The Somerset County Cricket Club Appeal Year was officially launched this week when Club chairman Giles Clarke handed over a cheque for £5000 to chief executive Peter Anderson.

Since his appointment as chairman in December, Mr Clarke, who is vastly experienced in the business world, has wasted no time in setting about his task of helping the club to become financially independent by recruiting Ian Botham one of the county’s greatest cricketer to spearhead the 2003 membership drive.Sitting looking out across the County Ground shortly after the launch Mr Clarke spoke of his vision for Somerset. He told me: “This club should be open to all and we are keen to have every facet of the community in the West Country associated with it. We are the first class opportunity for young players across the region, so supporting our Academy is vital.”He continued: “This appeal is to strengthen the club’s balance sheet and the funds that are raised this year will go towards achieving this.”Regarding his task as chairman Mr Clarke said that a business plan had been drawn up that listed several major objectives.He told me: “We want success on the playing field and to achieve this we need to ensure that the club has the best coaches and the best possible resources. Secondly we want to win the County Championship, and that will be a tough target. Thirdly we want to have the finest facilities for our loyal supporters here at the County Ground and we need a good wicket to play cricket on, and these all cost money.”He went on: “We have had a very successful start to the sponsorship campaign, and these are the first steps towards the club achieving financial independence, that doesn’t rely upon the E.C.B. hand out.”He concluded: “Our attention is focussed upon helping to get the clubs assets in a position so they generate enough income to pay for the high quality players and staff and coaches needed to achieve our objectives. We have to set ourselves high targets for the solid financial management of the club and we must get the economics right to achieve this.”The Somerset Appeal Year gets underway on Friday April 4th with an opening lunch that will be held at the County Ground, when former Ciderman Roy Palmer, who is now a first class umpire will be the guest speaker.Regarding the new chairman of the club Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson said: “The appointment of Giles Clarke and Andy Nash has provided us with a new direction. You can quite easily see why the pair of them have been successful in their business careers. They are ambitious and are connected with a lot of people who could be good for the club. They are risk takers and ruthless.”Mr Anderson continued: “From my own point of view I have always felt that I needed to keep a brake on the activities of the club because of the financial situation. We perhaps haven’t always been as ambitious as we should have either on or off the field, and I must say that they have changed my attitude in certain areas.The most important thing that we do is play cricket and Giles and Andy Nash have made it very plain what the team and the coaches have to achieve.”He concluded; “Giles Clarke has been very busy in the corporate sector pushing the club’s case that it could be a very valuable tool in their marketing strategy, and this is already having results.”The new chairman may have only been in post for a few months but in that short time he has already started to achieve a considerable amount for the club.He is well aware of tough task that lies ahead, but his undoubted enthusiasm for the game and for the county he holds so dear to his heart is clear to anybody who meets him.If the response there has already been to recruiting Ian Botham to spearhead the 2003 is anything to go by Mr Clarke will be successful in achieving his aim of making Somerset a financially independent club and that will be of benefit to all concerned with cricket in the county.

