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Worcestershire County Cricket Club has announced that Graeme Hick will not be leading the side on the field in 2003.Hick has captained the County for three years and has seen the team make significant progress on the field. In 2001 the side gained promotion to the First Division of the National Cricket League. In 2002 the County came second in the NCL, reached the semi-final of the B & H Cup, the quarter final of the C & G Trophy and narrowly missed out on promotion to the First Division of the Frizzell County Championship.Commenting on the decision, Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, said, "The Club feels that the time is right to move forward with the captaincy of the team. It is also felt that this would allow Graeme to concentrate on being the County and Country’s leading batsman and help the newly shaped team strive for higher honours into the future. He has already re-written many of the Club’s batting records and I have no doubt many more will be written in the future. On behalf of the club I would like to thank Graeme for his commitment to the job over the past three season."Graeme Hick has issued his own statement as follows:-"Sadly the Worcestershire County Cricket Club have asked me to relinquish the captaincy of the side although my contract as a player continues until 2004.I was particularly proud that 2002 was one of our best seasons for years and, building on that solid groundwork, I was looking forward to leading the team in 2003 with every prospect of achieving the promotion that narrowly eluded us this year. Therefore, I was surprised and disappointed to be told so soon after the close of the season that my services were no longer required and at no time did I have the opportunity to express my ideas as Captain to the Committee. Thus when I received the call informing me that a decision had already been made its abruptness came as something of a shock.The 2003 season holds enormous promise. The team has worked incredibly hard and it has forged a great spirit, both of optimism and determination, which I believe will win us promotion. They deserve it! I would like to take this opportunity to thank the players for their efforts and support during my captaincy.It has been a tremendous honour and privilege to have captained Worcestershire. I would like to have led the team to success next year and to have retired on a high note. However, that task now falls to whoever is appointed in my place. I wish him well and I shall give him all my support."The Club hope to announce a replacement in the near future.

Whoever eventually replaces Rashid Latif is unlikely to match his unique career statistics. Wasim Bari did play a record 81 Tests for Pakistan but even he did not come close to Rashid’s achievement in just 31 Tests over a 10 year span.Cricket, like all sports, thrives on its personalities and glamourised by the media. Ask any avid cricket lover or a man on the street to name a few players and quickly, names of Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi will roll off his tongue.

Not surprising, considering they are the ones who provide the colour and glamour to international cricket and make the media’s day. But as fate would have it, uncannily, in recent months the subject of wicket-keepers has been widely reported on and discussed by the critics.England ‘keeper James Foster has been in the limelight by being written up after he was preferred over the vastly experienced Alec Stewart until he injured himself.During India’s recent West Indian tour, Deep Dasgupta and Ajay Ratra caught everyone’s attention over the perennial argument of whether it is better to play a specialist wicket-keeper/batsman or a specialist batsman/wicket-keeper.Ratra, meanwhile, with his maiden Test hundred in Antigua has apparently made it obvious that in these days of non-stop international cricket, there is no such thing as a specialist wicket-keeper who is a rabbit with the bat.

