National reserve wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu is becoming one of the most significant figures in the national first league with his ability to play three roles effectively in one match. The sixth-form Churchill student, who turns out for league leaders Takashinga, is an influential batsman who keeps wicket for the first 15 to 20 overs before turning to bowling.In the fourth round, Taibu became the first bowler to take six wickets this season as Takashinga extended their unbeaten run with a convincing 152-run win over Alexandra Sports Club. Taibu took the ball in the seventh over with Alex having made 36 without loss off the first five overs, 30 of them coming off Takashinga captain Ranga Manyande’s threeovers.Sharing the ball with Patrick Gada, Taibu took six for 14 in 6.1 overs as Alex slumped to 70 all out in 18.1 overs in reply to Takashinga’s 222/7 in 50 overs. Gada also played an important role in the demise of theAlex fightback, taking the other four wickets for 17 off seven overs.Taibu has now taken 10 wickets for 55 runs in two matches. Apart from being the leading wicket-taker for his club, Taibu is also the leading batsman with 224 runs in three innings. The defeat was Alex’s second in four matches.Champions Old Hararians also suffered their second defeat in four starts when they lost to rivals Old Georgians by 87 runs. Half-centuries by Craig Evans (76) and Barney Rogers (61) helped Old Georgians to 217 for five off their allotted 50 overs. OH were then dismissed for 130 after 39.2 overs.Visiting Mutare brought Universals, who went into the weekend lying fourth, down to earth with a comprehensive nine-wicket win. Universals, who seemed to have recovered from a poor start to the season, were all out for a mere 141 in 34.5 overs with Justin Lewis taking five wickets for 34 off 10 overs.The target of 142 was never going to trouble Mutare, given the availability of former national team opener Alistair Campbell. Campbell, who has been scoring runs regularly for both his club and the Board XI, almost single-handedly led his side home with an unbeaten 82 as Mutare made 143 for the loss of just one wicket in 27.1 overs.Given his record over the past month, it will only be a matter of time before Campbell rejoins the national team from which he was dropped because of poor form at the end of the home series against England. Mutare are now second in the first league, three points behind leaders Takashinga.Queens registered their first win of the season with a three-wicket win over Bulawayo rivals BSC. Bulawayo Sports Club made 224 for nine in their 50 overs with top score of 91, run out, coming from Keith Dabengwa.Former national team player John Rennie was the best of the Queens attack, taking four wickets for 25 off nine overs.Queens reached their victory target of 225 for the loss of seven wickets with 36 balls to spare. Neil van Rensburg led the batting with 95.The other all-Bulawayo match between Mac Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club could not be played because of a wet BAC outfield.Harare Sports Club won their third match in four starts with a three-wicket win over Kwekwe, who suffered their second straight loss in a high-scoring match. Opener Terrence Duffin finished with an unbeaten 104 as Kwekwe made 281 for six off 50 overs. Eddo Brandes led the visitors’ run chase with 86 not out as Harare Sports Club reached 286/7 with seven balls remaining.SCORES AND RESULTSAlexandra v Winstonians – Winstonians won by 152 runsWinstonians 222 for 7 in 50 overs;G Makoni 32, W Chawaguta 48, T Taibu 40Alexandra 70 all out in 18.1 overs;T Taibu 6 – 14, P Gada 4 – 17Universals v Mutare – Mutare won by 9 wicketsUniversals 141 all out in 34.5 overs;C Coventry 44, J Lewis 5 – 34Mutare 143 for 1 in 27.1 overs;A