Claims in the Australian media that the team’s defeat in the final Test was down to fatigue have been strongly rebutted by the England coach.Duncan Fletcher insisted that England had won the game at Sydney fair and square, while pointing out that England’s own schedule this year has been hectic, and their record of injuries Down Under unprecedented.England’s overwhelming win by 225 runs was against an Australian team that lacked their two champion bowlers, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who have taken 913 Test wickets between them. Andrew Bichel and Jason Gillespie both sustained minor injuries during the match.”I see in the Australian press that the reason they lost is that they are tired and have had injuries,” said Fletcher. “It’s easy to forget what we have gone through and that we have been going for a hell of a lot longer than them.”We didn’t have a break in June and July like they did, a three-month break. We have been going since New Zealand last year.”(Sydney) was a very big win for us and I really believe we convincingly beatthem. In front of a crowd like that it showed a lot of character from the guys.”We always feel that at some stage you can beat a side. You have got to believe you can go in there and beat them and hope the rest of the guys have that same feeling.”For Australia’s captain Steve Waugh, the magnificent century he made on day two at Sydney to equal Sir Donald Bradman’s record was eclipsed somewhat by the final result.”I think the guys were a bit flat going into this game,” said Waugh, who will be pondering his international future over the next few days.”Maybe part of the attention had turned to the World Cup as well because we had won the series and the World Cup’s not far away and you don’t want guys getting injured.”I think now with the players going to the World Cup it’s about man-management, not overplaying them and making sure that they’re peaking for the World Cup. That is where they are going to be judged.”Waugh has withdrawn from the Sir Don Bradman XI to meet England in Bowral tomorrow with a groin strain.”I’ll just relax for one or two days, have a good think about it, get away from cricket and be with family and friends and talk through it,” he said. “I’ll go through the pros and cons and weigh it up. Just see what the right decision is and hopefully make that right decision.”Ronnie Irani will captain England in tomorrow’s match, while Nasser Hussain, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Caddick, Steve Harmison and Alec Stewart are all rested. Owais Shah will keep wicket, while two members of the Test squad, Richard Dawson and Robert Key, will play before returning to England in a few days’ time.Ashley Giles could be back in action for the remaining one-day matches in Australia after recovering from a broken wrist. The Warwickshire spinner, who was injured in the nets in Adelaide six weeks ago, will rejoin the England squad this weekend.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – Top batsmen Carl Hooper and Brian Lara, missing from recent West Indies assignments, return to action today as the two-time world champions tackle South African club side Free State in a warm-up match for the World Cup.The West Indies play the first game in global championship this weekend and welcome the return of their two most experienced batsmen, six days before facing home side South Africa in the World Cup opener on Sunday in Cape Town.Hooper missed the West Indies tour of Bangladesh in December to undergo knee surgery, and Lara has not played international cricket since falling ill in the Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka last September.Team coach Roger Harper took the side through training sessions Saturday and yesterday and is anxious to assess his side’s readiness in match conditions against Free State."This is all part of the build-up towards our opening game," he told CMC Sport yesterday."We have had two good training sessions this weekend and we now want to get some match practice, relative to the conditions here, so we can see where we are for the tournament," Harper added.West Indies are playing the extra batsman in today’s game with the hard-hitting Ricardo Powell named in the line-up, leaving bowling spots only for Mervyn Dillon, Nixon McLean, and Corey Collymore.After winning the first two World Cup tournaments in 1975 and 1979, West Indies have gone 24 years without international cricket’s biggest One-Day prize, and team manager Ricky Skerritt is maintaining the positive vibes he exuded when the team left the Caribbean last week."The guys have remained very focused and they are working hard, the team spirit is high," Skerritt told CMC Sport.Former Jamaica and West Indies skipper Jimmy Adams is the regular captain at Free State, but it is the off-season in South Africa and he is not in the country for the match.The West Indies, scheduled to face Griqualand West in another warm-up game on Wednesday, will contest Pool "B" of the World Cup alongside South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya and Canada.Team: Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs, Nixon McLean, Mervyn Dillon, Corey Collymore. (CMC)

Shane Bond’s 6-23 in this match are the 2nd best bowling figures for a player in a losing team in Limited Overs InternationalsBest bowling for a losing team in Limited Overs Internationals

