Bryan Colin Strang – born Bulawayo, 9 June 1972
Right-handed batsman, left-arm medium-pace bowler
Career: 1993/94-2000/01

Abbreviations: Capital letters for team names denotes a Test match.Man – ManicalandMash – Mashonaland * indicates not out inningsMat – Matabeleland + indicates wicket-keeperMCD – Mashonaland Country Districts *+ retired hurt/illMid – Midlands # batted firstZim – Zimbabwe/ZimbabweansGrounds:Alex – Alexandra Sports Club OG – Old Georgians Sports ClubBAC – Bulawayo Athletic Club OH – Old Hararians Sports ClubHSC – Harare Sports ClubNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1994/95 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl TotalBryan burst into Zimbabwean cricket after being unavailable early while at university in South Africa. He is one of the few cricketers to play Test cricket during their maiden first-class season, and to take 50 wickets in their maiden season, especially outside England.1 Zimbabwe A v South Africa A (10) 9 #87 – (4) 33 7 95 5 409(Alex, 4 Oct – Lost) (9) 0 1432 Zim Board XI v Griqualand West (10) 12 #423/9d – (4) 9 4 17 0 121(Kimberley, 4 Nov – Won) – (4) 21 9 52 0 2833 Zim Board XI v Western Transvaal — 400/7d 1 (3) 26.1 11 59 2 #248(BAC, 1 Dec – Drawn) (3) 22 10 48 1 279/74 Zim Board XI v Natal B (11) 7 #317 – (3) 20 3 76 2 265(HSC, 15 Dec – Drawn) (11) 0* 169 – (3) 21 5 45 3 136/55 Zim Board XI v Northern Tvl B (8) 27 205 – (4) 27.5 11 59 4 #276/9d(HSC, 5 Jan – Lost) (8) 0 117 – (4) 18 6 38 2 227/7d6 MCD v Matabeleland (11) 1 #123 – (1) 12 4 34 2 127(Harare South, 20 Jan – L) (3) 1 336 – (1) 23 3 72 2 335/37 Zim Board XI v Western Prov B (10) 9 260 – (2) 30 9 73 4 #284/8d(Cape Town, 26 Jan – D) — 86/4 – (2) 19 2 58 1 2578 ZIMBABWE v PAKISTAN (2nd) (11) 0* #174 1 (3) 23 10 44 3 260(Queens, 7 Feb – L) (11) 0 146 – (3) 3.4 2 6 2 61/29 ZIMBABWE v PAKISTAN (3rd) (11) 6 243 – (3) 32 15 43 3 #231(HSC, 15 Feb – L) (11) 0 139 – (4) 26 16 27 1 25010 MCD v Mashonaland (9) 1 182 – (1) 24.3 7 64 7 #188(HSC, 10 March – L) (2) 11 161 – (1) 17.4 1 92 2 42111 Mash Select v Northamptonshire (9) 4 83 1 (1) 28 7 59 1 #276/7d(HSC, 4 April – W) — 417/4 – (1) 27 9 83 4 2231994/95 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM11 17 2 88 27 5.86 – – 3 463.5 151 1144 51 22.43 7/64 2 -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total12 MCD v Young Mashonaland (10) 0 #309 – (2) 21 6 61 3 182(Alex, 15 Sept – W) — 264/2d – (2) 14 3 35 1 168M I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareer 12 18 2 88 27 5.50 – – 3 498.5 160 1240 55 22.54 7/64 2 -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (South Africa) bat Score Total bowl Total13 Zimbabwe A v Transvaal (11) 1* #264 – (2) 31 11 104 1 509(Johannesburg, 21 Sept – L) (11) 29 312 – (1) 9.2 5 13 1 70/114 Zimbabwe A v Eastern Province (10) 0 #112 – (2) 26 10 57 3 313Port Elizabeth, 28 Sept – L) (10) 8 14415 Zimbabwe A v South Africa A (10) 2 #221 – (4) 14.5 5 42 1 310(Durban, 6 Oct – D) (10) 27* 256/81995/96 (SOUTH AFRICA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM3 6 2 67 29 16.75 – – – 81.1 31 216 6 36.00 3/57 – -Career 15 24 4 155 29 7.75 – – 3 580 191 1456 61 23.86 7/64 2 -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total16 ZIMBABWE v SOUTH AFRICA (Only) (10) 0 #170 1 (3) 32 4 101 5 346(HSC, 13 Oct – L) (10) 25* 283 1 (3) 12 6 18 0 108/317 MCD v Matabeleland (9) 0 209 – (1) 22.4 6 41 5 #152(BAC, 17 Nov – L) (9) 8 283 – (1) 25.4 3 92 2 34418 Zim Board XI v Northern Tvl B (10) 0* 334/9d – (2) 33 11 69 5 #339(Centurion, 24 Nov – D) — 131/7 – (2) 29 4 106 2 244/8d19 MCD v Mashonaland (10) 25* 279 1 (1) 10 0 45 3 #133(Harare South, 8 Dec – W) (10) 26* 207/8 – (1) 29.2 8 96 6 35220 Zim Board XI v Griqualand West (8) 0 153 1 (3) 26 10 63 3 #290/9d(Harare South, 15 Dec – D) (8) 44 258/9 – (1) 18 4 65 3 183/9d1995/96 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareer 20 33 8 283 44 11.32 – – 7 817.4 247 2152 95 22.65 7/64 6 -No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1995/96 (New Zealand) bat Score Total bowl TotalBryan made a notable debut on his first Test-playing tour for the national side, taking 12 wickets for just 59 runs in his opening first-class match.21 Zimbabweans v New Zealand XI (9) 14 #172 – (2) 18 10 20 6 111(Wanganui, 2 Jan – W) — 154/3 – (2) 27.4 15 39 6 21222 ZIMBABWE v NEW ZEALAND (1st) (11) 4 196 – (2) 24 11 51 0 #230/8d(Hamilton, 13 Jan – D) — 208/6 – (3) 5 1 19 1 222/5d23 ZIMBABWE v NEW ZEALAND (2nd) (11) 14* 326 1 (3) 31.3 8 64 3 #251(Auckland, 20 Jan – D) — 246/4 – (3) 27 8 64 0 441/5d1995/96 (NEW ZEALAND) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM3 3 1 32 14* 16.00 – – 1 133.1 53 257 16 16.06 6/20 2 1Career 23 36 9 315 44 11.66 – – 8 950.5 300 2409 111 21.70 7/64 8 1No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1997/98 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl TotalBryan was surprisingly chosen to play against Yorkshire when not fully fit.24 Mash Invitation XI v Yorkshire (10) 0 273/9d – (7) 5 0 26 0 #267/6d(HSC, 1 April – L) (9) 0 156 – (6) 7 2 13 0 215/7d25 MCD v Matabeleland (9) 66 #265 – (1) 26 8 69 4 220(BAC, 19 April – L) (9) 19 128 – (1) 12 3 46 1 176/41997/98 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM8 14 4 213 66 21.30 – 1 4 322.4 78 946 43 22.00 6/96 4 -Career 25 40 9 400 66 12.90 – 1 8 1000.5 313 2563 116 22.09 7/64 8 1No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1996/97 (Sri Lanka) bat Score Total bowl TotalBryan suffered a broken jaw in an incident off the field and returned home, missing the tour of New Zealand that followed.26 ZIMBABWE v SRI LANKA (2nd)(Colombo SSC, 18 Sept – L)1996/97 (SRI LANKA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1996/97 (Pakistan) bat Score Total bowl Total1996/97 (PAKISTAN) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1996/97 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total1996/97 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1997/98 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl TotalM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1997/98 (Sri Lanka) bat Score Total bowl Total1997/98 (SRI LANKA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1997/98 (New Zealand) bat Score Total bowl Total1997/98 (NEW ZEALAND) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1997/98 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total1997/98 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1998/99 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl TotalM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1998/99 (Pakistan) bat Score Total bowl Total1998/99 (PAKISTAN) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1998/99 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total1998/99 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1999/2000 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl TotalM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1999/2000 (South Africa) bat Score Total bowl Total1999/2000 (SOUTH AFRICA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1999/2000 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total1999/2000 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.1999/2000 (West Indies) bat Score Total bowl Total1999/2000 (WEST INDIES) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2000 (England) bat Score Total bowl Total2000 (ENGLAND) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2000/01 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl TotalM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2000/01 (India) bat Score Total bowl Total2000/01 (INDIA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2000/01 (New Zealand) bat Score Total bowl Total2000/01 (NEW ZEALAND) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2000/01 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total2000/01 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2001/02 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl TotalM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2001/02 (Bangladesh) bat Score Total bowl Total2001/02 (BANGLADESH) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2001/02 (Sri Lanka) bat Score Total bowl Total2001/02 (SRI LANKA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2001/02 (India) bat Score Total bowl Total2001/02 (INDIA) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerNo. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2001/02 (Zimbabwe, cont.) bat Score Total bowl Total2001/02 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareer*****LAST*****No. Own Team Ct No. O M R W Opp.2002/03 (Zimbabwe) bat Score Total bowl Total2002/03 (ZIMBABWE) SEASON TOTALM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMCareerRECORD SEASON BY SEASONM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1989/90xxxxxxx 4 7 0 54 15 7.71 – – 6 39 4 133 6 22.16 2/6 – -1990/911991/921992/93(Z)1992/93(I)1993 (E)1993/94(P)1993/94(Z)1994/95(A)1994/95(Z)1995/96(NZ)1995/96(Z)1996/97(SL)1996/97(P)1996/97(Z)1997/98(SL)1997/98(NZ)1997/98(Z)1998/99(P)1998/99(Z)1999/00(SA)1999/00(Z)1999/00(WI)2000 (E)2000/01(I)2000/01(NZ)2000/01(Z)2001/02(B)2001/02(K)2001/02(SL)2001/02(I)2001/02(Z)RECORD IN EACH COUNTRYM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMZimbabweEngland 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 – – – 27 6 76 2 38.00 2/58 – -EnglandAustraliaSouth AfricaWest IndiesNew ZealandIndiaPakistanSri LankaBangladeshKenyaRECORD ON ZIMBABWEAN GROUNDSM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMAlexandraBulawayo ACCountry ClubHarare Southxxxxxxxxxxxx 3 3 0 126 70 42.00 – 1 1 66 18 154 5 30.80 2/18 – -Harare SouthHarare SCKwekweMutareOld HarariansQueens SCSunriseLOGAN CUP RECORD (FOR MASHONALAND)M I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wM1993/94xxxxxxx 3 3 0 126 70 42.00 – 1 1 66 18 154 5 30.80 2/18 – -1994/951995/961996/971997/981998/991999/20002000/012001/02RECORD AGAINST OTHER LOGAN CUP TEAMSM I NO Runs HS Av. 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. BB 5wI 10wMFor Matabeleland:Mash Under-24 2 3 0 91 73 30.33 – – 1 76.5 22 145 10 14.50 6/34 1 -CENTURIES1 101 Mashonaland A v Mashonaland Harare South Country Club 1997/98TWO CENTURIES IN A MATCH104 and 151 ZIMBABWE v NEW ZEALAND (Harare Sports Club) 1997/98CENTURY AND FIFTY IN THE SAME MATCHTWO FIFTIES IN A MATCH200 OR MORE RUNS IN A MATCH`PAIRS’FIVE WICKETS IN AN INNINGS1 5/56 Zimbabwe v Pakistan (Second Test, Rawalpindi) 1993/94BEST MATCH FIGURESMATCH DOUBLE OF 100 RUNS AND FIVE WICKETS131; 1/60 and 7/69 Matabeleland v Mashonaland Country Districts (Bulawayo AC) 1995/96MOST OVERS BOWLED IN AN INNINGSMOST OVERS BOWLED IN A MATCHMOST RUNS CONCEDED IN AN INNINGSMOST RUNS CONCEDED IN A MATCHMOST MAIDEN OVERS BOWLED IN AN INNINGSDETAILS OF DISMISSALS AS A BATSMANbowledlbw 22 17.89caughtcaught by wicketkeepercaught and bowledstumpedrun outTOTAL 123 100.00%DETAILS OF DISMISSALS AS A BOWLERbowledlbw 61 20.07caughtcaught by wicket-keepercaught and bowledstumpedTOTAL 304 100.00%THREE OR MORE CATCHES IN AN INNINGS3 Matabeleland v Glamorgan (Bulawayo Athletic Club) 1994/95FOUR OR MORE CATCHES IN A MATCH4 Matabeleland v Glamorgan (Bulawayo Athletic Club) 1994/95MOST CATCHES IN AN INNINGSMOST CATCHES IN A MATCH

Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove has every confidence in Shane Warne. Speaking at a press conference following the news that Hampshire’s Australian captain had been sent back to Australia from the World Cup after testing positive for a small trace of a diuretic drug during the VB Final series in January, his return to the side after his shoulder injury.”Knowing Shane as I do” said Bransgrove, “I know that he would never jeopardise his career. He may have been a little naive, but he is not a drug user, either as a performance enhansing agent or socially”.”I am confident” he continued, “that he will be able to return to South Africa to play a roll in Australia’s World Cup defence”.When asked about his Hampshire prospects, Bransgrove was upbeat that he will as planned play a pivotal part of the team this year, our plans circle around our captain and leading overseas star”.”I have tried to contact Shane today, but If I was him I would have had my mobile phone turned off”.

HOBART, Feb 26 AAP – South Australia’s season goes on the line when the Redbacks visit Bellerive Oval for the Pura Cup cricket clash with Tasmania starting tomorrow.Redbacks captain Greg Blewett didn’t need any reminding today of the match’s importance.Defeat would relegate the Redbacks to also-rans, just as they finished the ING Cup one-day competition.”We are sitting on 22 points at the moment, so we need two outright wins to have a chance of playing in the finals,” he said.Blewett said the team’s confidence had been boosted after it picked up six points for toppling ladder leader Queensland by an innings and 125 runs inside three days at Adelaide Oval earlier this month.It was SA’s first win in either a one-day or four-day match since November 15-18, when the Redbacks defeated NSW outright in Sydney.”It’s got us up there in the mix again,” Blewett said.With two matches remaining – both against Tasmania – the skipper’s only concern was the weather.”There’s been some rain forecast for the next three days,” he said.”Hopefully we will get enough cricket in to get a result.”Tigers skipper Jamie Cox would also be hoping for a good result, sitting just 10 runs shy of a 10,000-run tally in Australian domestic first-class cricket.If he achieved the goal, he would join Australian World Cup batsman Darren Lehmann (11,095) and former South Australian batsman Jamie Siddons (10,643).Tasmania goes into the match on the bottom of the ladder with eight points and has lost Damien Wright and Ben Oliver to injury.Wright has not recovered from a back injury sustained during the last match and Oliver was suffering from a hernia.Gerard Denton returned to the Tigers’ lineup following an extended lay-off through injury, while allrounder Adam Polkinghorne had been included for the first time this season after impressive grade cricket performances.Right-hand middle-order batsman Chris Bassano will make his Tigers debut.TEAMS: Tasmania – Jamie Cox (c), Sean Clingeleffer, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Andrew Downton, Adam Griffith, Adam Polkinghorne, Daniel Marsh, Scott Mason, Chris Bassano, Gerald Denton.South Australia – Greg Blewett (c), Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Shane Deitz, David Fitzgerald, Mark Higgs, Ben Johnson, Graham Manou, Mick Miller, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait, Brad Young.

So the time has come to say farewell. An old man’s hesitation and tardyrunning may have cost him the chance of a fitting swansong but the memorieswill live long anyhow. Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s greatest batsman andthe longest-serving player in international cricket, has finally called timeon an glorious career that stretches back nearly two decades.

Despite being 37-years-old and balding fast, he remains capable with bat andball. Indeed, Sri Lankan cricket officials have already tried to persuadehim to stay on for another six months. But de Silva, like any greatperformer, appreciates the value of timing. Money is not a concern and thereis now nothing left to prove. For a man always motivated by the bigoccasion, a World Cup exit was perfect and now he will begin a new life.Unlike so many professional cricketers who hang up their boots and wonder”what next?” de Silva’s future is already mapped out. Coaching is not hiscalling, although he is a master cricket strategist and technician, and hissoft voice will not sit well alongside the orchestrated hysteria of TonyGreig on microphone. Instead, he seeks the challenge of business; a fieldthat tests the same fierce competitiveness that saw him amass 15,645 runs inTests and ODIs.

Already he has proved himself a sound commercial operator: he has been aboard member of one of Colombo’s largest conglomerates, sold mobileconnections to the war-ravaged north, set-up and sold one of Colombo’sleading Indian restaurants, silently invested in a series of other venturesand played the stock market with the same dexterity that allowed him to milkthe world’s best spinners. When de Silva moves, Colombo’s businessmen watch.Scoring runs and making money requires ruthlessness. And despite beingblessed with the kind of charm that made Canterbury’s tea ladies melt,reminding them of bygone eras when cricketers were gentlemen, de Silva isruthless.But de Silva will not be remembered for his commercial exploits, no matterhow great they will be. De Silva and Sri Lankan cricket have been joined atthe hip during the last 19 years, walking side by side on a journey ofself-discovery. When he first strode out to bat in international cricket,against New Zealand at Moratuwa way back in March 1984, Sri Lanka had onlysix ODI victories under their belt and were still two years away from theirfirst Test win. Today, as he lays down his blade, 178 ODIs and 32 Tests havenow been bagged and World Cup semi-final appearances invoke disappointmentnot joy. During that two decade journey there has been a transformation: ofman and country.

