Exactly a week after the cricket got under way in this World Cup, England will at last take the field. They were due to make a late entry anyway with the much discussed match against Zimbabwe in Harare last Thursday, but the cancellation of that one means that the encounter with the Netherlands at Buffalo Park, East London takes on an even greater magnitude.From an English point of view, it is unthinkable that there should be an upset in this one, but the possibilities cannot be totally overlooked. To say that England’s preparation has been less than perfect is something of an understatement.Just when they looked to have a settled side and knew what their best eleven was, so Craig White went down with a recurrence of his side injury. That represents a serious blow, even if not so much now certainly it will be against stronger opposition.Then there has been all the uncertainty of the build-up. Convincing wins in the warm-up matches did the team a lot of good. The uncertainty over the Zimbabwe question will have undone all that beneficial work – and then some.The Dutch will be well aware of that and would like nothing more than to heap further problems on the English camp. They remember the times when they beat strong English county sides and they recall the time in the 1996 World Cup when they lost by 49 runs. They reckon that in a similar situation they now have the experience to exploit it.These are brave words, but their performance against India will have been noted by England. The Dutch bowled out the might of India’s batting for 204, although their batsmen let them down by getting bowled out for 136. Even so, it was useful experience and they have now been on the World Cup stage.Having planted the tiniest seeds of doubt, the Dutch should not be able to nurture them to the stage where they burst into flower. If this England side has been able to put aside the distractions that must have had an effect, they believe they have the quality to make an impression in this tournament.With a full strength team, they can boast a batting order to match almost any. That should be able to score enough runs to make up for the lack of an out and out match-winner in the attack. There are not many of those around, so England’s prospects look better than they have done for many a World Cup. The match against the Netherlands is not one that should cause too many problems and, indeed, the team now knows that it cannot afford any mistakes following the Zimbabwe decision.

A FLAW IN THE RUN RATE CALCULATIONSThere is lack of clarity in the rules for the current world cup on how `forfeited matches’ will be scored for computing net run rate. There is a serious flaw which could seriously impact Zimbabwe’s chances of qualifying for super six which the Zimbabwe Cricket Association should take up with ICC.Currently the way Net Run Rate is being reported, for the forfeited match both the teams are credited with 0 runs and 0 overs. Hence the Net Run Rate for England (after 6 matches) is 0.82 and the Net Run Rate for Zimbabwe (after 5 matches) is 0.50.However this appears unfair because apart from an opportunity to defeat England (which is remedied by awarding full points to Zimbabwe) the forfeit also deprived Zimbabwe an opportunity to improve its run rate.ICC’s Rule in this regard is very unclear.I believe that the correct solution is to treat that score for the forfeited match as 0 runs in 50 overs for England and 0 runs in 0 overs for Zimbabwe.This is also intuitively appealing because while Zimbabwe was ready to bowl at England there were no England batters to face them and vice versa.If this method is followed then the Net Run Rate for the two teams will be -0.02 for England and +1.56 for Zimbabwe. Pakistan currently has a net run rate of 0.21.If the methodology I have suggested is followed then Zimbabwe’s task for qualification for Super Six becomes very easy, even if they were to lose to Pakistan. e.g., if Pakistan bats first and score 250 runs then Zimbabwe will need to score only 112 runs to qualify. If Zimbabwe bats first and scores 250 in 50 overs, then all Zimbabwe has to do is to ensure that Pakistan does not get to this score in less than 18 overs.Wishing Zimbabwe the very best.Sidhir Variyar (India)THOSE LUCKY BOYS IN RED!Now that’s something: Zim in the Super Sixes – again!Maybe they haven’t really earned their place, beating no other Test nation. But neither did Pakistan. And as for England . . .In contrast to the last World Cup they have no pressure now. They start from the bottom of the group. Nobody expects them to go to the semi-finals. First of all, they should beat Kenya. Realistically, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are much stronger sides, but in this World Cup you should take nothing for granted.I hope the players have learned enough about the inswinging yorker (Vaas) and Murali’s magic on the last tour to Sri Lanka. And if they can survive against a certain Mr. Bond, they might just make it.The Flowers in reasonable