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Graeme Smith has insisted that he and his team will be concentrating on the cricket, rather than the security concerns which have already overshadowed and disrupted South Africa’s tour of Pakistan.”From our first practice today, we are going to focus on cricket and how to beat Pakistan,” Smith said in a news conference after touching down in Lahore. “The rest of the stuff will take care of itself because there are people to look after that off the field.”The South African board initially cancelled the tour following a bomb-blast in Karachi on Sept 19, but the tour was later rescheduled with Karachi and Peshawar dumped from the itinerary because of security worries.”I am not afraid of Pakistanis, but I am afraid of the bombs,” Smith admitted, but denied that the board put pressure on the players to go. “They [the UCB] explained everything to us and we are aware of everything that has gone on. We are the first big nation in a long time [to visit Pakistan]. We are not going to leave here disappointed.”Smith also said he wasn’t surprised to see a dozen commandos at Lahore’s airport cordoning off the terminal when they touched down. “We were well prepared, so it didn’t come as a huge surprise. It didn’t bother us too much.”South Africa play a one-day warm-up game against a local City Nazim XI on Wednesday before the first one-day international in Lahore on Friday.

Close, Day 2 Zimbabweans 330 (Wishart 100) lead Western Australia 207 for 6 (North 59, Streak 3-35) by 123 runs

Heath Streak’s value to the Zimbabweans was superbly demonstrated when he took three wickets in the opening spell of his side’s defence of their total of 330 against Western Australia at Perth. Then to add to that he produced a fine throw, with one stump to aim at, to get a timely run-out as WA struggled to 207 for 6 by stumps.It was a competitive showing by the Zimbabweans, who gave their innings a boost earlier after Craig Wishart had achieved his century, although he was dismissed almost as soon as he had reached the mark. Streak wasn’t able to add to his overnight 45, although he took some time attempting to, in what was a slow first hour. Paul Wilson was in fine touch for WA, picking up both wickets in a nine-over spell that included seven maidens and brought him 2 for 5.However, Andy Blignaut breathed life and action into the innings by hitting 57 off 78 balls, and putting on 63 for the last wicket, of which Ray Price contributed only 8 before the innings ended just before lunch.WA had reached 21 before Streak managed to trap his rival captain Mike Hussey leg-before for 15. Chris Rogers and Marcus North continued to attack and by the 14th over they had added 60. But Streak had Rogers caught for 20, and eight runs later added Shaun Marsh’s scalp to his belt. By the end of an enjoyable day on the field, Streak had 3 for 35. But off the field the news wasn’t so good, as left-arm spinner Price injured himself in the showers during the tea break and was unable to field during the last session. No details have yet emerged about the extent of his injury.Out in the middle, North was joined by Scott Meuleman, and they combined in a fine recovery stand of 88. And that was where the Zimbabweans were exposed: while Streak was most effective, he lacked support. Blignaut could not find his rhythm at all and overstepped the mark nine times. With more consistency he could be a genuine menace on this WACA pitch, but he couldn’t harness his best today. Despite that, he did break the partnership when North edged an attempted slash through to Tatenda Taibu, the wicketkeeper, when he had made 59.Taibu struck again two balls later when Ryan Campbell tried to blast one through the off side but only managed a thick edge. When, 12 runs later, Streak’s throw found Meuleman short of his ground, WA were struggling at 168 for 6. But Peter Worthington and Beau Casson survived the last 12 overs of the day to take them to 207, by which time Worthington had 30 not out.

Nottinghamshire have signed Anurag Singh, the former Worcestershire opener, on a three-year contract.Singh, who started his career with Warwickshire in 1995, said, “I see Notts as an ideal vehicle upon which I can achieve further personal and team success.” He added: “Both Mick Newell [director of cricket] and chief executive David Collier were very impressive when talking about their visions for the club and how they want to get Notts where they belong, winning trophies.””Anurag has established himself as a fine player over the last few years on some difficult wickets at New Road,” Newell said. “We needed to find a decent replacement after it became clear that Usman [Afzaal] would be moving on and Anurag was a natural choice as his career average is virtually identical.”Singh, 28, averages just over 31 and is Notts’ second signing since the end of the season following David Alleyne from Middlesex.

Fate dealt Jamie How, the Central Districts batsman, a cruel hand when rain forced the abandonment of the State Championship match with Northern Districts without a ball being bowled on the last day. How, 22, was unbeaten on 97 overnight and missed out on his third first-class century.To compound the situation, CD failed to win any points from the match. ND assured themselves of first-innings points with their substantial lead of 254.There was even less chance of a result being achieved at Auckland where the outer oval at Eden Park was sodden after heavy overnight rain that left pools of water on the outfield. Rain fell throughout the morning and there was no chance of any play at all with Otago struggling at 131 for 6 in reply to Auckland’s 424.Both teams took one point from the match. That was enough for Auckland go to the top of the State Championship points table, but close rivals Wellington still have a game in hand. They will play Auckland at home from Friday.The points tally Auckland 9, Canterbury 8, Wellington 6, Central Districts 2, Northern Districts 2, Otago 1.