During those early years, Sri Lanka were the whipping boys of internationalcricket: smiling, charming, stylish, talented, but, all too frequently,losers. De Silva was cast in a similar mould: unfailingly polite,soft-spoken, an artisan with the bat but one who specialised in cameoperformances, apparently content to play second fiddle to the main act.Dubbed Mad Max for his daring approach and unquenchable urge to dominate, hestarred frequently but all too briefly, lighting up a game with hispotential but falling short of fulfillment. Even today his statistics,astonishing as they are, tells the tale: on 75 occasions he has passed fiftyin an ODI but only 11 of those were converted to centuries. He was theplayboy of Sri Lanka cricket: women swooned and fast cars were his passion.But during the mid-1990’s things started to change: style met substance andthe purple years commenced. Kent were fortunate enough to hire his serviceswith the metamorphosis in full swing. He plundered attacks across thecountry, swung mighty sixes into the Tavern Stand during Lord’s finals andmade friends wherever he went. Canterbury fell in love. Graham Cowdrey, ateammate, still remembers his farewell: “When he packed his bags, he huggedeach of us, and I have never known a professional sports team so close totears.”

And then there was the 1996 World Cup, a tournament that produced the finestmoment of his career: a match-winning performance against the Australians inthe Lahore final as he pinched three wickets with his off-breaks and thenlaced the bowlers to all corners on his way to a sizzling hundred. Hissemi-final performance was, perhaps, even more memorable. He arrived in themiddle with both openers in the hutch and only one run on the board. Acapacity 100,000 plus Eden Garden’s crowd vibrated with delight. Calmly andboldly, he counter-attacked, unveiling his full repertoire of strokes. Itwas not an attack born out of desperation, but a controlled assault, a raremixture of power, precision and finesse. 14 boundaries and 66 runs later hisgreatness was assured and Sri Lanka’s arrival in the big-time was confirmed.Afterwards, for two prolific years, he vied with Sachin Tendulkar and BrianLara as the best batsman in the world. Between 1997 and 1999 he played 24Tests, scoring 2195 runs at an average of 66.5. In 1997 alone he scoredseven hundreds and two fifties in just 11 Tests. Unfortunately, the powersstarted to diminish thereafter as selection squabbles and controversy tookits toll.The match-fixing furore threatened a humiliating end as Indian bookmakerMukesh Gupta claimed in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reportthat de Silva and captain Arjuna Ranatunga were entangled in the scandal.The Sri Lankan Cricket Board launched an independent inquiry despite stanchdenials. Eventually the pair were cleared as Gupta refused to testify in acourt of law, but by then the damage had already been done. His interest inthe game was waning; the selectors wanted him cast aside and, after England’s 2001 tour of Sri Lanka, he drifted into the wilderness, hanging up hisboots for the best part of a year.

A lifeline was thrown at the beginning of 2002 when a new selection panelwas convened. De Silva grabbed his chance, shedding 12 kilos as he soughtone final fling on the international scene. Picked first for the Test sideduring Sri Lanka’s tour to England, he also won a one-day recall as theselectors looked to strengthen the middle order for the World Cup. Hisreturn produced flashes of a glorious past but never recovered the sustainedbrilliance of his pomp. Nevertheless, he remained the most feared batsman inthe middle order, capable, as he was throughout his career, ofsingle-handedly changing the course of a match. The fact that his semi-finalrun out by Andy Bichel spelt the end of Sri Lanka’s 2003 World Cup campaignspoke volumes of the veteran’s enduring importance to the side.As de Silva finally puts his fading pads to bed and turns his full attentionto his loving wife Sarita and baby son Sampras, he will do so in theknowledge that he touched greatness. He may not have matched the phenomenalconsistency of a Tendulkar or Waugh, and he may not have scored as many bighundreds as he should, but, for brief moments in his career, he elevatedbatting to heights achieved by very few. Quite simply, he brought magic tothe game. His cricketing journey has ended but the legacy will live on. Anew era in Sri Lanka cricket now beckons and de Silva, more than any otherindividual, helped ensure their arrival in the big time.