form, Blignaut clubbing another couple of quick fifties, the bowlers hopefully getting their radar right, and then anything is possible!It’s sad the World Cup has been influenced so much by the weather and the forfeited games. But in a way it’s great to see the rain gods haven’t forgotten Zim after all. And maybe someone up there has take a liking to players who have taken such a brave stand. How about the selectors following suit?Finally, some questions:Is Travis Friend injured? Otherwise I’d be mildly surprised the selectors picked Ervine ahead of him against Pakistan. Also, Blignaut didn’t bowl against Pak; is he injured too? On the BBC website they keep going on about Andy Flower retiring from international cricket after he allegedly signed to play in Australia. Do you have any news on that?Good luck in the Super Sixes Zim!Henrik Halbleib, Frankfurt (Germany)Reply: Travis Friend was fit, but the selectors preferred Sean Ervine, who has plenty of potential but hasn’t yet lived up to it. Andy Flower refuses to comment on his future plans.THE SUPER SIXESWell, Zim are through to the Super Sixes and unfortunately I cannot feel sorry for England for missing out. They had numerous chances to play in Harare and in the end it has come back to bite them. I was cheering every drop of rain that came down in Bulawayo on Tuesday.Although it is a very very slim chance of Zim progressing any further, the pressure should be off the boys now and they should be able to play the entertaining and attacking cricket which we all know they are capable of. It is a great effort for Zimbabwe to make the Super Sixes of the last two World Cups and they have definitely showed up a few of the other so-called better nations.Go, Zim and Andy Flower during his last few games for Zim, hopefully his international career will end in a fairytale.Michael Shepherd (Australia)

One must whole heartedly acknowledge that Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman the world has seen after Sir Donald Bradman. He is hailed as modern cricket’s most complete player and whose stroke-play once reminded late Sir Donald Bradman of his own batting – a rare tribute. Recalling the days of Sir Don, it is a historical fact that every opposition remained at his mercy until he had been removed. So much so, that England had to devise the infamous bodyline bowling attack only principally to trap the phenomenal batsmanship of the legend in 1931-32 series. Likewise, today no team can breathe a sigh of relief until Sachin is off the crease.Pakistan, though lost their match against India did play well under the circumstances. However, their tactical mistake was the failure to anticipate that a target of 273 was not good enough when Sachin is in such a terrific form. The least they could have done after giving away 50 runs in the first 5 overs was to revise their game plan with a strategy to contain the Indians. Their misery increased further with dropped catches, too many wides and noballs and of course by virtue of some scratchy fielding.Even more surprising was leaving out Saqlain Mushtaq in this crucial match and they could have preferred Mohammad Sami over Shahid Afridi. The team selectors must be answerable to why Azhar Mahmood was included in the squad at all and especially in case he is still unfit. The coach, manager and captain also need to be questioned for lack of good game strategies that have been the subject of many media reports.Brief review of the match
Waqar Younis won the crucial toss and elected to bat. Saeed Anwar (101, 126 balls seven fours) played a long overdue and brilliant innings. He anchored and held Pakistan together till 40 overs. By this time Pakistan had posted 195 runs. In fact, had Abdul Razzaq not crawled along for his 12 runs and Inzamam-ul-Haq not run himself out for the 35th time in his carreer, Pakistan could well have crossed 300 runs. Still, Yousuf Youhana (25), Younis Khan (32) and Rashid Latif (29) contributed useful runs. Ashish Nehra, the Indian bowling hero against England failed this time with only 2 for 74. Anil Kumble also remained wicketless for 51.It must also be appreciated that there was nothing at stake for the Indians in this match except they were motivated by being arch-rivals in trying their best to beat Pakistan. They had already qualified for the Super Six stage. The Indian team therefore, did not panic but relished and charged the much vaunted yet wayward Pakistan bowling attack from the very beginning.Trump card Sachin Tendulkar, scored 98 from 75 balls with 12 boundaries and a six. He was the last Indian batsman out at the score of 177. Later, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh associated in an unbeaten 99 run stand to earn India a well deserved victory with 4.2 overs to spare. Rahul Dravid remained not out with 44 and Yuvraj Singh with 50.One has to give full credit to India as Pakistan’s failure must not be attributed to their poor performance but more to the superb performance of India on the day.

