Pakistani speedster Waqar Younis will touch down at Sydney Airport tomorrow, in time to face University of NSW star and former Test foe Michael Slater this Saturday. The two will go head-to-head at North Sydney Oval, rekindling old rivalries stretching back to Karachi in 1994/95. Younis will be a welcome addition to North Sydney’s bowling strength, but has only claimed Slater’s wicket once in the Test arena. Slater was part of Mosman captain Trent Johnston’s hat-trick last round, and will be looking for some much-needed runs this time out.For all prospective Speedblitz Blues players, only three match days now remain before the State Selectors name their team for the Blues’ first match, on Sunday 26 October in Bowral. This weekend will comprise Round 3’s first day on Saturday, followed by Round 2 of the First Grade Limited-Overs competition on Sunday.On Saturday, Michael Bevan will make a rare Grade appearance for Many-Warringah, against Parramatta at Manly Oval. Bevan will be looking to play himself into form, while team-mate Shawn Bradstreet returns from injury.Speedblitz Blues team-mates Mark Waugh (Bankstown) and Simon Katich (Randwick Petersham) will be attempting to outdo each other at Bankstown Oval. Katich is in white-hot form, with a batting average after two matches of 172.00.At Howell Oval, Australian one-day bowler Nathan Bracken will partner former Australia A paceman Neil Maxwell in UTS-Balmain’s clash with last year’s finalists Penrith. The Panthers are winless after two rounds, and will be hoping that their batsmen can overcome the Tigers’ strong bowling attack.All Round 3 matches (Saturday, commencing 10.00am)- Bankstown v Randwick Petersham at Bankstown; Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs at Waverley; Gordon v Sydney University at Killara; Manly-Warringah v Parramatta at Manly; Mosman v Campbelltown-Camden at Rawson; North Sydney v University of NSW at North Sydney 1; Northern District v Hawkesbury at Waitara; Penrith v UTS-Balmain at Howell; St George v Fairfield-Liverpool at Hurstville; Sutherland v Blacktown at Caringbah.All Limited-Overs Round 2 matches (Sunday, commencing 9.30am)- Eastern Suburbs v North Sydney at Waverley; Gordon v University of NSW at Killara; Hawkesbury v UTS-Balmain at Owen Earle; Manly-Warringah v Campbelltown-Camden at Manly; Parramatta v Mosman at Old Kings; Penrith v Northern District at Howell; Randwick Petersham v Blacktown at Coogee; St George v Western Suburbs at Hurstville; Sutherland v Bankstown at Caringbah; Sydney University v Fairfield-Liverpool at University 1.

