The League urgently needs help to ensure that it continues to run effectively.Firstly, we are looking for a League Secretary. Colin Savage fills this post as part of his role as Hampshire Cricket Board Administrator. However, increasing demands on the HCB post, which is intended to be part-time, mean that this arrangement is not working and cannot continue beyond the League AGM.As no volunteer has come forward since we highlighted this problem in the 2001 Annual Report, the League is therefore seeking a Secretary with an Honorarium of £1,000 per year, plus reimbursement of expenses.This is also the last year of Alan Bundy’s three-year tenure as Chairman,the League has not had a Vice Chairman for four years, and the Treasurer, Brian Funnell, made it clear at the 2002 AGM that he will also be standing down at the end of this year.This means that the following posts will need to be filled at the 2003 AGM to ensure the continued administration of the League:Chairman
Vice Chairman
League Secretary
Treasurer
The posts of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Treasurer are voluntary but travelling and other legitimate expenses can be claimed.Applications for the post of Secretary should be sent to Alan Bundy by 130 September, and nominations for Chairman, Vice Chairman and Treasurer to the League Secretary by 15th September 2003.

CCA Pub Charity Club Cricket Points 2003/04(As at Wednesday 22 October 2003)Pub Charity 1st Grade Men2-day Trophy Competition:East Shirley 21.04,St.Albans 18.54,Marist 5.83,Old Collegians 5.49,BWU 5.06,LPW 3.69,Sydenham 2.93,HSOB 2.83,Riccarton 0.Pub Charity 2nd Grade Men2-day Trophy Competition:Old Collegians 21.92,East Shirley A 6.97,BWU 6.18,HSOB 6.08,Sydenham 6.02,East Shirley Budgies 5.29,Marist 5.26,LPW 5.13,Riccarton 4.03,St.Albans 3.45.3rd Grade Red Men:2-day Trophy CompetitionCBHS 21.4,Christ College 18.4,STAC 6.5,SBHS 5.0,St Bedes 4.5,St Thom* 2.7,Burnside HS* 0.0,TBHS 0.0.3rd Grade Gold Men:BWU Maroon 10.48,HSOB Cavaliers 9.91,Sydenham 4.3,Old Collegians 3.5,LPW 3,East Shirley Gold 3,BWU Gold 3,St.Albans 3,Riccarton 3,East Shirley Blue 3.3rd Grade Black Men:CC 7.05,SBHS 6.48,CBHS Black 5.66,STAC 5.19,Ricc HS 4.36,St Bedes 4.11,Burn HS* 0,CBHS Red 0,CBHS Blue* 0.4th Grade Men:St Albans B 10,LPW Yabbage 7,OC Cavs 5,Marist 5,ES Hooters 5,BWU 5,St Albans A 2,Syd Muppets 0.5th Grade Men:Ricc Hogs 10,St Albans 7,LPW Yaks 7,Ricc Gold* 5,BWU Gold 5,BWU SNCC 2,BWU Blue 0,BWU Maroon 0,OC Gold* 0,Marist Green 0.6th Grade Men:OC Tan 10,Mar Gold 10,St Albans 7,Syd Blue 5,Syd Red 5,Parklands 5,Marist Fozzie B’s 2,LPW 2,BWU 2,OC SGC 0.President’s:BWU 10,Sumner Misfits 7,Riccarton+ 7,ES Gold 7,HSOB 5,Sydenham 5,LPW Red 5,St Albans Gold 5,OC 5,LPW Gladiators 5,St Albans Blue 2,ES Blue 2,Hospital 2,Marist 0.(+ Indicates G Frampton Challenge Cup holder)Pub Charity 1st Grade Women (2-Day):St.A 4,LPW 2,ES 2,OC-Country 1.Pub Charity 1st Grade Women (1-Day):LPW 5,OC-Country 5,St.A 0,ES 0.1st Reserve Women:St.Albans TBA,Sydenham TBA,Ricc 12,OC-Country 2,BWU 2,ES 0.2nd Grade Women:LPW 10,St Albans 7,Syd 2,OC-Country 0,Hare 0.3rd Grade Women:Ricc 7,St Albans 7,Sydenham 7,BWU 5,LPW 2,Horn 0.4th Grade Primary GirlsSenior Trad:St Albans Gold 10,St Albans Grammar 5,OC-Country 5,LPW 5,Horn 5,ES 0.

