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Two stalwarts of South African and Natal cricket have died with 24hours of each other. Dereck Dowling and Walter “Billy” Wade, both 89,Passed away in Durban at the end of last week, Dowling on May 30 and Wade on May 31.Wade was unable to tour, but played in 11 Tests for South Africa,against England in 1938-39 and 1948-49 and then against Australia in 1949-50. An unorthodox striker, he played for South Africaas a wicketkeeper/batsman although, as John Arlott observed, he had little liking for wicketkeeping and often played for Natal as a batsman.The rrother of the former South African captain Herby Wade, he diedin the same house he had lived in all his life.Dowling, an allrounder who bowled legspin, played for Natal andBorder either side of the war but came into his own as an administrator, and was a former president of Natal.

KINGSTOWN – The prodigal son of Barbados’ cricket has returned in grand style.With blazing bat, Ryan Hurley produced a sustained exhibition of exhilarating strokes en route to a magical, maiden regional first-class century at the Arnos Vale Playing Field yesterday.His remarkable 116 off only 104 balls was dominated by bold, adventurous and sometimes risky strokes. But it allowed Barbados to recover from potential peril to gain a useful first innings advantage of 76 on the second day of the opening round Carib Beer Series match against the Windward Islands.By the close of an eventful day, the visitors extended their revival by grabbing five Windwards second innings wickets after a solid opening stand of 91 between Devon Smith and Rommel Currency.Left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn put the hosts under pressure by claiming four scalps and the Windwards’ second innings position of 150 for five and an overall lead of 74 suggests that Barbados are in the ascendancy – thanks largely to Hurley.His self-imposed break from the regional arena following his sudden decision to retire from the longer version of the game in December 2000 seems to have done the all-rounder a world of good."I have come back to make the West Indies team this year," the 27-year-old told SUNSPORT."It feels good to make this century. We were in trouble, so I decided to play for the team."With Barbados’ top-order batsmen gifting their wickets with careless indiscretions, Hurley walked onto the field after half-hour yesterday morning with the score on 74 for five. He responded to the situation with typical urgency.When captain Courtney Browne top-edged a sweep to backward square, there was even more worry for Barbados at 99 for six, but it made no difference to the little dynamo who used his feet to the spinners with aplomb."If you are not positive to the Windwards attack, they would bog you down. I went out there to be positive," Hurley said."The captain told me that if he got out, I would have to take over. Just as he said, I took over from there."Even at that stage, he was confident that the "3Bs" – Ian Bradshaw, Sulieman Benn and Tino Best – would stay to lend support.The trio contributed 24 among them, but their presence in successive partnerships of 55, 32 and 44, was enough for Hurley to dictate proceedings in front of a crowd that included about two dozen Barbadians.Both leg-spinner Orlanzo Jackson, who finished with five for 81, and off-spinner Shane Shillingford, came in for some warm lashes from Hurley.Neither could stop him from repeatedly advancing down the track. They were either lifted over extra-cover, mid-wicket or mid-on. It was with that type of positive method that brought Hurley most of his 11 fours.There were also three sixes, the first bringing his half-century when he picked up a ball from outside off-stump and swatted it over mid-wicket.The other two sixes came after he completed his ton. One was a mighty blow off Shillingford over mid-wicket that cleared the players’ pavilion and the other was off Jackson in almost the identical position.As the last one hit the ground, a plane was just taking off from the nearby E.T. Joshua Airport. Like Hurley, it was in full flight.As usual, Hurley caused a few heartbeats to flutter when he was at the crease.When he was on 99, Rawl Lewis refused to make any adjustments to his field and with ample space in front of the wicket, Hurley attempted a dab through the slips.It went low to Kester Sylvester at the solitary slip, but he couldn’t hold on. Hurley then scampered through to raise his second first-class century to follow his 122 against South African provincial side Free State at Kensington Oval in 1996.When he was on 94, Lewis also missed a sharp, low chance at mid-wicket and when he was 67, Shillingford should have held on to a straightforward offering at mid-on.Barbados’ batting was beset by some irresponsible strokes.Philo Wallace gave the impression he was unhappy with the umpire’s decision after a big swing, while Dwayne Smith, after smashing sixes over mid-wicket and straight overhead off left-arm seamer Deighton Butler, holed out to the deep backward square. Bradshaw also gave a catch in a similar region.After Barbados were bowled out an hour after lunch for 232 in response to the Windwards’ 156, there was encouragement for the hometown fans as Smith and Currency batted with assurance.They were especially severe against Antonio Thomas, whose two overs cost 23.After completing his second half-century of the match, Smith was lbw to Benn as he essayed a sweep. His aggressive 55 off 63 balls followed his 86 in the first innings, but he left the playing area dissatisfied with the decision given against him.As was the case in the Windwards’ first innings, the first wicket set the stage for a collapse. On Friday, the Windwards lost seven wickets for 61. Yesterday, five went for 53.Benn took care of Currency with an arm ball that bowled the Vincentian opener for 41.Junior Murray sent the ground into a buzz when he lifted Hurley over mid-wicket for a six. But, next ball, there was a hush in the stands as the former West Indies player played across the line and was lbw, for the second time in the match.Forty minutes were still left in the day and Benn, who at times showed the effects of a knee injury when moving around the field, took another two wickets, the last of which prompted some spectators to leave the ground.Windwards vs Barbados scoreboard – Sunday 02, February-2003WINDWARDS 1st Innings 156BARBADOS 1st Innings(overnight 42-3)P. Wallace c wk Murray b Jackson 21S. Campbell c wk Murray b Butler 0K. Wilkinson c Lewis b Butler 6F. Reifer c wk Murray b Peters 1D. Smith c Butler b Jackson 39*+C. Browne c Eugene b Shillingford 13R. Hurley c Eugene b Jackson 116I. Bradshaw c Smith b Jackson 11S. Benn lbw b Shillingford 7T. Best not out 6A. Thomas c Currency b Jackson 1Extras (b4, lb4, w1, nb2) 11TOTAL (all out – 69.1 overs) 232Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Campbell),2-13 (Wilkinson), 3-16 (Reifer),4-63 (Wallace), 5-74 (Smith), 6-99 (Browne), 7-154 (Bradshaw), 8-186 (Benn), 9-231 (Hurley), 10-233 (Thomas).Bowling: Butler 12-4-32-2, Peters 11-2-26-1, Jackson 20.1-3-81-5, Shillingford 15-3-50-2, Lewis9-0-20-0, Sammy 2-0-15-0.WINDWARDS 2nd InningsD. Smith lbw Benn 55R. Currency b Benn 41K. Sylvester c Reifer b Benn 19+J. Murray lbw b Hurley 6J. Eugene not out 13*R. Lewis lbw b Benn 0O. Jackson not out 4Extras (b1, lb2, nb9) 12TOTAL (5 wkts – 43 overs) 150Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Smith), 2-109 (Currency), 3-116 (Murray), 4-143 (Sylvester), 5-144 (Lewis).Bowling: Bradshaw 6-1-26-0, Best 3-0-9-0, Hurley 18-2-51-1, Thomas 2-0-23-0, Benn 14-2-38-4.Position: Windwards lead by 74 runs with five second innings wickets in hand.Umpires: Goaland Greaves, Harry Rajkumar

