Border claimed a 56-run victory over Easterns on the final day of their Supersport Series match at Buffalo Park on Monday.Border declared their second innings on 202 for nine, thanks largely to a solid 54 from opener Craig Sugden.Gareth Flusk did most of the damage for Easterns, taking five wickets for 55 runs.Set a target of 220 to win off 80 overs, Easterns fell short when bowled out for 178.Vasbert Drakes again spearheaded the Border attack, taking four wickets for only 47 runs on the final day to go with his 4-48 in Easterns’ first innings.Geoff Love was also impressive with ball in hand, finishing the match with a six-wicket haul.Mike Rindel was again the top scorer for Easterns. Rindel followed uphis 64 in the first innings with a 49 in the second.Rindel’s fifth-wicket stand of 65 together with Derek Crookes (33 runs) was the backbone of a mediocre batting performance from the visitors.Drakes and Love had no problem wrapping up the Easterns tail, with the last three wickets falling for a paltry 33 runs as Border turned what looked like a draw into a much deserved victory.

For the second day running South Africa clambered all over Sri Lanka, a masterly century from Daryll Cullinan standing out as the centrepiece of a dominant batting display as the second Castle Lager/MTN Test match continued to gallop along at Newlands.Cullinan hit 112 as South Africa romped to 426 for six – the lead now being 331 – in an innings that might have been described as effortless had his 33-year-old legs not looked a little tired when he was run out in the middle session.His form has been patchy this summer, but you could have bet your house on the fact that he was looking forward to playing at Newlands. On Tuesday evening he looked ominous and on Wednesday he carved out his fourth century in his last four Tests under the shadow of Table Mountain.It was also his fifth century in ten Tests against Sri Lanka – thereby providing yet another rebuttal to those who claim he can’t play spin – and his 12th overall. He doesn’t know how much longer he can go on, but he wants to go to the West Indies this year and Wednesday’s hundred will have booked him his seat.Apart from his difficulties against Shane Warne, which he now readily acknowledges – “He was just too good for me” – Cullinan has been South Africa’s outstanding strokeplayer since readmission (Gary Kirsten matches him for consistency and longevity) and the 11,000-odd at Newlands were given yet another treat.But it was by no means the Daryll Cullinan Show as the Sri Lankan bowling took a pounding. Neil McKenzie supplied a gem of a cameo with his 47 after Jacques Kallis had been out to the second ball of the day, looking ever inch the equal of his senior partner as they added 101 for the fourth wicket.As Cullinan noted, McKenzie is starting to gain the confidence to play his strokes, and this was never more evident than when he humped Muttiah Muralitharan for six and four into Cow Corner off successive balls.And when McKenzie went, Mark Boucher hammered out a magnificent 92 before he contrived to hole out to a Russel Arnold long hop. In all this, Lance Klusener’s unbeaten 44 tended to be a sideshow, but he is still there and South Africa are bound to try to march as far as they can on the third day.The pitch, said Cullinan, still had pace and although the bounce was not as steep as the first day, it was consistent enough to allow the cross-bat shots -“You know, the cuts and the hooks and the pulls”. Sri Lanka, though, looked dejected, no doubt wondering how they had managed to get themselves out for 95.Even Muralitharan posed a lesser threat than usual and the quicks, who had looked handy on the first day, eventually became cannon fodder.For all but Sri Lankan fans, it has been a sparkling Test match with more adventure and excitement than almost the whole of the South African summer added together. Sri Lanka have undoubtedly crumbled and it will be a measure of their collective character to see how much dignity they can salvage from this match.

Canada played USA in a friendly fixture at Inverhaugh C.C. just north westof Guelph, one hour outside Toronto yesterday.Canada replied to the USA’s 196 for 9 in 50 overs with 198 for 6.Top scorers for the USA were R Alexander (36), D Wallace (59) and R Staple(39). USA were without Faoud Bacchus who just returned from a tour to MexicoCity. They will b a force to be reckoned with in the ICC Trophy.Canada’s reply was led by A Bagai (41*), N Ifill (22*), N Degroot (24) and D Chumney (22).Best bowler was the USA’s J Nasir with 5 wickets for 43 runs .USA next plays Hong Kong, we understand at Inverhaugh C.C. , while Canada is scheduled to meet Ireland.

Jerry Hayward blitzed 26 runs off the final over against Havant at London Road and sent Andover soaring into their first Southern Electric Contracting Cup final.The Andover captain smashed three sixes as he laid into the 23rd and final over, bowled by Havant’s teenage Western Australian all-rounder Shawn Gillies.Hayward’s unbeaten 33, which complimented Marc Kavanagh’s earlier 65, took Andover on to a powerful semi-final total of 176-6.Havant gave chase, with Richard Hindley (60 not out), Andy Perry (25) and Gillies (46) taking their reply to 128-1 after 19 overs.But Havant lost four wickets for 12 runs in a desperate last gasp bid for victory and finished 15 runs behind at 161-6, Sam Miller (2-20) bowling a tight spell.They will play either Rowledge or Lymington in the SEC final at the Hampshire Rose Bowl on Wednesday August 1.Lymington, without Australian Brian Clemow, Neil Trestrail and probably Glyn Treagus, expect to be captained by former Hampshire left-hander Jon Hardy in tomorrow’s (TUES) second semi-final at Rowledge, 6pm.Lymington : (from) Hardy, Peacock, Craft, Griffiths, Young, Molloy, Treagus, Allen, Carr, Phillips, Smith, Pain.