In the end, it was a disappointingly typical first day of a Bangladesh Testmatch. Bangladesh were bowled out for 173, after which South Africa eased to83 for 2, on course for an easy victory. But there was more to the day thanjust that.At one point, Bangladesh were more than just holding their own – they wereon top. Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar had added 83 runs for the secondwicket, and Bangladesh were headed towards 100 for the loss of just onewicket. The pitch offered no assistance to South Africa’s bowlers, and themomentum had been seized by Bangladesh.But then the floodgates opened at Chittagong. Omar and Bashar were outwithin minutes of each other, and the centre did not hold. Paul Adams bowledsuperbly to take 5 for 37, and Bangladesh stuttered to 173. Graeme Smith andHerschelle Gibbs lost their wickets displaying unnecessary aggression, butSouth Africa were still on top when the day wound down.Bangladesh’s familiar collapse in the afternoon had been preceded by bothgrim resolve and fiesty counter-attack, in equal measure, in the morning.Khaled Mahmud had opted to bat first on a flat, slow-paced pitch, and SouthAfrica had struck early. Mehrab Hossain flashed outside off to ShaunPollock, getting a regulation outside edge through to Mark Boucher (14 for1).But there wasn’t much in the pitch for the fast bowlers, and patience wasthe need of the hour. Bashar and Omar displayed that in spades, seeing off ahostile spell from Makhaya Ntini, who tested both batsmen with short-pitchedbowling. The variable bounce of the pitch made a few balls stay low and skidthrough, but Ntini actually got a few to snort up off a good length.Both batsmen played a compact game, letting many balls go past the offstump. Their circumspection was not carried to an extreme, though, and oncethey got their eye in, both batsmen played positively.Bashar’s driving square of the wicket and through cover was a delight. Hesingled out Charl Willoughby for special treatment, smacking him for fourfours in three overs before lunch. He began the post-lunch session with aclassy pull of Ntini, then drove Pollock to the cover boundary to bring uphis half-century, then pulled Ntini for four again.But the Bangladesh supporters soon got a respite from pinching themselves indisbelief. Omar, whose 28 off 106 balls was a lesson to his team-mates inapplication, was adjudged lbw to Alan Dawson in the 32nd over of the game(97 for 2).Bashar, on 60, slashed Dawson to Herschelle Gibbs at point (100 for 3).Akram Khan, after a doughty 13 off 53 balls, played across the line to PaulAdams and was caught at silly point by Jacques Rudolph (124 for 4). AlokKapali was then caught behind for a duck, trying to cut Adams but onlymanaging to edge the ball (124 for 5).Mohammad Ashraful (12 off 54) pulled the first ball after tea from Adams toBoeta Dippenaar at midwicket, and Bangladesh were 126 for 6. Some lustyslogging from Mashrafe Mortaza (20 off 15) and his 26-run last-wicketpartnership with Mohammad Salim (16 not out) took Bangladesh past 150, butit was more desperation than calculated assault.Mortaza was a mess with the new ball when South Africa walked out to bat. Hebowled four no-balls in his first over, and conceded 28 runs in his firsttwo overs. Gibbs and Smith obliged the hit-me balls that Mortaza bowled, andSouth Africa were off to a flyer.Smith and Gibbs both threw their wickets away needlessly, though. Smith (16)flashed at a ball outside off from Tapash Baisya, and Salim took a gooddiving catch to his left (38 for 1). Gibbs, one ball after a mishit slog offMortaza landed safely in no-man’s zone, mishit another slog that Salim heldon to easily.Dippenaar and Jacques Rudolph saw off the rest of the day easily, and lookedforward, no doubt, to more easy runs the next day. Bangladesh mused on whatit meant to win the first session of a Test match – nothing at all.

