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All but buried alive, South Africa came back from deaths door with an inspired spell of bowling from Captain Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini, bowling Pakistan out for 120 in 36.2 overs and winning the third Standard Bank One-Day International by 62 runs to take a two one series lead.Pakistan with a simple task of chasing a target of 183, once again showed their inability to playing on a pitch that has a bit of pace and bounce by committing suicide in playing some very poor shots.After their dismal batting performance, South Africa came out early after supper with all the bowlers warming up. A team huddle seemed to work as Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini put together a world class new-ball bowling performance to put the skids under the Pakistan top order. Fifteen overs of disciplined bowling left Pakistan at 40/5.Saleem Elahi was never the same player he was in Port Elizabeth and after playing and missing to both the bowlers he eventually got the edge off Pollock for Jacques Kallis to take the catch that started the Pakistan rot at 20/1. Shahid Afridi, after another quick 16 edged Pollock to Mark Boucher.Not to be outdone Ntini, bowling with fire, pace and bounce, grabbed the wickets of Abdur Razzaq caught at slip and Inzamam-ul-Haq caught behind. Four wickets had fallen with each batsman playing away from the body to balls that got big on them.Pollock then suckered Yousuf Youhana into leaving outside off and then bringing one back perfectly, to the delight of the bowler, seeing the batsman shoulder arms and being bowled. At five wickets down for 39 Pakistan was in danger of rewriting the records books.A change in bowling brought the veteran Allan Donald into the attack. His second over had Younis Khan back in the pavilion, also caught behind the wicket. Donald followed that up with his next ball to have Rashid Latif sparring and join the procession of batsmen caught at slip. Seven wickets down for 49 and Pakistan had lost a game that they could have won at a canter had it not been for the precision of the South African bowlers.Jacques Kallis got rid of Saqlain Mushtaq before Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis put together a partnership of 46 runs. The two, more renowned for their wicket taking abilities, was an example to their more fancied batsmen of mixing patience with aggression.Waqar, after giving a simple chance to Neil Dippenaar on the cover boundary, lost his wicket to Hall, once again caught at slip after following a ball outside off.Wasim, 43 not out, at times had a little flourish, twice sending the ball into the stands, once off Pollock and the second off Klusener before Shoaib Akhtar was run out with Pakistan on 120 and handing South Africa a win as if Christmas came early.The 120 beating the previous all time lowest of 98 by Sri Lanka, and the 109 by Pakistan, against South Africa.Earlier, after discussions with local player Mark Boucher who had advised Pollock that “The grass will stand up in the evening”, the captain decided to bat first on a pitch that was described as being “very good” by Waqar.The decision was always under question with Waqar and Wasim putting the South Africans under a tremendous amount of pressure.Herschelle Gibbs fell to Waqar for 13 when South Africa had 28 but it was not until the Rawalpindi Express, Akhtar, blasted out Smith and Boucher that the South African innings started to crumble. Bowling in excess of 155 kilometers per hour he was visually faster than anything seen in South Africa this season.Saqlain joined the party taking the two quick wickets of Kallis and Rhodes leaving South Africa in dire straights at 81/4 and seemingly on the same path that they took in Port Elizabeth.Pollock, lucky to survive a run out chance when television replays showed incomplete evidence and given the benefit of the doubt, batted well enough to end the innings on an undefeated 32.With the last five wickets falling for 53 in 15.2 overs, South Africa was bowled out for 182, a mediocre total for a supposedly world number two one-day team.A promising innings from Smith (44), who must now learn to start batting through an innings, and Dippenaar (47) allowed South Africa to set a total of 182, one that did not look to be enough on the pitch.Pakistan can at times be its own worst enemy. One of the most unpredictable teams in modern cricket once again lacked the patience to put together a few small partnerships to cruise to victory. With the series heading for the quicker pitches of the Cape, this Pakistan outfit may just regret the chances they have squandered to win this series.

Hampshire Cricket have announced the signing of former England seamer Ed Giddins on a two-year contract from the start of the 2003 season.31-year-old Giddins in his time with Sussex, Warwickshire and latterly with Surrey has amassed nearly 700 wickets in first-class and limited-overs matches.

