Tom Moody, Sri Lanka’s coach, has the qualifications to become Australia’s next coach, says Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain. He fears Moody will return to Australia after the World Cup in 2007 and take over from John Buchanan.Ranatunga said Moody had shown diplomacy and savvy when dealing with a complex Sri Lankan cricket board. “With all the controversial things happening in Sri Lanka, it’s very, very important with the cricket board changing that you can deal with this as, all these things can affect the team,” Ranatunga told Melbourne’s newspaper. “I thought he has handled everything very well. He has done a good job so far.”Moody also fits the criteria that Shane Warne wants in the next Australian coach. “I don’t have a preference but I would like to see someone in the job who has international playing experience and understands actually what the guys are going through,” Warne said during a team camp earlier this week.Since becoming Sri Lanka’s coach in 2005, Moody has had several sucessful campaigns that include reaching the finals of the VB Series in Australia last summer, a drawn Test series in England and the subsequent 5-0 one-day series whitewash.Moody and Tim Nielsen, the coach of the Australian Centre of Excellence, are considered the leading candidates to replace Buchanan, who confirmed this week that he will quit after the World Cup.Ranatunga said he expected Cricket Australia to pursue Moody. “Normally after the World Cup there are a few changes. I am sure he will get an offer from Australia. That’s normal procedure – we train people, we get people in, then some other country will take them. I think he has been wonderful so far.”

Garfield Sobers, Everton Weekes and Brian Lara led a list of outstanding past and present Test players who paid their final respects to Clyde Walcott on Saturday. Walcott was one of the most famous and revered West Indian cricketers, and several of those he played with, managed, and gave advice to, attended the funeral service at St Mary’s Church.Sir Clifford Husbands, the governor general, and Owen Arthur, the prime minister, topped the dignitaries who also included cabinet ministers Anthony Wood and Jerome Walcott. The congregation also included knights, Sir Richard Cheltenham, Sir Douglas Lynch, Sir Carlyle Burton, and prominent businessmen Geoffrey Cave, David Bynoe, and David Deane.Predictably, though, cricketers, some of them carrying bats, and administrators took centre-stage and formed their own team. These included Desmond Haynes, Robin Bynoe, Cammie Smith, Wes Hall, Joel Garner, Wayne Daniel, Richard Prof Edwards, Seymour Nurse, Stephen Camacho, Peter Lashley, Rawle Brancker, Lance Gibbs and David Holford were all present. Captain Peter Short and Owen Estwick were on hand to ensure that the administration was in order.Walcott managed Barbados youth teams in the 1970s and the two high-scoring schoolboys of that period, Winslow Ashby and Ricky Craig, were in attendance along with Emmerson Trotman, who is wrapping up a three-week holiday here.Gibbs, the first spin bowler to take 300 Test wickets, said no praise could be too high for Walcott. “Sir Clyde and I go a long way back. He was the best man at my wedding. He completely destroyed the myth that great cricketers can’t be great administrators,” said Gibbs. “Jeff Stollmeyer, Allan Rae and Wes Hall have also proven that. I personally think that most of our top cricketers should be associated with the board, so that we would be able in inculcate some of the habits of the great players.”Gibbs noted that outside of the former Test players, the attendance was disappointing. “If something of this nature had happened in India, England, or Australia, if one of their top men had passed away, all of the young players would have been there. West Indians are not very supportive. I thought I would have seen more of the young cricketers because I am sure that Sir Clyde at Spartan must have passed on knowledge to some of the fellas. It was mostly former West Indies players in attendance.””For example, autograph seekers are always around in England, Australia, and on the subcontinent. They stay outside of your room for days just to get an autograph. You don’t see that happening in the Caribbean. People tend to forget you in the Caribbean when you have finished playing.”Walcott, who passed away last week at the age of 80, played 44 Tests and scored 15 centuries, a record five in a single series against Australia in the 1955 home series.

