Mike Burns returned career-best figures of 5-50 as Somerset enjoyed thebetter of the opening day at Taunton.By the close only 48.3 overs had been bowled because of several showers andLeicestershire were 200-8, having lost the toss.With the ball swinging around in overcast conditions, the visitors slumpedto 100-5 before Shahid Afridi came to the rescue with a half-century offjust 39 balls. He was unbeaten on 62 at the close, having hit 9 fours and a six in a cavalier innings, including some brilliant as well as some chancy strokes.Rain delayed the start until 12.15pm and only 13.2 overs were possibleduring the morning session, in which openers Iain Sutcliffe and Trevor Wardfell to Richard Johnson and Steffan Jones respectively.Johnson also removed Ben Smith in the afternoon to make the score 68-3 andfrom then on Burns did the damage, sending back Aftab Habib, Darren Maddy,Darren Stevens, Neil Burns and James Ormond.Habib had been dropped before he had scored by Keith Dutch at slip off Johnson and went on to make 24. Several other batsmen got starts and some poor shots contributed to Leicestershire’s modest score.The best batting came in a sixth-wicket stand of 69 in only ten oversbetween Afridi and Stevens, who looked in fine form until edging a Burnsoutswinger to Peter Bowler at slip, having made 29.With rain always threatening and interrupting play several times, it wasn’tan easy day for the batsmen. Johnson finished with 2-47, while Burns’ firstever five-wicket haul in first-class cricket came off 14 overs, with twomaidens.

Hampshire go into their last CricInfo Championship match of the season, when they travel to Trent Bridge for Wednesday’s match with Nottinghamshire, with promotion firmly in their sights, they require just three points to secure a return to Division I after a one year absence.The Drawn match between Sussex and Warwickshire leaves them tantalisingly close to their promotion target.Sussex meet fellow promotion hopefulls Gloucestershire, and any slip up could also let Hampshire push for the title and the £40,000, prize. Prize for Second Place is £25,000.

The current state at the top of CricInfo 2nd Division is as shown:M  W  L  D  Bt  Bo   Forf   TotalSussex                    15  8  3  4  38  39   0.00  189.00Hampshire                 15  7  2  6  32  41   0.00  183.00Gloucestershire           15  5  4  6  45  40   0.00  169.00Middlesex                 15  4  3  8  43  39   0.00  162.00Warwickshire              15  4  1 10  41  37   0.25  164.75

Hampshire stick to the side that defeated Middlesex at West End last week, with Chris Trmlett added to the squad.Hampshire 12: Giles White, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (captain) Neil Johnson, John Francis, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Adi Aymes (wicket keeper), Shaun Udal, Alex Morris, Alan Mullally, Chris Tremlett.

