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Northlands Road, the Home of Hampshire Cricket: 1885-2000All quotations from the writing of John Arlott”Back once more on the ground where the backways and the little odd rooms – conjured out of accidental bulges in the old pavilions – are familiar as home. To be sure, the old pros’ room has been renovated; its spike-pocked floor renewed and showers, baths and basins installed. Still though the Southampton ground has an air of improvisation, of gradual growth, additions and after-thoughts merging into a unity like the photos, nick-nacks and pieces of china which, over the years, accumulated on our grandparents mantelpieces” (Cricket Journal 1958)Hampshire’s Southampton Grounds:Antelope 1839 First match(East side of Love Lane) 1842 Daniel Day curator, Hants v England1845 MCC beat Hants – Day moved to Itchen*(Cricket continued there under Mr Brooks)Itchen Ground 1845 Daniel Day moved to ground*(South side of Woolston Road) 1846 First match1851 Day to East Hants Ground, Southsea1850s Ground built on1864 Major cricket returned to Antelope untilNorthlands Road 1884 Eight acres leased for £160 pa1885 Ground opened & first matches1893 Freehold purchased (£5,400)1895 First season of Championship Cricket”1895, that year of transformation, saw also the beginning of the replacement of the old….by the basis of the present building complex. It would normally be categorised as Edwardian; as so many of the county pavilions are or were. With its bright red tiles and brickwork, white woodwork and open to the air in perpetual optimistic expectation of sunshine, it is – or is it that nostalgia makes it seem so? – a generous, essentially summer place.” (“A Summer Place” Hampshire Handbook 1985)1896 Pavilion Facade erected
1896 Southampton FC play there for 2 seasons
1897 Ladies Pavilion built
1911 (White) Scoreboard erected
1956 New office block opened
1959 Indoor School built
1960s Two pavilions joined
1980s County Club developed
1990s Sold for housing development
Adapted: Cricket Grounds of Hampshire – Association of Cricket Statisticians 1988Notable Events at Northlands Road:2000 Hampshire’s last-ever match at Southampton v Notts in the National League. Prittipaul’s 152 v Derbyshire was the highest score for Hampshire in a first innings on a home ground (not debut)
1999 Robin Smith captained Hampshire in their first ever National League match
1998 Hampshire lost to Lancashire in the Nat West Semi-Final. Chasing 253 they collapsed to 28-5 and lost by 43 runs. Since cup cricket began in 1963 Hampshire won only one semi-final at Northlands Road (B&H Cup v Somerset 1992)
1997 Hick & Moody (Worcestershire) scored 438* for 3rd wicket at Southampton – Hick’s innings of 303* was the highest ever v Hampshire.
1996 Dimitri Mascarenhas took 6 wickets on debut for Hampshire. Kevan James took 4 wickets in 4 balls and scored a century v India – a world record. In the match v Essex the match aggregate of 1523 for 36 wickets is the highest in Hampshire’s history. Cardigan Connor took 9-38 v Gloucs – a ground record.
1995 Keech (98) & Whitaker (97) both narrowly missed their centuries in a tied Sunday League match v Worcestershire. West Indies scored 696-6 dec.
1994 Hampshire’s 603-7dec v Surrey was their highest ever at Southampton
1993 Future Hampshire batsman Matthew Hayden hit a century at Northlands Road for Australia
1992 Udal with 8-50 v Sussex achieved his best bowling for Hampshire
1991 Chris Smith scored a century in the Nat West quarter-final v Nottinghamshire but did not play in the final because he left Hampshire in August to take up a post abroad.
1990 Gloucestershire were particularly disappointed when Hampshire beat them by scoring 446-8. Hampshire also scored 600-8 dec v Sussex – their first score of 600 on the ground.
1989 Raj Maru took 8-41 v Kent
1988 Hampshire won their first Cup Final at Lord’s but on the next day their celebrating captain Mark Nicholas retired hurt without scoring in the Sunday League v Gloucestershire
1987 Hampshire 2nd XI lost to Derbyshire in the Bain Dawes Final.
1986 The captain and vice-captain Nicholas & Terry were batting at the end of the Sunday victory v Lancashire, celebrating Hampshire’s title success. Bob Parks dismissed six victims in an innings v Notts – equalling the ground record.
1985 Robin Smith achieved his career best bowling of 2-11 v Surrey
1984 Trevor Jesty Scored 32 in an over off Robin Boyd-Moss (Northants) – the most ever at Southampton
1983 Three West Indians, Greenidge, Marshall and Lynch all scored centuries in the match with Surrey
1982 Nick Pocock invited Worcestershire to bat in the Sunday League but Ormrod & Patel set a League record with 224 for 1st wicket
1981 The former Hampshire opener Richard Lewis played for Dorset when they beat Hampshire in the B&H Cup
1980 Roger Tolchard a former Hampshire 2nd XI player caught six Hampshire players in the match v Leicestershire. Tim Tremlett opened the batting and carried his bat for 70* in the same match.
