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Castle Park is, by far and away, the most attractive of thegrounds used by Essex County Cricket Club. Lying to the north ofthe High Street, and below the level of the town and castleitself, the park is bordered by the remains of the Romanperimeter wall and the old Colchester by-pass. During ColchesterCricket Week, the park is transformed by the sudden arrival oftiered seating, the ubiquitous blue and white marquees and, ofcourse, the mobile scoreboard. The pavilion is quite an elegantbuilding, backed by trees through which the tower of theVictorian town hall peeps, spire-like, in the distance. Throughthe park runs the willow-lined River Colne, beautiful enough, butresponsible for most of the ground’s considerable drainageproblems.Colchester Cricket Week is held in August. In the past, thefestival has been bedevilled by bad weather, so much so that in1966, it was transferred, in the middle of a match, toColchester’s secondary venue, the Garrison Cricket Ground. Thisarrangement lasted until 1975, at which point the club,presumably worried more by falling attendance than a certain G.Boycott’s knack of scoring double centuries on the Garrisonwicket or the unattractive nature of the Garrison ground itself,decided that a return to Castle Park was overdue. Despite thesnow which disrupted a match against Kent in early June, the moveproved to be a wise one. Essex have an impressive record atCastle Park, having won, or at least drawn, most of the matchesthat have been played there.Castle Park has seen more than its fair share of centurions ofboth varieties. It has been the scene of several notablecricketing achievements. When Essex entertained Kent atColchester in 1938, A.E. Fagg became the only batsman ever, tohit a double century in each innings, scoring 244 in his firstand 202 in his second. Even Graham Gooch, with his famous triplecentury against India at Lord’s in 1990, cannot boast acomparable achievement.Ken McEwan, always a prolific scorer, hit five hundreds in fourconsecutive visits to Castle Park between 1981 and 1984. Hesurpassed himself in 1983, scoring 181 against Gloucestershireand then, in the same week, 189 against Worcestershire, on bothoccasions securing a comfortable victory for his adoptive county.Javed Miandad also has good cause the remember Castle Park. In1981, after Glamorgan had secured a first innings lead, a centuryeach from Gooch and Hardie allowed Essex to declare their secondinnings at 411 for 9. Undeterred at being set 325 runs in almostexactly the same number of minutes, Javed Miandad raced away to200 not out and it was only when he ran out of partners, some 14runs short of the required total, that Essex and a nervous crowdof supporters could breathe freely again.

England Women 184 for 3 (Taylor 94, Connor 53*) beat South Africa Women 182 for 7 (Birch 3-29) by seven wickets
ScorecardEngland’s women cemented their standing as one of the favourites to win this month’s World Cup, which gets underway on March 22, by easing to a seven-wicket victory in the first of two warm-up matches against the hosts, South Africa, at Manzil Park in Klerksdorp. Chasing a sub-par target of 183, England were carried to the brink of victory by Claire Taylor, who made 94, and their captain, Clare Connor, who sealed the match with an unbeaten 53.After winning the toss, Connor put her faith in her bowlers and chose to bowl first. They didn’t make immediate inroads into a dogged South African batting line-up, however, and it wasn’t until the 12th over that Daleen Terblanche was prised from the crease by England’s new fast-bowling find, Katherine Brunt. Brunt has one Test to her name, but has yet to play in a full one-day international.Terblanche made 4 from 32 balls, and that set the tone for a stodgy South African innings. Even their 15-year-old wondergirl, Johmari Logtenberg, was unable to up the tempo – her 25 came from 47 balls, and was ended when England’s spinner, Rosalie Birch, held onto the second of her two return catches.Birch was the pick of the English bowlers, taking 3 for 29 from her 10 overs, although Lucy Pearson, with 2 for 24, was every bit as much of a threat. At 127 for 7, England envisaged an even easier run-chase, but South Africa’s eighth-wicket pairing of Angelique Taai (22 not out) and Charlize van der Westhuizen (25 not out) batted sensibly in an unbeaten 55-run partnership.England’s reply started shakily, as Alicia Smith struck twice in her first four overs to remove Charlotte Edwards for 0 and Laura Newton for 8, but Connor and Taylor added 152 for the third wicket to break the back of the run-chase.

Teddy Griffith, a retired banker from Barbados, has been elected president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). At a meeting at the Jolly Beach Resort in Antigua, Griffith outgunned Clarvis Joseph by nine votes to four.Griffith replaced Wesley Hall, the West Indian fast-bowling legend, who stepped down from the post due to ill health. Griffith, who played cricket for Barbados and Jamaica, is a former vice-president of the board. He famously resigned from that post two years ago, along with then president Pat Rousseau, after their decision to sack Ricky Skerritt as the national team’s manager was overturned by the board’s directors.Griffith has also served as chairman of the WICB marketing committee, and will now have to plunge into the task of organising the 2007 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies. Countries have until January 31, 2004, to submit their applications to host matches.Interestingly, when it was announced that Hall would step down it was widely expected that Chetram Singh, a bookmaker from Guyana, would take over the job. But Singh was told that he would not be allowed to attend ICC meetings and, thus, had to step aside.