“Looking out here at this magnificent Rose Bowl, joining Hampshire was an easy decision.” said Giddins. “The club has a lot of potential and it is an exciting challenge for me.””We are in the wrong division at the moment, it is time to get into the right division, and I hope to play a big part in that aim.””My memories of playing against Hampshire in the past are of my bowling disappearing over square leg in the 90s due to Robin Smith most of the time.”Asked about his colourful career, Giddins admitted that mistakes had been made, but that was behind him. “I am a family man now, a few errors of judgement in the past, but you learn. We all make a few mistakes, but joining Hampshire isn’t a mistake, it is something positive, and I am looking forward to getting a few wickets. And a couple of runs,” he joked.”I had a great two years at Surrey, but now is not the time to look back, it was time for a change and I leave with very happy memories.”Playing alongside Shane Warne next season is great, I have been lucky in my career to have played alongside some greats, Brian Lara, Allan Donald to name just two, and Shane will be the third in who I consider to be amongst the 10 best modern day cricketers.”Hampshire’s Director of Cricket Tim Tremlett was asked what he felt Ed Giddins could do for Hampshire. “He brings a wealth of experience a very fine bowler, bowls with good pace still and perfect for English conditions. With the demands of the English season, we needed to strengthen our squad, and perhaps that is where we fell down towards the end of last year, the strength and depth wasn’t there.”

A fine match winning performance by left-handed Mohammad Ali helped Southern Telecommunication Reign (STR II) beat Cantt Sports Club by four wickets in the Seventh Danish Trophy (Ramazan) cricket tournament played on Tuesday at the KGA ground.Batting first after winning the toss, Cantt Sports reached 152 for loss of eight wickets in their 20 allotted overs.Skipper Khursheed Malik in fine form with the willow smashed 67 runs off 44 deliveries. Zeeshan Ahmed also among the runs scored (25) and Rafiq ur Rehman (24).David Decruze opening the attack bagged two wickets for 23 and was ably supported by left-arm spinner Mohammad Ali two for 27.Set to score 153 runs for an outright victory, STR II reached the winning target in 18.3 overs after losing six wickets in the process.Mohammad Ali was indeed the toast of the winning team, slamming an unbeaten knock of 69 runs in only 46 deliveries laced with six scorching boundaries and two mighty sixes. David Decruze also excelled with the willow while scoring 21 runs and Khurram (20), was the other main scorer.Ali Gohar two for 25, Khursheed Malik two for 33 and Talim Shah two for 39 bowled a tidy line and length.On Wednesday, Rangers Gymkhana meet Khatri Sports at 1-30 p.m.

Bangladesh are in danger of following-on after South Africa, declaring at 529/4, reduced the visitors to 153/7, still 176 runs behind the follow-on target.Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis started day two in a positive fashion. They scored runs freely in the first hour, before Kirsten, having just gone to his 150, slashed a catch to backward point ending a 81-run partnership.Ashwell Prince, the next man in, lasted eight balls before being well caught at backward point by Alok Kapali. South Africa were still in command at 448/4 despite losing two quick wickets.Kallis needing to score 29 runs to reach the double of 4,000 Test runs and 100 Test wickets achieved it with a classic cover drive that effortlessly went to the rope. This feat made him the fifth Test player, and second fastest behind Sir Garfield Sobers, to achieve the target. The other players who have accomplished this feat are Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Carl Hooper. Kallis also became the third South African, behind Gary Kirsten and Daryll Cullinan, to pass the 4,000 runs mark.Martin van Jaarsveld and Kallis found that the bowling had improved and that runs were hard to come by. With the scoring rate going down, Mark Boucher decided that it was time to declare, 40 minutes after lunch, and get his bowlers out in the middle.The innings was closed on 529/4 with Kallis on 75 and Van Jaarsveld on 39.The first target for Bangladesh had to be the 329 to avoid the follow-on, but a disastrous start put them under a lot of pressure.Javed Omar was trapped leg before for seven. Al Sahariar, his partner, after clipping some neat fours off his legs, followed soon after for 18, when he could not avoid a short ball that deflected into the wickets off his arm, as Bangladesh were suddenly two down for 25.A good partnership of 66 runs followed between Habibul Bashar and Sanwar Hossain before Hossain gloved a catch to Boucher off Makhaya Ntini when on 31.Ntini at this stage took the heart out of the Bangladesh batting line-up. Bowling with pace and aggression, his second wicket came when Tushar Imran failed to control a lifter, only to be bowled off the body without scoring. Ntini followed it by enticing Bashar into an edged drive when the latter was on 38. The Bangladeshi mini-collapse left them at 100/5.Khaled Mashud was unlucky to be given out, caught off the shoulder for four before Alok Kapali, who was having some fun, was brilliantly caught by Kallis for 35 when he got a leading edge from a sweep.With Mohammad Rafique and Tapash Baisya, the last of the noted batsmen, not out at the close, Bangladesh are in grave danger of finding themselves batting for a second time on day three.

