Nashua Western Province squads to play the Highveld Strikers in the SuperSport Series at the Wanderers Stadium, 12 to 15 October 2001 and Namibia in the UCB Bowl at Windhoek, 11 to 14 October.1) Graeme Smith
2) Rashaad Magiet
3) Andrew Puttick
4) H.D. Ackerman ( C )
5) Jonathan Trott
6) Neil Johnson
7) Thami Tsolekile
8) Alan Dawson
9) Paul Adams
10) Claude Henderson
11) Roger Telemachus
12) Charl Willoughby
COACHES: Vincent Barnes and Eric Simons
Nashua Western Province Bowl Team Vs Namibia1) Ryan Cotterel
2) Ryan Maron
3) Renier Munnik
4) Sean Ackerman ( C )
5) Warren Wyngard
6) Wesley Euley
7) Faghmie Jardine
8) Marc de Stadler
9) Grant de Kock
10) Paul Harris
11) Quentin Friend
12) Antonio Mullins
Coach: Peter Kirsten

The immediate and, quite possibly, long-term future of Mfuneko Ngam is once again under a cloud after the Eastern Province fast bowler was found to be suffering yet another stress fracture, this time of the right tibia, this week.According to South African team physiotherapist Craig Smith: “Ngam started feeling pain in his right lower leg and was sent for a bonescan in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday. The results confirm it is a bone injury -a stress fracture.”Ngam, seen as one of the most exciting prospects to emerge in South African cricket for several years and named recently as one of the Cricketers of the Year, has been attempting to regain fitness after suffering a stress fracture of his right thigh last season and undergoing a shoulder operation.He has already been subjected to a barrage of tests in an attempt to establish why his bones appear to be so brittle – it has been suggested that he may suffer from a genetic disorder or that the root cause lies in certain dietary deficiencies earlier in his life.Smith said that Ngam had suffered "four or five" stress fractures in various areas of his body over the past four years. The case will be referred to Professor Tim Noakes of the Sports ScienceInstitute in Cape Town. Bone specialists around the world will be consulted in an attempt to establish the root cause of the problem.For the moment Ngam is expected to be out of cricket for between four to six weeks and will miss the Test series against India next month. The real concern, however, is that Ngam’s susceptibility to this type of injury may prevent him realising his undoubted talent. If this is the case, it will be a tragedy for both Ngam and South African cricket.

South Africa captain Shaun Pollock acknowledged that what took place at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday was not Test cricket. And neither does he believe that it should be upgraded to full Test status at some future date."I don’t think that would be right," said Pollock "You need to know (that it is a Test match) before the start of the game."The fact that the match would not be recognised as a Test by the ICC "took the edge off", said Pollock. "You know that it’s not a fully-fledged Test. We were probably a little more relaxed than we would be before a real Test."On a measure of one to 10, Pollock said that the current contest was "just under where a Test should be". It was. Nevertheless, "good practice. We’ve got a tough tour of Australia coming up and I would think it would be good practice for India before they play England".He said that the Indian side clearly felt more strongly about the events of the past few days than the South Africans, but said that "from the South African public’s point of view, it’s good to have a game".

Overcoming their first-innings debacle, Goa surged back into the gamein their Ranji Trophy league match against Kerala at Panaji onWednesday.Having Kerala overnight at 6/2, Goa did not let up on the pressure.Barring C Prashanth Menon, who made 55 off 148 balls, and Ajay Kudva(44 off 120), none of the Kerala batsmen was allowed to convert astart into a significant score.Kerala were bowled out for 210, with Narayan Kambli taking 4-49 andAvinash Aware taking 5-67. At stumps on the third day, Goa were 33/0,chasing a fourth-innings total of 213 for victory.

