A little over a decade ago, a one-day series between West Indies and Zimbabwe would have been an intriguing prospect. International cricket’s newcomers, boasting players such as the Flowers, Heath Streak and Dave Houghton, against the world champions, with Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Brian Lara.In the intervening period both countries have fallen on hard times, and now the bloated seven-match one-day series has all the appeal of a late-season meeting between Torquay and Stockport. Both are in decline – West Indies a gradual long-term one, Zimbabwe’s politically-motivated – and this is a series few outside the Caribbean, and that includes in Zimbabwe, really care about. Since West Indies’ victory in the Champions Trophy in 2004, they have won three out of 23 ODIs they have played. In the same period, Zimbabwe have won four out of 21 (all against either Bangladesh or Kenya).Only one player survives from what we can now look back on as something of a golden era, and that is Lara. It is no coincidence that he is the only real class act on show this time round, with all due respect to Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Not that the gulf between West Indies and the almost totally anonymous Zimbabwe side needs underlining, but consider this. Lara has played 259 ODIs and scored 9359 runs. The entire 16-man Zimbabwe squad boasts a combined total of 166 one-day caps and 2371 runs – and 831 of those come from the bat of Brendan Taylor, their most experienced player. And between them, they cannot even muster 100 ODI wickets,On paper, this series should be grotesquely one-sided. West Indies might have been disrupted by recent contractual upheavals, but they are now settled and Lara has returned for a third tilt at the captaincy. He is realistic enough to know that India in June and July will be a tough nut, so this is his and his team’s best chance to get some capital in the bank as the build-up to the World Cup begins.

West Indies might be a shadow of what they were but they still have more than enough in stock to rout Zimbabwe. The tourists’ batting is fragile, as they showed in the recent series against Kenya. Then, they faced little more than dobblers. Against genuine pace, as was the case in South Africa 13 months ago, almost none of them have the technique to survive. With only four ODIs (all against the Kenyans) in the last eight months, it is inconceivable that they have improved enough to cope with the West Indies attack. The man in form, opener Piet Rinke, is explosive but has yet to be tested against anything half decent.Zimbabwe’s bowling is barely above club standard. Edward Rainsford has the makings of being a decent opening bowler, but he struggled in the warm-ups and , remarkably, is being released halfway through the tour to go and play club cricket in England. Blessing Mahwire, his new-ball partner, looked ordinary against Kenya. The change bowlers hold few concerns and it should be a chance for West Indies’ batsmen to fill their boots.It is, therefore, slightly puzzling that throughout the West Indies the talk has been of not underestimating Zimbabwe, almost as if they are preparing for a setback or two. Perhaps the ghost of Kenya in 1996 still lingers, but a defeat in at least one match seems to be a real concern. It shouldn’t be. While West Indies have slid to a new low, there remains a massive gulf between them and Zimbabwe, and anything other than a comprehensive whitewash will be unsatisfactory.If only Zimbabwe had not driven so much talent abroad then this series could have been a cracker. Imagine a Zimbabwe side containing the likes of Streak, Andy Flower, Murray Goodwin and Tatenda Taibu. As it is, what amounts to a third-string Zimbabwe team are set for three weeks in which their real goal must be to show the world that they have enough potential to prevent the ICC calling time on their participation at cricket’s top table.

