The 2003 Cricket World Cup will be the "best" and "cleanest" to date, Lord Condon, the director of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, said on Monday. But whether it will be the safest, in the aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington, simply cannot be guaranteed.Lord Condon was speaking at a joint media briefing of the ACU and the World Cup Security Directorate, to which the match-fixing commissioner has accepted an invitation to join.Accompanied by senior investigator Jeff Rees and support manager Bob Smalley, Lord Condon is in South Africa for five days during which time he will visit Cape Town for meetings with Frank Kahn, the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Western Cape who is currently investigating the state of Hansie Cronje’s indemnity against prosecution, the South African sports minister Ngconde Balfour and the British High Commissioner Ann Grant.The intention is to keep the 2003 CWC free from both match-fixing and the type of pitch invasions seen at Edgbaston and Headingley this year. With a budget of R8-million the Security Directorate, headed by Patrick Ronan and which includes Rory Steyn, Nelson Mandela’s former bodyguard, together with Lord Condon, these ambitions may well be realised.But as last Tuesday’s terror attacks demonstrated with such enormity, no potential target can be ruled completely secure and it is by no means certain that major sports events and packed stadia will be exempt from attack. It is likely, for instance, that Pakistan and India will meet during the World Cup at the Wanderers, South Africa’s biggest cricket stadium. With Pakistan having been thrust, however unwillingly, into centre stage in the terrorism crisis, it is not hard to imagine circumstances in which the staging of such a match would amount to the utmost folly.The ICC has already acknowledged that world events have intruded into the playing of sport by shifting its October board meeting from Lahore to Malaysia. It is by no means inconceivable that the meeting might have to be cancelled altogether.Of course, the World Cup is still 17 months away and the extent and effectiveness of the United States’ response to the attacks remains to be seen. And before South Africa hosts cricket’s premier one-day tournament, the football World Cup will be staged in Japan and South Korea while the Winter Olympics will be held in Salt Lake City.There were warnings at the media briefing against over-reaction and paranoia as well as talk of co-operation between the South African Government, law enforcement agencies, parastatals and the private sector. And fears that South Africa could find itself dragged into an international conflict may well prove unfounded.But as Ben van Deventer, a senior South African Police Services official and member of the Security Directorate conceded afterwards: "You can do things like establishing `no-fly’ zones around venues. The problem is enforcing them."

Tasmania’s tail didn’t wag, but it stood firm against Western Australia’s pace attack during a tense final session as the Pura Cup match ended in a draw at the WACA today.The Tigers resumed this morning at 0-13 and batted all day to reach 7-237 at stumps, still 20 runs short of the home side’s first innings of 7(dec)-594.West Australians will probably remember the game for centuries by Justin Langer (133), Damien Martyn (189) and Murray Goodwin (141).Or maybe for veteran Jo Angel’s continued climb up the list of Australia’s leading Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup wicket takers. Angel finished the game with 7-104 to join NSW spinner Greg Matthews on sixth position on the all-time list with 353.Tasmanians will remember the tense final session when the Tigers withstood WA’s fired-up pace quartet, on an unpredictable WACA deck, after resuming from teaat 5-163.Although the pitch played true for most of the day, the Tigers had already lost Shane Watson (30) and Michael Dighton (0) in the afternoon session, LBW from balls that kept low on the usually bouncy strip.All-rounder Daniel Marsh looked like he was going to save the match as he batted for 125 minutes in front of the grand stand bearing the name of his famous father, Rod.But Angel struck, drawing an outside edge that presented Adam Gilchrist with a simple chance to send Marsh back to the pavilion for 47 with the score 6-209.Shaun Young then redefined the term slow play, at one stage rooted on 11 for 62 minutes. But after moving to 15 with a boundary off Brad Williams (2-65), he was dismissed one run later, after 116 minutes, when the fiery blond rattled his stumps.The Tigers made a comfortable start to the run chase in the opening session.Jamie Cox contributed 63 but the Tigers could have done without one attempt to add to his tally which resulted in the run out of in-form skipper Ricky Ponting.There was little doubt the captain represented Tasmania’s best chance of reaching the 257 needed to force WA to bat again. He proved as much from the outset, duplicating his whirlwind first innings 58 by smashing six fours to reach 29 before being run-out.The first 40 runs of a 49-run partnership between the pair came from boundaries as the Tigers set about saving the match.It looked like the only way the Warriors could remove the Australian No.3 was by run out and even that took a magnificent effort.It came when Cox pushed the ball straight back down the pitch past Gavin Swan (0-71) and took off for a single.Ponting, running to the non-striker’s end, appeared safe as he set off but Williams swooped on the ball and threw the ball past Ponting’s shoulder to scatter the stumps.Gilchrist said after the match he had no regrets over holding off his declaration until an hour before stumps yesterday and he was pleased with his bowlers’ efforts.”They toiled well today, they stuck at it,” he said.”If we had bowled with the discipline on the first day that we showed today, we probably would have been in a bit better position.”The Tasmanians fought well, but we’re a bit disappointed not to get the result given we were in a commanding position.”Ponting was also happy with the fight his side showed to hang on for the draw.”The wicket did a bit today, it was a bit up and down and there was a bit of movement off the cracks,” he said.”I thought our guys gutsed it out well to keep ourselves in the game for a whole day.”

