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Jason Kerr is leaving Somerset, and is expected to sign for another county before the start of the 2002 season.Earlier today Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me, “Jason Kerr’s contract has been resolved by mutual consent and he can now leave the county. He has aspirations to play regular first team cricket which we couldn’t offer to him here.”Twenty seven year old Jason who originates from Bolton,played for Lancashire Second Eleven in 1991 before moving to Taunton for the 1992 season. He went on the England Under 19’s tour to India 1992-3, and made his first team debut against the Australians in 1993. In that match he took 3 for 77, which included the wickets of Daniel Boon and Michael Slater.Since his debut Jason Kerr has played in over fifty first class games for the Cidermen and taken over one hundred wickets, his best return being 7 for 23 against Leicestershire at The County Ground in 1999.He has also scored over 1200 first class runs, including five scores in excess of fifty, with a career best of 80 against the West Indies in 1995.Earlier this season Jason was awarded his county cap, but was unable to command a regular first team place in 2001. At the end of the season he was offered a further one year contact by Somerset.Peter Anderson concluded, “Jason has been with the club ten years during which time he has suffered a number of injuries and this has affected his ability to develop, but on his day as many will have seen he was an exciting cricketer.”

Group A

Azharullah’s 6 for 35 prompted a collapse in the Pakistan Customs batting order and they crumbled to 73 inside 35 overs against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the Jinnah Stadium. Bilal Shafayat, the Nottinghamshire batsman playing for Customs, top scored with 20, while nine batsmen registered single figures. WAPDA gained a 50-run lead by the end of the day, with Aamer Sajjad scoring 52 before he was bowled by Yasir Shah, who took 2 for 30 in his ten overs.Habib Bank Limited (HBL) couldn’t hold on to the advantage they had gained by bowling out Faisalabad for 144, when they ended day one of their match at 0 for 2 at the Sargodha Stadium. Shahid Nazir, Fahad Masood and Dilawar Khan took three wickets each, as the highest partnership for Faisalabad was 35 for the fourth wicket. Captain Ijaz Ahmed jnr top scored with 33. Faisalabad’s new-ball pair Ahmed Hayat and Ali Raza then removed HBL openers Rafatullah Mohmand and Khaqan Arsal for ducks in the seven balls bowled before stumps.At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) batted the day for 206 for 7 against Multan. Opener Mohtashim Ali got a half-century and added 94 with Imran Abbas before he was caught behind off Zulfiqar Babar. SSGC took 82 overs for their 206, scored at 2.51 runs an over. Babar was among the most economical bowlers, giving away two runs an over for his two wickets.Hyderabad medium-fast bowler Naeem-ur-Rehman took six wickets as Lahore Ravi was bowled out for 187 at the Lahore City Cricket Association ground. Lahore Ravi had stumbled to 81 for 6 before Junaid Zia, unbeaten on 52, and Waqas Ahmed, who scored 35, staged a recovery with a 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Zia and Ahmed followed it up with two wickets each as Hyderabad closed the day on 57 for 4.Half-centuries by Asad Shafiq and Afsar Nawaz took Karachi Whites to 218 for 5 against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the NBP Sports Complex in Karachi. Shafiq made 51 off 98 balls but did not receive any support from the other top-order batsmen. Nawaz, though found a worthy partner in wicketkeeper Javed Mansoor and the two came together for an unbeaten partnership of 121 after Karachi Whites stumbled to 97 for 5. Wahab Riaz took three of those wickets for 44 runs.

