A maiden first-class century from Robin Martin-Jenkins transformed the first day of Sussex’s crucial Championship match with Gloucestershire at Hove.Martin-Jenkins made an unbeaten 111 as Sussex recovered from 70-5 to reach 263-6 before rain and bad light brought a premature close after just 3.1 overs were bowled after tea.Martin-Jenkins hit three boundaries in four balls off Mark Alleyne in the penultimate over before tea to reach his hundred which was made off 126 balls and featured 17 boundaries and two sixes.Sussex were in all sorts of trouble after they had been put in, but they were revived first by Martin-Jenkins and Michael Yardy (46) who put on 94 in 25 overs before Yardy fell leg before to Martyn Ball’s off-spin.That made Sussex 164-6, but Martin-Jenkins and Mark Davis then produced a thrilling counter-attack which is so far worth 99 off 112 balls with Davis resuming on Thursday on 43.Sussex have already been assured of promotion but Gloucestershire’s hopes of joining them have hardly been helped by their crippling injury list.Six players, including wicket-keeper Jack Russell, are out through injury while Ian Harvey has been press-ganged into playing solely as a batsman despite rib problems.Skipper Mark Alleyne’s woes increased during the afternoon when James Averis limped off with a groin problem and may not be able to bowl in the match again.There had been nothing wrong with his seam attack during the morning when they exploited a pitch offering plenty of help to bowlers who could put the ball in the right areas. There was some swing movement and the occasional ball lifted off a length.None of the Sussex top order could make an impression as Averis, Alastair Bressington and debutant Roger Sillence shared the spoils before Martin-Jenkins led a superb Sussex fightback.

BRISBANE – National cricket coach John Buchanan said his champion teamwould have to address the emotional and physical stresses that couldendanger its World Cup defence in 2003.Australia’s top cricketers will hold a pre-season meeting in Melbournein two weeks, with Buchanan keen to discuss the best ways to manage theemotional strains which prompted Michael Slater’s axing from the Testteam last month.Demands on players will only increase in the next 18 months, with justone short break between November and the World Cup in South Africa inFebruary 2003.The schedule includes tours of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Pakistan and ahome Ashes series, maintaining the physical demands on an ageing team.”It’s all something that’s in need of discussion and we need a generalawareness of what the total impact would be,” Buchanan said.”Physically it’s hard work for everybody, it’s the same mentally andthen you look at the emotional side of being away from your family forsuch a long stretch.”And that’s when the team is going well. It would be extremely difficultfor us if the team wasn’t doing that well.”Slater’s form suffered in the last 12 months, coinciding with apublicised fallout with wife Stephanie.The dashing opening batsman was eventually dropped from the Test team,with selectors admitting Slater’s axing was more than an on-field issue.”It’s an unfortunate product of what we’re talking about,” Buchanansaid.”The life of a professional sportsman isn’t that easy and Michael is notthe first person, nor will he be the last, to go through tough times.”It’s an extremely important issue for all cricketers.”I think we can [help the general situation] but I’m not exactly surewhat we’ll do just yet.”Buchanan wants the issue discussed when Australia’s 25 contractedplayers meet in Melbourne from September 24-25.The players and management will talk about the upcoming summer, whichincludes home series against New Zealand and South Africa before theAustralians pack up for a tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.The schedule adheres to the International Cricket Council’s 10-yearplan, which requires each Test-playing nation to organise regular homeand away clashes.Buchanan and the Australians have already had a busy 2001, during whichthe coach estimates he will spend 250 nights away from home.”We’re resting right now and everybody has to make the most of thisopportunity to refresh, recharge, re-energise and re-think,” Buchanansaid.The Australian Test squad won’t regather until the week of the firstmatch against New Zealand, starting at the Gabba on November 8.

The University of Gloucestershire is honouring Gloucestershire county cricketer Mark Alleyne at its annual awards ceremonies.The club captain, who has come to the forefront of the county game in recent years, made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire in 1986 at the age of 18. He has since gone on to represent England, and captained the England A team to Bangladesh, New Zealand and West Indies in 1999-2000.Gloucestershire’s success in recent years, particularily in the one-day game, has led to the county being recognised in the sporting world and this is to some extent down to Mark Alleyne. The University is proud of its local teams, and by conferring this honorary fellowship on Mark on 30th October 2001, is recognising this.”Mark is the sort of sportsman many students look up to,” said a University spokesperson. “We offer a range of sports degrees at the University and have links with many local clubs. To see someone with Mark’s dedication and determination is an inspiration, not only to the students on these degree courses but to all students.”Mark’s leadership skills have been fully demonstrated in the past few seasons, with Gloucestershire winning five competitions in two summers. Wisden has praised his “quiet authority, tactical sense and boyish enthusiasm”. He was named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year at the end of the 2000 season.Mark joins his Gloucestershire team-mate, Jack Russell, in being given an honorary fellowship. It is recognition of his excellence as a sportsman, for his enthusiasm and determination as a leader, and for his contribution to the life of Gloucestershire.Other people being honoured are the Olympic triple jumper, Jonathan Edwards, Lord Ron Dearing and Lady Puttman.