Close Australia 474 (Katich 125, Kumble 8-141) and 10 for 0 need 433 more runs to beat India 705 for 7 dec and 211 for 2 dec (Dravid 91*, Tendulkar 60*)
Scorecard

Once again bat dominated ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground. First, Australia battled back doggedly and added 132 runs to their first-innings score, largely on the back of an assured, graceful 125 by Simon Katich. They were all out for 474 in the middle of the second session, with Anil Kumble taking 8 for 141. But although Australia had failed to avoid the follow-on, they had batted on long enough to tire India’s bowlers, and Sourav Ganguly, not surprisingly, opted to bat again. Virender Sehwag then blasted a quickfire 47, and Rahul Dravid (91 not out) and Sachin Tendulkar (60 not out) added 138 runs, to take India to 211 for 2. Ganguly then declared, with India 442 ahead, and Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden batted out the four overs left in the day.Australia began the day six wickets down, and 363 behind, in grave danger of being made to follow on with India’s bowlers still relatively fresh. But Ganguly’s strategy, of getting Katich off strike and bowling to the tail, backfired. With the field spread and the pressure eased, Katich flourished, using his feet superbly against the spinners, driving elegantly on either side of the wicket, milking the bowling at will. Even though Kumble got rid of Brett Lee – via a superb bat-pad catch by Chopra at short leg – early in the day, Jason Gillespie was a stoic foil to Katich, and the two added 117 crucial runs.The resistance ended shortly after lunch, when Katich stepped out to Kumble and hoicked to the long-on boundary, where Sehwag took a well-judged catch (467 for 8). Katich had made 125, a potentially matchsaving century.The tailenders were desperate after that, as was obvious when Gillespie swung wildly at Kumble, only to get a French cut down to the longstop boundary. A few balls later Gillespie stepped out to Kumble, missed, and was adroitly stumped by Parthiv Patel for 47 (473 for 9). Nathan Bracken perished shortly afterwards, hoisting Kumble towards the square-leg boundary, where Ajit Agarkar held on to a good running catch.India were 231 ahead, but their bowlers had looked a ragged lot. Kumble’s lion-hearted 8 for 141 was his best performance overseas, but he had bowled 47 overs, and clearly needed a break. India’s decision to bat again opened up that familiar fourth-day calculation, between the extent of the lead, the perceived time required to get the opposition out, and the time left in the match. The ideal scenario for India was to take the lead to the mid-400s and declare so that they bowled a few overs before close on the fourth day, and had the full fifth day to take the ten wickets required.That was just what happened. Chopra was out early for 2, guiding Gillespie off the back foot to Damien Martyn at gully (11 for 1). But Sehwag was in an almost comically belligerent mood, and fortune favoured the reckless, as Lee found out to his dismay in a remarkable nine-ball over.First ball, short and very wide, Sehwag slashed, edged, caught behind. But wait … no-ball. Then, a couple of well-directed short balls. Then wide again, Sehwag flashed again, straight into Ricky Ponting’s hands at second slip … and straight out. Then a back-foot punch through point for four. Then a flash and a miss off another no-ball. Then a single, and a handsomely cover-driven four from Dravid.That was, in a microcosm, the story of the rest of the second session. Sehwag took a few risks and got a few boundaries; Dravid batted elegantly and correctly, and hit some sparkling drives. Sehwag’s aggression made for fine entertainment, especially when MacGill came on to bowl, round the wicket, and Sehwag played an outrageous reverse-sweep, from well outside leg stump, for four. His delightful unorthodoxy was in superb contrast to Dravid’s immaculate classicism, both a treat for cricket lovers.The partnership ended after tea, when Sehwag slog-swept MacGill to Gillespie at deep midwicket (73 for 2). Tendulkar came out to bat, and the Indians had a suprisingly quiet period of play after that, as Tendulkar settled in and Dravid was circumspect, a few of his strokes going straight to fielders. At one stage, both were on 22, when Dravid suddenly found his touch and started playing some enthralling strokes.He straight-drove Bracken for six, pulled Lee to midwicket for four, straight-drove Lee to the sightscreen, glided Lee to the third-man boundary, smashed MacGill over his head for four, and was approaching his hundred at the rate of a boundary an over, while Tendulkar had just about made it to 50. Tendulkar played fluidly – a reverse-sweep off MacGill for four was particularly memorable – and was quite content to milk singles, as Dravid got about his business. Ganguly might have waited for Dravid’s hundred before declaring, but Dravid was hit on the ear while attempting a hook off Lee, and was going to come off for treatment anyway.Langer and Hayden played out the four overs they needed to sensibly, as Australia ended on 10 for no loss. Ninety more overs, 433 more runs; there is an unlikely chance that Australia will go for the runs, and give Waugh a farewell to remember. But it’s more likely that the pivot of attention, on the final day, will revolve around the frame of Anil Kumble, bowling relentlessly on, driven by years of unfulfilled desire.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