Group B

Rawalpindi opener Umar Amin made a memorable first-class debut with 89 in his side’s day one total of 215 for 8 against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the Khan Research Laboratory ground in Rawalpindi. The hosts were at 97 for 5 before Amin added 45 for the sixth wicket with Usman Saeed (19). For PIA, medium-fast bowler Aizaz Cheema took 3 for 44.Quetta were well-placed at 311 for 7 in their match against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at the Bugti Stadium in Quetta. While opener Shoaib Khan jnr was unlucky to miss out on what would have been his fifth first-class hundred, after he was caught behind off Bilal Asad for 98, Nasim Khan, the No. 7 batsman, is likely to reach his century tomorrow, having closed the day on 96 not out. Nasim’s 99-ball 96 included 12 fours and a six. Both Shoaib jnr and Nasim had scored big hundreds in Quetta’s previous game . Offbreak bowler Saeed Ajmal was KRL’s most successful bowler with 4 for 101.Yet another low first-innings total in the fifth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy came from Lahore Shalimar who were bowled out for 172 by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Gaddafi Stadium. Lahore Shalimar began well, with a 53-run opening partnership between Asif Khan and Kashif Ali. But after Junaid Nadir removed Asif for 19, Mohammad Khalil got stuck into the Lahore batting order, taking 5 for 48, including the wicket of Kashif, who made a fighting 41 off 99 balls. ZTBL openers batted out the one remaining over in the day for one run.Peshawar gained a first-innings lead of 24 after they made up for their low total of 117, by bowling out Abbottabad for 93 at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. While left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan took 6 for 31 for Abbottabad, the Peshawar opening bowlers – Riaz Afridi and Nauman Habib – bowled unchanged and shared nine Abbottabad wickets between them in the space of 31 overs. Peshawar ended the day at 4 for 0 in their second innings.Opener Raheel Majeed’s 75 powered Islamabad to 295 for 9 against Karachi Blues at the Diamond Club ground in Islamabad. Majeed and Umair Khan added 122 for the first wicket, but after that wickets fell steadily and the next highest partnership was the unbeaten one for 40 runs by the No. 10 and No. 11 batsmen Shehzad Azam and Mir Usman. Tariq Haroon, who dismissed the two openers, and Azam Hussain took three wickets each.

Scorecard

Gerard Denton rattled Queensland with 6 for 62 but a 128-run partnership for the ninth wicket helped the Bulls limit the damage in their Pura Cup match against Victoria at the MCG. Queensland were in desperate trouble at 6 for 52 in the first session before the Bushrangers struggled to finish them off and allowed Ashley Noffke and Mitchell Johnson to pile on the runs in their ninth-wicket stand.The Bulls, who had chosen to bat, avoided the very real prospect of being bowled out before tea and pushed their score to 272, giving Victoria the chance to reach 0 for 39 at stumps. Noffke passed fifty for the eighth time in his career, bringing up the milestone from just 45 deliveries and making the Bushrangers pay after Jon Moss put down a tough one-handed chance at point when Noffke was on 6. He then played a more steady role and finished unbeaten on 81 from 143 balls, including 13 fours. Johnson earned his highest first-class score of 54 as the pair took the total from 8 for 140 to 9 for 268.In a dramatic morning session first Denton then Andrew McDonald ploughed through the Queensland top order. Denton’s first spell of seven overs included six maidens and gave him 3 for 3. He had Lachlan Stevens bowled for 3 in his first over, Martin Love trapped lbw for 2 in his second and Jimmy Maher lbw for 14 in his seventh.Just when Andrew Symonds appeared to be steadying the ship, McDonald tore through his partners with three wickets in the space of four balls. Like Denton, McDonald proved the old adage that if the batsman misses the bowler should hit, as he had Clinton Perren (3) and James Hopes (0) lbw from successive balls and Chris Hartley bowled for 0.Symonds was the only one of Queensland’s specialist batsmen who looked remotely comfortable, but he struggled to time the ball and opened his shoulders only occasionally on his way to 62. His 68-run partnership with Andy Bichel (33) put the Bulls back on track until both batsmen were dismissed before tea.

Victoria 271 and 6 for 184 (White 48*) defeated Western Australia 142 and 312 by four wickets
Scorecard

Victoria recovered from the danger of losing two early wickets and narrowly missed a thunderstorm to secure a first-up victory over Western Australia at the WACA. Resuming on 4 for 86, the Bushrangers suffered a horror start when David Hussey hit the first ball of the day for four and top-edged the second, an attempted pull off Brad Williams, to the wicketkeeper Ryan Campbell.Nick Jewell fell shortly after to Brett Dorey, but Cameron White, who made 48, and Jon Moss steered their side to safety with a 71-run stand that finished moments before a heavy shower hit the ground. Moss, the Man of the Match due to his eight wickets and first-innings 58, attempted to thrash a four from the first three balls of the final over and eventually struck a two to finish on 25.”I was probably the most nervous for the whole match when ‘Mossy’ played and missed those first three balls,” White, the Victoria captain, told . “I just knew it was the last over.” Victoria claimed six points for the outright victory and White said it was “a nice way to start the season”.Mike Hussey, the brother of David and the Western Australia captain, was disappointed with the result but pleased the side had a chance to win on the final day. “We know we need to improve,” he said, “but I know we can.”

