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England’s one-day cricket carnival has arrived to join a packed summer of sport, with the NatWest Series kicking off tomorrow, as England playNew Zealand in the opening floodlit game, the first of three in the series, at Old Trafford.England fans will be hoping for a night of double celebration, with England’s footballers taking on Portugal in their Euro 2004 game the same night.However, cricket will have to be the focus for fans who have bought a ticket for Old Trafford, as the football will not be shown live at the stadium, eitheron a big screen or on televisions around the ground.On paper, this year’s NatWest Series seems to be running along similar lines as last year’s, with two fairly well-matched teams, and one much weaker and moreinexperienced. Last year, Zimbabwe were David to the Goliaths of England and South Africa, this year West Indies look the most likely to fill that role. Despite holding England 2-2 at home earlier this year, they are only oneposition above Zimbabwe in the current one-day ratings.England, after being so dominant in the Test series, will go into the one-dayers without two of their main one-day performers. Marcus Trescothick, who averaged 64.40 against New Zealand’s tame Test attack, sprainedhis left ankle during fielding drills on Sunday, and Andrew Flintoff has paid the price for his fearsome bowling in the last Test a fortnight ago, picking upan injury to his left foot that will almost certainly keep him out of the tournament.With this in mind, the England selectors have called up Surrey’s Rikki Clarke and Michael Powell of Glamorgan, though only Clarke looks likely to start.Trescothick and Flintoff are England’s two hardest players to replace – a quality opening batsman with the experience and ability to punish any bowlingattack, and an allrounder capable of devastating the opposition with both bat and ball. Trescothick is the highest-rated one-day batsman in this tournament, at No 5 in the world, while Flintoff has made it to the top of the allrounders’ list.Clarke has been in woeful form this season – he has scored only 64 runsat an average of 16 and taken no wickets from 11 overs, which cost 91 runs. Apart from Clarke, England’s allround options are thin on the ground, with Anthony McGrath, who seems to have been hanging around the squad for months, the only other candidate for the role. Powell has been instrumental inGlamorgan’s one-day success this season, and his selection is trully deserved.Robert Key seems the likely candidate to open with Michael Vaughan, with Geraint Jones possibly coming in as high as No. 3. Key proved against Glamorgan that he can score quickly and improvise well when required. He has been in excellent county form and scored a century in each innings for Kent against New Zealand earlier in the season. Sajid Mahmood is another with the chance to step onto the one-day stage.Having had more than their fair share of injury problems during the Test series, New Zealand may finally have a fully fit squad to pick from fortomorrow’s game. Daniel Vettori, who has been out of action for three weeks with a hamstring tear he picked up while fielding in the second Test, played for MCC against King’s School, Macclesfield yesterday. New Zealand had been desperate to give him with some match practice before their first game, and provided he has suffered no ill effects, he will be considered for selection.New Zealand are, on paper, favourites for the NatWest Series. Their recent one-day form has been exceptional, with nine victories in their last 11 one-day matches, including a 6-1 drubbing of South Africa, the world’s second-best team. They also have plenty of experience in a squad that contains sixplayers, including Vettori, with more than 100 one-day international appearances.New Zealand’s trump card is Chris Cairns, a man who is dangerous in Tests, but devastating in one-day cricket, even more so given his recent disappointments at Trent Bridge. Chris Harris, who brings with him the experience of 240 one-day matches, will also be vital to New Zealand’s cause, both as a steady performer in the middle overs of an innings, and as a clinical finisher, second only to Michael Bevan as the man most effective in leading a run-chase.Perhaps feeling a bit left out, a number of the West Indian players are now battling minor injuries, with the latest addition being Tino Best, who has picked up another leg niggle. Their bowling is raw and aggressive but very inexperienced, and has fired only in fits and starts, but the batting seems finally to have clicked, with Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shiv Chanderpaul and, crucially, Brian Lara all in good form. Dwayne Smith has shown glimpses of what he is capable of with some typically breezy knocks, but Ricardo Powell andChris Gayle are yet to make any real impact on this tour.In contrast to the well-planned New Zealand technique, West Indies have been rather more laid-back in their preparations for the one-day series. They have proved to be not the best of time-keepers either – the team arrived late for their last warm-up game, against Kent, and Brian Lara failed to turn up to the launch of the NatWest Series after missing his flight to Manchester.Conversely, the bad weather has arrived early to give itself time to settle in before the cricket begins. Despite their plans not to show the football live during the cricket tomorrow, the organisers at Old Trafford may yet feel the need to change their arrangements.