A late order recovery has helped New South Wales escape trouble on an engrossing opening day of the national Under-19 Championship Series Final against Queensland in Newcastle today. By stumps, the Blues had scrambled their way to a score of 8/210 after courting danger at several times during the day.All-rounder Daniel Christian (56*) was the key figure in the revival, joining with Brad Roworth (37), Gary Geise (22) and James Allsopp (12*) respectively in vital late stands that extricated the home team from a potentially grisly predicament.Four wickets had tumbled in the opening session, and another three fell between lunch and tea, to leave the Queenslanders well placed in their bid for three consecutive national titles.But Christian’s industry, at number eight in the order, stalled the charge.It wasn’t necessarily pretty cricket, and the final session in particular – which yielded a mere 45 runs in total – was dominated by maiden overs.Yet it was just what the doctor ordered for the locals after the Queenslanders had made a series of important early inroads.There had been nothing in the play at the start of the day to suggest New South Wales’ imminent decline as the Blues won the toss, batted first, and steadily made their way to a score of 29 without loss before a small but supportive local crowd.But, following the two-day game’s opening drinks break, the complexion of proceedings altered dramatically.It was fast bowler Nathan Rimmington (2/46), a key player in Queensland’s win in the corresponding game 12 months ago, who decisively wrested the initiative his team’s way.After a patient innings from Jarrad Burke (1), the New South Wales captain was defeated by a fine delivery which cut away marginally off the seam, edging a catch to Julian Nielsen at first slip. And then another major blow was landed from the very next ball as Mark Faraday (0) played around the line of a straight delivery to be bowled. Rimmington’s hat-trick attempt was averted but matters became no easier for the home team in the short term.Opener Jason Krezja (29) and middle order batsman Steve Karam (29) adopted a vigilant approach, shoring up the defences and trying to work singles wherever possible.The bowling remained highly disciplined, though, and it wasn’t long before right arm paceman Chris McCabe (1/19) was able to compound the Blues’ woes. After a long period of general inactivity on the scoreboard, the right armer extracted an outside edge from Krezja’s bat on the stroke of lunch to present a grateful Nielsen with another catch at slip.The loss of the in-form Krezja’s wicket drove a stake deeply through the heart of the Blues’ cause, given that it came just a day after he had showcased his talents with a brilliant double century against South Australia.Fast bowler John Loader (3/36) maintained the young Bulls’ momentum after the break by enticing Brett Eriksson (2) to brush a low leg side catch off the line of his hip to wicketkeeper Murray Bragg and then forcing Karam to outside edge a delivery of excellent length. The Blues, by this stage, were in a near-desperate predicament at 6/82.It was from there that the recovery took effect.Before falling to a catch at extra cover from off spinner Aaron Maynard (1/25), Roworth unfurled a suitably belligerent innings that featured one glorious six over square leg in the midst of a series of fine attacking strokes.Though Geise eventually became another Loader victim as he defended down the wrong line, he was another to resist the Queensland bowlers for a long period.And, all the while, Christian was adding to the visitors’ frustration too with a dogged mixture of jaw-jutting defiance and the occasionally aggressive shot.Queensland captain Craig Philipson tried a range of options in a bid to shift his increasingly stubborn opponents but found few ways through their defences. His task was also made more difficult by the fact that his pace bowlers had bowled close to their allotted quotas of 20 overs for the day by early in the final session.Elsewhere in Newcastle, all-rounder Cameron Viney (6/20) snared tournament-best bowling figures to help Tasmania skittle Western Australia for 123 in the battle for third place. Tasmania was 1/24 in its reply by stumps.Victoria, meanwhile, was at 4/93 in response to South Australia’s 175 in the contest for fourth place.And, after it was forced to make a late start as the result of a damp outfield, the Australian Capital Territory had reached a score of 9/233 by the close of play in its match against the Northern Territory.

Lancashire have announced that 39 year-old left-handed batsman Neil Fairbrother has signed a new contract that will keep him playing for the club for at least one more season.Fairbrother made his debut for Lancashire in 1982. He was capped in 1985 and, two years later, made the first of his ten Tests for England. However, it was as a one-day player that he made his international mark with 75 appearances, the last of which came in the 1999 World Cup against India at Edgbaston. He averaged a shade under 40 in one-day internationals.Last season he scored his 20,000th first-class run, and can boast an average of over 40 at this level. In 1990 he scored 366 against Surrey at the Oval – the third highest score ever in championship cricket. He was appointed captain of Lancashire for the 1992 season, but resigned from the post in 1993.Mike Watkinson, the cricket manager at Old Trafford said: "I enjoyed being a team-mate of Neil’s for many years and I am looking forward to him making many more significant contributions to the side next summer."Fairbrother, who was named after his mother’s favourite cricketer Neil Harvey, commented: "I am enjoying my cricket as much as ever and am looking forward tremendously to working with the new cricket management team under Mike Watkinson."