Campbell 82*, N Ferreira 37Queens v Bulawayo Sports Club – Queens won by 3 wicketsB S C 224 for 9 in 48 overs;C Mahachi 38, K Dabengwa 91, J Rennie 4 – 25Queens 225 for 7 in 44 overs;R King 35, N van Rensburg 95Old Hararians v Old Georgians – Old Georgians won by 87 runsO G 217 for 5 in 50 overs;B Rogers 61, C Evans 76, P Strang 3-36O H 130 all out in 34.2 overs;W Mwayenga 3 – 19Kwekwe Sports Club v Harare Sports Club – H S C won by 3 wicketsKwekwe 281 for 6 in 50 overs;T Duffin 104, D Houghton 65H S C 286 for 7 in 48.5 overs;B Taylor 32, J Cornford 33, D Campbell 40, E Brandes 86*Bulawayo Athletic Cub v Mac Club – No play due to wet outfield

Immediately following the 10-wicket victory at Mohali, the Indian selectors announced the squad for the second Test, which is to begin at Ahmedabad on Dec. 11.Only two changes were made to the Mohali squad. Javagal Srinath, who missed the first match because of a broken finger, is back in the squad after regaining fitness. He replaces Sanjay Bangar; Bangar, having sustained a hamstring injury in the first innings at Mohali, cannot play for three weeks, effectively excluding him from the third Test also.Suspended for the first Test, Virender Sehwag makes an expected comeback to the side. Having scored a century in his debut Test in South Africa, Sehwag was dropped when he was obviously in a good run of form. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India supporting him strongly throughout the match-referee controversy and the subsequent row with the International Cricket Council, there was never any doubt that Sehwag would return immediately after serving his sentence.The squad:Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Deep Dasgupta (wicket-keeper), Shiv Sunder Das, Virender Sehwag, Iqbal Siddiqui, Tinu Yohannan, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Connor Williams, Sarandeep Singh

The question of the captaincy of the Barbados cricket teamfor next year’s Busta Cup seems to be a big talking pointbut it makes you wonder why there’s a debate in the firstplace.The incumbent Sherwin Campbell was only appointed thisseason and Barbados won the Cup even though it is a factthat Ian Bradshaw who deputised while Campbell was on tourwith the West Indies also played his part in the overalltriumph.Why in heaven’s name would there be any suggestion that theselection panel might recommend his removal?The only logical reason would be that they feel it would bebetter to relieve him of the pressure that goes with beingcaptain so that he can concentrate primarily on his battingnow with renewed vigour in his quest to regain his place atthe top of the West Indies batting order.Even so, I believe that if these were Campbell’s ownthoughts he would have been keen to give up the captaincyvoluntarily.That there has been no indication of this from him meansthat he is still very interested in doing the job. And if heis, he should retain the reins.Leadership is nothing new to Campbell and as a youth playerhe was a prolific scorer while at the helm of both theBarbados and West Indies teams.Responsibility has helped him rather than burdened himtherefore I see no reason why this outlook should change.Besides, like everyone else, Campbell would have recognisedthat events in Sri Lanka recently may have made it possiblefor him or any other aspirant to open the innings soonerthan they had imagined.A renewed focus could reap great rewards and if Campbellscores big in the Busta Cup he could be back in business bythe time the Indians reach the Caribbean.Of course, at this stage, too, it is clear that he needs toregain lost confidence.To relieve him of the captaincy now could only dent his selfesteem and embroil him in more self doubt than he currentlyneeds. The selectors must by all means keep Campbellcaptain.