The new season inched a little closer today at the County Ground in Taunton where Somerset took on Glamorgan in a three day friendly.On a cold but bright morning play got underway on time with the Somerset opening attack of Richard Johnson and Simon Francis looking threatening early on.However once the Glamorgan openers Steve James and Ian Thomas came to terms with the conditions they started to build a partnership, and had taken the score onto 88 before the visiting skipper was out for 44.Thomas then helped to take the score onto 128 before he was out caught by wicket-keeper Rob Turner off the bowling of Gareth Andrew for 49.Two more wickets fell quickly, and Glamorgan had slipped to 136 for 4, before Matthew Maynard and Jonathan Hughes came together and took control of the situation.Both players took full advantage of the short boundary and by late afternoon had taken the score onto 424 for 4, having shared an unbeaten fifth wicket partnership of 288, which came off 280 balls, with Maynard on 132, and Hughes on 122, before Glamorgan declared.In reply Somerset lost Matt Wood for 4 with the score on 11 and Piran Holloway following in the same over that was bowled by Alex Wharf.By close of play evergreen Peter Bowler and new boy James Bryant had steadied the situation and taken the Cidermen onto 107 without further loss, Bowler ending on 66 and Bryant on 33.

Day four of fourCounty Championship Division OneMiddlesex v Lancashire, Lord’s
Scorecard
Middlesex maintained their unbeaten record this season on another rainy day at Lord’s. Only 27 overs were possible, in which time Andy Strauss and Sven Koenig continued to rebuild Middlesex’s road to recovery against Lancashire. Strauss doubled his overnight score to reach 100 not out, while Koenig also stood firm to reach 71 not out. Middlesex added 87 runs during the day, and were 85 behind Lancashire when the match was abandoned at tea.It was Lancashire’s third consecutive rain-affected draw.Warwickshire v Sussex, Edgbaston
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Melvyn Betts and Dougie Brown bowled Warwickshire to an unexpected and exciting win against Sussex at Edgbaston, which sent them top of Division One. Most people would have banked on the draw when Sussex started their second innings after lunch, but Warwickshire skittled them for 106 in the two sessions. Only three batsmen reached double-figures while Betts (5 for 43) and Brown (4 for 17) ripped through the innings as Sussex were routed by 234 runs. Earlier, England hopefuls Ian Bell and Jamie Troughton set up Warwickshire’s win with a century apiece, as Warwickshire declared their second innings on 285 for 7. It was Bell’s first championship hundred in two years and Troughton’s fifth of his first-class career.Division TwoGlamorgan v Gloucestershire, Cardiff
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Gloucestershire secured their second victory of the season with a six-wicket win over Glamorgan at Cardiff – despite some batting heroics from David Harrison and Michael Kasprowicz. After Jonathan Lewis and Ian Butler had reduced Glamorgan to 203 for 8, Harrison (66) and Kasprowicz (78) smashed a ninth-wicket stand of 140 which gave the sparse crowd some entertainment, and also ensured Gloucestershire batted again, needing a target of 95 from 25 overs. And Craig Spearman made sure they weren’t caught out by the time with a rapid 39 from 38 balls as Jonty Rhodes and Mark Alleyne carried Gloucestershire to victory with 10 overs to spare.Yorkshire v Derbyshire, Headingley
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Graeme Welch (4 for 74) and Mohammad Ali (3 for 26) led Derbyshire to their first win of the season with a 166-run victory over Yorkshire at Headingley – and justified Dominic Cork’s decision not to enforce the follow-on yesterday. A target of 407 was never going to be an option for Yorkshire, who tried to bat out the day for a draw. Resuming the day on 12 for 0, Welch started the path to victory when he bowled Michael Vaughan for 38, and then soon removed Anthony McGrath for 4. Wickets continued to tumble, and only Michael Lumb stood between Derbyshire and a well-deserved victory. But when he fell at the ninth wicket for a dogged 86 to Mohammad Ali, the work was done for Derbyshire, who moved up to second in the table, one place above Yorkshire.Worcestershire v Zimbabweans, Worcester
Scorecard
Match report

