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BRISBANE, Oct 17 AAP – Left-hander Lee Carseldine posted his maiden first-class century as Queensland piled on the runs against NSW on the second day of the Pura Cup cricket match at the Gabba.At tea, the Bulls were 5-480 with Carseldine (110 not out) taking over from Brendan Nash (176) to make the Blues sweat through a Brisbane day reaching temperatures of 33 degrees.Wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe joined in the runs with 43 not out as Queensland batted itself towards an unbeatable position against a NSW team which improved its bowling today without achieving results.But the Blues needed more luck, watching Carseldine reach his century with an edge between wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and floating slip Michael Clarke.Carseldine had survived 240 balls, batting for almost five hours to give Queensland an imposing total.Stuart MacGill (2-143) extended his workload to 46 overs, taking the only wicket today when he had Nash caught behind by Brad Haddin.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers made limited progress in a rain-interrupted first day of their tour match against Durham at Chester-le-Street. Although Chaminda Vaas claimed two early victims to reduce Durham to 17 for two, the tourists then found wickets hard to come by as the hosts closed on 219 for four.England one-day international Paul Collingwood hit an impressive, unbeaten 103 to show the selectors that he can build an innings in the longer format of the game. Collingwood, 25, was in command from the start, and his first hundred of the season came off 119 balls with 14 fours and two sixes.Gordon Muchall, 19, compiled his maiden first-class 50 as he and Collingwood added 129 for the third wicket. Sri Lanka looked ill at ease in the cold, overcast conditions. In the 52 overs that were possible only Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa looked dangerous with the ball.Vaas, who is sure to be in the tourists’ side for the first Test againstEngland at Lord’s beginning on May 16, bowled Jon Lewis for nine as he played no stroke to a delivery that moved back off the seam to clip his off stump.Vaas then accounted for Pratt for four in the same over, with wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara taking a comfortable catch to leave the hosts in trouble.But after Muchall settled, Ishara Amerasinghe and Ruchira Perera struggled to bowl with the venom and accuracy of the opening pair. Spin was introduced in the 25th over in the form of Thilan Samaraweera, but Muchall immediately flicked the ball through midwicket for another boundary.Rain then halted proceedings for just over three hours. On the resumption, Muchall square-cut the first ball to the boundary and another cracking shot through extra cover brought up his half-century, 75 balls with seven fours.Collingwood soon followed to 50 off the same number of deliverieswith nine boundaries, but Muchall then went for 69, caught by Russel Arnold at second slip off Zoysa with the score on 146.Nicky Peng was also caught by Arnold off the same bowler for 17 but Collingwood continued to dominate with a rich array of strokes including two huge sixes off Samaraweera. Ashley Thorpe, making his first-class debut, joined Collingwood and the duo added 24 before bad light brought an early close.

CHELTENHAM & GLOUCESTER TROPHY
SEMI-FINALSOMERSET V KENTAT THE COUNTY GROUND, TAUNTON1 AUGUST 2002
(RESERVE DAY 2 AUGUST)Gates open 8.30 a.m.
Play starts 10.30 a.m.Somerset County Cricket Club announce that there are only 1,000 tickets left to be sold. There will be no tickets available on the day.Ticket prices for the above match are as follows:

Adult £18.00

Junior (under 16) £13.00

Tickets can be purchased in person from the main office at the County Ground or by post (all applications must be accompanied by a SAE) or by telephone using a credit / debit card (handling charge of £1.50 per application will be added). For telephone orders please call 01823 272946.During the Tourist Match v West Indies ‘A’ on Friday, non-members can purchase tickets from the turnstile on St James Street Gate (cash and cheque only no debit / credit cards).Providing there are tickets still available, the Club Office will be open on Saturday 27th 10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.The last day for buying tickets will be Monday 29th July at 5.00 p.m.

Lou Vincent got into the New Zealand side and held his place at Mathew Sinclair’s expense, and now that Vincent is injured, Sinclair has been recalled for the one-day tour to Sharjah.The side leaves for Sharjah on Saturday.Vincent is expected to have recovered from the ruptured airway he suffered in his left lung after being hit by a ball from England’s Andy Caddick in the first innings of the third Test which was won by New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland yesterday.The selection panel have also announced that Craig McMillan is to be the vice-captain of the side.