Another wholesale slaughter for Zimbabwe’s bowlers in the first one-day international in Bulawayo last weekend, as South Africa ran up the highest total ever recorded against Zimbabwe in a one-day international. 363 for three is quite an advance on the 313 for seven scored by Sri Lanka in the World Cup of 1991/92, the previous highest our team has ever conceded.Our bowlers have taken a lot of hammering in recent months, and they will not forget South Africa’s 600 for three in the Harare Test in a hurry. West Indies also scored 559 for six in the Bulawayo Test in July, and last November India scored 609 for six against us.The three highest Test match totals in nine years of Test cricket have all been recorded within the last year. Even when we first began and had a paper-thin attack before the coming of Heath Streak as a major force and with Eddo Brandes sometimes injured, our bowlers never suffered like this. Why?WHY THE DECLINE?There are three fairly obvious reasons. Firstly, there is the serious injury problem we regularly undergo, but which has been worse against South Africa, with Andy Blignaut, Brighton Watambwa and Bryan Strang all out of action. Secondly, we have the decline of Streak as a bowler, both factors that I have mentioned before.Thirdly, the groundsmen prepared pitches, no doubt to blunt the powerful South African pace attack, that have very little in them for bowlers and favour the bat. I think this is the right policy for our players, except that a little more pace in some pitches would be better. We have had some Tests and one-day internationals in the past few years played on very bowler-friendly surfaces, mainly at Harare Sports Club, and they have been disastrous. Especially when Zimbabwe lost the toss and were put in to bat, as invariably happened.But there is more to it than that. The quality of the bowling has been so poor, with even Streak at times unable to bowl a consistent line and length. The selectors’ policy recently has been to select bowlers with genuine pace or spin, and the ability to bowl wicket-taking deliveries. The trouble is that at Test level there have been few signs of wicket-taking deliveries actually doing their job.THE VIRTUE OF ACCURACYThey seem to have forgotten the value of accuracy. Bryan Strang was omitted from the team from the Bangladesh tour up to the triangular tournament, when Streak’s temporary resignation over selection and other issues immediately resulted in his reinstatement. He is obviously and rightly a players’ choice. And immediately his value was obvious, as his accuracy put a brake on the scoring and his overall average was up there with the best.But, when he was ruled out of the South African tour through injury, the selectors did not seek to replace him with another bowler of proven accuracy. Pommie Mbangwa has not played international cricket for a year now and he was not even included in the squad. Gary Brent, not quite as good or experienced as a bowler perhaps, but handier with the bat, was also not selected. Instead we had bowlers who were simply too inaccurate to keep the batsmen quiet, let alone trouble them. So much of Test cricket is about applying pressure, and our current bowlers have on performances so far been quite incapable of doing that.Young bowlers like Travis Friend have great potential, there is no doubt about that, but he has not shown the consistency needed yet. Given a stronger bowling side, he could be eased into international cricket, but he has so little back-up from the rest of the attack that his inaccuracy has been critical. Doug Hondo is another who should have a fine future, but he was clearly unready for Test cricket when he was plunged into it in Harare – as first-class career figures of 11 wickets in eight matches at an average of 43 might have suggested. At least he was not a complete failure, as he held up his end usefully with the bat and held a fine catch, besides capturing one wicket.With so many experienced players in the team now – the Flowers, Alistair Campbell, Streak and Guy Whittall have all played over 40 Tests – one would expect performances to improve. But, apart from the great Andy Flower, none of these players are turning in significantly better performances than they did five years ago.BURNOUT?I suspect they are just playing too much these days, touring the globe for most of the year and rarely having much time to relax and to hone their techniques, both vital for successful players. The big occasion does not quite inspire them as it used to, because it has become all too common, and the adrenaline is diluted. They will struggle again this year, because after playing England they visit Sharjah, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India in quick succession before returning to play Australia. Their only significant break is between India and Australia, when they will be expected to play in the Logan Cup. From May they finally have a four-month break to rest their weary bodies and minds.For young players on these tours the physical and mental pressures are so much greater. It is likely there will be more injuries, and our back-ups, especially in the pace department, are not as good as we thought they were. Asian tours are often the hardest anyway, and we may have to suffer more humiliation before the season is finally over.Admittedly the administrators are caught in a cleft stick, because all these tours bring in valuable foreign currency for the game, which would suffer in this country without it. Perhaps we just have to recognize that we have to cut our losses in the playing area and take the risk of player burnout, physical and mental, so as to broaden the base of our domestic cricket which will be of benefit in the future.The fact that our players can get it all together at times helps to bear out my feeling that many of the problems are in the mind. We had a fine Test victory over India, where Streak, Friend and Blignaut bore the brunt of the attack after Watambwa limped off injured, and did so superbly. But there is so little consistency, otherwise we would be winning like that more often.Just one final word on selectors: Craig Wishart once again experienced the quirks of the selectors, who are unpredictable when they pick him and much more predictable when they drop him after one poor performance. He scored a superb 93 against West Indies, but failed in the First Test against South Africa, to be promptly dropped again. We will never see the best of this immensely talented but vulnerable player until he is given the confidence he needs by the authorities. He has never been sure of a decent run in the side, and his latest sacking from the Bulawayo Test confirms his insecurity.MAN OF THE SERIESFor the Test series, it went to Jacques Kallis, who scored 388 runs without being dismissed over 1028 minutes, a world record. But was his performance as meritorious as that of Andy Flower, who with much less support and against much better bowling scored 422 runs in 1043 minutes, a slightly better rate? Runs per over works out to Kallis 3.02 and Flower 3.07.With scores of 67 and 14 not out, Andy did not dominate the Second Test as much as the first, whereas Kallis scored a century in each. But in Bulawayo, Kallis’ 189 not out was scored at less than three an over, and this slow rate of scoring meant that South Africa were unable to put themselves into a position to force victory. Kallis is a fine batsman, a fine all-rounder, the best batting all-rounder in the world, but if he had been playing for Australia I think his captain would have expected a more dominating innings from him in Bulawayo. Andy as usual played the best possible role for his side in both innings.THIS WEEKENDThis weekend sees the final two matches of the one-day series against South Africa at Harare Sports Club. On current form, we can expect two more massive hidings for Zimbabwe.But Zimbabwe don’t play to current form for long. Every now and then they lift themselves to play out of their skins, such as in that crucial Test victory over India, and in the final match of the triangular tournament in Australia last season, when they lost to the hosts by just one run. I think that in at least one of the matches this coming weekend they will pull themselves together and give the South Africans a run for their money, although perhaps a victory is too much to hope for realistically. But it will indeed be a poor show if they do not at some time during those two days give us reason to be proud of them.