Sussex could make no headway through the defensive batting of the Middlesex middle order which held out through the final session to get a draw in their CricInfo Championship match at Lord’s.Middlesex, having begun their second innings ten minutes before lunch, which was taken on twelve without loss, lost three wickets in a space of 21 runs during the second session of play.An hour after the break the first wicket went down with Mark Robinson, who replaced Jason Lewry for the thirteenth over, trapping Michael Roseberry leg before for eight. The next fell five runs later on 38 with Owais Shah pushing half forward to a ball that left him slightly and Chris Adams at second slip took the catch inches from the ground.To complete the trio of wickets that fell during that period, Andy Strauss, who had opened his account before lunch with three boundaries, hung his bat outside his off stump and once again a ball that swung away caught the outside edge on its way to first slip. From 54 for three, Middlesex moved on to 65 when tea was taken.The solid fourth wicket stand of 81 in 34 overs between Robin Weston, who top scored in the first innings with 83 and Ben Hutton ensured that Middlesex were not going to suffer their first championship defeat of the summer. They took no chances; there was hardly a risky stroke as they waited for the right balls to hit.They were neck and neck, for most of their stand, in the rate of scoring. After fifty overs they had 31 runs apiece with the total 125.Finally, with a draw becoming inevitable, Richard Montgomerie was given the last over to bowl for a light-hearted finish and his first ball trapped Weston, 34, leg before wicket, ending a two-and-a-half-hour stay at the crease during which he received 106 balls.Hutton, having faced 120 balls, remained not out with 36, in two hours, and with Middlesex on 135 for four, the captains decided to call an end at 5.30pm.Earlier, Middlesex bowlers, who struggled for wickets, claiming just one in almost the entire third day’s play, were more successful today. They dismissed five Sussex batsmen in a little over an hour-and-a-half, despite the absence of Phil Tufnell who has a hamstring strain.The unbroken overnight stand of 109 between Montgomerie and Bastiaan Zuiderent did not progress much further. In the sixth over of the morning, after Zuiderent had added six to his fifty, Angus Fraser claimed the first of his two wickets with Jamie Hewitt diving forward at mid-on to take a low catch.Montgomerie, meanwhile, reached his fourth first-class century of the season and on 116, looking for quick runs, he swung at a Paul Weekes’ ball and failed to connect. He had hit twelve boundaries in his 271-ball innings. Sussex were 262 for three.Adams’ reverse sweep at Weekes didn’t work as the ball popped up into the hands of Shah at slip. Fraser got his second wicket when Umer Rashid’s firm pull was knocked upwards by Weston at mid-wicket and held at second attempt. The fourth and fifth wickets had gone quickly on 285 and 292 respectively.Four runs after Matthew Prior was run out on 311, the declaration came, setting Middlesex 313 to win in a minimum of seventy overs. But on a slow wicket and in overcast conditions which assisted ball movement, as seen later, this was a far from easy task for the home side.

Leicestershire stayed on course for a one-day double by overwhelming Worcestershire by 118 runs to register an 11th consecutive victory in limited-overs competitions.The undefeated Norwich Union League leaders booked their place in the C & G Trophy semi-finals by piling up 297 for 9 and then bowling out the hosts for 179.The result was effectively settled in the opening 90 minutes when Shahid Afridi blazed 67 from only 44 balls to leave Leicestershire on a remarkable 150 for 3 when he was caught at cover in the 20th over.The Pakistan all-rounder hit four sixes – one which embedded the ball in the slate roof of the New Road Stand – and six fours in an impressive follow-up to his 70 from 32 balls in a Norwich Union fixture at the week-end.Afridi made himself a banker for the man of the match award while sharing in partnerships of 52 in nine overs with Trevor Ward (35) and 70 in six with skipper Vince Wells (34).Worcestershire’s target rate of almost six runs an over escalated as Anurag Singh and Graeme Hick fell cheaply to the new-ball pair, James Ormond and Scott Boswell.DeFreitas then took two wickets in successive balls in his first over and Jon Dakin bowled Philip Weston for 40 after the opener had batted with a runner because of a knee injury.Only an unbeaten 56 by Steve Rhodes allowed Worcestershire to escape their heaviest defeat in the 39 seasons of the competition. Their heaviest mauling stands at 143 runs – also by Leicestershire in 1979.Wells was delighted with his side’s performance.”That was fantastic,” he said. “The players took up the challenge and performed brilliantly out there.”It was an awesome effort. It was probably our best one-day performance ofthe season but the nice thing about this side is that winning is never enough. We are still looking to find areas where we can improve.”Worcestershire coach, Tom Moody, could not hide his disappointment, but paid tribute to Leicestershire, tipping them for the trophy.”It went wrong from the moment we lost the toss but I would like to start this game again with a fresh toss of the coin. I am sure the result would be different.”I hope we bounce back. We are talking about it and will continue to talk about it over the next few days. This is only a minor hiccup; we have been playing some great cricket in the last few weeks.”But you have to give credit. They are a very good side and they are playing to their potential. They outplayed us.”I would be very surprised if they don’t go all the way in this competition.”