Bangladesh is continuing their poor batting display in Wellington too. In Hamilton they batted 58.1 overs in the first innings and 46.2 in the second, which revealed their inability to stay in the crease with needed Test temperament. They batted as if they were playing a one-day match scoring more than 3.5 runs per over. Was that necessary? They attempted too many shots against the New Zealand bowlers and lost their wickets imprudently. These batsmen from the top-order are failing repeatedly. While they are asked to bat patiently they are perfectly doing the opposite in the field. The credit does not go to the opposition bowlers always. The Bangladesh batsmen, who unwisely and childishly tend to go for silly shots that cost their wickets, thus gifting most of the wickets to the bowlers.We saw it in Multan when they batted 41.1 overs in both innings and in Colombo they packed up within 36.4 overs. In both cases the wicket was easy and batting-friendly. There were ample opportunities to score some runs (at least more than what they did) if they could apply their smallest amount of cricketing sense.They escaped luckily in the Test at BNS against Zimbabwe this November. The first innings total was 107 and they managed 122 for 3 in the second when the rain interruption saved them. In the second Test in Chittagong Habibul Bashar was the most successful batsman who scored a century in the first innings. But they way he lost his precious wicket in the second innings was a horror. It was a sheer disappointment for every one as he threw his wicket irresponsibly while he was approaching another century (76).Due to their short lasting innings Bangladesh had to except humiliating defeats – thrice they had to leave the field within day-3 including the Test in Hamilton.There are two things very common in Bangladeshi batsmen. Firstly, they are lacking adequate concentration that is needed to play the longer version. Secondly they are repeatedly failing to apply the very common cricket senses.Today their first innings total of 132 proves it once again.

A defiant Martin Love returned from hospital and crawled back into the Gabba trenches today as Queensland tried to hold off a weary South Australia in the Pura Cup cricket clash at the Gabba.South Australia enters tomorrow’s final day with the only chance of winning but Love (28 not out) and Jimmy Maher (90 not out) gave the Redbacks something tochew over during a fluctuating third day.At stumps, the Bulls were 1-164 in their second innings after they were forced to follow on, still needing another 157 to make the Redbacks bat again.The competition leaders must bat into the final session, especially with pacemen Michael Kasprowicz (hamstring) and Ashley Noffke (heel) unable to bowl.Otherwise, SA will charge into outright second place on the Pura Cup table after it claimed first innings points by flooring the Bulls for 232 in reply to their massive 6-553 declared.But Maher and Love stand in the way, with Love returning from a hospital visit to provide some starch to a jittery Queensland batting line-up.Love needed treatment after he was knocked unconscious by a pinpoint bouncer from Mark Harrity (3-61 and 0-40) during the first innings.The right-hander was cleared by Queensland medical staff before he returned to the crease for today’s first ball, adding another 70 runs to finish with 84.”I had a pretty nasty headache but that went overnight and I had to get checked out again this morning,” Love said.”I didn’t really know where I was when I was hit and it was the first time I’ve been hit solid like that.”But I felt OK this morning.”That was lucky for the Bulls, who crossed their fingers as Love, Maher and Test opener Matthew Hayden (63 and 43) began swinging at the Redbacks in thesecond dig.Hayden landed some punches in his lively second innings while Maher survived more than three hours.He hopped into a Redbacks attack which had spent 134 consecutive overs in the field, with the promise of plenty more tomorrow.The Redbacks bowlers were sore but the aches will surely ease tomorrow if they get a sniff of an ailing Queensland.A fiery Harrity and the promising Paul Rofe (2-41 and 1-20) hold the key to dismissing the Bulls, with the second new ball due after lunch tomorrow.Rofe has impressed the Queensland batsmen while Harrity drew plenty of ribbing from the crowd while he tested Love with short-pitched bowling.He eventually claimed his man in the first innings to a legside catch and immediately turned around and gestured to his critics in the northern stand.Regardless of the outcome, South Australia has already locked itself into a fierce race for a final berth.The two points for the first innings victory pushed the Redbacks (16 points) into a three-way tie for second with Western Australia and Tasmania.Queensland is six points clear but that lead will fall to just two points if the Bulls’ batsmen continue their mediocre post-Christmas form.