With the first class season just underway, the official Somerset website is launching a regular feature entitled `hero of the week’. The selected `hero’ could come from any one of the Somerset teams, from the under 11’s right the way through to the first team.We hope that the `hero of the week’ feature will be of interest to all ages, and in particular will help those who are fairly new to Somerset cricket to get to know a bit more about some of the players who are at the club.The questions that will be used for this feature were kindly sent to the website by Thomas and George, two keen young Somerset supporters, who were converted to the game after watching their first ever cricket match when they visited the County Ground last summer whilst the Australians were playing. Since then they have been totally hooked!When I asked Somerset coach Kevin Shine to nominate the first `hero of the week’ he told me: "You have set me a real poser, and I’ve worried all day about who it will be!"He continued: "However I suppose it will have to be the old dinosaur himself Peter Bowler who is the first hero for us this year for his batting performance against Sussex at Hove. In the Somerset first innings he just missed out on what would have been a thoroughly deserved century."Peter Bowler, who is a right hand top order batsman, was born in Plymouth in Devon, but brought up in Australia. He has been on the English first class cricket scene since 1986 when he made his debut for Leicestershire.In his debut innings he scored 100 not out against Hampshire. He moved to Derbyshire in 1988, and on his debut for them he scored another century, this time against Cambridge University.Peter joined Somerset in 1995, and captained the county for the latter part of 1997 and 1998. He was granted a thoroughly deserved benefit in 2000.During his time with the Cidermen Peter Bowler has enjoyed considerable success with the bat. Up until the start of this season he had played in 121 first class cricket matches, and scored 7365 runs at an average of 42.08, including 1000 runs in a season on three occasions. His highest score for Somerset is 207 against Surrey at Taunton in 1996, and he has made 22 centuries.Peter Bowler has also taken 13 first class wickets with his occasional off breaks at a cost of 39 runs apiece and taken 82 catches.Peter has made a substantial contribution in all of the one-day competitions, and was Somerset’s leading batsman in the NUL National League last season with 560 runs at an average of 50.90, which included one century.When I caught up with Peter at the County Ground earlier he gave me the answers to the following questions that were posed by Thomas and George.Q. What sports do you enjoy, apart from cricket?
A. I enjoy rugby union. When I was younger I used to play quite a bit but now I just watch.Q. Who was your idol when you were young?
A. Rick McCosker, who was the opening bat for Australia and New South Wales was my hero. I was an opening bat when I was growing up in Canberra.Q. Who is your favourite pop star or band?
A. Reef.Q. What do you do in your spare time?
A. I spend time with my family, and preparing myself for life after cricket. I am studying to be a lawyer.Q. Where did you go to school, and when did you start to play cricket?
A. I moved about a lot when I was young so went to school just about everywhere, but I spent quite a long time at Daramalan College in Canberra. I started to play cricket at school when I was nine, but didn’t’ start to play age group cricket until I was twelve.Q. What is your favourite food?
A. Steak is my favourite food, and I quite enjoy pasta.Q. How much training do you do every week, are there any special exercises?
A. I train three or four times every week. I don’t have any special exercises I just do everything.Q. What has been your most memorable match for Somerset?
A. My most memorable match of Somerset just has to be the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy final at Lord’s in 2001 when we won the cup.Q. Apart from the County Ground at Taunton, which is your favourite cricket ground and why?
A. The Oval and Lord’s are my other two favourite grounds. The Oval because I have scored a lot of runs there over the years, and Lord’s because we won the cup there last season.Q. What are your cricketing ambitions?
A. To be part of an improving and winning Somerset team, and to play for England, although I think that the selectors are leaving it a bit late!Thank you to Peter Bowler for telling us a little about himself, and good luck for the new season.Thank you also to Thomas and George for sending in the questions to help us launch the `hero of the week’ feature for 2002.