Winning the toss, Railways ensured that they took full advantage ofit, reaching 381/4 by the close of play on Day One of their RanjiTrophy league match against Madhya Pradesh at Indore.Although the Railways openers fell soon, followed by the in-form YereGoud, S Raza Ali and Tejinder Pal Singh put on 326 runs for the fourthwicket, both scoring centuries in the process.Raza Ali, the first to fall, made 148 off 210 balls, with 19 fours andthree sixes. His partner, however, continued in the presence ofskipper Abhay Sharma. Both batsmen were unbeaten at stumps, withSharma making 10 and Tejinder Pal Singh on 186 off 280 balls, with 23fours and three sixes.

Australian Darren Lehmann has hinted that his likely appointment as captain of English county team Yorkshire may be no more than a short-term measure.Yorkshire’s cricket committee formally endorsed the appointment last week, all but clearing the way for the brilliant left hander to replace the recently retired David Byas and become the county’s first-ever overseas captain.But the 31-year old skipper of South Australia has suggested that such an elevation would be no more than an interim step as the county prepares to find its next long-term leader.”It’s really just a makeshift role until one of our younger blokes can stand up and do the job – that’s how I see it. That’s also, I think, how the Board and committee see it, and how the coach sees it,” said Lehmann after spanking an innings of 246 to inspire South Australia to a crushing win over Tasmania in Hobart last weekend.”It’d be a great honour, obviously, to be the first non-Yorkshireman to captain Yorkshire.”But I’d really just be there to help the younger blokes through at this particular time and, when they’re ready to take over, I’d be stepping down to let them do that. Because they’ll be able to do the job for a lot longer than I can.”Since being recruited to the club in 1997, Lehmann has been an outstanding success through each of four seasons as the county’s overseas professional.On debut for the club, he struck 1,575 runs at an average of 63.00 in 1997; complemented it with another 969 runs in a reduced season in 1998 at an average of 60.56; and, on his return after a season dominated by World Cup commitments with Australia, was the leading first-class run scorer in England in 2000 with another 1,477 runs at an average of 67.13.He was also the architect of the attainment last summer of the county’s first first-class crown in 33 years, hitting another 1,416 runs at an average of 83.29.Importantly, Lehmann has considerable experience behind him as a captain in Australia’s two domestic competitions and is already a much-admired figure across Yorkshire.His appointment is due to be officially ratified at a further meeting of Yorkshire officials at Headingley on 28 November.

Kent County Cricket Club today announced that Matthew Fleming is to be Club Captain for 2002 and will captain the Club’s one-day team. David Fulton will captain the Club in the County Championship. Fleming, who has captained the Club in all competitions for the last three years, will assume responsibility for Club affairs and captaincy of all one-day competitions whilst David Fulton will assume responsibility for the team in the County Championship.Commenting on the announcement, Kent’s Chairman of Cricket, Mike Denness, said:”Last season was one of great success for the Club but there is always a need to look to the future and there is no better time than now to look to plan beyond Matthew. We believe that Matthew and David can work well together as we strive for further success for the Club into the future. We see the combination providing continuity in all competitions and we also see it as sensible planning for the future.”Matthew Fleming added: “I very much look forward to working with David next summer. He and I have talked at length about making this combination work and we are convinced that, with the squad of players we have, we can make a real success of the arrangement.”David Fulton said: “I am delighted to be asked to take on more responsibility and look forward to working with the players in order to make a real impact on the Championship next season.”