A rapid century from Australian opener Liam Davis ensured a hard day in the field for England as the hosts took a first-innings lead after day two of the first Test in Adelaide.Australia, 18 for one overnight, soon lost their captain, Greg Hunt, bowled by Liam Plunkett, who also accounted for Mark Cosgrove. Davis was then joined by Theo Doropoulos, who made 44 to take Australia past the 200 mark before he was bowled by Samit Patel.Davis was eventually bowled by Shafayat for 132 (187 balls, 17 fours) to leave Australia at 225 for five. But Michael Bright continued to attack, with a 106-ball 97 (one six, 14 fours) which took Australia into the lead.Aaron Bird finished unbeaten on 65 as the hosts were eventually dismissed for 414. Plunkett returned figures of four for 72 from 16 overs, while Patel took three for 89.At stumps England were 15 for no wicket off five overs, 68 runs behind.

India seem to be hurtling towards yet another defeat at St. George’sPark in Port Elizabeth. A pathetic batting display in our firstinnings has meant that we will require a herculean effort from ourbatsmen in the final innings to save this Test. But knowing the team,I doubt if that will happen.The game slipped from India’s hands on the second day. With SouthAfrica 237 for five, we needed to clean up the South African inningsas early as possible. And it was not that we didn’t have our chance.After Srinath dismissed Shaun Pollock, Harbhajan foxed Mark Boucherinto hitting a ball up in the air. It was a dolly but Rahul Dravid infirst slip made a hash of the chance. Boucher went on to make 68 andguided South Africa to 362, a very good total considering the pitch.