Bowling Name For Against Venue Season6-14 Imran Khan Pakistan India Sharjah 1984/856-23 SE Bond New Zealand Australia Port Elizabeth 2002/036-35 SM Pollock South Africa West Indies East London 1998/996-50 AH Gray West Indies Australia Port-of-Spain 1990/915-9 M Muralitharan Sri Lanka New Zealand Sharjah 2001/025-18 GJ Cosier Australia England Birmingham 19775-20 GS Chappell Australia England Birmingham 19775-26 CEL Ambrose West Indies Australia Melbourne 1988/895-28 BL Cairns New Zealand England Scarborough 19785-28 ST Jayasuriya Sri Lanka Australia Galle 1999/00

Andrew Bichel’s 64 equalled the highest score by a number 9 batsman in Limited Overs Internationals. Michael Holding scored 64 batting at number 9 for West Indies v Australia at Perth in 1983/84.Adam Gilchrist has now taken 16 dismissals in the 2003 World Cup, whichequals the most dismissals in a World Cup tournament. Jeff Dujon took 16dismissals (15 ct, 1 st) for West Indies in 1983 and Moin Khan took 16dismissals (12 ct, 4 st) for Pakistan in 1999.Gilchrist has now taken 30 dismissals (28 ct, 2 st) in his World Cup career, which equals Moin Khan’s record (23 ct, 7 st).Ricky Ponting took his 8th catch of the 2003 World Cup, which equals the record for most catches by a fielder in a World Cup tournament. Anil Kumble (Ind) took 8 catches in 1996 and Daryll Cullinan (SA) took 8 catches in 1999.

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tim Lamb has admitted that Nasser Hussain’s decision to resign as captain of the England one-day team was far from unexpected.Hussain had criticised the game’s authorities during the World Cup campaign over the way the Zimbabwe issue was handled, but Lamb has said that he has a clear conscience on that and, in any case, there had been forecasts of Hussain’s resignation at the end of the tournament."I wasn’t entirely surprised because he had been giving speculation he might resign the one-day captaincy," Lamb said. "He did make it clear a couple of weeks ago he was considering his position."Of course the ECB takes responsibility for not going to Harare. It was our decision because we didn’t get the necessary assurances over safety and security. Nasser knows that."It was a stressful time for everyone. Nasser did feel under pressure. It was also a difficult time for a lot of other people. I can assure you he had the full support of the ECB."Hussain’s father, Joe, pointed to off-field pressures as the reason for his son’s resignation. He said: "You can take only so much and he has taken a lot this winter aside from being hammered by Australia, who are the best side in the world."There are other things outside of cricket which he has had to handle. Captaining the side on the field is one thing but captaining off it is another. You can’t be a politician and a cricketer."Among numerous tributes that have been paid since Hussain announced his retirement, perhaps one that will mean as much as any came from his opposing captain in his last one-day international, Ricky Ponting.Sunday’s defeat was the 14th in succession inflicted by Australia over England, but Ponting was fulsome in his praise of Hussain.”I think he has done a good job for England as captain in both forms of the game during a difficult period,” he said. “He has been under a lot of pressure but he has been a good leader and a tough player.”The past 12 months have been pretty difficult for him and lately he has had an Ashes loss, the tri-series loss and now the World Cup exit. I suppose England now has to look ahead and more towards making things good for the future.”

The two top teams in this years Santiago league met on Sunday and produced the closest finish ever seen at the Craighouse ground in La Dehesa.Las Condes, who elected to bat, reached 216-4 off their 40 Overs. Paul Hollis was once again on song scoring 50 and Mathew Hickman showed great form in his 61 not out. Additional support came in the shape of opener Clive Marriott (27) and stalwart Ian Walker (32 not out). Las Condes looked comfortable but never grabbed the bowling by the scruff of the neck as maybe they should have against a La Dehesa attack that lacked any real pace. Indeed, for several spells in the innings, the wily spin bowling of Tony Adams (2-41) and Bruce Phillips (1-38), coupled with the medium pace of Cameron McGovern and Clint Larsson kept the Las Condes fire power well pinned down.With La Dehesa at the crease, Phillips and McGovern continued their contribution as they punished some sloppy bowling scoring 40 off just the first 5 overs. Hollis eventually claimed both openers wickets as Phillips (25) fell to a popper and McGovern (39) was bowled trying to hit the ball into the sewage tanks. Guy Hooper looked as confident as ever but on 22 runs, skied a warm up full toss off Valenzuela and was well caught by Marriott. The floodgates then started to open and the fat lady started to flex her vocal chords as wickets started to fall with some regularity as La Dehesa were forced onto the back foot by accurate spells by Willem Mouton (2-23) and Walker (1-33). However, she sneaked back towards the dressing room when Clint Larsson’s savage attack on the Las Condes third string bowlers started to pay off as his team consistently began to average more than 8 runs an over. This battering continued for the last 10 overs leaving La Dehesa just needing 5 off the last over for victory with one wicket remaining. Tim Messner then showed his class by bowling a quick, accurate over that saw the end to Larsson for a splendid 80 off the last ball of the match, but not before 4 runs had been scored resulting in a tie.With honours even, both teams now meet each other again in the Santiago League Championship final at the end of the month at the Craighouse playing fields.Result :Las Condes 17 pointsLa Dehesa 14 pointsSunday 27th April1st/2nd Final – Las Condes vs La Dehesa3rd/4th Playoff – Santiago vs PWCC

