• 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 :

Runs	Batsman	For	M	Inn	NO	Ave	HS	100	50	0
1340	ME Waugh	Aus	35	35	5	44.67	110	3	9	3
1305	DC Boon	Aus	39	38	5	39.55	100	1	9	1
1301	DM Jones	Aus	27	27	3	54.21	107	2	12	0
1279	SR Tendulkar	Ind	31	30	1	44.10	186*	3	7	3
1260	Saeed Anwar	Pak	32	32	4	45.00	113*	4	7	2
1118	M Azharuddin	Ind	40	39	8	36.06	108*	1	7	0
1054	Salim Malik	Pak	43	41	10	34.00	83	0	8	1
1027	SR Waugh	Aus	56	47	12	29.34	71	0	4	3
1008	G Kirsten	SA	24	24	3	48.00	103	2	7	1
1003	ST Jayasuriya	SL	30	29	0	34.59	140	3	6	3

• 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 :

Batsman	For	Mts	Inns	NO	Ave	Hs	100	0	Reached On
WPUJ Vaas	SL	164	107	38	14.49	50*	0	12	v NZ, Colombo SSC, 31-07-2001
Wasim Akram	Pak	126	94	19	13.33	86	0	10	v Eng,Manchester,24-08-1992
NR Mongia	Ind	113	75	24	19.61	69	0	3	v WI,Centurion, 07-02-1999
IA Healy	Aus	110	74	25	20.41	50*	0	6	v Pak,Colombo SSC,07-09-1994
M Prabhakar	Ind	94	64	16	20.83	106	1	6	v SL,Moratuwa, 14-08-1993
HH Streak	Zim	91	78	30	20.83	59	0	3	v WI,Kingston,02-04-2000
PJL Dujon	WI	91	58	22	27.78	82*	0	3	v Eng,Brisbane,17-01-1987
Azhar Mahmood	Pak	91	69	16	18.87	67	0	4	v SL,Colombo RPS,09-07-2000
IDS Smith	NZ	90	73	16	17.54	62*	0	7	v Aus,Auckland,22-02-1992

• 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).

With barely 37 days left for the Asian Test Championship involvingPakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the tournament has run intotrouble with India insisting on changing Dhaka as the venue for thefinal.The secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India JaywantLele has written to the Asian Cricket Council and its affiliate, theAsian Cricket Foundation that if Bangladesh does not reach the finalof the competition, then Dhaka should not host it, BCCI sources toldPTI on Sunday.Lele wrote that India should be the venue for the final in the eventof India and Pakistan making it to the final. “If India and Sri Lankamake the final, it should be held in Sri Lanka,” Lele said in theletter.The sources said the BCCI has not received any reply so far and thatit might be difficult for India to participate in the tournament ifthe venue for the final was undecided by then.The ACF, organisers of the September 2001 to January 2002 tournament,are also yet to finalise sponsorship and telecast rights, the sourcesconfirmed.

Martin Snedden reads the latest news on terrorist attacks in the USA Photograph © CricInfo

New Zealand’s cricket tour to Pakistan is on hold for 48 hours today after the overnight events in the United States, and possible repercussions if Afghanistan is found to be in any way involved in the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.New Zealand’s players are in Singapore for a scheduled stopover, but they will wait there for another 48 hours until the American situation becomes clearer.New Zealand’s CLEAR Black Caps are scheduled to play their first Test match against Pakistan, starting on October 2, in Peshawar which is close to the Afghanistan border.NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said advice was being taken from New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, but at the moment they were not able to provide a lot of information. He would be keeping in touch with them throughout the day.”Given the current upheaval in international aviation, and the heightened tensions in the Middle East, we believe the extended stopover in Singapore is wise.”If there is any risk that team members would be in danger in Pakistan then NZC will not hesitate to cancel or postpone the tour,” Snedden said.NZC has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board that it will be delaying the arrival of the team in Pakistan by two days in order to make the best possible decision in the interests of the players.”If the tour does carry on, I have no doubt the Pakistan Board will make suitable arrangements for the players,” he said.However, Pakistan Cricket Board officials later assured the New Zealand Cricket officials, that conditions in the country were perfectly normal. They also held out assurance about the complete safety and security of the visiting team during their stay in Pakistan.Unfortunately, New Zealand is not new to terrorist events on its cricket tours. Two tours to Sri Lanka have been affected by terrorist bombings.The first, in 1987, saw the tour called off after a bomb destroyed a Colombo bus station while, in 1992, several members of the New Zealand team on tour came home after an assassination outside their hotel in Colombo.