When Michael Vaughan was appointed the England one-day international captain, the glamour and excitement of leading his country out against Australia at Sydney or South Africa at Cape Town must have been at the forefront of his mind. But his first game in charge is quite a different prospect – it’s against Wales at Cardiff.But any thoughts of a Welsh walkover will have been banished after last year’s fixture, in which a lacklustre England – captained by Marcus Trescothick – went down by an embarrassing eight wickets. Wales loved it – and they today announced their squad for this year’s rematch, sponsored by NatWest, taking place on Saturday, June 14.As expected, the majority of the Wales squad play for Glamorgan – including their overseas player Michael Kasprowicz – with only Steffan Jones (Somerset) and Tony Cottey (Sussex) coming from elsewhere. However, they do have their injury worries: Steve James and Darren Thomas are currently sidelined by knee injuries, Cottey has been struggling this season with a bad back, and Simon Jones is still out of action after the sickening knee injury he suffered against Australia last November. Geraint Jones, enjoying a fruitful season behind the stumps at Kent, unluckily misses out to Glamorgan’s Mark Wallace.And taking a leaf out of the Welsh rugby team’s book, the selectors scouted the cricket world for any potential adoptions. Craig Spearman, who has played 19 Tests and 51 ODIs for New Zealand and is currently playing for Gloucestershire, was born in Wales, and Stuart MacGill, Australia’s No. 1 legspinner (when Shane Warne isn’t available), has Welsh family. However, both have not been included, as they will be required by their counties for Twenty20 matches that same weekend, and, according to the management, “It was felt that as the current National Cricket League champions, there was already a good nucleus from within the Glamorgan playing staff and that they should make up the majority of the Welsh squad.”John Derrick, the Wales and Glamorgan coach, agreed. “We know that having lost the inaugural match last June the England team will be approaching the game with victory in mind, and of course it will be a very hard game indeed. But it’s a fantastic concept and we hope the Welsh public will again come out in force and support the Wales players in what we hope will be another memorable and successful occasion.”Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, has a foot in both camps after a brief spell in charge at Glamorgan, and he expressed his support and encouragement of what could become a more permanent fixture: “I know from my time with Glamorgan that the concept of Wales playing England is one that the whole of Wales embraces, but it provided us with a very important practice period in 2002 and we welcome the opportunity to repeat it.”He continued: “Certainly I believe there is room for this fixture as a regular on the cricketing calendar, not just to help us but also because of what it can do for the development and profile of cricket in Wales. After last year’s result we’re naturally keen to win the game and exact some revenge.”NatWest will be launching their “Summer of Cricket” in Cardiff the day before the game, as well as launching their newly sponsored Inter Cricket programme. The NatWest Interactive Zone will be on the ground on both the Friday and the Saturday.Provisional Wales Squad
Steve James (capt), Ian Thomas, Robert Croft, Michael Powell, Matthew Maynard, David Hemp, Adrian Dale, Tony Cottey, Jonathan Hughes, Mark Wallace (wk), David Harrison, Michael Kasprowicz, Darren Thomas, Alex Wharf, Steffan Jones, Andrew Davies, Dean CoskerThere are still tickets available for the Wales v England game, priced £25 for adults and £5 for juniors, and tickets for all of the matches taking place as part of the Festival of Cricket, including the NatWest Series One-Day International between South Africa and Zimbabwe on July 5, can be obtained either by calling in to the Glamorgan offices in Cardiff or by telephoning 029 2040 9380.For further information please contact:Mike FatkinChief ExecutiveGlamorgan County Cricket ClubSophia GardensCardiff CF11 9XRTel: (029) 2040 9380Mark HodgsonMedia Relations ManagerEngland and Wales Cricket BoardLord’s Cricket GroundLondon NW8 8QZTel: (020) 7432 1200