All Today’s Yesterdays – September 28 down the yearsSeptember 27 | September 291946
Birth of the regal Majid Khan, cousin of Imran, who was picked primarily as a bowler when he made his Test debut aged 18 but who was soon ensconced in the middle order by virtue of his scintillating strokeplay. He became the first Pakistani and the first person for 42 years to make a Test hundred before lunch against New Zealand at Karachi in 1976-77. But his most celebrated knocks came at a lower level: he led Punjab University to victory over Karachi with an unbeaten double-hundred after they had been 5 for 4, and he smashed 147 in 89 minutes for Pakistan against Glamorgan – who he later represented with distinction – in 1967, an innings that included 13 sixes, five in one over from the offspinner Roger Davis. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970, Majid made almost 4000 runs in 63 Tests before becoming an ICC match referee and later Chief Executive of the PCB.1960
Birth of the little West Indian wizard Gus Logie. A brilliant short leg and a dangerous counter-attacker at No. 5 or 6, Logie specialised in the punchy, initiative-seizing cameo. In tandem with Jeff Dujon he was a regular pain in the neck for England, most notably at Lord’s in 1988 (when West Indies were 54 for 5) and at Trinidad in 1989-90 (when they were 29 for 5). A glorious, impish batsman of just 5 ft 4 ins, Logie played his last Test at Edgbaston in 1991 and finished with 2470 runs at 35.79.1971
Whatever happened to Matthew Elliott, who was born today? The top scorer on either side in the 1997 Ashes series with 556 runs, the tall, long-nosed Elliott looked a class act who was here to stay. But within a year of becoming a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1998, Elliott had played what may well be his last Test. Poor form certainly contributed to his demise – he made three ducks in six innings in the West Indies in 1998-99 – but he did himself few favours by getting on the wrong side of Steve Waugh during that tour. A gifted left-handed opener or No. 3 with all the shots in his locker, Elliott made three hundreds in his 20 Tests, including 199 at Headingley in 1997, when he was infamously dropped by Graham Thorpe off Mike Smith. He also played for Glamorgan in 2000, and, with great success, for Yorkshire in 2002.1996
In Nairobi, Muttiah Muralitharan and Romesh Kaluwitharana rained on Kenya’s parade. In the first official one-day international there, Murali took 4 for 18 and Kalu thrashed an 89-ball ton as Sri Lanka eased home by seven wickets, with almost 20 overs to spare, in the first match of the Kenya Centenary Cup.1973
England’s leading female legspinner was born. At the age of six Kathryn Leng, who was born today, informed her primary-school teacher that she would play cricket for England, and she was true to her word. Also a fine middle-order bat, Leng made history in 1999 when she became the first woman to play in the men’s Bradford League. She also became the first woman to play in a university match, for Leeds/Bradford UCCE, before earning a recall to the England women’s winter training squad ahead of their tour to India in January.1984
The first floodlit one-day international outside Australia took place at New Delhi, and Kepler Wessels broke the habit of a lifetime by playing some shots. His 107 – the only ODI hundred of his career – led Australia to a comfortable 48-run victory over India in the first of a five-match series.1999
Opening the innings, Lance Klusener smashed an unbeaten 101 as South Africa romped to a nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in their LG Cup match at Nairobi with 15 overs to spare. Apparently the ultimate pinch-hitter, Klusener has opened only nine times in ODIs. The reasons? As an opener, his 101 was preceded by a third-ball duck and followed by two first-ballers, a fearful waste of South Africa’s most lethal weapon. Unsurprisingly, he hasn’t opened since.1988
In the second Test in Faisalabad Javed Miandad was given out lbw for only the fourth time in 63 Test innings on home soil. But by then he had made 107, his 19th Test hundred, and denied Australia’s attempts to square the series. In all Miandad was given out leg-before only eight times in Tests in Pakistan and 25 times overseas.Other birthdays
1964 Irfan Bhatti (Pakistan)
1973 Colin Stuart (West Indies)

The heavy rain which left the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo awash on Thursday continued throughout this morning and put pay to the second ODI between Sri Lanka and England, which was called off at 6.05pm local time without a ball being bowled.The umpires made three inspections throughout the day, but play never looked likely due to the sodden outfield and boggy wicket. Even though the rain stayed away in the afternoon, Daryl Hair described the pitch as “not up to scratch” and after consulting both captains, called the game off.Marvan Atapattu was the happier of the two captains, as it now means Sri Lanka can’t lose the three-match series. Michael Vaughan, on the other hand, expressed his frustration, but insisted England would be well prepared for the final match on Sunday – assuming it’s not washed out.”It would have been wrong to have played in these conditions, and they weren’t going to improve,” Vaughan said. “It’s like a bog out there, the covering obviously hasn’t worked, but I just hope the rain stays off and we can get a game on Sunday.”It’s very frustrating, but you can only control what’s put in front of you. We’ll practise tomorrow and make sure we’re fully prepared for the last game.” However, those who have experienced the late monsoon before warn that Sunday’s game is also under threat.

