England 299 for 7 (Collingwood 80*, Solanki 62) beat Zimbabwe 147 (Sibanda 41*, Harmison 3-29, Flintoff 3-11) by 152 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball

England romped to a predictably emphatic victory in their opening match of the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 147 in pursuit of an improbable 300. A woeful bowling display today meant that almost all the good work the Zimbabweans had done yesterday was squandered, and some powerful hitting by Paul Collingwood enabled England to race to 299 for 7, adding 101 runs to their overnight 198 for 5 in 12 overs to put the match out of reach. England’s fast bowlers then ran through Zimbabwe’s brittle batting, with Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff sharing six wickets.When play re-started today, Collingwood took a leaf out of Andrew Flintoff’s book and smacked the ball with confidence and power. He launched successive full-tosses from Douglas Hondo over the midwicket boundary, and in the last over heaved Tinashe Panyangara even further in the same direction. It was good entertainment for the sparse crowd.Zimbabwe started promisingly, making the vital early breakthrough when Geraint Jones, after hitting some good early blows, departed rather unluckily for 38 when he jammed down on a yorker from Hondo only to see it spin back and dislodge the leg bail (220 for 6). But after that it was one-way traffic as Collingwood opened up, finishing with 80 not out off 93 balls. Ashley Giles chipped in with 23 in 22 balls as England scored almost at will in the final overs.Zimbabwe were soon in trouble when they batted as Darren Gough, bowling into the wind, beat Brendan Taylor’s bat several times, and then moved one in sharply to trap him leg-before back on his stumps for 6 (14 for 1). Then Stuart Matsikenyeri, who batted anonymously for 11 balls, was slightly unfortunate to get out playing his first aggressive shot. A short, wide one from Gough was crunched out of the middle of the bat, but straight to Collingwood at point (23 for 2).Dion Ebrahim, who with 70 one-day games under his belt is the most experienced of the Zimbabwe squad, was perhaps unlucky to given out by Steve Bucknor after a venomous ball from Harmison spat off a length and appeared to clip his shirt-sleeve on its way through to Jones (26 for 3). Things went from bad to worse when Mark Vermeulen got a thick edge from a flat-footed drive to leave Zimbabwe crumbling on 26 for 4.Vusi Sibanda showed a glimpse of his talent, scooping Harmison for six over fine leg during his partnership with Tatenda Taibu, but Flintoff then re-arranged his stumps after a barrage of short deliveries (64 for 5). Elton Chigumbura got going with three well-timed fours off Giles, and Taibu took his cue to become more aggressive, twice pulling Alex Wharf for sixes over square leg, but then Taibu swept hard at Giles, lost his balance and fell into his stumps to be out for a hard-fought 40 (106 for 6).

Chigumbura was determined to go down fighting, pulling Wharf for another six, but with Zimbabwe struggling, Vaughan went for the kill. Harmison and Gough were brought back, and Harmison soon had his third wicket as Panyangara continued his nightmare match, dragging the ball back into his stumps after scoring just a single (120 for 7).Flintoff took England to the brink of victory, as Prosper Utseya fell attempting an uncontrolled hook, and then Marcus Trescothick leapt into the air at first slip to catch Douglas Hondo one-handed for a duck (142 for 9). Giles wrapped up proceedings when Edward Rainsford was caught behind for 4.This match will no doubt have taught Zimbabwe’s bowlers some important lessons, but apart from Sibanda, Taibu and Chigumbura, none of their batsmen stuck around long enough to gain much in the way of experience. However, those three did show that there is still some talent within Zimbabwe’s ranks, and that will provide a ray of hope for their future in international cricket.