The Trinidad and Tobago side that turned up on the north coast of Jamaica yesterday might have felt they were still in the tourist resort of Gros Islet in St Lucia.Subjected to pitches that assisted bowlers in their preliminary zone of the Red Stripe Bowl, they came here for a semifinal and approached batting at the Kaiser Sports Club in the same manner that they would have approached it at the Beausejour Stadium.Mind you, the pitch offered some assistance to the faster bowlers in the early stages of the match and there was some inconsistent bounce later on, but it was no excuse from an inadequate Trinidad and Tobago total of 147 in 48 overs.In light of how the surface played for the first 25 overs of last season’s semifinals and final, it was all the more baffling why Trinidad and Tobago chose to bat first.Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Wavell Hinds would later show the Trinis how it should be done by wiping off the target in only 29.1 overs for the loss of three wickets.It was Jamaica’s fifth successive win in the tournament and the 2000 champions now await the winner of today’s semifinal between Barbados and defending champions Guyana.Yesterday’s match was played before the biggest crowd of the tournament to date but the estimated 3 500 fans might have been expecting a much stiffer challenge from a Trinidad and Tobago side that included Brian Lara.Jamaica, however, gained the initiative from early on the strength of fast bowler Darren Powell’s early inroads. He removed openers Daren Ganga and Andy Jackson, along with Dwayne Bravo and the visitors never recovered.Powell came back in a second spell to claim another two scalps and finished with the impressive figures of five for 23 from 10 overs.Star batsman Lara hit the topscore of 36, but the double world record-holder was never at his best and battled for 70 balls before Gayle deceived him with a straight ball and trapped him lbw.The only other batsman who provided any extended resistance was rookie Shazam Babwah, who made 30 off 46 balls batting at No. 7.The quality of Jamaica’s fielding was also impressive. Leon Garrick set the tone with a diving catch that accounted for Jackson, while Gayle featured in two run outs.Jamaica lost Garrick to the last ball of the first over from Mervyn Dillon, but the innings was soon launched by Wavell Hinds’ early aggression.Hinds spanked Dillon for two off-side boundaries, but the West Indies fast bowler gained his revenge by breaking the second wicket stand of 56 when Hinds was bowled for 21 off 25 balls as he attempted a big drive.The dismissal paved the way for the positive stroke-play of the left-handed Gayle and the right-handed Samuels, who added 83 in 17.2 overs.Trinidad and Tobago had no clue how to stop the flow of runs, with Gayle smashing 56 off 77 balls, while Samuels was undefeated on 57 off 64 balls when he finished by the match by hoisting off-spinner Rodney Sooklal over long-off for his second six.Samuels stroked five fours, while Gayle also banged five boundaries before giving a catch to long-on when only eight runs were needed or victory.