Scoreboards for 29 NovemberPEARCE CUPNorth City v Karori

KaroriW Sommerville c Kerse b Riley 26S Allen c Quarterman b Riley 40S Murdoch run out 34M Hill c Riley b Bowden 17C Cakebread b Gillespie 31S Pomare c Bowden b Kerse 23L Edwards not out 65B Horsley c Jansen b Riley 21R Wilson c Gore b Gillespie 6A Mercer b Riley 1E Gray not out 0Extras (14lb,9w,2nb) 25Total (for 9 wkts) 289Fall: 75,81,101,151,175,201,267,279,289Bowling: Gillespie 10,1,52,2; Quarterman 10,0,48,0; Bowden 10,1,50,1; Riley 10,3,43,3; Taylor 8,0,59,0; Kerse 2,0,23,1North CityB Jansen b Gray 24D Gore c Allen b Edwards 0C Riley c & b Mercer 8D Bowden c Mercer b Cakebread 25S Mills c Allen b Hill 6M Gillespie c Mercer b Cakebread 4D Opie b Mercer 27D Taylor c Allen b Hill 6D Carey c Wilson b Pomare 8J Kerse not out 0F Quarterman st Allen b Pomare 0Extras (10lb, 9w,2nb) 21Total 129Fall: 1,24,61,74,79,81,96,129,129,129Bowling: Edwards 5,0,35,1; Mercer 9,1,22,2; Gray 8,3,11,1; Hill 7,0,21,2; Cakebread 3,0,17,2; Pomare 4.5,1,23,2Karori won by 160 runsPetone/Riverside v Eastern SuburbsEastsS Golder c Morgan b Taylor 4P Parker c Bonner b Taylor 52C McKenzie c Morgan b Day 10D Houpapa b O’Brien 42T Boyer b Dawson 1R Sewell b Dawson 5L Dry not out 12S Hotter c Patel b Dawson 2J Patel b Dawson 1J Stuart lbw b Dawson 0R Fouhy b O’Brien 3Extras 32Total 154Bowling: Taylor 10,0,33,2; O’Brien 9,1,26,2; Hewson 10,5,20,0; Day 10,1,31,1; Patel 1,0,7,0; Dawson 9,0,27,5Petone/RiversideJ Morgan c Golder b Hotter 3M Rose c Sewell b Hotter 5S Bonner lbw b Hotter 0R Dawson b Stuart 2R Chatfield lbw b Dry 51M Hewson b Stuart 0I O’Brien lbw b Fouhy 25A George c Dry b Hotter 13J Patel not out 40P Taylor not out 1Extras (1b,4lb,9w,2nb) 16Total (for 8 wkts) 156Bowling: Hotter 9.4,3,31,4; Fouhy 10,5,17,1; Stuart 5,0,30,2; Boyer 10,0,38,0; Patel 4,0,25,0; Dry 10,6,10,1Petone/Riverside won by 2 wicketsNaenae v Upper ValleyUpper ValleyM Bell not out 92L Morgan c Crook b Bascand 46C McLauchlan c S Cross b Young 1G Donaldson run out 19D Ruscoe run out 6C Donaldson run out 8S Brockelbank c & b Crook 4P Hutchison not out 5Extras (4b,13lb,15w,3nb) 35Total (for six wkts) 216Fall: 91,95,153,169,189,194Bowling: S Cross 10,1,33,0; C Cross 10,2,29,0; Reeves 3,0,18,0; Bascand 10,0,39,1; Young 7,0,33,1; Hayman 6,0,27,0; Crook 4,0,20,1NaenaeD Crook c Roberts b Cornish 17M Young c Bell b Cornish 8M Hayman c McLauchlan b Billmore 12C Cross lbw b Cornish 1D O’Connor b Brockelbank 0S Cross run out 15L Reeves b C Donaldson 0P Bascand b Hutchison 30J Hatwell b Billmore 1B Smith not out 6G Maher c Bell b Hutchison 0Extras (5b,5lb,19w,10nb) 39Total 129Fall: 30,30,34,39,74,74,88,98,127,129Bowling: Hutchison 10,4,23,2; Cornish 8,1,30,3; Brockelbank 4,0,22,1; C Donaldson 7,2,28,1; Billmore 10,4,16,2Upper Valley won by 87 runsTaita v OnslowOnslowR Morgan b Pegg 9M Parlane st Teepa b F Boyle 48G Bidwell b Webster 57N Parlane not out 81M Pasupati c J Boyle b Little 5Extras (2b,9lb,6w,2nb) 19Total (for 4 wkts) 219/4Bowling: Webster 10,1,41,1; Little 10,1,46,1; Scott 10,2,30,0; Pegg 9,1,46,1; McGavin 2,1,3,0; F Boyle 9,0,42,1TaitaJ Boyle b Penn 0B Seddon c Morgan b Johnson 1D Little b Johnson 6J Peters c Martin b Johnson 13A Crummy c N Parlane b Penn 0S McGavin c Pasupati b Johnson 2S Teepa c M Parlane b Pasupati 2R Webster c N Parlane b Diver 23F Boyle c M Parlane b Diver 4D Pegg b Pasupati 13D Scott not out 0Extras (6lb,4w,3nb) 13Total 77Bowling: Penn 7,0,23,2; Johnson 10,3,16,4; Pasupati 7.1,0,23,2; Diver 4,1,10,2Onslow won by 142 runsPoints: North City 33.98; Karori 33.64; Petone/Riverside 32.48; Eastern Suburbs 26.20; Upper Valley 26.12; Onslow 24.22; Taita 17.98; Naenae 11.80Hazlett TrophyJohnsonville 219-5 (G Powell 50, M Judge 34, L Woodcock 34, B Kropp 3-49) beat North City 66 ( T Antequil 3-14, B Inglis 3-22) by 153 runs.Upper Valley 200 (N Herdman 43, P Arkinstall 38, B Rapson 3-22, S Thomas 3-27, D Eparaima 3-48) beat University 125 ( N Herdman 4-36, C McDonald 3-16) by 75 runsWainui 148-9 (C Foster 40, P Mohan 34, C Stewart 3-30) lost to Hutt Districts 149-4 ( M Jefferson 66, K Lennon 34 ) by 6 wicketsEasts 203-8 (J Cranch 55, L Chrisp 33, G Sutherland 3-48) lost to Collegians 204-8 ( S McHardy 37, J Lampard 32,A Thompson 3-37) by 2 wicketsPoints: Hutt Districts 51.79; Johnsonville 47.18; University 29.91; Wainui 29.83; Collegians 26.80; Upper Valley 21.51; Easts 19.02; North City 12.63