Chris Drum sent big signals out to the Test selectors today as he led a depleted Auckland attack to a comprehensive victory by an innings and six runs over Canterbury at Eden Park in their fifth-round State Championship match.Drum, bowling with pace and control, took five for 33 in the second innings to go with his five for 22 in the first. His dominance came as Canterbury, needing 178 to avoid the follow-on, crumbled in the morning, stiffened their resolve in the afternoon, and then ran up the white flag as Drum made maximum use of the new ball to take the last three wickets.Canterbury started the day at 49/1, still 129 behind. Auckland started the day without Tama Canning and a doubt over Drum as cramp had restricted his appearance the previous evening to one over. They also lost Gareth Shaw with a groin strain suffered while fielding but not before the debutant had bowled Aaron Redmond for 17 just when the Canterbury all-rounder looked to be settling in.Drum, with assistance from his captain, Brooke Walker, was left to shoulder the burden and did it magnificently. He was fast and accurate and the Canterbury batsmen had little answer. They might look sideways at the drop-in pitch – and not a few comments were passed during the match about its uneven bounce. However, shot selection and execution had plenty to do with the cheap demise of many of the batsmen on both sides.In the morning session, Canterbury lost six wickets, going from the overnight 49/1 to 106/7 (very similar to Auckland’s innings before their eighth-wicket record partnership) at lunch. The pattern was set when Shanan Stewart tried to belt the second ball he faced from Walker and only managed to dolly it to Llorne Howell at point. He departed for his overnight score of 35 and the procession began.Only the resistance of Gareth Hopkins (36) and Ryan Burson (26) in a 48-run eighth wicket partnership allowed Canterbury a sniff of at least making Auckland bat again and at best forcing a draw. After the collapse in the morning, Canterbury got through to the shadow of tea before they lost another wicket. But Hopkins’ departure with the score at 149 after Drum took the new ball was the signal that the end was nigh.A couple of Warren Wisneski belts offered entertainment value but Drum would not be denied, cleaning out Burson and Chris Martin with successive balls to end the innings at 172, six runs short of making Auckland bat again.Walker, two for 43 off 25, and Aaron Barnes, two for 20 from 14, provided Drum the support he needed. It was a special match for both players, Walker collecting his 100th first-class wicket, Barnes his 50th.Commenting on the pitch, the Auckland coach, Tony Sail, noted that the main problem was that, being under covers for a couple of wet days. it was soft on the first day. But, as he said, it did dry out.Certainly Matt Horne and then Reece Young and Rob Nicol on the first day of play, Stewart in both innings and then Hopkins and Burson showed that it was possible to build innings.Sail signalled out the youngsters Young and Nicol for praise and acknowledged Drum’s fine contribution.Of Canning and Shaw, he said their injuries would be assessed over the next two days before the match against Northern Districts starting on Monday on the Outer Oval, into which Auckland go as competition leaders on 19 points, five points ahead of their neighbours.

SYDNEY, Dec 21 AAP – Steve Waugh has once again endorsed Stuart MacGill as the replacement for the injured Shane Warne as selectors sit down to pick their side for the fourth Test against England.MacGill was given little opportunity to make a last-minute impression in NSW’s Pura Cup game against Victoria at the SCG today, with the Blues beaten convincingly by nine wickets.The 31-year-old leggie took 3-56 from 25.5 overs in Victoria’s first innings, including a spell of 3-16, but wasn’t used today as the Bushrangers cruised to an outright victory inside three days.However, Waugh believes MacGill’s record in Test cricket – he’s taken 82 wickets in 17 matches – should count in his favour when the selectors name the side for the Boxing Day Test tomorrow.”He’s a quality bowler. I have gone on record that he’s in the top couple of spinners in the world,” Waugh said.”It’s up to the selectors now whether they decide he’s the next one to be picked or it’s Nathan Hauritz or Brad Hogg or whoever else is turning the ball in Australia.”He’s a quality bowler. He’s done well at Test cricket.”Waugh also rejected suggestions Australia should replace Warne with a pace bowler despite the success of speed on the MCG this summer.”I think for the balance of any attack you’re better off playing a spinner than a four-pronged pace attack, unless you’re the West Indies of the 70s and 80s and they had four outstanding quicks,” Waugh said.”But I think for the balance of the side and to give you options on day four or five you’re better off having a spinner there.”