Kent Spitfires cut Leicestershire’s lead at the top of the Norwich Union League first division to just two points after surviving yet another last ball finish to land a eight-run win against Yorkshire in Canterbury.Just two days after their last ball victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol, Spitfires managed to defend their disappointing 45-over total of 216 courtesy of a three wicket burst in four balls in the final over of the game by the league’s leading wicket-taker Martin Saggers.With Phoenix needing 13 runs for a victory that would have hauled them clear of the relegation dogfight, Saggers ran in to remove the off stump of David Byas with his second ball, york Richard Dawson with his next and then have Richard Blakey caught on the long-off boundary to secure Kent’s ninth win of the campaign.The hosts looked as good as beaten at the mid-way point of the reply as Darren Lehmann and Anthony McGrath reached 89 for two, but in-form Lehmann made a vital misjudgement in reverse sweeping Min Patel to top edge a catch to fly slip.McGrath, who was dropped on seven after skying a chance to deep cover, re-grouped by way of a fourth wicket stand worth 108 in 21 overs with Craig White.Just 62 were required with 10 overs to go and, with seven wickets in hand, a partisan St Lawrence crowd of 4,000 were watching in silence as their title hopes seemingly slid away.But then White holed out to long off and McGrath, after reaching his maiden league century from 139-balls, ran himself out to revive Kent’s victory and title hopes once again.The hosts were probably 20 short of what they perceived to be a defendable total as only James Hockley with 66 from 82-balls managed to post a half-century on a slow but true pitch.Hockley was one of three wickets taken by Lehmann’s left arm spin in a burst of three for five in eight balls that ripped the heart out of the home middle order batting.

Makhaya Ntini and Mfuneko Ngam became the first African players to receive one of South African cricket’s highest awards on Monday when they were named among five 2001 Cricketers of the Year.Ntini and Ngam were joined by Shaun Pollock, Neil McKenzie and Nicky Boje as the personal choices of Colin Bryden, editor of the Mutual and Federal South African Cricket Annual.The significance of the honour bestowed upon Ntini and Ngam is unmistakable. Just 10 years after South African cricket finally unified after more than a century during which it had been split along racial lines, African players have begun to make an impact on the game on the field. There is clearly no tokenism about their selections, despite the fact that Ngam has played in just three Test matches and has still to recover from shoulder and leg injuries which kept him out of South Africa’s tour of the West Indies this year.Simply put, Ngam is the most exciting fast bowling talent to emerge in South Africa since Allan Donald and the sense of anticipation ahead of his Test debut against New Zealand at the Wanderers last summer did not recognise the colour of his skin.It was perhaps fitting that the guest speaker at the dinner on Monday at which the awards were announced was Jimmy Adams, the former West Indian captain now playing for Free State. Adams made the point that as a youngster growing up in Jamaica, he simply did not believe it was possible to play cricket with and against South Africans. In a delicious twist of irony, Adams made his Test debut against South Africa in Barbardos in 1992.For Ntini, the award is recognition of the impressive role he played in last summer’s Test matches, bowling long spells at considerable pace to take 23 wickets in six Test matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. His consistency provided an ideal foil behind striking power of Donald, Pollock, Ngam and Jacques Kallis and his stamina was almost exhausting to behold.Boje is honoured for a remarkable year which started during South Africa’s 2000 tour of India where he established himself as the country’s first choice Test and One-Day spinner as well as an all-rounder of genuine quality. Ironically, injury opened the door for Claude Henderson to stake a claim and Boje faces competition as he seeks to make his way back.McKenzie, meanwhile, grew in stature after a nervous start to his Test career and he has now pinned down a middle order place so firmly that that he has become an automatic choice. Well-liked, McKenzie may well be a future South African captain.Pollock, finally, is recognised for the extraordinary manner with which he led the side after Hansie Cronje was forced to step down. He matured as a batsman last summer to confirm himself as one of the game’s leading all-rounders. This was his third award and probably his most deserved.

Virtuoso performances from Ramnaresh Sarwan and captain Carl Hoopersaw Guyana vanquish Barbados to lift the Red Stripe Bowl at DiscoveryBay, Jamaica. The final, thankfully spared truncation by rains thathave been pelting the Caribbean throughout the tournament, alsoestablished Guyana as the premier side in regional one-day cricket.Asking Barbados to bat after winning the toss, Hooper juggled hisbowlers well. Impeccable field placements and miserly bowling sawBarbados creep along, they were 57/3 in 24.4 overs at one stage.It took a 52-ball 57 from Hendy Bryan to lift the run-rate.Accompanied by a more sedate fifty from Ryan Hinds, Bryan’s flurry offour fours and four sixes saw Barbados to a total of 221 for five infifty overs, a competitive, but certainly not match-winning total.Guyana’s attitude, right from the start, took the game away fromBarbados. Despite losing in-form opener Sewnarine Chattergoon for 13,Sarwan and Travis Dowlin collaborated in a stand of 99. Dowlin,promoted to the opening slot, proved to be the perfect compliment toSarwan’s strokeplay, scoring 54 off 109 balls.Sarwan’s 80 off 102 balls, with eight boundaries, was a textbookinnings for the chase. Taking plenty of singles and dispatching thebad balls contemptuously, his knock formed the spine of Guyana’sreply. When Hooper came out and scored 45 in 26 deliveries, with fourfours and two sixes, the result was effectively settled.”Guyana played the better cricket today. It was a surprise to us thatthey played so many spinners but, in the end, their all-round cricketgave them victory,” said Barbados captain Sherwin Campbell.The award for Most Valuable Player of the Final Four went to Sarwan,who received US 2,000 dollars and a trophy for his performances.Players of both sides received medals as well.”We played well and we deserved it,” said winning captain Hooper afterthe match. Guyana has won this trophy twice now, both times under theleadership of Hooper.Sarwan’s and Hooper’s form augurs well for the upcoming West Indiantour of Sri Lanka, which begins with a three-day domestic fixture onNov. 4.