Justin Langer, the Australia Test opener, is looking forward to a short stint with Somerset where he hopes to work on his game as well as keep a lookout for opponents he might face in this year’s Ashes.Langer, who has not played a competitive match since he was hit on the head by a vicious bouncer from Makhaya Ntini in April, will take the place of fellow Australian Dan Cullen, who is due to play with Australia A in the Top End series.He was declared fit after passing a series of neurological and vision tests and will be going to Somerset later this month. “I had my eyes checked last night, and I have got almost perfect vision, so there are no more excuses for me with my eyesight,” Langer told . “Ironically I had the same tests four years ago and the results were better on Monday than they were [then].”I am not sure if that means I am getting smarter, or if the concussion was not as bad as we first thought.”This will be excellent timing to get in amongst the action again and get back in the rhythm of batting,” said Langer, who might be opening for Somerset along with his English counterpart, Marcus Trescothick. “He and I will probably be trying to stay out there as long as we can together, not only to make as many runs for Somerset as possible, but also to get a few tips on how each other are doing.”Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, said that the players were delighted about Langer joining them at the county.”Justin offers tremendous help both on and off the pitch and will be a great asset to us during the six weeks that he will be with us,” he told the county’s website. “He will also be an informal coach because he has got a great rapport with the younger players.”His stint with the county is subject to clearance by Michael Brown, the general manager of cricket operations for Cricket Australia, who will consult with medical staff and the Australia coach John Buchanan. “We aim to get him over by the third week in June to play in the pre-Twenty20 games and the C&G match against Ireland in Belfast,” Rose said.Langer has experience of county cricket, having spent three seasons with Middlesex between 1998 and 2000, and Rose was confident the batsman, who turns 36 in November, could sign for an entire season next year. “Justin wants to get back into the English game as well and sees Somerset as the ideal county for him to do that with, so we will be having serious discussions when he arrives,” Rose said.”If he does come back to join us in 2007 we would be delighted because we have a young side. His character and the way he bats would be a huge asset in a first-class season, particularly if he is available for the majority of the time, which seems likely at the moment.”Langer’s Australian team, Western Australia has been hit by news the WACA Ground could become a smaller stadium that stages only domestic games if a state government report is carried out. Seven recommendations have been tabled including one for a major venue to accommodate Australian rules, rugby union, football and international cricket. If this project gains approval the WACA could be downscaled to host interstate matches.”Our first reaction to the prospect of the WACA Ground not being considered as having a role in the staging of major events, cricket or otherwise, in ten years is one of disappointment,” Tony Dodemaide, the WACA chief executive, said. “However, by no means is this a fait accompli.”We aren’t resigned to any outcome at this point. We have only just received the document and the association will undertake a detailed analysis of the report to properly assess the implications for the WACA Ground, our members and stakeholders, and, most importantly, the long-term well-being of cricket in this state.”

Scorecard

Riding on a quickfire fifty from Brad Haddin and the bowling trio of Brett Dorey, Shane Watson and Dan Cullen – three senior side hopefuls – Australia A handed New Zealand A its second defeat of the day at Darwin. Shortly after going down to Pakistan A, the tourists slumped to a 16-run loss despite turning in a worthy display with the ball.Having won the toss, Australia chose to bat and ran into early trouble. Chris Martin, the fast bowler with considerable international experience, dismissed Mark Cosgrove and Watson, while Joseph Yovich accounted for Phil Jaques. Staring at a potential disaster, Haddin and Brad Hodge combined for a 70-run stand for the fourth wicket, one that made the difference in the end. Haddin smashed 52 from 34 deliveries and Hodge 40 from 29, and the duo looked good for more before Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, and Yovich returned to rein the hosts in. Patel had Hodge and Chris Rogers beaten in flight and Yovich’s medium pace put the skids on a late-order attack as Australia were restricted to 160.By Twenty20 standards, this was a total that should have been overhauled with ease, but New Zealand failed to seal the deal. It was killer execution from Australia: Dorey dealt three early blows with the new ball, Watson struck when it mattered most, and Cullen stymied the long-handle attempts of the tail. Though they began very slowly, New Zealand’s hopes were raised with a superb 85-run stand for the fifth wicket between Rob Nicol (39) and Mark Orchard (53 from 28). As the run rate veered towards the gettable, Watson and Cullen effected a dramatic landslide that left New Zealand gasping. Ultimately, it was Australia’s nerve with the ball that proved too hot to handle.

Perth’s cricket pitch, once regarded as the fastest in Australia, will not be at its fearsome best for Australia’s Ashes series against England in December, the ground curator said.The Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) pitch has been criticised in recent seasons for losing its trademark bounce and pace. Cameron Sutherland, the curator, said Ricky Ponting had spoken to him and his colleagues last February about the likely state of pitches for this year’s Ashes Test series.”[The Australians] want to know what each characteristic is so they can pick a squad and arrive at the ground and it [the pitch] is basically what they expect it to be,” Sutherland told .Dennis Lillee, the legendary fast bowler, had criticised the WACA pitch last season for not having its renowned liveliness and Sutherland said the matter was being addressed, but the pitch would not be at its best for the Ashes series.”The clay percentage has dropped probably 20 percent from its heyday,” Sutherland said.”That has been replaced with sand and makes for a wicket more like the eastern states. It is still going to be a pretty good wicket in terms of pace and bounce, but it is still not going to be like it was 20 years ago when Lillee and [Jeff] Thomson were steaming in.”Kevin Mitchell, the curator of the Gabba, said his Brisbane pitch, which will be used for the first Test on November 23, was vying with Perth as being the fastest in Australia. “We are up there for pace for sure,” Mitchell told the newspaper. “We have a pacy deck, but bounce is hard to compare.”Mitchell said there had been no requests from Ponting for an unfair pitch advantage against England. “We are lucky in Australia to have the support of Cricket Australia and all the teams,” Mitchell said. “We are so lucky we don’t have the pressures other countries do.”

