One of Somerset’s all time favourite sons, Ian Botham, has been recruited by the county to spearhead their 2003 membership campaign.During the Cidermen’s long and colourful history Ian Botham, who was born in Cheshire but brought up in Yeovil, is one of the finest players to have graced the turf at the County Ground.The all rounder arrived at Taunton in 1974 by way of the M.C.C. groundstaff and leapt to fame after winning a Benson and Hedges Cup match against Hampshire almost single handed.Coming in at 113 for 8 and still requiring 70 runs for victory, the young Botham remained defiant until the end by which time he had lost four teeth to bowler Andy Roberts, but scored 45 not out which included two sixes, to win the match for the county and the Man of the Match Award for himself.That was just the start of even better things to come, and every time that Ian Botham walked to the wicket or was thrown the ball the crowds expected fireworks, and they were rarely disappointed.During his thirteen seasons at Taunton, the all rounder played in 172 championship matches, scored 8686 runs, including sixteen centuries, and took 489 first class wickets at an average of 26.52 as well as giving numerous one day match winning performances with both bat and ball.But it was the style in which he played his cricket that endeared him to his fans and which is still talked about with affection at the County Ground to this day.Now, thanks to the hard work of new chairman Giles Clarke, the former Somerset player who went onto appear for both Worcestershire and Durham and who is now one of the games most respected television commentators, has agreed to help his old club out.Chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "Somerset County Cricket Club chairman Giles Clarke has moved quickly to boost the membership recruitment drive that is now in full swing, and following representation from him, Ian Botham has agreed to his name and image being used in press advertisements publicising the benefits of joining the club."Chairman Giles Clarke told me: "Like many of my generation Ian Botham was a hero to us and was probably Somerset’s best all rounder ever. When I approached him he jumped at the chance because he is really a Somerset man through and through. He wants to help the club and I hope that people will want to follow his lead."Mr Clarke concluded: "I hope to persuade him to become further involved in the club, but of course like all superstars there is a limit to the amount of time that he is able to give us."With membership costing as little as £91 until the end of February, to watch 53 days of top class cricket the club are expecting a big response to Ian Botham’s campaign and the office will be opening at the County Ground on Saturday mornings throughout this month.For those living more than sixty miles from Taunton country membership costs just £70.Further details of membership can be obtained by telephoning 01823 272946.

Ex-Western Warrior Rob Baker smashed the innings of a life-time as Scarborough steamrolled Melville in the Don’t Drink and Drive Shield final.Baker struck a majestic 132 not out to take Scarborough to a comfortable seven wicket victory.Baker’s ton was all the more courageous as he has been struck down by chronic fatigue syndrome in recent times.He plays rarely for Scarborough as extended physical activity can bring on bouts of exhaustion.The day-night match was played at the WACA Ground before nearly 1000 loyal supporters.Melville captain Adam Voges won the toss and batted on a rock-hard wicket. Warrior’s one-day specialist Kade Harvey destroyed Melville’s top-order, taking 3-16 from his first six overs.Voges strode to the crease with the Storm at 3-59 in the 17th over and calmly set about saving the innings.The elegant right-hander showed why he is rated so highly by WACA selectors.Voges produced a sparkling 102 not out from 104 balls with 13 fours and a mammoth six off Kade Harvey.He shared a 65 run seventh-wicket stand with Shawn Gillies (21) that added respectability to Melville’s score.Scarborough got off to a disastrous start in their chase of 222.Paul Wilson removed the inform Clint Heron then produced the evenings biggest shock when he dismissed Test batsman Justin Langer for four.Wilson buttered up Langer with a series of wide balls before bowling a perfectly pitched delivery that saw Langer edge to keeper Andy Greig.When Harvey fell the Seagulls were 3-41 and the Storm were in with a chance.Scarborough’s keeper David Bandy had other ideas. He combined with Baker in a match-winning fourth-wicket partnership of 182.Baker carried his bat in his 138 ball innings with 19 sweetly timed boundaries.Bandy chimed in with a typically busy 73 from 102 balls.Baker was Man of the Match and thanked the Scarborough Cricket Club for supporting him through some tough times.In 27 Sheffield Shield-Pura Cup matches for WA Baker made 1168 runs at 28.49 and took 18 wickets at 42.89.In 27 domestic limited-overs matches Baker made 360 runs at 20.00 before his career was curtailed by illness.