1979 Bob Stephenson had one season as Hampshire’s second wicket-keeper/captain (the first was C Robson)
1978 Barry Richards and Andy Roberts left mid-season before Hampshire won the Sunday League title for the second time.
1977 The only double champion, Peter Sainsbury, retired before the season began, having played since 1955
1976 Trevor Jesty enjoyed his only 7 wicket haul (7-75 v Somerset) and scored his first century (134 v Gloucs)
1975 Hampshire achieved their highest limited overs score of 371-4 v Glamorgan in the Gillette Cup. Gordon Greenidge scored 259 v Sussex and went to 50, 100, 150, 200 & 250 with a six – his total of 13 sixes was a ground record.
“It is hard to select a particular innings of Barry Richards as outstanding because, if he stays in long, he will either have given a rich display of stroke-making or batted with consummate skill on a bowler’s wicket. It is hard though not to believe that, against the Australians at Southampton in 1975, he spoke his heart in the idion he commands most fully. Thomson, Hurst, Walker, Higgs and Mallett bowled; Richards played two innings of 96 and (retired hurt) 69, which declared his fitness to stand high on the level of Test cricket from which he is debarred….He played himself in with cold determination. Then, as soon as he was sure of his touch, he unleashed a fury of strokes….tossing his wicket away to a bad ball when a century was his for the taking.” (John Arlott’s Book of Cricketers 1979)1974 Bob Herman took 6-15 v Glamorgan but rain prevented victory and Hampshire finished runners-up in the Championship.
1973 Northants came to Northlands Road in second place, lost in two days and finished the season in third – Hampshire were champions.
1972 John Holder took a hat-trick before retiring to become an umpire.1971 New Zealander David O’Sullivan impressed v Gloucestershire as Hampshire clinched the 2nd XI title
1970 Barry Richards left the Rest of the World side in the `Test’ v England to score a Sunday century v Glamorgan
1969 Hampshire’s first Sunday League match in June was `Butch’ White’s benefit. Hampshire finished 2nd.
1968 In his first season, Barry Richards started batting at number 4 but scored more after he moved to opener – finishing with 2314 runs.
1967 Gordon Greenidge batted at number 7 for Hampshire 2nd XI when they won the title for the first time
1966 Hampshire’s former `leggie’ Alan Castell surprised the West Indies with 7-58 in the match
1965 Peter Sainsbury took 7-30 and scored 70 in a Gillette Cup match v Norfolk
1964 Former Pompey soccer player Mike Barnard scored 123 v Australia – his sixth and final hundred, of which three were v tourists.
“Go to the County Ground on any day in the cricket season – or, for that matter, on a good many days outside it – and somewhere between the indoor school and the pavilion you are likely to meet a comfortable, well-fed-looking man going in one direction when he obviously wants to go in several. He has a rosy face, a quizzical look in his blue eyes and one eyebrow goes up as he asks you wistfully, out of the side of his mouth, “ave you seen so-and-so?”This is `The Coach’. Arthur Holt finds that title convenient: it saves him the embarrasment of telling ground staff boys that they must call him Mister Holt and not Arthur.” (An Appreciation 1963)1963 Derek Shackleton took 7-30 v Surrey – his best at Southampton
1962 Danny Livingstone, dropped first ball v Surrey (on a hat-trick) scored 200
1961 `Butch’ White took 7-61 v Nottinghamshire – his best at Southampton in the year that Hampshire won their first Championship.
1960 Mervyn Burden took 8-96 v Lancashire but Hampshire lost”Hampshire v South Africans 1960: In almost tropical sunshine the South Africans took Test batting practice at a tempo mounting from an early halting uncertainty to a glorious crescendo of strokes. The Southampton wicket was a friendly invitation to a run-making party – perfect hospitality for the batsmen…. McLean …. threatened avalanches with a six into Northlands Road. But upon that challenge the heavily shouldered and deep-chested David White peeled off his sweater and heaved a fast ball through McLean’s drive. It was White’s hundredth wicket in first-class cricket: he will batter down many a hundred more before he is done – but not without labour on such pitches as this.” (Cricket Journal 3 1960)1959 Three Test-playing county captains Cowdrey, Watson and Washbrook were all injured during matches at Southampton.
1958 Hampshire’s new captain Ingleby-Mackenzie started with a victory, a duck and a century v Kent. He led Hampshire to 2nd place for the first time in their history.