Overnight not out batsmen Sridharan Sriram and Hemang Badani made 94 and 86 respectively as Tamil Nadu took command of their Elite Group Ranji Trophy match against Orissa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.The duo’s efforts ensured that the hosts, who began the day on 144-2, ended up notching 314 all out, a first-innings lead of 192. S Badrinath, who made 37, was the other batsman deserving a mention.When Orissa batted a second time, Tamil Nadu medium-pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, who had wrecked them in the first innings, claimed two wickets in his first two overs. With No 4 Sanjay Raul also falling early for a duck, Orissa at 13/3 were staring at the possibility of being defeated inside two days. But captain Rashmi Ranjan Parida (22*) and Pravanjan Mullick (35) ensured that their team lived to fight another day. When stumps were drawn at the end of the second day, Orissa were 78-4, needing another 115 runs to make Tamil Nadu bat again.Sharma, Mongia put Punjab on course for outright winMedium-pacer Vineet Sharma claimed five wickets as Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for 111 in their first innings against Punjab at the Mohali Stadium on Friday.The visitors, who resumed on 39-0, found Sharma and left-arm quick Amit Uniyal (3-43) too hot to handle and ended up conceding a 97-run lead. When Punjab batted a second time, captain Dinesh Mongia led from the front, smashing 86 off 87 balls with 15 fours to guide his team to 158-4 (an overall lead of 255) at the end of the day’s play. Opener Samrat Sharma (37*) and Reetinder Sodhi (15*) were set to resume battle on their side’s behalf on the third day.Lahiri leads Bengal’s fightbackThe Bengal-Hyderabad match was nicely poised at the end of the second days’ play at Secunderabad. The visitors, who dismissed Hyderabad for 395, had reached 122/3 in reply when stumps were drawn at the end of the day’s play.On Friday morning, off-spinner Saurasish Lahiri claimed five wickets to restrict the hosts, who began the day on 296-4, to 395. Overnight not out batsman D Vinay Kumar went on to make 67. When Bengal replied, they lost wickets at regular intervals, but with Deep Dasgupta (37*) and Rohan Gavaskar (12*) still around, they would be nourishing hopes of gaining the first-innings lead.Khoda, Doru help Rajasthan post strong replyAt Jaipur, opener Gagan Khoda made 84 and Nikhil Doru 64 as Rajasthan gained a 79-run lead against Himachal Pradesh with three first-innings wickets in hand.Khoda and Doru got together after their team had been reduced to 5/2 in the morning. Playing watchfully, the duo put on 167 for the third wicket to help their team past the the Himachal total of 166. With Sanjeev Sharma making an unbeaten 29 and Extras yielding 37, Rajasthan then went on to end the second day at 245-7.Powar, Bahatule help Mumbai recoverAt the the Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi, Rajesh Powar made 71 while Sairaj Bahatule chipped in with 67 as Mumbai recovered to post 248 against Railways on the second day.The duo, who got together with their team’s score at 93-7, posted 87 for the seventh wicket before Powar (71 off 177 balls) was dismissed. Bahatule, who made a slow start, then took over and guided his team to a respectable total by the time he became the last wicket to fall. By the time stumps were drawn, Railways had made 15-0 in four overs.Wickets tumble in a hurry in Andhra-Delhi matchDelhi were left needing 128 runs with nine second innings wickets in hand at the end of the second day’s play against Andhra at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.In the morning, Delhi, who began their first innings on 59/5, were bowled out for 111. Medium-pacer Syeb Sahabuddin, who claimed seven wickets, was the wrecker-in-chief for Andhra, who earned a 87-run first-innings lead.Medium-pacer Amit Bhandari and off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, though, brought