Playing with a gusto suggesting that their lives were on the line, India "A" staged a dramatic post-tea fightback against West Indies "B" at Kensington Oval yesterday to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals of the Carib Beer International Challenge.After suffering a collapse in the first half of the day to concede a first innings lead of 92, India "A" sent the West Indies Under-23s tumbling to 115 for seven on a day in which they had to endure the disappointment of their senior side receiving a mauling in the World Cup final.At the close, the West Indies "B" led by 207 to set the stage for an exciting finish today, the final day, when there will be no admission charge to the ground.On a pitch with some low bounce, the enthusiastic Indians consistently bowled between wicket and wicket, repeatedly bellowed raucous appeals and were also helped by aggressive strokes from the West Indies "B" team’s three leading batsmen this season.Hometown boys Patrick Browne and Martin Nurse both went by the lbw route for 16 when they were pinned onto the back foot.The dismissal of Nurse to the accurate medium-pacer Jai Yadav left the West Indies "B" 65 for three at the refreshment break at 4 p.m. and triggered the drama that followed in the next 40 minutes.Five wickets fell for 24, among them the in-form trio of Narsingh Deonarine, Aneil Kanhai and Carlton Baugh, to strokes that might have earned them a harsh word from team management.Deonarine, the impressive century-maker of the first innings, attempted to lift leg-spinner Amit Mishra over mid-wicket, but Connor Williams made tremendous ground in running back to haul in the catch a few feet in front of the Eric Inniss Stand.Baugh, who has attracted attention this season with a century and five half-centuries, attacked the bowling from the time he came out. He smashed two fours, but then edged a big drive to the keeper off Mishra.Kanhai’s dismissal was simply atrocious. The big left-hander, one of nine batsman in the tournament with 500 runs, missed an inexcusable cross-batted shot against Yadav and was bowled.It was now 89 for seven, but Lorenzo Ingram and Jason Bennett survived the next 50 minutes to prevent a complete collapse.Earlier, Bennett achieved another five-wicket haul to help West Indies "B" dismiss India "A" for 296 after they resumed on 210 for three in response to 388.After eight minutes, the 20-year-old Barbadian fast bowler removed Gautam Ghambir, who added only one to his overnight 107, and bowled captain Ajay Ratra for 38.Fellow fast bowler Andrew Richardson grabbed three wickets and off-spinner Deonarine claimed two as India "A" laboured in adding only 41 runs in the first session.

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) has appointed former captain Duleep Mendis as interim coach of the national team. Mendis will coach the team for two home Tests against New Zealand later this month and a subsequent one-day series, also involving Pakistan.Mendis takes over from Dav Whatmore, who requested an early release from his contract, which was due to expire at the end of May. Whatmore has been instrumental in shaping Sri Lanka into a top flight side. The pinnacle of his career was leading Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996. Most recently, Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in South Africa.The BCCSL has drawn up a short-list of potential replacements for Whatmore, but chief executive Anura Tennakoon has so far refused to reveal the names of those shortlisted. The favoured candidates are believed to be Australian Steve Rixon, former South Africa coach Graham Ford and New Zealander John Bracewell, who is currently in charge of English county side Gloucestershire.Mendis, meanwhile, has a wealth of experience, having previously served as team manager and chairman of selectors, as well as skippering Sri Lanka in 19 of his 24 Tests and 61 one-day games. The 50-year-old played in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test against England in 1982 and the 1979, 1983 and 1987 World Cups.”He is no doubt one of the best suited candidates to take over the coaching of the national team during this important time,” a Board spokesman commented. The BCCSL hope to name a permanent replacement for Whatmore in time for the tour to the West Indies which begins in early June.