Points tableGuyana 270 (Deonarine 71, Dowlin 67, Emrit 5-48) and 67 for 3 beat Trinidad & Tobago 143 (Jan 73) and 193 (Bravo 68*) by 7 wickets
ScorecardGuyana pulled off a huge upset when they defeated second-placed Trinidad & Tobago by seven wickets in a low-scoring match at Berbice. The heroes for Guyana were Damodar Daesrath, who returned incredible figures of 4 for 17 from 18 overs to restrict Trinidad & Tobago to 143, and Narsingh Deonarine and Travis Dowlin, who struck vital half-centuries to ensure a first-innings lead of 127. Dowlin then struck with his offspinners as well, taking three second-innings wickets as T&T were bundled out for 193 despite a battling 68 not out from a batsman fittingly named Dwayne Bravo. Despite a couple of early setbacks, Guyana reached the victory target of 67 with ease.Barbados 221 (Odumbe 6-64) and 153 for 4 (Nurse 77) beat Kenya 171 (Collins 5-57) and 202 (Tikolo 76*, Best 5-54) by 6 wickets
ScorecardKenya slumped to their third defeat in five games, while Barbados further strengthened their position at the top of the table with their latest result. In another low-scoring match at St Philip, most of the Kenyan batsmen struggled against the Barbados pace attack. Pedro Collins and Tino Best served reminders to the West Indian selectors with five-wicket hauls, and took 16 between them. The only Kenyan batsmen who managed fifties in the match were Kennedy Otieno (51) and Steve Tikolo, the captain, who scored a defiant unbeaten 76 in the second innings even as the rest of the team crumbled. For Barbados, Martin Nurse struck 77 to make light of a fourth-innings target of 153.Leewards Islands 378 for 9 dec (Williams 74, Willett 65) and 153 for 6 (Tuckett 53*) drew with Windward Islands 435 (Smith 159, Lewis 82, Emmanuel 73)
ScorecardDevon Smith, the left-handed opener who had shown some promise in four Tests against Australia last season, gave himself a good chance of earning a recall with a timely 159 in Windward Islands’ drawn game against the Leewards at St Maarten. Smith’s hundred propelled his side to 435, a first-innings lead of 57, but Leeward Islands hung on to force a draw. The other player from Windwards who would have enjoyed the match was Rawl Lewis, their captain. His three Tests may have fetched him just one wicket at a rather high average of 318, but he had much more to celebrate here, returning match figures of 7 for 124 and scoring 82.West Indies B 242 (Hyatt 55) drew with Jamaica 299 for 9 (Baugh 115, Breese 72)
ScorecardRain played spoilsport at St John’s, as only two innings could be played in the match between Jamaica and West Indies B. Not a ball was bowled on the first day, and only 23 overs were sent down on the second, ensuring that the game was virtually a two-day affair. That was enough for Jamaica to wrest the crucial first-innings lead, which ensured that they scraped past the B team into third place in the overall points tally. The stars for Jamaica were Carlton Baugh (115) and Gareth Breese (72), who added 200 for the sixth wicket and rescued them from a precarious 61 for 5, in the process taking Jamaica past West Indies B’s total of 242.

The Indian team for the tour of Pakistan will be selected on March 1 at Kolkata. The selection meeting has been advanced by two days to ensure that the players can participate in a three-day preparatory camp at Kolkata before they leave for Pakistan.It seems unlikely, however, that India will be able to field anything like a full-strength bowling attack in the one-day matches, with both Ajit Agarkar and Anil Kumble likely to miss out. According to a report in Kolkata’s , Dr Anant Joshi, who the board consults on such matters, has suggested that Agarkar have a fresh scan on his left fibula.And with Kumble just having started to bowl in the nets, the chances of him playing in the one-dayers are slim. It leaves the selectors facing a terrible dilemma, as no other slow bowler has really suggested himself to be an adequate replacement for Kumble, or Harbhajan Singh.The camp, to be held from March 7 to 9, will focus on fitness and tests will be administered to all players before and after the camp. “A number of players had picked up injuries during the 80-day long Australian tour. But our physiotherapist (Andrew Leipus) and doctor (Joshi) have stated in their reports that most of them would be fit for the tour to Pakistan,” said Jagmohan Dalmiya at the press conference in Delhi soon after a working committee meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.Dalmiya added that all players other than Harbhajan had submitted fitness certificates. “Although, the players have given certificates they will have to undergo fitness tests in Kolkata,” said Dalmiya. He informed the media that the team would leave on March 10 by a specially chartered Indian Airlines flight. Shortly before they leave the team would be briefed by the home and foreign ministries.