1957 Tom Dewdney took a hat-trick for West Indies
1956 `Gunner’ Denis Compton (Arsenal FC) played his last innings at Southampton (Keith Miller of the RAAF may have been a gunner but never a `Gunner’!)
1955 Neville Rogers deputised as captain for Desmond Eagar in the last five Championship matches and was undefeated although Hampshire were beaten by South Africa. Hampshire finished third for the first time with Roy Marshall in his first full season for them.
“Few cricketers have had the quality to draw people to cricket grounds. Fewer still could do so, yet send them away by their failure….Roy Marshall did it more than once. No cricketer who had ever appeared for the county had been able to attract crowds to Hampshire grounds as he did….As a member of the West Indian touring side of 1950 Marshall made 135 against Hampshire at Southampton and although Everton Weekes scored a double century at the other end, Marshall’s was remembered as one of the most brilliant innings ever played at the ground.” (John Arlott’s Book of Cricketers 1979)1954 HRH the Duke of Edinburgh brought his XI to the county ground
1953 West Indies batsman Roy Marshall made his Hampshire debut v Australia
1952 Derek Shackleton & Vic Cannings bowled unchanged in the match v Kent who were dismissed for 32, the lowest by Hampshire’s opponents on ground. Arthur Fagg held seven catches in the match for Kent, a ground record.
1951 Two openers, Neville Rogers and Jackie McGlew (South Africa) made centuries in the tourist match
1950 The match v Kent ended in a tie. Alan Shirreff played for Kent having played for Hampshire in the previous Hampshire tied match.
1949 Charlie Knott took 12 wickets in the match v Notts
1948 Jim Bailey did the match double v Leicestershire and the season’s double”Mervyn Burden’s account of his first appearance at the County Ground is one of the masterpieces of spoken autobiography: “I’d never been to the County Ground in my life before….I’ve never felt so nervous in my life. I went up and bowled my first ball and it flew clean over the top of the nets and smashed one of the windows in the dining-room. Someone gave me another one and as I walked back to bowl I was wondering what the dickens I should do this time. I didn’t have to worry. Johnny Arnold was batting in the next net and as I turned to run in he hit an on-drive. I had my back to him and never saw it coming: it caught me a terrific crack on the ankle and I couldn’t bowl for a fortnight. Still I thought I had better show willing so I turned up the next morning to see if there was anything I could do and they sent me out to help Ernie on the pitch. I hadn’t been there a couple of minutes before I kicked a bucket of whiting across the square so they sent me home until my ankle was better.” (Book of Cricketers 1979)”Hampshire searched their resources for a ready-made pace bowler with no success at all. So, at the April nets of 1948, WK Pearce, the county chairman ordered the entire playing strength to bowl `seamers’. The staff rolled up their sleeves: Desmond Eagar recalls with some amusement his attempts to emulate Bill Voce, and several sets of hardening muscles were tugged violently in unfamiliar directions. The only profit the county could show for this experiment was the discovery that Derek Shackleton had bowled `with the seam’ for his club (but) no one dreamt that the morning’s search had unearthed the greatest single asset in Hampshire’s post-war cricket.” (“Derek Shackleton” in John Arlott’s Book of Cricketers 1979)1947 Quadruple Nelson – Kent won by 9 wickets after scoring 444 (4 x 111)
1946 County Championship cricket (v Worcestershire) returned on 11 May(Donald `Hooky’ Walker died on active service during World War Two)Southampton, most familiar of all cricket grounds for me, looked battered still from its war experiences and the weather, dully, did little brighten it. Rain was never far away and the wicket was damp and responsive to spin. Donald Walker would have put his head down and used his dancing feet to reach the pitch of the ball: but Donald will never play cricket again and for me the Southampton ground will always carry a sad memory of him.(Indian Summer 1946)1939 Leicestershire were Hampshire’s last opponents at Southampton before the war
1938 Johnny Arnold and Neil McCorkell enjoyed century partnerships in both innings v Kent
1937 McCorkell made the only century for Hampshire at Southampton in the season
1936 South African Len Creese took 8 wickets v Lancashire
1935 Future coach and Southampton footballer Arthur Holt made his debut
1934 GS Boyes bowled 80 overs in one innings v Notts
1933 Mead scored 150 but Leicestershire avoided defeat thanks to Armstrong who scored 84* and 164
1932 With Mead’s century v Derbyshire he had then completed 100 v every county. Hampshire’s 30 all out v Notts was their lowest ever at Southampton – Jim Bailey took 7-7 in the same match.