Cricket fans are expected to flood the Trent Bridge switchboard with a barrage of calls on Monday when tickets for the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day are released on general sale.Nottingham’s world famous Test ground was last month confirmed as the venue for the final of cricket’s exciting new 20-overs-a-side competition.And when the event takes place on July 19 it will be the first time that a domestic cricket final has been moved away from headquarters at Lord’s.With both semi-finals and the floodlit final being played on the same day – not to mention interval entertainment from the UK’s top girl band, Atomic Kitten – tickets for ‘The People’s Final’ are expected to be snapped up.Trent Bridge Sales and Marketing Manager Lisa Pusehouse said: “It is a great coup and also an honour for Notts to land this showcase event and it has created a terrific buzz around the ground.”Ticket pricing for the finals day is very attractive, especially considering they allow people to see three great games of cricket and live music.”Twenty20 is all about getting new people into cricket grounds so where better to start than at the top by seeing a major national sporting event in a world famous venue amongst a sell-out crowd.”Judging by the massive response from our members, who were given the opportunity to reserve their seats in advance this week, we fully expect all tickets available for general sale to go very quickly.”Tickets for the Finals Day are priced at just £30 for adults for premium parts of the ground and £20 in other areas, while juniors under-16 who are accompanied by an adult pay a flat rate of £10.The Twenty20 Cup gets under way on Friday June 13 with all 18 first class counties competing in three regional groups of six teams who will play each other once.Group games will be played in the evening between 5.30pm and 8.15pm with the three group winners plus the best runner-up going through to Trent Bridge.Tickets for the Finals Day can be booked from Monday May 19 either on-line at www.trentbridge.co.uk or by calling the Trent Bridge Hotline on 0870 168 8888.

“Almost perfect” is Daniel Vettori’s summation of the opportunity provided for his personal development in the five week-stint he will have for Nottinghamshire in English county cricket.Vettori leaves on June 29 to take up the challenge, something he has always wanted to do.Coming after a six-week break from New Zealand’s international season which ended with success in the Sri Lankan tri-series, the five weeks will provide him with an unexpected chance to get plenty of overs under his belt, before returning home for another six-week break ahead of New Zealand’s tour of India and Pakistan.The left-arm spinner was frustrated by the pitch conditions in New Zealand over the summer. They denied him the sort of workload that has him at peak and it wasn’t until the Test matches in Sri Lanka that he started to feel his best, something that was borne out with his quality bowling during the tri-series that followed.”That hit home to me how much I do need the bowling workload. Sri Lanka gave me the confidence to get out there and bowl,” he said.It also allowed him to work on other aspects of his bowling, something that only comes with a reasonable amount of time at the bowling crease.”It was mainly just tidying up a few routines as I was trying to find ways to get back to my best quicker.””I was really happy with how I bowled in Sri Lanka. What was especially pleasing was that I bowled very few bad balls, was bowling well and I was getting wickets.”Since the back injury, suffered in the home series against Australia in early-2000, which was further exacerbated during the following summer in Africa, Vettori’s workload has been carefully watched.But by the time of the tour to Australia over the summer of 2001-02 Vettori felt during the Tests in Hobart, and especially in Perth, that he was bowling as well as he ever had.”In the Perth Test I felt I was really in control. I took five-wicket bags in Hobart and Perth and round that time was probably the best I have felt in my bowling.”The first innings dismissals of Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh, in short order, still stand out as memorable wickets, while the failure of Ian Robinson to give Waugh out caught in the second innings was a vital blow to New Zealand winning the match.Vettori added that the West Indies tour last year had also been an occasion for some good long spells after a lack of opportunity at home during the England series when two of the games were played on portable pitches that were of little value for a bowler of his type.Not surprisingly, Vettori is at the head of the queue of those waiting for the portable pitch technology to reach the point where it is capable of delivering a pitch for all aspects of the game, something that hasn’t happened so far.In the England series, the first and third Tests were played on the portable pitches which suited faster bowlers and batsmen, especially in the first Test when the feat of repeating a double century to each side in successive years occurred.Mathew Sinclair and Pakistan’s Yousuf Youhana had done it a year before on a bone dry, featureless pitch at Jade Stadium while Graham Thorpe and Nathan Astle gave the record books a nudge on a much more sporting wicket, Astle especially while scoring Test cricket’s fastest double century, off balls faced. But for bowlers of Vettori’s ilk they were a short cut to extinction.”I just hope they get the balance right for a good Test match one day,” Vettori pondered.Long absences from the bowling crease to ply his craft can affect the team dynamics and make it that much harder to be able to command the support he had previously enjoyed in the team’s strategy.While the home schedule for next year hasn’t been finalised, it is likely that Test matches in the series against South Africa will involve games in Christchurch and Auckland. No wonder Vettori has his fingers crossed that the technology produces the goods.In the meantime he knows there is a power of bowling ahead in the new summer. It starts with a tour of India, where the expectation is that the seamer-friendly conditions that plagued the Christmas series will be reciprocated with spinner’s paradises to suit the home batsmen. But that has its own benefits for Vettori and he is looking forward to that prospect.While the contest against India is always demanding for a spin bowler, Vettori is not phased. He enjoyed the challenge against the Sri Lankan batsmen and expects to thrive in the Indian conditions.Then on the Test schedule it is back to New Zealand to play Pakistan and South Africa before the tour to England.”We will be playing from September to July so it will be full on but I am really excited about it.”The challenge won’t be any less against the South Africans. In flat conditions on their last tour in 1998-99 their batsmen made life a misery for the home side, one of whom was Vettori who bowled 42 overs on a glued first Test pitch in Auckland and took one for 120. In the third Test at Wellington his 54 overs in South Africa’s first innings netted four for 153.And then there is a second trip to England to try and repeat the series victory achieved during the 1999 summer.”I definitely think we can do it again. The team we had in Sri Lanka was young, but experienced, and with some good players. If we can be at full-strength, and have Chris Cairns there, we will be capable of doing it again.Cairns, whether batting or bowling had such a huge influence on the side and, as they are now both associated with Nottinghamshire county, and as long as Cairns has recovered from a broken finger, Vettori will have the chance to go to battle together with his national team-mate.The prospects for Vettori, both during his county season, and the international summer ahead, are intriguing.

