POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa, Feb 21 AAP – Australia’s rampaging cricketers are on the verge of a world record.Victories over Zimbabwe, Namibia and England in their next three World Cup matches will move Ricky Ponting’s men past the benchmark of 11 straight limited-overs wins achieved by the awesome West Indian teams of the mid-1980s.Australia’s hot streak, which began with a seven-run triumph over England at Hobart on January 11, has since claimed eight more victims.And there are many more in sight as the defending champions attempt to retain their prized trophy via an undefeated six-week trek through southern Africa.The Windies, boasting the likes of Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding, strung together 11 wins between June 1984 and February 1985.”I don’t think it’s out of our league, that’s for sure,” said Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden.”We are playing really good cricket and I guess now it’s just playing the big matches – Zimbabwe is a big match on their home territory.”I don’t think it’s out of our possibilities, we are playing well – we’re a great side when we’re playing with that momentum behind us.”Australia has come within a whisker of the Windies’ record twice before, falling at the 11th hurdle in May 1990 and February 2001.But it holds the record for the most consecutive one-day games without defeat: a trailblazing 14-match stretch between January and March 2000 that included a no-result when rain washed out play against New Zealand in Wellington.Hayden claimed it was too early for Australia to start thinking about an unbeaten World Cup, even though fast bowler Glenn McGrath and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist have already spoken of the lofty ambition.”We’ve won two of the biggest matches, against India and Pakistan, straight away and we kind of saw that as the key to our campaign and we’re just gathering a lot of strength from that,” said Hayden.Meanwhile, the world’s No.1 Test and one-day batsman paid Holland’s ragged crew of slow-medium pace bowlers a huge compliment by saying the 22.4 overs he faced at North West Stadium on Thursday were the most difficult for him in years.The Dutch can’t take all the credit, though.A wet pitch and overcast conditions were more responsible for Hayden’s stuttering 33 from 59 balls than Holland’s new-ball partnership of 40-year-old Roland Lefebvre and Edgar Schiferli, whose international bowling average was left at an unflattering 190.”Personally, they were 20 of the hardest overs I’ve faced in one-day cricket for a long time,” said Hayden, who backed the appearance of minnows like Holland at the World Cup.”The ball was swinging and seaming around, they were difficult conditions.”We were obviously going to be a more talented side than Holland but you have to look at it from a developmental point of view as well.”If you jump up and down and say we can’t possibly include these kind of nations in a World Cup, their cricket never develops.”I think it’s good for the game. The Holland blokes were first in the dressing room at the end of the day’s play having a beer and trying to learn as much as they could.”Australia plays Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on Monday, Namibia at Potchefstroom on Thursday and England at Port Elizabeth on March 2.

The Annual General Meeting of the Members’ Club will be held in the Long Room 1st Floor of the Pavilion, The Rose Bowl, West End, Southampton on 14th April 2003 at 5:30pm.Only members showing a 2003 Membership card will be admitted on the day.A full AGENDA has been sent to all members, and will include presentations from Peter Towler (Hampshire County Cricket Youth Trust), Neil Rider (Cricket Development) and Tony Middleton (Cricket Academy).The AGM will be followed by a Forum commencing at 6:45pm, which will provide an opportunity for you to put your questions to the panel.Radio Solent have asked to broadcast live some of the forum in line with similar occasions at Southampton and Portsmouth Football Clubs and this will add to the atmosphere. A proportion of the audience will be Radio Solent listeners. In order to assist with the seating arrangements for the forum please advise Brian Osman, Secretary Members’ Committee (023 8047 2002) of your intention to attend.The panel the forum will consist of :-

Kevan James – BBC Radio Solent (Forum Chairman)Rod Bransgrove – Chairman Rose Bowl PLCTim Tremlett – Director of CricketPaul Terry – First Eleven ManagerWill Kendall – Vice Captain, first eleven.

Somerset left arm seamer Matt Bulbeck is having a frustrating time at the moment.In 2002 he enjoyed a very successful comeback and took 53 wickets and scored 344 runs in the county championship and this season had his sights set on a regular first team place.All of this has had to go on hold however after he has suffered a back niggle as a result of which he has been told that he has to take a complete rest from bowling for three weeks.There is better news about Matt Wood, who was rushed into hospital earlier in the season after the friendly match against Hampshire suffering from a virus. The young right hand batsman has made a complete recovery and is back in full training.The Somerset strike force of Richard Johnson and Nixon McLean who were rested from yesterday’s NCL match against Durham Dynamo are both fit and will be available for the championship match that starts at Derby on Wednesday.