Delhi roaring back into the game claiming four wickets each to bowl Andhra out for 97 in their second essay. With opener Akash Chopra making a steady uinbeaten 35, the hosts ensured that they had a very good chance of pulling of a win despite their poor first innings show.Naidu century helps Vidarbha amass large totalVidarbha virtually batted Tripura out of their Ranji Trophy plate group match at Nagpur, with Vivek Naidu posting 113 out of his side’s final score of 445.Naidu’s innings was studded with 18 fours and took 152 balls, and along with consistent lower middle-order performances, gave Vidarbha a definite edge. NitinGawande made 50, RS Paradkar hit 47, and Chandrasekhar Atram made the second-highest score of the innings with 61 off 104 balls (8×4, 1×6). Along withMadhusudan Acharya’s 55, that made four fifty-plus scores in the innings, apart from Naidu’s century.At the close of play, Tripura were 52 for one in 15 overs, still 291 runs behind Vidarbha with two days of play remaining.Joginder Sharma gives Haryana the lead at GurgaonA knock of 80 off just 102 balls from lower middle-order bat Joginder Sharma gave Haryana a lead of 66 by the close of play in their Ranji plate groupmatch against Bihar at Gurgaon.Resuming from 23 for no loss, Haryana reached 291 for seven by stumps. Opener and skipper Jitender Sharma made 73 off 165 balls (11×4), but no other batsmanreally got set until Joginder. He added 104 runs for the sixth wicket with Sumit Sharma, who was still present at the crease on 34 when play ended.Maharashtra consolidate advantage at PuneMaharashtra extended their domination of Jammu & Kashmir at Pune by racking up 397 in their first innings after bowling their rivals out for 131.Top-scoring for Maharashtra, Ranjit Khirid made 89 off 136 balls, striking 13 fours and one six in the process. This knock came after opener NA Godbolestruck 68, and a string of other significant scores in the middle order saw Maharashtra reach 397 before being bowled out in 108.2 overs. For Jammu & Kashmir, Surendra Singh took five wickets for 75.In reply, Jammu & Kashmir were 45 for one in 19 overs when stumps were called at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground stadium.Kerala dominate Services at DelhiPutting on a massive 478 for eight declared in their first innings, Kerala were well-served by their batsmen, and the score gave the side a definite edgein their Ranji plate-group tie against Services at Delhi.Although skipper Sunil Oasis fell early, without adding to his overnight score of 71, C Hemanth Kumar continued to strike the ball sweetly. He had posted 81runs for the fourth wicket with Sreekumar Nair before falling on 150 off 328 balls with 14 fours.Nair too put the bowling to the sword, striking an imperious 133 off 194 balls with 15 fours and one six. His knock enabled Oasis to declare the innings closedat 478 for eight, and in reply, Services had reached 51 for one by stumps, with KN Ananthapadmanabhan already striking with his leg-spin.Karnataka-Madhya Pradesh tie evenly poisedThe Karnataka-Madhya Pradesh Ranji plate group match at Gwalior was evenly poised at the end of the second day, with Karnataka responding strongly to the hosts’first-innings total.Madhya Pradesh hit up 314 in their first essay after winning the toss, a score based largely on Devendra Bundela making a sedate 71 off 241 balls with sixfours and a six. B Tomar was relatively quicker with his 60, which came off 115 balls. For Karnataka, Venkatesh Prasad took three wickets, while left-armspinner Sunil Joshi snapped up four.Karnataka lost Barrington Rowland early, but J Arunkumar and Deepak Chougule batted well to add 97 runs for the second wicket. Arunkumar was dismissedfour runs short of a fifty, but Chougule, in the company of Vijay Bharadwaj, took Karnataka safely through to stumps, getting to his 50 in the process.At the close of play, the visitors were 134 for two.