“South Africa looked like they didn’t want to win the match,” saidHarbhajan Singh. “They seemed like they would be happy with a draw. Theynever scored at much more than two runs an over. Now our batsmen have todo their part of the job, and make a big score – about 500. That will giveus enough of a lead to put South Africa under pressure in the secondinnings.”South African coach Ray Jennings later contested Harbhajan’s remarks.”People are misunderstanding us,” he said. “We played as well as we could.You have to remember the guy coming in after Kallis was making his debut.And Ontong was playing his first game for four years. It’s a differentthing when you’re batting with Tendulkar waiting to bat after you.”Jacques Kallis expressed satisfaction with his hundred, saying that thepitch was not an easy one to score on. “It’s always more rewarding whenyou have to work to get your runs. It’s probably one of my best hundreds,though I’d say my first hundred against Australia was better.”Kallis conceded that South Africa had not made enough runs. “305 is anaverage score – we would have liked 400. But the Indians bowled very welland we didn’t stand up. We’ll have to bowl well tomorrow to come back inthe game. But we didn’t set out to play for a draw. The day a South Africateam comes out to play for a draw we’ll walk right off the field.”

Hardships, misery, struggle: Thami Tsolekile has seen all that. Actually “seen” isn’t quite the right word: he has lived through all that. He has come a long way from those dark days. On Saturday Tsolekile made his Test debut against India, as South Africa’s wicketkeeper. He lists “life” as his alltime favourite movie. And in his 24 years to date he has lived some life.Born in Langa in Cape Town, the oldest of South Africa’s townships, Tsolekile started life in a stuffy atmosphere surrounded by 14 people in a two-room brick-and-mortar house. Brought up by a single parent – his mother, Bandile – Tsolekile started growing up in an environment where everything was informal. There were eyes looking at you from everywhere; in a place where there was no sense of privacy.However, one major advantage of growing up in a township is the sense of bonding one derives from it. “The community is very strong there. Life was tough in the township, a bit similar to the life here in India on the streets,” says Tsolekile. “There a lot of people, with different backgrounds, speaking different languages.”I was struck by his humility: he was embarrassed that he’d arrived for our chat a bit later than arranged. “Did I keep you waiting?” he asked – and it wasn’t his fault, as he’d been busy giving interviews at the team’s press conferences.Clad in the South African team colours, with his earstuds glistening, he chose his words carefully. “As I started growing up my mother was still starting with her professional career as a teacher. Life was uncertain and a struggle in a township, but the lucky part was that I grew up near the Langa cricket ground. Every day after school I used to go straight to the stadium and play with the other kids.” That’s where the seeds for his future were sown.Through the hardships came the resolve to battle – a willingness to do something. And the breaks came at the right time. When he was 18 the government offered him a bursary to go into a different environment. He went to a white school, the Pinelands High School, a place “where I learnt many things”.Tsolekile is a very strong character. He looks you in the eye while speaking. But that trait landed him in trouble many times, especially when he was the skipper of the Langa hockey team. He attended six disciplinary hearings as the referee punished his team for misbehaviour, or not turning up on time, or not wearing proper clothing for the match. This was probably something to do with snobbery against the lower classes, but Tsolekile was not to be bowed. He stood up for his team-mates no matter what. “Maybe from the struggle I have experienced I have become a strong character. I don’t feel disappointed easily – it takes a lot to get me down.”That’s a good starting point if you aspire to be a leader one day. Tsolekile has been a leader for many years now, even though he’s still young. He was the captain of the South African schools team in 1998-99. He’s also a handy soccer player – he led the Western Province team at Under-16 level – and represented his country in hockey in 2000 and scored with his first shot.

South Africa’s cricket selectors were quick to notice his leadership qualities. He says the turning point of his life was when he realised he had a good chance of representing his country in Test cricket. “I started thinking seriously about playing for South Africa when I captained the Under-19s to Pakistan in 1998-99. After that I was leader of the team for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, where Graeme Smith played under me along with the Amla brothers [Ahmed and Hashim], Justin Ontong and Jacques Rudolph, who was my deputy.”It’s ironic that Smith now leads the South African national team, and it was he who presented Tsolekile with his first Test cap. Of Smith, Tsolekile says: “He has got a very good personality, and respect for people, two qualities of an able leader.”Tsolekile himself has the discipline, self-belief and affability of a natural leader. “I always saw myself as a leader, and was one right through my school and age-group levels in all the sports I played. The leadership qualities come from people respecting you as a person more than anything else, and then doing the right thing at the right time is also important.”He has captained people from diverse backgrounds, and says he learnt that to be a good leader you need to spend more time with people to know them better. He likes to socialise: “I hardly sit at home by myself,” he says. And he doesn’t just live and breathe sport. He’s a fan of Tupac Shakur, R Kelly and Bob Marley. “I like clubbing – Arabic and rap are my favourites.”The other important advantage for Tsolekile is that he is the perfect team man. Gerald de Kock, SA’s media manager, expands: “He was one of the best tourists on the England tour for the 2003 series.”Tsolekile did well with the South African A team, and found himself the understudy to Mark Boucher, the man he eventually replaced. Boucher had been the vice-captain, but his tough and somewhat high-handed approach won him few friends in the team. Some people suspected a racial motive for Tsolekile’s inclusion ahead of Boucher, but Neil Manthorp, a senior South African cricket writer, disagrees. “You can’t compare the two as Boucher has had more experience, and though the selectors favoured a few more coloured players Tsolekile can’t be blamed for his dropping.”Tsolekile has no qualms about people calling him black or coloured. “I don’t mind people calling [us] African or black people. I have always been happy for who I am. I have never really experienced any kind of racism, be it in the dressing-room or on the road, apart from the stupid remarks one hears once in a while.” And he adds: “There are things that I can’t control and some I can. I have always seen myself in the side as equal and selected on merit, and that really tells you the story.”Tsolekile is no loner. He picked up the gloves because “I don’t like to be bored when I am playing. I like to be involved in the game, and that’s why I chose to keep, as the keeper is always in the game.”He practised for Indian pitches by throwing the ball on rubble to get used to the bounce. He’s used to the bouncy and hard pitches back home, where the ball comes through at a comfortable height, and was wary of the unpredictable bounce in India. “The first ball bowled by Shaun Pollock in the tour game at Jaipur bounced twice before it got to me. It was the worst wicket I’d kept on.”Known as “Mara” to his team-mates because one of his idols is Diego Maradona, Tsolekile knows the pressure to which he will be subjected if he doesn’t perform on this tour, but he is confident of his abilities, and hopes to improve and make it harder for his competitors to take his place. “There is pressure from outside, but speaking for myself I don’t see any pressure. I am not expecting much or dreaming about a big game. I am just here to stay on this tour, and to stay in the side.”Thami Tsolekile is in for the long haul in international cricket. His motto in life is “Never forget your roots.” He hasn’t forgotten his: he still stays in Langa along with his mother, for whom he plans to buy a leather jacket, as he’s heard you can get them cheap in India. He’s a player to watch.

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.

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.

Brett Lee might miss out on a place for the second Test which starts on Friday, but there are suggestions he might rush home in time to appear for New South Wales against Queensland in the Pura Cup final which starts at Brisbane on the same day.John Buchanan, Australia’s coach, said that consideration was being given to allowing Lee – or Michael Kasprowicz, in the unlikley event that he were to miss out – to fly back for the game. He added that the idea would only be given serious thought were the player’s state to make a formal request.The time difference between Wellington and Brisbane is two-and-a-half hours, but the lack of available flights and problems with connections would mean that the player would miss most of the first day at The Gabba.”In our planning at this stage, we want Brett and Brad [Hodge] to be ready to play the second Test, get the team selected and get the game started, and then let’s have a look at it after that,” Buchanan told reporters. “Queensland and NSW have to make those decisions first of all but our first consideration is the Test match obviously and having the players ready.”If Lee did fly back, it would be to play his first first-class match in almost four months, but New South Wales were less than impressed that the ball had been left in their court. “Why do we have to apply? We’ve made several requests during the year when Brett has been carrying the drinks,” state selector Brian Taber said. “Why should we keep asking when all we get is a brick wall? Let’s get fair dinkum and let common-sense prevail.”Queensland have already said they have no objection to Lee arriving late, but competition rules mean that, unless he was on the ground by the halfway point on the first day, he would not be able to bowl until the second morning.Graham Dixon, Queensland’s chief executive, said that “the underlying thing is we want players to play cricket and we should do our best to enable them to. Having a Brett Lee or a Michael Kasprowicz playing only adds to the Pura Cup final.”Cricket Australia remained tight-lipped, refusing to comment on what it said was a “hypothetical” situation.