Pakistan have strongly denied that there was any tampering of the ball during the fourth Test at the Oval, accusations of which eventually led to the forfeiture of the game by Pakistan.Umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove changed the ball in the 56th over of England’s second innings on the fourth day and punished Pakistan with a five-run penalty as a result. Pakistan protested after the tea break by refusing to come out, a decision which eventually led the umpires to forfeit the match in England’s favour.But a Pakistan official told Cricinfo, having inspected the ball, that there was no evidence of tampering. “There was no evidence of any tampering on the ball I saw. It was a 55-overs old ball and one that had been hit into the stands on a couple of occasions by Kevin Pietersen. I can honestly say that it had not been scratched to gain any reverse swing.”The official also questioned the approach of the umpires to the entire incident. “Most umpires would give some sort of prior warning, just have a word with the captain and may be give a warning before taking action. They don’t have to but they do. Nothing was said to Inzamam by either umpire until the ball was changed.” The official also confirmed that no individual had been named by the umpires and no specific incident was highlighted either.Sky TV commentators repeatedly pointed out that none of the 26 cameras at the ground had picked up any images which suggested the ball might have been tampered with. On past occasions when players have been charged with ball tampering, ICC match referees have been able to take into account images captured on television cameras. In light of what Sky’s commentary team said, it seems unlikely such evidence can be provided.Ultimately, this is a moot point in any case as the decision on whether the ball has been tampered is down to the umpires. The ICC match referee for the Test, Mike Proctor, is now reviewing the case and his report will be considered by the ICC in the aftermath of this Test. According to an ICC press release, Pakistan has been charged under Level two of the Code of Conduct, 2.10, which relates to changing the condition of the match ball.

After the false start in Sri Lanka, India’s season should finally get underway in the soothing surroundings of the Kinrara Oval on Thursday afternoon. A decent crowd, consisting mainly of expatriate Indians, is expected to watch the game, though anything would be an improvement on the few dozen kids and handful of others that witnessed a gripping contest between Australia and West Indies.For India, it’s imperative that they start the season in the right fashion. Two years ago, they never really got going at the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, and the rest of the season followed that same mediocre path. Last year, though they lost a tri-series in Zimbabwe, thumping wins at homeagainst Sri Lanka restored the morale and set the team up for an outstanding season, at least in the limited overs form of the game. With the World Cup looming, and a dress rehearsal in the shape of the Champions Trophy before that, a slow start cannot be countenanced, even if the team management says that they’re treating these games as preparation for the bigger events ahead.After the lemming act against Australia yesterday, Brian Lara spoke of how important it was to maintain his team’s psychological hold over India. He was of course referring to the recent series in the Caribbean, when West Indies overcame a loss in the opening match to sweep the remaining four games. His counterpart, Rahul Dravid, scoffs at any talk of psychological advantage, but Lara’s words may yet serve to gee up the Indians when they step on to the park tomorrow.What sort of combination they play is open to question. If the evening net session was any indicator, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid may well open, as they did in Colombo (for 22 balls anyway). Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virender Sehwag also batted a fair while, and there was a good stint too for Suresh Raina, who may yet edge out Dinesh Mongia’s allround talents as the team seeks a replacement for the indisposed Yuvraj Singh.There are options on the bowling side too. There wasn’t enough sharp turn yesterday to justify playing two slow bowlers, and that means Ramesh Powar could well miss out. In any case, India have enough back-up for Harbhajan Singh, with Sehwag and Tendulkar both capable of going through a few tidy overs.The pace complement will be just as keenly watched. Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan are certain to play, and it will be a toss-up between Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh and Munaf Patel for the third seamer’s lot if the team decides to reinforce the batting by including Mongia. On a pitch that gave the seamers enough encouragement on Tuesday, the conservative option is likely to prevail, and Munaf should get the nod given that Sreesanth is not in the frame for the Champions Trophy.West Indies may yet opt for the same side that competed so well with Australia for three-fourths of the match. The bowlers all impressed in patches, though there may still be a place for the accuracy of Corey Collymore, always a worthwhile option against Indian batsmen who can bestatuesque against the moving ball. For the batsmen, it’s a question of getting the attitude right and forgetting what happened against Australia. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle showed what was possible if you see off the new ball’s shiny coat, though batsmen on both sides would do well to remember that some swallows aren’t seen on every day of summer.India (likely): 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 4 Virender Sehwag, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 SureshRaina, 7 Dinesh Mongia, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 HarbhajanSingh, 11 Munaf Patel.West Indies (likely): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Wavell Hinds, 7Dwayne Smith, 8 Carlton Baugh, 9 Ian Bradshaw, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 CoreyCollymore.