Chasing a nigh-impossible 469 for victory, Jammu & Kashmir foundthemselves at 128/3 on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Delhi at the Feroze Shah Kotla grounds in Delhi.The home side, overnight on 46/1, were propelled to a good total of316/4, a score that enabled them to declare and push for a win.Skipper Mithun Manhas, batting first with Pradeep Chawla (52) and thenwith Sohail Rauf (81) made 128 off just 132 balls, with 18 fours andone six.The Delhi batsmen scored their runs in a hurry, with the 316 comingoff 59 overs in just 242 minutes, leaving the visiting bowlinghapless. Jammu & Kashmir were, at the close of play, staring down thebarrel at 128/3. Kavaljit Singh on 54 and Guru Pratap Singh on 6 werethe batsmen at the crease.

Australian and Queensland cricket legend Allan Border was last nightelevated to the Board of Queensland Cricket, filling the void left bythe sudden death last month of Peter Burge.The former Test captain was elected as the replacement for Burge at lastnight’s ordinary meeting of the members at Queensland CricketHeadquarters at Albion.Speaking last night, Border, 46, said he was delighted to be able toextend his contribution to cricket to a new level.”Cricket has been very good to me and I am looking forward to continuingto be a part of the game here in Queensland,” he said.Queensland Cricket President John McKnoulty and Board Chairman DamienMullins warmly welcomed Border’s election to the Board.Mr Mullins said that as was the case with Burge, Border brought a wealthof cricket experience to the Board.Border’s achievements in the sport include the following:

• He played 156 Tests for Australia, the world record for the most Tests.
• He scored 11,174 Test runs, also a world record, and has a Test average of 50.56.
• Captained Australia in 93 Test matches, winning 32 of them, and 178 one day internationals, winning 107 of those.
• Played 385 first class matches, scoring 27,131 runs at an average of 51.38, between 1976-77 and 1995-96.
• Was a member of the first Queensland team to win the Sheffield Shield in 1994-95.
• Captained Queensland on 41 occasions.
• Has been a National selector for the past three seasons.
• He coached Australia to India and Sharjah in 1997-98 and has coached Australia ‘A’ and the Australian Youth team.
• He is Australia’s representative on the influential ICC Cricket Committee – Playing, and has been an ICC Ambassador to developing regions, including visits to Papua New Guinea, South Korea and the Pacific Islands.
• He is club patron of Brisbane XXXX Grade club Valley.

Border will be in Perth this week for the Third Orange Test betweenAustralia and New Zealand as part of his duties with the Australianselection panel.

Bangladesh has nothing to lose going into its daunting Test series with New Zealand starting tomorrow at Hamilton’s WestpacTrust Park.The visitors, playing in conditions as foreign to those in which they play their cricket as it possible to be, know they are in for a tough time.But captain Khaled Mashud, the side’s wicket-keeper, said the whole exercise is part of the learning the side has to do if it is to develop as a Test-playing nation.”We have a lot of talented players, especially at under-17 and under-19 level and within a few years we will have a good side.”What we do have is a lack of match experience,” he said.A first-class competition involving matches other than limited overs games has only been going for three years in Bangladesh.”We will try and do our best. But we are not used to this type of wicket. It was bad luck we didn’t have more batting in Wanganui. This wicket has more grass and that will be helpful for the bowlers.”We will have to play straight. In our country our batsmen like to play a lot of shots to midwicket, but here they have to play straight.”New Zealand in New Zealand conditions will be a very good side. They played very well in Australia.”We will try to show our best form. It is hard for us as a new team. We will improve over the next two or three years,” he said.The Bangladesh team for the first Test is: Khaled Mashud (captain), Al Sahariar, Aminul Islam, Habibul Bashar, Javed Omar, Khaled Mahmud, Manjural Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Sharif, Sanwar Hossain.

The West Indies upcoming Tests and limited-overs international away series with Pakistan will go ahead after all, following the acceptance of the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB), offer to play in a neutral venue.Earlier today, the WICB confirmed that the series will now take place on the heels of this agreement. The series, now reduced to two Tests and three one-day internationals, will be played in the United Arab Emirates at the Sharjah Stadium.The tour has been in limbo following the intensification of military activity on the India/Pakistan border. The fact that there was also action on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border did not help the PCB’s case in convincing the WICB to send their team to tour in Pakistan.”We were always committed to playing the series and we are happy with the arrangements, so we are now looking forward to an exciting contest between the two teams,” said Michael Hall, chief operations officer of the WICB.The PCB has indicated that the revised itinerary of this series will now comprise two Tests and three limited-overs internationals to be played between the last week of January and the third week of February.This would be the first time that a Test series is played on a neutral venue. In October, the International Cricket Council approved the use of neutral venues for Test and one-day series if the host country was unable to do so for whatever reason.The tour will now run from the last week of January to the third week of February. The revised schedule will be issued later.