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Viv Richards, who captained some of the most fearsome fast bowlers of all time, says Brett Lee is the equal of the West Indies quicks of the 1980s and early 90s. On Sunday against West Indies Lee picked up his 300th one-day international wicket, reaching the milestone in fewer games than any other player and beating the previous record-holder Waqar Younis by 15 matches.Over the past few years Lee has impressed Richards, who believes Jeff Thomson was the fastest bowler he ever faced and was at the helm of a team that included Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh. “He’s certainly up there with those guys,” Richards told . “It is hard to assess what took place from then to now but I think when he’s called upon to do it, he’s just as good as any.”As well as his speed, which is regularly in the mid-150kph region and occasionally breaks the 160kph barrier, Lee’s endurance has been noted by Richards. “What I have been impressed more than anything in Brett Lee is his fitness,” Richards said.”He’s one of the fittest bowlers that I’ve ever seen in a long, long time. And not just when he’s got the ball in hand, if you look at him on the field as well he’s just 100%, saving fours, and saving two and things like that.”Lee has carried a significant fast-bowling load in the Caribbean and at times during the Test series was clearly close to exhaustion. With the five-match ODI series already in the bag Australia may take the opportunity to rest Lee for the remaining two games, with Stuart Clark ready to step into the limited-overs side.

Midlands-West-Wales Division

Somerset are out of the Twenty20 Cup after a washout at Northampton ruined their last remaining hopes of qualification. They had to beat Northamptonshire to stand any chance, but when Justin Langer fell to the first ball of the match, their hopes took an early setback. Omari Banks revived their prospects with a hard-hitting 50 that featured six sixes, and he added 67 with Ben Phillips to lift his side from 67 for 6 to 137 for 9. Johann Louw took 3 for 24 to set his side up for a shot at victory, but after Niall O’Brien had launched their response with 14 from five deliveries, the match was abandoned with Northants on 20 for 2 after two overs.Warwickshire qualified at the top of their table and secured a home tie in the quarter-finals as the rain continued to blight Glamorgan’s campaign at Edgbaston. Glamorgan made a solid start, reaching 79 for 0 after 8.4 overs, but that was as good as the action got as they were condemned to their fourth no-result in nine matches. Richard Grant led the way with 39 from 23 balls and David Hemp matched him with 38 from 29, but rain had the final say.

North Division

No play at all was possible in Yorkshire’s clash with Leicestershire at Headingley, which means that their hopes of qualification will come down to the very final round. Yorkshire currently sit in third place in the table, one point ahead of Nottinghamshire in fourth, whom they play at Trent Bridge on Friday. If they win, and Lancashire slip up against the leaders, Durham, they will go through by virtue of their two wins in the Roses fixtures at Headingley and Old Trafford.

Andrew Flintoff has admitted he feared his England days were over last year when he was limping through the one-day series against India and the ICC World Twenty20. Dosed up on painkillers and bowling on one leg, he started to wonder whether he would have to cut short his career.Although his ankle stood up well in the early stages of the season, when he bowled some quick spells for Lancashire, he is again recovering from another injury, this time a side strain. He is now aiming to return against South Africa in July, 18 months after his last Test against Australia in Sydney.In an open and honest interview with the , Flintoff says he knew he had major problems when his ankle was still causing him trouble after his third operation last June. He was patched up and went to South Africa for the Twenty20, but it was a desperate decision for Flintoff because he thought he may never get another chance.”I’d had a third operation on my ankle last June, which forced me to miss both the Test series against West Indies and India,” he said. “Even though I came back for the one-day series against India, it didn’t take long to realise I was struggling. I played a couple of matches, missed a couple, got myself drugged up with painkillers and just about got through, but I knew it was bad.”The decision for me to go to the World Twenty20 in South Africa in September was based on the reasoning I couldn’t do myself any more harm and that either I would be able to bowl through the pain or the ankle would give way completely.”Also in my thinking was the possibility that I just might not get another chance to take part in this kind of tournament again. In the event I was pretty much bowling on one leg, relying on my shoulder and maybe even a bent arm at times and the realisation grew in me that, if this was as good as it was going to get, it wasn’t enough.”Flintoff watched some of the second Test against New Zealand at Old Trafford last week, but found it tough to be around his team-mates when he was unable to take part in the match. “I went into the dressing room and enjoyed chatting with the lads but it was tough because I wanted so much to be part of it and I wasn’t,” he said.He also spoke about the 2006-07 winter, when he captained England during their 5-0 Ashes whitewash, and the World Cup campaign which included him being dropped for a match after the ‘Fredalo’ incident in St Lucia. However, Flintoff now wants to look forward and believes he still has plenty to offer.”I’ve gone through the bad times, now I want the good times again, the feeling I got from playing in a successful England team because I believe my best years are ahead of me. I’m not just saying that, either.”