It’s a case of full moon stops play in Sri Lanka where a recent government decree has banned the playing of sports on Poya Day holidays (full moon days).The decree has forced the return of the once coveted "rest day" during Test matches which were abandoned with the international cricket calendar becoming ever more congested.The Sri Lanka cricket board has been forced to reschedule Zimbabwe’s Test programme after the current LG Abans triangular series to avoid play on the 30 December, the Poya Day.New schedule:21-23 December – Three-day practice match Zimbabwe vs. Sri Lanka `A’ at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo27 December – 1 January – First Test Match Sri Lanka vs. Zimbabwe at Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo (Rest day on 30 December)4th-8th January – Second Test Match Sri Lanka vs. Zimbabwe at Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium in Kandy12th-16th January – Third Test Match Sri Lanka vs. Zimbabwe at Galle International Cricket Stadium17th January – Zimbabwe Departure

Gloucestershire batsman Matt Windows continued his remarkable run of success against Essex on the second day of the County Championship Division Two match at Bristol.Windows top scored with 107 as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 268, a first innings lead of five over their visitors.And that was his third hundred in his last three championship innings against Essex. He scored 151 in the 1998 game at Colchester and followed it up with 118 in last year’s match at Gloucester.It was also further confirmation that Windows, an England A tourist to Zimbabwe and South Africa two years ago, is growing into his new role at No 3 in the order this season, having batted at five for most of last summer.After a poor start to his championship campaign, Windows scored 54 in the victory over Middlesex at Lord’s last week and this latest effort was the ninth first-class hundred of his career.Gloucestershire coach John Bracewell said: “It was a very good innings from Matt, but we know he can push on and go a stage further.”He played very well at Lord’s, but was out just after passing 50 and now he was out after just passing his hundred. He is capable of playing really big innings.”Gloucestershire made a poor start to the day when they lost openers Tim Hancock and Rob Cunliffe, for four and two respectively, inside the opening seven deliveries.Hancock fell lbw on the back foot to Ronnie Irani and Cunliffe edged a Mark Ilott delivery to England captain Nasser Hussain at slip.Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne departed soon afterwards for eight, when he gave a return catch to Ilott.But Windows and Chris Taylor then revived the innings with a fourth wicket stand of 78. Windows cut, pulled and cover drove boundaries to all parts of the ground, while Taylor, who made history last week when he became the first player to score a century at Lord’s on his first-class debut, dug in at the other end.Taylor had moved to 18 when he fell to a slip catch by Stuart Law off Ashley Cowan in the second over after lunch.Windows’ fluent innings was finally ended in the 50th over when he drove a low catch to Darren Robinson in the covers from Tim Mason’s bowling.When Mark Hardinges was lbw to Danny Law for a duck soon afterwards, Gloucestershire had slipped to 173-6.But the lower order performed creditably to ensure a narrow first innings advantage.Jeremy Snape made an attractive 54 before he cut a Cown delivery to Robinson at point.Mike Cawdron was caught at the wicket by Barry Hyam off Danny Law for 28. Then Jon Lewis and James Averis went cheaply to Law and Ilott respectively.Reggie Williams, deputising behind the stumps for the rested Jack Russell, finished unbeaten on 28.Essex were then reduced to 22-2 by the close in their second innings. Paul Prichard and nightwatchman Hyam both departed in the same fashion as they edged Lewis deliveries to Alleyne at second slip.

Leeds United goalkeeper coach Marcos Abad, whose importance at Thorp Arch has been labelled as ‘huge’, is expected to stay at the club and work under Jesse Marsch, according to Training Ground Guru.

The Lowdown: Bielsa departs

The Whites decided to sack Marcelo Bielsa on the weekend after three-and-a-half years in charge at Elland Road following a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham.

Marsch has since been named as the Argentine’s successor, penning a deal through to 2025 in Yorkshire.

It looks as if Cameron Toshack will serve as the American’s assistant, and Marsch will also be able to call upon Abad to continue his work alongside Illan Meslier.

The Latest: Abad set to stay

Training Ground Guru shared a story on Monday regarding Bielsa’s staff.

They claimed that assistants Diego Reyes, Pablo Quiroga and Luis Ouvina and fitness coach Benoit Delaval will leave, whereas head of analysis Guillermo Alonso and Abad look set to stay.

The Verdict: Orta influence

Pundit Kevin Campbell believes Abad should be given ‘huge credit’ for the work he has done with Meslier, and Victor Orta has surely had a say in the goalkeeping coach and Alonso staying put at Elland Road.