Sean Ervine, one of the rebel cricketers in dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, has signed a two-year contract with Western Australia. He has been given a state contract after moving to Perth from Zimbabwe, in an effort to gain Australian residency and make a fresh start to his cricket career. With his international experience he will be an obvious asset to a WA side which last won the domestic competition in 1998-99, when it was still called the Sheffield Shield.Ervine announced his retirement from Zimbabwe cricket over its controversial selection policies last month, and now lives in Perth with his partner Melissa Marsh, the daughter of the Zimbabwe coach and former WA great, Geoff Marsh. He has said that he would one day like to play for Australia.”I’m exceptionally thrilled and honoured to be awarded a contract with the Retravision Warriors,” said Ervine. “It’s a great way to start my new life here and cricket career, but the challenge now is to keep working and earn my place in the team with some strong performances in club cricket.”Ervine, 21, played 42 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe, scoring 698 runs at an average of 25.85, with his highest score of 100 coming against India at the Adelaide Oval in last season’s VB Series. He took 41 wickets at an average of 39.07. He also played five Tests in his short career, averaging 32 with the bat and 43 with the ball. He becomes the second of the rebel players to sign for an Australian state side, following Andy Blignaut, who will spend the next three summers playing for Tasmania.Tony Dodemaide, WACA’s new chief executive, said he had been impressed by Ervine’s character:”Sean displays the type of qualities that typify Australian and West Australian cricket, and because of that we’re pleased to have him in our squad.”

Australia 236 for 3 (Martyn 65*, Gilchrist 54, Symonds 48, Katich 43) beat New Zealand 233 (Fleming 37, Astle 37, Lee 2-41) by 7 wickets
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Australia’s rampant batsmen completed the most lopsided match of an already tilted series with 15.4 overs to spare at Wellington. New Zealand’s bowlers were treated like club trundlers as they were driven and sliced all over – and in one case out of – the Basin Reserve in a brutal performance.Simon Katich latched on to anything off line and managed to briefly outscore Adam Gilchrist, who responded to the slight with an explosive 54 off 37 balls. Damien Martyn glided to 65 not out and Andrew Symonds smashed straight and hard, facing the same number of deliveries as Gilchrist for 48. It was an unfair thrashing that guided them to a 4-0 lead and New Zealand’s inexperienced bowlers will need hypnosis to forget it.Stephen Fleming’s side was forced into a number of changes for poor form and injury, but the recruits and reshuffling made little difference once he and Nathan Astle had disappeared with a pair of 37s. Their total of 233 seemed competitive for five overs, when his bowlers were set upon like picnic lunches. “They once again demolished us,” Fleming said. “We’re probably playing a tempo that is quicker than we’ve ever played before. We’re getting a drubbing and we’ve got to learn lessons from that.”Standing in for his eighth match as captain, Gilchrist entered it with scores of 4, 0 and 18, but he banished the blemishes with some trademark thrashing after Katich had been the chief plunderer. Lance Hamilton had waited 31 years for his debut and the early signs were promising: his pace was sharp and the ball was moving. After three overs he had given up 19, and Katich further upended his moment with four boundaries in his next one as he feasted on the slightest glitch. Hamilton gushed 67 off eight overs; Jeff Wilson was squeezed for 67 from nine.Wilson looked equally unsure of where to bowl once Katich sent him for three fours in his opening six balls. It was a heavyweight-bantamweight mismatch that Gilchrist highlighted when he drop-kicked Wilson over the mid-on stand and the ball bounced along an adjoining road. Spear tackles cannot have hurt as much for an All Black with 60 Tests.Fortunately Chris Cairns was finally hollered for and he took care of Katich, who nicked to Brendon McCullum (78 for 1). It is hard to comprehend why Cairns is held back to fourth bowler and seventh batsman when he makes crucial contributions even when off-colour. While Gilchrist smacked Wilson at the other end, Cairns was making Martyn play, miss and leave. Nobody else managed it.Wilson was given four overs when three for 29 should have been enough, but he had reason for something other than an embarrassed smile when Gilchrist top-edged and was caught by Craig McMillan (114 for 2). Even Gilchrist, the Man of the Match, was probably relieved he had given Wilson his first wicket since 1993.The tempo of the first 15 overs was maintained by Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds once Gilchrist departed. Symonds blasted three sixes and four fours before hitting to Wilson, and Martyn finished off the chase with little sweat.Cairns, the only bowler spared cheek-reddening punishment, had helped fling New Zealand from an even more disappointing total after they started well for the first time in the series. But the biggest problem was that no batsman could manage a half-century and four were becalmed in the 30s. Cairns was one of the offenders but his brief was quick runs, and he hit two big sixes, including one over the sightscreen off Lee.Australia employed an attack of four fast bowlers as well as the allrounder James Hopes, but their start was sleepy. “We were determined even though we’d won the series to come out aggressively,” Gilchrist said. They have struggled to rise for dead-rubber games and, once again, there was urgency lacking before they snapped into action once the fielding restrictions eased, snuffing out the threats of Astle and Fleming.The pair reached 84 from 17 overs but just as Australia started to get nervous they were removed. New Zealand’s pace slowed once they departed and the middle order struggled to lift the rate until Cairns arrived. Hopes, who went for only 38 from 10 overs, was particularly responsible for the containment, and sealed a special memory from his debut with the lbw of Craig McMillan in his eighth over (163 for 5).Australia had no trouble in their reply and the result was too easy against a side ranked No. 2. New Zealand must win the final match at Napier on Saturday to hold the ranking, but it would be a hollow achievement after being comprehensively outplayed.