Mark Gillespie, the rookie New Zealand fast bowler, is optimistic about his abilities to contribute in tight situations during his side’s Champions Trophy campaign. Touted as a potential at-the-death bowler, Gillespie has been picked as cover in an injury-prone New Zealand side and has expressed an appetite for a challenge.”If I play, it’ll be for keeps and I’m excited about that. I’d love to get a run,” Gillespie, 26, told reporters. “Every outing is a crunch match in this tournament so you’ve got to be on your game every time you walk out on the park. It’s not as if there’s a few soft games for blooding a youngster, it’s not like that. But I like the challenge; I like the extra buzz and the excitement, and I especially like the thought of playing over here, where it seems that just about everyone is obsessed with the game.”Gillespie earned a call-up based on a decent State Shield showing and a good performance for New Zealand A in the Top End tournament at Darwin. In his first outing in India, he picked up 3 for 37 from seven overs in a warm-up victory against Mumbai yesterday, but remained unsure of whether he would play in New Zealand’s first match against South Africa on Friday.”I’ve had no indication of what, if any games, I might be considered for,” he said. “I haven’t given it much thought to be honest; just taking every day as it comes. I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself. If I play, well great, but if I don’t I’m still getting a marvellous learning experience.”He also lapped up the Indian atmosphere and support: “It’s been pretty crazy; a new experience for me, definitely. They just adore cricket, the people over here. It’s amazing, no matter where you go there are crowds following you. I haven’t got any previous experience over here so I don’t know what’s normal. But people are just crazy about the cricket and the Champions Trophy right now”.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Brian Lara’s decision to bat backfired quite badly as West Indies were bundled out for 206 on the opening day at Lahore. Lara himself battled hard, scoring a classy 61 – his first half-century in Pakistan – but the rest of the batsmen struggled in murky conditions on a pitch which offered significant seam movement to the Pakistan pace attack.Umar Gul finished with rather flattering figures of 5 for 65 – including the prized wicket of Lara – while Shahid Nazir made the early inroads with three top-order wickets. When play was called off early because of bad light, Pakistan had progressed to 39 for 1.The early exchanges suggested that West Indies’ move to bat was a wise one as Chris Gayle clattered a wayward Gul for plenty of fours on the way to a typically rambunctious 34 off 28 balls, but once Gul made the breakthrough, Pakistan were in control almost throughout. Dwayne Bravo and Dave Mohammed helped Lara in the battle, but once West Indies had slipped to 52 for 4, but those mini partnerships only helped limit the damage and help the team get past 200.Gul finished with most of the honours, but the bowler who set up Pakistan was Nazir. The absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif allowed him an opportunity to make his mark, and he made the most of it. The pace wasn’t threatening – he bowled around the 130 kmph – but once he found his radar all the batsmen found him more than a handful.Gayle was beaten by one which nipped back into him – though he was unlucky to be given out as the ball was clearly going over the stumps – Ramnaresh Sarwan succumbed to a brute of a delivery which lifted, seamed away, squared him up, and took the outside edge, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul was another victim of one that straightened after pitching. It would have been even worse for West Indies had Asoka de Silva ruled Lara lbw when Nazir trapped him in front on 0 – the ball pitched in line with middle and leg, straightened and would have hit the stumps – but he ruled otherwise.

Lara survived, and slowly attempted to put the innings back on track, putting on 44 for the fifth wicket with Bravo, and 52 for the seventh with Mohammed, who contributed a plucky 35. Lara wasn’t always convincing against the fast bowlers, but he handled Kaneria quite masterfully, using his feet and stretching fully forward to negate the spin from the rough – which was quite alarming for a first-day pitch – and then using the width of the crease to push back and cut when Kaneria pitched it short. He looked good for many more when Gul struck against the run of play, conjuring up a peach of a delivery which pitched, seamed away, and forced an edge.Gul bowled a mixed bag – he was all over the place with his control in the first session but he also managed to produce wicket-taking deliveries, nailing Ganga, Lara, and then cleaning up the tail to finish with his third five-wicket haul in Tests.Pakistan’s openers had their share of problems when they came out to bat, as Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards got enough pace, bounce and movement to cause plenty of discomfort. Farhat played and missed repeatedly before Edwards finally got one to straighten and trap him in front. Mohammad Hafeez had his share of luck, but to his credit attempted to play close to his body, and was willing to bat out long periods without scoring. Both he and Younis Khan played with soft hands, placed the ball in the gaps, and ran the singles to keep the score ticking over. The umpires finally called off play with 17 overs still left in the day as even the floodlights weren’t enough to stop the gloom.In 37 previous Tests at Lahore, the team batting first has won just three, compared to 14 by the team batting second. If West Indies don’t pick up their act over the next few days, they could well be the latest team to succumb after batting first.