John Crawley has asked Lancashire to release him with three years of his four-year contract remaining.Crawley was recently replaced as captain after a poor season at Old Trafford. Lancashire’s chief executive, Jim Cumbes, confirmed the England batsman’s request.”It’s never good to have a disaffected player, especially one so early in hiscontract,” Cumbes told The Daily Telegraph.”These problems can be discussed and, I’m sure, worked out. It’s sad and agreat shame, because John came to Old Trafford as a young lad and has been withus all through his career.”Cumbes added that the club chairman Jack Simmons and his general committee would now discuss the matter further.Crawley, 30, made his debut for Lancashire in 1990 and has earned 29 England caps. After the retirement of Michael Atherton he is the county’s most senior player. He would be eligible for a benefit in 2003, which could raise as much as £350,000. The reasons for his decision are not yet known.

In an hour-and-a-quarter of awesome power-hitting hereyesterday, Chris Gayle broke from the shackles of self-doubtthat have enmeshed him for the past five weeks and the realChris Gayle emerged.The tall, young Jamaican left-hander had been so transfixedby the rarity of failure that brought him a sequence of foursuccessive ducks he often stood at the crease with all themobility of Nelson’s Statue.For half-hour in the last and decisive qualifying roundmatch against Zimbabwe to see which would qualify forWednesday’s final of the LG Abans (the sponsors who are SriLanka’s equivalent of Courts) triangular One-Day series,there was no change.Gayle could hardly lay bat on ball and didn’t score hisfirst run until his 16th ball. Suddenly, out of a clear bluesky, a change in the bowling and a thumping off-drivenboundary led to an immediate transformation.TransformationClark Kent had become Superman and even Superman, fasterthan a flying bullet as he might be, would have been hardpressed to stop the missiles that began to fly from Gayle’sblade.Travis Friend, a lively but rookie 20-year-old, wasblistered for four fours in his first over on changing ends.Olonga, the mop-haired fast bowler who is Zimbabwe’s mostidentifiable black cricketer, went for three more throughthe off-side in the next over before the usually agilefielders had time to blink.Gary Brent’s first ball of the tournament was lashed, crossbatted, into the vacant seats at long-on for six.He had taken pain-killing injections in a shoulder to playand might have considered the sacrifice not worth it. Anover later, he was being despatched for three moreboundaries.By the time Gayle blasted off-spinner Doug Marillier toextra-cover and Olonga swooped to his left to hang on to ablistering catch, he had made 85 from 79 balls effectively63 balls, given his start with the six and 17, yes 17,fours. In other words, he collected 72 runs without needingto run.It was a reversion to the clean hitting that brought him somany runs in Zimbabwe and Kenya on the previous tour andover the past two seasons in the West Indies.Brian Lara, watching with his injured left elbow inplastercast but otherwise comfortable, would have done itwith more style. But he couldn’t have hit the ball harder.By the time he was out with the West Indies 121 for tworequiring 155, the match was all but over, and RamnareshSarwan and Ryan Hinds, the 20-year-old left-hander on debut,settled it with less spectacular methods.Given all the circumstances of a difficult tour, Gayle’sexplosive display, witnessed by no more than 1 200 or so atthe ground but appreciably more on television, was a joy.But it should be put into perspective. Only one of hisboundaries was off Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s leading bowler,and he was not as convincing against the off-spin ofMarillier and Trevor Gripper as against the medium-pacers.Different storyWednesday night will be different but if he gets going, theSri Lankans will be in for a shock. At least the West Indieshave the chance of going home with something to show andthey did beat the hosts at the same Premadasa Stadium, venuefor the final, under lights in an earlier match.Gayle finished yesterday’s contest off with his blitz. PedroCollins and Corey Collymore, the Bajans from Boscobelle, andDarryl Brown, the Trinidadian from McBean on hisinternational debut, set it up at the start of the day.Collins had two wickets and Collymore one in their sharpopening bursts and Brown followed up with the next threefrom ten controlled and consecutive medium-paced overs.Had it not been for the tactical timidity that is typical ofthe leadership of this team, Gayle would not have had theopportunity to score half as many as he did because Zimbabweshouldn’t have managed half their total.Sent in, they were 53 for seven and in retreat when captainCarl Hooper withdrew his assault troops and let theopposition regroup.No pressureTo deep-set fields, without a soul close to the bat, theexperienced Streak gathered his singles and twos under notthe slightest pressure from the straightforward slow stuffof Hooper, Gayle and Hinds.He scored 57 from 88 balls with a swept six off Hinds’ leftarm spin and four fours with simple methods and shepherdedFriend, the No. 9, through a partnership of 60 from 17 oversand Brent, the No. 10, through a further 29.It was, to use the analogy of an altogether more seriouscontest a few thousand miles off here, as if the Americanshad halted their bombardment of Kandahar, the NorthernAlliance pulled back once they had taken Kabul and theTaliban was given breathing space to recover.It was a lack of decisiveness and toughness. This wasZimbabwe, after all, not Australia or South Africa, and acouple of young lower order Zimbabweans at that.And it was as crystal clear as the day itself that Collinsand Collymore were itching to finish it off themselves whenthey were removed after seven overs each. What it toldZimbabwe was that the West Indies expected trouble so thetwo main bowlers had to be saved when it came.Collins forced an edge from Dion Ebrahim first ball thatHooper dropped low to his right at slip and then rattledGrant Flower’s off-stump with a full length inswinger.Collymore took care of Ebrahim with a sharp breakback andCollins did Stuart Carlisle with one run across him.Collymore was running hot as he rattled Craig Wishart’shelmet with a bouncer before Hooper’s underarm hit ran himout but that was soon the end of the blitz.Brown, who took over from Collins, got rid of his earlynerves by finding Gripper’s edge with eighth ball andfollowed up with the prized wicket of Andy Flower, lbw to aperfectly pitched delivery from round the wicket, andMariller to Hooper’s sprawling catch at short extra-cover.It was time to bring back the heavy artillery while theadrenaline was still pumping through their veins. Instead,Hooper, the pacifist, elected for more conciliatory methods.It was left to Gayle to resume the barrage on thebeleaguered opposition.