Before I move on, a few words about Herschelle Gibbs’ innings. Afteran explosive start, the young South African opener put his head downand played very responsibly. Gibbs’ knock showed that he, a dasher byinstinct both on and off the field, has finally put his callow daysbehind him. His precious 196 which though was not without its luckymoments, also marks him out as one of the potentially great players.The Indians did not help their cause by starting off on the wrongfoot. On a seamer-friendly track they decided to go in with just twoquicks. I simply could not comprehend the rationale behind leaving outVenkatesh Prasad in conditions that would have been very favourable tohim.

As I said in my previous column, Prasad knows all about bowling onSouth African pitches. He is, to quote the record, the only Indianbowler to claim ten wickets in a Test against the Proteas, a feat heachieved during the last tour. It cannot also be his current form thatis keeping him away from the side as he was our most successful bowlerin the previous Test series against Sri Lanka. Add to all this thefact that Prasad and Srinath have always done well when they havebowled in tandem. Why in heaven’s name then was Prasad left out?Srinath, for his part, bowled brilliantly maintaining an almostimpeccable line and length. I must confess that it was probably thefinest display of controlled bowling that I have seen from him. But helacked support from the other end. It is here that Prasad’s presencewould have made a crucial difference. I have but the highest regardfor Anil Kumble. This was though one Test where, I felt, he shouldhave been asked to make way for his statemate because of the pitch andthe overhead conditions.As for the Indian batting, the less said the better. With theexception of VVS Laxman, none of the others applied themselves. Therash strokes that many of them played left me squirming in my seat.Their lack of application becomes all the more glaring on consideringthe nature of the pitch and the class of the opposing bowling attack.All the Indians had to do was to negotiate Pollock successfully andthere were runs for the taking. But three top-order batsmen, includingSachin Tendulkar, succumbed to the masterful bowler in his openingspell and that meant India were fighting to save their collective hidefrom thereon.

Pollock, to reiterate, was outstanding. He kept the ball in the`corridor of uncertainty’ and reaped handsome rewards. The SouthAfrican captain, who has claimed fifteen wickets in this series untilnow, has almost single-handedly bowled his side to a series victoryand that underlines his greatness as a bowler.The gritty stand between Laxman and Kumble, meanwhile, showed the toporder up for their lack of effort. Laxman, who came down the order inthis match, at last converted a promising start into a significantinnings. It saved India the blushes and ensured that South Africa willhave to set a target for the Indians in the final innings.Now is the time for the Indians to show spunk. Only a fighting sidecan conjure a miracle and, if you were to ask me, barring a miracle,or rain, we are doomed.

The West Indies returned home yesterday from another catastrophic overseas tour singing the usual upbeat tune.There is still hope . . . . Give it a couple of years’ time and we’ll turn it around, said captain Carl Hooper.There was an echo from coach Roger Harper.I can see the improvements. It is slow in coming, but it’s coming.Their comments came in the aftermath of yet another overseas debacle in which the Caribbean side lost both Tests against Pakistan and managed to save some face with a consolation victory in the last of the three One-Day Internationals in Sharjah.Their recent overseas record now reads an abysmal 24 defeats in 27 Tests.If you are losing, people are going to think you are not making any headway whatsoever, Hooper said.Since I have taken over the job, I’ve seen improvements, maybe not as fast as I’d like to see, but I’ve certainly seen improvements.The West Indies captain, however, admits that it is not going to be easy to convince fans.The average cricket follower will probably disagree with me because he basically will see winning and losing, simple, straightforward.Being among the guys, I’ve seen a change in attitude. I’ve seen guys a bit more determined. I’ve seen a lot of preparation mental and physical.Harper was probably spot-on in assessing why the West Indies were inconsistent in batting, ordinary in bowling and woeful in the field.It’s one thing doing it in the classroom and another thing going into the job situation and executing, the West Indies coach said.That’s why we are having problems.Harper is not one who is usually at a loss for words. But he stuttered a bit when asked if the persistent disappointing results had ever frustrated him to the extent that he might consider packing it in.FrustratingIt is frustrating, yes, but at the same time . . . you know . . . you know, you don’t just turn . . . you just don’t turn things around instantaneously like that.It takes time. It is a process that has to be undergone. It is comment we have been hearing for a few years.We’ve been going through this process from since 1993/94, Hooper added.We haven’t really got the facilities or the money to set up the infrastructure to start rectifying some of the problems that we have.If we had come back winning 2-0, people would say that we had swung the corner, but to get back to where we want to be, you’ve got to play consistently good cricket for years. It’s not going to be one good year or two good years.Harper also admitted the quality of the players wasn’t as high as when West Indies were ruling the world stage in the 1980s.And he believed the lack of experience was a problem in spite of the fact that a number of the players had been in the international game for a few years.We have young players and they are in the process of learning, he said.Unfortunately, for a lot of them, they are learning at this level, but it’s taking a lot longer than we would like.