Indeed, the pair both worked under Orta at Middlesbrough, so the director of football has now collaborated with the duo at two English clubs and is clearly a big fan of their work if they are not joining the Bielsa exodus.

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It seems to be a decision that makes sense, especially when you look at Meslier’s progression at Elland Road, with his Transfermarkt valuation at a career-high £18m figure.

In other news: ‘According to insider sources’ – Report claims Leeds chief set to ‘resign’ in Bielsa aftermath. 

Scorecard Jalaj Saxena hit an unbeaten fifty to guide Madhya Pradesh to a four-wicket win against Jammu & Kashmir in a low-scoring thriller in Jammu. Having resumed on 18 for 3, needing a further 113 runs to win on the final day, MP lost three wickets to reach 85 for 6. Jalaj, who resumed the day on 11, then shared a 48-run stand in 16 overs with Murtaza Ali (29*) to steer MP home. Out for a duck in the first innings, Jalaj could not have found a better time to register his highest first-class score. The game had turned on its head on the third day when Anand Rajan grabbed a career-best six-wicket haul to help MP, who faced a first-innings deficit, shoot J&K out for 91.
Scorecard Powered by a career-best 7 for 90 from Ashraf Makda, Gujarat registered an innings victory against Tripura in Ahmedabad. At the start of the fourth day, the last six Tripura wickets needed 200 runs to make Gujarat bat again. Makda, the left-arm medium-pacer, grabbed four wickets as Gujarat took the required wickets in 42.4 overs of play to earn six points from the game. Nishit Shetty offered the lone fight with an 80, but he only managed to delay the inevitable.
ScorecardJharkhand lost their last six wickets for 52 runs as Haryana beat them by 132 runs with only three overs’ play to spare. Apart from the captain Manish Vardhan who scored 106, not a single Jharkhand batsman reached 20, extras (30) being the second-largest contributors to their score of 223.Haryana, after having attained a first-innings lead on the third day, had declared overnight with a lead 354 runs. Sachin Rana, their medium-pacer, followed his first-innings effort of three wickets with three more in the second innings.
ScorecardAt Palakkad, Kerala took the last five Services wickets for 25, enforced a follow-on, took eight second-innings wickets, but ran out of time and could not enforce an outright win. Services, who resumed at 325 for 5, collapsed to the bowling of Tinu Yohannad and Prasanth Chandran.Following on, Services made a steady start, but they lost their first two wickets at the score of 36. After a 69-run third-wicket stand, Services kept losing wickets consistently. Jasvir Singh and Yashpal Singh scored 43 runs each to keep them afloat. Sadanandan Anish, Kerala’s right-arm offbreak bowler, bowled 34 overs for his six wickets.
ScorecardGoa dismissed Railways for 425 to walk away with the first-innings points in Margao. Railways, in pursuit of Goa’s 535, began the day at 291 for 5, with wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat approaching his first century for Railways. Rawat missed the ton by four, and his wicket at the team score of 348 triggered a collapse as the next four could add only 57 runs. Karan Sharma, who had scored a century in the previous game – his debut – was left stranded at 70. Harshad Gadekar and Robin D’souza took three wickets apiece for Goa.
ScorecardAfter rain had washed out close to three days of play, Assam and Vidarbha couldn’t force a first-innings result and took away a point apiece. Assam, resuming at 65 for 2, scored 216, thanks largely to S Sharath’s 60. Pritam Gandhe, the Vidarbha offbreak bowler, bowled 15.4 economical overs in which he took four wickets and gave way 20 runs.Alind Naidu, Vidarbha’s No. 3, made sure there won’t be any hiccups in getting the one point, by scoring 48 runs.

Aaqib Javed returns to the NCA as coach © Picturecare

Aaqib Javed, the former Pakistan fast-medium bowler, has been appointed chief coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced.A PCB spokesman said that Aaqib’s appointment as the head of coaching at Lahore’s NCA would be highly beneficial for the young players training at the academy. “Aaqib brings to this position vast experience as an international cricketer and as a professional coach,” said the spokesman.Aaqib, 34, played the last of his 22 Tests in 1998, having taken 54 wickets. He was an under-recognised part of a much-feared Pakistan pace attack of the 90s, overshadowed mostly by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He did however forge a more successful one-day career, taking 182 wickets from 163 matches.He was part of Pakistan’s triumphant 1992 World Cup squad and once held the record for the best bowling figures in an ODI – 7 for 37, including a hat-trick – which he achieved against India in Sharjah in 1991.Aaqib has stayed attached with international cricket since his exit nine years ago and has attended several coaching courses and workshops in recent years. He completed a PCB Level-2 Coaching Course (2003) and has participated in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) High Performance Course (2004). He has also attended the Cricket Australia/ACC Cricket Skills course for fast bowling and batting, held in Bangkok (2004-05).Aaqib has successfully completed assignments as fast bowling coach at the Lahore Regional Academy at Sheikhupura (2001), head coach of Lahore Region at Muridke (2002) and fast bowling coach at NCA (2004-05).His stint as fast bowling coach was widely acknowledged as a successful one, having worked with and improved several young fast bowlers, including Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Mohammad Khalil, Mohammad Irshad and Samiullah Niazi.Aaqib has also coached several national age-group teams and under him Pakistan won the Under-15 Asian Championship in 2002 and the Under-19 World Cup in 2004. He also had a successful coaching stint with the Pakistan ‘A’ squad.

Peter Chingoka: his board was replaced … but he was not © Getty Images

“The Zimbabwe Cricket Union is apolitical, and believes in the inviolable separation of sport and politics. We are an organization of diverse political, ethnic, cultural, racial and religious backgrounds.”
Peter Chingoka speaking to Cricinfo in February 2004“They have gone back on their word that they would not serve under Chingoka. They have left Taibu in the lurch. It is disturbing that they are now prepared to play under the same regime supported by new board members with dubious cricket qualifications and who we can only assume are government appointees. Cricket is in anarchy and I doubt whether it is recoverable but I still hope the ICC will take the government’s interference seriously and investigate the make up of this committee.”
David Ellman-Brown Former ZC chairman and life president“To actively promote, develop and administer the game of cricket for the benefit of all Zimbabweans without discrimination of any kind.”
Zimbabwe Cricket’s mission statement“They have betrayed what they went on strike for, and Taibu. He won’t change his mind but we know some of them never had any principles and are only in it for the money. Most of them are not so poor.”
Elvis Sembezeya Elected as chairman of Mashonaland last year but Peter Chingoka blocked his appointment“They have abandoned Taibu and that is off sides. They have nullified the reason for going on strike in the first place. I am surprised they have not asked to see this committee before they ended their strike to get a commitment in writing pertaining to their contracts and how the game would be revived.”
Heath Streak Former Zimbabwe captain“It seems bizarre that although he [Chingoka] was head of an administration that they see fit to remove, they now make him the head of a new one. If this is the bunch that’s going to help them deliver cricket for the next six months, I don’t know what they are going to be delivering at the end of it. It won’t be cricket, it’ll be a corpse.”
Clive Field spokesman for Zimbabwe’s players“No-one should regard the appointment of this committee as a solution to the issues facing Zimbabwe cricket and there remain a number of outstanding matters that must be urgently resolved in an open and transparent manner to support Zimbabwe’s participation in international cricket. These include addressing allegations of financial mismanagement; ensuring disputes between players and the board are effectively addressed; and providing certainty for other ICC members that the strongest possible Zimbabwe cricket team will be able to fulfil future international commitments, especially the forthcoming tour of the West Indies due to commence in April.”
ICC statement “I suppose this ought not to have been a surprising move as this was announced at the Zanu PF National People’s Conference held recently. All the same it is still quite shocking. What all cricket loving enthusiasts feared is now official I suppose, Zimbabwe cricket is now a government agency. So much for those who have advocated that sport and politics don’t mix or that Zimbabwe cricket is apolitical: I believe that words to that effect came out of the mouth of Chingoka a while back.”
Henry Olonga Former Zimbabwe international“There should be no racism in sport. They should not mix sports and politics.”
Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe’s president speaking in 2004

No domestic flights for this aeroplane© Getty Images

Just days after ruffling feathers by not consulting a Pakistan Cricket Board-endorsed physician, Shoaib Akhtar has once again thumbed his nose at officialdom by refusing to play in a Patron’s Trophy match. With the squad to tour India likely to be announced in four days’ time, PCB officials had wanted Shoaib to prove his match-fitness.A Press Trust of India report quotes sources close to the player as saying that he was “surprised” at the board’s request, since the team’s South African trainer, Grant Compton, had advised him to rest the injury till February 18. Shoaib has apparently sought a meeting with Shaharyar Khan, the board chairman, to explain his position.The source was quoted as saying: “Shoaib is also surprised at these instructions since even the foreign trainer and physiotherapist would return only on 18 from South Africa, so he (Shoaib) is wondering who is going to assess his fitness even if he plays in the match.”And to add to the sense of intrigue, the report suggested that the request to play in the Patron’s Trophy was a board initiative meant to shake off any sense of complacency that Shoaib might have. “We also realise Shoaib is a valuable bowler when he is 100 per cent committed,” said an unnamed PCB official. “But his antics in recent times are not acceptable.”The Board wants to not only ensure he is completely fit for the Indian tour but also keep him under pressure so that he does not take his selection for India for granted.”Shoaib did little of note on India’s tour of Pakistan last year, but was the pick of Pakistan’s bowlers in recent Test matches at Perth and Melbourne before his well-documented fitness woes returned to zap his effectiveness.