American ProCricket (APC) has finally unveiled the much-publicised big-name signings which it hopes will help attract fans and push the venture into the public consciousness in the USA.A month ago APC announced that it had secured the services of several high-profile cricketers, only to have to backtrack when various boards refused their players permission to participate. But it hopes that all the contractual issues have been sorted, although a quick glance at the list highlights a couple of potential issues.The most surprising name is Andy Caddick, who played the last of his 62 Tests for England in January 2003, but has since been bedevilled by injury. He is contracted to play for Somerset in the County Championship, a tournament which runs at exactly the same time as ProCricket. The other major English signing is Alec Stewart, who played 133 Tests for England – more than any other player – before he retired at the end of the 2003 summer.The organisers had hoped to attract a raft of current Indian players, but that intent was scuppered by the Indian board. Instead, it has gone for non-contracted players, including Nikhil Chopra and Ajay Jadeja, who last played international cricket four years ago, and Robin Singh, the former Indian one-day specialist who now coaches Hong Kong.The Caribbean also provides its fair share of names. Merv Dillon, Daren Ganga and Wavell Hinds, who were all omitted from the squad currently touring England, and former stars Curtly Ambrose, Cameron Cuffy, Dinanath Ramnarine, Richie Richardson, Franklyn Rose and David Williams are also playing.Three Australian cricketers – Simon Cook, Greg Matthews and Colin Miller – and a couple of Kenyans – Steve Tikolo and Brij Patel – complete the list.Each ProCricket club will field teams featuring three to four internationals and seven local players participating in each match.

High Noon? For a Few Dollars More? Unforgiven? Hang ’em High?Hollywood’s western movie classics offer some interesting word play for the plight New Zealand find themselves in on the eve of their World Cup Super Six decider against India at Centurion tomorrow.Judging by the amount of comment swamping the newswires out of South Africa, it is not a case of whether India beat New Zealand but by how much?It is a High Noon for Stephen Fleming’s men, several of them cannot expect to play in another World Cup. All the effort of some pretty tempestuous years in the game, years that have marked significant changes in New Zealand cricket and its administration goes on the line.That is what it comes down to.New Zealand go into their game in a situation that for them is life or death.When they folded miserably in their batting against Australia, largely through their own fault in the supposedly solid top-order, and through an inability to contain the rampant fast man Brett Lee through the lower-order, New Zealand still had three hopes for making the semi-finals.The first, and most obvious, was to beat India in tomorrow’s game.The second was to hope that Zimbabwe might beat Sri Lanka on Saturday and the third disappeared yesterday when Kenya beat Zimbabwe.Hard as it might have been to believe, especially after the way they batted themselves out of a hole against New Zealand in their first Super Six match, Zimbabwe couldn’t put together anything resembling a reasonable effort against the Kenyans.What an indictment the Kenyans have been of the management of world cricket. The more the Kenyans have continued on their winning way, the greater the emphasis on the folly of Bangladesh’s promotion to Test status. And, dare it be said, the greater the folly for not taking New Zealand’s security concerns in Kenya more seriously.Realistically, New Zealand have only one option. They must beat India.Sri Lanka, if they are given the chance for a semi-finals berth as the result of New Zealand’s failure to beat India, will not falter. The prize is too great for them to even contemplate a loss to Zimbabwe.The India that New Zealand will face at Centurion is a different Indian team than that which lined up against it during the National Bank Series in New Zealand this summer.It is a side flush with confidence, untroubled by movement off the pitch or troublesome bounce. A side with their batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar in full cry and already having broken the record for most runs in a World Cup tournament.It is a side with left-arm medium-fast bowler Ashish Nehra having backed up some solid form in New Zealand with some potent displays, a great support to the most improved bowler on the tour in Zaheer Khan. And then there is the old master Javagal Srinath – the most persistent of India’s bowlers in the one-day series and a key factor in the Indian attack.Back that up with some batting form from Tendulkar’s supporting cast of Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh and there is a much more complete look to this Indian side.New Zealand know that India will probably use revenge for the series earlier this year as a motivation.But that could be a wasted notion. If they could take the home series, or a win tomorrow over India, there would only be one winner.Series come and series go, but there is much greater reward at the World Cup. New Zealand know that, just as they know they are at their last chance for a reasonable result in this campaign.However, as long as they contribute to their own demise with reckless stroke making of the order seen against Australia, when there was no pressure to accelerate the run rate at any stage of their innings, then they are going to minimise their chances.India don’t have a Lee to fire in inswinging yorkers. They do have bowlers who are entitled to some respect. But if two Test matches and seven One-Day Internationals didn’t alert them to what they can expect, nothing will.Centurion being the smaller ground that it is should be the scene for a high-scoring game, and if it is New Zealand who are on the chasing end of a formidable Indian target, some significant batting support for Fleming and Scott Styris is going to be a must.Greater discipline from Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns would be a start, more of the typical Lou Vincent working of the ball and speed between the wickets would be a help should he be named, while Craig McMillan, if he were to return to the side, or whoever is given the job of opening with Fleming, needs to hang around long enough to be a long-burning accelerant instead of the short-fused double happy variety that has been seen so far.The greatest test of all for the New Zealanders will be picking themselves up from the disappointment of knowing that they were within an ace of ending Australia’s winning run in their last match.New Zealand does not have a great record of scoring centuries at World Cups. Going into this tournament only five had been scored, two of them in the first tournament in 1975 by Glenn Turner.Already this time, Styris, Fleming and Astle have reached three figures and chances are it is going to require another player to do it tomorrow.India start as raging hot favourites, but given the results that have happened in this tournament, can anything be taken for granted?Will it be an epic result in the shape of The Magnificent ’11’ or farce in the form of Blazing Saddles?Tomorrow will tell.