With Manicaland’s first-league season due to start in the next few weeks, most of the young coaching professionals have returned from their U.K. winter employment. Alec Taylor, Kingsley Went, Richie Sims and Neil Ferreira will join new academy graduates Justin Lewis, Ian Coulson and Leon Soma in a tighter than normal fight for first team places. Missing from last season will be Patrick Gada (emigrated to the U.S.A.) and Jason Young (future undecided – awaiting developments in the U.K.).Mutare Sports Club was the venue last weekend for the second annual winter districts cricket festival. The five teams that normally contest the social winter districts league come together for four 10-over matches culminating in a plate and final on Sunday afternoon. The teams were made up mostly of farmers and farming evictees from Odzi, Old Umtali, Upper Bvumba and Burma Valley, together with a Hillcrest College Old Boys side.The emphasis was on fun and forgetting the dire state of farming and Zimbabwe’s problems. Sponsors had stuck Z$70 000 (about U.S.$235) behind the bar and the amount remained unbeaten after two days – a sure sign that Zimbabwe’s currency will continue to attract the international bargain-hunters. Performances ranged from a top end of awful with jeering wives, girlfriends and fellow-contestants applauding every mishap and shortcoming. Eventual winners Hillcrest Old Boys were booed every step of the way for taking themselves and their cricket too seriously during a boring victory over fellow finalists Burma Valley.The previous weekend I had an opportunity to experience firsthand the results of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union’s pilot project for black cricket advancement at the (soon to be renamed) Churchill high school in Harare. Promising black cricketers discovered at coaching clinics around the country are found places at Churchill where a cricket culture is fostered. Pupils receive coaching at the CFX Academy, which is a short distance down the road.Travelling from Mutare as umpire/coach with Hillcrest College’s under-16 side, our team was given a taste of the uncompromising future of Zimbabwe cricket. Churchill’s new black professionals destroyed all four (mostly white) Mutare teams in humiliating and soulless fashion.Over lunch after watching Churchill race to 268 for three in 35 overs, my fellow umpire (a Churchill teacher) confessed the school has too many players and too few coaches. Each age group have four teams vying for promotion, with highly visible classmates Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza as role models spurring them on. One gets the sensation of Mike Tyson goes to Lord’s watching these `out the ghetto’ no-prisoners road warriors. Results and personal statistics take precedence over everything as potential future contracts are eyed. Umpiring decisions are routinely disputed and umpires derided in an atmosphere reminiscent of Lord of the Flies. The teachers are ill-equipped to moderate excessive behaviour, being at best first-generation cricket watchers themselves.Whilst it is exciting watching the emerging talent of this new breed of Zimbabwe player, one can’t help but recall Don Bradman’s words that "young players are the trustees of the game". The Z.C.U.’s problems are about to get bigger.

The names of 21 probables were announced from which the Pakistanjunior team will be selected during the five one-day matches homeseries against Sri Lankan Junior , starting with the first match atthe National Stadium, Karachi from Nov 18.The Sri Lankan team is arriving in Karachi on Nov 15.The national junior selection committee headed by Zaheer Abbas pickedthe probables by short listing 30 players who were attending atraining camp at the Gaddafi Stadium.The name of captain and vice-captain will be announced, later, a PCBspokesman said on Wednesday.Following are the probables: Salman Butt, Khaqan Arsal, Asim MunirButt, Mohammad Fayyaz, KamranYounis, Saqib Zia, Arsalan Mir,Kamran Sajid, Irfan-ud-Din, Azam Husain, Azhar Ali, Junaid Zia, UmerGul,NajafShah, Aminur Rehman,Yasir Shah, ZulqarnainHaider, Salman Qadir,Mohammad Khalil, Atiqur Rehman and Ariz Kamal.