Sandeep Patil, Kenya’s former coach, was today given charge of the India A team amid speculation he will eventually take over the senior team from John Wright.Patil, who opted to leave Kenya after masterminding their surpriserun into the semi-finals during the World Cup, will manage India A on asix-week tour of England starting next month.Patil, 47, was a member of India’s World Cup-winning squad in 1983 andhas already had a stint as the national coach when he was in charge for a few months in 1996 before being dumped. However, his new role with India A only five weeks after quitting his job with Kenya is thought to be the first step towards becoming the senior coach after Wright’s contract ends next March.Patil said he was not surprised at being rehabilitated in India so soonafter leaving Kenya. “I was in regular touch with Indian Cricket Board President, Jagmohan Dalmiya, and had conveyed to him my intention to work with the Indian players.” He added: “I would have been happy even if I had been given charge of the under-19 team."Patil then played down speculation of replacing Wright as national coach: “I am not looking at the senior job yet. Besides, John has been doing a wonderful job with the national team and I would love to interact with him.” The India A team, who will play matches against English counties and one game against the touring South Africans during their tour, will be led by Shiv Sunder Das.

CCA seeks nominations for the positions of Team Manager, Coach/Cricket Manager and needs locally available volunteers for several Tournament Committee positions.Team liaison, scorers, umpires, grounds, transportation and hospitality are areas that will be filled on a first-come basis from locally available and experienced volunteers.The positions of Team Manager and Coach will be filled from skilled and experienced personnel who meet all CCA and ICC Guidelines and requirements.Any qualified and interested individuals must immediately forward their applications by email to Cclarke15 @yahoo.com or to [email protected] by May 31, 2003.Selections will then be completed in short order.Candidates for the positions of Team Manager and Coach must provide up-to-date CV’s with relevant recent cricket and other references. Again, locally available and skilled volunteers are requested to indicate their availability and interest.Due to a possible large number of applications, only a shortlist of candidates will be compiled from qualified candidates and only the successful candidates will receive further details.Organizing Committee meetings commence immediately.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is likely to face a compensation claim of 50 million pounds from the Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), which holds TV rights for all ICC tournaments until 2007. According to a report in , the ICC are unlikely to back down in the face of the claim.The GCC, after having paid US$550 million for the TV rights, claims that the cancelled England-Zimbabwe and New Zealand-Kenya World Cup matches, along with ambush marketing of the official sponsors in India, have resulted in a considerable loss of revenue.Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC, said: “The ICC have responded to all these challenges. Some of the issues remain unresolved, but overall the ICC took on a greater role for leading the sport.” Although the ICC “concede that they will have to forfeit some money,” they may look towards the Indian board (BCCI) to bear some of the costs as compensation for disregarding the ambush-marketing clause even after signing the Participating Nations Agreement.

Brad Hodge is considering taking legal action after being called a “cheat” by Dominic Cork in the aftermath of Derbyshire’s defeat by Leicestershire in the Twenty20 Cup on Tuesday.Hodge appeared to have stepped over the boundary rope while taking a catch to dismiss Derbyshire’s Steve Selwood in the penultimate over. The umpires consulted Hodge and then upheld the decision. “It’s down to the win-at-all costs attitudes and blatant cheating which are making cricket more like football with every season, and which I hate,” Cork fumed. “Hundreds of people saw Hodge run several feet over the rope, and thousands more have now seen him doing it on television. But when the umpire asked whether he had stayed inside the line he insisted that he had and he said the same to me, which is why I called him a cheat to his face.”The decision cost Derbyshire victory, and with it a place in the Twenty20 Cup semi-finals.Kevin Hill, Leicestershire’s general manager, said that Hodge was taking advice before deciding what action to take. “He refutes totally the allegation that he is a cheat,” explained Hill. “He is currently considering seeking legal advice to ascertain whether he wishes to take the matter further.”Hodge denied that the catch was anything other than legitimate. “I caught the ball yards inside the rope and I was simply showing the ball to the crowd in celebration,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “I had no idea of whether I stepped out of the arena because I wasn’t watching where my feet were going at that stage, and that is what I told the umpire. But, in any event, the catch had been completed probably three or four seconds before and, as far as I am concerned, I could have done a handstand in the meantime.”Cork’s anger was not limited to Hodge – he also lambasted Tim Lamb, the England & Wales Cricket Board’s chief executive, for the ECB’s response when the matter was referred to it, describing Lamb’s handling of the affair as “pathetic”.”I regret the tone and substance of Dominic’s remarks,” Lamb said. “They lacked a balanced perspective of the reality of the circumstances.”Cork slams ‘cheat’ Hodge and ‘pathetic’ Lamb