• It was the 1741st ODI in cricket history.
• It was Sri Lanka’s 360th and New Zealand’s 384th match- 50th betweenthese two sides. The record now reads : Sri Lanka 21, New Zealand26,tied one and abandoned 2.
• Umpires DN Pathirana and TH Wijewardene were officiating in their 12thand fifth match respectively.
• Sanath Jayasuriya ,when reached 17,completed his 1000 runs in ODIsagainst New Zealand. He became first Sri Lankan and the tenth batsmanin all to aggregate 1000 runs against New Zealand in ODIs. At the endof this match, he has a tally of 1003 runs from 30 matches against NewZealand. Incidentally Australia’s Mark Waugh has aggregated maximumruns against New Zealand in this form of cricket – 1340 in 35 matches.The details :

• The wicket of Gunawardena was Chris Harris’ 25th against Sri Lankawhich equalled the record tally of Richard Hadlee for New Zealand.
• Mahela Jayawardene, on 12,completed his 2000 runs in ODIs. He wasplaying his 82nd match (and 77th innings). Jayawerdene became theninth Sri Lankan and the 95th batsman in all to reach this landmark.Jayawardene at the end of the match has 2046 runs to his credit. Otherbatsmen to aggregate 2000 or more runs in a career for Sri Lanka areAravinda de Silva (8430 runs in 275 matches),Arjuna Ranatunga (7454 in269),Sanath Jayasuriya (6797 in 240),Roshan Mahanama (5162 in213),Marvan Atapattu (4253 in 131),Asanka Gurusinha (3902 in147),Hassan Tillakaratne (3439 in 181) and Romesh Kaluwitharana (3308in 165).
• Chaminda Vaas ,on 2,completed his 1000 runs in ODIs. He became 14thSri Lankan and 147th batsman in all to do so. By taking 164 matches(and 107 innings) to reach this landmark, Vaas became the slowest interms of matches taken to complete his 1000 runs. The previous recordwas held by Pakistani Wasim Akram who needed 126 matches (and 94innings) for his 1000 runs. The following table has the details :

• With this Vaas also completed the allround double of 1000 runs and200 wicketsbecoming only the fourth player in ODIs to do so afterIndia’s Kapil Dev (3782 runs and 252 wickets in 225 matches),Pakistani Wasim Akram (3328 runs and 440 wickets in 319 matches) andteammate Sanath Jayasuriya (6797 runs and 202 wickets in 240matches).
• Vaas’ three wickets in the match has taken his tally to 203 whichputs him on the second place among the leading Sri Lankan wickettakers. Only Muttiah Muralitharan (246) has taken more wickets thanVaas for Sri Lanka. Vaas surpassed fellow teammate SanathJayasuriya’s tally of 203 wickets.
• New Zealand’s total (115-9) was its lowest ever against Sri Lanka.Itsprevious lowest was 116 in 34 overs at Moratuwa on March 31,1984.
• The victory margin of 106 runs equals the Sri Lanka’s record in termsof runs against New Zealand. Sri Lanka had beaten New Zealand byidentical margin at Sharjah on April 10,2001.
• Chaminda Vaas won his maiden Man of the Match award. By taking 164matches to win his maiden award, Vaas achieved yet another dubiousdistinction of different sorts. He now holds the world record ofwinning the MoM award for the first time after maximum matches. Vaashas left India’s Venkatesh Prasad way behind. Prasad had won hismaiden award while playing his 109th match (v England at Sharjah onApril 11,1999).