To the West Indies Cricket Board of Directors and to Gus Logie on his recent confirmation as Head Coach of the WICB for at least the next two years.Gus Logie is one of the most unforgettable people that I have ever met. Soft spoken and calm, he is nevertheless supremely confident, knowledgeable and a people and team person. The team of Logie and Lara and company are going to be tough in the Cricket World Cup 2007 with a large number of young talented Test and One Day International players.Gus and the then WICB President, Revd. Wes Hall and his Executive and senior cricket management assisted Canada when we needed help in the Coaching area. They stayed the course and supported Canada’s World Cup team, when it would have been easy to walk away. A friend in need, is a friend indeed. Despite Gus’s track record of success as both a player and Coach, others worked incessantly to kill the assistance.Of the Associates at the World Cup, Canada was the only country with only one coach.. Other countries had at least one assistant. Unfortunately, none was available for Canada. With limited preparation time and even in extremely trying circumstances, Canada perfomed “surprisingly well.” We could have and should have done better, however.Cream will always rise to the top. It was our honour to have had Gus here in Canada and we are sure that given the right support and player commitment to excellence, with professionalism and self discipline, that the WICB team of talented young players will be ready to perform at the top level in World Cup 2007.Onward and upward, you champions of the Continents.

Australia 254 for 7 (Ponting 101, Bevan 57) beat Bangladesh 142 (Kapali 49; Harvey 4-16) by 112 runs
Scorecard

Australia wrapped up the one-day series against Bangladesh 3-0, as expected, beating them by 112 runs at Darwin’s Marrara Oval. Bangladesh fought lustily to start with, though, reducing Australia to 114 for 4 after they had won the toss and opted to bat, picking up three middle-order wickets for two runs at one stage. Ricky Ponting came to the rescue with his fourth ODI century of the year, and his 127-run stand with Michael Bevan was instrumental in Australia reaching 254 for 7. Bangladesh’s batsmen then duly wilted, though Alok Kapali contributed a doughty 49.Bangladesh made a cautious start but stumbled every time they tried to accelerate the scoring. Both openers, Javed Omar (16) and Hannan Sarkar (1), were done in by lack of footwork, and were out leg-before. Jason Gillespie was magnificently parsimonious early on, giving away just two runs in his first seven overs. Bangladesh were crawling, and something had to give.Both Habibul Bashar (2) and Mohammad Ashraful (4) were out charging the bowlers in an attempt to up the run-rate, then Tushar Imran was run out for 1. A sixth-wicket partnership of 66 between Kapali and Sanwar Hossain (27) took Bangladesh past 100, but both were eventually out to Brad Hogg, deceived by his guile into giving simple return catches. The tailenders attempted valiantly to last the 50 overs, but failed.Earlier, Ponting had dominated the Australian innings, rescuing it from their only slippery moment of the series. Bevan and Ponting added 127 at a rate of over six an over, efficiently wiping out any chance Bangladesh might have had of restricting Australia to a gettable total.Mohammad Rafique, who picked up the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden for just 31 runs, bowled particularly well, as did Mashrafe Mortaza, who bowled at the business end of the innings to finish with 2 for 41. Bangladesh showed spirit; but in the end, they weren’t anywhere near good enough.