Derbyshire v Somerset
ScorecardSteve Selwood’s 88 not out from 130 balls led the way for Derbyshire’s first win of the season. Selwood and Chris Bassano were the mainstays of the Derbyshire innings with a 88-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Andy Caddick gave Somerset the perfect start when he got one over his former England team-mate Dominic Cork, caught by Ian Blackwell for 0 off the second ball of the match. But Cork later went one better, removing another former international colleague, Marcus Trescothick, lbw first ball of Somerset’s reply. Despite a blistering 42 from Blackwell, and a quickfire 53 from Richard Johnson, they never recovered from their early loss of wickets, and ended up going down by 15 runs.Leicestershire v Glamorgan
ScorecardDivision One champions Glamorgan convincingly beat Leicestershire by 44 runs at Grace Road. David Hemp (83 not out), Matthew Maynard (43) and Michael Powell (40) were all in the runs for Glamorgan as they reached 249 for 5. Phil DeFreitas, the Leicestershire captain, opted to bowl first as he thought the wicket would be easier to chase on, but even with all his experience, he got it wrong. Losing early wickets was Leicestershire’s undoing – Darren Maddy’s impressive 80 from 82 balls wasn’t enough to help them recover from a treacherous 75 for 5.Surrey v Warwickshire
ScorecardNick Knight – newly retired from one-day international cricket – reminded his former England colleagues what they will be missing by bludgeoning 105 from 98 balls against Surrey, the team where most of them hang out. Even so, it wasn’t enough for Warwickshire to pass Surrey’s imposing total of 281 for 8. Mark Ramprakash (63) and Graham Thorpe (58), in a timely nudge to the selectors, top-scored for Surrey, and despite Knight’s heroics, Alex Tudor blew the Warwickshire middle order away with 4 for 54.Durham v Scotland
ScorecardA packed house at Chester-le-Street witnessed a nail-biting win for Scotland on their National League debut, showing they can match the county professionals. Disciplined bowling was the key to their success, as all five bowlers – in typically Scottish fashion – were incredibly stingy. Majid Haq stood out from the pack with 4 for 36 from his nine overs of offspin, as none of the Durham bastmen passed fifty. With only 168 needed to record a famous win, Scotland made a bright start as Douglas Lockhart and Ryan Watson put on 75 for the first wicket. But as they neared the target, a few Scottish hearts, however brave, would have jumped when Durham’s Dewald Pretorious struck twice in one over leaving Scotland on 132 for 5. But Colin Smith and Neil McRae kept their nerves to record a famous win with four balls remaining. Who needs Rahul Dravid?Hampshire v Sussex
ScorecardIn a low-scoring affair at The Rose Bowl, Hampshire overcame their south-coast neighbours Sussex. He’s the highest in the age column in the Hampshire side, and today he was the highest in the runs column. Robin Smith gutsed out a stodgy but crucial 44 from 79 balls, as Hampshire stumbled to 144 for 9. Another Hampshire old boy Shaun Udal, along with the much-younger Chris Tremlett, then bowled them to victory taking three wickets each in Sussex’s dismal 101 all out.Notts v Northants
ScorecardIn a game of heroic performances, David Sales eclipsed them all when he smashed a scintillating unbeaten century in a cracking match at Wantage Road. Chris Read – who is in exceptional early-season form with the bat – must have thought he had done enough to secure the points for Notts, with 119 not out from 108 balls in their massive total of 294 for 8. But Sales had other ideas. With the help of Phil Jaques, who kept him company for most of the run-chase with 68, Sales bulldozed Northants to a memorable win with an astonishing 133 not out from 122 balls.