It entered the concluding match of the summer needing to win and, therefore, needing a good start. Alas, some brilliant pace bowling from Ashley Noffke and AndyBichel ensured that Victoria’s performance didn’t fit the specifications at all. Accordingly, the Bushrangers are now in dire need of a strong and sustained recoveryfollowing a disastrous start to the Pura Cup Final against Queensland here at the ‘Gabba ground in Brisbane today.The appearance of these two sides in the deciding match of the Australian first-class season represented a return to events of last summer. But, on the opening day,there were few similarities to be detected between the two games. Where Queensland won the toss and batted with consistent application – across town at the AllanBorder Field – last time around, Victoria called the fall of the coin correctly today but then foundered in the face of accurate, intelligent fast bowling.While still young and raw, Noffke (5/41) already exhibits a wonderful sense of occasion. The strapping twenty-three year old was the star of a stunning Queenslandwin in the very first match of this Australian domestic season; today, he made a major impact in its very last.Having been frustrated to that point by what ultimately proved to be the only resolute stand of the innings – one of seventy-three runs for the third wicket betweenJason Arnberger (63) and Brad Hodge (47) – the Queenslanders required inspiration when Noffke took up the attack after lunch from the Stanley Street End. In theright arm fast bowler from the Sunshine Coast, they more than found it. He produced a spell high on quality and high on pace, the batsmen reduced to a plight ofevading well-aimed lifting deliveries and of stabbing and driving in discomforted style outside the line of off stump at those of fuller length.The combination of a debilitating injury to his heel and the ever-intense battle for pace bowling spots in the Queensland eleven have robbed Noffke of manyopportunities this summer. Even the decision to include him in this side, ahead of off spinner Scott O’Leary, was only made shortly before the game. But here was achance upon which he gleefully seized.”I was pretty ecstatic (just) to be picked,” conceded Noffke after play.”It means a hell of a lot,” he added of his achievement in capturing his first ever five-wicket haul at first-class level in a Final. “You don’t even dream about days likethis; it has just been a great day.””The selectors and ‘Stu’ (captain Stuart Law) have put a lot of faith in me and I’m happy to reward them with something. Halfway through the season – with the heelinjury – I’d obviously been set back a long way. But I’ve reassessed my goals and I’ve gone from there.”In the midst of an unerring spell of eleven overs upon the resumption after the lunch break, Noffke decimated the Victorian middle order by snaring 3/0 in the space ofseventeen deliveries. The crucial scalp among these was the first; Hodge making one of the few mistakes of an otherwise excellent innings when he unleashed a pull ata delivery which cramped him marginally for room, stayed a touch lower than he expected, and induced a catch from the bottom edge of his bat for wicketkeeperWade Seccombe.Earlier, Matthew Elliott (3) and Matthew Mott (4) had fallen to Bichel (3/42) in a disastrous opening forty minutes to the match for the visitors; now Noffke’sbreakthrough exposed an even more brittle middle and lower order.Michael Klinger (0) unfurled a loose drive without much movement of the feet; Jonathan Moss (0) deflected a delivery of searing pace back into his stumps; and thenDarren Berry (2) edged a catch to second slip. The Bushrangers were six wickets down by tea and looking a shadow of the side that has often responded well underpressure this summer. Their imitation was much more of the string of Victorian teams that, between them, have produced just one first-class victory in Brisbane in thepast thirty-six years. Against the seaming ball, it was all coming apart at the seams for them.Arnberger conceived an heroic show of application at the other end. He defended stoutly, ran smartly between the wickets, and punished – across an outfield slowedsignificantly by recent rain – the few bad balls that came along. But, in sunny conditions and on a pitch that offered no more than modest assistance to the bowlers, hereceived very little in the way of support.Some ground was recovered late in the piece when Elliott took a brilliant low catch to his right at second slip to remove Jerry Cassell (9). And Jimmy Maher (22*)didn’t have it all his own way either, surviving one periously close lbw appeal when his score was on just two. But this unmistakably remained Queensland’s day.At a score of 1/37 in its reply to the visitors’ meagre 176, the reigning titleholders palpably hold the whip hand after the match’s opening six hours. As urgentrecoveries go, there is no need so great as Victoria’s.