The recently concluded Morocco Cup exposed Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) policy which has been to project the establishment at the cost of the players. The image of a sports body is reflected by the performance of the players and not the other way round.PCB has a novel method of dealing with the players. Sometimes it supports the players beyond all limits and then it drops them like a hot cake on the slightest pretext. The people at the helm of affairs want to run cricket issues on personal whims which has shaken the confidence of the players and because of this the performance graph of our team has not been consistent.The team’s inconsistent performance is the result of board’s ad hoc policies manipulated by one of its advisers, a former Pakistan captain, who himself was a mediocre cricketer in his heydays.When the adviser was captain of the Pakistan team he tried to promote off-spinner Arshad Khan and tried every time to run down Saqlain Mushtaq, a world class off-spinner highly acknowledged by all the greats of the game. Somehow, the adviser who has a sort of complex against players like Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq never gives them the credit they deserve.Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq were dropped in the final against Sir Lanka in the Asian Cricket Championship at Lahore and Pakistan lost.History repeated itself at Tangiers in the crucial match against South Africa where Saqlain and Saeed Anwar were dropped against South Africa in the do or die tie.Instead of playing them, the tour management committee, preferred Shoaib Malik as for some time the PCB high ups have been projecting him as an all-rounder. He replaced Saeed Anwar as an opener and Saqlain Mushtaq as an off-spinner. The board thought that it will be killing two birds with one stone but its move backfired for the second time.Inclusion of Shoaib Malik in fact exposed the cricket management’s wrong policies when he conceded 15 runs in just one over that he bowled. The team captain perhaps on the advice of the dressing room just to save humiliation did not expose him further.When he came to bat, with the departure of Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi who was sent in the earlier matches at No. 9 was all of a sudden promoted to No. 3, Shahid, in his own style collared the South African bowling and when he seemed to be tearing it apart, he hardly got any support from the other end where Shoaib played couple of maiden overs. This dampened the spirit of the team and sent wrong signals into the dressing room. When he was out the new batsmen came under undue pressure.The theory of rotation of players now being preached by the PCB high-ups just backfired. No doubt the players should be saved from burnout but who should decide when someone has to be rested. The first choice should be of the players themselves and then others come in for their views. The team management on its own cannot and should not take the decision.Secondly, the policy cannot be applied every time. The team situation too has to be taken into consideration. If Saeed Anwar and Saqlain were rested on the policy of rotation, those who took the decision should be taken to task. They have no business to be paid heavily for such nonsense. It was a do or die situation and none of the players would have liked to be rested in such a situation.PCB hired an army of specialists to accompany the team on every tour. There is a analyst, a psychiatrist, a team doctor, a physiotherapist, a manager and a coach. One would just like to know what has been the achievement of the psychiatrist. What wonders has he performed with the players. When the team won the series against Australia, every official was rewarded for his contribution to the team’s effort. They were all presented before the President who acknowledged their services and duly rewarded them.It seems that perhaps, victory against Australia was the end of cricket world. The PCB officials jumped to the conclusion that they have found a world beating combination and the World Cup next year is just a formality.It started, in fact blackmailing the players. When wicket-keeper Rashid Latif asked for permission to go to Houston (United States) to play in the double wicket championship last month, the PCB delayed the permission. But later Rashid Latif was allowed to proceed to Houston after some other players were given permission for the same trip.These are dirty tricks and cheap management. Such tricks do more harm to the game and the team spirit than doing any good. The job of dealing with 16 players with different background, and different bloodline requires extraordinary intelligence, patience, farsightedness and perseverance.Shoaib Akhtar is being praised by all the high-ups of the board beyond imagination. No doubt he is rated as the fastest bowler today. But he has to conduct himself in order to remain on top. He should be treated at par with other players of the team. Any preferential treatment will cause heartburn among the players. Wasim Akram though down the hill, is the greatest bowler that Pakistan has produced. He has 400 victims in both the editions of the game. A milestone which, Shoaib, perhaps will never be able to achieve.How come Shoaib was allowed to proceed to United Kingdom when the team was in camp training for the Morocco Cup, Kenya and Sri Lanka tours. He wanted a break. Well if he wanted a break how come he was playing in England? What sort of break is this? Can the PCB chief please explain?Now it has been gathered that Dr Meesaq Rizvi is being sent to England to check on the fitness of Shoaib Akhtar for his inclusionfor the Kenya tour. It seems that Dr Rizvi is more qualified than doctors in England. If the board wanted to oblige Dr Rizvi, it could have appointed him as the team doctor. His assignment to test Shoaib is mind-boggling and a sheer waste of money.If Shoaib wanted his inclusion in the team, he should have been asked to come home and report to the PCB which could have arranged a cost free test and put him at one of the academies to gain full fitness if he was really out of action during his absence.The PCB should treat all the players alike. It should not give stepmotherly treatment to some and go out of its way to pamper others. Unless this policy is adopted for all the team members, no one should expect any better performance. Nobody is prepared to believe that a team which has ten centurions in its line up cannot chase a target of 196 runs. It was because of poor policy of the PCB that we have not been able to build a world beating combination.