Zimbabwe finished the first day of the final Janashakthi National Test withtheir self-respect intact. For the first time in the series their bowlerswere not bullied into a submission and, when play resumes tomorrow, theywill have realistic hopes of bowling out Sri Lanka for a sensible score.However, for much of the day it had looked like the same old story. SkipperStuart Carlisle had lost the toss on a slow, dry pitch and Sri Lanka’sbatsmen were meticulously building the foundations for another mammothtotal. Zimbabwe, desperately lacking a specialist spinner, looked well oncourse for a third successive innings defeat.However, in the final hour, with the score on 222 for three and umpire DavidSheperd hopping uncomfortably in the enervating heat, Grant Flower brokethrough with his benign-looking left-arm spinners as Mahela Jayawardene wascaught and bowled for 74.Next, Hashan Tillakaratne (3) gloved a catch to wicket-keeper Andy Floweroff the gangly batsman-turned-spinner, Douglas Marillier, andRussel Arnold, who had added 97 with Jayawardene, feathered a catch behindshortly after the new ball was taken. Sri Lanka were 236 for six having lostthree wickets for 14 runs. Thilan Samaraweera then survived till the closewith Chaminda VaasFor a team now used to astronomical scores, it was as close to a collapsethey have come for months. But an end of the day score of 243 for six isbetter than it looks. The pitch may not be assisting the fast bowlers but italready resembles badly laid crazy paving and even Zimbabwe’s part-timespinners proved a handful. Should Sri Lanka pass 300 then the visitors arestill left to contemplate the daunting challenge of a facing a revved upMuttiah Muralitharan desperate for his 400th wicket. The ball will literallyturn square.Nevertheless, for the time being, the Zimbabwe team will be looking on thebright side after an entirely unsatisfactory week, during which they haveseen their countries political problems heighten and a Test series lost.Considering that background, coupled with the fact they were so handicappedhere by not having a specialist spinner, their battling performance was evenmore commendable.The heroes of the piece were Grant Flower and Marillier, who together bowled49 overs for 105 runs and picked up four wickets – not bad for a pair moreaccustomed to operating in the one-day game.After the early loss of Jayasuriya who chopped onto his stumps having scored28, Sri Lanka had crawled to 107 for one when Flower, somewhat fortuitously,broke through.Atapattu, who had just reached his tenth Test fifty, rocked onto hisbackfoot and cracked a short ball straight into the midriff of Gavin Renniefielding at short leg. Somehow, Rennie, who was celebrating his birthday,clung onto the ball as he took evasive action.Next, Kumar Sangakkara (28), who had already flirted with danger with a topedged pull just before lunch, tried to sweep Marillier and was clean bowledto leave Sri Lanka on 125 for three.Arnold and Jayawardene then cobbled together their useful 97 runpartnership, before the part-timers reeked further damage in the final hour.

A splendid effort from the Central Zone bowlers propelled their team to a thumping seven-wicket win over North Zone.In the morning, Central’s left-arm fast bowler Shalabh Srivastava devastated the North top-order after they had opted to bat. Srivastava sent back openers Manish Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, and Yuvraj Singh in the space of less than seven overs to have North reeling at 33 for three. They never recovered from there.Batsman after batsman trudged back to the pavilion in quick intervals, as the home team folded up for just 108 in 34.3 overs. Sangram Singh who made 34 off 78 balls was the top-scorer in an innings hich saw only two other batsmen- Yuvraj Singh and skipper Vijay Dahiya – reach double-figures. Mr Extras with a tally of 20 made a relatively handsome contribution.For North, Srivastava ended up with four wickets, while medium-pacer Jai P Yadav and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik claimed two wickets each. Kartik, who is rated highly by Bishen Singh Bedi, had the rather rare and pleasing figures of 1.2-0-3-2.When North replies, they lost their openers early. But Amay Khurasiya, with 50 off 51 balls and , Mohammad Kaif, with an unbeaten 24 off 34 balls, ensured an easy win for their team. Central Zone claimed five points for their win.Badani stars in South Zone’s comprehensive winHemang Badani and MSK Prasad made sterling contributions as South Zone thrashed East Zone in a rain-shortened one-dayer at the Shaheed Krishan Chand Memorial Stadium, Mandi.Badani made 99 off 89 balls before being run-out and Prasad a relatively patient 62 as South Zone amassed 264 for five in their 43 overs after opting to bat in a match whose start was delayed becuase of overnight rain. Two other batsmen – opener Jagadish Arunkumar (32) and Yalak Venugopal Rao (33) – also made useful contributions and this saw North starting their innings with the asking rate well over 6 an over.The pressure of chasing such a daunting target proved too much for the East Zone batsmen, most of them perishing after getting in. Sanjay Raul, who made 45 off 56 balls with four fours, was the top-scorers for the Rohan Gavaskar-led side. For South, Vengugopla Rao claimed three wickets while RVC Prasad claimed two wickets.

