SYDNEY, Jan 2 AAP – Australia dropped two catches to let England off the hook on the opening morning of the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.England, having won the toss, was 2-79 at lunch with Mark Butcher on 42 and captain Nasser Hussain on 14.Australia would have secured a more dominant position if Damien Martyn and Stuart MacGill had not spilled chances.On 13, Butcher drove at Andy Bichel and Martyn failed to take a difficult opportunity at gully, diving low to his left.MacGill should have taken a relatively simple caught and bowled chance from Hussain when he was six and the score was 2-63.Fast bowler Brett Lee made the initial breakthrough this morning, having Michael Vaughan caught behind for a duck.Lee bowled superbly in an opening spell of 1-12 from five overs, getting genuine outswing at speed.Andy Bichel sent Marcus Trescothick on his way for 19 when the England opener attempted to cover-drive a wide delivery.He found a thick edge, which wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist took with a flying catch high to his left in front of first slip.Lee finished the session with 1-17 from eight overs, Bichel had 1-21 from six, MacGill 0-26 from eight and Jason Gillespie 0-14 from six.

KINGSTON – Kenrick Dennis, a promising fast bowler who played briefly for Jamaica in the late 1980s, died in a road accident in the United States yesterday, according to Jamaica Cricket Association sources.He will be remembered for his misfortune in spilling two catches as a substitute fielder in the final over of a nailbiting one-day final against Barbados at a jam-packed Sabina Park in 1988.His fielding errors led to a Barbadian triumph. Dennis never represented Jamaica after that game and migrated shortly after.

Former Australian cricket captain and Nine Network cricket commentatorMark Taylor today vigorously denied quotes attributed to him in a Sydneynewspaper calling on Steve Waugh to retire from international cricket.The back-page report in today’s Daily Telegraph was based on commentssupposedly made by Taylor on the World Cup’s official website.”Since arriving in South Africa on February 9 I have not made any publiccomments concerning Steve Waugh, nor have I given any interviews on thesubject,” said Taylor. “And in the two World Cup matches that I have sofar been part of as a commentator I made no reference to Stevewhatsoever.”Taylor said: “I completely refute comments attributed to me in aso-called interview reported on the official ICC World Cup websitedealing with Steve Waugh and several other issues.””I have steadfastly stayed clear of the public debate concerning SteveWaugh’s future,” Taylor said from Johannesburg.”Having been through something similar myself back in 1997, I can wellappreciate what Steve is going through. That’s why I have consistentlyrefused to enter the debate as to whether he should keep playing orretire.”(Issued by Mark Taylor’s management, The Fordham Company.)

Central Districts have made two changes to their team which lost to Wellington in Masterton for their next match against Otago at Queen’s Park in Invercargill starting on Monday.Left-arm medium-fast bowler Lance Hamilton was unavailable for selection due to injury and Ewen Thompson has replaced him while Peter Ingram has been recalled to replace Greg Loveridge.The full team is: Craig Spearman (captain), Peter Ingram, Jamie How, Greg Todd, Glen Sulzberger, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Bevan Griggs, Andrew Schwass, Michael Mason, Brent Hefford, Ewen Thompson.

Elite B had to be satisfied with five points from their drawn encounter against Elite C, which ended at Vijayawada’s Indira Gandhi stadium on Sunday.After MSK Prasad opted to bat on Thursday morning, fifties from opener Wasim Jaffer (76) and Sairaj Bahutule (61), and good hands from Amit Pagnis (49), Vinayak Mane (47) and Tejinder Pal Singh (43) helped Elite B post 390 in their first innings. For Elite C, left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni claimed five wickets.The Elite C reply never really took off after early jolts from medium-pacer Harvinder Singh, who claimed both openers with just 39 on the board. Leggie Sairaj Bahutule then took over, claiming six wickets, as Elite C, with the exception of Yere Goud (46) and Nikhil Doru (60*), struggled. The fall of the final Elite C wicket with the score reading 247 gained Elite B a 143-run lead.With less than one and a half days of play remaining, Elite B, led from the front by opener Wasim Jaffer (102), set off in pursuit of quick runs and an outright win. A declaration by Prasad with the Elite B score reading 201/7 in the second innings left Elite C with an improbable 345 runs for win.They decided to settle for a draw instead, notching up 155/2 in 51 overs when play was called off. Opener Satyajit Parab (65*) and middle-order bat Jacob Martin (55*) were the batting stars for Elite C.