Perhaps it’s fitting that the opening passages of the 2001-02 domestic first-class season will be played out against the backdrop of a Federal election campaign. Because, from its starting point tomorrow, this is a summer that will either help to entrench something rapidly approaching the status of a dynasty or to pave the way for the emergence of a new ruler.In securing four of the last seven first-class titles on offer in Australian interstate competition, Queensland has not only effectively dispelled time-honoured jokes about its inability to win a crown from any of 62 previous attempts. It has also helped take the quality of state cricket in Australia to a new level, establishing a robust benchmark against which every other team is now forced to measure its own performance.The Queenslanders have the entirety of their title-winning squad of 2000-01 on call again, together with the likes of national representatives Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds, who were in India when the Pura Cup Final was won back in March. An injury-free Michael Kasprowicz is also effectively a new recruit, having appeared in just one first-class match for Queensland last season.But, while the Bulls might have played with great confidence and assurance on their way to back-to-back titles, history shows that the task of winning three in a row (elections or cricket trophies, it scarcely matters which) is not so easy.Having served an impressive apprenticeship over the last three years, Victoria shapes as at least one side likely to challenge the Queenslanders’ authority. The Bushrangers have forged a powerful rivalry with the Sunshine State in recent times, resisting the Bulls’ renowned ploy of bowling to packed off-side fields and coming the closest of any team to upsetting their dominance in an engrossing Final at the ‘Gabba.The Victorians were ultimately left to rue the impact of a slow start to the season, but enjoyed a powerful finish as their combination of vigilant batting and accurate bowling served to bring a succession of opponents undone. As he nears retirement, hard-working captain Paul Reiffel is likely to play a more understated role this time. But a team which contains names like Matthew Elliott, Damien Fleming, Colin Miller, Mathew Inness, Jason Arnberger and Brad Hodge can never be discounted.Tasmania’s third-placed finish last season can be viewed in contrasting ways. It might either be seen as an inaccurate result following a string of poor performances in the middle of the season, or an appropriate reflection of the fact that it closed out the program in form as convincing as anyone’s. Its array of young talent is impressive and it was certainly no accident that its turnaround last summer coincided with the arrival in the state of talented all-rounder Shane Watson. Improving contributions from players like Sean Clingeleffer and Scott Kremerskothen were also influential. Its bowlers remain underrated and, if it finds the right mix of batsmen to appropriately support Jamie Cox at the top of the order, it might well be the summer’s surprise packet.New South Wales is again likely to rely heavily on the impact of its international representatives at the start of the season. Like Tasmania, though, its policy of placing an accent on youth in recent years might well begin to reap a range of tangible rewards this summer. Greg Mail and Michael Clarke look ideally suited to berths in the team’s top order, Mark Higgs continues to make rapid strides as an all-rounder, and Don Nash is quickly earning a reputation as one of the country’s best fast bowlers. And don’t overlook the fact that Michael Slater and Stuart MacGill could be available to the team for almost all of its matches in this campaign.In ending the 2000-01 season in fifth place, Western Australia returned its worst result at first-class level in as many as 11 years. It was an experience that was as unfulfilling as it was unfamiliar, and it culminated in the departures of coach Wayne Clark and two long-serving heroes in Tom Moody and Brendon Julian. Yet it is rare for the Warriors to enter any season without high hopes and without looking like they have the firepower to be genuinely competitive against all opposition. Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn seem destined to be absent for most of the season, and Justin Langer and Simon Katich may also only appear sparingly as a legacy of their commitments with the national team. But, in the likes of Mike Hussey, Murray Goodwin, Marcus North, Matt Nicholson, a hopefully injury-free Brad Williams and the emerging Shaun Marsh, the core of a potentially great side still exists. Down but by no means out of the picture remain the Warriors.South Australia’s senior core of players continues to provide yeoman service, but the state team has not received quite the same level of output from its next bracket of cricketers. Greg Blewett and Darren Lehmann’s performances with the bat mean plenty but they have found that their back-up has been limited, while holes in the bowling attack were similarly badly exposed last summer by the loss of Jason Gillespie to international commitments and Brad Young and Paul Wilson to injury. Chris Davies, Graham Manou, Paul Rofe and Luke Williams shape as important players this season, standard-bearers as they are for the next wave of successful Redbacks. Though injuries are again a blight before the first-class season has even commenced, it could ultimately be an exciting year for the South Australians if the vagaries of good fortune and form at last turn in their favour.In all, it shapes as another intriguing six-way battle between the states in what remains arguably the world’s premier first-class competition. Unlike the contest in Canberra, the winner here will not be required to kiss babies along the way nor will it ultimately assume any of the weighty responsibilities of elected office. But it could be just as close a race for power.

I am writing after the first day’s play of the First Test match between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Dhaka. There is plenty of food for thought here, with Bangladesh 107 all out and Zimbabwe 20 for two at the close.It would appear that the pitch has played a major part in the proceedings; it was apparently still damp after rain when play finally began just before lunch, but I have not yet read any reports of its condition later in the day. The scores would seem to indicate that it was still very much in favour of the bowlers.In such circumstances, fate invariably seems to decree that the stronger side should win the toss, and Zimbabwe for once qualified, putting the unfortunately Bangladeshis in to bat and bowling them out cheaply. They had them 76 for nine at one stage, but `let them off the hook’ as the last-wicket pair took the total to 107, just beating the 103 by Pakistan at Peshawar that remains the lowest Test total against Zimbabwe.Travis Friend, with five wickets for 31 runs off 18 overs, had a day to remember and must have thought Christmas had come early at the start, when he bowled over after over with only the odd single taken off him, in contrast to the succession of thundering boundaries that seem to greet his opening spells in one-day internationals. Zimbabwe’s bowlers, helped by the conditions and the inexperience of the opposition, did their job for once.Barring more rain, batting conditions should have improved in time for the second day, enabling Zimbabwe to build a match-winning total – but it never does to take anything for granted with Zimbabwe.Bangladesh clearly haven’t learnt the psychology of Test cricket, according to some of the match previews I read. It was stated that their main aim, after losses in all their first five Test matches, was to secure a draw. I read no mention of the traumatic time Zimbabwe are having and the fact that Bangladesh have home advantage.What they said was realistic enough, but Bangladesh should have tried a more confident approach, for their own sakes. They might well have stated their determination to take advantage of their home conditions, which all non-Asian teams find difficult in the subcontinent, and that they were taking on a team that seemed to have lost its way. The odds would still have been against them but, the way Zimbabwe have been playing over the past few months, nobody could guarantee them victory, even over Bangladesh.Zimbabwe for their part went into the tour confident in their ability to overcome Bangladesh, despite these two disadvantages. Confidence is a major factor in Zimbabwe’s performances, and they are still too close to the bottom to take victory for granted easily, even over Bangladesh. They should still win, but Bangladesh have reason to show a little more confidence than they have displayed so far.Last weekend saw the Zimbabwe Board XI open their campaign for promotion to the SuperSport Series in South Africa with two victories over North West B. I am sorry to spoil the party, but I don’t think they were very convincing. The Board XI played seven international players in their team, against the B side (the `B’ is often conveniently forgotten) of one of South Africa’s less renowned provinces, one which only came into existence as Western Transvaal ten years ago.The team won the three-day match by three wickets, only taking charge in the final innings run chase. They won the one-day match by ten wickets, which sounds most convincing until it is realized that they only dismissed two of the opposition on a pitch so flat that only six batsmen had an innings all day – `two wickets’ would be a more realistic victory margin. Still, a win is a win, but South African administrators looking for an excuse to keep the Board XI out of the SuperSport Series next season will remain unconvinced. We need to be more dominant than this, especially with stronger opposition coming up.Larry Moyo writes a review of this match, while Brighton Watambwa, one of the players, presents his viewpoint and also talks about an eventful year for him, containing a Test debut, success at Test level and then three successive injuries. Of the other injured pace bowlers, Bryan Strang has just started bowling in club cricket again and hopes to be ready for next week’s Board XI matches, while Andy Blignaut is also reported to be nearly fit again.They should be available for national selection again in time for the Indian tour in the New Year, although probably not for Sri Lanka next month. As long as they don’t get injured again!We also have a biography of Charles `Chappie’ Coventry, who was Zimbabwe’s youngest ever first-class player, hopes to join the CFX Academy next year and scored 155 in club cricket last weekend. Besides our usual provincial and club reports, on the statistical side we have updated one-day international records after the Sharjah tournament.