On a frustrating day at Trent Bridge the elements triumphed, allowing only 9.4 overs play during which Notts, put in to bat, reached 41–1.Overnight rain prevented any play at all until 3.l5pm and only eight deliveries were then bowled before the first in a series of stoppages.Admirable work by the ground staff enabled a re–start after tea and Darren Bicknell profited by picking up successive boundaries off Melvyn Betts. The first was allied to good fortune when an inside edge sped to the ropes past the diving ‘keeper but the next ball was perfectly clipped through square leg.With the score on 16 the Bears picked up their first wicket. Guy Welton fenced at a sharply lifting ball from Betts and turned to see his thick outside edge well held by Keith Piper diving across in front of the slips.Three runs were added before another heavy shower drove the players off the field but again they returned 45 minutes later.Bicknell began this short session with an on–driven three and Blewett hit the next ball to the midwicket boundary. Without any major alarms the pair had advanced the score to 41 in the 10th over when again, a combination of bad light and rain sent the players from the field.With an unsettled forecast we can expect more of the same on the second day although, thankfully, there are brighter prospects for the final two days of this match.

Middlesex have beaten off significant competition from strong rivals to complete the signing of James Harris on a three-year contract from Glamorgan.Harris, a 22-year-old seamer of considerable potential and a more than useful lower-order batsman, had been the target of several other Test-hosting clubs in Division One of the Championship. Nottinghamshire described him as their No. 1 target, while Yorkshire were also keen to persuade him to join them. Glamorgan also say they made Harris a “substantial contract offer to retain his services”.His arrival underlines Middlesex’s ambition. They finished third in the top division in 2012 and, with a largely young and close-knit squad, must be considered title contenders for the next few seasons.”I’m thrilled to be joining Middlesex and being part of such a young, talented squad,” Harris said. “I’m really looking forward to playing my part in bringing team success and trophies back to Lord’s. The major factor in my decision to choose Middlesex was the coaching set-up and in particular the chance to learn as much as I can from people such as Angus Fraser, Richard Scott and Richard Johnson”Injury limited Harris to only four Championship games in 2012, but he claimed six wickets in an innings when he represented England Lions against Australia A at Edgbaston in August and won a place in the England Performance Programme Squad that will travel to India in November.His loss is a grave disappointment to Glamorgan. Harris developed through the club’s youth system and became the youngest man to represent the club’s second XI in 2005, when he was aged just 14 years and 353 days, going on to make his first-class debut aged just 16 in 2007. He remains the youngest man to claim a seven-wicket haul in the Championship, at 17, and became the quickest player to reach 100 and 200 first-class wickets for Glamorgan.Harris feels, however, that his best chance of fulfilling his ambition required him to move. Glamorgan finished sixth in Division Two of the Championship in 2012 while history would suggest that players at the club struggle to win recognition from England selectors.Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said: “Everyone at Middlesex is absolutely thrilled that James has chosen to join the club. There were many other counties trying to secure his services and the fact he has chosen Middlesex highlights the progress we are making as a club.”James will add skill and quality to our attack. His record to date is excellent and he will only get better. I am sure the pitches at Lord’s will suit his bowling more than those in Cardiff. He can bat too, which is extremely useful. We are all looking forward to working with James and we hope his presence will help Middlesex push even harder for domestic trophies over the coming years.”