The sports ground that saw Walter Hammond score a world-record 336 not out for England against New Zealand, which was the ground on which Shane Warne took his Australian record 356th Test victim, which saw New Zealand’s first Test victory in 1956 and which saw some of the most remarkable one-day cricket during the 1992 World Cup, is no more.Eden Park’s turf has gone forever, along with its worn-out pitch, several generations of drainage pipes and vast amounts of sand and dirt, following 21 days of excavation work once the sixth New Zealand-India One-Day International was played last month.The ground, also something of a temple of rugby and on which on one famous occasion in 1975, a rugby international was played between the All Blacks and Scotland with 80% of the ground resembling a lake, has had world-class stabilised natural turf rolled out today as part of the reconstruction job on the main oval.The roll-out, as part of the whole project which is worth $4million, is expected to take six days.The chief executive of the Eden Park Trust Board which administers the ground, John Alexander said: “Eden Park is an icon in world sports, yet we began last season with a playing surface that was well and truly past its use-by date.”But come March 28 when the Blues take on the Brumbies, [in Super 12 rugby] Eden Park will have a natural turf playing surface that’s as good as anything in the world of sports. This stabilised turf, subsurface and high-tech irrigation system can take whatever Auckland’s weather and various sporting codes throw at it. Players and fans will love it.”The roll-out turf, is known as Motz Stabilised Turf and was grown on a farm south of Auckland. Recently it was cut into 1m x 30m strips, weighing one ton, in readiness for its transfer to Eden Park.Before its use in the Super 12 match, the ground will be fertilised, watered and mown.Other grounds to have used the same turf system include the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the ‘Gabba in Brisbane, Canberra’s Bruce Stadium and the Sydney Olympic Stadium.The concept had its origins in the United States were multi-purpose stadia hosted a variety of events.The managing director of H G Turf Pty Ltd, of Australia, Hamish Sutherland said: “The turf features a two-inch thick layer of natural grass that comprises a matrix of synthetic tufts, sand and a strong plastic backing.”It is incredibly tough and resilient and can easily be rolled up and reconfigured to meet the requirements of different codes. The turf can be rotated throughout Eden Park’s No 1 field to ensure it gets adequate sun, or it can be removed to the practice field or a turf farm for ‘rest and rejuvenation’. The turf system is tough, flexible and really well suited for Eden Park.”The chairman of the board of control for Eden Park, Malcolm Dick said: “This was a critical step forward for Eden Park and means we’re ready for another century of sporting excellence.”Whether we’re hosting the All Blacks, Super 12, NPC, one-day cricket or Test cricket, this natural playing surface will be superb. It’s proven itself overseas, and it’s well suited for Eden Park.”The new natural turf system will allow Eden Park to host more rugby and cricket matches, both professional and amateur. Eden Park also hopes to bring back school sports, giving tomorrow’s stars a taste of future glory. School matches were halted several years ago to reduce wear and tear on the deteriorating No 1 field.”

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.

The threat of being dropped has not weighed on Shoaib Akhtar’s mind during the current Bank Alfalah Cup, according to the Pakistan captain, Rashid Latif.

“I don’t think he [Shoaib] is feeling any pressure in this series. Other players have taken the pressure off him,” Latif insisted. “He has bowled impressively in both the matches and proved that he is still one of the best strike bowlers in the world. This tour could be the turning point of his career.”Shoaib was warned by Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, before the start of the series that the series would be the last chance to kick-start his career. Shoaib was dropped following Pakistan’s dismal performance in the World Cup.Latif said that the threat was not affecting Shoaib. “He is a match-winner and we’d like him to keep a low profile," Latif explained. "We’ve told each player not to fear failure, but to play positive and competitive cricket. So I don’t think he is under pressure to deliver.”Zia’s warning appeared to have done some good. In his first match of the series, Shoaib grabbed two crucial wickets for 19 runs in eight overs to set up Pakistan’s 79-run victory over Sri Lanka.