Although his on-field misdemeanours are probably what Mark Vermeulen, one of Zimbabwe’s most talented young batsmen, will now be remembered for, my abiding memory of the man is of quite a different incident which occurred off the field.In early 2004 he was in the middle of a lay-off after sustaining his second severe head injury in a year – he had been struck a sickening blow above the right eyebrow by Irfan Pathan during Zimbabwe’s tour of Australia. Bangladesh were touring Zimbabwe, and after a weak performance during the Tests, were putting in a much more sterling effort in the one-dayers. A loss in the first game had dented Zimbabwe’s pride, but the team bounced back in the second and third one-dayers in Harare, much to the enjoyment of the large crowd of spectators who had come to support the home team.Anyone who has attended a one-day game in Harare will have noticed that the crowd is made up, largely, of black schoolchildren from some of the poorest suburbs in the city. As the popularity of cricket among Zimbabwe’s black population has grown, their numbers at games have swelled.Disappointingly, instead of integrating, most of what is left of the old white elite of supporters have moved away from the stands into the pavilion and sports club bars and seats reserved for those in the higher wage brackets.However, at the second one-day game there was at least one white face among the sea of enthusiastic black children, and it was Vermeulen’s. For most of the game, which Zimbabwe eventually won, he led a shouting, laughing band of at least 30 or 40 children around the stands. Wherever he went, they followed, and with his encouragement cheered their side to victory.In a country in which racial and political tensions are a fact of everyday life, it was heart-warming to witness the sight of a young, white male from an affluent Harare family in his element, and loving every minute of it, among black children who would be bussed back to one of the capital city’s sprawling, poverty-stricken townships after the game. It took only one thing to break down the racial, economic and age boundaries between Vermeulen and those children: cricket. This not only gives a flicker of hope for the future of Zimbabwe cricket, and the country at large; it also offers an insight into his open, care-free attitude off the field, and the supremely privileged place cricket holds in his life.

This is a man who is literally willing to risk his life in order to play for his country again. After a three-and-a-half hour operation to repair the skull fracture inflicted by Pathan, Vermeulen said that the doctors warned him a third such injury could put his life at risk. He told BBC Sport: “If it happens again it will make one hell of a mess… but cricket is my only love, my big love, and I decided to go on playing.”. In an interview with Cricinfo he stated: “Basically all I want to do is to play for my country. That has been my goal since I was 10 or 12 years old.”However, his cricketing ambitions have seemingly been thwarted. He has not been picked for Zimbabwe for almost two years, despite leading the batting averages in the country’s domestic competition – when it still had one to speak of. When he was not offered a national contract last year, Vermeulen said: “I personally went to Ozias Bvute [the ZC managing director]. He [Bvute] told me that it was not up to him, but that he would take the necessary measures. I still want to play. I was given no reason why I was not given a contract. I think I have done my best for Zimbabwe to make at least the performance-based list.”After the hearing of the Lancashire Cricket Board, in which his 10-year ban was cut down to three, with two years suspended, Andrew Fitch-Holland, his legal representative, stated that Mark had been diagnosed as “suffering from a depressive illness which of course has a significant impact upon his behaviour”. He continued: “For anyone, let alone a professional sportsman, to publicly admit to such a struggle is, I suggest, exceptional and worthy of a degree of respect. We offer no excuses for Mark’s unacceptable conduct but ask instead for some understanding. To his credit Mark has already taken positive steps to seek help, and is trying to remain upbeat about his future in cricket in these difficult days.”Having met and spoken to Vermeulen about his cricket several times in the past myself, it is quite comprehensible that the stall in his career should affect him to such a degree. He simply lives for cricket.In his private life Vermeulen is, in my experience, at all times friendly, approachable and supremely laid-back. He always had time for people, and had no affectations about talking to anyone, white or black, especially if the subject was cricket. He was fun-loving and did not take himself too seriously: I once saw him dancing, in full, skin-tight cycling gear, on the roof of a Harare nightclub. Off the field, one could even say he seemed humble and (whisper it) peace-loving.While there can be no excuses for Vermeulen’s recent, or past, objectionable actions on the field, there are reasons, and there are other sides to his character which should not be simply swept away. It was not thuggery or arrogance which drove him to such extreme lengths on that fateful late-summer day in Ashton, but rather the frustration of his sheer passion, his motivation and his all-encompassing desire to succeed as a cricketer.