The International Cricket Council has delivered a rebuff to Kenya’s hopes of receiving Test status, telling them that they "must accelerate the pace of reform within Kenyan cricket before seriously considering applying".The announcement followed two days of meetings between the ICC and the Kenyan Cricket Association in Nairobi as part of the ICC’s African leg of its visit to member countries.Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, explained that the jump from ODI to Test status was huge and that the KCA needs to ensure that it has solid foundations in place before seeking to make the move."After Kenya’s strong showing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, the ICC and the KCA mapped out a series of milestones that need to be passed before any consideration could be given to an application for Test status,” he said. “The ICC has committed $US 1 million through to 2005 to make this happen. Over the past two days we have been able to see first hand how the KCA is progressing in achieving these objectives. While things are moving forward, the pace of progress is too slow. Some deadlines have been missed and we have underlined the need for the KCA to commit to and deliver against the agreed plan.”The KCA has many critics within the country, and has been accused of not doing enough to promote cricket in Kenya, and of allowing the board’s finances to become a mess.The KCA complained that it was not being given enough one-day cricket to help them develop, and this was acknowledged by Mani. “All ICC Full Members have previously committed to provide regular international competition for Kenya but, for whatever reason, this has not happened,” he said. “The ICC and the KCA both recognise the importance of this type of competition for Kenyan cricket and we will be working together to try and put in place a more regular international calendar for the Kenyan team.”

ScorecardToday was a pleasing performance for Middlesex, who triumphed with the bat on a day that began so gloomily that most of the MCC members had retreated into thelong room, taking full advantage of their brand new see-through sightscreen.They finished with a first innings lead of 21, and five wickets still inhand.There was much unintentional comedy in the morning as bad light and drizzleplayed merry hell with the over count. At 11.45am the players and umpiresemerged from the pavilion, got as far as the gates, poked their headstentatively out from under the balcony then disappeared back inside. At12.40 they made it all the way to the middle, and Glen Chapple even bowledtwo balls before they beat another retreat; then at 2.25pm play restartedwith a wicket from Chapple’s fourth delivery, and the games began.The afternoon revolved around an ongoing confrontation between AndrewStrauss and the short ball. Chapple and Dominic Cork both dug the ball in to get themaximum effect out of the damp pitch and Strauss, perhaps still under theinfluence of the Caribbean, or the Caribbean rum, was keen to show off hispulling technique. Unfortunately it wasn’t much to shout about and Corkforced several miscues, none of which, unfortunately for him, went anywherenear a fielder.Still, Strauss proved that he is a master of the cut, slicing anything thatsat up outside off stump. And with Paul Weekes, his partner-in-arms, heneatly evaded the snorters of Sajid Mahmood et al; he even took a six off GaryKeedy over long-on and a century seemed certain, had it not been for thatdratted bad light. Chapple and Cork had to be content with only threewickets in return for their afternoon’s hostilities, Owais Shah defending poorly, Ed Joyce driving loosely, and Weekes pulling out of a hook shot prematurely, giving Carl Hooper the chance to show off his sprint with a running, diving catch behind the slips.

Simon Jones, who has been ruled out of the rest of England’s Tests against New Zealand with a stress fracture in his left foot, has pledged to be back and fit to play West Indies later this summer. He aggravated the injury, which he previously suffered in the 1998 season, during the first Test at Lord’s.Jones was sent for an MRI scan on Wednesday which revealed there was a chance he could develop his original stress fracture. As a result, the selectors decided not to risk him at Headingley or Trent Bridge.”It’s another setback in my career I know, but it’s not too bad,” Jones told The Western Mail. “I will be fit and ready for the start of the four-Test rubber against the West Indies which starts at the end of July. I wouldn’t want to miss that series after what the players achieved in the Caribbean in the winter.”Jones blamed the aggravation of the old injury in part to the amount of cricket he has played lately, saying: “First I went out to India with the academy and then there was that tough four-Test trip to the West Indies before what cricket I have got through this season. It takes its toll in the end and it’s just part of the downside of being a fast bowler.”But he was also quick to put the seriousness of the injury in perspective, adding, “You have to remember that I was out for 19 months and fought my way back from knee ligament problems. So, although this has put me back a bit, it is somewhat minor compared to what I have been through.”The injury is another blow to England’s fast-bowling brigade, with James Anderson nursing a bruised foot. Jones took four wickets in the first Test at Lord’s, and was arguably the pick of the England attack. He has been replaced by Martin Saggers, who played his first Test against Bangladesh last November.