Sri Lanka commence their three-Test series against West Indies on Tuesdayknowing that a series win will guarantee will see them climb up the ICC TestChampionship table.This will be the first full Test series between the two countries in SriLanka following a one-off Test as long ago as 1993/94. A win for the homeside would increase Sri Lanka’s points average from 1.08 to 1.14 (16 pointsfrom 14 series) and move it up to joint third place on the table withEngland.Victory for the tourists would mean West Indies replacing Sri Lanka infourth position, as its points average would increase to from 1.00 to 1.07(15 points from 14 series), with Sri Lanka’s dropping to 1.00 (14 pointsfrom 14 series).A drawn series would not affect the standing of either country; Sri Lankawould remain third despite a marginal points average decrease to 1.07 (15points from 14 series) from 1.08. The West Indies would hold onto fifthplace with exactly the same points average of 1.00 (14 points from 14series).

ICC TEST CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE, NOVEMBER 2001Team Played Won Lost Drawn PointsAustralia 13 10 2 1 21 1.62South Africa 16 11 3 2 24 1.50England 14 7 5 2 16 1.14Sri Lanka 13 6 5 2 14 1.08West Indies 13 6 6 1 13 1.00New Zealand 15 6 7 2 14 0.93Pakistan 15 3 7 5 11 0.73India 13 3 7 3 9 0.69Zimbabwe 15 2 11 2 6 0.40Bangladesh 1 0 1 0 0 –

Chris Taylor has formed another impressive partnership by getting married to his long-term girlfriend, Sarah.The couple were ecstatic as they exchanged vows at a gorgeous ceremony in the Forest of Dean.The wedding is the only reason Chris is not in Australia with the Academy side, but his potential has been noted by the selectors and I am sure more opportunities will come his way in the near future.Speaking of his future, I hope you can join me in wishing Chris and Sarah a very bright one together.

Vineet Sharma and Babloo Kumar helped to bowl Jammu & Kashmir out in no time to provide the first act to an eight-wicket Punjab win in their Ranji one-day match at Ludhiana on Wednesday.Batting first after winning the toss, Jammu & Kashmir could not take advantage of first strike. Apart from Ashwani Gupta’s 46, no other significant score was registered. Jammu & Kashmir were bowled out for 114 in 42.4 overs, with Sharma and Kumar taking four wickets apiece.The low total never looked like bothering Punjab. With opener Dinesh Mongia making 65, the runs were knocked off in just 15.1 overs for the loss of two wickets. Mongia’s 65 came off 54 balls, with seven fours and one six. Although Surinder Singh took two wickets for Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab cantered to their eight-wicket win in style.

Pakistan again defeated Bangladesh in the third and final one-day match, completing a three-nil series win. The tourists won a one-sided match by eight wickets, needed just 35.4 overs to pass Bangladesh’s 220.The afternoon started well for the hosts, as Khaled Masud opted to bat first and Mehrab Hossain and Javed Belim put on 88 for the first wicket. They batted patiently and prudently, before they were separated by Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi. Belim (35), Mehrab (41) and Al-Sahariar (6), all fell in quick succession, reducing Bangladesh from 66 without loss to 99 for three.Bangladesh fought back as Aminul Islam and the promising Tushar Imran built a 77-run stand between them. Imran, the more aggressive of the two, top-scored with 43 off just 56 balls. Aminul Islam made 31.After losing their fourth wicket on 176, Bangladesh added just 44 runs from the last 46 deliveries. Abdur Razzak created the mayhem, with a career-best haul of six for 35 to restrict the hosts to 220.Shahid Afridi then launched a ruthless onslaught from the outset of Pakistan’s innings, hitting seven sixes and six fours in a knock of 83 that took only 44 balls. Three of the sixes were off Manjural Islam, with two coming consecutively from a single over.Afridi hit Enamul relentlessly in his opening over for 28 runs, a record in Dhaka. The first three balls went for sixes, Afridi blocked the fourth one, slammed the fifth for another six and ended the over with a boundary.Khaled Mahmud finally dismissed Afridi, but only delayed the inevitable. Younis Khan (66) remained until the end, well assisted by Navid Latif and Abdur Razzaq.Pakistan reached the target in 35.4 overs with eight wickets in hand. Afridi was rightly adjudged the man of the match for his extraordinary knock.