The 2003 BBC Sport Kwik Cricket Tournament is now under way with games taking place in Primary Schools throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.Over 5,500 schools will enter, making it cricket’s biggest competition. With 10 children per team squad – teams must field at least one girl – over 55,000 boys and girls under the age of 11 will battle for the chance to appear in the National Final at the Trent Bridge international ground in Nottingham on Tuesday 15 July. An England player will preside over the final, in which 16 teams will contest for the title of national champions.The champions will win a brand new set of playground markings worth up to £7,000 for their school.David Leighton, ECB Primary Schools Development Manager, said: “We are delighted to have BBC Sport as sponsors of our hugely successful Kwik Cricket Tournament. The competition goes from strength to strength – we had record numbers last year and we anticipate even more teams taking part this summer, which demonstrates that cricket is very much alive in schools throughout the country.”The playground markings are a fantastic prize. They transform what can be an uninspiring playground into a hive of sporting activity for all the children in the school to enjoy. The headmaster of the winning team will be delighted.”The 2003 BBC Kwik Cricket Tournament begins with local and district festivals (to be played by mid-June), with the winning teams progressing through to the county finals (to be played by late June). The victors of the county finals qualify for the regional finals (to be played by Friday 4 July), and the most successful will progress to the national final.Playground markingsThe playground markings and targets, devised by the ECB’s Development Department, will not only encourage boys and girls to play sport in their breaks but will help teachers deliver the school curriculum.Numbered targets will help with numeracy skills while the layout of the targets within the playground will facilitate more organised PE practice time. In addition, the brightly coloured markings will allow matches and training for a multitude of sports, including cricket, football, netball and hockey so a wide-range of sporting tastes can be catered for.The markings will be installed by Highway Safety Systems, a Stockport-based Company which is the largest supplier and installer of pre-formed playground markings in the UK, thus ensuring that they will be of the highest quality.Kwik Cricket – the rulesThe two teams toss a coin to decide which team has the choice of either batting or fielding first.Games consist of one innings per team, each innings to be eight overs long. The batting side is divided into pairs, each pair batting for two overs, with a new pair starting at the end of the second, fourth and sixth overs.Each team starts batting with a score of 200 runs. Each time a batter is out, five runs are deducted and the other batter of the pair faces the next ball. A batter may be out bowled, caught, run out, stumped, hit wicket. There is no LBW rule unless the batter deliberately blocks the ball with a leg or foot.Runs will be scored in the normal way, as will byes. Two runs will be awarded to the batting team for each wide ball and no-ball bowled, but no extra ball will be allocated, except in the final over of each innings when, in addition to the two runs, an extra ball will be bowled.At the end of the first two overs, the first pair of batters retires and are replaced by the second pair until all four pairs have batted for two overs each. The second team then bats for its eight overs.Each player on the fielding side must bowl one over and bowling will take place from one end only (bowling over-arm where possible). Players on the fielding side do not need to rotate fielding positions. With the exception of the wicketkeeper, no fielder is allowed within 10 yards of the batter until the ball is played by the batter.The team with the higher score wins. In the event of a tie the team taking more wickets will be the winner. If it is still equal, each player bowls one ball at the wickets (no batter), with the team scoring the higher number of strikes the winner.2003 BBC Sport Kwik Cricket Tournament dates

County Finals:Bedfordshire – 24/06/2003 – Flitwick CCCBerkshire – 25/06/2003 – Wokingham CCBuckinghamshire – 17/06/2003 – tbcCambridgeshire – 01/07/2003 – Clare College sports GrdCheshire – 02/07/2003 – Warrington Sports ClubCornwall – 18/06/2003 – St Austell Cricket ClubCumbria – 20/06/2003 – Keswick Cricket ClubDerbyshire – 27/06/2003 – Harehay CCDevon – 20/06/2003 – Newton AbbotDorset – 10/06/2003 – Bryanston SchoolDurham – 16/06/2003 – County Ground RiversideEssex – 03/07/2003 – BillericayGloucestershire – 25/06/2003 – Cheltenham Cricket ClubHampshire – 25/06/2003 – The Rose BowlHerefordshire – 19/06/2003 – Luctonians CCHertfordshire – 25/06/2003 – Shenley Cricket CentreHuntingdonshire – 25/06/2003 – Hinchingbrooke SchoolIsle of White – date tbc – NewportKent – 06/07/2003 – St Lawrence GroundLancashire – 26/06/2003 – Old TraffordLeics & Rutland – 18/06/2003- Grace RoadLincolnshire – 21/06/2003 – Hartsholme CCLondon – 24/06/2003 – Walker Ground;SouthgateMiddlesex – 03/07/2003 – Lord’sNorfolk – 24/06/2003 – Horsford County Cricket GroundNorthamptonshire – 25/06/2003 – The County GroundNorthumberland – 20/06/2003- South North CCNottinghamshire – 30/06/2003 – Boots Sports GroundOxfordshire – 27/06/2003 – Rover Sports ClubShropshire – date tbc – Wellington CCSomerset – 08/06/2003 – Country Ground, TauntonStaffordshire – 24/06/2003 – Cannock CCSuffolk – 30/06/2003 – WoolpitSurrey – 08/07/2003 – The OvalSussex – 24/06/2003 – Horsham CCWales – tbcWarwickshire – date tbc – Kenilworth Wardens CCWiltshire – 27/06/2003 – DevizesWorcestershire – 16/06/2003 – County Ground, WorcesterYorkshire – tbcRegional Finals:East – 08/07/2003 – Bury St EdmundsEast Midlands – 07/07/2003 – Boots Sports GroundNorth – 25/06/2003 – Graham Sports Centre, Maidens CastleNorth East – 04/07/2003 – Headingley Cricket ClubNorth West – 07/07/2003 – Warrington Sports ClubNorthern Ireland – 24/06/2003 – Ballymena CCScotland – 24/06/2003 – Stirling County CCSouth – 03/07/2003 – Rover Sports Club, OxfordSouth East – 09/07/2003 – East Grinstead CCSouth West – 27/06/2003 – Newton AbbotWales South – 9/7/03 – Aberystwyth CCWales North – 4/7/03 – Sophie GardensWest Midlands – 02/07/2003 – Wallsall Cricket ClubNational Final:Tuesday 15 July, Trent Bridge (Nottingham)