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 12 down the yearsJuly 11| July 131975
Thirteen men have bagged a pair on their Test debut, but only one in an Ashes Test in the 20th century. Step forward Graham Gooch, who on this day was caught behind off Jeff Thomson for his second duck as England lurched towards an innings defeat at Edgbaston. Gooch was dropped after the next Test – when he made 6 and 31 – but returned after three years to restart a career that would eventually yield an England-record 8900 Test runs.1965
Birth of Sanjay Manjrekar, who despite a very good Test career never quite lived up to his billing as the new Sunil Gavaskar. He was certainly good enough technically, and had the ability to bat all day – his 104 against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1992-93 took almost nine hours – but he ended up averaging 37 from 37, a steep fall from his first-class average of 55. But no Indian averages more than his 95 in Tests in Pakistan. Unusually for a modern-day Indian batsman, Manjrekar was more productive overseas, where he made all four of his Test hundreds and 79% of his runs. His father, the great Vijay, also played 55 Tests for India.1969
An old-style one-dimensional cricketer is born. Alan Mullally’s ordinary batting and dodgy fielding have not helped his attempts to establish himself in the England team. He was born in Southend but raised in Western Australia – for whom he made his first-class debut aged 18 in the Sheffield Shield final of 1987-88. Somehow you always feel Mullally is less than the sum of his parts: he has bounce, a left-armer’s angle, swing, and a natural economy. And he bowled quite majestically in England’s victory at the MCG in 1998-99, having driven Glenn McGrath to distraction by slashing 16 quick runs. The eventual margin of victory was only 12 runs. But in 19 Tests he only once took more than three wickets, though he was briefly second in the PwC one-day rankings, before being rumbled during last year’s NatWest Series. He has not played a one-day international since.1932
The cheapest ten-for in first-class history. Hedley Verity sliced through Nottinghamshire at Headingley with extraordinary figures of 19.4-16-10-10. Even more staggeringly, it’s the only ten-for to include a hat-trick. At 38 for 0 in the second innings, Nottinghamshire led by 99. Then came Verity, and appropriately enough, a ten-wicket defeat.1943
Whatever he did in 30 Tests, New Zealand allrounder Bruce Taylor, who was born today, will always be remembered for his startling debut. At Calcutta in 1964-65, Taylor belted a meaty 105 from No. 8 – his maiden first-class century – and then took 5 for 86 in India’s first innings. He’s still the only man to make a century and take a five-for on Test debut. And in seven Tests against West Indies, he had allround figures to die for: an average of 53 with the bat, and 23 with the ball. What Ian Botham (21, 35) would have given for those.1946
The Surrey batsman Graham Roope, who was born today, was picked by England as much for his fielding as his batting. A fine amateur goalkeeper and outstanding in the slips, he took 35 catches in 21 Tests. He also made seven fifties, but never reached three figures. The corkscrew-curled Roope was also a bit of a lucky charm – England only lost twice when he played. He was also the man at the other end when both Geoff Boycott (for England) and John Edrich (for Surrey) completed their 100th first-class hundreds.1986
A classic Benson & Hedges Cup final, as Middlesex beat Kent by just two runs in a low-scoring thriller. The match finished after 7.30, with the ground enveloped in darkness. The Man of the Match was John Emburey, who rushed through 11 overs for just 16 runs, biffed a useful 28 and took a cracking catch at slip to get rid of Chris Cowdrey, Kent’s captain.1996
The day cricket showed a bit of leg. The first Super 8s tournament began in Kuala Lumpur. In short, it involved eight-a-side matches of 14 overs, in which a six was rewarded with eight runs, and batsmen had to retire upon reaching 50. Australia A, led by Darren Lehmann and including Adam Gilchrist, won it, and Australia and India ended pointless. India even lost to a Malaysian Invitation XI. Mind you, the Malaysian side did include Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva, who had done pretty well in a slightly bigger one-day tournament earlier that year …Other birthdays
1935 Chris Burger (South Africa)
1947 Pochiah Krishnamurthy (India)
1972 Neil McGarrell (West Indies)

Cricket Australia (CA) will review its codes and policies for anti-doping breaches after a decision by an independent arbitrator according to James Sutherland, chief executive of CA. The arbitrator found that CA’s current policy did not specifically allow players suspended for anti-doping breaches to be banned from all cricket.The arbitrator also ruled that Shane Warne should be allowed to play incharity and testimonial matches during his 12-month drug ban. CA and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) had disagreed over a provision of the agreement between the two parties which allowed the former to prevent suspended players from playing in charity or testimonial matches.Both the CA and ACA sought a ruling, and in the opinion of independent arbiter and barrister Peter O’Callaghan the provision did not give CA the right to suspend players from all cricket.Sutherland said CA believed it was inconsistent and detrimental to the spirit of the game for suspended players to not be suspended from all cricket. “We had believed we had this right under our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ACA but accept the umpire’s ruling that this is not the case. We now need to review our codes to determine whether it is appropriate to make changes to reflect what we believe the spirit of cricket demands.”The review is likely to take place over the next few months.

Hampshire Under-16 opener Jack Lovett is set for his senior St Cross Symondians debut at Lymington tomorrow (1pm) as the Winchester club seeks to retrieve lost ground at the top of Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2.Lovett has been in sparkling form for St Cross 2nd XI, who are pressing hard for Hampshire League promotion.He gets his big chance as St Cross bid to claw back the three-point lead Old Tauntonians & Romsey gained at the top last weekend.Dan Peacock (broken finger) could return to bolster a Lymington side that has lost six of its last seven matches and dropped into the bottom half of the table.OT’s, meanwhile, travel to enigmatic Hursley Park, who are capable of beating the best on their day.Knocked out of the National Village Championship at Findon last weekend, Easton & Martyr Worthy must beat lowly Gosport Borough if they are to keep their championship prospects alive.But they have a substantial 19-point gap to make up on St Cross, whom they beat by five wickets last week.On-song Burridge bid to make it five wins out of six at Purbrook, who broke their duck at the ninth attempt last week but remain bottom.Sparsholt have slipped back on to the lip of the relegation zone, but a win over United Services at Burnaby Road will ease their worries.