The pitch was expected to assist the bowlers on the first day, and then become a good batting wicket on days two and three, before helping the bowlers for the rest of the game. Contrary to expectations, the wicket held firm on the first day and for most part of the second, but gave away signs of the shape of things to come. The bounce was uneven and the batsmen had a few close shaves while going for their strokes.Ricky Ponting nearly gloved the ball on more than one occasion as it hurried on him, and at other times found attempted pull shots not going where he intended, because the ball arrived slower than he expected. Matthew Hayden scored a century as well, but not before surviving close lbw shouts while sweeping Kumble, again flummoxed by the spongy bounce. Although Australia played only 75 overs to India’s 90, they still mistimed more balls, were beaten more often, and overall were not in control a lot more often.

Legbreak or googly?Anil Kumble bowled as many googlies as he bowled legbreaks. A further breakdown reveals that he bowled as many legbreaks to the right-handers, as he did googlies to the lefties. Sure, conceding 102 runs in 24 overs didn’t reflect well, but Kumble kept the batsmen guessing. This is reflected in the high not-in-control percentage, compared to the relative ease with which the Australian batsmen played the other bowlers.

Australian batsmen against Indian bowlers

The terror every three and a half gamesRicky Ponting, who remained unbeaten on 120, scored his 20th century in 74 Tests. That’s about one in every three and a half games. But since October 2002, Ponting has had an amazing run, scoring over 2000 runs in just 15 months, including ten centuries. Even at a time when a number of batsmen are scoring prolifically, Ponting stands out with his consistency, and sheer volume of runs.Batsmen since October 2002