In Bloemfontein, Free State turned the tables on Border as they won by 60runs. Jonathan Beukus got Free State off to a flyer, as he hit sevenfours and two sixes in an innings of 90. Bowling 15 extra balls forwides and no-balls did not help the Border cause, but 223 should havebeen within their grasp. But they were always on the back foot as they lost six wickets for 79, and were eventually bowled out for 162. In the end, they just managed to save the bonus point as they fell 60 runs short.A close encounter in Port Elizabeth saw Eastern Province squeeze outWestern Province by seven runs, with the result in the balance up to thefinal over. Eastern Province, having batted first, had scored 219. They had comeback from 96 for 6, thanks to 61 off 60 balls from Grant Howell, and 36 from Bob Homani. William Hantam, who was responsible for the early wickets,ended with 4 for 53. At 103 for 2, Western Province must have thought it was inthe bag. But, with the exception of Warren Wyngaard who scored 73, no onecould get into the twenties as the required run rate increased. Michael Price took advantage of some rash shots to pick up 3 for 25, and seeEastern Province home.
Having taken a severe beating in the three-day game, North West came backwith a vengeance as they beat Griqualand West by seven wickets inPotchefstroom. Griquas put up a meagre 215 for 8 on a near-perfect batting strip. Adrian McLaren top scored with 55, but could not finda willing partner as the wickets fell at regular intervals. In replyNorth West. managed to put some decent partnerships together. The match culminated in an exciting final over, the 44th, where Juan le Roux needed five runs to go to his hundred, and North West only two to win the game. He finished it in style by lofting the ball well over deep wide midwicket for his maiden century.