Alan Mullally and Richard Johnson join Nasser Hussain in the England squad for the Fourth npower Test against Australia at Headingley.A consistent season punctuated by eye-catching performances has earned Mullally his recall. He took 5-17 against Australia for Hampshire and 8-90 against Warwickshire in the last round of CricInfo Championship action, and feels that his recall is overdue.”Even the Australians wondered why I wasn’t in the England team – Shane Warne couldn’t believe it,” said Mullally.”I took five for 17 for Hampshire against the Australians and perhaps that helped, but I feel I’m bowling as well as at any time in my career.””He gets the ball into the business area,” chairman of selectors David Graveney commented. “He’s not bowling as fast, but he is accurate and he doesn’t go for many runs, which could be important at Headingley.”The only reason he wasn’t called up for the last Test at Nottingham was that he left the field against Australia as a precaution against a side strain and, as selectors, we had to be careful that didn’t flare up again during the Test.”With the pitch expected to suit seam bowling, Robert Croft is expected to miss out so it is likely that Mullally will vie for a place in the final XI with Somerset’s Richard Johnson.Johnson has long been admired for his pace and skill but has suffered from a string of injuries. He was selected in the touring side of South Africa in 1995-96, but was then forced to withdraw with back trouble. He has prospered on the hard pitches of Taunton, however, and has spearheaded Somerset’s admirable CricInfo Championship challenge.”He’s waited a long time for another chance,” Graveney said. “There is nothing more despairing for a player than to be selected for a tour and then having to pull out through injury.”He showed in Somerset’s semi-final victory over Warwickshire yesterday that he can bowl at some speed and he has performed well throughout the season and deserves his chance.”Graveney had comforting words for the two dropped players, insisting that the door was not closed on either of them. Ian Ward has certainly shown his determination to battle back in the past, having been released from the Surrey staff early in his career.”Ian Ward has had a tough time against a high quality attack, but he is the sort of player who has the character to go away and learn from his experiences and come again,” said Graveney.”Craig White is a similar situation and has not been dropped because of his batting as some have said, but because he seems to have lost confidence in his bowling.”I don’t see this is a major setback for him because he has the ability to come back, he will remain in our thoughts for the winter and could be an important figure on the sub-continent.”Nasser Hussain also returns to the team. He remains a little short of competitive cricket – with his return to the first team at Essex resulting in an innings of seven in the NUL today – but his influence as captain has been enormous in recent months and Headingley has been a good ground for him. He hit a century against Australia there in 1997 and averages close to 50 in all Tests at the ground.Australia have already retained the Ashes, and are 3-0 up in the five Test series.

The Indian team management have requested that the Indian cricket board send fast bowler Ajit Agarkar to Sri Lanka as a back up option for the final Test in Colombo starting on Wednesday.When strike fast bowler Javagal Srinath pulled out of the tour after sustaining hand injury in the first Test in Galle the Indian selectors decided not to send a replacement even though India only had three full time fast bowlers in their 15-man squad.A lacklustre performance by right arm pace bowler Harvinder Singh in Kandy, though, appears to have forced a rethink as India try to win a Test series they looked destined to lose after the first two days of the second Test, which they eventually won by seven wickets.The 23-year-old Agarkar has already played in 10 Tests without notable success, taking just 24 wickets. Considered to be an allrounder, he has also failed with the bat, averaging just 8.26 and having been dismissed for a duck in eight out of his 16 Test innings thus far.Agarkar, a member of the one-day squad in the Sri Lanka during the Coca-Cola Cup earlier this month, is expected to arrive in Colombo on Sunday or Monday morning.

Resuming on 54 for 2 in reply to the West Indian first innings total of 166, England’s young batsmen were swept away in a fashion that was all too reminiscent of their seniors in the Ashes series.Eight wickets fell for the addition of only 61 runs in the face of some steady bowling from Kenroy Peters, who took 5-41 in 27 overs with his left-arm medium pace.Durham’s Nicky Peng, who had just been announced as a member of the National Academy team, appeared to be batting positively before becoming the second of opening bowler Jermaine Lawson’s victims.Of the later batsmen, only James Tredwell of Kent offered serious resistance, facing 93 balls to reach 25. He was eighth out as off-spinner Ryan Austin picked up three tail-end wickets.Tredwell then had to turn to his main trade as an off-spinner to try to curtail a sparkling start from the West Indians in their second innings, taking only 13 overs to add 91 to the lead. He took 1 for 37 from 17 tidy overs and, along with left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, did something to keep England in touch.Even so, with captain Brenton Parchment recording his third fifty in as many matches after an opening partnership of 76 with Devon Smith, and Tonito Willett undefeated on 54 at the close, the spinners’ efforts were in vain.With the West Indies leading by 222 runs and still two days remaining, England’s chances of squaring the series appeared slim.