Test cricket had put the Packer Revolution behind it by the time England arrived for the Ashes tour of 1982/83. Ian Botham had swept all before him in the 1981 series and interest was intense when another Boxing Day classic was played out. David Wiseman continues his look at Melbourne’s cricket institution and a match 20 years on that was a classic.After the triumph of "Botham’s Ashes" in 1981, England lost a six-Test series in India 1-0. A victory in a solitary Test in Sri Lanka was followed by Test series at home against India and Pakistan. England won both, 1-0 and 2-1 respectively.They then set out for Australia for the summer of 1982/83 to defend the Ashes.Despite their successes, English cricket had been gutted when a rebel side toured South Africa in early 1982. The cricketers who went were banned from international cricket for three years and because of this, England sent an under-strength side to Australia. Names such as Dennis Amiss, Geoffrey Boycott, Graham Gooch, Alan Knott, John Lever, Chris Old, Derek Underwood, Peter Willey and Bob Woolmer were now considered persona non grata, and English cricket was much the poorer for it.Bob Willis was leading the English side. It would be his sixth tour of Australia, having made his Test debut 12 years earlier at the SCG in the fourth Test. Some 267 wickets later, he was closing in fast on being the second English bowler after Fred Trueman to take 300 wickets.After three Tests, England were 2-0 down and looking down the barrel of a series defeat. A meek draw in the first Test in Perth was followed by a seven-wicket loss in Brisbane and a heavy defeat in Adelaide, where the tourists had defied convention by deciding to bowl first.Then it was on to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test …The match was already destined for history: the 250th Test between Australia and England, the 75th Test match to be played at the MCG and the first to be played before an electronic scoreboard.From the XI which played in Adelaide, Norman Cowans came in for off-spinner Eddie Hemmings. After missing the last two Tests, Geoff Cook came in to replace the injured Derek Randall. Australia were more settled, fielding an unchanged line-up from Adelaide.Greg Chappell won the toss and, not heeding England’s misfortune in Adelaide, sent the tourists in. Up to that point, Australian captains had done so 20 times in Ashes Tests for six wins, seven losses and seven draws. But this was different. Melbourne wasn’t Adelaide and anyway, Chappell had sent England in at the Gabba and that had resulted in an Australian victory.Graeme Fowler and Cook opened the innings for England. The opening position was proving a tough one for England to fill, having already tried the combinations of Cook and Tavare and Tavare and Fowler in the series.A Lancastrian, Fowler was known as the joker of the dressing room. He was a man of unorthodox views. Not a technically gifted cricketer, the Australians thought him below Test standard, even though he had top scored in the second innings at the `Gabba with 83. He would go on to play 21 Tests with the highlight being the first Englishman to make a double century in India.In Melbourne, Cook was playing the sixth of his seven Tests. He had been in first-class cricket for 10 years before making his Test debut.Geoff Lawson and Rodney Hogg were opening the bowling for Australia.Universally known as ‘Henry’, Lawson, after a famous Australian poet and writer, was the star bowler for Australia and came to Melbourne with 26 wickets for the series at 17. Lawson wore his heart on his sleeve and sometimes let his aggression rise to the fore, but he was a bowler with ticker and bowled with a unique action.He had made his debut two years earlier as a first change bowler to Lillee and Len Pascoe.Hogg had came into the side for the third Test and was now back to doing what he did best – terrorising English batsmen. He had made his debut against England four years earlier and stunned the world by taking a world-record 41 wickets in the six-Test series, before a severe back injury stalled his career.Twenty minutes into the game Hogg made the initial breakthrough. Fowler edged a straight delivery to the safe hands of Chappell at first slip. He was gone for four and England were one for 11.Chris Tavare joined Cook at the crease. Six months earlier Tavare had secured the dubious honour of scoring the second-slowest half-century in history (350 minutes). At Perth, he had not added to his score for 90 minutes.Cook and Tavare took the score to 25 when Chappell took another catch at slip, this time from the bowling of a resurgent Jeff Thomson. Cook was gone for 10, at the time his highest score of the series. It was Chappell’s 111th Test catch – a record for an Australian fielder.To see "Thommo" tormenting the Englishmen again was to wind the clock back eight years.Thomson made his name as a tearaway bowler who would go on to become the quickest bowler the world has ever seen. With an unorthodox delivery, his sling action obscured the ball from the batsman’s sight until the last moment. A collision with Alan Turner against Pakistan in Adelaide put Thomson out of the game and on his return he was never the same.David Gower joined Tavare at the crease and the two of them took the score to 2/56 at lunch – Gower scoring 18 in the 38 minutes he had been there to Tavare’s 17 in 93 minutes.Gower and Tavare – could there have been two greater opposites? Watching Gower bat was poetry in motion. From the moment he dispatched his first ball in Test cricket to the boundary it was apparent he was something special.Like Mark Waugh after him, people preferred to concentrate on the different ways he got out and his supposed care-free attitude he had when batting.The accusation of a lack of concentration was again levelled at Gower when he went third ball after lunch, edging a ball to Rod Marsh from the bowling of Hogg. England three for 56. It was the 23rd catch of the series for the man the English press once mockingly called “Iron Gloves”. Now the moniker was seen as a compliment.Marsh had made his debut 12 years earlier and was now heading towards the end of his glorious career. Arguably