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Australia captain Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner will expect their team to adapt to New Zealand conditions without the assistance of a tour match as preparation, for a series in which the visitors can claim the No. 1 Test ranking.Much was made of the poor preparation granted to both New Zealand and West Indies on their visits to Australia this summer – Brendon McCullum’s side was humbugged by a Blacktown pitch they deemed unplayable, while Jason Holder’s team had only one warm-up match in Brisbane before being badly beaten in Hobart. Australia’s trip across the Tasman has an even skimpier lead-in.A Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Western Australia is set to be played in Lincoln near Christchurch to afford adaptation opportunities for some members of the Test squad. However, Smith and Warner are among those set to be occupied by the concurrent ODI series that precedes the Tests, and Smith said he expected his players to find other ways to adapt.”There’s a lot of ways where you can replicate what you’re going to get,” Smith said. “You can get soft balls and get them to swing, you can bat on grass against spinners for subcontinent where the ball does unpredictable things, so things like that where you can work on what you’re likely to face and try to find a way to be successful against it.”I’ve had a few chats about it to some of the boys. I think when you’re under pressure you go back to what you know. I think that can hurt you a little bit sometimes away from home, I think you almost have to find another way to do things, whether that be playing in England and New Zealand making sure you’re playing under your eyes … that’s one thing I’ve spoken about to a few of the boys.”We’ve always played quite well at home but the challenge for us is to make sure we’re winning series away from home, and that starts with a tough series for us in New Zealand. Hopefully we can adapt to the conditions we’re going to be faced with in New Zealand, I dare say they’re going to have a bit of grass on them and they’re going to swing a little bit so we’re going to have to be better than we have been previously on those sorts of wickets, hopefully we can adapt well.”A win over New Zealand away – something Australia have achieved in every attempt since a drawn series in 1993 – would propel Smith’s team to the top of the ICC rankings, provided England defeat South Africa in the series they presently lead 1-0. In the case of a drawn series between those two countries, Australia could claim top spot by defeating New Zealand 2-0. The stakes are high.When asked whether he would prefer to play in the Shield match rather than the ODI series as a better way to get used to New Zealand climes, Warner said it was important Australia played their strongest side in the 50-over matches. At the forefront of his mind was Australia’s loss to New Zealand at a raucous Eden Park during last year’s World Cup.”We’re trying to win series for our country,” Warner said. “The one-day series is going to be obviously the first thing we play over there and we’re going to try and set out to win that. I look back at Eden Park during the World Cup and we were quite poor there. That’s something we’ve got to try and be better at – winning away from home. We’re definitely going to put our best team on the park.”It’s going to be not too dissimilar to England I think. It’s going to be swinging conditions but I think the wickets are probably going to be a bit greener. We saw the wicket against Sri Lanka where it was sort of green day one, day two then actually flattened out a little bit. I think it spun from memory.”We’ve got to go over there and play with the same intent we do here in Australia. We know the swinging conditions are probably going to favour them a little bit more than us. We’ve got to be on top of our game to beat them over there at their home.”Warner joined the Australian ODI squad that flew to Perth on Friday ahead of the five-match series against India, though his wife Candice is nearly due to give birth to their second child. “Fingers crossed it comes when it’s due,” Warner said. “That’s later towards the end of this month. I’m just looking forward to playing the first couple of one-dayers and obviously I’ll be by the phone waiting for that phone call.”