In the wake of the death of David Hookes, Australia’s coach, John Buchanan, has expressed hope that Darren Lehmann will be able to put his grief to one side and focus on re-establishing himself in the Australian Test team.Lehmann, a close friend of Hookes’s ever since they played together at South Australia, was visibly distraught when he faced the media on Friday. He had been present when Hookes was assaulted by a bouncer outside a Melbourne hotel, and was one of eight pall-bearers at his funeral on Tuesday.”I spoke to him today and asked how he came through it,” said Buchanan. “I’m sure he’s going to have emotional swings but the biggest thing will be actually getting back and playing and captaining South Australia.”It’s tragic and it’s sad,” added Buchanan, “but life moves on and so does [Lehmann’s] life, and his family and his cricket. That’s what’s important to him. I would see this as maybe a little bit of a stoppage in it for a period of time. I think he’s pretty philosophical, he’s a pragmatist, he’s a realist and he enjoys playing cricket.”Lehmann may now be 34, but he is still seen as an integral part of the Australian set-up. In particular his prowess against spin will be vital in the coming months, as Australia take on Sri Lanka and India in away series. But Lehmann has been out of action since October with an Achilles injury, and has plenty of fitness work to catch up on.”I’m pretty sure he’s nowhere near as fit as he would like to be,” said Buchanan. “But he’s got a few games on the horizon that will help the cause. He was obviously a fixture in the side before the injury, both the one-day side and the Test side. I know the selectors are just monitoring his fitness. For me, as soon as they assess that he’s fit enough to be playing either four-day cricket or one-day cricket then his name just comes straight back into the selection picture.”

Neil Mallender and Aleem Dar are to join the elite panel of Test umpires in April following an annual performance review by the ICC.Mallender, 42, played two Tests for England in 1992 and became a first-class umpire in 1999, while Dar, who played domestic cricket in Pakistan between 1986 and 1998, stood in his first Test during England’s tour of Bangladesh last October.”I’m very pleased to be given this opportunity. Making this panel was my aim and having made it to this level I will now be aiming to do my best," said Dar.Mallender, meanwhile, admitted the news was something of a surprise. He said, "I was quite shocked when I was told. To umpire at this level was my aim but it has come around sooner than I expected it would."They will join the established quartet of David Shepherd, Steve Bucknor, Daryl Harper and Rudi Koertzen. Meanwhile, the three umpires who joined in April 2003 – Billy Bowden, Darrell Hair and Simon Taufel – all retained their places.However, the unlucky three to be dropped by the ICC were Asoka de Silva, David Orchard and Russell Tiffin. When Venkat retires next month, the number of umpires to officiate in Tests will drop from 11 to nine.Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said the changes to the panel reflected the strong depth in umpiring round the world. “Over the past two years we have seen a strong group of new umpires emerge,” he said. “Aleem Dar and Neil Mallender have demonstrated that they are ready to take the next step in their careers.”

What the key players said after the match:Marvan Atapattu Sri Lanka’s captain
We thought 240 was a good score, but the way we finished was not too good getting just 45 runs in the last 10 overs. We did not plan enough at the end, and if we had concentrated on getting ones and twos we would have got around 270-odd.The [Symonds lbw] decision was made and the umpires decided to call him back and they asked me whether I had a problem with that. Our guys knew it was a wrong decision and we didn’t know what to do but when they asked him I was happy to call him back. It’s only a game, after all, and we have to play the game in the right spirit. I said no because we all make mistakes and it was clearly a mistake. I don’t see anything wrong in that.Ricky Ponting Australia’s captain
It was close and a great game of cricket. I was pretty happy with the way wewent about things today. We were behind the eight-ball early in the gameafter a very good opening partnership, but we fought back really well withthe ball. The batting was pretty good – just two runs shy. The guys will take a lot of confidence out of knowing that we can perform as well as we did today on a very worn Sri Lankan wicket.You are always disappointed when you lose a close game, but we are not goingto point the finger at any individuals. If you look back over the game youcould probably pick up half-a-dozen incidents [that cost us the game].We needed one of us to go on a finish it off, as it was not easy getting astart out there. But I played a poor shot and Matty [Hayden] got caught on theboundary and we did not finish the job. He played really well but we have come to expect that from him as he churns out runs in both forms of the game for us.The venue was good but I was a little disappointed that we used the samewicket today. With there not being a lot of cricket here I would havethought there would have been time for the curator to prepare two wickets.Chaminda Vaas Man of the Match and bowler of the fateful final over
Marvan asked me to bowl the final over and I used my experience and tried tobowl six yorkers, and it went nicely. I have played 220-odd matches but Ithink this was the best one that I have played. I have been playing forSri Lanka for ten years and I know exactly what to do on these wickets.