the greatest `keeper ever, his figures would be even better if his World Series Cricket statistics were included.It wasn’t an easy beginning for Marsh. Like Adam Gilchrist after him, he would have to begin his first-class career as a specialist batsman. When Barry Jarman retired, Marsh was promoted to the national team at the expense of Brian Taber and had to win over Taber’s supporters.It’s impossible to separate the career of Marsh from that of his fellow West Australian teammate Dennis Lillee. The catchcry of `Caught Marsh Bowled Lillee" brought about the downfall of 95 batsmen. Lillee had played in the first Test of this series at the Gabba but injuries had kept him out of the rest of the series.The dismissal of Gower brought Allan Lamb to the wicket as he and Tavare began to build the highest partnership of the match.Lamb was just another one of English cricket’s imports, joining Tony Greig, Robin Jackman and the hordes from West Indian backgrounds.Only making his debut a few months earlier against India and now in just his 10th Test, the Northamptonshire right-hander was a stocky, chunky figure at the crease.Lamb was in fine form, blasting the Australian bowlers to the boundary whenever they erred in line and length. Tavare joined in the fun and began to come out of his shell. England did not lose another wicket for the session and went to tea at three for 183 with Tavare on 77 and Lamb on 57.England added another 34 before Tavare was caught in the gully by Yardley from the bowling of Thomson for 89 runs off 164 balls. The fourth wicket had yielded 161 runs.Yardley would soon wreak havoc with the ball but first to the incoming batsman Ian Botham.Botham. The name conjures up images of heroism and extraordinary efforts in the face of incredible adversity. Boys’ own stuff. One of the best cricketers to play the game, they say he was paid the ultimate compliment when people said "he played cricket like an Australian". But in his 58th Test, injuries meant that Botham wasn’t at his best in this series.Shortly after Botham’s arrival at the crease, Lamb swept Yardley. The top edge went straight up in the air and Dyson took the catch at deep mid-on. Lamb was gone for 83. England were five for 227.Yardley was again tormenting the English middle and lower-order. The West Australian off-spinner was continuing the Australian tradition of late-blooming spinners. He made his Test debut at the age of 30 against India in 1978. Towards the end of his Test career here, he was playing the 31st of his 33 Tests which would yield a credible 126 wickets.A handy sixth-wicket partnership of 32 between Botham and Geoff Miller was broken when Yardley had Botham caught at short square leg by Wessels for 27, which had come from just 23 balls and contained five fours.Miller was a competent off-break bowler and No 8 batsman. In his 34 Tests, his top score was 98 not out against Pakistan. He had been left stranded in the nineties when last man Willis was dismissed.Miller edged Yardley to silly point where Border took the catch. Miller was gone for 10. England were seven for 262.Bob Taylor joined Derek Pringle at the crease as the two tried to put some wag in the English tail.Neither was a mug with the bat. Pringle had scored an unbeaten 47 in the first Test of the series and Taylor boasted a top score of 97 for England which he had made against Australia in Adelaide on the last tour of Australia in 1979.The silver-haired Taylor looked every bit of his 41 years as he strode to the wicket. He had made his debut 12 years earlier against New Zealand. The great Allan Knott prevented him from playing more than 57 tests for England.But Taylor hadn’t posted double figures in his last four innings and failed to do so again when he was edged Yardley to Marsh for one. England eight for 268.With the inclusion of Cowans, Willis was promoted up the batting order to No 10 – quite an accomplishment for a person who once came out to bat without a bat.Willis had a highest score of 28 and scored 840 runs in his career at an average of 12. Now in the final chapters of his glittering career, Willis would have not been the happiest of men after his side had lost five for 51 in 72 minutes.The end was near when Pringle was caught at short leg by Wessels from the bowling of Hogg for nine. England nine for 278 late on the first day.Cowans joined Willis in the middle. Just his third Test, Cowans was out for three, caught by Lawson from the bowling of Hogg to see England bowled out for 284.For the first time in the series, Lawson went wicketless as Hogg and Yardley both took four and Thomson picking up two.For the second time in the series, and the 17th time in Test cricket, all 10 wickets had fallen to catches.Stumps were called and that was Boxing Day 1982.The second day began with Dyson and Wessels striding to the wicket. Dyson’s regular opening partner had been Graeme Wood but Wood was dropped after the Perth Test and the partnership of Dyson and Wessels was formed.Dyson was a fine batsman and would play 30 Tests for Australia. A beneficiary from the World Series split, Dyson made his debut against India in 1977 when Bruce Laird was injured. He would score 1359 runs at 27 with two centuries. The MCG was not his favourite ground as he averaged just 14 in his four Tests there. Dyson would later tour South Africa on the rebel tour.Speaking of South Africa, Kepler Wessels was there at the other end. The South African was playing in just his third Test after debuting in Brisbane. Wessels was a cricketing drifter. Tony Greig took him to Sussex, where he played from 1976-80. From there he was snapped up by World Series Cricket, and surprised everyone by playing for the Australian side.He became eligible to play Test cricket for Australia for the second Test of this series and was picked immediately. Wessels was a fine stroke maker and would soon post centuries against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies. Wessels played 24 Tests for Australia. He scored 1761 runs at 43. He was also a valued member of the Queensland sides of the early and mid 1980’s.He returned to South Africa in 1986 for the second rebel Australian tour and stayed