Match facts

Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

Two-nil up with a trip to Centurion to come. As in the Test series, so now in the ODIs as England head for the Highveld with a rare double on the cards. Not since Australia’s all-conquering tour of 2001-02 has a visiting team beaten South Africa in both the Test and 50-over series, but with confidence coursing through the squad and three opportunities to seal the rubber lined up ahead of them this week, England are in the rare but increasingly familiar situation of being recognised as a one-day force.Nevertheless, if the Centurion Test is anything to go by – and AB de Villiers wasn’t slow to hark back to it during the post-match interviews at Port Elizabeth on Saturday – England cannot and will not be expecting easy access to the spoils. The rarefied atmosphere plays to South Africa’s strengths, and with Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott raising exponentially the quality of the hosts’ seam attack with their twin recalls for the second match, another full-blooded contest should be on the cards.Nevertheless, there is a serenity to England’s one-day cricket at present that belies the power-packed batting with which it is underpinned. Jos Buttler’s ferocious form gives them a match-winning asset that would be the envy of any team in the world, but putting 399 on the board in the opening match at Bloemfontein was arguably the easy bit. Far tougher was the discipline required on a trickier track at Port Elizabeth, the onus being on digging in and batting deep, and treating South Africa’s target of 263 with the sort of respect that such mid-range totals rarely receive in this day and age.Certainly, Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, was delighted with the application his players showed, not least Alex Hales whose hard-grafted 99 was the rock on which their run-chase was established. Gone is the mechanical, inhibited attitude that was instilled during Peter Moores’ ill-fated second coming as England coach, and instead there is a greater willingness to trust the men in the middle to judge their approaches accordingly. Buttler’s uncomplicated 48 not out from 28 balls made the win look pre-ordained in the end, but this was a team run-chase and one that augurs well for the side’s development ahead of the Champions Trophy in 2017.South Africa, however, are down but far from out, as Rabada and Abbott proved with the ball, and de Villiers in particular, showed with the bat. His three-duck aberration at the end of the Test series meant that the only way for such an outstanding player was up, and had it not been for the second astonishing outfield catch in consecutive games, he might well be fully powered-up once again. Ben Stokes’ one-handed pluck at Bloemfontein was followed by Chris Jordan’s toweringly composed grab in the deep at Port Elizabeth, a dismissal that – with de Villiers already on 73 from 91 balls and with ten overs of carnage in the offing – almost certainly saved England from a chase in the region of 300.Those dismissals, however, pointed to that extra and potentially decisive attribute of England’s current play – their all-round prowess. With the bat, their top ten are beyond competent, with only Reece Topley providing a throwback to more specialised days; with the ball, they have options flooding out of their line-up, with two left-arm seamers to lead the line, Stokes a genuine all-round option, two spinners in Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid whom Morgan trusted to bowl their allocation straight through on Saturday, and finally Jordan himself – under-used at present and arguably the weak link in the line-up, but whose impact, as that catch shows, cannot always be expressed by statistics.South Africa, by contrast, lean too heavily on too few, not least with the ball, where Farhaan Behardien has struggled to fulfil his brief as an out-and-out fifth bowler. Not even Quinton de Kock’s brilliance at Bloemfontein could bridge the gulf that had been caused by their bowlers’ inability to stem the tide. As in the Tests, so too in the ODIs. England’s options appear to give them that crucial edge.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

South Africa: LLWLW
England: WWWWW

In the spotlight

He picked up a stinker in the second ODI, and could be seen bashing his pad in frustration after Quinton de Kock’s failed review had robbed him of any recourse, but JP Duminy’s 47 from 66 balls was nevertheless the first stirrings of a return to form for one of South Africa’s most frustratingly inconsistent performers. His shortcomings against offspin remain a running joke – Moeen Ali conceded eight singles from 28 deliveries to Duminy, and a further eight to overthrows – but in a side struggling for all-round options, his dual abilities with the ball mean he is still a vital performer.Alex Hales endured an ignominious maiden Test series, caught invariably between attack and defence as he struggled to translate his free-flowing strokeplay to the intense glare of a five-day contest. Ironic, then, that his 99 from 124 balls in the second ODI was a defensive masterclass of a run-chase, as he set his stall out for the long haul and blinked only when a freebie on his hip offered him the chance to hurtle through to his second 50-over hundred. The manner of his parting perhaps suggested that his confidence isn’t yet fully restored, but he’s back on track and England are all the better for it.

Team news

South Africa are grappling with how to fit a fifth specialist bowler into the XI without shortening the batting line-up, and may have no choice but to go in without an unchanged team. That would mean no space for either allrounder – Chris Morris or David Wiese – unless they are willing to risk resting Morne Morkel.South Africa (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Rilee Rossouw, 7 Farhaan Behardien, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirNo overwhelming reasons for England to change a winning formula. Their batting line-up is set in stone, and of the bowlers only Chris Jordan and arguably David Willey have failed to make persuasive cases for their retention. Stuart Broad claims to be content to carry the drinks after his Test exploits, but it would be peculiar to have recalled such an experienced performer without intending to give him a run in the side, with both the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy both looming on the horizon.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan / Stuart Broad, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Centurion will not be as flat as Bloemfontein, nor as slow as Port Elizabeth, so it will be another completely different type of surface: There should be a fair amount of pace and carry for the quicks and plenty of runs. The weather is expected to be warm with chances of an afternoon shower bringing Duckworth-Lewis-Stern into play.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have won 21 of their 32 completed ODIs at Centurion, including each of the last three positive results.
• England, however, have won each of their last two ODIs at the venue – they beat South Africa by 22 runs to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in 2009, then followed up with a seven-wicket win two months later.
• With scores of 49 not out, 116 not out, 105 and 48 not out, Jos Buttler has scored 318 runs from 208 deliveries for once out in his last four ODIs.