The conditions were stifling at Kochi, but Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag handled the heat and the Pakistani bowlers superbly, and their 201-run stand was the cornerstone of India’s comprehensive win. If conditions like those, you’d expect batsmen to hit plenty of boundaries and save themselves the bother of running between the wickets, but Dravid, especially, batted exactly as he would normally, running hard and striking only the occasional hits to the fence. His innings contained 58 singles and 11 twos – that’s 77% of his runs which came the hard way. Add the singles and two he ran for his partners, and the numbers burgeon to 121 singles, 15 twos and a three. No wonder he was quite exhausted by the end of it all. Sehwag, on the other hand, hit 50% of his runs in boundaries.India’s trump card in the field was Sachin Tendulkar, who renewed his love affair with the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. His overall figures were impressive enough – 10-1-50-5 – but they were even better when he bowled from round the wicket, cramping the batsmen for room. He bowled 53 such deliveries, and conceded just 32 runs, a rate of 3.6 per over, and took all wickets. And when he pitched it outside leg, Pakistan’s batsmen were floundering, managing just three per over.

South Africa 214 for 0 (Smith 106*, de Villiers 103*) v West Indies
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Just over a year ago, Brian Lara won the toss for West Indies on a typically flat Antiguan wicket, and rattled along to a world-record 400 not out out of a gargantuan total of 751 for 5 declared. It remains to be seen whether Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers have that sort of landmark in mind, but in compiling an unbroken opening stand of 214 on the first day of the fourth Test, they ensured that South Africa maintained the momentum that has been steadily accumulating throughout the series.The opening exchanges of the first Test, when West Indies posted a forbidding total of 543 for 5 declared in Guyana, now seem an eternity away. Ever since then, it has been South Africa making all the running. By the time a rain-interrupted day was brought to an early conclusion, Smith and de Villiers had reached, respectively, their third and second hundreds of the series, and in both cases they had come in consecutive matches.South Africa’s opening pair provide a microcosm of their team’s progress in this series. Each time they have been asked to bat, their returns have just got better and better: 15 and 46 at Bourda, 117 at Port-of-Spain, 191 at Bridgetown, and now this. Both batsmen reached their hundreds moments before the rains rolled in – Smith with a straight drive down the ground off Chris Gayle, and de Villiers with a tickle to fine leg and a loud whoop of delight, one over later. It was his third Test century and Smith’s 11th, and left West Indies hoping that Lara will be able to respond with his 29th – as and when his moment comes.In 19 matches at the Recreation Ground, 19 innings have totalled more than 400 runs, and only seven have ended up fewer than 200, and by the close, it was not difficult to see which category this particular effort was destined for. Lara, gnashing his teeth in the slip cordon, could only ponder what might have been, because the writing was on the wall from the opening exchanges. Smith and de Villiers clobbered four fours in seven balls from the new-ball pair of Daren Powell and Tino Best, and after that they scarcely contemplated a backwards glance.de Villiers, fresh from a career-best 178 at Bridgetown, was once again the early aggressor, peppering the cover boundary with a succession of gorgeous fours. His only alarm came on 83, when he popped a leading edge into no-man’s land off Powell, and as he raced ahead in the run-scoring, Smith was content to take the back seat. Smith did, however, come perilously close to being run out on two occasions – once early in his innings, when Wavell Hinds missed the stumps with an underarm shy, and then – criminally – after lunch, when Narsingh Deonarine fumbled a simple effort with Smith floundering for his crease.

Best, who was back in the side for the first time since the tour of England last July, was showcasing a new and unnatural bowling action – a legacy of the back trouble that has plagued him since he burst onto the scene. There were shades of Brett Lee in his upright, poised arrival at the crease, but in conceding 37 runs from nine overs, he was a shadow of the former bundle of energy who was putting the wind up Nasser Hussain and Mark Butcher this time last year.Disappointingly for West Indies, Best was unable to resume his partnership with Fidel Edwards, who has been rested amid fears about overdoing his workload so soon after his return from injury. Into his place came the 22-year-old debutant, Dwight Washington, who used his height to good effect in a decent first spell, but aside from one flashing carve over point from de Villiers, there was no threat of a breakthrough.West Indies’ only other change was the return of Deonarine, the Guyanese allrounder who stepped in during the contracts dispute and performed admirably in his one outing, at Bourda. He returned in place of Ryan Hinds, although it was South Africa who could boast the most significant recall – that of Shaun Pollock, who has recovered from an inflammation of his left ankle. He took his place in the side ahead of Andre Nel, who wrapped up the series with figures of 6 for 32 in the second innings at Bridgetown, but has been forced to sit this one out with a worrying recurrence of an old back problem.St John’s is no place for bad backs, however. With the likes of Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs tripping over themselves to get their chance on this featherbed, West Indies can expect another long, hot and draining day when play resumes half-an-hour early on Saturday morning. At this rate, their only respite is the rain.West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Narsingh Deonarine, 8 Courtney Browne (wk), 9 Tino Best, 10 Daren Powell, 11 Dwight Washington.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Boeta Dippenaar, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Herschelle Gibbs, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Nicky Boje, 9 Shaun Pollock, 10 Monde Zondeki, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Sussex 197 for 6 (Goodwin 59, Hopkinson 51) beat Nottinghamshire 195 for 9 (Patel 61*) by four wickets
Scorecard

A fifth-wicket partnership of 103 between Murray Goodwin and Carl Hopkinson set Sussex on course for a leisurely four-wicket victory against Nottinghamshire, as they progressed to the third round of the C&G Trophy.Set 196 to win, Sussex endured an early alarm as Ryan Sidebottom made the new ball talk, removing both Ian Ward and Mike Yardy – the conqueror of Bangladesh – for ducks in his first over. Mark Ealham then added the scalps of Chris Adams for 21 and Matt Prior, flashing to backward point, for 28, as Sussex slipped to 71 for 4.But if Nottinghamshire had a faint glimmer of hope, then it was swiftly snuffed out by Goodwin and Hopkinson. Both fell with victory in sight, but Johannes van der Wath slapped a six and a four in quick succession to seal the match with three overs to spare.The game would have been a cakewalk for Sussex had it not been for an extraordinary blitzkrieg from Nottinghamshire’s No. 9, Samit Patel, who cracked three fours and four sixes in a 52-ball 61 not out. His exploits rescued Nottinghamshire from a parlous 111 for 8, but it was not enough. Nottinghamshire’s only other score of note was a classy 50 from their captain, Stephen Fleming.

The South African board (UCBSA) held an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss allegations that the national side is blighted by racism and favouritism. The board asked Gerald Majola, its chief executive, to report back on the issues in 10 days’ time.The original story surfaced on Thursday when unnamed South African players claimed that the side was dogged by bungled management, racial divides, and a Western Province clique intent on embedding themselves into powerful positions to the detriment of the future.Majola met with Eric Simons, the national team coach, Omar Henry, the senior selector, Tim Southey, the team manager, as well as Graeme Smith and several senior players. He remained tight-lipped about what was discussed but confirmed that the roles of all four would be closely examined.In the last 48 hours, increasingly graphic stories have been circulating in the national media, and an insider told the Cape Argus that the board spent a long time discussing matters regarding the national team and its management.”Everyone realises that something is radically wrong and that it needs to be addressed,” an unnamed board official told the newspaper. “Our concern right now is how to go forward from here.””Some of the things that have been written are scandalous,” Simons told the Sunday Times. “It does not help us to get to a situation where players have to go to India and play cricket together as a team.”