Otago ensured Auckland would start the domestic one-day season in much the same way it completed the last, with a 35-run home win in Alexandra. Auckland has been a powerhouse side in four-day cricket for the past few seasons but its one-day form has been awful. Jonathan Trott was the star on his Shield debut with 78 in Otago’s 238 for seven from its 50 overs. The South African, who has struggled in the State Championship, was backed by a run-a-ball knock of 65 from Nathan McCullum. Both also took two wickets – Trott’s coming for 16 runs in four overs, McCullum’s for 25 in 10. Auckland fell to 203 all out in 49 overs, despite Rob Nicol’s 60.Wellington embarrassed a star-studded Canterbury at Rangiora. Canterbury’s top three were all recently discarded New Zealand batsmen and suffered varying fortunes as the home team struggled through to 214 for 6 in its 50 overs. Openers Michael Papps (92 off 139 balls) and Nathan Astle (67 off 102) took Canterbury through to 152 before the first wicket. However their slow scoring rate put too much pressure on the incoming batsmen, who all struggled to get started. Craig Mcmillan was one of them, his 2 off 5 balls doing nothing to help his cause for a national recall. Iain O’Brien was the most miserly of the Wellington bowlers, taking 1 for 28 from his 10 overs. In reply Wellington seldom looked troubled, making a mockery of Canterbury’s turgid scoring by winning by seven wickets with more than six overs to spare. Michael Parlane (80*) and Matthew Bell (54*) were undefeated at day’s end.Northern Districts batted first at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, and its 257 was far too many for home team Central Districts to chase. They were bowled out for 173 with 16 overs left.

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Barrington Rowland and Robin Uthappa hammered big hundreds as Karnataka got off to a great start on the opening day against Madhya Pradesh at Bangalore. Having started their season on a disastrous note, Karnataka included Uthappa for this game ahead of Arun Kumar, who was axed from the captaincy as well as dropped from the side after the match against Gujarat. The new combination were parted only late in the day after they had put on 324 at almost four-an-over. Uthappa fell for 162, after carting 21 fours and a six. Rowland, who had a lukewarm start to the season after enjoying a good run last year, remained unbeaten on 169 when stumps were drawn and MP may be in for another leather-hunt tomorrow.
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After conceding first-innings points to newly-promoted Madhya Pradesh in the previous game, Mumbai got off to a fine start against Andhra Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium. Vinit Indulkar and Amol Muzumdar made 111 each as their 246-run stand put Mumbai in command. This was Indulkar’s first hundred in first-class cricket.
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All the Bengal batsmen managed starts, but the Gujarat bowlers struck at regular intervals and restricted Bengal to 278 for 8 at the end of the first day at Siliguri. Rohan Gavaskar, the Bengal captain, made a steady 80 after choosing to bat first, but Gujarat pulled off three run-outs – one of them being Gavaskar – and fought their way back into the contest.
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Ajay Jadeja, the captain, waged a grim battle as Delhi struggled on their opening day at the Jamia Millia Ground. Jadeja elected to bat after winning the toss but Delhi were reduced to 30 for 5 in the first 20 overs, as Harvinder Singh, the former Indian medium pacer, snapped up the top three. Jadeja then strung together two painstaking partnerships, first with Varun Kumar and then with Sarandeep Singh, as Delhi crawled to 179 for 6 at the end of the day. Jadeja was uncharacteristically restrained and took 221 balls for his 74.
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Baroda justified their decision to field first at Mohali and bundled Punjab out for just 175 on the first day. Irfan Safi Pathan and Shekhar Joshi, the medium-pacers, snapped up three wickets apiece. Only Ravneet Ricky, the opener, made an impression with a dogged 42 off 141. Ricky got some good support from the tailenders and Punjab recovered from a perilous 106 for 7 to reach 175.
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Maharashtra kept Hyderabad down to 231 after inserting them at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. Ranji Khirid and AA Sanclecha shared four wickets apiece and only Anirudh Singh and Shashank Nag managed to hold firm. Singh cracked a fine 103, his second first-class hundred, while Nag chipped in with a patient 60. But none of the others even crossed 20, as Maharashtra finished on a satisfactory note having chosen to field first.
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Rudra Prathap Singh, the left-arm medium-pacer, tore through Assam and Uttar Pradesh bowled them out for just 184 on the first day at Kanpur. P Aziz made a breezy 58, including eight fours and a six, but the rest crumbled agaisnt Singh and Salabh Srivatsava, who finished with 4 for 47.