Customs produced all-round performance to clinch Tapal Trophy Ramzan trophy beating Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) by 52 runs in the final Tuesday.Batting first, Customs could manage 156 for nine in allotted 25 overs with Azhar Shafiq hitting enterprising 54 with the aid of four hits to the fence. He faced 50 balls. Test discard Qasier Abbas made an unbeaten 30 with three boundaries.Asif Ghori bowled well to finish with three wickets for 18 runs in five overs of left arm spin. Pakistan under-19 offspinner Irfanuddin picked up three wickets for 36 runs.KESC were bundled out for 104 in 21st over. Skipper Arif Mahmood fought the lone battle finishing 30 not out. Tariq Haroon blasted three boundaries in his 25.Off-spinner Tabish Nawab took two wickets for 10 runs, paceman Imran Ali bagged 2-23 and Shahid Mahood took 2-30.Customs skipper Aamer Bashir received the trophy and cash prize of 150,000 and Arif Mahmood collected Rs 75,000.Afsar Nawaz of Customs was declared the best player of the tournament and was awarded Rs 10,000. Agha Sabir (best batsman) Imran Javed (best bowler) and Aamir Iqbal (Best wicketkeeper) were given special awards with Rs. 5000 each.Summarized scores:Customs 156-9 in 25 overs (Azhar Shafiq 54, Afsar Nawaz 20, Qasier Abbas 30 not out; Asif Ghori 3-18, Irfanuddin 3-36, Tahir Khan 2-17);KESC 104 all out in 20.5 overs (Arif Mahmood 29 not out, Tariq Haroon 25, Imran Ali 2-23, Tabish Nawab 2-10, Shahid Mahmood 2-30).AOCC infinalA.O.CC entered the final of A.O. Ramzan Super Cup beating Asghar Ali Shah CC (AASCC) by six wickets in the semifinal Tuesday.Kamran Hussain struck an attractive 50 with four sixes and three boundaries off 29 balls and Atif Mughal hit two fours and as many sixesin his 36 as AASCC made 126 for six in reduced 16 over because of late start.Dr M.A. Shah picked up three wickets for 25 with his offbreak and Test reject Shoaib Malik claimed three wickets for 21.AOCC in reply reached the target in 13th over. Junaid Ali hit five sixes and two fours in his 50 and Nadeem Shaikh hit three fours and couple of sixes in his 40.Summarized scores:AASCC 126-6 in 16 overs (Kamran Hussain 50, Asif Mughal 36, Dr M.A.Shah 3-25; Shoaib Malik 3-21); AOCC 127-4 in 12.3 overs (Junaid Ali Shah 50, Nadeem Shaikh 40, Asif Butt 22, Turab Hussain 2-23).Omer cc grab CUPOmer Cricket Club clinched the 6th Dr M.A. Shah Floodlight Ramzan trophy with 19 runs victory over Siddique Sports in low scoring match Monday night.Omer CC recovered from 24 for four wickets to muster 120 for nine wickets in their 20 overs. Opener Sajid Hanif held his team’s innings together with a defiant knock of 35 laced with one huge six and a boundary.Sajid’s brother Rashid Hanif slammed 20 with three hits to the ropes while Iqbal Shaikh made 23 including a big six.Left arm spinner Salman Fazal, a former Pakistan under-19 player took three wickets for 19 runs in a economical spell of four overs. Jaffer Qureshi took 3-29 in four overs with left arm spin and medium fast bowler Tanveer claimed two for 21.Siddique Sports in reply were restricted to 101 for eight in 20 overs. Left arm slow bowler Rizwan Qureshi took two key wickets of opener Saeed Bin Nasir and Naveed Latif to cause the early trouble in batting. Captain Tariq Haroon polished off the tail with three wickets for six runs in 12 balls.The winners received cash prize of Rs.200,000 and runners-up Rs. 50,000.Summarized scores:Omer CC 120-9 in 20 overs (Sajid Hanif 35, Iqbal Shaikh 23, Rashid Hanif 20, Mansoor Baig 15 not out; Salman Fazal 3-19, Jaffer Qureshi 3-29, Tanveer Ahmed 2-21); Siddique Sports 101- 8in 20 overs (Tahir Khan 25 not out, Jaffer Qureshi 20, Saeed Bin Nasir 17, Tariq Haroon 3-6, Rizwan Qureshi 2-9).Jadoon SHINESA dazzling 62 by left-hander and Man of the Match Zafar Jadoon enabled Hill Park qualify for the final of the Ford & Lord Trophy Ramazan beating Asian CC by 88 runs on Tuesday.Having first use of the home wicket, Hill Park raced to 187 for five in their 20 overs. Aside from Jadoon’s fine knock, Mohammad Zahid (24), along with Haris Jawed and Saeed Tamoir with 20 runs apiece, were also among the runs. Ashfaq Ahmed bagged two for 42 for the fielding side.Asian CC in reply were bundled out for 99 runs in 18.2 overs, Ashfaq impressing with the bat also, top scored with 25 runs. Spinners Sohail Vohra two for 22 and Abdul Rehman two for 18, did the damage.Zafar Jadoon was later named the Man of the Match.Thursday’s fixture: (Final) Hill Park CC v Afzal Sports 1.00 p.m.