1931 Double international Johnny Arnold scored a Southampton century v Northamptonshire
1930 On the last morning v Nottinghamshire, Notts fielded without changing as Hampshire only required one run to win.
“In 1930 the ground was full to see if Don Bradman could complete his 1000 runs before the end of May. The match began on the last day of the month and Hampshire winning the toss, batted first, which threatened Bradman’s opportunity. George Brown resisted characteristically until he was run out for 56 of 151. Bradman went in first, late on that Saturday afternoon needing 46 for his 1000 but under threat of rain. He had made 43 when the storm broke; Jack Newman bowled him a full toss; Bradman hit it for four and everyone ran for shelter.” (Hampshire Handbook 1985)1929 Tennyson played a captain’s innings in June with 125* v Glamorgan
1928 Double Harrys: Harold Harry Gibbons opened for Worcs and William Henry (Harry) Ashdown and Harold Hardinge opened for Kent.
1927 Tennyson made the fastest first-class century for Hampshire on the ground v Gloucestershire in 55 minutes
1926 Future MCC secretary Ronnie Aird made his only hundred at Northlands Road
1925 Irish amateur TO Jameson made a century v Warwickshire batting at number 8
1924 Alec Kennedy took his second Southampton hat-trick v Gloucs. Hampshire beat Surrey by one wicket.
1923 Hearne & Hendren added a 3rd wicket record of 375 for Middlesex
1922 Alec Kennedy took 7-71 and scored 70 v Sussex who still won by 10 runs. He took 190 wickets in the season, a record for Hampshire
1921 Australia with 708-7 dec made the highest first-class innings on the ground. Phil Mead’s 280* v Notts was the highest Hampshire innings on the ground.
“The cricket grounds where we watched the heroes of our boyhood can never be in our minds solely the fields of the current generation of players. When Philip Mead died during the winter, the BBC met the demands of topicality by broadcasting an obituary talk. It was also their idea that during the cricket season and from the County Ground at Southampton, a subsequent and longer piece should be put out in his memory. When they asked me to make this broadcast I wondered if I had not written and said all that I could about him. Yet the place seemed to create a different setting and a different demand. That monumentally reliable batsman, Philip Mead, is dead. But we who were boys in Hampshire in my generation – or, for that matter, in the two generations on either side of it – can never, as long as we live, see this County Ground at Southampton without remembering him. Even now, when I buy an evening paper and turn to the stop press cricket scores, I feel as if I am going to read once more that Philip Mead – a hundred and twenty-two not out – has saved the Hampshire innings.” (Cricket Journal 1958)1920 Brown and EIM Barrett achieved a record partnership of 321 for the 2nd wicket v Gloucestershire
1919 All Championship matches during this season were played over two days but play was extended and in two matches (v Gloucs & Surrey) the teams exceeded 600 runs in a day – ground records.
1914 Fast bowler Arthur Jacques took 7-51 v Warwickshire in his last season. He was killed in action during the Great War. Hampshire finished 5th – their best to that date.
1913 CH Abercrombie scored a century on his Hampshire debut v Oxford University (not his first-class debut)
1912 Hampshire defeated Australia for the first and only time
1911 Hampshire scored 463-8 v Kent – 105 short of a victory target of 568 but a record 4th innings score at the ground
1910 Lancashire scored 404-5 to win the match. CB Lewellyn was the first Hampshire player to do the double
1909 Jack Newman took a hat-trick v Australia”If you look at the railings in front of the pavilion on the county cricket ground at Southampton you will see, just above ground level, a number of dents, curving in towards the pavilion. Almost forty years ago….Jack Newman, pointed to those dents and said to me, only half-humorously – “see those dents – all made by chaps edging my faster ball.” Jack was one of the greatest of Hampshire cricketers. He was the last survivor of the four great professionals – Philip Mead, George Brown, & Alec Kennedy were the others – who, for years carried Hampshire cricket on their strong backs and were, arguably, as fine a group as any county has ever possessed at the same time.” (1967 in Arlott on Cricket 1985)1908 24 year-old John Badcock from Bournemouth took 26 wkts in six matches at Southampton and 212 wkts in three seasons but never played again after 1908.
1907 Wicket-keeper James Stone scored 97* in the victory v Derbyshire
1906 J Greig who later became a priest opened the batting v Derbyshire. The Rev WV Jephson appeared in the same match.
1905 AJL Hill’s scored two centuries in the match v Somerset (only Mead 1913, Richards 1976 and Hayden 1997 have equalled the feat at Southampton)
1904 Webb scored 162* v Somerset in his benefit match
1903 The victory against Derbyshire was Hampshire’s only success of the season
1902 Author Hesketh-Prichard took 6-39 in the Sussex total of 72 but Hampshire lost by 8 wickets.
1901 South African CB Llewellyn hit 216 for Hampshire v South Africa in the tourists’ first match in England. Hampshire made 538 and Hill and Greig also made centuries. Lewellyn also took 14-171 v Worcs, the only instance of 14 wickets in a match for Hampshire on the ground.