Stephen Fleming wasn’t willing to hear any talk about “surrendering without a fight” but at the same time he didn’t think New Zealand needed to eliminate performances such as today’s, when they were outplayed at Mohali.”We’ve got to earn more international respect and performances like these don’t help that,” he stated frankly at the end of the day, no doubt ruing the top-order collapse that left them reeling at 35 for 6. “We got to the semi-finals and played OK to get there but we’ve got to move forward. This tournament is one where we were a bit timid towards the final stages. We need to learn to become as a team that can talk positively and back that up with performances. I’m not quite convinced today’s one was.”A combination of both good bowling and bad batting cost us early on,” he reflected, “and we knew the first 10 overs were going to be important. We weren’t sure how much the ball was going to do. They bowled well but our batting was pretty poor. It’s been like this throughout the tournament and against a team like Australia, they’re really going to expose it.”So where did Fleming think they went wrong? “What we need is more consistent batting performance across the board,” he added. “That’s why Australia to so well. If someone doesn’t do well, someone else does it.”Yet, unlike Pakistan who surrendered on the same pitch against the might of the South African pace attack, New Zealand’s lower order kept them afloat. “We were outskilled at the top of the order,” he continued when asked about New Zealand lacking the gumption for a fight. “But we got from 35 for 6 to more than 200 and I don’t think you’d find any other team doing that. So don’t talk about fight. Just backed our skills and didn’t give Australia a chance to knock us over.”Fleming didn’t hesitate to recognise the efforts of his opening bowlers, who helped New Zealand get this far in the tournament. “Shane Bond was always going to get better. He’s copped a bit of slack at home about how he keeps getting injured but we know how dangerous a player he can be when he gets a run of games together. He showed again today, though it still wasn’t one of his better days. Kyle Mills has taken wickets for us at the top. He’s continued his good form that he showed over the last 18 months. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve got this far in this tournament.”

Bob Berry, who played twice for England in 1950 and was the first man to be capped by three counties, has died at the age of 80.Berry honed his craft in the Lancashire Leagues before making his debut for his native county in 1948, and although the county was packed with spinners, he forged his way into the side with his slow left-armers. Although he was not biggest turner of the ball, his variation in flight was exceptional, and in 1950 he earned himself a Test trial in which he took five wickets. As a result, he made his Test debut in the first Test against West Indies in 1950, taking 5 for 63 and 4 for 54 as England won their only match of the summer. Retained for Lord’s, he went wicketless as West Indies claimed their famous victory, but he bowled economically and was unfortunate to be dropped. He was included in the Ashes touring side that winter, but did not break into the Test side.In 1953 he took all ten Worcestershire wickets in an innings (his figures were 10 for 102) but places at Lancashire were increasingly hard to come by and in 1955 he joined Worcestershire and enjoyed three of his most successful seasons. Nevertheless, in 1958 he moved to Derbyshire, where he ended his first-class career.In retirement he became a publican and enjoyed local fame as a pigeon breeder, as well as maintaining strong links with the game. He was president of Farnsfield CC, where he lived, and also the Lancashire Players’ Association.Berry had always been close friends with Lancashire’s Malcolm Hilton, and when his wife and Hilton died, he married Vera Hilton.

Scotland will play their first official one-day international matches on foreign soil when they travel to Bangladesh next month.The eight-day trip, departing from Glasgow on December 10, will feature one warm-up game before the two ODIs, in Chittagong on December 15 and Dhaka two days later.If Scotland captain Craig Wright plays in both games he will overtake Greig Williamson as Scotland’s most capped player of all time with 154 caps.Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith said: “This is the start of a tremendous adventure for Scottish cricket. Over the next four months, Scotland’s top cricketers will play full international matches in places they’ve never visited, and we will be judged by our performances. Bangladesh is just the beginning.”Several of the squad have played in Bangladesh before; Dougie Brown with England and Ross Lyons and Omer Hussain, for Scotland in the 2004 U19 World Cup.Scotland have played only eight official ODIs – five of them in the 1999 World Cup, and national coach Peter Drinnen added: “The Bangladeshis will certainly want to win both these games, after we defeated them in Edinburgh two seasons ago. But we will be just as hungry for success, because we want to continue to build our international reputation.”Squad Craig Wright (capt), John Blain, Dougie Brown, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Paul Hoffmann, Omer Hussain, Dougie Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Colin Smith (wkt), Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts.