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Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors, has dismissed claims that his seven-man selection committee has faced pressure from top-level cricket administrators to include Hashan Tillakaratne in the squad for their tour of New Zealand next month. However, other sources close to the selectors have privately claimed that there have been attempts to force Tillakaratne back into international cricket.It had been assumed that Tillakaratne’s high-salaried appointment as an executive director of Cricket-Aid, the cricket board’s tsunami-relief programme, signalled an acceptance that his international days were behind him. But Tillakaratne, who was dropped after his resignation as captain in March 2004, still harbours strong ambitions of breaking back into the team, even though he will be 38 later this year.The selection process in Sri Lanka is frequently politicised, with much behind-the-scenes lobbying. But, in this case, de Mel insists that his panel is not being pressurised. He told the : “We are an independent committee and we take decisions in the best interest of Sri Lanka cricket. If we are going to be influenced by outside forces we should not be sitting in the committee.”de Mel pointed out that the selectors would consider recalling Tillakaratne only if he scored sufficient runs. His decent but unexceptional performances during the Provincial Tournament, in which he scored 210 runs in three matches with a top score of 85, failed to convince the selectors. “We have not shut the door completely on Hashan,” said de Mel. “We know that he still has some cricket left in him. However, his current performances don’t make a strong case for inclusion.”If Hashan wants to get in he will have to get the big numbers on the board,” de Mel added. “Getting 40s and 50s will not help his cause. We are not worried about the age of a player. If someone is fit and scores runs heavily we will certainly consider him for selection. We know that Hashan has delivered in the past. He needs to convert his fifties into hundreds.”Tillakaratne was left out of an initial unreleased 18-man training pool selected on Monday, which included several A-team batsmen who have been scoring heavily recently. Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel and Thilina Kandamby appear to be competing for the final batting slot in New Zealand if Sri Lanka go into the two Tests with seven batsmen. Russel Arnold has slipped out of contention after a low-scoring Provincial Tournament.But it is the bowling that is causing the selectors a headache. Nuwan Zoysa was originally included in the 18-man pool, and the news of his unavailability prompted the selectors to reconsider their options. They are due to meet again on Wednesday and will make a decision on whether to finalise the squad or stage a two-day practice game to have a closer look at some of the contenders.

Alan Butcher has been announced as Surrey’s new coach, with a two-year contract starting with immediate effect. He replaces Steve Rixon who held the post on a one-year contract.Butcher has spent most of his professional life with the London club, and has been coaching the Surrey Second XI side since 1998, nurturing players such as Scott Newman and Rikki Clarke into the first team. His eldest son, Mark, played Test cricket for England and is Surrey’s current captain, and his younger son, Gary, played for Surrey and Glamorgan.In a statement released on Wednesday, the chairman of Surrey, Micky Stewart, commented: “This has been a difficult season for the club; a strong, knowledgeable man who is dedicated to cricket in Surrey will be in charge during what will inevitably be a period of transition for the club in the immediate future. Alan is a Surrey man and the ideal candidate to take us forward.”

Today a new batting star came into bloom in Bloem. Kevin Pietersen, in only his sixth one-day international for England, clouted his first century. It arrived at better than a run a ball, and he was rarely troubled. Each milestone in his innings – and the extravagant kiss of the badge on his England helmet – was a jolting reminder to the South Africans of what they lost when Pietersen turned Pom. It was a performance that deserved to bring victory – although he won’t be too upset after a thrilling tie.The Pietersen technique is fairly simple: an initial press forward, bat ready to kiss pad, then a rock back if the ball is short. He is especially strong on the whip to leg – one off his old sparring partner Andre Nel disappeared over the head of the leaping Jacques Kallis on the square-leg boundary, and his other six went roughly the same way off a blinking Shaun Pollock, in an over that cost 14. But Pietersen isn’t just a leg man – when the gurning Nel overpitched outside off he howitzered it through the covers before anyone could move.There’s a hint of nervousness early on as Pietersen sashays across his stumps, but once set there’s a solidity about his stance and approach that brings to mind Graeme Hick on one of his better days, with the same kind of intimidating Incredible-Hulk power. None of the South African bowlers – their first-choice Test attack, minus Nicky Boje and plus the chunky Justin Kemp – made much impression, all disappearing for more than five an over.The support came mainly from Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood. Vaughan helped add 80 for the fourth wicket after three quick dismissals derailed England’s handy start, before coming second to AB de Villiers’s A-plus throw from the boundary. But then Collingwood proved the perfect foil for the bludgeoning Pietersen, chipping and charging to 40 from 41 deliveries, somehow carving well-pitched-up balls that seemed set to arc in and remove his off stump down to third man.It is remarkable to think that Pietersen probably wouldn’t even have been here if it hadn’t been for the untimely injury to Andrew Flintoff. He did well as Flintoff’s stand-in in Zimbabwe, and he has certainly looked the part since his late call-up here. That technique ought to work pretty well in Test cricket, too.The one downer was the sight of large swathes of the Bloemfontein crowd turning their backs on the South African-born Pietersen as he walked off. A case of bad sports at Goodyear Park.Steven Lynch is the editor of Cricinfo.

New Zealand 595 and 53 for 1 beat South Africa 296 and 349 (Rudolph 154*, Martin 5-104) by 9 wickets
Scorecard

Everything fell into place for New Zealand on the final day of the second Test at Auckland. They registered their first victory over South Africa at home, and will now travel to Wellington with an excellent chance to win a series against them for the first time.Chris Martin picked up his second five-wicket haul of the match, Chris Cairns got to 200 Test wickets, and South Africa were bowled out for 349. Jacques Rudolph delighted with a few flowing drives on his way to an unbeaten 154, but New Zealand were left to chase a meagre 51. Stephen Fleming ensured a quick finish, blasting 31 off just 11 balls.The day began with South Africa still 22 behind, and Shaun Pollock did exactly what Mark Boucher had done last evening: needlessly poked at one that angled away, and edged to Fleming at first slip (290 for 7). Nicky Boje hung around for 56 minutes, while Rudolph unfurled a few silken drives at the other end. Boje has been a thorn in the flesh for New Zealand in the past, with two one-day hundreds, but Cairns forced him onto the back foot and managed to find the outside edge (327 for 8). With this, Cairns became the second New Zealander after Richard Hadlee to complete the double of 3000 runs and 200 wickets.Cairns then undid Nos. 10 and 11 with two well-disguised slower balls: Makhaya Ntini spanked one down square leg’s throat, while David Terbrugge patted another straight to short cover.

The New Zealand openers began their chase with a few streaky shots, as the South African bowlers attacked with a barrage of short balls. Mark Richardson was hit on a few occasions and was dismissed after making 10. He ducked a short one from Ntini, but the ricochet off the back of the bat went to Boje at gully (20 for 1). However, Fleming uncorked the champagne with six fours and it was fitting that he sealed the victory with a straight six.After all, it was Fleming who had inserted South Africa on the first morning, and watched Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs put together a first-wicket stand of 177. But New Zealand dominated every session after that, and Cairns and Jacob Oram were brutal in the final session on the third day. Martin’s two crucial spells, when he ripped through the South African middle order, turned the tide, and he will be expected to play a major role in seamer-friendly conditions at the Basin Reserve.For South Africa, Rudolph showed tremendous composure in the second innings while Jacques Kallis, Gibbs and Smith were all in good touch. But it was their bowling that let them down, and the game was surrendered on the run-filled third day.One moment in the final stages encapsulated South Africa’s helplessness in the match. Richardson defended one back back to the bowler and Pollock picked it up and threw it back instinctively. When Richardson got his pads in the way, Pollock let out a huge appeal for lbw. At least, he saw some humour at the end of it all.

Prime Minister’s XI 347 for 5 (Jaques 112) beat England XI 181 (Tait 3-21) by 166 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Shaun Tait stormed into the first Test calculations with a withering fast bowling performance as England XI succumbed to a 166-run defeat in their opening Ashes tour match at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.England XI were hammered for a record 347 for 5 off 50 overs by a Prime Minister’s XI and in reply they were skittled for just 181 off 38.4 overs. It was a worrying performance with the first of the five Ashes Tests, at Brisbane, just 13 days away.Tait, little used in his two Tests in last year’s Ashes series, threw down his challenge for the third fast-bowling slot behind Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee with explosive figures of 3 for 21 from eight overs. He worked up a full head of steam with his slingy action and claimed the prized wicket of Andrew Flintoff for one.The day had began poorly for England, with opener Phil Jaques leading the charge with dashing 112 after the PM’s XI were sent into bat by Flintoff. It was the highest score by a PM’s XI team against a touring side, surpassing the 334 for 5 against India in 1999.In reply, only vice-captain Andrew Strauss looked the part with some sweetly timed shots before he went for 67. Marcus Trescothick, back from a stress-related break, faced just three balls before he edged Tait to second slip for two while Alastair Cook’s mis-timed pull off Ben Hilfenhaus landed in the hands of keeper to wicketkeeper Tim Paine for four.Paul Collingwood looked set before he found Jaques at deep mid-wicket off legspinner Cameron White for 35. Collingwood put on 58 for the third wicket with Strauss. Strauss reached his half-century off 50 balls, showing exquisite timing but was annoyed with himself when he tried to hook Tait, only to offer a simple catch to Hilfenhaus at mid-on. His runs came off as many balls and his innings included 12 fours to all parts of the ground.Kevin Pietersen perished to an ill-judged hook shot, top-edging Hilfenhaus to Paine for seven before Tait bowled Flintoff two balls later. Flintoff was beaten by Tait’s sheer pace to have his stumps spreadeagled. Very next ball Ashley Giles survived a huge shout for lbw with Tait down on his knees, beseeching the umpire. Giles was eventually run-out by White for 13. Sajid Mahmood was stumped down the leg-side off White for 22. Anderson was lbw to local player Adam Ritchard for a duck. Monty Panesar was last man out for one, with wicketkeeper Geraint Jones unbeaten on 13.Earlier, Test opener-in-waiting Phil Jaques gave Australian selectors more food for thought with an impressive century. Jaques, who has the obstacle of long-time incumbents Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden blocking his way into the Australian Test team, hit nine boundaries and two sixes in his breezy knock off 110 balls. He gave only one chance, on 21, when he was put down by Jones off Anderson, before he holed out to Cook in the deep off Collingwood in the 37th over.The runs flowed late in the innings, with 112 runs coming off the last 10 overs. Shaun Marsh hit an unbeaten 78 off 56 balls; Travis Birt smacked 40 off 45 balls; and Adam Voges chipped in with 39 off 32 balls. The PM’s XI batsmen smashed a total of eight sixes in the innings, with skipper White helping himself to three of them in an unbeaten 30 off 14 balls.England had something to smile about as Flintoff, whose ankle has been under the scanner , was the pick of their bowlers, going for just 10 runs in his first five overs, eventually ending with 1 for 55. Anderson looked ineffective, going for 65 runs off 10 overs while Sajid Mahmood had major problems with overstepping. He finished with a tally of six no balls and four wides in his sorry return of 97 runs for one wicket off nine overs. The spinners were no better and between them Giles and Panesar could manage only one wicket.

One of the last bastions of male supremacy crumbled this morning with the news that Rachael Heyhoe-Flint has become the first female MCC committee member.”It is a tremendous honour, and I am indebted to everyone who voted for me,” said Heyhoe-Flint, who was one of the first women admitted to the club when the all-male rule was abolished in 1999. “It’s a particular pleasure to know that I’ll be joining the committee at one of the most exciting times in the distinguished history of the club.”As well as Heyhoe-Flint, Mike Griffith, John Fingleton and Andrew Beeson were elected to the new committee which takes over on October 1.

Essex’s Will Jefferson and the Worcestershire batsman Kadeer Ali are among 15 players, named today by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who will be considered for the 2003-04 National Academy intake.”As with last year, we wanted to concentrate our minds on the kind of players who might be invited to the National Academy this winter," said Rod Marsh, the ECB National Academy Director. "Creating such a list allows us to concentrate our resources and to film, study and analyse these players in-depth, which will enable us to create individual programmes for them in advance.”This is by no means an exclusive list and if other players perform well in the remainder of the season then they will also be considered for selection. Injured England players or other cricketers with international experience, not selected for next winter’s England overseas tours, will also be considered.”As this year’s National Academy programme and tour coincides with the Under 19 World Cup in Bangladesh, no U19 players are being considered, however we are planning a series of joint training sessions with the squad prior to their departure.”David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, will announce the final Academy squad, along with the England winter touring parties, at the end of the season. They will start their programme on Sunday, October 12, and will be based for the first time at the new facility at Loughborough University. The squad will tour Malaysia and India in the New Year.Provisional list of Academy players Kadeer Ali (Worcestershire), Simon Francis (Somerset), Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire), Will Jefferson (Essex), Shaftab Khalid (Worcestershire), Michael Lumb (Yorkshire), Tom Lungley (Derbyshire), Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire), Philip Mustard (Durham), Graham Napier (Essex), Kevin Pietersen (Nottinghamshire), Matthew Prior (Sussex), Bilal Shafayat (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Graham Wagg (Warwickshire).