Shaun Tait expects the next couple of days to count for little, Mitchell Johnson doesn’t plan to lift his training intensity above the usual level and Stuart Clark is pretty happy to be in Brisbane after his thigh injury recovered ahead of schedule. The three fast bowlers began the in-house push for Australia’s undecided bowling spot today and all were unsure who had the best claims to join Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Brett Lee in the first Test.Practice form will give Ricky Ponting a guide when he considers which two men to shear from the squad for Thursday and he had an early chance to monitor Johnson and Clark during the squad’s first training session at a Brisbane private school. As planes accelerated to various destinations from the city’s nearby airport, the pair resumed a battle for take-off at the Gabba.Johnson started his day against Ponting and Clark joked that when it was his turn he unleashed a couple of bouncers to gain the captain’s attention. “We’ve had a laugh about the situation,” Clark said. “Me and Mitchell were both down to bowl to Ricky today, so I said to Mitch this is a bowl-off. I’ll get the newest ball and you get the newest ball. It’s good competitive fun, but we’re all in it for the cause to get back the Ashes.”While Johnson and Clark were warming up, Tait was winding down after ten days of shock therapy directed at England batsmen. He did not bowl during the session and was on light duties after flying to Brisbane from South Australia’s three-day game against the tourists.Two weeks ago Tait felt he had no chance of being in the squad. “No, God, definitely not,” he said. After surging through England with 3 for 21 for the Prime Minister’s XI and taking another three wickets in Adelaide he forced the selectors into choosing an expanded squad. Six fast men, including the injured Watson, were stalking the two main ovals and nets today.”It’s strange, really, having so many in the squad, but I like it,” Tait, who is the youngest of Australia’s bowlers at 23, said. “Fast bowlers get along well and are pretty laid back. But the next couple of days aren’t going to make much difference. The selectors know what we can do.”

Each man offers something different and the final decision will depend on whether the selectors want variation, speed or sense. Johnson, 25, is a promising left-armer but is yet to play a Test while Tait’s high-level speed has already upended England’s keys of Andrew Flintoff and Andrew Strauss. Clark, the 31-year-old right-arm seamer, is the more thoughtful option and not just because he completed an exam for a university subject in company valuation on Friday.Ponting had Clark, who excelled on South Africa’s seaming pitches in March, pencilled in for the Gabba months before the bowler hurt his right thigh. “It got a bit close there and the doctors were telling me it wasn’t that great,” Clark said. “I did all the rehab and it worked very well. It now feels normal again.”The trio knows the decision will be tight, but for Johnson and Tait it is the exciting part of adventures that have been disrupted by back and shoulder injuries. “I’m just going to do the same thing I’ve done for last 12 months,” Johnson said. “If I try to impress that’s where I can come undone.”Tait was surprised and excited to return to the set-up for the first time since suffering a shoulder problem before last year’s Super Series, and his throwing has improved to the point where he is confident hurling from the boundary. “I’m so chuffed to be part of the 13,” he said. “If I don’t play at least I know I’m close.”And which way will the selectors go? “I really don’t know,” Tait said. “I don’t think anyone knows.” If the other two candidates were listening they would have nodded.

Victoria have been boosted by the inclusion of Brad Hodge and Mick Lewis in their 12-man squad for the Ford Ranger Cup match against New South Wales at the MCG on Wednesday. But the Bushrangers will be without Shane Harwood, who is expected to miss two to three weeks with a calf injury.Hodge has recovered from a quadriceps strain and Lewis from a hip muscle injury. Both found form immediately upon their return in the Pura Cup game that finished on Monday, with Lewis claiming eight wickets and Hodge scoring 88. Grant Lindsay has been omitted from the one-day team.New South Wales have named Matthew Nicholson and Aaron O’Brien in their squad, while Jason Krejza and Aaron Bird, who has been reported for a suspect bowling action, have been left out.Victoria pulled off a remarkable win when the two sides met at Canberra last Sunday, thanks to centuries from Cameron White and Michael Klinger. Both sides have three wins this season and victory on Wednesday will put one state a step closer to catching competition leaders Queensland.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Jon Moss, Brad Hodge, Cameron White (capt), David Hussey, Aiden Blizzard, Rob Quiney, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Clinton McKay, Mick Lewis, Darren Pattinson.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Simon Katich (capt), Brad Haddin (wk), Daniel Christian, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, David Warner, Nathan Hauritz, Matthew Nicholson, Nathan Bracken, Scott Coyte.