Today, not many teams have a wicket-keeper who is a complete novice with the bat. Adam Gilchrist in fact can be credited with glamorising the role of the wicket-keeper in recent times. Such has been his impact on Australian cricket that he is mentioned now in the same league as Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting.Mark Boucher of South Africa is everyone’s favourite with his “boy next door” looks and clean-cut image. Sri Lanka have Romesh Kaluwitharana and Kumar Sangakkara, both capable of playing on their own as batsmen, while Zimbabwe has been served brilliantly by Andy Flower or the schoolboy Tatenda Taibu.Even the Bangladesh team captain Khalid Mashud has become integral to the Test cricketing babes with his ‘keeping and above average batting ability.But, perhaps, no wicket-keeper has enjoyed a success story as perfect as Pakistan’s Rashid Latif.Last year, at the age of 32, he made a comeback to the Pakistan squad in England after three years in the wilderness and since then, has confounded everyone with his brilliance behind the stumps and his many valuable knocks at critical times. His is a story of determination; a narrative marked by incidents of controversy.A few years ago, Rashid hit the headlines for blowing the whistle on his teammates in South Africa and Zimbabwe when the match-fixing scandal first reared its ugly head. Today, however, he has a different tale to tell. A tale where the Pakistan team can’t afford to do without him. A tale where he has matured as a person and realised that loyalty counts for a lot and that at times a person has to make compromises for his family and friends.When he came back to the team in England, his critics were sceptical of his performances and doubted he could fill Moin Khan’s boots, given the latter’s uncanny knack of bailing out Pakistan time and again when facing disaster.Rashid proved everyone wrong, for in his very second comeback Test at Manchester he scored a match winning 71 and accounted for seven dismissals in Pakistan’s upset win. It was ironic that Rashid made such a decisive comeback in the same country and against the same opposition against whom he made his Test debut with a bang in 1992 but also lost favour of his teammates and selectors in 1996.Today, Rashid realises just how much of a difference it makes to be in the Pakistan team and out of it. “I have learnt my lessons. Today I have nothing on my mind except to continue playing as long as I can for Pakistan. Today I have learnt to play with niggling injuries and problems because I learnt the bitter way once you are out of the team; it is very hard to make a comeback. No one hands you a Pakistan place on a plate, you have to fight for it, and thus one must learn to appreciate the importance of wearing the Pakistan colours.”He has no complaints about what has happened in the past. “All that is history. Today I realise I have competition with Moin Khan. If I don’t perform he or the other youngsters are waiting to take my place.”They say statistics never lie in cricket and in Rashid’s case they say a lot about his contribution to the team and as a wicket-keeper/batsman of exceptional calibre. How many Pakistan players can claim to having been a member of a Pakistan team, which has a 75 per cent win record?Hard to believe but true in Rashid’s case. Of the 31 Tests he has played, Pakistan has won 22, lost five and drawn four. More interestingly, in these 22 Tests, Rashid has been a member of the winning team and has contributed 916 runs with five 50s with one century at an average of 36.64. But the topping on the cake, besides his runs, are 84 dismissals as a wicket-keeper.Consider this: with his overall record of 1,162 runs in 31 Tests at an average of 29.05 with five fifties and one hundred and a total of 108 dismissals and it is obvious just how much of a key role Rashid has played in matches that Pakistan won.Compare this with Wasim Bari’s record of having seen Pakistan win just 17 matches in 81 Tests in which his contribution was 202 runs at an average of 22 with one fifty and he effected a total of only 60 dismissals.Compare it with Moin Khan’s record of 63 Test appearances in which Pakistan won 18 when he was keeping. A total of 636 runs at an average of 26.50 with six fifties and total of 46 dismissals in these victories. Or even with that of Saleem Yousuf who also enjoyed a remarkable run as wicket-keeper/batsman under Imran Khan’s leadership.When Yousuf was wicket-keeper in 32 Tests, Pakistan won12 of them in which he scored 351 runs at an average of 25.07 with two half-centuries and executed an impressive 57 dismissals. So where does Rashid Latif stand in the hall of fame when it comes to Pakistani wicket-keepers?Not to forget that he completed 100 dismissals in Tests in the quickest time of 28 Tests, whereas Yousuf did so in 31 Tests, Bari in 36 Tests, Moin in 49 Tests and Imtiaz Ahmed managed 93 victims in 41 Tests which included three as a fielder.Rashid is also the only Pakistani ‘keeper to have effected five dismissals in an innings five times in his short Test career; the second best are Bari and Yousuf with two such instances each.Another interesting piece of information as far as Pakistani wicket-keepers are concerned is that there were 40 innings in Bari’s Test career when he didn’t have a single dismissal, whereas Moin went through 35 such innings, Yousuf 10 innings, Imtiaz 22 innings and Rashid 13 innings without a dismissal.So what do all these stats prove or do they prove anything at all? Sure, there will be critics who will argue that in Bari’s time Pakistan’s bowling attack was not as effective as it is today. As such there were fewer opportunities for a ‘keeper to take catches or perform stumpings.But if these statistics don’t really give a clear answer to who is the best wicket-keeper/batsman to have represented Pakistan, they do make one thing very clear, the attitude of the Pakistan teams in the last five decades.Given the win ratio when either Rashid or Moin played in 94 Tests between them, Pakistan won a total of 40 tests, drew 28 and lost 26, which is not a bad record at all. The figures indicate that the Pakistan team during the period when these two played in the 1990s and in the last two years had more belief in itself and could win matches consistently.Now compare this with Wasim Bari’s 81 Tests with 17 wins and 43 draws and it becomes obvious that in the period he played in the late 1960s, the ’70s and early ’80s, the Pakistan team was clearly more content to play safe.What is interesting is that Pakistan won six of these 17 matches during a golden period of 14 Tests, with Mushtaq Mohammad as captain between 1976 and 1979 when Pakistan beat New Zealand (twice), Australia at Sydney, the West Indies in Port-of-Spain and then India at home (twice). They drew five of the matches and lost the remaining three to Australia in Australia and the West Indies at Port-of-Spain and Kingston, Jamaica.Bari did not play in one of the drawn matches at Karachi against New Zealand and in his place Shahid Israr kept wicket for Pakistan. That was the only time that Bari missed a Test since making his debut in 1967 at the age of 19 years and 126 days.Then we come to the record of the Pakistan team when Imtiaz Ahmed was the ‘keeper between 1952 and 1962, when the Pakistan team was at its weakest and lacked superstars apart from Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad or Imtiaz himself.Pakistan won eight Tests and drew 20 in this period, most of the wins being credited to that outstanding leader, Abdul Hafeez Kardar.Let us look at the stats in more detail:

Injuries to paceman Alan Mullally and wicket-keeper Nic Pothas sees Hampshire go into their Norwich Union League Division Two match with Middlesex with their youngest side yet.Second XI keeper Iain Brunnschweiler steps in for Pothas, who strained ligaments at the back of his knee and is rested in an attempt to get him fit for the vital Championship visit to Hove on Thursday. Brunnschweiler will make his competitive first XI debut having played in tourist and university first-class games.James Adams keeps his place from that beaten by Surrey in the floodlit clash at The Oval, while James Hamblin and Lawrence Prittipaul are also included.But there is no place for John Crawley, who has been ordered by the England management to rest before the fourth and final npower Test match against India at the Oval, starting on Thursday.Team: Jason Laney, Neil Johnson, James Adams, John Francis, Will Kendall (capt), James Hamblin, Lawrence Prittipaul, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Iain Brunnschweiler (w-k), James Tomlinson.

England cricket fans are an unlucky bunch. For the past 15 years, the team has been struggling to transcend mediocrity, stumbling through the deepest troughs. Contrary to popular belief, the loss of the Ashes, and the spectacular style in which Australia routed their visitors, is not a cause to be too gloomy.The unluckiest England fans are those approaching 20. I have no memory whatsoever of England’s last Ashes victory, in Australia in 1986/87. While the 1990/91 series is similarly blurred, I do recall wondering why Graham Gooch kept letting Terry Alderman trap him leg-before in 1989.Things had not got much better by 1993, when a young, bleached-blond was set to take England by storm. At one of my first Test matches, I saw Shane Warne’s “ball of the century”. What was most amusing was the equal mixture of bemusement and terror in the eyes of the England fans. They looked as puzzled as Gatting, with the more knowing spectators realising that this man was going to be a torment.And what torment. Warne, along with the Waugh brothers, Mark Taylor and later Glenn McGrath, would dominate the Ashes Tests of my youth. But England did at least compete. They won two Tests in 1997, and still had a slim chance of squaring the rubber going into the last day of the 1998/99 series.None of those previous England teams have as much potential as that 2002. None of the Australians could possibly match the superb team they have now. This is not just a good side: at least five (Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath) would walk into a World XI, with Jason Gillespie not far behind. They dominate Test cricket with swaggering ease, and are quite possibly invincible at home.What then, could England have done to prevent such a crushing defeat? It is a familiar complaint, but the injury list was a huge factor. Australia were able to select their best eleven, while Hussain’s side was a badly-botched DIY job. Missing Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick and Simon Jones deprived England of six definite starters. John Crawley is more than a fringe player, while Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher played without being fully fit. Australia would have won the Ashes even if England had been able to select their best side, but they would not have kept the urn with such ease.It is encouraging that Richard Dawson and Robert Key stood up and battled hard. Steve Harmison – in spite of his run-up jitters – also looked dangerous. Whether they will become genuine Test players remains to be seen, but they have survived the toughest possible induction into the game. Alex Tudor lacked zip, and will surely be affected by the sickening blow inflicted on him by Brett Lee. A word to commend the paceman is necessary, for he was helping Tudor with genuine concern within seconds. He blotted his copy-book by bouncing Harmison subsequently, but this was a tame effort, surely not intended to hit the batsman.So forget the nonsense about the game dying in England (just look at the crowds when South Africa tour next year) and look forward to the one-day series. It is a tough assignment, but a young England team might just be able to spring a few surprises. The Barmy Army certainly deserve a change in luck.