Charlie Austin previews the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Kandy which starts on Saturday, May 3 at 0430GMTAfter an attritional drawn opening Test in Colombo, a dreary contest on a lifeless pitch, more frustration is in store for the second Test at Kandy. This time it is not the defensive mindset of the two teams that makes another draw seem likely, but the early onset of monsoon rains, which have poured down in the hill-country during the last two weeks.Both sides’ preparation has been severely hampered by the wet weather, washing out the Sri Lanka practice on Thursday afternoon. Sri Lanka and New Zealand were at least grateful for some time in the side nets on the eve of the game, but too much time has been spent lolling in the team hotel.Should the rain – which has moved in each day in the early afternoon – stay away tonight then there is a chance that play could start on time. However, Sri Lanka’s chief curator expects a late start and possibly no play at all on the first day. The pitch is bone dry and the 30-yard inner circle has been covered, protecting the run-ups, but the outfield is like a bog and the worms are having a field day.The prospect of serious time being lost suggests a continuation of the first Test stalemate. With this being a two-Test series, both sides were reluctant to take risks, and this is unlikely to change, although New Zealand’s captain, Stephen Fleming, noted the need for a more adventurous approach: "Both teams just looked a little apprehensive. Our team had better take some risks if we are going to push forward."His counterpart, Hashan Tillakaratne, concurs, arguing that two-Test series encourage captains to be "over defensive". He believes that three matches should be a bare minimum: "The idea of a two-match series is bewildering – I see no logic in it. If this is washed out it will be very sad."But the number of matches alone cannot explain the lack of positive intent displayed thus far. New Zealand’s batsmen were understandably wary of Sri Lanka’s spinners on the first day in Colombo, using that match to gather valuable experience and build confidence against Muttiah Muralitharan in particular. "We had a nervous first day, which put us behind in the game, but we really had to have a good look at the spinners," admitted Fleming. "We gained valuable experience and put to bed some of our demons against Murali."Tillakaratne, meanwhile, a naturally defensive batsman and leader anyhow, is also under pressure. Appointed as a caretaker captain, apparently until such time as Marvan Atapattu is perceived ready to take over, he will be desperate to avoid defeat, a result that could conceivably end his tenure in charge.For Sri Lanka there is the added worry of playing in Kandy, a venue where everything that can go wrong has gone wrong in the recent past. They have won their last two Tests here, against West Indies and Zimbabwe, but that has not fully healed the deep scars left by shock defeats against South Africa in 2000, England in 2001 and an injury-ravaged Indian side later that year. All three would have been won had the home side not succumbed to pressure and squandered winning positions.New Zealand, who have noted this with some interest, will also hope that their pace attack will be able to exploit the likely overcast conditions on a pitch that has a reputation for assisting fast bowlers with extra bounce and seam movement.However, this pitch – grassless and biscuit dry – does not look like a traditional Kandy surface. The Sri Lankans are convinced that it will offer more assistance to the spinners than the surface used in the first Test and they are not expected to alter the balance of their bowling attack."To be honest, looking at the pitch, I think it will turn more than the last game and I don’t think the third seamer is going to come into play here," said Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka’s interim coach. "The only issue to discuss with the selectors is the final make-up of the spin bowling attack."New Zealand, too, are expected to play a similar side. Fleming and Mark Richardson, their two in-form batsmen, have recovered from niggling injuries sustained during the first Test.New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (capt), Matthew Horne, Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Robbie Hart, Ian Butler, Jacob Oram, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman, Richard Jones, Ian Butler.Sri Lanka (from) Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Michael Vandort, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Prabath Nissanka, Dharshana Gamage.

