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.

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

Sanath Jayasuriya, fuming after his side’s shock defeat against Kenya,claimed his side had performed like “amateurs”.Sri Lanka’s 53 run defeat means that they now face a tough fight to qualifyfor the Super Sixes with difficult games looming against South Africa andWest Indies.”I think it’s one of the worst matches I’ve ever played,” claimed Jaysuriyaafterwards. “211 was an attainable total but that was disappointing.”We did not play like professionals today, we played like amateurs.”We batted badly and our middle order didn’t click. This is my and theteam’s worst day in cricket.”Sri Lanka must win at least one of their remaining games against the WestIndies or the South Africa to have any chance of making the next round ofthe tournament.”I’m worried about the middle-order batting,” admitted Jayasuriya”This was the best opportunity they got before the big matches come and theydidn’t prove themselves.”We didn’t play well, and this puts us under pressure to beat the WestIndies in Cape Town. That match, and the one against South Africa, will be abig test of our character.”An elated Kenya captain, Steve Tikolo, praised his bowlers and fielders.”I was always confident of doing well in spite of the fact that I thought wewere about 40 runs short,” he said.

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

MUTARE SPORTS CLUB v KWEKWE SPORTS CLUBAt Harare Sports Club; 30 March 2003. Mutare Sports Club won by 19 runs.MUTARE*+N R Ferreira c Viljoen b Ervine 84G J Whittall c Viljoen b Friend 4R W Sims c Viljoen b Price 29T K Mawoyo c Ervine b Friend 61K P R Went b Viljoen 4G B Brent not out 37A D Soma run out (?) 3L J Soma not out 0A L TaylorJ M LewisM NayimExtras (b 10 lb 3 w 12 nb 1) 26(6 wkts; 50 overs) 248Friend 10 0 64 2 (6w 1nb)Ervine 10 0 51 1 (1w)Rainsford 8 0 33 0 (2w)Price 10 2 30 1Viljoen 10 1 35 1 (1w)Delport 2 0 22 0 (1w)KWEKWET Duffin lbw b Brent 5V Sibanda c Ferreira b L J Soma 8T J Friend c Went b A D Soma 91S M Ervine c and b Brent 69*D P Viljoen b Lewis 9R W Price st Ferreira b Sims 0C Macmillan c Whittall b L J Soma 12C Delport not out 13+D J R Campbell b A D Soma 2E C Rainsford lbw b Brent 1A Ireland b A D Soma 0Extras (b 6 lb 1 w 7 nb 5) 19(46.3 overs) 229L J Soma 7 0 41 2 (3w 3nb)Brent 9 0 41 3 (2w)Lewis 10 0 62 1 (2w)Taylor 4 0 15 0 (2nb)Sims 10 0 41 1A D Soma 6.3 0 22 3UNIVERSALS v TAKASHINGAAt Universals Sports Club; 30 March 2003. Takashinga won by five wickets.UNIVERSALSH Adam b Matsikenyeri 4K J Taibu c Utseya b Maungwa 7B G Rogers c Kulinga b Matsikenyeri 63D D Ebrahim run out (Mufambisi) 52G M Croxford not out 31N B Mahwire not out 13*I MemanD T HondoS ShahS AdamR ChiradzaExtras (lb 3 w 10 nb 6) 19(4 wkts; 47 overs) 189Maungwa 8 2 32 1 (4w 1nb)Utseya 10 0 23 0 (4w)Matsikenyeri 8 1 38 2 (1nb)Chigumbura 8 0 32 0 (1w 3nb)Kulinga 10 0 47 0Taibu 3 0 14 0TAKASHINGAE Chauluka b Hondo 6T Mufambisi b Mahwire 7S Matsikenyeri lbw b Rogers 39+T Taibu c and b Rogers 6R Manyande c Taibu b Rogers 2J Marumisa not out 49E Chigumbura not out 65P UtseyaA MaungwaK KulingaT GembeseyaExtras (lb 5 w 10 nb 1) 16(5 wkts; 46 overs) 190Hondo 9 2 31 1 (2w 1nb)Shah 1 0 8 0 (3w)Mahwire 9 0 24 1 (3w)Croxford 8 0 37 0 (1w)Rogers 10 0 37 3 (1w)S Adam 8 0 39 0H Adam 1 0 9 0