The first day of August was greeted by incessant drizzle and heavier rain. Umpires Alan Jones and John Steele little option after consulting the captains but to abandon the match for the day at 5:00pm.There were a few spectators in the pavilion watching the depressing state of England’s progress at the Test match.A better forecast is expected for the weekend, where the visitors Northamptonshire will be looking to continue with their good start to the innings.

Day 3 Close West Indians 618 and 39 for 2 lead Free State 264 (Venter 79, du Preez 56, Rampaul 5-55) by 405 runs
ScorecardThe West Indian tourists pressed home their advantage on the third day at Bloemfontein, taking their lead over Free State to an imposing 405 by the close.It might have been worse for Free State, who were tottering at 114 for 7 at one stage, after an incisive spell from Ravi Rampaul, the young but rapid 19-year-old from Trinidad. Free State’s blushes were saved by Kosie Venter, who cracked 79 from No. 7 – he hit ten fours from 124 balls, and helped the last three wickets more than double the score. Dillon de Preez, at No. 10, contributed 56.Brian Lara decided not to enforce the follow-on, despite a lead of 354, but Chris Gayle couldn’t capitalise: he was bowled by Cliff Deacon in the first over of the second innings. Wavell Hinds was also out before the close, by which time the West Indians had added 39 to that lead in 15 overs.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is seeking a new Head Coach for the England Women’s Cricket Team following John Harmer’s decision to return to his native Australia and not extend his two year contract.John Harmer took over as Head Coach in July 2000, and has overseen a revolutionary change in the coaching of England’s elite female players. John has also improved England’s one-day world ranking from fifth to third during his tenure.A world-class cricket coach who led the Australia women’s cricket team to three World Cup finals in his eight years in charge of the squad from 1992-2000, Harmer is a bio-mechanist whose influence will be felt throughout English cricket as he also dedicated a good deal of time to coach education.John Harmer said “It has been a great opportunity to work with top level English coaches and players and I have taken a lot of pleasure from seeing how much the England Team have developed. I wish them all the very best in the future and look forward to seeing them again when they visit Australia.”Gill McConway, ECB Executive Director of Women’s Cricket said “I have had the immense pleasure of working closely with John in the past couple of years and he has taken giant steps forward in ensuring our aim that England are one of the top two women’s teams by 2007.Together we have implemented a new structure of coaching for the women’s game with regional based centres and Super Fours, the domestic competition for elite women’s players. We will all miss John, but thank him for the hard work and inspiration he has bought to the women’s game”.The England Captain, Clare Connor, said “The team, like me, will be hugely disappointed that John is leaving the post. But, we have relished the opportunity to work with one of the world’s best coaches, and we have all learnt so much from John. We must build on the solid foundations he has established and we are all much better players than we were two years ago”.John Harmer will remain with the England Squad until a replacement has been found.John Harmer’s record:In the 2000 World Cup, England finished fifth behind New Zealand (Champions), Australia (runners-up), India and South Africa.Winter 2000/01Lost One-Day Series to India in IndiaDrew one Test including world record opening stand for the first wicket between Caroline Atkins and Arran ThompsonSummer 2001Contested triangular One-Day Series against World Champions NZ and India. Beat India in all three one-day games, but lost to NZ in the Final.Winter 2001/2Finished third (behind Australia and NZ) in the quadrangular One-Day World Series, beating India twice.Lost the Ashes Test Series to Australia, 1-0, losing the first Test at The Gabba and drawing the second Test at The Bankstown Oval, Sydney. Second Test included world record equalling eleven wicket haul for Lucy Pearson, England’s strike bowler.