1900 Hampshire lost the services of Wynyard, Poore and Heseltine to military service in the Boer War
1899 ER Bradford was called for throwing in the match v Australia
1898 The match v Yorkshire was Hampshire’s lowest-ever match aggregate (235 for 30 wickets). It was Harry Baldwin’s benefit match but finished in one day and Baldwin made a loss on the event.
1897 Bainbridge & Diver of Warwickshire did not bowl in the match v Warwickshire – (all eleven of Hampshire bowled)
1896 EG Wynyard scored 268 for Hampshire v Yorkshire
1895 The match v Derbyshire was particularly significant because it was Hampshire’s first home match in the County Championship. Walter Mead (Essex) took 17-119 – record match figures on the ground
1894 The victory v Sussex was the first in any match after opponents had declared
1893 Future Club President AJL Hill joined Hampshire as a batsman
1892 Dr.Russell Bencraft became captain of the side
1891 Winchester won the Challenge Cup for the second consecutive season
1890 The leading batsman and bowler (Wynyard and Barton) were both Military Officers
1889 The groundsman’s donkey disappeared, leading to a 10/- reward
1888 Tom Soar was engaged as the new groundsman
1887 FE Lacey’s innings of 323* v Norfolk remains the highest on the ground and in a minor county match
1886 Lt Col J Fellowes was Hampshire’s player-secretary
1885 Hampshire moved to Northlands Road from the Antelope Ground in Southampton.
1879 The County Club was reorganised with Russell Bencraft as secretary
1876 W Mycroft (Derbyshire) took 17-103 on the Antelope Ground – a record against Hampshire.
1865 First first-class victory v Surrey at Antelope Ground Southampton
1864 Formation of the modern county club.Dave AllenHCCC Heritage 2000

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, feels his wicket of Mahendra Singh Dhoni shortly before stumps on day two was a turning point for Pakistan in the Feroz Shah Kotla Test. Kaneria said that moment allowed Pakistan the chance to come back in the game, and given the aim was to set India at least a 300-run target, he could have a winning role in the series opener.”Sachin Tendulkar’s run out and disturbing the Dhoni-[VVS] Laxman partnership were important” said Kaneria after an absorbing day’s play. “Dhoni’s wicket was a good breakthrough, especially when they have a long tail. Dhoni is in good form and is an aggressive player who keeps the scoreboard ticking. So claiming his wicket has helped the team a lot.”India were in serious trouble at 93 for 5 but a115-run sixth-wicket stand between Laxman and Dhoni took them extremely close to Pakistan’s total of 231. Kaneria still felt the match was could swing either team’s way.”This is a five-day match and every day is different with one team up one day and another the next day. Today it is balanced,” he said. “We have come back in the match after the breakthrough. Tomorrow morning we will do well.”Batting on day four, said Kaneria, would not be easy. “We did not have the first innings advantage but we’ll give them a target as the fourth day will be difficult to bat with the wicket deteriorating and becoming very slow and low. If we give them a target of 300 we can win the match.”There has not been much sunlight on these two days so wicket has not broken yet. It could be difficult to play spin tomorrow. We will like to come and bowl them out in the morning tomorrow. I can have a vital role in winning the match for Pakistan.”Meanwhile, injured fast bowler Umar Gul, ruled out of this Test with a back sprain, remains in doubt for the second Test. According to Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, Pakistan may call up Rao Iftikhar Anjum as his replacement. “I don’t think Gul will be fit for the second Test. We may bring Iftikhar Anjum back to India,” Salahuddin told PTI. “Iftikhar did very well in the ODIs against South Africa.”An unnamed source in the Pakistan team disclosed that a decision on Gul would be taken in the next few days. “We have sent the [MRI] reports to Pakistan and after consulting with the orthopedics and other medical experts a decision will be taken on whether to retain him or send him back,” the source said.