Quotes

“It would be a blow to lose to the series but we are not thinking about that. If we win this, we get some momentum for the next one and then hopefully win the one in Cape Town. That’s how we are visioning our progress from here. Everything starts tomorrow. Tomorrow is basically a decider for us. We’ve got three finals in a row.”
Hashim Amla on the uphill task facing South Africa in the coming week.“Of all the deliveries you could get on 99, one on your hip is the one you want. But that’s the way the game goes, and I’m pleased I contributed – and that now we’re two from two.”
Alex Hales rues the one that got away after his dismissal at Port Elizabeth.

The ICC women’s World Cup qualifiers gets underway in South Africa on Monday and by the end of the week two teams will have secured themselves spots in the World Cup in Australia next year. But what about the other six? What will they take back from a tournament where they get to play a maximum of four games, apart from the warm-ups scheduled prior to the qualifiers?The teams placed third and fourth will get ranked among the top ten countries for the next four years which means their matches are then deemed as official Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals. But that doesn’t mean they will automatically play more games every year. What plagues women’s cricket the most is how little each team plays, apart from England, Australia and New Zealand. While the World Cup qualifiers cannot ensure more matches per team over the next four years, it can throw up at least two or three quality sides who can then take their game forward by competing more regularly with the top four – Australia, India, New Zealand and England.So for South Africa, Ireland, Netherlands and Pakistan this is an opportunity to move to the bigger leagues, while for Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe and Scotland the qualifiers is a tournament to gain experience, play in different conditions and meet new opposition. How different the conditions will be for them is revealed by what Papua New Guinea’s captain, Kune Amini, said regarding the pitches they will be playing on. “We’ve never played on turf so that will be different for our girls,” she told the ICC website. “I think it’s too soon to qualify for the World Cup as our standard of play is not similar to other countries as we play on concrete.”As hosts, South Africa may have the best chance of winning the tournament and getting a higher seed at the World Cup. But they will badly miss Johmari Logtenberg and Mignon du Preez. Logtenberg, their star batsman, quit the game last month, while du Preez withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons. There isn’t a more emphatic reason to play more often than the danger of losing players. In the last 12 months South Africa played eight ODIs, one Test and two Twenty20 internationals. In the same period Australia have played 16 ODIs, one Twenty20 and a Test. Unless given more opportunities, other players will follow Logtenberg out of cricket to more lucrative sports like golf.

The postponement of the tournament, scheduled for last November in Pakistan, following political unrest in the country gave all the sides a chance to get in some more practice, but injuries and for some, no leave from work, have depleted the squads of their first-choice players. Scotland’s Vari Maxwell, part of the original squad, was unable to make it to South Africa because she is a Royal Navy employee and her ship is still at sea. The amateur nature of their game may allow players to pursue interests outside cricket and of course the costs of touring, taking leave from schools, universities, and regular jobs come in the way of most women players turning in to full-time professionals, but their teams won’t be taken seriously unless they turn out for matches with competitive squads.In the end it is the bilateral series – or at the very least quadrangulars – that will allow teams to improve their game. But it is tournaments like the qualifiers that will identify the competition and get talented players noticed. In last year’s Asian Cricket Council tournament, Bangladesh’s victory, without dropping a game, which included ten-wicket wins against Singapore and UAE, prompted the board to organise a women’s cricket league in the country. The national players were given cash awards, a full-time coach and trainer were appointed, and regular training camps were started. The board also promised to provide cricket gear for the women’s league as well as for the school girls’ division. Runners-up Nepal were also given cash prizes by their association.That should be enough incentive for the players in South Africa to make a mark at the qualifiers this week. Of course there is the World Cup as well.