Hampshire’s score at Taunton today was their highest achieved in the 34 year history of Sunday/National League cricket, the top five are listed below:

335-6  (45 overs)   v Somerset at Taunton                10 August 2003(Simon Katich 106, John Crawley 92, John Francis 50)313-2  (49.5 overs) v Sussex at Portsmouth               29 August 1993(Robin Smith 129, Paul Terry 124*)292-1  (40 overs)   v Surrey at Portsmouth               10 July 1983(Trevor Jesty 166*, Gordon Greenidge 108*)289-4  (44.3 overs) v Northamptonshire at The Rose Bowl  22 September 2002(John Francis 103*, Neil Johnson 73, John Crawley 52)288-5  (40 overs)   v Somerset at Weston super Mare      27 July 1975(Gordon Greenidge 102, Richard Gilliat 62*)

BAT Sports chased a massive 266-7 to beat ECB Southern Electric Premier League champions Havant by one wicket – the winning run coming from a wide off the very last ball !The astonishing victory has put the championship trophy within reach of BAT, who win surely clinch the title at Liphook & Ripsley next week.BAT won after requiring 137 off the last 20 overs, 28 from three and nine runs off the final over bowled by Yorkshireman Bevis Moynan.With one ball remaining, the Tobaccomen had tied the scores at 266-9.But Moynan’s vital last ball strayed down the leg-side to give BAT a thrilling victory.For once, prolific New Zealander Neal Parlane was not at the forefront of BAT’s victory charge.Trapped leg before by Moynan for 32, BAT relied upon Damian Shirazi to anchor the innings.He did it to perfection, batting a large slice of the evening session, sharing a 72-run start with Parlane and then 119 with Dave Banks (50).BAT lost wickets as they chased the target – four batsmen, including Shirazi (92), being dismissed for 32 runs at one stage – but were hit back into the picture, initially by Chris Thomason (20).But it was Archie Norris’s cavalier 22 not out, including three exquisite cover drives, which won the game."His innings swung it, no doubt about that," said Havant skipper Paul Gover, who spent a sleepness wondering how the game had got away."We batted superbly to get 266-7, but our bowling was abysmal. I don’t recall us ever bowling so badly."All credit to BAT, but we gave them 48 extras, including 29 wides and no balls. "In other words we bowled almost six extra overs at them," he moaned.Havant’s total was built around an opening stand of 129 between Steve Snell (67) and Simon Barnard (44).Andy Perry (59) and Chris Wright (38) helped the total to 266-7, with Dan Goldstraw taking 3-47.Andover produced one of their best wins of the season when they nailed Bashley (Rydal) by seven wickets at London Road.Bashley were never allowed to get going with the bat and found their 167-8 comfortably beaten.Mark and Roger Miller, together with off-spinner Gareth Tate (2-23), were particularly effective for Andover.Brad Thompson (39) was prominent as Bashley reached 101-3, but three wickets fell for only eight runs before Neil Taylor (21), Kevin Nash (19 not out) and Matt King (15 not out) thwarted the middle-order collapse to lift the visitors to 167-8.Nash struck an early blow for Bashley, but a second consecutive half-century by Rob Atkins (50) and an unbroken partnership between Toby Radford (41) and Roger Miller (28) swept Andover to a convincing seven-wicket win.