Defending champions Karnataka began their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with defeat, as Railways hung on for a one-wicket win off the last ball in Bangalore. Chasing 229, Railways were struggling at 70 for 4 once their opener Asad Pathan was dismissed for 50. However, Mahesh Rawat and Karn Sharma chipped in with fifties of their own, and Railways were seemingly on track at 190 for 5. Karnataka, though, wrestled their way back into the game, as bursts from Vinay Kumar and Aniruddha Joshi saw Railways lose four wickets for 32 runs, with the equation now reading seven required off nine balls, with one wicket in hand. Railways’ final pair of Akshat Pandey and Krishnakant Upadhyay held their nerve though, with Pandey striking two fours during a run-a-ball 19 to complete the win.Karnataka would have hoped to post a total in excess of 228 for 9 when their openers Mayank Agarwal and Lokesh Rahul added 60 inside 13 overs. However, Pandey (3 for 45) and Ashish Yadav (3 for 25) struck blows at regular intervals to throw the hosts off course, and only an unbeaten 48-ball 50 from the captain Vinay dragged Karnataka above the 200-run mark.Half-centuries from Ishank Jaggi and Kaushal Singh set Jharkhand up for a nine-run win over Jammu and Kashmir in Alur. Jaggi’s 54 at the top of the order, and Kaushal’s 64-ball 53 at No. 7 helped Jharkhand post a total of 210 after they were sent in to bat. Sixties from Shubham Khajuria and Parvez Rasool took J&K to a strong 144 for 2 in the 36th over, but they slipped thereafter, losing both in the space of seven balls to finish on 201 for 7.Jharkhand’s win came despite lukewarm displays from their two biggest stars. Batting at No. 5, MS Dhoni was out for 9 off 24 balls, while Varun Aaron, bowling first-change, went wicketless, conceding 52 in his 10 overs. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem was their most successful bowler, with figures of 3 for 28.Three-wicket hauls from Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra fired Haryana to a nine-run win against Kerala in Alur. Kerala were struggling at 106 for 9 in their chase of 242, but recovered through a 92-run partnership between Sachin Baby and Padmanabhan Prasanth. Prasanth was dismissed for 27, but with three wickets in hand, and Baby still at the crease, Kerala had every chance of gunning down their required 44 runs off six overs. Kerala were unable to gather the required acceleration though, and three wickets in the final over, bowled by Mohit Sharma, meant Haryana hung on for victory.Earlier, Haryana’s 241 for 7 was built on the back of fifties from Nitin Saini and Mohit Hooda, and the pair’s 95-run partnership. Besides just sharing six wickets between them, Jayant and Mishra also contributed with the bat, scoring 40 and 27 respectively.

Yorkshire have formally appealed to the ECB regarding the decision to reschedule Worcestershire and Kent’s match which was washed out last week. The club has sent a letter asking the ECB to revoke its decision.Their chief executive Stewart Regan said: “We have made a submission to the ECB, on behalf of 10 first-class counties, appealing against the decision. Two other counties have expressed their opposition independently.”This decision challenges the integrity of the competition and could affect the outcome of the championship and relegation. We are all convinced that the ECB must reconsider.”Even though the ECB stressed the extraordinary situation regarding the events at New Road over the past week, Yorkshire believe it sets a dangerous precedent and their coach Martyn Moxon called the decision “an absolute disgrace”.Yorkshire’s recent Championship match, against Lancashire at Old Trafford, lost the first two days to a flooded outfield and Moxon added: “We had a flooded ground here after the rain on Monday. Is that exceptional circumstances?”He received backing from Lancashire’s chairman Jack Simmons who signed the letter “on the basis the Club believes it was a flawed decision”.In a statement on their website, Lancashire said: “Whilst Lancashire County Cricket Club sympathise with Worcestershire CCC and Kent, in these circumstances we are of the view that the board has made an incorrect decision in this instance and we therefore urge the ECB to reconsider this decision.”The Worcestershire match will now be replayed on July 30-August 3 with a one-day break on August 2 because Worcestershire have a Pro40 match at Chelmsford.

Mark Ramprakash, the Surrey and former England batsman, is to appear as a contestant in the new series of BBC’s in October.The show, which Darren Gough won last year, is fronted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly and returns to Saturday nights next month. Ramprakash’s prolific form for Surrey this season prompted certain sections of the media to suggest he could be called up for England’s Ashes squad, but he was overlooked.Gough, who had never danced before, said “I started with nothing and I have worked myself up to something decent” when he and his partner, Lilia Kopylova, won last December.Ramprakash is joined by the former England rugby player Matt Dawson; the BBC newsreader Nicholas Owen; Emma Bunton, the former Spice Girl; Peter Schmeichel, Manchester United’s former Danish goalkeeper and the comedian Jimmy Tarbuck among others.”With a line-up like this, the new series is set to be bigger and better than ever before,” Daly said in a press release. “Where else could you see a Spice Girl dancing alongside Jimmy Tarbuck?”