Canterbury achieved a commanding position, partly with the complicity of Central Districts, before stumps on the first day of their State Championship match at Pukekura Park today – a day of four innings and four seasons.Central’s decision to ask Canterbury to bat on winning the toss and on a day shortened by 20 overs because of rain was ill-considered and by stumps Canterbury had raced at more than 3.5 runs per over to 301/5.Jarrod Englefield, Michael Papps, Gary Stead and Chris Harris, who was 46 not out at stumps, contributed with innings of varied character – though not as varied as the weather that gave them their backdrop – to Canterbury’s satisfying opening day.Anyone who paid a fleeting visit to Pukekura Park today and went on to relay impressions of the scene to friends or workmates faced the risk of being directly contradicted about the conditions in which the match was played.Some might have said it was brilliantly fine and others that it was oppresively cloudy, some that there was never a threat of rain and others that it had rained with persistence and ferocity. It might have been called, alternately, calm and distressingly windy, warm and bitterly cold.In truth, it was all of these things at different times – hot and cold, calm and windy, clear and cloudy, thunderous and benign. The match was framed by two periods of rain – one before the match that delayed the start by 90 minutes and another at the end that brought play to a close as the final scheduled over was being bowled.There were two further rain interuptions during the day – immediately after lunch – and these in combination stripped 20 overs from the diet of the afternoon. But rarely, and in a more sublime setting, has cricket been played in such extremes.When the rain of the morning had passed, the day become sweetly, genially sunny. There were blue skies and from the sea beyond the city – visible as a blue smudge from the eastern terrace – there was a warm and soothing breeze.But that breeze, which grew in intensity, brought up with it from the coast a bank of marauding grey cloud which first crept on the ground and then, when backs were turned at lunchtime, pounced and brought forth a sudden and surprising deluge.Then the weather became fine again as the clouds raced before the wind and there was an afternoon as pleasant as any cricketer might beg. But again there was to be a change and the wind became boisterous and the clouds returned with bully intent and brooded over the ground.And where there had been sunshine there was gloom, and suddenly a racing wind and then the stentorian voice of thunder which heralded by minutes a final, quenching downpour.In these circumstances, Canterbury fashioned its innings.First on stage, under a painted canopy of blue sky, was Englefield who set the tone for the innings with a calm and authoritative 57. Then came Papps who stayed almost three hours and who made 92 – and who deserved a century – with 16 fours or 62 runs from boundaries.There was Stead who grafted in Papps’ shadow and was deprived, as he was, of a milestone – falling for 49. Then there was Harris who remained in celebratory mood – as a man of such generous temperament and sparkling form should – and who had three sixes among his 46 runs by stumps.There were partnerships of 90 in 82 minutes between Englefield and Papps, which spanned lunch, and of 104 between Papps and Stead, which occupied the second session and took only 88 minutes.Canterbury raced along as if their scoring was being harried by the wind as the clouds had been. Englefield stood giant at the crease, upright and urgent and emphatic. Papps, shorter, stocky but no loss decisive took Englefield’s scoring rate and took it to an even faster level.Stead steadied and Harris rushed towards the early conclusion, eager to see Canterbury through 300.Central’s insistence that Canterbury should bat was based on their impression of the pitch, that emerged from covers with a livid green appearance, and the supposition that it might aid the seamers now if at no other stage of the match.They were mistaken. Pukekura Park pitches are always kind to batsmen and that kindness was enlarged by short boundaries and a lightning outfield. Nor did Central bowl well and there were among their indignities today a pile of 16 no-balls which made them bowl almost three more overs than they should.The fielding was energetic but there is little chance in front of the square boundaries in New Plymouth to stem the flow of batsmen in the form of Canterbury’s four.

The England side is back in India after a break, and they are currentlypreparing in Kolkata for the one-day internationals. The break haspushed many issues to the back burner, and the main thing to be seen nowis if the visiting side can win the one-day series. They will quiteobviously be short of match practice, while the Indians have just playedfor the Challenger Trophy in Bangalore. Nasser Hussain is sure to havedrawn up a game plan to choke the Indians, and it remains to be seenwhat his counterpart does, in terms of both strategy and batsmanship.England have shown a lot of grit in India over the years, and althoughthe current team lack extraordinarily talented cricketers, it hassufficient spirit and determination.

When talking of talented cricketers from the British Isles, the names ofIan Botham and David Gower spring to mind. Botham was a tremendouscrowd-puller all over the world, as was Gower. The Indians got a chanceto see him in action in 1981, in the Jubilee Test at Bombay, which hewon for his side almost single-handed. Though many of his followers mayhave failed to pronounce his name correctly, they were on the money whenit came to his achievements.If Botham was the hero for his aggressive brand of cricket, Gower wasthe people’s favourite for his elegance and fluent touch with the bat.Gower’s performances dictated the mood swings of his followers, and atthe end of the day, they were content to see him out in the middle. Theirony in Gower’s case was that he was generally dubbed as a “laid-back,”and this description apparently did not please him. Mind you, his recorddoes indicate that he did things right somewhere down the line. It was apity that these two players ended their careers in a run-of-the-millway. Their attitudes did not go down well with the team management atthe time, resulting in their being dropped. Their exit was not on theirown terms, and they called it quits when they realised that they werenot going to get back into international cricket.

