workout in what was adead match with England and Australia already in the final. “To be able to chase 250 won’t do us any harm anyway, to be under a bit of pressure at 83 for 3 was good for us and will hold us in good stead for Saturday.”While England will have had several days of rest leading up to the final since their last group game on Sunday, Australia will have had a far more congested schedule. “It will have been a tough run for us going into this final with three games in five days,” Ponting said. “But we will have a relaxing day on Friday, get all our plans sorted out, hit theground running on Saturday and hopefully perform at our best.”

40.1 overs
Scorecard

Matthew Hayden kept his end up while Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting blazed away ©Getty Images

Australia outclassed India with the ball and bat, and in the field, to register a thumping seven-wicket win in the first of the three finals of the VB Series. To their credit India fought hard, engineering a mini-recovery. At the end of the day, though, there was little to cheer about for Indian fans. The team will have to shrug off this loss in a hurry if they are to stretch Australia to a third final.The day began well for India, when Sourav Ganguly won the toss and chose to bat on a light-coloured dry pitch. From there on little went right. Australia’s fast bowlers, rejuvenated after a couple of games on the bouncy tracks of Perth, hit a perfect length. The batsmen had nothing to drive at and slowly but surely were pushed onto the back foot. From then on, the bowlers merely had to persist. Every now and then a ball did a bit extra, a batsman committed a mistake and the wickets fell.Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar both departed inside six overs. Sehwag fended Jason Gillespie awkwardly to Adam Gilchrist while Tendulkar played a half-cocked drive to a full one from Brett Lee and was bowled through the gate (2 for 14). Soon after, VVS Laxman (24) and Rahul Dravid were gone with the score on 48 and India were in deep strife. Each of the four Australian bowlers used – Gillespie, Lee, Williams and Harvey – had struck.Ganguly walked out to the wicket amidst a rain of short balls, no doubt ruing the way things turned out after he had decided to bat. He played and missed more than once, attempting pull shots that would have been more in place on a beach in the Caribbean than an international tournament final. In the event, he was put out of his misery soon enough, by the bowler least likely to get him, when he cut and edged Ian Harvey to the keeper. Yuvraj Singh had a breezy yet pleasant stay out in the middle, clipping two effortless boundaries. Then, he became the latest casualty, edging a full one from Lee to the keeper. At 6 for 76 India were dead and buried.Ajit Agarkar then wafted out like a refreshing breeze and hit the bowlers all around the park. The pressure of being so many down for so few seemed to act in reverse. After all, Agarkar had little to lose. His driving down the ground was crisp, his whips off the hip well-placed and his pull shot phenomenal. Hemang Badani, the last recognised batsman, watched in disbelief as a lesser batsman made light of the task at hand. Fortunately for India, Badani did not attempt to match Agarkar stroke for stroke. Instead he buckled down, brushed off the times he played and missed, and held up one end.Agarkar’s dramatic pull shot off Harvey, when he swiveled with the twirl of a ballerina and deposited a perfectly good ball over the stands at midwicket, was the highlight of a 102-run seventh wicket partnership that breathed life into the game. But even then, Agarkar’s breezy 53 (62 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) and Badani’s determined 60 not out (81 balls, 4 fours) could only take India to 222.When India came out to attempt a defense of 222, it was almost an impossible task. Yet, Agarkar and Lakshmipathy Balaji began well enough, sending down two tight overs. And then all hell broke loose. Gilchrist opened his shoulders and launched the kind of assault you need when you’re chasing 323 rather than 223. His bat came down fast and furiously with metronomic efficiency. Anything that was full, or wide, and preferably both, was dispatched with an arrogant air.Gilchrist (38, 20 balls, 7 fours) was particularly savage on Balaji early on. He crashed him for three boundaries in four balls, and had scored 18 runs from the first five balls of the over before he finally slipped up. Balaji came around the wicket, dug the ball in short and Gilchrist’s pull sailed high and handsome into Tendulkar’s hands at deep backward square leg (1 for 48).If India were happy to see the back of Gilchrist, the smiles were wiped off their faces by a rampant Ponting. He attacked the bowling from the moment he walked out to the middle, getting his eye in well against the medium-pacers before expanding his victims list to accommodate the spinners. His quicksilver footwork formed the basis for his clean hitting. He was not always to the pitch of the ball, but that hardly mattered as he drove on the up and through the line with sure hands. Small wonder that he was happy to walk when he edged one on 88 (80 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) with the score on 193.Balaji picked up three consolation wickets, including that of Hayden in unusual circumstances. Hayden drove uppishly at a slower ball and only managed a gentle scoop back towards the bowler. An apologetic appeal from Balaji was upheld by the third umpire. Hayden’s unusually restrained 50 (91 balls, 4 fours) formed the backbone of the 139-run partnership with Ponting for the third wicket. Suffice it to say it was more than enough to see Australia home.