Ian Blackwell, the England spinner, believes intelligence and adaptability will be the crucial ingredients for success against India.”Yeah, it’s going to be a challenging tour. Touring India is always tough but it can be a worthwhile experience, I’ve been told,” Blackwell said at a press conference in Mumbai. The England team arrived here yesterday for a three-Test and seven one-day international series.”Indians are great players of spin, we all know what their batsmen are capable of, and its going to be a case of assessing the wicket. It’s definitely going to be a case of using your brain and actually using the conditions to suit my style of bowling or others bowling at the time. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do.”A year ago, Blackwell, 27, was being discussed as a one-day specialist batsman. Today, sitting in Mumbai, he finds himself a replacement for the injured Ashley Giles and up against Shaun Udal, who played in Pakistan recently, and Northamptonshire’s Monty Panesar, the uncapped left-arm spinner.Michael Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher have indicated that two spinners might be the order of the day if, as anticipated, India serve up dustbowls tailor-made for the slow bowlers. A three-wicket burst in the final one-dayer at Rawalpindi last December showed what Blackwell is capable of, but to bowl long spells in a Test match – in India, no less – has been known to test the best of bowlers. And Blackwell remains aware of this. “It’s going to be a challenge bowling in conditions suited for bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble,” he said. “You have to look to be at your physical peak. It’s something England are very keen to improve on.”For a cricketer who has yet to take 25 wickets in a county season, Blackwell looks the least qualified of the three slow bowlers, but remained upbeat of his chances of making the final XI while summing up the competition. “I think Shaun Udal is almost in the role of Ashley Giles, as a bowler who can bat. He’s a stock bowler who can offer a few runs,” he said.”And again, Monty [Panesar] is probably the better bowler out of the three of us. He’s an attacking left-arm spinner. Playing at Northants he’s going to generate a lot of opportunities to get wickets, so that probably goes for him. But again, I would like to think that I could do a good job with the ball but also possibly score a lot of runs as well. I guess it comes down to how many fast bowlers are playing and what the make-up of the England team will be.”For a man whose first wicket was a certain Steve Waugh, Blackwell’s aspirations of becoming a leading England spinner have taken concrete shape. After making his county debut with Derbyshire, Blackwell moved to Somerset in 2000 and was named captain last season. It was an additional responsibility that toughened him as a cricketer, he said. “Definitely the Somerset captaincy has given me a broader mind. When you captain 11 players, you’re not just looking after your own game, it’s making you think about situations, gameplans, what bowlers to utilise when. It’s something I really enjoyed doing, even though it was quite tough at times. It’s made me a more rounded person.”Reminded of Giles’s legstump tactics towards Sachin Tendulkar the last time England were here, Blackwell refused to see this as negative bowling. “It depends on the situation of the game. If the bowler is trying to hit a mark outside of leg stump to try and get a wicket, then I don’t think that is negative,” he said. “It’s an art in itself to aim at a six-inch square and I guess it all depends on the situation. If a side is 180 for 1 then it might be deemed as a negative, but I think you have to assess that and toss the ball over the wicket. It’s a strategy, really.”England begin their tour with a three-day warm-up match against a Board President’s XI in Mumbai on Febrauary 18 before travelling to Baroda for a similar clash. The first Test begins at Nagpur on March 1.

Scotland have received a cash injection of £317,000 from Sportscotland, the national agency for sport, to help with coaching, youth cricket and club development.”Cricket in Scotland continues to progress in all areas,” Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland’s chief executive, said. “The support of Sportscotland is invaluable in assisting us to put the structures and programmes in place to drive our game forward.”Patricia Ferguson, the Sports Minister, announced the funding – of which £144,000 comes from the National Lottery – at an Easter cricket academy in Edinburgh”Cricket has a long history in Scotland and this investment will help to ensure the sport has a bright future,” she said. “Funding will help to develop the youth game and support clubs as they promote cricket at a local level as well as providing a boost for the Scottish team as they prepare for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.”Scotland were due to face Australia during their tour of England last year but, rather predictably, rain washed out the day. They will hope for a better forecast when they face Pakistan in a one-dayer this year on June 27 at Edinburgh.