Saqlain Mushtaq escaped with only a reprimand from the Pakistan board for verbally abusing coach Javed Miandad.Saqlain blasted Miandad on the phone after he was dropped for the recent Test series against South Africa, which Pakistan won 1-0. But Asghar Haider, a legal advisor for the board, said a disciplinary committee had decided against a severe punishment considering Saqlain later apologised."They have not fined or banned him,” Haider said. “The committee reached the decision after Saqlain apologised to Javed Miandad for his behaviour and also to the committee members.” Haider did, however, say that Tauqir Zia, the chairman, could still take further action against Saqlain if he wanted to.Meanwhile Miandad confirmed Saqlain did say sorry to him after the incident: “He came to me and apologised for his behaviour which he says was out of sheer frustration. I have accepted his apology.”Under the Pakistan board’s code of conduct, Saqlain could have been fined 50,000 rupees (£514), or a ban of three domestic matches if he were found guilty.

Marcus Trescothick suffered a strain to his right thumb, not as at first feared a fracture, during the final session of play on the second day of the second Test at Chittagong.The injury occurred when Trescothick, who was at first slip, dived to his left in an unsuccessful bid to catch an edge from Mushfiqur Rahman off Matthew Hoggard. The ball struck him on the end of his thumb, and a clearly uncomfortable Trescothick immediately jogged off the field. He was rushed to hospital and there were fears that he might have sustained a more serious injury.”It was very, very sore and I was worried that it might be something serious, especially after what happened last year,” a clearly relieved Trescothick said.”At this stage I’m not sure when I’ll be back but I’m hopeful of playing in the one-day series. I feel relieved after being very sceptical about my immediate chances.”

Steve Bucknor has rejected criticism of his umpiring during the first Test between Australia and India at Brisbane, especially his controversial leg-before decision against Sachin Tendulkar in India’s first innings.And Bucknor, long regarded as one of the best umpires in the world, dismissed suggestions that his form was on the wane. “Just recently I was umpiring the World Cup final so I don’t understand what is happening, but at the moment I am pretty comfortable with my form,” he told the Australian Associated Press. “The criticism doesn’t bother me. Mistakes are going to be made. I know that. Everyone makes mistakes including myself.”The plethora of television replays indicated the ball which trapped Tendulkar would have sailed over the top of the stumps. But Bucknor delivered his verdict – described by the media in terms such as “a disgrace” and “an insult” – after his customary long deliberation.”I give myself enough time to think about my decision, to replay just about everything about that delivery, and by so doing I should in the end be able to make that [correct] decision,” he explained. While refusing to discuss the Tendulkar decision itself, he added, “Sometimes it doesn’t go that way … it’s not because my brain is working slowly. Once the hit is made I have a fair idea of what my decision is it’s a matter of seeing whether something else could have happened.”Although the Tendulkar dismissal was the one which grabbed the headlines, Bucknor was also criticised for other decisions during the match. He gave Australia’s batsmen the benefit of the doubt on three well-justified appeals, and also appeared to mistakenly reprieve Akash Chopra for what looked like a good bat-pad catch shortly after Tendulkar’s wicket.