Chris Cairns will be out for six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand during the final day of Nottinghamshire’s Frizzell County Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Saturday.Cairns sustained the injury when he dropped a chance from Warwickshire’s Dougie Brown at slip. “I can’t find the words to describe just how massively disappointed I am to suffer this injury at a crucial time in the one-day season," Cairns said. “It’s the first break I’ve suffered in a 15-year career as a cricketer and it’s come as a huge blow to find out it’s come now.”It’s the lesser of two evils with it being my left hand that’s broken. But I’m still going to be out for six weeks, and that’s hard to take.”Cairns has been dogged by injury over the last year, suffering injuries to his knee, side and shoulder.

Dean Park:
Dorset 298 & 240 (N Thurwood 79, C Crowe 5-84) v Berkshire 213 & 329-3 (RHowitt 124*, P Pritchard 86*, J Wood 61)
Berkshire won by seven wickets
Berks 21 pts, Dorset 7Grantham:
Lincolnshire 409-6 & 112-1 v Northumberland 197 & 323
Lincolnshire won by nine wickets
Lincs 24 pts, Northumberland 3 ptsLuton:
Norfolk 264 & 249(C Amos 58, A Roberts 5-61) v Bedfordshire 365-8 and 150-5(J Knott 50)
Bedfordshire won by five wickets
Beds 24 pts Norfolk 5 ptsMarch:
Cambridgeshire 277 & 73 Cumberland 272 & 79-2
Cumberland won by 8 wkts
Cumberland 22pts Cambridgeshire 7Torquay:
Devon 371 & 334-7d (C Mole 136*, D Court 70*) v Herefordshire309dec & 276-4 (RD Hughes 103, I Dawood 64)
Match drawn
Devon 12 pts Herefordshire 11 ptsBridge North:
Wales 301-8d & 212 (I Capon 53 not out, AP O’Connor 4-67) v Shropshire276-8d & 238-3 (MJ Marvell 90, TJ Mason 85*)
Shropshire won by seven wickets
Shropshire 22 pts Wales 6Stone:
Staffordshire 450-5 v Buckinghamshire 89 & 213 (G Bulpitt 4-79)
Staffordshire won by an innings and 148 runs
Staffordshire 24pts Bucks 2South Wilts
Oxfordshire 314-9 & 146 (RK Illingworth 5-44, RJ Bates 4-38) v Wiltshire325-7d & 138-4 (B Rizvi 53)
Wiltshire won by six wickets
Wilts 24 pts Oxfordshire 5Day 2 ScoreSt Austell:
Cheshire 253 & 109-7 v Cornwall 368

Don Bradman’s baggy green cap, as worn during the 1946-47 Ashes series, has been sold for £35,250 at an auction in London. The buyer, a private Australian collector who lives in London, said he plans to add the cap to his private cricket collection but also hopes to display it in Australia.”As we were getting ready to auction the cap off, there was a hum of excitement in the room,” said Rik Pike, a spokesman for the London auctioneers, Christie’s. “And the bidding took a couple of minutes. After we sold it, there was a clap in the room, which you don’t always have.”Bradman’s teammate, Keith Miller, claimed the pair swapped caps before the first Test against England in November 1946, but Christie’s is sure of its authenticity. A bat, used by Bradman to score 232 in the fifth Test at The Oval in 1930, was sold for £29,375 to another collector.

Hampshire sunk to a two day defeat against bottom club Derbyshire in the Frizzell County Championship at The Rose Bowl. Dominic Cork’s side outplayed Hampshire at both batting and bowling in what was a disapointing display by the home side.Derbyshire’s last four wickets added a further 155 runs to their first innings overnight tally, as Nathan Dumelow led the charge with a run a ball career best 75. Dumelow hit 13 fours and a six and was aided by some loose bowling and poor fielding including two apparently straightforward catches being dropped.Dimitri Mascarenhas was the pick of the Hampshire bowlers as he toiled in the heat in an attempt to stem the tide. Chaminda Vaas in his first Championship match took 4 wickets. James Bruce proved expensive, but he was the unlucky bowler to see chances go astray as butterfingers seem to rule.With a lead of 198, Derbyshire soon got amongst the Hampshire batting, four wickets fell for 24 runs, with Cork again being the main protaganist. John Crawley came in with a runner and held up the visitors progress for a while, but only Simon Katich held his end in resolute fashion.Chris Tremlett hit three fours and a six in a bright 30 to take Hampshire past 150, but the inevitable happened shortly after tea.