Kumar Sangakkara

The thing that worried me most when facing Warne was his unerring accuracy and ability to exploit every single advantage. You never got a freebie from Warne. You always knew he was plotting hard about how to get you out, weighing up your attitude, the conditions and the state of the game.He was one of the shrewdest bowlers I have ever faced and this deep bowling intelligence got plenty of wickets he should not have got over the years. Sometimes he’d even let you know how he was trying to get you out, adding some extra pressure, toying with your mind. It was a game of bluff and double bluff.In recent years he rarely bowled a googly or flipper, but the stock legbreak was so dangerous because he had such control of spin. He relied heavily on clever variations in flight, drift and pace. And of course, like all the truly great bowers, he also had that special ability to step up when it mattered most. Out of the blue, when Australia needed it most, he would conjure up something unplayable to put you on the backfoot.Mohammad Yousuf

He is one of the greatest bowlers ever. And as he is one of the greats, it is difficult to pick out just one thing about him which makes him special – it was everything about him. His drift, his accuracy, his stamina – other bowlers have these qualities but no one has had them all together in one body.When I first faced him, in 1999-2000, he was a little bit older and some said that he had lost the zip he had in the mid-90s. But he was still amazing then and just always at you, never giving you any space. He is so accurate that as a batsman you can never switch off against him. My best century I consider to be the one against Australia at Melbourne in 2004 and that was because it was against great bowlers like Warne and McGrath.He bowled so many great balls it is difficult to pick out just one. I guess it would be the delivery to dismiss me in that Melbourne Test. He bowled it round the wicket and it drifted past my pads and I was stumped. It was when he produced it more than anything else because I was well-set by then.Daryll Cullinan
Shane Warne retires as one the greatest cricketers of all time. He holds just about every possible record for a bowler. Most wickets, most away wickets, most wickets in a calendar year, most wickets in won Test matches… it goes on and on. Having failed miserably at his hands in Test cricket he has always been a point of discussion wherever I have gone.

Seldom has my good one-day cricket record against him been given credit but that was eventually achieved by discovering two things: the sweep shot, which came easier in one-day cricket, and the first thing a kid is taught in cricket: watching the ball out of the hand. However, by then the story had been told: Daryll Cullinan was Shane Warne’s bunny.The media thrived on it, in particular Neil Manthorp. His second best story about me was the Melbourne moment when, arriving at the crease on our second tour of Australia, Warne greeted me with the famous words: “I’ve been waiting six months to bowl at you.” The reply was: “I can see you spent it eating!”As the over finished, I met Gary Kirsten, my batting partner, in the middle and we had a chat about the big man’s comments. Kirsten, full of smiles, then made the comment to me that yes he could see he had been spending the time eating. This comment was subsequently attributed to me in Kirsten’s weekly column in a Cape Town newspaper which was been ghost-written by Manthorp. In Warne’s cricketing history it always comes up as one of the best sledges.Nasser Hussain

I’d actually seen Shane Warne out here in Australia before he appeared in England in 1993. I was playing club cricket in Adelaide and used to head down to the Oval to get some nets in, and Shane would be there with the academy. He just looked like a big blond beach bum, to be honest, but every day he’d be in there working on his legbreaks, googlies and flippers.No-one ever thought he’d be as fantastic as he was for the game, though. For me, batting against him was why I played the game. I love to be in a challenge, I love to be in a fight. With Warney at the end of his run, with the zinc on, the beached hair, the weight-gain and the weight-loss, sledging you, testing you physically and mentally – it was the greatest challenge going.When I saw that Gatting delivery, my only thought was: “Thank God I wasn’t at the crease!” In that 1993 series, there was a lot of mystery around the England dressing-room. We hadn’t faced a legspinner for ages, we didn’t know what a flipper was. That was the difference really. We were just learning on our feet out there. As for the greatest ball I ever received from him, well, there were umpteen. You can’t just remember a few from Shane Warne.