May 8 down the years 1970
One of the world’s best one-day batsman is born. Michael Bevan introduced the word “finisher” into the cricket dictionary with a series of performances as cool and calm as his nudging, scampering style is frenetic. A visitor from Mars might find it extraordinary that such a run-machine does not get near Australia’s Test team, but after a promising start (82, 70 and 91 on the anaesthetised Pakistani pitches in 1994-95) his weakness against the short ball was exposed by Darren Gough and Dean Headley in particular. In fact, in the longer game, Bevan’s trump card has often been his erratic, but potentially deadly, skiddy slow-left chinamen: he bowled West Indies to defeat with 10 wickets at Adelaide in 1996-97, and skittled South Africa with six more in Johannesburg two Tests later. It was destructive stuff: of those 16 wickets, nine were out for 2 or less.1938
If Pakistani batsmen are renowned for their swashbuckling flair then Javed Burki, who was born today, was the exception that proved the rule. Burki, the first cousin (and childhood hero) of Imran Khan, was stoic in defence, and his three Test centuries were fairly painstaking affairs. They all came against England in a five-Test, nine-month period in 1961-62. He captained Pakistan in England in 1962 when he was only 24, but they were hammered 4-0 and Burki lost his job. He later became an ICC match referee.1942
Birth of an Englishman who smashed a century off 45 balls against Australia. The genial Robin Hobbs was playing for Essex in a tour match when he pummelled Jim Higgs and Ashley Mallett all round Chelmsford. Hobbs’s day job was as a legspinner, the last such specialist to play for England for over 20 years before Ian Salisbury in 1992, although he struggled for penetration in his seven Test appearances.1908
No Northants player reached double figures as they were demolished for just 27 and 14 by Yorkshire in their County Championship match at Northampton. George Hirst, whose match figures were 12 for 19 off 20.1 overs, also managed more runs in one knock (44) than Northants mustered in both innings. Their aggregate of 42 was the lowest in first-class history at the time, and remains the second-lowest.1896
Another good day for Yorkshire, who made the highest total in County Championship history. From the relative depths of 448 for 7, they reached the lofty heights of 887 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, with four batsmen making centuries, then promptly reduced their hosts to 31 for 5. Not content with bashing 85 from No. 10, George Hirst then took 8 for 59. But though Warwickshire followed on 684 runs behind, Yorkshire, not entirely surprisingly, ran out of time.1873
Birth of Henry Leveson Gower (pronounced Loosen Gore), who only played three Tests, in South Africa in 1909-10, but who had a big role in the development of the game in England. He played for Surrey, and was later their president, as well as chairing the England selection committee for a time. He also ran the Scarborough Cricket Festival for nearly 50 years. Leveson Gower was knighted for his services to cricket in 1953, and died in Kensington a year later.1923
Nobody has scored more first-class centuries than Jack Hobbs’s 197, and on this day at Bath he made the 100th of those 197, for Surrey against Somerset. Hobbs had gone for 0 in the first innings, when Surrey were skittled for 91, but his 116 not out was enough for Surrey to win a thriller by ten runs.1985
A dramatic collapse in Jamaica put the seal on another comfortable West Indies series win. New Zealand had to win the match to square the series, an unlikely prospect as soon as they followed on 225 behind. But when they closed the third day on 211 for 1, anything was possible. Sadly for New Zealand, what happened was a Malcolm Marshall-induced slide from 223 for 1 to 283 all out, which left Gordon Greenidge and Des Haynes to knock off the 59 needed for a second consecutive ten-wicket victory.Other birthdays
1902 “Curly” Page (New Zealand)
1961 Riaz Poonawalla (UAE)

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.

Robin Smith held centre stage in his Testimonial match at Eversley on Friday as he hit a vintage half century to entertain the large crowd.The former England Test batsman arrived at the wicket with his side in trouble at 38 for 3, and when Eversley’s South African pace man Louis Piso struck again to dismiss Shaun Udal for a duck, Hampshire were on the back foot at 51 for 4. Piso had already taken the wickets of Dimitri Mascarenhas and Alan Mullally, giving him three victims in the space of 14 balls.Smith found an ally in Will Kendall as the pair staged a rally with 135 for the fifth wicket in 58 minutes. Smith hammered ten fours and a six off 64 balls before holing out for 66, while Kendall stroked 12 fours and three sixes as he top-scored with 78 from 51 balls.Paul Terry made a cameo and 27 before falling to a one-handed diving slip catch by Jez Ackroyd, one of several brilliant examples of Eversley’s fielding which was a feature of the afternoon. It helped to dismiss Hampshire inside their allotted 40 overs for 253.Eversley made a sound start to their innings as Martin David (59) and Andy South (29) put on 71 for the first wicket, and then skipper Andrew O’Kelly (44) shared a partnership of 73 with David for the second wicket.Eversley were well placed at 144 for 2, but the middle order batsmen failed to capitalize, especially against the slow bowling of former Saints footballer Mark Dennis, who took 2 for 29 off six overs.Eversley finally needed a formidable 27 off the final over, bowled by Robin Smith. Although he was hit for a six, he retaliated with two wickets to seal his place as the star of the game.Robin was presented with a cheque for £3,500 by Eversley chairman John Hartle, who said that with proceeds from an auction, a raffle and a collection on the ground that raised more than £600 from the appreciative crowd, his total haul on the day topped £10,000.Andrew Renshaw, chairman of the match organizers, said: “The brilliant weather and top-class cricket from both sides in front of the largest crowd at Eversley for years, all combined to make it a memorable day, and we were delighted with the result for Robin.”

Eversley CC v Robin Smith’s Hampshire XIResult: Hampshire won by 16 runsHampshireJames Hamblin         c Ackroyd      b Parkin      17Dimitri Mascarenhas   c Carey        b Piso         6Alan Mullally                        b Piso         0Shaun Udal                           b Piso         0Robin Smith           c Niemandt     b Ackroyd     66Will Kendall          c Parkin       b Ackroyd     78Mark Dennis           c Burgess      b Kaminski     1Paul Terry            c Ackroyd      b O’Kelly     27Patrick Farhart       c Carey        b Ackroyd     12Nic Pothas            c Burgess      b O’Kelly      3Simon Katich          not out                      14Extras                                             19Total                (all out, 37.1 overs)        253Eversley bowling: Piso 3-36, Ackroyd 3-30, O’Kelly 2-23EversleyMartin David          c Hamblin      b Kendall     59Andy South                           b Mullally    29Andrew O’Kelly        lbw            b Kendall     44David Newth           lbw            b Pothas       7Romek Kaminski        c Terry        b Dennis       5Jeremy Ackroyd        c Pothas       b Smith       29Simon Carey           c Mascarenhas  b Dennis      11Louis Piso                           b Smith       25W Niemandt            not out                       0Patrick Parkin        not out                       1Extras                                             26Total                (for 8 wkts, 40 overs)       237Hampshire bowling: Kendall 2-10, Dennis 2-29, Smith 2-7

Dav Whatmore, who took over as Bangladesh’s coach on June 2, has had little time to affect the team’s performance, but his approach has already been welcomed by many of the players. And as his new charges left Dhaka to start their tour of Australia, Whatmore admitted that he had few expectations as to what awaited his side.”I am not looking for a great team effort but hoping to see improved individual performances,” he said. “We are leaving with a happy mind. I want to see clear, defined goals put in place during the tour about what we need to do. We need to see whether or not we’re moving in the right direction. Those areas will be very painfully defined during these matches.”But he downplayed suggestions that there was no signs that things were getting any better, insisting that there was plenty of talent in Bangladesh. “They’re oozing with it,” he enthused. “They just need to get a little bit tougher and be able to withstand that extra pressure that comes along from time to time, and go ahead and bat for four hours.”Although he is only three weeks into his tenure, the reports circulating locally are all positive. It is claimed that Whatmore has identified and remedied several fundamental problems within the squad.Manjural Islam, previously only able to bowl outswing, has been taught to move the ball in to the batsman, and Tariq Aziz’s run-up has been remodelled to good effect. Whatmore has instilled in all the bowlers that they need to attack rather than contain, which has been their aim in recent matches.The batting – which has deteriorated significantly in the last 18 months- is a bigger challenge. Whatmore has had all the players practising on specially-prepared bouncy wickets, and has concentrated on getting the top-order batsmen to learn which balls they can leave, and which ones they have to play at. He has also, so the reports claim, instructed the batsmen to forget playing any attacking strokes until they have reached 25.Additionally, Whatmore has looked to restore calm off the field, One of his first acts was to meet with Khaled Masud, who was sacked as captain following the World Cup amid recriminations and accusations that he adversely affected team morale. “I had a long talk with him and he was very keen to integrate into the group the best way he can,” Whatmore said. “He’s a good player and the other members of the squad are also very keen for him to be here.”

New Zealand Cricket’s selection deckchairs have been rearranged to give new coach John Bracewell the final say, while previous chairman Sir Richard Hadlee becomes selection manager.A new structure, to complement the changes in the coaching and management of the side, has been put in place. But the only real change in the selection is the transfer of final say. Hadlee is happy with the change and said it had only taken him a weekend to think over whether he wanted to be involved when the situation was put to him.New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden, a former team-mate of Hadlee’s, said: “Ultimately, the structure being introduced is consistent with the structure that has been introduced for the team’s management. Under that system, the coach is responsible and accountable for all cricket-related functions with the TelstraClear Black Caps unit. It therefore follows that the coach should have the authority to ultimately determine which players are selected.”Two more selectors will be announced by August 8. Snedden said incumbent selectors Ross Dykes, also a former convener, and Brian McKechnie were interested in being part of the new panel.Until Bracewell is in his position from December 1, acting New Zealand coach Ashley Ross will be part of the selection panel along with Hadlee, and the two appointees who will choose the side to tour India and Pakistan from September to November. From December, the panel will then be contracted through until May 2005.Hadlee said today, however, that Bracewell will be consulted over the team to tour India and Pakistan, and he planned to talk with him this evening. Snedden said that in many ways the selection system will carry on as it has but under the structure now in place, if the coach was adamant he wanted something then he would have the ultimate responsibility in selection.It involved better processes and it would work because of the quality of people who would be involved, Snedden added.Hadlee said he was excited by the change. He understood the need for a new structure, was aware there was going to be one and was asked to have some input into it. Hadlee said that as chairman he tried to get unanimous decisions in selection, and if he couldn’t then he tried for consensus. In the three years as chairman he had only once employed his casting vote.He said that every decision during the World Cup in South Africa had been unanimous. Hadlee said in his view the coach had to be a member of the selection panel while he said the input of the captain was important, and the relationship between Stephen Fleming and the selectors had grown enormously over the last few years.Snedden said he was delighted that Hadlee was prepared to stay on, and that while new processes were being introduced he had always wanted his experience to be retained.