Somerset County Cricket Club patron, Christopher Ondaajte was absolutely delighted with the way that the match against Sri Lanka had gone at Taunton on Friday.After the close of play he told me: "It has been really fantastic for me to have been here on such a truly wonderful day and to have sponsored the first Patron’s Trophy match against Sri Lanka, the country of my birth."Mr Ondaajte continued: "I am certain that this is the start of a really thrilling one day cricket series in England, and I am delighted to have been part of it."Earlier in the day Mr Ondaajte had met the players from both sides and presented each team with an engraved silver salver and three engraved Queens Golden Jubilee Goblets, all of which had been specially commissioned, as a record of this special occasion.Following their 63 run defeat at the hands of Somerset, the Sri Lankans were back at the County Ground on Saturday morning practicing in the nets ahead of their one day match against Gloucestershire at Bristol tomorrow.

Michael Di Venuto’s first Championship century for Derbyshire failed to revive a rain-haunted fixture with Worcestershire.Rival captains Graeme Hick and Tim Munton agreed to play when the umpires might have abandoned without a ball being bowled, but a one-innings contest drifted into stalemate.Worcestershire were unable to bowl out the visitors and the alternative of a run-chase was passed up when Derbyshire batted on until after tea before declaring at 222 for eight.Worcestershire were left with 25 overs to consider a near-impossible target of 223 and opted for the draw as openers Philip Weston and Anurag Singh put on an undefeated 52 before an early close at 5.30pm.So a small crowd could not reflect on Di Venuto’s performance. The 27-year-old Australian made 108 – including a second 50 from only 56 balls – but Derbyshire were in no mood to risk a similar response from Hick.Di Venuto’s command – he hit Stuart Lampitt for three fours in passing 50 and 100 – was a class above anything else on a pitch which offered some assistance to the Worcestershire seamers.The Australian batted with considerable force, mostly off the back foot, in cutting, driving and pulling 19 fours while dominating stands of 94 with Luke Sutton and 59 with Rob Bailey.But Derbyshire lost two early wickets in three balls from Alamgir Sheriyar and faltered in the afternoon when Steve Rhodes held a thin edge from Sutton (42) and dived a long way to take a leg-side deflection by Di Venuto. David Leatherdale then prospered with three for 23.

Lanky Winchester KS all-rounder Dave Greatham has announced that he is off to Normandy – and won’t be playing any part in the cathedral city’s Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 promotion bid this summer.It’s not the lure of the sandy French Channel beaches that has attracted Greatham away from River Park.But the opportunity to help Normandy – the Castle Lager Surrey Championship club, based just off the Hog’s Back -push for a promotion place.Greatham, who lives in Petersfield, still hopes to play for the Hampshire Board side in the 38 County Championship. He took three wickets in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy defeat by Ireland last September.