A jubilant Michael Vaughan – and a downcast Brian Lara – faced the press after England’s seven-wicket victory at Port-of-Spain:

Michael Vaughan
On the match
We expected to win, but to be 2-0 up after two Tests is way beyond what we thought. It’s taken a hell of a lot of hard work to get in this position. It hasn’t been easy. We came through some tough periods – Butch and Nasser’s partnership was crucial to our victory. I think the cloud cover on the first two days helped both sets of bowlers, but Steve Harmison’s spell was a gem and Simon Jones’s was fantastic. It’s great having them both in the side, with a different bowler to fall back on. But both games could have gone either way. It’s important that we don’t get too complacent, we know West Indies will fight back.On the bowlers
I thought Steve Harmison bowled brilliantly at the end of last summer against South Africa at The Oval. He’s a real threat – just ask the Aussies, they’ve always said he’s a hard bowler to face. He’s swinging the ball now, and putting it in the right area. He’s worked hard for two months and it shows. But don’t forget Matthew Hoggard. He’s done a fantastic job. We’ve asked him to do a role, and he’s kept things tight with good swing and bounce. Simon Jones is not the finished product, so we need to treat him with care. It’s important we keep all the guys fit. They’re all keen and eager to learn and improve as well. Steve wasn’t happy with the way he bowled after the first morning, so he was straight onto the computer seeing where he went wrong and how he could improve. To me, that’s the sign of a focussed player.On his own form
I feel fine. I’m hitting the ball OK, I feel in good nick. I got a good ball in the first innings and got out in the second, but that’s part of the game. I’m sure a big score is just around the corner.Brian Lara
On the series
It’s still there, we can still level it. We need to learn not to make the same mistakes again. If we had taken advantage of certain situations then it could have been different, it’s not fair to say we’ve been dominated. We’ve lost one or two sessions, and that has cost us dearly. The senior batsmen are not producing. That is where the team needs to get its impetus from, like the English team does with Hussain, Butcher and Thorpe. We’ve got to perform better than that. The team are trying their best. They’re embarrassed and disappointed in our performance. The entire team know they’re not performing. We need to so some soul-searching. We had some discussions and a long meeting last night on how to get things right.On his own form
There’s no excuse for my batting. I’ll get back to the nets. I need to keep my head a little more still and not shuffle across my crease as much. But it’s a situation I’ve been in before, and one I’ve climbed out of.On the team’s batting
So far, we’ve been having problems between Nos. 3 to 5 in the order … we’ve been falling apart quickly. Ridley’s [Jacobs] managed to repair some of the damage, so we thought we’d give him the opportunity to bat with us rather than the bowlers. It almost worked, and I have to commend his performance. He set upthe platform, but myself and Dwayne [Smith] could not use that opportunity.On the way ahead
There are still positives in the team. We have to take responsibility and go forward from here. We’re not putting the entire game together. The England players are putting their entire game together and that is what we need to do.

The overloaded one-day calendar just became even fuller, with news that three of the game’s key superpowers – Australia, India and Pakistan – will stop off in the Netherlands on their way to this year’s Champions Trophy in England.Each side will play each other once with the top two sides going through to a final. The tournament will reportedly run from August 22-29, coinciding with the Athens Olympics.In 25 years of tri-nation one-day tournaments it will be only the second time these three countries have faced off in a triangular tournament. In their previous three-way encounter, the Carlton & United Series of 1999-2000, Australia won nine straight matches.It will be the first multi-nation series to take place in the Netherlands, who staged one World Cup game in 1999.A Cricket Australia spokesman could not confirm the dates but said the Australians are scheduled to arrive in Holland on August 20. The 12-nation Champions Trophy begins on September 10.The Australians have already played 17 one-day internationals this year, more than India (15) and Pakistan (10). The new, as yet unnamed, tournament means they are so far scheduled to play a possible 28 ODIs in 2004 – down from 35 last year and their 1999 peak of 37. But it’s only May.

Tickets
Tickets for the tournament will be available from June 22 through the Dutch agency Top Ticket Line. Book through their website, www.topticketline.nl (beware: it’s in Dutch), telephone (+31) 20 2061084, or write to Topticketline, PO Box 12850, 1100 AW Amsterdam, The Netherlands.