Opening batsmen

He’s been hot for years on the domestic scene but has gone cold after a couple of centuries against England at the start of their tour. An aggressive left-hander, Jaques stormed into the one-day side with 94 on debut in 2005-06, but was promptly dropped in favour of the incumbent Simon Katich. He’s played two Tests and four ODIs so is already in the selectors’ thoughts.
The Jaques push from New South Wales is strong, but the voices in the west are demanding the promotion of Chris Rogers. A conversation with David Boon, the Australia selector, where Rogers was told to bat all day instead of aiming always to attack, has led to outstanding results. He has scored 799 Pura Cup runs this summer, including 279 at Perth and a century on a tricky Hobart pitch, and worked on his slow-bowling play with Monty Panesar during an off-season stint at Northamptonshire. Australia’s Test players know him too – he scored 219 against them when at Leicestershire in 2005.
Opening is his favourite spot and after starring for Australia in the middle order during his first two summers he deserves to be asked where he wants to camp.Spin bowling

Replacing Shane Warne is going to be impossible, at least in the short to medium term, but Stuart MacGill is the most qualified after being the perennial understudy. His 198 Test wickets at 27.20 are an impressive return and he has the second-best strike-rate of any Australian with more than 100 Test scalps, although he was overlooked for the Ashes for the second series in a row. A knee injury and a club suspension for abuse disrupted his summer and at 35 his international career is teetering. It could be over unless Australia need him desperately, so he might be back in a couple of Tests.
Young and critically acclaimed, Dan Cullen shares the same mentor as Shane Warne. Terry Jenner spends hours working on Cullen’s offspin in Adelaide and he made his Test debut alongside Warne and MacGill in Bangladesh. He burst on to the state scene with 43 wickets three summers ago, surprising people with his control and a version of the doosra, but his average has expanded (27 wickets at 46 in 2005-06 and 3 at 76 this season) and he also struggled during a stint at Somerset. It is a crucial year.
Cullen Bailey, a legspinner, is another in Jenner’s South Australia stable and has been given a licence to attack under Darren Lehmann’s captaincy. He’s only 22 so don’t predict miracles, but he has shown enough to be a contender as he matures. Bailey has captured 17 wickets at 40 in four Pura Cup games this season and will battle for recognition with the New South Wales pair of Beau Casson and Nathan Hauritz.The fast men

The next McGrath will soon be the now McGrath. Five hundred Test wickets might be a bit much to ask for, but three or four years of solid service will help the transition while Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait develop into frontliners.
A bouncy left-armer, Mitchell Johnson may benefit most from McGrath’s departure as it will open up a space. Johnson has spent the Ashes series travelling the country as the 12th man after he was superb at the Champions Trophy and the Malaysian tri-series. Now he waits for a Test chance.
The shoulder injury that stopped Shaun Tait’s progress after he played two Tests on the Ashes tour is fixed and he is back to slinging reverse-swinging yorkers and un-playable short balls. Like Johnson, he has been in Test squads this summer. Like Johnson, he hasn’t found an opening.
A bricklayer before last season, Ben Hilfenhaus has quickly built himself an impressive reputation as a swing bowler. A fast man from Tasmania is a rare breed – the last one to play a Test was Greg Campbell in 1989 – and he now needs to prove he can get consistent wickets away from Bellerive Oval.Can you think of any others? Comment here.

Noel Cantwell, who won fame as captain of Manchester United in the 1960s, has died at the age of 72.Cantwell led United to the FA Cup in 1963 and the league championship in 1966-67, and also played 36 times for the Republic of Ireland, scoring 14 goals. Signed by Matt Busby from West Ham for £29,500 ( a record at the time for a full back), he was touted as a possible successor to Busby, but his first managerial job was at Coventry and a highly successful tenure at Peterborough followed. Cantwell then headed west to take charge of the New England Teamen in the USA, although he finished back at Peterborough.Cantwell was also a good cricketer, playing five times for Ireland as a middle-order batsman between 1956 and 1959. His one first-class appearance was for them against Scotland at Edinburgh in 1956 when he scored 31 and 17*.