England A were set a daunting target of 367 on the third day of their Duleep Trophy match against East Zone in Amritsar, after a day of hard toil for their bowlers. East Zone resumed in the morning on 65 for 3, and though they soon slipped to 132 for 5, the tail showed impressive resilience to hoist the total to a daunting 308.England’s bowling honours were shared by Sajid Mahmood, leading the attack since the departure of Simon Jones, and the captain James Tredwell, who added four more wickets to his first-innings 5 for 101, but conceded his runs at exactly five an over.East Zone, who had secured a first-innings lead of 58, took control once again in a sixth-wicket partnership of 106 between Laxmi Shukla (60) and Devang Gandhi (59). Tredwell eventually broke through, but England A’s prospects were dented by the sight of Shiv Sunder Das striding out at No. 9. Das, who has already played 23 Tests, made a century in the first innings and had decided to put his feet up in the second, but he eventually used his feet well to make 55, before Mahmood dismissed him to bring an end to the innings.England, who learned a thing or two about approaching tricky targets in their humiliating defeat against South Zone last week, made the worst possible start to their chase when Scott Newman was bowled by Shib Paul before for a fourth-ball duck. Michael Lumb then followed, lbw for 13 (25 for 2) and that victory seemed rather a distant prospect. But Ed Smith (33) and Kevin Pietersen (29) carried England safely through to the close without any further alarms, leaving them needing a further 288 on the final day for victory.

Australia 340 for 5 (Harrison 91) beat Ireland 291 (Morgan 65) by 49 runs
ScorecardThe favourites, Australia, have reached the final of the Under-19 Plate Championship, after dispatching a brave but outclassed Irish team in their semi-final at Chittagong.Australia batted first and the result was never in doubt once they had rattled along to 340 for 5 from their 50 overs. But Ireland took their leave of the competition with their heads held high, as they compiled a fine total of 291 in reply. The openers William Porterfield and Gary Wilson made 48 and 44 respectively, while Eion Morgan capped a fine tournament with 65.The damage had already been done by that stage, however. Australia are a team on a mission after the humiliation of missing out on the Super League, and once they had won the toss their batsmen went on the rampage. The captain Tim Paine and Theo Doropoulos opened up with a first-wicket stand of 131 in 21 overs, before Matt Harrison took over with a hard-hitting 91 from No. 3.Ireland’s bowlers came in for some punishment, particularly Morgan and Kevin O’Brien, who both conceded more than 70 runs in their 10 overs. But they stuck to their task as well, and Greg Thompson deservedly picked up a couple of wickets.Australia’s total was daunting, but nobody told Wilson. His 48 came from just 36 balls, and with Will Porterfield keeping pace nicely, Ireland were at one stage 117 for 1 in the 20th over. But a mid-innings stutter ensued as Gary Putland bounced back from an early pasting to tear out a pair of quick wickets, including the important scalp of Morgan.Ireland slipped from 176 for 4 to 230 for 9, and a heavy beating was on the cards. But, in a appropriately resolute final act, Andrew Riddles and Allan Coulter hammered an unbeaten 61 for the tenth wicket in just under eight overs. Riddles made 29 from 33 balls and Coulter 38 from 30, as Ireland remained defiant to the last.”I am very satisfied with our performances,” said Ireland’s coach Adrian Birrell. “We did our best to chase the target and started off on course to comeclose, but we lost our way in the middle order. We hoped to beat at least one full-member country in the tournament but it wasn’t to be. It has been a good experience for our players.”Australia’s coach Bennett King praised Ireland for their batting. “Ireland played well to reach almost 300 but our bowling wasn’t goodenough,” said King. “I think we will play Bangladesh in the final and I expect that to be a competitive game.”Australia will now play the winner of tomorrow’s second semi-finalbetween Scotland and Bangladesh. The Plate Championship final will beheld at the Fatullah District Stadium on March 4.

ScorecardNew Zealand A swept to an innings victory on the fourth day against their Sri Lankan counterparts at Village Green in Christchurch, to wrap up a 2-0 series win. Sri Lanka had been up against it ever since a remarkable ninth-wicket stand of 209 between Paul Wiseman and Bruce Martin, but the end when it came was quick and to the point.Ian Daniel and Bathiya Perera could add just three runs between them to their overnight totals, before James Franklin and Kyle Milles tore through the middle order, with all five of the next batsmen recording ducks. Dinusha Fernando and Tharanga Lakshitha salvaged a modicum of pride from 94 for 9, adding 31 for the last wicket, but by then the game was well and truly up.