Though pages on this site do not normally come complete with warnings, the report of New South Wales’ hard-bitten 19-run win over Queensland in today’s ING Cup Final in Brisbane arrives with at least two in close attendance.Firstly, its tale of horror ensures that it be recommended to mature Queensland audiences only; secondly, it conveys the violent message that this was a match in which batsmen consistently lost their heads.Defending a moderate total of 204, New South Wales dropped a catch in the opening over of Queensland’s reply, then watched as Martin Love (53), Clinton Perren (36) and Lee Carseldine (29) pushed the Bulls inexorably closer to what seemed like becoming a regulation victory.Yet, for the second time in successive years, the Blues refused to let the occasion, a disappointing start, nor the experience of playing at a daunting away venue adversely affect them. Accordingly, they regained the upper hand – about as swiftly as they had surrendered it earlier in the day – when medium pacers Shawn Bradstreet (4/23) and Dominic Thornely (3/36) combined to wreck the home team’s middle and lower order.It represented a remarkable recovery after the combination of impatience and poor shot selection had laid waste to the Blues’ own innings, and it guaranteed that the overriding tale of this match was of batsmen being profoundly overwhelmed by the pressure of the big occasion.Upon winning the toss, the Queenslanders had been the first to take advantage of the curse of injudicious strokeplay, wresting a significant initiative when they dismissed the visitors for their unflattering total from the final delivery of their 50 overs. Though the Blues reached 0/82 at one point on the back of a controlled opening stand between Brad Haddin (45) and Corey Richards (34), they lost their way grievously as the accuracy of off spinner Nathan Hauritz (4/47) and pace bowlers James Hopes (3/33) and Ashley Noffke (2/24) overcame them.It had taken a brilliant running catch – replete with head long dive at the end of a 20-metre journey toward the fence from mid on – from captain Stuart Law to prise open the game for the Bulls.But, once he had intervened to intercept a mistimed lofted drive from Haddin at Noffke, his team swiftly assumed control.Matthew Phelps (31) and Thornely (20*) added late runs that ultimately proved critical. The Blues also benefited from a decision by umpire Daryl Harper not to refer a stumping appeal against Mark Higgs (22) to third umpire Peter Parker with the left hander’s score at 3. Yet it wasn’t until the match entered the afternoon session that New South Wales was genuinely able to find a way back.The visitors again wobbled on their feet when second slip fieldsman Michael Clarke grassed a low chance to catch Love before the talented right hander had scored. They inched forward remorselessly with the wickets of Jimmy Maher (10), Law (10) and Andrew Symonds (8), though, to put themselves back in the tug-of-war.Perren and Carseldine steadied Queensland’s innings with a 48-run sixth wicket stand on a `Gabba pitch that never seemed to pose particular terrors for the batsmen. But the former fell to a miscued slog-sweep at a Thornely slower ball and the latter mistimed a blazing cut at the same bowler to lash a catch to backward point. They were each ambitious strokes and they ensured that the sense of malaise that had marked much of the game’s batting returned in large measure. The match’s last five wickets crashed for the addition of only 36 runs as the hosts’ sorrow was aligned against the visitors’ jubilation.Mercifully, the immaculate length of Thornely and Bradstreet – together with the superb catching of Richards and Haddin – ensured that the conclusion was marked as much by excellence in the field as mediocrity at the crease.In flinging himself horizontally to his right, Haddin’s interception of a thick outside edge from the bat of Hopes (19) was a classic wicketkeeper’s catch. Credit likewise needed to be showered upon Richards for an outstanding catch at cover, as he dived forward to intercept a Hauritz (3) drive inches above the ground, that conspired to leave the Bulls just three wickets short of defeat.The video of this dramatic victory will presumably be a best seller in New South Wales in the weeks, months and years ahead. It will have a harder time finding its way beyond the restricted shelves in Queensland.