Another former English legend whom the Indian public did not get to seemuch of was Geoffrey Boycott. Although he figured in a few Tests in theearly 80s, he broke off in the middle of the Indian tour under KeithFletcher, and one got the impression that he was eager to tour the subcontinent during his career. Fate has decreed that Boycott spend moretime in the sub-continent as a commentator, and his Yorkshire accent hasmade him a favourite with the viewers in this part of the world. Hisanalysis and his forthright views are refreshing, although hisdetractors might find it strange that he talks about how runs should bescored quickly by batsmen to set up a victory.Be it Gower, Boycott or Botham, they are all aware of the difficultiesin a cricketer’s career, and they ensure that they do not run down thecurrent lot. They have chosen their own way of expressing their views,with objectivity being the main criterion. These renowned cricketershave kept in touch with the game after their retirement, and theycontinue to entertain and enlighten television viewers with theirpleasant comments and insightful observations. As the saying goes, menmay come and go, but this trio will go on for ever.

International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed is still to speak to former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar about the possible conflict of interest he has as a journalist and also chairman of the ICC’s Cricket Committee – Playing.He told a press conference in Christchurch, New Zealand today that he would be speaking with him in the next day or two.He was referring to English administrators, including England coach Duncan Fletcher, being upset at Gavaskar’s published comments that England were the world’s best whingers, at the end of the one-day series against India last week.But Speed added that he was mindful that Gavaskar was a professional journalist required to write what he thought on matters for his editor, and that in his role with the ICC he was a volunteer.”I wouldn’t categorise it as reining him in or carpeting him as I have seen reported.”It is the first time it has come up,” Speed said.One of the great things about the game of cricket was the number of volunteers who were involved and while there was a well-resourced administration base building up he was mindful there was still a big role for volunteers to play.ICC president Malcolm Gray said he had talked with Gavaskar and that Gavaskar had told him he saw no conflict of interest.Gray also intimated the war of words between England coach Fletcher and Gavaskar might not yet be finished after Gavaskar had read Fletcher’s comments in response to his own.

A forgotten man of West Indies cricket is sitting on the sidelines wondering why he’s not been part of the selectors’ plans.Franklyn Rose, however, says bluntly he’s not prepared to wait forever to gain the recognition he deserves.The 30-year-old Jamaican fast bowler burst onto the international scene with a six-wicket haul on Test debut against India five years ago. But for a variety of reasons, he has had a chequered career and has not represented the West Indies since the 2000 summer’s tour of England.I can’t see the reason why I’m out of the West Indies team, especially with the bowlers they are using at the moment no disrespect to them, Rose said. The biggest problem with our bowling is the lack of experience.We don’t have any tear-away fast bowlers. The pitches are flat and the guys need some more aggression and encouragement from teammates.Rose has returned to Jamaica prematurely following knee surgery in South Africa that cut short his professional contract with Gauteng, but he hopes to be fit enough to return to the game for the last two matches on the current Busta Cup.When his season came to an end, he was his team’s leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps (ave. 22.94) in five matches in the Super Sport first-class championship.He would have closely followed the fortunes of the West Indies team in recent series against Sri Lanka and the ongoing one against Pakistan.In both cases, West Indies bowlers struggled badly and having watched a lot of it on television, Rose described it as a `painful’ experience.I am very hurt, especially when I’m walking on the street and people say `why are you here? You should be on the West Indies team,’ he said.At the end of the day, the selectors call the game. It is very disappointing seeing the West Indies team on the television and know that I should be there.I know that I’m better than a few of the bowlers. I’m going to do my best and try and get as fit as quickly as possible and hopefully I can be back in the West Indies team and stay as long as possible.Rose, who has taken 53 wickets (ave. 30.88) in 19 Tests, has been in and out of the West Indies for a combination of reasons, including indifferent performances and problems over attitude.His options are not limited and he makes it clear that his overseas commitments as a professional may be his priority.I’m not going to sit and wait on West Indies cricket, he said.I’m going to continue playing my cricket in England and South Africa, play a few games for Jamaica, and hopefully to be back in the West Indies as well, but I’m not going to sit and wait on West Indies cricket.His situation, however, may be complicated in light of the West Indies Cricket Board’s eligibility rule which stipulates that players must make themselves available for regional competitions in order to be considered for international duty.Rose missed last October’s Red Stripe Bowl while he was in South Africa and will only play in this year’s Busta Series because of the injury that ended his season on the other side of the world.I can’t understand that rule, Rose said.He made reference to a previous scenario in which Barbadian Ottis Gibson, who was also playing professional in South Africa during the West Indies’ 1998-99 tour, was drafted into the Test team following a spate of injuries.Rose leaves for England in April to fulfil a league contract knowing that time maybe running out.I love my cricket. I’m still going to be playing my cricket, even if I’m not playing for West Indies or Jamaica, he said. Your main aim is to always play for your country and I’m looking forward to playing for Jamaica and West Indies again.

Surely, there is no country for which the home and away records are sodisparate as India. The Test ratings place India at No 7 or No 8 butif the ratings were to be based purely on home results, there islittle doubt that India would be in the top three. After all, it istaken for granted that the Indians make for really formidableopposition at home, borne out by the fact that only one team ­ theSouth Africans two years ago ­ have won a Test series here in the last15 years.Given this background, the general prediction was that it would be abreeze for India in their two Test series against Zimbabwe, and thehome team has indeed started off well by winning the first Test by aninnings and plenty early on the final morning. A victory is a victoryand congratulations are in order for Sourav Ganguly and his men. Butthe proceedings were along such predictable lines that one should notlose perspective. True, the batsmen and bowlers did the job that wasexpected of them against an opposition with certain palpableweaknesses. But there were occasions when India’s showing attractedsome criticism.The first was during the second wicket century partnership betweenStuart Carlisle and Alistair Campbell on the opening day. For a time,the two batsmen made the bowling look pretty ordinary. The second waswhen the bowlers allowed the tail too many runs after scything throughthe middle order in the first innings. When will we see Indian bowlersrun through the tail a la Glenn McGrath at Johannesburg on Sunday?An adverse comment has to be directed at the batsmen too for dawdlingalong on the third day. Perhaps the final result would not have beenvery different but then there might have been a chance for the Indiansto wrap up the game with a day to spare. Such a victory, besidesgiving the extra day off, can also work wonders for team morale. Andfinally, the fielding can do with improvement but then is thereanything new in this?The tardy batting approach was due to the fact that as many as threeplayers ­ Rahul Dravid, Ganguly and VVS Laxman ­ were looking for asubstantial knock in order to play themselves back into form.In Dravid’s case, he was making a comeback of sorts after treatment toan injured shoulder. Always one who takes his time to build aninnings, the Indian vice captain had a good look at the bowling duringhis near four hour long innings but there is little doubt that his 65will stand him in good stead in the tougher campaigns ahead.Ganguly, woefully out of touch for a rather extended period now, took2-1/2 hours over 38 but there were signs that he could be running intoform sooner rather than later. Laxman took an hour to get 13 sketchyruns and was the only real batting disappointment. He is however toogood a player to be in a rut for long.Shiv Sundar Das, who is on course to overtaking Navjot Sidhu as themost prolific Indian opening batsman in the post Gavaskar period,displayed all the qualities already associated with his play ­ theintense concentration, technical brilliance both in attack anddefence, the ability to play the sheet anchor role to perfection and ahealthy appetite for runs.A century by Sachin Tendulkar is almost taken for granted and his 28thTest hundred was again notable for both scintillating strokeplay andthe manner in which he nursed the innings through on the third dayduring the crucial period when Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman were mostlystruggling. The bowlers, as I said, did what was expected of them.Zaheer Khan was particularly impressive while Anil Kumble andHarbhajan Singh were deadly as the pitch broke up.Deep Dasgupta had a moderate match and the second Test could wellrepresent his last chance to prove why Ajay Ratra, in hot pursuit ofthe stumper’s slot, should not be selected ahead of him.I have saved till the last the single most positive aspect of India’svictory ­ the batting of Sanjay Bangar ­ for I would like to emphasizeits importance. Also, I would like to think that India have unearthedan exciting, long-term prospect. The Railways opening batsman wasunder tremendous pressure to perform as he was, in a manner ofspeaking, a rather unpopular choice, having been picked ahead of thein-form Virender Sehwag, who is already a favourite with the public atlarge.He had to come off, and he did so in the most spectacular fashionpossible. With Indian cricket badly in need of an all-rounder, Bangarwas given the nod, largely on the basis of some excellent performancesaround the domestic circuit. He came good with the bat but givenadequate opportunities, it is only a matter of time before he displayshis skill with the ball too. It was a brave decision by the teammanagement to play him instead of Sehwag and hopefully it will serveas an example that such a bold, adventurous outlook is what Indiancricket is in dire need of.