The winter series of cricket evenings continues on Tuesday 12 November 2002 when the speaker will be Roger Newman, Director of the Warwickshire CCC Academy, one of eight approved by the ECB.A former teacher, Roger has been Director since the Academy opened in September 2001. His responsibility is to ensure the development of selected players between 13 and 18 as the next generation of young England players."Assessment", "Preparation" and "Performance" are the key stages of the year’s programme.The meeting starts at 7.30 p.m. and is held in the Cricket Suite of Worcestershire CCC’s New Road Ground; admission is free to Society members: £2.50 to visitors.

Nottinghamshire 296 (Clarke 109, Evison 58) and 174 for 5 (Slater 79*, Duckett 54) beat Yorkshire 73 (Evison 4-13, Fletcher 3-31) and 396 (Lyth 153) by five wicketsNottinghamshire duly completed a five-wicket victory against Yorkshire, seven overs into the afternoon session on the final day and spent the afternoon watching the culmination of Warwickshire’s Championship victory at Edgbaston, a result that squeezed them out of contention for a place in next week’s Bob Willis Trophy.For those unversed in cricket’s most misconceived tournaments, the Bob Willis Trophy pits together the top two in a contest which is, well, considerably less important than actually winning the Championship. A five-day affair at Lord’s which finishes perilously close to October when the Lord’s groundstaff have a square to seed. There was not even a huge amount of interest in England in the World Test Championship final, so the idea is unlikely to take hold..Had Warwickshire failed to win – and it rarely looked in doubt as they rolled Somerset aside for 154 inside two sessions – Nottinghamshire would have finished second in the table and earned a trip to Lord’s to face Lancashire, having failed to win the Championship by only half a point – in which case they would have rued once again the missing of a batting point by four runs in the first innings. Instead, Warwickshire’s 118-run win meant that Nottinghamshire finished the season third, a result that in many ways made the outcome easier to bear.A bigger factor than a missed batting point, however, was defeats home and away to Warwickshire in the Conference phase of the season, which meant they carried forward only five points from those matches into the divisional stage, compared with Warwickshire’s 21 and Lancashire’s 16.5.For a side that had gone nearly three years without a Championship win before ending that run against Derbyshire in April, it has nevertheless been a satisfying four-day season, and it culminated this week with the coach, Peter Moores, signing a new three-year contract.Related