Anjum Chopra will lead the Indian women in their upcoming series against England scheduled to be played between January 4 and January 24. The series will involve five one-dayers and a one-off Test to be played at Lucknow from January 14 to 17.England will be led by Clare Connor. Another Clare, Clare Taylor, will be the vice-captain. Chennai, Hyderabad, where the second and third one-dayers will be held, Mumbai and Pune will host the five one-dayers.India:Anjum Chopra (captain), Mithali Raj (vice-captain), Anju Jain, Neetu David, Jhulan Goswami, Sunita Singh, Deepa Kulkarni, Bindeshwari Goel, Jaya Sharma, Mamta Maben, Arundhati Kirkire, Gulshan Sharma, Hemlata Kala, Amrita Shinde and Nooshin Al-Khader. Coach: Tarak Sinha.England: Clare Connor (Captain), Clare Taylor (vice-captain), Caroline Atkins, Jane Cassar, Sarah Clarke, Mandie Goodliman, Dawn Holden, Kate Lowe, Laura Newton, Lucy Pearson, Arran Thompson, Helen Warlaw, D Ferris. Coach: John Harmer.Schedule:First one-dayer at Chennai (Jan 6).Second one-dayer, Hyderabad (Jan 8)Third one-dayer, Hyderabad (Jan 9)Fourth one-dayer, Mumbai (Jan 21)Fifth one-dayer, Pune (Jan 24)One-off Test, Lucknow Jan 14 to Jan 17

It was a humdinger of a match at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. Itall boiled down to the final ball and only a fantastic save at thecover point fence ensured that England won the one-dayer by two runs. TheIndians had been agonisingly close to sealing the series but their hopeswere finally doused.

I find it hard to reconcile myself to the manner in which SouravGanguly’s team lost this game. It was brittle batting under pressurethat was to blame for the defeat. Having said that, I was delighted tosee Agarkar make his runs in a pressure-cooker situation. The young manhas had a wretched run of form with the bat in recent times, but onThursday he proved his ability to fight it out when the chips are down.Agarkar nearly pulled off a miraculous last ball win for India withoutmuch support from his partners. Anil Kumble’s dismissal epitomised thedismal batting effort by the senior players in the side. When thesituation demanded a cool head, Kumble threw it all away, playing a rankbad shot to be bowled. I think that Kumble’s downfall cost India thematch. Five of the Indian batsmen gifted their wickets to left-armspinner Ashley Giles, whose bowling was not as menacing as his finalfigures suggested.Whenever India chases a stiff target, they obviously look to Tendulkarto show the way. It is as true as broad daylight that the Indian battingrevolves around the little master. Ganguly is not back to his best, andis finding it difficult to keep the momentum going during the initialphase of his innings. On Thursday, there were shades of the Ganguly weall have come to respect when he played a few scintillating shots offGiles. The Indian skipper, though, failed to stay till the end and seeIndia through to victory.Mohammad Kaif, for his part, gave enough evidence of his talent andtemperament for the shorter version of the game. The same, though, couldnot be said of young off-spinner Sarandeep Singh and there was nodenying the fact that India missed the services of Harbhajan Singh atthe Kotla.What Delhi also proved is that there has to be all-round improvement inthe planning as well as execution, if India are to seal the series.The England game plan, meanwhile, clearly revolved around taking quicksingles, knowing, as they did only too well, the limitations of theIndian ground fielding. Nick Knight played a brilliant hand and was wellsupported by Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain. As I have beenwriting in my columns, it is important for Andrew Flintoff to contributea few valuable runs to the English cause. The beefy all-rounder’sexplosive half century played a major part in the English win.