Yorkshire’s Australian first-team coach Wayne Clark has left the club by mutual consent after two years.Clark took over at Headingley after Martyn Moxon’s surprise decision to move to Durham in January 2001, and met with immediate success as the club won the County Championship.However, riches turned to rags for Clark last season when Yorkshire finished bottom of the First Division. Clark is understood to have turned down the position of bowling coach.Clark still had a year of his contract to run, and club president Robin Smith told the Yorkshire Post that he was in touch with Clark’s lawyers to work out the terms of his departure.Kevin Sharp is expected to be appointed full-time batting coach, while Arnie Sidebottom is likely to be become bowling coach.

Joseph Hill has been named Manawatu’s cricket player of the year.Hill scored 756 runs at an average of 94.1 for his Kia Toa club over the summer.Other club trophy winners were:Premier One:

• 50-Over Champions (2ZA Cup) – KTFCC
• Two-Day Champions (Barraud Cup) – Marist CC
• Eight-a-side Champions (Eight-a-side Trophy) – KTFCC

Premier Two:

• 50-Over Champions (Henry & Moody Cup) – Feilding CC
• Two-Day Champions (T R Moore Cup) – PNBHS

Premier Three:

• 50-Over Champions (Association Shield) – Palmerston CC
• Two-Day Champions (MCA Shield) – Palmerston CC

Premier Four:

• 50-Over Champions (A M Ongley Trophy) – Old Boys CC
• Two-Day Champions (Mark Briggs Shield) – PNBHS

Reserve Grade:

• Champions (Oakley Shield) – Old Boys CC

Overall Club Supremacy: Ongley Cup PNBHSIndividual Trophy winners:Batting:

• Premier One (Justice & Edmonds Cup) – J Hill (KTFCC), 756 runs @ 94.1
• Premier Two (Scorgie Shield) – C Mason (Palmerston CC), 304 runs @ 38
• Premier Three (MCA Cup) – K Stratford (KTFCC), 356 runs @ 56.7
• Premier Four (MCA Trophy) – H Brown (PNBHS), 385 runs @ 42.8
• Reserve Grade (Abraham Cup) – S Earle (Old Boys CC), 539 runs @ 81.5
• Women (MWCA Trophy) – K Legg (Old Boys CC), Ave 25.7

Bowling:

• Premier One (Taranto Shield) – R MacKay (PNBHS), 29 wkts @ 17.7
• Premier Two (Stewart Cup) – M Taiuru (PNBHS), 27 wkts @ 10.9
• Premier Three (MCA Cup) – L Martin (Palmerston CC), 36 wkts @ 8.31
• Premier Four (Rowe Trophy) – T Wilson (PNBHS), 28 wkts @ 8.9
• Reserve Grade (Association Cup) – L Nicholls (Old Boys CC), 27 wkts @ 12.5
• Women (MWCA Cup) – M Murray (Old Boys CC), 14 wkts @ 31.0

Qantas New Zealand Player of the Season: J Hill (KTFCC)Representative Trophy Winners:

• Gallichan Cup (Most Meritorious Innings) – 313-run partnership, J Hill (194) and P Ingram (180) v Horowhenua-Kapiti
• McVicar Cup (Most Meritorious Bowling) – G West, 6 overs, 2 maidens, 12 runs, 5 wickets, including a hat-trick v Hawkes Bay
• Oakley Cup (Best Fielder) – B Griggs, 8 catches, 2 stumpings
• Adrianne Stratford Memorial Cup (Most Promising Player) – I Sandbrook
• MCA Umpires Salver (Women’s Rep Player of the Year) – E Travers