Whilst senior international cricketers like Nasser Hussain, Alan Donald, Andy Flower and others decided to quit with honour, Pakistani seniors have opted to linger on, hoping to repair their tarnished reputations.Unfortunately, this shows up the sorry state of affairs with the older generation persisting with hopes of remaining in the side, rather than giving way to the young brigade. It is obvious Inzamam, Waqar, Akram, Anwar and Latif cannot possibly carry on to the next World Cup (in West Indies), yet they have chosen to stay on, hoping to figure in the line-up for upcoming tournaments. This has made the job of the selectors a tough one, as they would prefer to re-build the team around new faces, but fear a backlash from the public in case the youngsters fail.Pakistan cricket seems to be on a merry-go-round; very obvious from the fact that players often excluded from the squad for one tournament, return as captain later on, only to be unceremoniously dumped once again after a string of poor performances. The amount of come-backs made by Pakistani cricketers is probably a world record in itself. The likes of Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif and Moin Khan have all been left out on more than one occasion, only to be brought back as the captain.These decisions have been mind-boggling, as many Pakistani captains fail to justify their place in the playing eleven, but yet must be included solely on the grounds of being captain. An example of a player is Ijaz Ahmed, who has made a number of returns to the game, after failing, with the claim that he was included to `beef up the batting order.How long will we keep falling back on individuals who are no longer the force they were, hoping they can produce something magical now?The same theory seems to apply to coaches, where the PCB opts to re-appoint coaches who have already been tried, tested and failed in their previous tenures. Richard Pybus had three tenures with the Pakistan side, and it would not be surprising if he is re-called in a year or two after the dust settles.I completely agree with Imran Khan who has said, the role coaches play in improving a player is only an incremental one, and its really domestic cricket or a chance to play in the counties in England that really polishes raw talent. To spend exorbitant amounts of money on a Pybus or Boycott, is nothing but a waste of money.Pakistan has been trying to emulate the success of rivals India and their coach John Wright, but they fail to understand Indian players have a totally different mental approach. Their desire to learn, improve and accept authority being the major difference. If we do want to learn from their success, we must observe how they have built their side around youngsters, whose exuberance and commitment is guiding them towards success.At the moment, either Javed Miandad or Zaheer Abbas seem the most likely candidates for the next coach of Pakistan. In my opinion this is the right way to go and I hope this happens and the lobby for foreign coaches is finally brought to an end.The other question is why was Miandad pressured to resign his last tenure, when it was obvious he had a brilliant impact on our side? The answer is player power, exercised by the seniors! Pakistan’s senior members have always shown a reluctance to accept authority and they could not get along with Javed Miandad or Mudassar Nazar in the past, purely for that reason.I believe this is precisely why we need to remove those `seniors’, who take their place in the side for granted, wield `player power’ in the face of authority and then show low levels of commitment. Younger players are more likely to accept authority and not suffer prejudice or bear grudges against an ex-colleague who is now their coach. They would want to cement a place in the side and put in their maximum effort, which is more than you can say for the older warriors.It seems that Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif or maybe even Moin Khan might get the captaincy of the Pakistan team, and that would further prove how we cling to the past for elements of success, rather than invest in the future. A decision now, to appoint a young captain is needed and the side of the future must be built up under him.There is talk of stop-gap solutions by retaining Rashid Latif for a while or picking Moin Khan but this will deprive Kamran Akmal, a highly talented youngster, of a place in the side once again. His talent will go to waste and after a couple of years the management will again desperately hunt around after these two retire.So what can we expect in the future? Pakistan rising in international cricket to its position of former glory, or a further decline, even when it seems that Pakistan cricket can sink no further. One can only hope the cricket authorities get up the courage to bid the `seniors’ farewell and make the brave decisions required for the future of Pakistan cricket.Ed: If readers wish to correspond with the author, please email Taha Noor

Less than 24 hours after Brian Lara passed a medical test and West Indieslooked set to take a full strength squad to Sri Lanka key middle orderbatsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been ruled out with a back injury.Chanderpaul had been given the all clear earlier in the week after an MRIscan, but as the West Indies training camp in Jamaicia drew to a close, hesuffered from back spasms.Team manager Ricky Skerritt admitted to BBC Online that the left-handerwould be forced out of the seven-week long Asian tour.”He has been ruled out due to back spasms that have been bothering since hearrived here for the Red Stripe Bowl,” Skerritt said.No replacement has so far been named, but fellow left-hander, Wavell Hinds,who was drafted into the squad as cover for Lara, is expected to take hisplace.Chanderpaul, like Lara, has been dogged by injury for over a year, havingmissed four Tests in England last year with an elbow injury.He only played one Test match in Australia too after suffering a stressfracture of the right foot.The Sri Lanka tour begins on November 4 and the West Indies are scheduled toplay three Test matches against Sri Lanka and in a tri-nation one-daytournament against the host team and Zimbabwe in December.

Undefeated Hampshire Cricket League leaders Ventnor travelled across to the mainland – only to find Eastleigh & Otterborne’s Doncaster Farm pitch had not been cut or rolled.The creases and boundary had been marked out, but both clubs agreed the pitch was unsafe to play on.Winchester KS turned up with only seven players and were forced to concede their County Division 1 game against Sarisbury Athletic.