Close West Indies 160 for 4 in 36.5 overs (Samuels 45*) beat Sri Lanka 191 all out (Jayawardene 51, Collymore 3-28)by six wickets

West Indies’ recent acquired reputation for saving their best cricket for dead rubbers was enhanced further with their six-wicket wicket win against Sri Lanka in the third and final Duckworth/Lewis affected one-day international at St. Vincent. Sri Lanka, though, bagged the series 2-1.Sri Lanka’s batting, the key to their remarkable series-clinching win at Bridgetown at the weekend, struggled against a next generation West Indies pace attack. Corey Colleymore lead the way, claiming 3 for 38, as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a below-par 191 on an excellent batting strip.West Indies, cheered on a by a capacity crowd that has become accustomed to home success on their Windward Isle (the West Indies had won 11 out their 12 matches at the venue prior to this match), started their run chase purposely, with Wavell Hinds (19) flaying a couple of back-wrenching boundaries during a 36 run opening partnership.Sri Lanka started to claw their way back into the game when Hinds smeared a catch to mid on of (36 for 1). That brought Brian Lara (14) to the wicket, fresh from his 64 not out and magnificent 116 in Bridgetown, to renew a personal duel with Muttiah Muralitharan, who had been whisked into the attack early as Sri Lanka pressed for wickets.But Lara ate away at Muralitharan’s precious overs, playing him with care but confidence, so Marvan Atapattu tossed the ball instead to Kumar Dharmasena. Fatally, Lara relaxed. He skipped down the wicket to loft the first ball for six but perished next ball as he aimed a similar shot (54 for 2).The runs started to dry up. Neither Gayle, who crawled along, facing 75 deliveries for his 21, and Ramaresh Sarwan were comfortable. The pressure started to mount. Eventually, Gayle was bowled around his legs after missing a lazy waft to leg (81 for 3).But Marlon Samuels, who had earlier fielded brilliantly, pulling off two athletic run outs and one stupendous leaping catch, swaggered to the crease as storm clouds gathered around this seaside ground. He quickly reestablished West Indies’ grip on the game, walloping two sixes in an over off Upul Chandana and three in all, racing to 30 off just 16 balls before rain forced the players from the field.The break did not dampen the spirits of the crowd, or the ambitions of Samuels, the eventual man of the match, as West Indies were set a revised target (186 off 48 overs). Sarwan (25) was caught at slip of Muralitharan, but Samuels and Ricardo Powell kept ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis target before final rain interruption. The pair returned to knock off the required 10 runs after another revised target (160 in 42 overs). Samuels finished with 45 from 38 balls.Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene had top scored, gluing the innings together after the fall of early wickets. Coming to the crease with Sri Lanka tottering on 63 for 4, he scored 51 from 74 balls before missing a full toss in the penultimate over of the innings. It was his first fifty in 18 matches and ended a wretched run with the bat that stretched back to the VB Series in Australia.But Jayawardene’s innings was not enough to wrestle back the initiative won earlier by West Indies’ pace bowlers. Colleymore was the pick of them, taking 3 for 28 from his 10 overs, but there was also promising back-up from the inexperienced Jerome Taylor and Darren Powell, who were surprisingly included ahead of Mervyn Dillon and Vasbert Drakes.Powell was energetic and steady on his comeback, and Taylor, just 18-years-old with only a handful of first-class games under his belt for Jamaica, was impressive on his first outing, generating a lively pace from a smooth run and fluid action. There was no sign of first day nerves and he settled down so well, taking 2 for 36, that his name will surely be seriously discussed for the Test series.The pace bowlers were well supported by their part-time spinners, Ryan Hurley, Gayle and Samuels, and Sri Lanka had to graft hard for their runs. The only partnerships of note were between Jayawardene and Chandana (57 in 109 balls) for the fifth wicket and Jayawardene and Dharmasena (42 in 38 balls) for the seventh. However, the innings then fell away in the slog overs to set-up a comfortable West Indies win.

Monsoon rains in Karachi washed out the 2003 Youth Asia Cup matches, meaning the points were evenly shared by Singapore, Maldives, UAE and Qatar.