there. He was captain of South Africa at the 1992 World Cup and against all expectations led them to the semi-final. He made 118 against India in Durban in 1992 and his career turned full circle when he led the South African side on a tour of Australia.The Australians began confidently against the new ball bowling of Willis and Botham.Wills had made his Test debut against Australia and now 12 years, 78 Tests and 283 wickets later was playing his last Ashes series. One of the greatest English quicks, his effective but ungainly action was highlighted by his mop of flowing hair which flew in the breeze as he made his way to bowl. His greatest effort was a career best eight for 43 to pulverise Australia in the 1981 Headingley Test.Born Robert George Willis, he added Dylan after the George in homage to his hero, Bob Dylan.He would finish with 325 wickets and take five wickets in a Test 16 times and not once did he take 10 for the match. Like all the fast bowlers of the era, his body had been ravaged by what he was putting it though.Exactly on the hour mark, Cowans made the initial breakthrough when he trapped Dyson in front for 21. Australia 1/55.Cowans was playing in his third Test. The right-arm quick would go on to play 16 more and take 51 wickets. The Jamaican-born speedster was brought up in England and he became the second player of African-West Indian origin to play for England and the first fast bowler, giving England hope that they would soon have their own West Indian-type bowling quartet.Cowans made his debut in the first Test in Perth, but did not take a wicket. It was not until the second innings of the second Test in Brisbane that he did take one, when he had Greg Chappell caught.After this series, he would be in the Test team for the next two years but the man they dubbed `Flash’ just couldn’t produce at the top level.Next ball, Cowans was on a hat-trick after getting Greg Chappell to hit his first ball down the throat of Allan Lamb who was stationed at deep mid-wicket. Australia were two for 55.Not the innings the Australia captain was hoping for.He came from Australian cricketing royalty. His grandfather, Victor Richardson played in the Bodyline series and would later captain Australia. His brother Ian captained Australia as well and his brother Trevor played Test cricket for Australia too.Like the rest of the gang, he signed for World Series Cricket.He ignited the ire of a whole country when he instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball of a one-day game against New Zealand underarm.Like it began, his career concluded with a century in his last innings against Pakistan.Eighty-seven Tests, when he retired an Australian record of 7110 runs at 54 with 24 centuries. A terrific fielder he also held the world record number of catches with 122. A handy part-time bowler, he had 47 Test wickets to his name. On retiring he would become a businessman, commentator and selector and is now coach of South Australia.Like Lillee and Marsh, Chappell was drawing to the end of his career. Twelve years is a long time to be playing international cricket.Exactly 52 weeks after his heroics, Kim Hughes joined Wessels in the centre. World Series Cricket affected a lot of careers, none more so than Kim Hughes.Unlike many of the others, Hughes would have played international cricket regardless of the split. But it was Hughes who was the golden child of the establishment which caused him trouble once the two sides reconciled. It took a while for the World Series players to recognise the great ability of Hughes.Born on Australia Day, Hughes was the player of tomorrow for Australian cricket. The one to lead them after the split. Unfortunately only glimpses of Hughes brilliance were seen. He made his debut against England in the 1977 fifth Test after being 12th man many times before.His shining moment was the 1980 Centenary Test where he made a famous 117 and 84 in a game which failed to live up the heights of the earlier MCG version.Hughes captained Australia 28 times for four wins, 13 defeats and 11 draws. Against the might of the 1984/85 touring West Indians, Hughes tearfully resigned the captaincy after two crushing losses. He would play two more Tests but that would be it.Hughes finished with 70 Tests and scored 4415 runs at 37. Some critics found his conversion of 22 fifties to nine centuries as poor but those critics would be hard to please.Fifteen minutes before lunch, Willis bowled Wessels for 47 and Australia went to the break at three for 85.Like the day before, a wicket fell in the first over after lunch. This time it was Border who was bowled fourth ball after the resumption by Botham. Border was gone for two with Australia four for 89.He was a player of great worth and this was realised in Lahore in 1980 when he became the only person ever to score 150 in both innings of a Test.His record speaks for itself. A world record 156 Tests. A world record 11,174 runs at 51. 27 centuries. 63 fifties. 156 catches. Best bowling figures of seven for 46. Best bowling figures by an Australian captain with eleven for 96. Ninety-three games as captain.He became captain of the side after Hughes resigned.A great fielder to boot anywhere on the field from the slips to mid-wicket.Border helped Queensland to their first Sheffield Shield. After retiring from cricket he became a commentator, Australia selector and coach.It was up to Hughes and Hookes to resurrect the innings.Hookes was back on the ground where five years earlier he had made his name on debut by hitting five fours from one Tony Greig over. What a splash the young South Australian made.He would only play 23 Tests for Australia and scored only one century.Other than that, he made his name for South Australia as an attacking batsman who had the ability to send the ball to all corners of the ground.Against Victoria he once smashed a century in 34 balls. Hookes became the leading Sheffield Shield run scorer until Darren Lehmann recently usurped him. He is now a leading Australian cricket commentator and coach of Victoria.Hookes and Hughes gave the innings some impetus and looked to take the side through to tea until Pringle induced the edge from Hookes and