With the series currently 3-2 in India’s favour, it might be a shrewdmove for England to bring Graham Thorpe in at number three. Hussain’sattacking instincts should also help his resurgent side as they pursue aseries levelling win at Mumbai. I have a gut feeling that the Englishfast bowlers might cherish the opportunity to bowl at the WankhedeStadium which offers greater bounce than the wickets at Kanpur and NewDelhi.At the back of their mind, however, would be the thought that SachinTendulkar would be hoping to please his home crowd.

West Australian batsman Michael Hussey made a cool $200,000 for one shot tonight when he connected with a sponsor’s sign in a day-night match against NSW at the WACA ground.The 26-year-old left-hander netted one-fifth of a million dollars for a neat sweep shot which connected with the ING sign at square leg off the bowling of Dominic Thornely.It was understood the team had agreed before hand that the hitter would receive 40 per cent of the bounty with the rest being shared.Hussey only made another 14 runs after the money shot, from which he will net some $80,000, before he was bowled by Blues quick Nathan Bracken for 45.It was the third time that a player had cashed in at the WACA ground since the money offer was first made in the early `90s.The cash will come as welcome consolation for Hussey after the Warriors’ chances of making the ING Cup final evaporated during tonight’s match.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced that injured players can be replaced after the deadline for the naming of World Cup squads.The news will come as a welcome relief to England, who have concerns over both Andy Flintoff and Ashley Giles with the deadline for the submission of squads looming fast.Flintoff and Giles were both sent home from the tour of Australia with injuries, but are aiming to be fit for the start of the tournament in February.It also means that Australia will be able to include Shane Warne, who dislocated his shoulder on Sunday, in their 15-man party.An ICC statement reads: “At any stage after 31 December, 2002, if one of the 15 named players is, in the opinion of his team manager, unfit to play a useful part in any match during the remainder of the event, a representation can be made to the event technical committee.”Once the team manager has advised the event technical committee a panel of three doctors approved by the ICC will examine the player.”If they agree that the player is unfit to play a useful part in any matchduring the remainder of the event, the team may, with the prior written approvalof the event technical committee, replace such player with another. This procedure applies whether or not the injury existed before 31 December, 2002.”

HOBART, Dec 18 AAP – Queensland is looking for full points while Tasmania wants survival when last season’s Pura Cup finalists meet at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval tomorrow.”We’re always looking for six points and that would be a nice Christmas present,” Queensland captain Jimmy Maher said today.Maher was confident that even without Andy Bichel, who’s with the Australian one-day side, and Michael Kasprowicz, who’s nursing a torn hamstring, he had the bowlers to dismiss the Tigers twice.”I think we have the best attack in Australia as a group,” he said.His other big weapon is Martin Love, who plundered an unbeaten double century for Australia A against England at his last Bellerive appearance.”He very rarely misses out down here, touch wood,” Maher said.”It’s a happy hunting ground.”But Maher knows that Tasmania started its drive towards the final by flogging the Bulls in the corresponding fixture last season.”Tasmania’s had a rough start to this season, but on their day they’re capable of beating anyone,” he said.Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox said his team, which is bottom and still without a win, had to beat Queensland to stay in contention.”If we can’t win this one, we’re gone,” he said.Cox felt there were some promising signs from the last two matches — a narrow loss that should have been a win to New South Wales and first innings points against Western Australia in Perth.”This game will be a great indicator as to whether we’ve really turned the corner,” he said.The Tigers go into the match unchanged while Queensland was saved from last minute disruption when the national selectors preferred Brad Hogg to Nathan Hauritz as Shane Warne’s replacement.Maher said it would be disappointing for Hauritz.”But he’s only 21 and I’m sure there’s plenty of cricket ahead for him,” Maher said.Teams.Tasmania: Jamie Cox (c), Sean Clingeleffer, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Adam Griffith, Shane Jurgensen, Scott Kremerskothen, Dan Marsh, Scott Mason, Ben Oliver, Damien Wright.Queensland: Jimmy Maher (c), Brendan Nash, Martin Love, Andrew Symonds, Stuart Law, Lee Carseldine, Wade Seccombe, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Hauritz, Joe Dawes, Damien MacKenzie, Scott Brant.