At the Karachi Gymkhana, Maldives, chasing Singapore’s 276 for 9, were 17 for 1 from 6.4 overs when the rains came flooding down. At the UBL Sports Complex Ground No. 1, Qatar were 13 for no loss after 2.4 overs while chasing UAE’s 201 in 43 overs.The star performer for Singapore was Zeeshan Raza who hit a fine 91 from 82 balls. His innings included eight fours. He featured in a 69-run sixth-wicket stand with Iftikhar Haider, who chipped in with a useful 36. Opener Christopher Janik contributed a 53-ball 40 which included four boundaries.For Maldives, Mohammad Imran picked up four wickets for 65 runs, while Mohammad Mahfooz bagged 2 for 44.Hussain Adnan (2) and Hasan Aflam (5) were at the crease when the rain came down and forced the abandonment. Maldives were 17 for the loss of Ahmed Hassan Sobir (6).Across Karachi at the UBL Sports Complex, UAE’s innings revolved around opener Asim Zubair’s 57 which was laced with four boundaries and a six off 53 balls. He received good support from fellow opener Ramvir Rai (32) and they put on 61 for the first wicket.Qamar Sadiq, a left-arm spinner, was the pick of Qatar bowlers with 3 for 38.Scores in brief:
Singapore 276-9 in 50 overs (Zeeshan Raza 91, Christopher Janik 40, Iftikhar Haider 36, Mohammed Imran 4-65) v Maldives 17-1. Match washed-out. Points shared.UAE 201 in 43 overs (Asim Zubair 57, Ramvir Rai 32, Qamar Sadiq 3-38, Mohammad Emran 2-36) vs Qatar 13-0. Match washed out. Points shared.Thursday’s fixtures:
Hong Kong v Malaysia at PCB Academy Ground, Kuwait v Thailand at Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground.

Women’s cricket will be played on Telstra Stadium in the summer when NewSouth Wales and Queensland meet in a Women’s National Cricket League match.The NSW Breakers and Queensland Fire will have the honour of being the firstwomen’s cricket team to play at the former Stadium Australia, host venue forthe opening and closing ceremonies and track and field athletics at theSydney Olympic Games in 2000.Only one match has previously been played at the ground when Steve Waugh¹sNew South Wales Blues played an ING Cup fixture against Southern Redbacks onFebruary 16 this year.Among two other new venues for the women’s league is Bowral, where theBreakers will play the Southern Scorpions at Bradman Oval, an appropriatechoice given Sir Don Bradman’s affiliation with both states, on December6-7. The other venue is Frankston’s Butler Oval for the repeat of lastseason’s final between the Victoria Spirit and the Breakers on December20-21.The League begins on November 22 when Victoria play the Queensland Fire, whowere fourth-placed last year, at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Victoriaare chasing back-to-back titles after winning their first WNCL crown lastseason, beating New South Wales in the competition final at the MelbourneCricket Ground. The win broke New South Wales¹ run of six consecutive WNCLtitles.The double-action opening round also sees Western Fury host last season¹srunners-up, New South Wales, at the WACA Ground in Perth.This season will again see the WNCL finals series hosted by the team thatfinishes the home-and-away season in top position. In the past, the finalswere hosted by the team that finished first in the previous season.At youth level, national under-age championships for Under-15, Under-17 andUnder-19 players, will also take place over the summer.The Under-15 championships (December 15-19) will be staged in Melbourne, theUnder-17 championships (January 19-23) in Geelong, while the Under-19championships (January 7-14) travel to Hobart for the first time. TheCricket Australia Cup (women¹s) will be held in Sydney (December 8-12).The international schedule for the Australian women¹s team, the CommonwealthBank Southern Stars, will be announced in the coming months.