National League Division OneDivision One Table
Glamorgan v Worcestershire at Swansea
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Glamorgan are doing their damnedest to retain their National League title – today they made it five wins out of five with a 31-run victory over Worcestershire. Glamorgan owed their position to a 112-run partnership between David Hemp and Adrian Dale, a record for Glamorgan’s fifth wicket against Worcestershire, and a quickfire 46 from Michael Powell. Kabir Ali warmed up for the Pakistan series with four good wickets, but Worcestershire never threatened a modest total. Graeme Hick was out early, for 11, as Alex Wharf and Robert Croft continued their excellent form from the Championship with seven wickets between them. Rain limited the match to 39 overs a side, and Worcestershire’s cause was not helped by a six-run penalty fora slow over rate. Gloucestershire v Warwickshire at Gloucester
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The captaincy brought out the best in Craig Spearman, as Gloucestershire continued pushing towards the top of the table. Spearman thumped a spectacular 153 from just 123 balls, with 16 fours and five sixes, as Warwickshire were nailed to the bottom of the table by a 79-run defeat. Gloucestershire’s batting card had a very top-heavy look to it. Spearman added 171 for the first wicket with Robin Weston, who lived up to his first name with the perfect sidekick’s innings of 61, but after that only Jonty Rhodes (24) and Ian Harvey (26) managed double figures. Warwickshire still needed an unlikely 308 for victory, but when Nick Knight launched the innings with a turbo-charged 70 from 55 balls, anything seemed possible. But when he fell, the only resistance came from the young firm of Ian Bell and Jim Troughton, who contributed a pair of rapid fifties. Kent v Yorkshire at Tunbridge Wells
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Kent finally ended a run of four successive defeats with a 22-run victory over Yorkshire at Tunbridge Wells. Set 209 to win on a low slow pitch, Yorkshire looked well placed at one stage thanks to a fifth-wicket stand of 99 in 24 overs between Michael Lumb (77) and Richard Blakey (41). But they fell in successive balls, Blakey to a direct-hit run out, and the challenge petered out. Ben Trott finished with 3 for 19, his best figures in the competition. Yorkshire had had high hopes of victory after winning the toss and bowling first. Darren Gough removed Mark Ealham early on, before Ryan Sidebottom ripped out three quick wickets, including the dangerous Andrew Symonds, who caused a ten-minute delay after felling a member of the ground staff with a towering six. But Greg Blewett (46) anchored the middle of the innings, and Kent’s meagre total proved enough. Surrey v Essex at The Oval
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After his much-publicised marital problems, Graham Thorpe’s hunger for cricket has returned with a vengeance, and on this sort of form England will find him hard to ignore for much longer. After Azhar Mahmood had torn through Essex’s line-up for a competition-best 6 for 37, Thorpe guided Surrey to a tight three-wicket win with an immaculately paced 79 not out. He faced 97 balls, scored eight fours, and rescued Surrey for 17 for 2, after Scott Brant had removed both openers in single figures. Essex’s total of 220 had owed everything to Darren Robinson, who defied Manhood’s marauding with an excellent 78, but thanks to Thorpe, it was not quite enough.National League Division TwoDivision Two Table
Hampshire v Durham at Southampton
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John Crawley’s first century of the season propelled Hampshire into second place in the second division of the National League, as Durham fell seven runs short at the Rose Bowl. Crawley made 102 from 134 balls, ably assisted by a brace of 30s from Simon Katich and Nic Pothas, before Dmitri Mascarenhas ripped out three quick wickets in Durham’s reply. But Jon Lewis, the leading run-scorer in the Championship this season, added 82 for the fifth wicket with Gordon Muchall, and with five overs remaining Durham needed 48 to win. It was a tall order, but when Lewis fell for 43, the game was up. Mascarenhas finished with 4 for 44, while Allan Mullally conceded just 15 runs in his nine overs. Lancashire v Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford
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The few spectators who sat out the bad weather in Manchester were treated to a foretaste of the Twenty20 Cup, as Andrew Flintoff and Carl Hooper clubbed Lancashire to an entertaining seven-wicket victory in a 17-over thrash at Old Trafford. Play did begin until 5pm, at which point Nottinghamshire thumped their way to 100 for 6, with cameos from Jason Gallian and Guy Welton. A quick Duckworth/Lewis adjustment left Lancashire needing 114 for victory, and despite three early wickets, they made it with nine balls to spare. Middlesex v Sussex at Lord’s
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Murray Goodwin proved that Zimbabweans can score runs after all, as his confident 81 not out rescued Sussex from a dreadful start and hauled them off the bottom of the second division. Goodwin, who retired from Test cricket in 2000, held his nerve as Ashley Noffke and Chad Keegan sent Sussex spiralling to 23 for 4, and fought back in a gritty 112-run partnership with Tim Ambrose. Abdul Razzaq prevented a late surge of runs by picking up three wickets in the closing overs, but Middlesex never came close to a rain-adjusted target of 183. They started brightly enough, with Andrew Strauss and Paul Weekes adding 63 for the first wicket, but Kevin Innes tore through the middle order, picking up five wickets for just seven runs. Only four batsmen reached double figures. Somerset v Northamptonshire at Bath
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Somerset continued their woeful run of form in the National League, as Mike Cawdron made the most of a rare opportunity to extend Northamptonshire’s lead at the top of the table. In a rain-affected match, Somerset were never able to recover from a dreadful start, slumping to 35 for 5, as Cawdron finished with 4 for 31 from seven overs. Keith Parsons and Keith Dutch led a partial recovery, and Dutch went on to make 50 from 55 balls, but the end of the innings was similarly chaotic as the last three wickets fell for two runs, including two run outs. After a brief rain delay, an adjusted target of 131 was never going to cause any problems for Mike Hussey, fresh from his huge double-century in the Championship, and sure enough, his 54 eased Northants towards a seven-wicket win.Click here for yesterday’s County Championship review