Cameron White’s re-entry into the Australia team has been so strong that he has out-hit Andrew Symonds in their past two partnerships. After muscling four sixes in the Twenty20 win over England, White blasted another three against New Zealand in Hobart on Sunday as Symonds played the support role with an almost run-a-ball 69.White’s 45 from 32 deliveries helped take the game away from New Zealand during a 90-run partnership with Symonds in nine overs. Symonds has been impressed with White’s power since he came back into the national set-up and said it meant he did not feel pressure to force the pace. “When you’ve got that going on at the other end, it makes it a lot easier for me,” Symonds told AAP. “I’m happy to give him the strike … he was the ideal man for the job.”In a striking assessment Symonds agreed there was probably not a cleaner hitter in Australia than White. “You’d have to say so after that Twenty20 effort the other night and today,” Symonds said. “It’s not like he’s just clearing the rope. There’s absolutely no doubt when he hits it in the middle, it’s maximum.”White’s bowling was not as productive as his blasting, which included consecutive sixes off Daniel Vettori and another from Shane Bond that landed on a grandstand roof. His first two overs went for 18 as he was targeted by Ross Taylor, but he returned to take the final wicket of Jeetan Patel and secure the 105-run win. He also gave up 27 runs in three overs during the victory over England on Friday.However, the performances have not been a concern for Ricky Ponting. “I just see him as someone, if we can, to give him some overs, give him some experience and exposure, give him some confidence,” he said. “I can see him as a good wicket-taking option for us. He’s just going to get better and better with more experience.”

Mahela Jayawardene had no excuses after a shoddy performance with both batand ball that cost Sri Lanka the chance to win a bilateral series in Indiafor the first time. With the exception of Chamara Silva, no other batsmancrossed 28, and the Indians overhauled the 260-run target with ridiculousease as the shadows started to spread across the lush green outfield.Having taken a 1-0 lead in the series after a tense win at Rajkot, SriLanka batted poorly both at Goa and Visakhapatnam to hand India victory.”A lot of things went wrong, not just one,” said Jayawardene, when askedto assess a performance that he’ll hope has little bearing on the WorldCup encounter between the two sides on March 23. “Losing a lot of wicketsearly on was one of them. We knew the pitch was very good, and we probablyneeded 275 or 280 or even more. We knew there would be a little bit ofmovement early on, but we survived that. Then we lost wickets.”Having slumped to 56 for 4, Sri Lanka recovered to post 259 thanks largelyto the efforts of one man. “The only bright spot from the whole match wasChamara Silva,” said Jayawardene. “I thought he batted really well, with acouple of other guys chipping in.”Silva made a superb run-a-ball 107 in his first outing of the series,showing the sort of form that inspired Sri Lanka to a famous Test win atWellington last December. When asked if there had been a temptation toplay him earlier in the series, Jayawardene said: “Obviously, we wanted toplay him in at least two games. But unfortunately, the first game waswashed out, and our middle order couldn’t get a bat. We tried to givethose guys a couple of games, and also make sure that every top-order guygot a hit. We always knew the talent that he possesses, and the way hebatted in New Zealand. It’s brilliant to see the way he batted, and itgives us confidence for the World Cup.”Having put a competitive total on the board, Sri Lanka then let the gameslip with some woeful new-ball bowling. Farveez Maharoof started the rotwith a 10-ball first over, and though both Lasith Malinga and DilharaFernando were immensely quick, the radar was never switched on. “Onceagain, we didn’t start well with the new ball,” said Jayawardene.”Defending a total like 260 on a pitch like that, it’s crucial that we getearly wickets with the new ball, which we didn’t do. We bowled both sidesof the wicket, and too many wides and no-balls. We had no momentum fromthat point onwards. We played some poor cricket today, and India playedsome really good cricket.”If you have to control the Indian batting line-up, you have to do wellwith the new ball. You have to hit the right areas, which we didn’t. Ifyou take the whole series, we weren’t very consistent with the new ball.We gave away momentum and were always fighting to get back into the game.”

He himself was as culpable as any on the batting front, with an awfulheave that extended a fallow run without a 50 to 17 games. Consideringthat he had two centuries while averaging over 53 in the 16 games prior tothat, Jayawardene’s form is one of the team’s prime concerns heading tothe Caribbean. “Personally, I’m very disappointed with the way I’ve beenbatting the last couple of months,” he said. “I want to contribute to theteam, and I haven’t been able to do that. I’ve been hitting the ballpretty well in practice, but not spending time out in the middle.”It can’t be overlooked that Sri Lanka played this series without their twomost experienced bowlers, but for Jayawardene, that was no excuse. “Thelast time we came here, Vaasy played a few games, and so did Murali,” hesaid, referring to the series in 2005 when Sri Lanka were thumped 6-1. “Wealways knew it would be a tough task on Indian pitches. But these guyswill learn by playing on different surfaces. They didn’t bowl that well,but will learn from the experience. It’s good that the full squad isgetting prepared for the World Cup, and not just a few guys.”Though he was clearly disappointed with another poor top-order show,Jayawardene was pretty impressed by the manner in which India’s bowlersacquitted themselves on surfaces that were largely batsmen-friendly.”Throughout the tournament, the Indian bowlers did well with the newball,” he said. “To be fair to our guys, I thought they [the Indians] gotthe better of the conditions. The wickets had some moisture and were moreconducive [in the morning], but you can’t take credit away from them.”Our batting also contributed [to the defeat]. We played some really looseshots today and threw a couple of wickets away in tight situations. We hada poor game, you have to put your hand up and take responsibility forthat.”By contrast, India’s batsmen breezed past the target in just 41 overs,with Yuvraj Singh’s fabulous unbeaten 95 and Robin Uthappa’s breezy35-ball 52 providing most of the impetus. “Robin had the advantage ofbatting in the Power Plays,” said Jayawardene when asked to assess the twoknocks. “Yuvi had to play the spinners with the field out. We were tryingto attack and take wickets, and they had the opportunity to score freely.Both batted really well in different situations.”Unless Bangladesh play out of their skins in the Caribbean, these twosides will be tussling for top spot in their World Cup group. “It’s agreat combination with a lot of experience, and they’ll be toughopposition,” said Jayawardene, when asked about the Indians. “Obviously,playing in India, they cherish the atmosphere and you could see thattoday. But come the World Cup, it’ll be a different atmospherealtogether.”With a formidable Australian side suffering an almighty injury-hit wobblein the lead-up to D-day, both India and Sri Lanka, strengthened by theaddition of Vaas and Murali, will journey to the Caribbean with more thana smidgen of hope in the hearts. And on foreign fields halfway across theglobe, both will need to replicate the form that they habitually show onthe green, green grass of home.

Shot of the Day
Herschelle Gibbs’ contemptuous slap over midwicket to complete hismillion-dollar blitzkrieg on the unsuspecting legspinner, Daan vanBunge. It was thrilling and ferocious stuff, and the only pity is thatbarely 1000 spectators were in the ground to witness it.Click here to watch Gibbs’s six sixesBall of the Day
Billy Stelling’s second delivery of the match – it was short and, iftruth be told, it was wide as well. But it bounced more than AB deVilliers had been expecting, and delivered the perfect start toHolland’s World Cup campaign …Rearguard of the Day
Essex’s allrounder, Ryan ten Doeschate, demonstrated the value ofexposure to high-level cricket with an excellently compiled 57. Hetook the edge off a thumping defeat, and even showed that the Dutchcan hit sixes too. Even if they have to be South African-born.Hubris of (Yester)Day
“If we bowl first and keep them under 300 we will give ourselves achance.” Holland’s captain, Luuk van Troost, had been in bullish moodon the eve of the match. “Our first target is to win the game. That’swhy we are here. If you don’t give yourself a chance, there’s no usecoming to this tournament. You have to back yourself.” Brave words, ifever so slightly empty.Press release of the Day
Shortly before presumably considering filing for bankruptcy, the whisky company, JohnnieWalker, announced it was “absolutely delighted by the inspirationaland pioneering feat that was today realised by Herschelle Gibbs”.Apparently they “couldn’t be more thrilled with donating US$1 millionto Habitat for Humanity in our efforts to enrich the Caribbeancommunity”, and offered their “sincere congratulations for thisamazing accomplishment”.Dimensions of the Day
Presciently, the St Kitts officials thought to cover their backs forwhen the accusations of short boundaries start flying around. “Theplaying area (east to west),” they announced, “is 140 yards and onefoot – the minimum requirement is 140 yards so there is one foot tospare.” North to south, on the other hand, is much more comfortable -134 yards is the length, which is a full 14 more than the minimum.Gibbs made it look pretty poxy either way.Superfluous information of the Day
The eight-page print-out detailing every ball of Holland’sDuckworth-Lewis requirements. To have won the game in the event ofrain, the Dutch would need to have made their final total of 132 for 9in less than a single delivery.