South Africa 682 for 6 dec (Smith 259, Kirsten 108) beat England 173 (Ntini 5-75) and 417 (Flintoff 142, Ntini 5-145) by an innings and 92 runs
Scorecard

In a Test match full of records, two more were broken in a memorable fourth and final day of the second npower Test at Lord’s, which South Africa inevitably won, by a huge innings and 92 runs. England were always on to a lost cause, but Andrew Flintoff made sure they went out with a bang with a Test-best 142 – the highest score by a No. 7 at Lord’s – while Makhaya Ntini became the first South African to take ten wickets at the ground.It was a surprisingly dramatic ending to such a one-sided Test. Flintoff and Ntini locked horns in their own personal battle, but both came out winners. Flintoff reached his second Test century with a pull past square leg, while Ntini took the magic ten when he removed Steve Harmison two balls later.Their reactions were different, however. Flintoff greeted the raucous applause in a muted fashion, simply holding up his second bat (the first one had earlier split in dramatic fashion), before thanking Harmison for sticking around with him. Ntini, on the other hand, bent down and kissed the pitch in recognition of his achievement.Ntini showed the sort of fight and heart lacking from any of the England bowlers and thoroughly deserved his joint Man of the Match award with Graeme Smith. Along with the exemplary Shaun Pollock and the combative Andrew Hall, Ntini made sure England lost by a mile, but Flintoff kept everyone interested as he fanned the embers of their innings.While Ashley Giles and Harmison gave him the majority of his support before they both fell to Ntini, Flintoff, as was the case with the ball, didn’t give up. He brought up the 250 with a towering six off Paul Adams which nearly smashed a window in the Media Centre. He continued to give Adams a bit of hammer with three more crushing boundaries and signalled his fifty with a classy straight drive off Dewald Pretorius. Then the fun really began.Ntini returned with the new ball and he and Flintoff tussled out an intriguing duel. Flintoff pulled him for a four and two sixes in the same over and then broke his bat trying to lace him through the covers. Ntini then replied by hitting Flintoff on the helmet, but it didn’t deter him from playing his shots, much to the delight of the crowd.Gough also joined in the fun with a few flashy drives before he drove Pollock loosely to Adams at cover not long after tea (344 for 8). Even when Harmison went, Flintoff continued to keep England alive with some astonishing hits. He brought up the 400 in a 20-run mauling of Pollock, including two sixes, and the whole of Lord’s were cheering their hero, who eventually fell when Adams had him stumped by Boucher.But Flintoff’s fireworks couldn’t hide the fact that England’s was an embarrassingly poor display, made worse by a late morning mini-collapse in which three late wickets undid England’s solid work in the first hour-and-a-half of the day.Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart all fell before lunch to make England’s good start a complete waste of time and effort. Butcher and Hussain had played watchfully in good batting conditions and passed a sparkling hundred partnership on the way, but once Butcher succumbed to a lapse in concentration, the house of cards began its collapse.After an encouraging first hour for England, in which Butcher passed his fifty and Hussain passed 5000 Test runs, they both gave their wickets away. In a gaping lapse in concentration, Butcher clipped Hall to Gary Kirsten at square leg for 70, before Hussain attempted a bizarre pull against an Ntini ball which pitched way outside off stump. The ball squirted up in the air, Hussain let out a desperate cry of anguish, and Mark Boucher did the rest (208 for 4).That may well have been Hussain’s last Test innings at Lord’s, but for Stewart it was most certainly the final curtain. He lasted only two balls before edging Ntini to Hall at second slip. The ball moved away a touch, Stewart prodded firmly at it, and Hall dived low to his left to take a good catch (208 for 5). It was a sad end for Stewart who only made 7 in the first innings.And just after lunch, England’s woes continued when McGrath nibbled a Shaun Pollock awaycutter to Boucher for a scratchy 13. It was a good ball from Pollock, but McGrath didn’t move his feet as he poked at the ball which nipped down the hill (208 for 6). Never mind the rumours that this may be the last Test for the old stalwarts such as Stewart, Hussain and Gough – it may be McGrath’s too.Click here for yesterday’s bulletin

Andy Flower has agreed a new two-year deal with Essex. Flower, 35, retired from international cricket after the 2003 World Cup. He has dual nationality and becomes qualified to play as a non-overseas player next season.David East, Essex’s chief executive, said: “Andy has been a model overseas player for the last two seasons and, following the conclusion of his international career, we are delighted he has signed a two-year contract with us. He has a British passport and will play in Essex as a local player, which obviously enables us to keep our second overseas player option open having already secured Scott Brant for 2004.”Flower joined Essex in 2002 and made an immediate impact, scoring over 1000 runs with an average over fifty, and helped Essex to promotion in both the Frizzell County Championship and the National League. This year, Flower recently passed the 1000-run mark again, despite Essex’s struggle in the Championship.