Lunch hours in various cities throughout the country is now set to take a distinctly different look from January 15 when the “Time to Dazzle” tour hits the road, starting in Nelspruit.The “Road show” is part of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 marketing campaign to heighten awareness of the 14-nation event, which is set to kick off in Cape Town on February 8 with a spectacular Opening Ceremony.The road show will visit a number of cities and during its stopovers various entertainment activities will take place and spectators will be urged to take part.With ghetto-fabulous kwaito star and TKZ band member, Kabelo, gritty voiced powerhouse vocalist PJ Powers, Lebo Mathosa of Boomshaka fame, Pop Idols start Heinz Winkler taking to the stage, and funny men “Ashifa Shabba and Krijay Govender providing the laughs, it promises to be a show not to be missed.Two musicians and one comedian will appear at each venue and there will be a guest appearance by the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 sporting ambassadors.This must-see event will be taking place on the South African Breweries “gig-rig” which has since been rebranded and renamed as the Dazzlemobile for the Cricket World Cup road show. The Dazzler is the official mascot of the Cricket World Cup. The vehicle, branded in Cricket World Cup colours will travel through nine major South African cities, bringing the crème de la crème of South African musical entertainment and sports stars directly to the people of South African cities.”It is an incredible honour for us as South Africans to be hosting the Cricket World Cup on behalf of the African continent. One of our most important mandates was to bring the game to the people and it is for this reason that we conceptualised this national road show. The “Time to Dazzle” is our way of bringing the game closer to the South African masses in a fun-filled and exciting two hour show,” commented Ms Nomsa Chabeli, Marketing Director of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.Executive Director Dr Ali Bacher added:” It’s a celebration of South African as a proud host of this prestigious event and the launch of this road show signifies that the time has come. The time to welcome the world to our shores, the time to celebrate cricket and the time for this country to showcase that it is capable of hosting an event of this magnitude. It is a perfect way to kick-off the various activities planned around the World Cup.”Apart from the Dazzlemobile itself, there will be fun processions that will meander through the streets of the towns, complete with floats, marching bands, marimbas and steel pan bands, leading people to the show venue.The inaugural show will take place in Nelspruit at the Promenade Shopping centre at 13h00 on Wednesday, January 15.The remaining schedule is as follows:18 January, Paul Kruger Square, Pretoria
21 January, Mary Fitzgerald Square, Johannesburg
24 January, Mayor’s Garden, Pietermaritzburg
26 January, Old Pavilion Site, Durban
29 January, Loch Logan Waterfront, Bloemfontein
31 January, Oppenheimer gardens, Kimberley
2 February, King Beach Parking Lot, Port Elizabeth
5 February, Drive through Paarl
7 February, Grande Parade, Cape Town

Caribbean countries hoping to host matches in the Cricket World Cup 2007 will have the opportunity of experiencing the behind-the-scenes operations, challenges and requirements of staging World Cup matches when an official Windies World Cup 2007 delegation visits the World Cup 2003 in South Africa.Managing Director and CEO of Windies World Cup 2007, Chris Dehring has written to Caricom governments and local cricket associations inviting their countries’ participation in the delegation that he will lead from February 25 – March 11.Dehring explained that invitations were being sent to the heads of government because the leaders and the West Indies Cricket Board had agreed that bids for hosting World Cup 2007 matches would be submitted by each country and not just the cricket association.”We would like Caribbean countries to be able to make the best bids possible for hosting World Cup matches. We are therefore assembling this delegation to offer the unique opportunity of learning from the experience of the only Cricket World Cup before 2007 so that each potential venue can ensure that infrastructure, facilities and arrangements outlined in their bid meet the required standard” Dehring noted.Over the two-week visit Venue Delegates will also benefit from access to a specialist in world games organization, Don Lockerbie who is a consultant to the delegation. Lockerbie has extensive experience in venue assessment and development for events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup.While in South Africa the delegation will tour venues, observe match day operations and benefit from meetings and seminars with venue operators, contractors and other organisations such as the International Cricket Council, the South Africa Cricket World Cup Organizing Committee, the Global Cricket Corporation – the main commercial rights holders for the event and Octagon CSI – an international sports marketing and television production company.