Andrew Caddick is expected to miss the rest of the season with a back complaint, a development that leaves his future in some doubt. Caddick, 34, has spent the last six weeks recovering from a stress fracture of the right foot, but this latest injury is potentially far more serious.”There is a distinct possibility that Andy could be out for the season,” said Somerset’s chief executive Peter Anderson. “We should know more after he sees a specialist in Bristol tomorrow. He has had a problem with his back for a couple of years and it seems that wearing an air-cast on his foot because of the stress fracture has accentuated the back condition.Caddick has made only one County Championship and one National Leagueappearance for Somerset this season. He had been expected to play against Zimbabwe in May, but he had reported pain between the toes of his right foot. At first the problem was diagnosed as ligament damage, but a later scan revealed a stress fracture.Anderson added: “We must await the result of the examination before knowing whether or not the injury is career-threatening.”

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.

The English media, while delighted at the series-levelling win over South Africa at Trent Bridge (not least because the appeal of the fourth Test means that cricket has some chance of holding its own on the sports pages now that the all-pervading football season has begun), managed to retain a sense of perspective.In The Independent, Angus Fraser cautioned against getting too carried away. “Although England’s supporters, who again turned up in their thousands to cheer their side on, should celebrate their team’s performance, this abrupt change in fortunes has to be put in perspective. On a pitch where the call at the toss was the most crucial decision either captain made, the most encouraging thing for England was that this victory highlighted the quality of cricket they are capable of playing. While uplifting, this result gives little indication as to what may happen at Headingley during the next week because lesser teams than South Africa would have capitulated to a heavy defeat by Sunday in this unfair encounter.”While also aware that one win doesn’t paper over the flaws clearly highlighted during the first two Tests, David Hopps was still looking on the bright side in The Guardian. “A week ago English cricket was a land of treachery and recriminations. After England had been outplayed in the first two Tests defeat at Nottingham would have left the new captain, Michael Vaughan, blinking at another damaging period of instability and the coach, Duncan Fletcher, sweating on surviving beyond the summer. Fifteen minutes before lunch yesterday the land of discontent offered up milk and honey.”In The Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins highlighted one area of concern – Mark Butcher’s record in the slips. Butcher dropped a fairly routine chance offered by Paul Adams yesterday, and Martin-Jenkins argued that it was one miss too many. “He [Butcher] is not so safe and England should put Nasser Hussain in his place from now on. Butcher has taken 50 catches in 55 Tests, but the chances that he has missed, invariably at second slip, must be close to half that number.”Unsurprisingly, many papers concentrated on James Kirtley’s six-wicket performance on his long-awaited debut. In the Daily Telegraph, Derek Pringle explained that Kirtley’s apprenticeship with Sussex stood him in good stead. “Kirtley’s advantage on this pitch stemmed from his accuracy, though he probably has his Sussex background to thank for that. Year in year out, Hove is among the best batting tracks in the country and keeps bowlers honest by insisting that line and length is a minimum requirement. When applied to the cracked mosaic at Trent Bridge, those same basics – so blithely ignored by England’s attack on the pancake pitches of the first two Tests – proved too much for opponents, most of whom were beaten long before the first shooter brought a sadistic ‘wooh’ from the near-capacity crowd.”John Etheridge in The Sun dwelt a little longer on Kirtley’s chequered past and the question-marks over his bowling action, but concluded that it was Kirtley’s day. “He is a skidder, a wholehearted toiler who will obviously struggle to make as much impact on flatter pitches. His accuracy was plenty good enough for the pitch to do the rest.” Etheridge ended by drawing attention to one slight blemish on Kirtley’s performance. “Nobody really cared that a couple of Kirtley’s wickets were obtained with deliveries that should have been called no-ball. For overstepping, that is, not chucking.”

Gautam Gambhir will lead the Indian squad in the Emerging Team Trophy, to be played between September 27-October 5 in Sri Lanka.The tournament was delayed by a week so that the organisers could rustle up more venues to host the three teams – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – in a double round-robin.The tournament is essentially intended to provide international exposure to up-and-coming players without necessarily imposing any age restrictions.Indian squad Gautam Gambhir (capt), Vinayak Mane, Manvinder Bisla, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chougule, Aavishkar Salvi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Lakshmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan Jr, Laxmi Rattan Shukla, Sourashish Lahiri, Stuart Binny, Arjun Yadav, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan