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Luke Ronchi has won the prestigious ECB Southern Electric Premier League batting award after hitting a half-century in Bashley-Rydal’s comfortable six-wicket win at Andover.His 53 ensured he finished the leading run scorer in Premier Division 1 – 28 ahead of Liphook’s South African all-rounder Alistair Gray and in front of Damian Shirazi, who finished with a league runners-up medal after BAT surrendered the championship to Havant.To cap a double celebration for Bashley, Kevin Nash grabbed three Andover wickets to win the August Southern Electric Cricketer of the Month prize.Nash took 3-33 to take his August wicket tally to 16 and his season’s haul to 36 – one more victim than team-mate Matt King achieved last year.Toby Radford, the former Sussex and Middlesex opener, fought a lone battle for Andover, who dipped from a promising 80-1 to 150-9.Radford hit a painstaking but nonetheless invaluable 64 – out of 134-7 before he was dismissed – and was the only Andover batsman to master a mean Bashley attack.Ronchi, on his farewell appearance, took 1-11 off ten overs, while Chris Sketchley (2-23) and Neil Taylor (2-27) dictated terms with the ball as Andover struggled on the low-bounce London Road surface.Bashley-Rydal lost promoted opener John Whiting and Andy Sexton, but bright and breezy half-centuries by Ronchi (53) and Neil Thurgood (55) swept them to the brink of a six-wicket win.Thurgood took a distinct liking to Andover spin pair Martin Docis and Gareth Tate, who were hit for a combined total of 74 off 5.3 overs.Dale Middleton’s 22 not out eased Bashley home with 22 overs to spare.Burridge bade their Premiership farewells, losing by four wickets to South Wilts at Lower Bemerton.Ironically, former Burridge all-rounder Tom Caines played a major role in their demise, taking 3-34 before hitting a key 60 in the South Wilts run chase.Only Jo Dixon (25), Paul Hawkins (20) and Paul Ancell (19) made any real impact as Burridge tumbled to 133 all out, Paul Draper (3-21) and Caines sharing six of the wickets.South Wilts promptly lost two wickets for one run, but Caines (60) steadied the slide and, with help from Colin Moody (22) and Tim Lamb (23), eased the Salisbury club to 134-6.Portsmouth fielded only three first team regulars as they too dipped to 133 all out (Dean Oliffe 57) at Liphook & Ripsley.Neil Randall (57) hit his first half-century of the season as Liphook cruised home, with Ali Gray making 43 not out.

BRISBANE, Nov 24 AAP – Western Australia is firmly in control after a roller coaster ride of a day in the Pura Cup clash against Queensland at the Gabba.A total of 15 wickets fell during the first day of play with Queensland on 5-106 at stumps, chasing Western Australia’s total of 228.The Warriors lost their last six wickets for just 30 runs as momentum swung like a pendulum throughout the day.The Warriors started on the front foot when captain Mike Hussey called correctly and elected to bat on a wicket that promised plenty of bounce and some sideways movement.Hussey and opening partner Chris Rogers preceded to dispatch the Queensland attack to all parts of the Gabba as they put on 59 for the opening stand, bringing up the team’s half century in 44 minutes off just 11 overs.Hussey smashed Bulls quick Michael Kasprowicz for four boundaries in one over, but the former test pacemen had the last laugh when he had Hussey caught behind for 33.Queensland stemmed the flow of runs following Hussey’s dismissal with Joe Dawes bowling five consecutive maidens to bring the Bulls back into the game. He was rewarded with the wicket of Rogers who dragged the ball onto his stumps.The game was then delicately poised with the Warriors at 3-102 at the break.The second session belonged to the home side with the Bulls claiming seven wickets.The only bright note for the Warriors was an 82-run partnership between Murray Goodwin and Ryan Campbell who took the score from 116 to 198.Goodwin’s departure triggered the major batting collapse which saw the Warriors all out before the tea break.Dawes and Lee Carseldine claimed three wickets apiece with Ashley Noffke and Michael Kasprowicz claiming two each with Ryan Campbell top scoring for the visitors with a quickfire 62.Queensland looked to be in the drivers seat but they were soon in trouble when captain Jimmy Maher was run out for 13 attempting a quick single.It went from bad to worse for the Bulls with both Martin Love and Stuart Law going out for second ball ducks in the same over.Queensland duo Andrew Symonds and Brendan Nash fought a rearguard action compiling a 51-run partnership.But both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession late in the day to leave the Bulls struggling for 5-72.Lee Carseldine and Wade Seccombe guided the Bulls to stumps still 123 runs short of their target with only the tail to come.Western Australian captain Hussey said the pitch was not to blame for the avalanche of wickets.”I thought it was a really good cricket wicket the ball came onto the bast nicely. We were disappointed to only get 228 but we knew if we worked hard we could put the bulls under pressure,” Hussey said.”To get Maher, Love and Law cheaply really helps but there are no slouches in the Queensland tail so we will have to work very hard.”

A new cricket hotline dealing only with information on next year’s ICCCricket World Cup in South Africa opened on Saturday. Members of thepublic can call (27) 83 123 2003 between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week.Normal cellphone rates will apply.

which takes place on Friday 13 September 2002, is set to be an evening of all-round entertainment of cricket, music and fun, one which we are sure both the brothers would have enjoyed.The gates open at 4pm with speeches and special presentations to take place at 6pm. The match will start at 6.30pm.We will be having live music from LA Zakatek, a band from Croydon who have just signed a five-year recording deal in America. They have a wide following in the South East and before moving to the States in October have offered their support at the Memorial Match.Leon and Amber Zakatek, who front the band, are the children of Lenny Zakatek, former lead singer of The Alan Parson’s Project and Gonzalez and who had the Eighties hit `I Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet’. Leon was a friend of Umer Rashid and will sing a number of songs, including some of Umer’s favourites, before the match and during the break in innings.As well as the entertainment on the pitch between a Sussex XI and Angus Fraser XI (team to be confirmed very shortly) there will be a family entertainment area including face-painting, bouncy castle, jousting and junior coaching.Entrance is by programme at £5 available on the gate or from the Club. Donations to the Umer Rashid Memorial fund are most welcome and should be sent to the County Ground.

Somerset fast bowler Richard Johnson is likely to be missing from the scene for the next few games after pulling a hamstring whilst bowling in the Benson and Hedges match against Northants at Taunton yesterday.This morning Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "Richard has suffered yet another a hamstring injury and whilst he is sidelined recovering from that he will undergo minor manipulative surgery to remove some floating debris from a troublesome knee that will keep him out of the game for nearly three weeks."Reflecting on yesterday’s defeat the chief told me: "Clearly the coach, the captain and the players are all very disappointed. They performed under par against Warwickshire and then repeated this at Taunton in front of a home crowd yesterday. Our bowling display was poor on a good pitch and the fielding was not up to par. This was doubly disappointing after the professional and technical approach to the pre-season."The chief continued: " The Somerset coach, captain and the players will be having discussions about what can be done to sort things out, but supporters can take heart because we didn’t get perform very well last season early on."The Somerset squad for the game at Bristol tomorrow against table topping Gloucestershire will be strengthened by the return of Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick.Even though the presence of the two England stars is unlikely to be able to help the Cidermen to qualify for the next stage of the competition, this may well be the only time that the two teams meet this season so there will be a lot of personal pride at stake tomorrow.

New Zealand can expect to meet a much more disciplined West Indies team, on their tour starting next week, than the side which toured here in 1999/00.That team lost both Tests and suffered a clean sweep of defeats in the five One-Day Internationals.That’s the view of former New Zealand captain John Wright, who has been coaching the Indian team during their tour which has seen the West Indies take the Test series 2-1. A five-match one-day series is just about to start.”They looked a pretty good unit,” he told CricInfo today.”We’re disappointed, we should have played a lot better in the last Test.”They batted very well, and batted in depth. We had eight hundreds scored against us.”They are a lot tougher now. They are like us, they find it hard to win away from home but only South Africa and Australia have beaten them at home amongst all countries for the last 10 years,” he said.Wright said the opening combination of Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle was a good one while Ramnaresh Sarwan was a very solid batsman. Brian Lara had been a little out of touch while the tail-enders didn’t offer too much trouble with the bat.”They have four quicks again and they have been bowling good patterns.”Mervyn Dillon and Cameron Cuffy have been very disciplined and both bowled well against us,” he said.They were not fast bowlers in the most recent West Indies mould.”Adam Sanford gets it through but Dillon and Cuffy are not out-and-out quick bowlers, they are not by any means express,” he said.New Zealand leave for their tour on Tuesday. They play five One-Day Internationals and two Test matches in Barbados and Grenada.

Nottinghamshire’s Benson & Hedges campaign sufferedits first setback when former Trent Bridge favouriteMathew Dowman guided Derbyshire to their first groupvictory.The left-hander scored an unbeaten 75 from 96 balls asDerbyshire survived a late scare to get home by sixwickets with four balls to spare.Nottinghamshire’s total of 231-5 looked a good one ona slow pitch but Rob Bailey and Michael Di Venuto gaveDerbyshire an excellent start before Dowman tookcharge.He settled an absorbing contest by flicking GarethClough for six over deep square leg and then pickinghim up for another boundary to end a run of threedefeats in the Northern Group.Notts still go through to the quarter-finals but their 100 per cent record was shattered by the player they released at the end of the 1999 season.Derbyshire skipper Dominic Cork said: “This was allabout Mathew Dowman. I am absolutely delighted forhim.”He took responsibility and control and obviouslystill feels he has a point or two to make to one ortwo people at Trent Bridge.”Notts seemed set for a fourth victory as all theirbatsmen chipped in after Derbyshire had won the tosson a bright but cool day.Usman Afzaal top-scored with 50 but Kevin Pietersengave the innings a final flourish with an unbeaten 35from 29 balls.Bailey and Dowman put the home side firmly on courseuntil a brilliant diving catch by Guy Welton sent backBailey and Derbyshire wobbled when Cork was bowled fora duck but Dowman held his nerve to win the day.

Neither Otago nor Canterbury could claim to have secured the advantage after the first play of their State Championship match at Molyneux Park in Alexandra today.Otago, limped their way to 206 after being 66/4 and 121/6 at different stages of their innings while Canterbury at stumps were in the precarious position of 31/3.When play began this morning in the 156th first-class contest between the two sides, a clear blue sky with a cool temperature greeted the players but by the time stumps were drawn a very hot day had been experienced.Brendon McCullum, with a forceful 40, led the way for Otago with the first wicket not being lost until the total reached 60.Runs were hard to come by for many periods of play but Craig Pryor with 46 fought hard and a patient 29 by No 9 Nathan Morland was all Otago had to look back on with any satisfaction.Debutants Jordan Sheed and Scott Waide scored 14 and 12 respectively and gave us a small glimpse of future promise. Martyn Croy faced 76 balls for seven runs.The Canterbury bowling was quite tight with Wade Cornelius impressing again with four for 36 from his 25.5 overs.Paul Wiseman, in perhaps not his best season, with three for 22 from 13 also bowled well, while Chris Harris with two for 35 from 20 overs was most economical.Warren Wisneski left the field with an injured foot having no success for 46 from 12.2 overs. Ryan Burson with one for 49 from 18 overs completed the Canterbury wicket takers.Canterbury started their innings with only nine overs to bat until stumps and never found the exercise easy. They lost Shanan Stewart for one, Robbie Frew for 15 and nightwatchman Burson for three to be 31/3 at the close of play.Bowling for Otago, David Sewell had good reward for his initial efforts with two for eight while Kerry Walsmley took the other wicket at a cost of 21 runs.Day two looms as a most interesting one with Canterbury desperate to get first innings points but against an Otago side which seems to have the upper hand at the end of day one.

Ben Hollioake guided Surrey to a comfortable victory over Hampshire on the first day of cricket at the £17m Rose Bowl, more easily achieved than the 23-run margin suggests.A crowd of around 1,200 watched the first day’s play at the new ground and saw a low-scoring game in which Alistair Brown’s 33 in the Surrey innings was the best individual total of the match.Hampshire captain Robin Smith, mindful of the damp wicket and outfield, chose to field first and watched with growing anxiety as Surrey openers Mark Butcher and Ian Ward put on 55 for the first wicket in 15 overs.But then Neil Johnson, Hampshire’s Zimbabwean overseas player, struck with his first delivery for his new employers when he had Ward caught at mid-on by Alex Morris and Surrey were never able to accelerate.Johnson finished with three for 41 and there were two wickets each for Morris and Shaun Udal as Surrey fell away to 194 all out. Alex Tudor, run out off the last ball of the 50 overs, made an important contribution with 26.Johnson was out without scoring to the fourth ball from Martin Bicknell’s first over of the Hampshire reply and Smith laboured uncharacteristically for 16 overs for his ten.Ben Hollioake made sure Hampshire failed to recover by dismissing Jason Laney, Dimitri Mascarenhas and John Stephenson in a three-over spell and also held a competent catch to get rid of Will Kendall.There was some late order resistence from Alex Morris, Adrian Aymes and Udal from 106 for seven but Hampshire never looked capable of overhauling the Surrey total and were 171-9 when they ran out of overs.Hampshire chief executive Tony Baker said: “We were pleased with the first day’s play and the spectators seemed to like the new ground. There is much work still to be done but we are off the mark.”

David Leatherdale, the former Worcestershire allrounder, will takeover as the county’s chief executive after Mark Newton announced he was stepping down from the position.Newton had been at the helm for 10 years but will be replaced by Leatherdale who had been serving as his deputy. Leatherdale will begin his tenure in October with a new club captain in place after Vikram Solanki resigned on the same day as Newton, but Leatherdale is confident the young Worcestershire side can improve after struggling this year.”We are a club with 145 years of history and a huge number of loyal and passionate supporters, myself included, and a young developing team who have all the attributes to move the club into a new era,” he said. “I look forward to combining my knowledge of cricket as well as my commercial experience to help progress the club both on and off the field.”I have gained a great insight into the internal structures of the club over the last five years and particularly the last two as deputy CEO during what, it is fair to say, have been particularly difficult times. The cricketing landscape has changed immensely, both structurally and economically which has created many challenges and I am sure there will be many more to face in the future.”Leatherdale played his entire career with Worcestershire making over 10,000 first-class runs and taking 132 wickets before retiring in 2005 to become the county’s commercial director.