Taylor took the catch. Hookes was gone for a well made 53. Australia went to tea at the delicately placed five for 180.Hughes and Marsh took it up to the English bowlers in the final session and it seemed as though Australia would have a handy lead on the first innings. With England’s grip seemingly slipping Willis returned to the attack to bowl Hughes from an inside edge for 66. Another 50 where three figures was there for the taking. Australia six for 261.Yardley had been damaging with the bat in the series to date and hadn’t failed to pass double figures in his three innings thus far but not this time as Miller bowled him for nine. Australia seven for 276.Marsh had done well in scoring his first half century in 23 innings but next over Willis bowled him around his legs for 53. Eight for 276.Next over, Miller struck again when he had Lawson caught by Fowler for a duck. Australia nine for 278.Miller bowled Thomson for one, dismissing Australia for 287 on stumps on the second day. It was their lowest total of the series. They had lost their last five wickets for 26 in 39 minutes and took just a three run lead into the second innings.Willis and Miller had both taken three wickets, two to Cowans and one each to Pringle and Botham.A fascinating finale lay ahead in what was already another intriguing match in Ashes Test history…

Twenty years on, David Wiseman recalls the last days of an epic Melbourne Boxing Day Test match.Australia had a three-run first innings lead after an exciting first two days of the Test which had now become something like a one innings a side game.The equation was simple for England. Make as many runs as possible and bowl Australia out for less on a wicket which would get worse as the game progressed.The Ashes were on the line and Cook and Fowler batted accordingly. There was a steel to their batting which hadn’t been present before. Just before the first hour was up, Cook flashed hard at a Thomson delivery and Yardley brilliantly caught him in the gully for 26. England one for 40.Ten minutes later it was two for 41 when Hogg bowled Tavare for a duck.England were in real trouble four runs later when Gower gloved an attempted hook from Lawson and was caught behind for three. England three for 45.They survived to lunch without further loss and went to the interval having added another 30 runs with Fowler on 35 and Lamb on 13.The partnership flourished until Fowler strained a muscle and required a runner in the shape of David Gower. Chappell argued that Gower was a better runner than Fowler and objected to it. It didn’t matter as the clearly uncomfortable Fowler survived just seven further balls before being bowled by Hogg for 65. England four for 128.The English habit of losing wickets in pairs happened again when Lamb went in the same over. He drove at a Hogg outswinger and Marsh behind did the rest. The catch was Marsh’s 26th of the series which equalled the world record for a five Test series set by John Waite for South Africa against New Zealand in 1961/62 and himself against the West Indies in the 1975/76.Lamb was gone for 26. England five for 129. Just five wickets in hand and only a lead of 126. The English tail would have to dig deep.The match was incredibly tense. The halfway mark in the game had just been reached. Now every run was worth it’s weight in gold for England.Miller and Botham put on 31 for the sixth wicket until Lawson dismissed Miller for the fourth time in the series. Leg before wicket for 14, England were six for 160. Pringle joined Botham and they took the score to six for 193 at tea.Australia tried to cut down every run, chasing 190 may not have been impossible but with the scars of the 1981 Ashes still incredibly fresh, any run chase would have caused palpations in the Australian camp.With Australia desperate for another wicket it was the veteran Thomson who obliged. He got Botham edging and Chappell at first slip pouched the catch. Botham’s 46 had come in just 47 balls. Maybe not the type of innings he needed to play in the circumstances but vital runs never the less. England seven for 201.Taylor and Pringle dug deep. The lead passed 250. With Australia desperate, Thomson again struck. He had Taylor trapped in front for a gritty 37. The 61-run partnership had been snapped. England eight for 262.Pringle went late in the day for a priceless 42. Marsh caught him from the bowling of Lawson. The catch breaking the world record for most dismissals in a series. England nine for 280.England’s end was now near. A late flurry took them up to 294 before Cowans missed a straight one from Lawson and had his leg peg knocked back. He was out for 10. Willis adding to his world record of Test not-outs with eight runs.For Australia, Lawson took four wickets to give him 30 for the series. Hogg and Thomson each took three.For the third consecutive day stumps were drawn at the close of innings.Australia would have two days to score 292 for a 3-0 series lead. England had 291 to defend to make it 2-1.Dyson and Wessels pruned 37 from the target before Cowans got Wessels playing onto his stumps. He was gone for a patient 14.In his next over, Cowans got Chappell when he had him brilliantly caught by Ian Gould at cover for two. Gould was on the field substituting for the injured Fowler.Gould would never play a Test Match, just 18 One-Day Internationals for England. The Middlesex and Sussex player went on to become an umpire and now umpires in county cricket. On the tour as a reserve wicket-keeper, he had swung the game with his inspirational piece of fielding.Cowans had now captured Chappell’s wicket both times in the match and Chappell’s return of two runs was his lowest in a Test Match.Chappell was the key wicket and England would have lifted considerable with Australia hobbling at two for 39.Dyson and Hughes pushed the score along. Dyson was the right man for Australia to be at the crease. He top scored in both innings of the Headingley disaster. He and Hughes pushed the score along to 71 when he edged Botham to second slip and Tavare took the catch. Dyson was gone for 31.The game was delicately poised when Australia went to lunch at three for 99 with Hughes on 27 and Hookes on 17.The