Sussex were in trouble at the end of the second day closing at 112 forfive in reply to Glamorgan’s mammoth first innings total of 718 forthree declared. Sussex made a poor start losing their first wicketsinside the first five overs for 11 runs. There was a brief revivalwith a stand of 66 between Chris Adams and Richard Montgomerie (23)before the latter was out caught behind by Maynard of Dean Cosker.Sussex lost a further two wickets when Robert Croft took a brilliantcatch at first slip to dismiss Will House and Robin Martin-Jenkinsfell to a reckless hook shot. But Adams, playing a lone hand, made ahalf century for Sussex and remained unbeaten on 55 at close of play.Earlier Glamorgan’s Steve James made an unbeaten 309, the first triplehundred by a Glamorgan batsman and erased the 61-year-old record heldby Emrys Davies (287) against Gloucestershire at Newport in 1939. Histriple century was made of 440 balls in 602 minutes which included 41hits to the fence. His lone chance was on 285. There were a fewmilestones during the course of the innings. First, James helped theWelsh county to post a record total of 718 – the county’s highest inthe championship since they were admitted in 1921. And when Jamescompleted his 200, he also became the first batsman to score fivedouble hundreds for the county.James shared a few partnerships during the course of his unbeateninnings of character and concentration. He shared a record firstwicket partnership of 374 with Mathew Elliot (177), then a secondwicket partnership of 123 with Mike Powell (64), a stand of 134 withMathew Maynard (67, three 4s, five 6s) for the third wicket andfinally an unbeaten 87-run partnership with Dale for the fourthwicket.At the end of the day, talking to the media, a relaxed and satisfiedJames said “It was a great honour to pass the best Glamorgan scoreever made. I did not think about it when I continued my innings thismorning. I treated every ball on its merits and did not think aboutthe milestones because the next ball could have got me.”James added “I was only tense when I reached 287 (set by the lateDavies) and was pleased to get that single to pass his score. But thenI never thought too much about reaching 300 until it came along. I nowfeel very tired but very relieved.”

Brad Hodge will use Victoria’s one-day game against Western Australia on Wednesday to try and end his batting slump after he made 2 and 0 in the Pura Cup on the weekend. Hodge and Clinton McKay have been included in Victoria’s 12-man squad while the Warriors welcome their international trio of Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey and Brad Hogg.Hodge said the Bushrangers would need to put their comprehensive 288-run Pura Cup loss to Western Australia behind them. “It’s been a tough few days but we’ve all got to pick ourselves up and bounce back as best we can,” he said.”Naturally I’d like to get back amongst the runs, but it’s also important to stay focused on the game and helping the Bushrangers get the points. Tomorrow’s match is another opportunity for me and all the guys to play the sort of cricket we know we’re capable of.”Victoria have left out Andrew McDonald, who will miss two to three weeks as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, and Mick Lewis. The Warriors have dropped Aaron Heal, Shawn Gillies and Matt Johnston, and have also included two wicketkeepers with Luke Ronchi likely to open and Gilchrist to bat in the middle order.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Aiden Blizzard, Brad Hodge, Rob Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Aaron Finch, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Bryce McGain, Peter Siddle.Western Australia squad Justin Langer, Luke Ronchi, Michael Hussey, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Adam Voges (capt), Luke Pomersbach, Shaun Marsh, Sean Ervine, Darren Wates, Brad Hogg, Steve Magoffin, Danny McLauchlan.

ScorecardKenya dominated the first day of their ICC Intercontinental Cup tie against Bermuda, bowling them out for 133, and then finishing on 119 for 3. Thomas Odoyo got his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as he ripped through the Bermuda batting line-up.In the first seven overs Bermuda lost three wickets, all courtesy Odoyo, with just 16 runs on the board. A 32-run partnership between Clay Smith and Saleem Mukkudem seemed to steady things a bit but two more wickets fell by the time the score reached 50. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and another brief attempt to revive the innings was thwarted by Odoyo when he got Dean Minors, the top-scorer for Bermuda, trapped leg before for 28. Nehemiah Odhiambo and Hiren Varaiya, a slow-left arm bowler, chipped in with a couple of wickets each, and though the last two wickets hung on to add 39, Bermuda were bowled out in just 59 overs.Kenya slumped 61 for 3, with Mukkudem taking all three wickets, but Steve Tikolo scored an unbeaten 45 and added 63 for the fourth wicket withTanmay Mishra to steady the innings as Kenya ended the day just 14 short of Bermuda’s total.