Yesterday’s round-upFrizzell County Championship Division Two
TableDerbyshire 361 for 5 dec and 204 for 7 drew with Durham 501 for 8 and 110 for 2 dec at Derby
Scorecard
Derbyshire avoided an eighth consecutive County Championship defeat, but only thanks to a spate of dropped catches by Durham’s fielders, as a rain-affected match at Derby reached an unexpectedly gripping finale. After some negotiations between the captains, Derbyshire were set a target of 251 in 55 overs, and they were quickly reduced to 15 for 2 by Neil Killeen and Liam Plunkett. But Steve Selwood, who was dropped on 6, 46, and 63, dug in for an important 88. He was one of three late wickets that fell to revive Durham’s hopes, but Derbyshire held firm.Division One – Day 3 of 4 Nottinghamshire 289 for 7 trail Sussex 497 for 6 dec by 208 runs at Trent Bridge
Scorecard
Robin Martin-Jenkins struck an unbeaten 121 from 128 balls to put Sussex in control in their County Championship clash against Nottinghamshire, but Kevin Pietersen retaliated with 138 not out to repel a rampant James Kirtley, who had taken three early wickets. With both sides eager to make up for a washout on the first day, the tempo was brisk, and when Chris Cairns and Chris Read fell in quick succession, Nottinghamshire were 140 for 6 and facing catastrophe. But Pietersen found an ally in Paul Franks, who helped add 114 for the seventh wicket.

Alton avoided an unlucky 13 to beat Portsmouth II by 39 runs and clinch the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 championship.Despite being dismissed for 165 (Michael Heffernan 45), Alton got the ten points they needed to be certain of the title after spin duo Julian Ballinger (3-25) and Ben Jansen (3-26) bowled relegation-threatened Portsmouth out for 126.Ventnor are firm favourites to finish runners-up after Neil Westhorpe (83) and Lee Brown (52) guided them to 225-7 at Leckford, who were dismissed for 97 by three-wicket trio Andy Whyte, Orascio Santalucia and Fred Smith.Jamie Donaldson, with 4-34 and an undefeated 56, played a key role in Trojans’ eight-wicket win over Havant II – a result which keeps an outside promotion chance alive.Paul Douglas (3-34) weighed in as Havant made 144, while Erasmus Hendrikse (61 not out) partnered Donaldson in Trojans’ winning romp.Paul Marks produced a virtuoso performance, taking 6-56 and scoring 103 for ten-man Winchester KS against New Milton at River Park.But Steve Watts (55), Dean Miller (49) and Ben Clarke (47) scored enough runs to secure a 62-run win for New Milton.Simon Sargent (56), Duncan Park (47) and Tony Richman (45) helped weakened Paultons to 229-6 at Bashley, who suffered two batting collapses either side of a 170-partnership between Graham Pardey (83) and Brian Vibert (70).Waterlooville need to beat Alton on Saturday to avoid joining Flamingo in the Hampshire League next season.

Stephen Fleming has clarified that his photo shoot for a liquor firm in Rajkot was part of a contract, and that he had no intention of causing offence to the people of Gujarat, a state where liquor is prohibited. The incident sparked off controversy, with politicians claiming Fleming’s action to be an "insult" to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.”I wasn’t aware of the impact it would have on the culture and I apologise if it’s offended anyone,” he said. “It was just a photo shoot in plain clothes near a dam.” Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand team manager, echoed those sentiments: “There was no offence intended or implied against state regulations or any historical figure.”Earlier, the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had both criticised Fleming. “This is a dry state, the birthplace of Gandhiji who is the father of the nation," said a spokesman for the Congress Party. "Fleming should not have done the advertisement here.” Raju Dhruv, an official of the ruling BJP, was equally critical. “Cricket is hugely popular in our country and any visiting team should keep in mind Indian sentiments while playing here.”