The titans of Indian domestic cricket, West and South Zones, met atthe Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat on Thursday with some of thebiggest names in the game locking horns in this Duleep Trophy match.West Zone took the honours on the first day which they ended on asatisfactory 310 for three wickets off 90 overs. Vinod Kambli (48) andJacob Martin (85) were at the crease at close of play.Skipper Nayan Mongia began the four day game on a winning note andasked South Zone to parade their bowling skills. His openers did notdisappoint the skipper’s decision as they set out to negotiate the newball. Both Connor Williams and Wasim Jaffer played the new ball attackof Dodda Ganesh and KS Shahabuddin comfortably.The duo were together for 58 runs before Sunil Joshi had Williamscaught by Hemang Badani in the 24th over of the day. The dismissal ofthe southpaw brought Hrishikesh Kanitkar to the crease to join theMumbai opener. Kanitkar and Jaffer added 43 runs in 9.5 overs for thesecond wicket. The second left arm spinner in South’s armoury,Venkatapathy Raju, scalped Jaffer who missed his half-century by asolitary run. Jaffer played 99 balls with six hits to the fence.Kanitkar and Martin played sensibly and returned to the pavilionwithout any further damage at the lunch interval. West Zone were 110for the loss of both openers in 37 overs, with Martin on 14 andKanitkar on 21.After the lunch interval, Kanitkar and Martin batted out the sessiontaunting and tantalising the South spinners. None of the bowlers wereable to have any effect on the proceedings in the session. The Westbatsmen added 97 runs in 30 overs after the lunch interval, returningto enjoy their tea break without any further damages as the Southbowlers toiled hard to get a breakthrough. West were comfortableplaced at 207 for two at tea, Kanitkar on 79 and Martin on 51.The century partnership came to an end in the sixth over of the finalsession of the day. Kanitkar became overambitious as he attempted tohoick Joshi for a six. He mistimed the stroke and was gobbled by DoddaGanesh on the boundary. He missed out on a century as he was back inthe pavilion for 95 off 150 balls, with 13 boundaries and a solitarysix. The pair had added 129 runs for the third wicket off 39.5 overs.One southpaw was replaced by another, as the explosive Vinod Kambliwalked in to join Martin at the crease. Kambli was his destructiveself as he went about plundering the spinners all around the ground.He amassed a quickfire 48 runs from 53 balls with eight hits to thefence and one trademark six. Kambli added 80 runs off 17.2 overs forthe unbeaten fourth wicket partnership with Martin as stumps werecalled.

They called him a (eunuch), sledged him and tried to bowl a tight line but Mumbai couldn’t remove Vineet Saxena today. Saxena, who was unbeaten on 111, later said his mistakes in previous close battles against Mumbai egged him on during the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Jaipur. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain, batting on 96, stressed the game wasn’t over yet and that Rajasthan needed to bat Mumbai out of the game on the third day.”We came close to beating them in 2003 and 2007 but we failed,” Saxena said. “In 2003, we needed 12 runs, with three wickets intact, to take the vital first-innings lead but we collapsed (Rajasthan were 230 for 7 but were bowled out for 230). In 2007, chasing 384 to win, we needed around 135 runs from about 35 overs, with seven wickets in hand, but we lost by two runs. I had hit a hundred then but had played a loose shot to get out. I was determined not to repeat that mistake today. I will give my best to stretch my innings as long as possible tomorrow.”Saxena and Kanitkar added 206 runs in 84 overs to grind out Mumbai. “We just told each other that we shall not throw our wickets,” Saxena said. “We just wanted to keep out the good deliveries and wait for the bad balls. Patience was our key today.” There was a lot of chirping from the Mumbai fielders but they couldn’t break Saxena’s focus. “One player called me too,” Saxena said with a chuckle. “I was doubly determined and just focussed on the job on the hand.”Aakash Chopra, who was out for 19 to a dubious lbw decision, put Saxena’s effort in the right context. “It’s one thing when professionals like Kanitkar or I score but for someone like Saxena to score a hundred in a pressure quarter-final against Mumbai, it means a lot to him, to his team and the local cricketers. The innings was of great importance. Saxena is not someone who is a strokemaker; his forte is patience and he is someone who is well aware of his own game. He gritted it out there brilliantly.”Chopra said the first session was the most crucial phase of play. “Mumbai bowled well in that session and kept it really tight. Only 60 runs came but it was fascinating to watch how Saxena and Kanitkar applied themselves.”Kanitkar didn’t want his team-mates to get complacent. “You can’t get take anything for granted right now. There are still two days to go. We have to ensure that we keep batting and don’t allow Mumbai the time to get back into the game.” Most domestic teams are wary of Mumbai’s reputation to script jailbreaks and Rajasthan, too, were understandably cautious.