wicket was not wearing as much as England would have liked and still played true. Hughes and Hookes batted well, with every run cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd. The 100 partnership was brought up only to be broken straight away when Hughes edged his sweep from Miller and Taylor took an acrobatic diving catch. Hughes left for 48 with Australia four for 171.Hookes went the next over when he hooked Cowans and Willis took a magnificent running catch at deep mid-on. Hookes left for 68, the highest score he would make in Australia. That was quintessential Hookes. He promised so much and couldn’t meet the high expectations.At five for 173, and 119 still needed for victory, England would have been confident but the duo of Border and Marsh had to be separated.Australia went to tea at five for 176 with Marsh on three and Border yet to score.After tea, the wicket was starting to do a bit. Cowans got Marsh lbw for 13 with a ball that kept low, Australia were six for 190. A massive wicket for England and they would have been incredibly relieved to have taken the wicket of the feisty Marsh.Without the score moving, Cowans cleaned up Yardley for a duck. Australia seven for 190. For the second time in the match, Yardley was bowled.Lawson and Border took the score along to 202 until Pringle tempted Lawson with a bouncer and was caught hooking by Cowans on the fence for seven.Cowans was the man of the moment and trapped Hogg in front for four with a ball that kept low.Australia nine for 218.One wicket left and 74 runs needed for victory when Thomson joined Border at the crease. Australia were in danger of being completely crushed after losing their last six wickets for 47.The game was England’s.Surely it was now just a formality. Thomson had a top score to his name of 49 which had been seven years earlier. With an average of 12, he wasn’t likely to last long.But the breakthrough didn’t come. Exactly half of the target – 37 runs – had been scored when stumps were called on the fourth day with Australia 9/255. Border was on 44, Thomson eight.The fifth day was free of charge and 18,000 fans came to cheer what could have been an incredible Australian victory. The English were nervous and it showed. They had forgotten how to win and every Australian run made them more and more tense and stressed.It just wouldn’t happen. Edges were falling in front of fielders. Run out chances were botched. Shouts for lbw were declined.The new ball had been taken immediately with the score at nine for 259 but to no avail.Border and Thomson were tense as well. Twenty-nine singles were declined as they carefully farmed the strike.In the Australian dressing room, Marsh forbade anyone from moving for fear of awaking the evil eye.Slowly the total shrank – 20, 15, 10, 5, 4. Now Australia were one stroke from achieving the most unlikely of victories.An edge here. A hit over the top there. This would be the sweetest victory of them all. Exorcism from the 1981 Ashes series.It was difficult to breathe with the ground engulfed by incredible tension.And then in slow motion it happened……..It was the first ball of Botham’s 25th over – who else in a moment like this?Australia were nine for 288. Border was at the non-strikers end on 62. Thomson on strike was on 21.Botham loped in.Thomson flashed at it.The ball flew to Tavare at first slip.The ricochet represented the winning runs for Australia until Miller ran round behind Tavare and pouched the rebound.Botham running down the wicket clenching his fist.It was surreal. Words do not do it justice. Beforehand, both sides had masses of butterflies in their stomaches. Now one half had felt unbridled joy and relief while the other half felt like they had lost the ability to breath.The wicket was Botham’s 100th against Australia as England prevailed by three runs.At the time, it was the closest margin of victory of runs, equalling Australia’s three-run win at Old Trafford in 1902. The record would be broken when Australia would lose to the West Indies by one run. Again Border would taste the incredible bitterness of a defeat in a close run chase.Botham’s 1000 run/100 wicket double against Australia had taken a record 22 Tests.Miller’s catch was just the 13th in the 17 he would take in his career. No doubt that this was the most significant of them all.The magnitude of the game started to sink in.All four innings fell within 10 runs of each other.Thomson was out for a valiant 21. His innings one of the most famous and courageous the game has ever witnessed. One of the delicious ironies of cricket is that as the game gets tighter and the stakes higher, the batting side relies increasingly on batsmen with decreasing levels of aptitude.No one expected Thomson to last that long. His effort in surviving as long as he did was way over and above the call of dutyAgain Australia had been pipped at the post in a run chase. Further heart breaking losses would come again. Against South Africa at the SCG in 1993, back at the MCG against England in 1998, at the Oval in 1997 and of course the West Indies.And so ended the Boxing Day Test, 1982.For his six for 77 Cowans was made man of the match. Never again would he reach the same heights. That is what sport is all about. Performing for the moment. One split second of brilliance in a career which can span decades. The champions do it on a regular basis – that is what defines them as champions.Australia would take the series 2-1 after the next Test, in Sydney.Twenty years on, the Boxing Day Test still stands the test of time. People who were there on that fateful fifth day continue to have the hair on the end of their neck stand up when they game is brought up in conversation.Twenty two cricketers (23 if we count Gould) will forever be bound with each other for the rest of their lives and way after that for the part they all played in this magnificent drama.There have been 1634 Test matches. Some have been totally forgettable. But when they have been good, they have been incredible. The amazing victories. The devastating loses.Both Tied Tests. Headingley 1948. Old Trafford 1961. Karachi 1994. The India – Australia series of 2001.And, of course, Melbourne 1982.