Ken Gordon, the recently-elected president of the West Indies Cricket Board, has said that as part of his bid to ensure that there is transparency in the board’s dealings the “relevant parts” of the report by Justice Lucky into the Cable & Wireless and Digicel contract negotiations will be made public.Gordon was handed Lucky’s report last Friday, and he and senior officials have been examining it over the weekend. There were fears that it would be kept under wraps – critics of the WICB had certainly raised such suspicions – but Gordon said that he would discuss its findings with the executive and then divulge relevant sections of it.The report was commissioned by Teddy Griffiths, Gordon’s predecessor, after months of speculation and rumour over the way Digicel had been awarded the sponsorship of West Indies cricket. There was considerable unease over the way Cable & Wireless, the previous sponsor, had been replaced, and the board’s marked reluctance to make information available only increased the unrest. The recent players’ strike was a legacy of the contract dispute.Gordon was in no doubt that the board had to be more open in its dealings. “I hope you will always keep in mind that this report has come about because the West Indies Cricket Board recognised the need for transparency,” he explained. “They didn’t have to do this. So that if there was anything to hide, if there was any intention to keep anything under the carpet, this would not have happened. I think you must give jack his jacket, and whatever criticisms are levelled at the board in the past, I think we should give it full marks for that initiative.”Gordon also stressed that he did not believe that there had been any attempt to cover anything up in the past. “My own view is that the members of the Board with whom we’ve had contact are all understanding of the need to be transparent. I don’t believe that anyone was deliberately keeping things quiet because there were any sins to read. But still, events tend to move things along, and I believe that the timing is propitious for that.”And, cruciially, Gordon offered a hope that relations between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association, which have all but broken down, could be improved. He praised WIPA for its role in trying to resolve the dipute, and said that he hoped the outstanding issues could be resolved before the scheduled tour to Australia in October. WIPA has set a deadline of September 30 to find a solution.Justice Lucky, who along with accountant Gregory Georges and Avondale Thomas had produced the report, explained the the constraints placed on him and his colleagues. “This was just a committee, we were not a commission of enquiry. With a commission of enquiry, for example, if CARICOM had appointed this commission of enquiry, with a specific mandate, then they would have indicated that we would have the power to subpoena witnesses. We had to depend on their [witnesses] good will.”Lucky also said that of the all members of the board requested to come before the committee, only two directors, whom he neglected to name, did not make an appearance, saying they had expressed doubts about the interview.

Martin Bicknell took his 1000th first-class wicket when he had Matthew Dennington caught behind by wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty on the final day of Surrey’s Championship match against Kent at The Oval today. It was Batty’s ninth catch of the match.Bicknell was made to wait for the wicket, and the mounted-ball trophy which had been on standby in the Surrey dressing-room for much of yesterday afternoon was finally unveiled. He should have reached the landmark shortly before tea on Thursday, but Azhar Mahmood split a routine second-slip chance from Michael Carberry.Bicknell, 35, made his debut for Surrey in 1986 and has been their most reliable bowler for more than a decade. He played four Tests for England, two in 1993 and two last season after a decade on the sidelines."To reach 1000 first-class wickets is a hell of an achievement for any bowler and one I’ve targeted since I went past 700 about five years ago," Bicknell told the Surrey Advertiser. "My dream has always been to do it at The Oval, my home ground, but you can’t get too choosy really. I had a few problems with my hamstring at the start of this season but the ball is coming out well now."

Kenya opening batsman Kennedy Otieno is planning a return to the Southern Electric Premier League cricket scene with BAT Sports this summer – after the small matter of playing in the World Cup semi-finals!Otieno, who also plays under the name of Kennedy Obuya, is set to link up with the Tobaccomen in time for BAT’s opening league game at Bournemouth on May 3.But before he contemplates counting the number of sweaters he’ll need to pack into his coffin for a summer in England, the popular Kenya opener and wicketkeeper has more immediate matters on his mind.Like facing Australia this weekend and then playing in the World Cup semi-finals against India next Thursday!”We play Australia in the last of the Super Sixes under the Durban floodlights on Saturday, and then it’s the semi-finals. It’s unquestionably the highspot of all our careers and we’re aiming to make the most of it.”I’m really looking forward to facing Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee at the weekend and hope I manage to keep everything bodily intact so I’m fit for the semi’s,” chuckled Otieno, who hit a World Cup best 85 against the Aussies in the 1996 tournament.Otieno, whose teenager leg-spinning brother Collins has been one of the stars of the Kenyan side, reckons he’ll enjoy cult hero status when he returns home to Nairobi after next week’s final.”With South Africa knocked out, everyone has taken to us here. It’s an amazing experience – but one I really think we’ve deserved.”Our bowling, acrobatic fielding and catching here has been quite exceptional – it’s been a real joy to see up close,” said Otieno, who has so far bagged eight tournament catches and four stumpings behind the stumps.Yesterday’s (WED) seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe – in which Otieno snapped up three catches and a stumping before being trapped leg before wicket for 19 – was Kenya’s second Test scalp in a fortnight.”We did really well to beat Sri Lanka last week and gave India the fright of their lives before Sourav Ganguly hit that marvellous ton to turn the game around,” he added.Otieno’s block-bash batting style has certainly proved effective with knocks of 60 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town and 79 against India.BAT are hoping that Otieno’s aggressive batting will help them regain the Premier League championship pennant they conceded to Havant last summer.”Kennedy will add real quality to our batting, which proved our nemesis last year,” said Richard Dibden, the former Hampshire 2nd XI off-spinner, who has taken over the BAT captaincy from David Banks.”He’s a terrific player but, above all, a super guy to have in the dressing room. He coached the colts here three years ago and all the youngsters are relishing his return to Southern Gardens.”BAT are hoping they get a full summer out of Otieno this time around. Three years ago, he scored 319 runs, including centuries against Hungerford and South Wilts, at an average of 53.17 – before being ordered home for squad training in late July by the Kenya Cricket Association.Otieno, who celebrated this 31st birthday this week, said he was delighted to be rejoining his old BAT team-mates.”I really enjoyed my time there in 2000. It is a thriving club and I got enormous satisfaction from coaching the youngsters, some of whom have begun to make their mark in the senior teams,” he said.But before Otieno arrives back at BAT, there’s some pretty serious cricket to be played …

The Executive and Board of the Canadian Cricket Association thank the fans,players, officials, umpires, referees, management subcommittee, volunteers,organizing committee and the ICC and IDI staff for their outstanding support,commitment and contributions.ICC Trophy 2001 is the largest cricket tournament in the world. ICC Trophy2001 was on preliminary reports one of if not the best of all the ICC TrophyEvents to date. Congratulations to all who contributed to make the Eventsuch a resounding success.The Regal Constellation Hotel did a fantastic job in meeting the needs of ourguests. Congratulations to them and we wish the management and staffcontinued successes in the future.We were saddened by the absences of our friends from Italy and from WestAfrica. We hope that no such problems will be repeated in the future.Canada and the Canadian cricket community must now carry the torch into theworld Cup in 2003 in south Africa. This requires even more herculean effortsin preparing our players for battle. Support is needed to ensure that ourbest team can be allowed to take the field. Contributions to the CanadianCricket Association World Cup fund are welcome and Federal tax receipts areavailable for any contributors who so wish.How can you help? Sponsor a player, coach a junior team or help to provide acoach, be a manager of a junior team? The avenues are endless.Call your M. P., M. P. P., City Councillor for their support for betterrecognition for cricket. All such lobbying is needed to allow us to becompetitive in 2003 at the World Cup.We have turf wickets in Toronto, Ajax, King City and Mississauga. They mustbe maintained to allow our junior and senior players to become familiar withturf games of 1 to 4 day duration. We thank all municipalities and hostingclubs for their stellar performances and also to Mike Corley, his associatesand his professionals for their contributions.Finally, to the International Cricket Council members and staff, thanks forthe opportunity to allow Canada to host ICC Trophy 2001, especially in thetrying financial circumstances of the devastating loss of vitally neededfunding from the Pakistan India Sahara Cup series. Such funding is ofcourse, even more critical now.We trust that Canada will get another opportunity to see and play againstsuch great players from any of the Full Members and top notch Associates,where funds permit. All FM’s have assisted in the past and we need that helpin the future. To the WICB and to the BCCSL, we especially thank you foryour assistance especially in the last year. Those tours and competitionmaterially enhanced our chances of qualifying. We greatly appreciate yourfriendship and your selfless contributions.Take time out to visit other parts of this magnificent country, the best inthe world next time out.’Dr. Geoff EdwardsPresidentCanadian Cricket Association

With their batsmen in ominous form, Orissa placed themselves in acommandable position on a day which witnessed the visitors amass 470for seven in their first innings even though none of the main rungetters reached the coveted 100. At stumps on the third day, Orissaensured themselves of a massive 178 run lead over Bihar in the EastZone Ranji Trophy match at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur onTuesday.Resuming at 147 for 2, overnight batsmen Sanjay Raul and Pradeep Dasrealised the first significant partnership of the Orissa innings. Thepair which came together at the fall of P Mullick’s wicket forged a152-run stand for the third wicket. While Das got 88, Raul hit 98. Thepair was separated when Raul fell to a catch by Dhoni off VikashKumar. Raul during his 211-minute stay at the crease faced 154 ballsand found the signboards on 17 occasions.This brought skipper RR Parida to the crease and with Das for company,the two added 89 runs for the third wicket. After the departure of Dasin the 98th over of the innings, Jai Chandra joined his skipper andfrustrated the Bihar bowlers further with a 83-run partnership for thefifth wicket. Parida (98) was dismissed after a 202-minute stay at thecrease during which he received 171 balls and hit 11 boundaries. ButJai Chandra continued on his way even as he lost stumper Y Mohanty(19) and Sanjay Sathpathy (8). Jai Chandra, who remained unbeaten on89, faced 172 balls and hit nine fours and a six.