Rowledge have put their Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 relegation worries aside by reaching the last 16 of the National Village Championship, sponsored by The Cricketer magazine.Their reward for an 11-run win over Sparsholt is a seventh round home tie with Buckinghamshire champions, Dinton on July 21.David Lloyd was the inspiration behind the Sparsholt victory, hitting 95 of a Rowledge total of 190-6, before taking 3-21as the Winchester club slipped to 179 all out (Tim Richings 41).Ian Stuart did his level best for Sparsholt, top scoring with 63 and returning a respectable 3-34.

Bashley (Rydal) have reached the final of the Southern Electric Contracting Cup and will play either South Wilts or Rowledge at the Hampshire Rose Bowl on Friday August 2, 5.45pm.Bashley beat BAT Sports by six wickets in the semi-final at Southern Gardens – the reigning Premier League champions crashing from 36-0 to 46-7 in an amazing mid-innings spell.Neil Taylor (5-10) clean bowled four batsmen after Michael Watson (24) and Richard Kenway (15) had provided a sound start.Terry Rawlins (22 not out), Richard Dibden (16) and Simon Preston (16 not out) rallied, but a score of 104-8 off 23 overs was never likely to be enough.Bashley batted consistently, with Luke Ronchi’s 36 not out leading the New Forest club to the final.Premier Division 2 club Rowledge beat Burridge by 50 runs in the weather delayed quarter-final.David Lloyd (52), Chris Yates junior (34) and Jeff Annings (27) led Rowledge to 152-6 before the Yates uncle and nephew combination sank Burridge for 102 (Roger Cawte 34).Chris senior grabbed 4-19 and his 21-year old nephew 3-28.

Leicestershire still have a lot of work to do if they are to overhaul Warwickshire’s first innings 462 at Edgbaston. Jamie Troughton continued his recent purple patch for the hosts, moving from his overnight 65 to 130 before he was bowled by Grant Flower. Trevor Ward ensured a brisk reply, with an 89 as Leicestershire closed on 205 for four, still 257 behind.A big century from Ally Brown has put Surrey firmly in control of their game against Kent. Brown made 188 to steer Surrey to 361 all out at The Oval, and Kent then lost Robert Key, bowled by James Ormond for four. At stumps Kent were 62 for one, still 146 behind.Somerset are struggling at Bath, after Matt Bulbeck gave them hopes of a revival in the first session, taking three wickets as Hampshire dwindled from 149 for three to 252 all out. Alan Mullally then took three wickets as Somerset ended the day on 79 for five.Yorkshire are struggling again against Sussex at Headingley. Steve Kirby finally dismissed Timothy Ambrose for 149 at Headingley this morning, as the visitors finished on 435 all out. In reply Yorkshire have limped to 195 for six, with James Kirtley and Kevin Innes taking two wickets each.In Division Two, Michael Di Venuto gave Derbyshire an excellent start in pursuit of Nottinghamshire’s 393 at Trent Bridge. He made 79 off just 84 balls before being caught behind off Nadeem Malik. Derbyshire had reached 298 for five, with Andrew Gait making 52, when rain forced an early close.A double century from Ronnie Irani enabled Essex to thrive at Ilford. The captain made an unbeaten 207 before declaring on 498 for nine against Northants. Mark Ilott has taken two wickets as the visitors struggled to 138 for five in reply.Durham are well placed after dismissing Worcestershire for 250 at Chester-le-Street. Although Allan Donald took two wickets to reduce the hosts to 94 for four, wicket-keeper Andrew Pratt (63*) has engineered a revival. At stumps Durham had reached 190 for four, a deficit of just 60.Middlesex put Glamorgan in to bat at Lord’s this afternoon, where the game finally got under way almost a day and a half late. They may be wondering if the decision was a wise one after Glamorgan closed on 228 for three. Mike Powell (89*) and Matthew Maynard (86*) have so far added 167 for the fourth wicket.