Zimbabwe all-rounder Gary Brent is set to stay and boost struggling Burridge when his current One-Day International commitments are completed next month.Speaking during Hampshire’s match with the tourists at the Rose Bowl yesterday, Brent confirmed that he will join the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2 side after the tri-angular final at Lord’s on July 12.Brent, who spent three successful seasons with Burridge in the nineties, had originally planned to spend the whole summer back at his old haunts."But then I was picked for the ODI’s against England and South Africa, so all my plans changed," he said."It will be great to play with the Burridge lads again and hopefully I can help them out of their current predicament."Relegated from Premier 1 at the end of last season, Burridge currently lie fourth from bottom of Division 2, having lost three of their initial five matches.They visit local rivals Gosport tomorrow – minus in-form left-hander Neil Cunningham and Phil Ransley, both ex-Borough players. Suspended Lee Wateridge sits out the second and last match of his club-imposed ban.Unbeaten table toppers Old Tauntonians & Romsey face a stiff test at second-placed St Cross Symondians, who delay selection pending the possible availability of young Hampshire all-rounders Jimmy Adams and Jon Francis.Lymington all-rounder Glyn Treagus is ruled out against United Services by a nasty bout of tonsilitis, so in-form 2nd XI batsman Jason Carr comes in.Easton & Martyr Worthy entertain high-scoring Hursley Park at Cockets Mead, where they also host Sunday’s NVC county final tie against Paultons, 2pm.Sparsholt, who have won their last two matches to slip into a comfortable mid-table slot, ought to make it three victories in a row against winless Purbrook at the Norman Edwards Ground.

Herschelle Gibbs is no stranger to controversy. In a short life he has run foul of the authorities on several occasions, most notably when he became embroiled in the infamous match-fixing scandal with the disgraced former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje. But in an interview with Simon Wilde in the London-based Sunday Times, Gibbs showed little remorse for his involvement with Cronje and even joked that he treated his six-month ban as a “holiday”.”I loved it,” he said when asked about his forced break. “I played golf virtually every week. It wasn’t a difficult time. I’m a happy sort of guy. I don’t really get down about things that don’t go my way.” The life-skills counselling that Gibbs undertook following the hearings appears not to have included the art of thinking before speaking.At the King Commission hearings, Gibbs broke down during questioning, and yet he admitted that soon after he and Cronje “had a good laugh”. And Gibbs added that he held no animosity towards Cronje for getting him involved in the scandal. “No. I never for one minute held it against him.”Barry Richards hinted that Gibbs isn’t necessarily the sharpest card in the pack. “Team management should not burden him with game plans and undue responsibility,” he told Wilde.Perhaps the best assessment of Gibbs comes from Wilde himself. “He is living proof of the dangers inherent in living the blinkered existence of the professional sportsman,” Wilde wrote. “He still laughs at serious issues and often opens mouth before engaging brain.”Click here for the full Sunday Times article

Fidel Edwards’s figures of 5 for 36 are the third-best figures by a West Indian bowler on Test debut. Here’s the list of the top 10 West Indian performances on debut..normal {color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;}

Leg weary Alton return from their South Wales tour to face Hungerford in a potentially tricky Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 match at the War Memorial Ground.Alton are unbeaten and 18 points clear at the top, but Hungerford will be at full strength with their MCC Young Professional recuits all available.Second placed Ventnor will expect to keep their title hopes alive at relegation-threatened Flamingo, while Rowledge should be too strong for Hook & Newnham Basics.Trojans must beat South Wilts II at Stoneham Lane to keep their flickering promotion hopes alive.Winchester KS host Southsea at River Park, with Paultons expecting to pour more relegation gloom on Portsmouth II, who have lost their last six games.