Five days of cricket with a good weather forecast starts on Wednesday.Skipper Mark Alleyne explains “we always enjoy coming to Gloucester andreally enjoy the Festival atmosphere at Archdeacon Meadow”.Jack Russell, undoubtedly still the best wicket keeper in the world, adds “Iam really looking forward to locking horns with Essex. We have not playedthem for a few seasons and they have a competitive side so it should be agood contest.”The 4-day match starts on Wednesday at 11.00am and Sunday’s match will start at 2.00pm, to allow time to watch the Football World Cup Final. TVs will also be available for viewing at the ground on Sunday.

Former Indian leg spinner Narendra Hirwani struck twice late in theday to leave Orissa struggling at stumps on the second day of theirRanji Trophy quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh at the Captain RoopSingh stadium in Gwalior on Friday. Replying to the Madhya Pradeshtotal of 437, Orissa were 110 for three at close of play.Orissa lost Pradip Das early. The opener was leg before to HS Sodhifor ten in the seventh over when the score was 13. But the otheropener Suresh Kumar and Rashmi Parida then added 89 runs for thesecond wicket off 26.3 overs and Orissa were sailing along smoothly at102 for one. Then in successive overs, Hirwani struck. First, he hadSuresh Kumar caught by another former Indian spin bowler RajeshChauhan for 35. Suresh Kumar faced 98 balls and hit five of them tothe ropes. In the following over, the same combination struck to getrid of Sanjay Satpathy for a duck. Skipper Sanjay Raul then joinedParida and the two played carefully still stumps. Parida at close wasbatting with 47. He has so far faced 96 balls and hit six fours.Hirwani in four overs has so far taken two for 14.Earlier, the hosts resuming at 320 for six, did well to get to 437.The tail wagged to prolong Orissa’s stay in the field. After overnightbatsmen, skipper Chandrakant Pandit (28) and AS Srivastava (29) fellquickly, Rajesh Chauhan (36) and Y Golwalkar (41 not out) added 74runs for the ninth wicket off 31.3 overs. While Chauhan faced 90 ballsand hit six of them to the fence, Golwalkar faced 135 balls and hitfive fours.

Mashonaland Eagles are on the lookout for a new coach after it was confirmed that Chris Silverwood would not be returning to the franchise next season. They have, however, already filled the post of assistant coach, with Grant Flower set to take up the role when he returns to Zimbabwe at the end of the current English season.”Silverwood is not coming back and we are still discussing with the prospective candidates for the job and hopefully we will be announcing the name of the new coach soon,” Eagles’ chief executive Hugo Ribatika told in Zimbabwe.Flower, 39, is in his final season with Essex after spending six years at the county. As well as the post with Eagles, he is expected to become part of the national coaching set-up and work with Zimbabwe’s batsmen as part of coach Alan Butcher’s technical team.Mashonaland Eagles won Zimbabwe’s domestic first-class competition, the Logan Cup, last season, and were also beaten finalists in the Faithwear-Met Bank one-day competition and the inaugural Stanbic Bank Twenty20 tournament.Eagles’ captain Elton Chigumbura, who is playing county cricket with Northamptonshire, is likely to miss the opening matches of the forthcoming season, but the franchise has already begun its preparations and the squad will be travelling to Chimanimani in the east of the country for a pre-season retreat next week.”It’s a team building exercise. We have invited a number of professionals to come and talk to the players because we want to build strong individuals on and off the pitch,” said Ribatika.With several franchises making changes to their squads ahead of the new season – Matabeleland Tuskers have parted ways with Mark Vermeulen and Dion Ebrahim, while Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyeri are moving from Mountaineers to Southern Rocks – Eagles have signed national Under-19 captain Peter Moor.”We have high chances because we have managed to retain most of our players and we are looking to add one or two,” explained Ribatika. “Negotiations are still going on. We also have got exciting prospects coming up as we have secured the national Under-19 captain Peter Moor to play first class cricket for Eagles this year.”