by 182 runs
Scorecard

Rumeli Dhar slammed a career-best 92 and the bowlers backed her up with a superb performance as India crushed Pakistan by 182 runs. This was India’s third successive win in the tournament while Pakistan have lost all three of their games.After choosing to bat, India lost two early wickets but recovered through a 50-run stand between Asha Rawat (69) and Priyanka Roy and then moved into a position of strength as Dhar and Rawat put on 89 runs. Rawat remained unbeaten scoring at nearly a run a ball and with the help of some lower-order hitting from Amita Sharma and Jhulan Goswami took India to 275 – the highest total of the tournament.The Pakistan batting never got going and they lost their openers with the score on 5. Only two of their batsmen got into double digits as they laboured to 93 in their quota of overs with even that meagre total reached with the assistance of 33 extras. Three of the Indian bowlers sent down their ten overs with an economy-rate below one and Gouher Sultana bagged the Man-of-the Match award on debut with figures of 10-7-9-3.
Scorecard
It was a day of one-sided encounters as Sri Lanka trounced Bangladesh by eight wickets after restricting them to 94. Bangladesh, fresh from their memorable triumph over Pakistan two days ago, were unable to repeat their performance as only two batmen, Shathira Jakir and Ayesha Akhter , managed to cross 20. Left-arm spinner Suwini de Alwis was the most successful bowler and she sparked a collapse, starting with the dismissal of Ayesha, as four wickets fell for one run and Bangladesh slid to 68 for 9. The last pair resisted for more than 14 overs and added 26 runs but Sri Lanka chased down the target with eight wickets and more than 30 overs to spare with the help of de Alwis and opener Chamari Polgampola.

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has publicly condemned former West Indian fastbowler Michael Holding for casting doubt upon the legality of MuttiahMuralitharan’s bowling action in April’s edition of Wisden Cricket Asia Monthly and issued a formal complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC).Holding, a prominent television commentator and an ICC-appointed bowlingadvisor asked to work with Shoaib Akhtar after the speedster was reported for having a suspect action for the second time, claimed to be in “110% agreement” with Indian spinner Bishan Bedi, who had accused Muralitharan of throwing, likening his action to that of a javelin thrower in the previous edition of the magazine.A Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) media release states: “The BCCSL unreservedly condemns Mr. Michael Holding’s unwarranted, and irresponsible allegations that are clearly intended to cast doubts over Mr.Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action.”It goes on to claim that Holding’s comments are “harmful to the game ofcricket as a whole” and are “a deliberate insult to his predecessors on theICC’s Advisory Panel On Illegal Deliveries, who investigated Mr. Muralitharan’s action in 1999, and found that it did not violate the laws of cricket.”The release confirms that, “since Mr. Holding is a bowling advisor to the ICC,” they have taken up the matter directly with ICC. However, it is unclear what the ICC can do – Holding is entitled to express his personal opinion; a quiet word between Chief Executive Malcom Speed and Holding seems the only option.Bedi’s comments, unpalatable as they were for many in Sri Lanka, were largely brushed aside as provocative sensationalism. Sri Lankan team manager Chandra Shaffter summed up general feeling when he said: “Not very many people take Bedi seriously, I think he thrives on controversies and that’s his style.”But Holding’s unexpected intervention has sent shockwaves through Sri Lankancricket circles, prompting fears that Muralitharan is going to be forced toendure increasing allegations in the run-up to the 2003 World Cup, as had been the case before the 1996 and 1999 tournaments.The timing is not lost on the BCCSL. The release adds: “It is also a strangecoincidence that these comments have been made in the run up to the ICCChampions’ Trophy Tournament to be held in September, and the World Cup inMarch 2003.”The local press is also suspicious of the reasons why the Muralitharancontroversy has been re-ignited. The Daily Mirror sports editorial suggestedon Friday that opponents were sufficiently scared of Muralitharan to “put him out of the game before he destructs them.”The role played by Wisden Cricket Asia is also not beyond suspicion, with Sri Lanka due to play a three-Test tour in England shortly. Such is the extent of mistrust in the cricket world that the Daily Mirror notes conspiratorially that: “Wisden Cricket Asia is a subsidiary of Wisden International in England.”Even skipper Jayasuriya, a mild-mannered leader uncomfortable with controversy, views the recent comments with cynicism. “It’s an attempt to trigger disturbance for a bowler who has been performing excellently,” he said in Lahore on Wednesday.The Sri Lankan Board are now considering what steps can be taken to protectMuralitharan over coming months, but admit to being exasperated by the factthat the controversy refuses to go despite the bowler being cleared twice bythe ICC following three separate scientific analyses.The first, a sophisticated bio-mechanical study conducted by Darrel Foster from the University of Western Australia in 1996, shortly after Muralitharan had been called by Australian umpire Darryl Hair at Melbourne, identified astructural abnormality that prevents Muralitharan from fully straightening his arm, and concluded that his bent arm did not straighten at the point of delivery.This was followed by three days of research at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which also gave Muralitharan the green light, after which an ICC panel cleared him for the first time, allowing him to take part in the 1996 World Cup.During Sri Lanka’s next visit to Australia in 1998/99, Muralitharan was called again, this time by Ross Emerson in a one-day international against England at Adelaide. Muralitharan’s action underwent further analysis at the Hugh Williamsom Gait Analysis Laboratory.Following this, an ICC Advisory Panel on Illegal Deliveries with delegates from all Test members deemed his bowling action legal for the second time.Muralitharan is tired of having electronic patches strapped to his elbow andbeing studied like a strange creature in a laboratory. A fourth study isinconceivable and, as their quick reaction to Holding’s comments clearlyshows, the Sri Lankan Board will take a hardline stance should futher allegations be made.

Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, has given an upbeat interview to the Sydney Morning Herald, although he refused to be drawn on some of the more contentious issues affecting his country.In a week when the ICC cleared the Zimbabwe board of financial wrongdoing, although still accused it of “serious financial irregularities”, Chingoka was understandably bullish, further buoyed by his own position within the ICC hierarchy.”Your company does its books, and sometimes money gets sent to the wrong places,” Chingoka told the newspaper’s Alex Brown. “We have adopted a new accounting protocol. KPMG [the independent auditors appointed by the ICC] found that there was no misappropriation from any individuals. The audit showed no single individual benefited from this. I am happy.”Asked about the many accusations from within Zimbabwe accusing him of mismanagement, Chingoka was equally dismissive. “If players have these opinions, then they must produce evidence. Our books are clean in that respect. Ask the players what the problem is, not me. There is always going to be criticism. I am not going to run around with a flag saying I’m innocent.”But on other issues, he was less forthcoming. He refused to discuss Australia’s refusal to tour in 2007 or on the ongoing problems he is having obtaining a visa to enter the UK or on his arrest in 2006 on charges of breaching Zimbabwe’s draconian foreign exchange regulations.

ScorecardFile photo – Glenn Maxwell struck eight fours and a six in his 79•Getty Images

A return to form by Glenn Maxwell powered Victoria to 9 for 325 before Matthew Wade’s declaration allowed the visitors to see off South Australia’s openers in the top-of-the-table Sheffield Shield match under lights at Adelaide Oval.The Bushrangers top three of Rob Quiney, Travis Dean and Marcus Stoinis made a trio of starts, but it was Maxwell’s speedy 79 from 78 balls that allowed the innings to climb above mediocrity.Maxwell had played wretchedly in the ODI segment of the Australian tour to New Zealand, and will be relieved to have returned to run making despite falling short of a century when he was bowled by Joe Mennie.Wade, Clint McKay and Chris Tremain also made useful runs down the order, before the declaration left the Redbacks with 12 overs to face before stumps.Mark Cosgrove began in energetic fashion against Tremain and McKay, before the introduction of another New Zealand tourist in Scott Boland brought a major shudder to the SA innings.Boland found a way past Tom Cooper and then Cosgrove in his two overs before the end of the night, walking off with the figures of 2 for 5 and leaving Victoria reasonably placed to pressure SA on day two.

Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, South Africa’s top stars in the Indian Premier League, feel that age and their reputation as Test players will not be a barrier when they enter the field for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Twenty20 tournament starting April 18.”We have done it throughout our career, adjusting to Test cricket, one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket,” the 32-year-old Kallis said in Bangalore three days ahead of their inaugural home game against Kolkata Knight Riders. “So the players are used to it, it is a different mindset. It is probably easier to go from Test cricket to one-day cricket than it is the other way around. We are looking forward to some exciting cricket.”Shaun Pollock, a former team-mate of Boucher and Kallis playing for the Mumbai Indians, also indicated age was not a barrier by stating the IPL had come as a boon for players close to retirement. “It does give another avenue for the older guys who can just get through the shorter version of the game to continue and extend their career,” the allrounder, who recently retired from international cricket, pointed out.”We have got a few tricks up our sleeve,” Boucher, 31, said. “We have got a side that on paper has a lot of good Test players but that’s a bonus. If you can play Test cricket, you can play any form of the game. It’s just a matter of mindset. If you look at those players called Test players, they have also played some unbelievable innings in one day cricket for their countries. I would rather have a couple of guys who can see off the new ball and post a competitive total than have guys who can smack the ball out of the park and also get out.”The Royal Challengers had bought Kallis for US$ 900,000 and Boucher for US$450,000 during the players’ auction in February. Both played the three-Test series in India that ended on Sunday and were cleared to play for the IPL after they were dropped from their domestic teams for the Standard Bank Pro20 tournament in South Africa.”Obviously, it was a tough couple of weeks playing Test matches, and then we were told that we were going home and now we are staying,” Kallis said. “Eventually, the board [Cricket South Africa] released us from our franchises back home. Probably there are six to seven guys who play for our franchise back home, the Cape Cobras. And instead of keeping all the internationals back home, they have released Mark and myself. Therefore we are now part of the IPL contract which allows us to play here.”When asked whether the ICC should find space for the IPL in the international calendar, Boucher said, “We do play a lot of cricket these days. May be the way forward is to go ahead with the IPL and cut down the number of one-dayers we play every year. But ultimately the fans will decide and Twenty20 does create the finance for the ICC.”Boucher and Kallis have had discussions on the 44-day-long tournament with Rahul Dravid, their IPL captain, and said they were excited by the opportunity.”We spoke to Venkatesh Prasad [the coach of Royal Challengers] the other day and spoke to Rahul last night,” Boucher said. “It is difficult to discuss things when we guys are competing with each other in a Test series. So we kept it formal on the field but now the chats are going on and it is exciting.”Boucher is also looking forward to meeting Virat Kohli, his team-mate and captain of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team. “It would be nice to talk to him and may be share a few whispers about his success against South Africa in the Under-19 World Cup.”

The 12 members of New South Wales’ team of the past 150 years will be the first inductees of the state’s Hall of Fame when it is opened on Friday night. Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson, Steve Waugh and Bob Simpson will attend the event, which coincides with the Steve Waugh Medal, and the concept will be extended with two men and one woman being added each year.”Cricket NSW is delighted to introduce its own Hall of Fame,” David Gilbert, the chief executive, said. “We feel this is a fitting way to acknowledge the contributions of the great cricketers that have represented New South Wales and to recognise their achievements wearing the famous baggy blue cap.”The state’s team of the past 150 years was named in 2007 and players had to have made their first-class debut for the Blues. Only their performances for New South Wales counted so there were no spot for Glenn McGrath, who spent most of his career on international duty.The team Arthur Morris, Bob Simpson, Don Bradman, Victor Trumper, Charlie Macartney, Steve Waugh, Billy Murdoch (wk), Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson, Ray Lindwall, Charles Turner, Bill O’Reilly.

Mathew Dowman and Dominic Cork at last gave Derbyshire supporters a dayto savour when they transformed the match at the County Ground with arecord breaking partnership.The unbroken seventh wicket stand of 225 was the highest for Derbyshireagainst Durham and at the close, Dowman and Cork had taken their sideinto a lead of 369.It was a totally different story shortly after lunch when Durham had thehome side on the ropes at 121-6, only 143 runs in front, and there wasevery chance the game would finish inside two days.But the pitch had by now flattened out, the ball did not swing andDowman and Cork plundered bowling which became increasingly ragged on ahot afternoon.This was Dowman’s best innings for Derbyshire and, after spending 18balls on 99, he reached his eighth first-class century which wasapplauded by all the Durham team.Cork scored his fourth hundred and his unbeaten 105 was his highestscore while Dowman’s 129 not out was his best for Derbyshire.The stand was the highest against Durham this season and has seriouslydamaged their chances of avoiding relegation to the Second Divisionwhile Derbyshire now have an excellent chance of winning their firstgame since late June although they already look doomed to lose theirDivision One status.