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Where there are clouds, there remain silver linings. The pall of a controversial World Cup Final defeat still hangs over matters, and the likelihood that several of its key figures will ever again play in the sport’s ultimate tournament is equally shrouded in uncertainty. But, for Australia’s women’s cricket team – the Southern Stars – the future is still decorated by many beacons of light.

One of these rays of hope, unmistakably, is a young Queenslander. A new face among the fourteen-strong squad that the Stars will take with them on the tour of England and Ireland that begins next month, Sally Cooper is exciting, talented, and parades an infectious sense of enthusiasm.”Shock is a fairly good word to describe what’s happening to me at the moment,” she remarks of her inclusion in a party chosen at the end of a recent four-day training camp in Brisbane.”I really didn’t expect to be selected; I was very happy just to be named in the 22-strong selection squad. I went away to the camp on the premise that I had nothing to lose. It was an amazing shock to be added to the side.”In the Victorian-born 22-year old, there is a hint of the future of Australian women’s cricket in more ways than one. Not only will Cooper embark on the month-long trip at the vanguard of the wave of youth expected to emerge in the lead-up to the next World Cup in 2005. But symbolism in her promotion also lies in her status as a standard-bearer for the contingent of attacking young batsmen expected to slowly infiltrate the Stars’ ranks in the wake of that charged Cup defeat last December.”I don’t think I’m going to change my style of game at all,” she says of her elevation.”I’m fairly aggressive because I basically love scoring runs. I don’t like to be bogged down. That can be both a benefit to me and a disadvantage in that I sometimes get frustrated but, as far as scoring runs goes, I’m out there for a good time not a long time!”As Australian women’s cricket grieved over that four-run loss that handed home team New Zealand the world title, so its chief strategists became convinced that rejuvenation, regeneration and rebuilding of the side’s stocks was necessary. Attention turned quickly to Cooper, the resourceful left hander whose economical backlift belies her devastating power and timing.Cooper’s attractiveness to the selectors might also have been complemented by the fact that she doesn’t carry a newcomer’s usual handicap of a lack of international cricketing experience. Indeed, for someone who has only recently entered her twenties, the appearance on her (indoor) cricketing CV of membership of a World Cup-winning side and the experience of an Ashes tour already sets her apart from most of her contemporaries.While her compatriots were heading toward heartbreak across the Tasman, ‘Scoop’ had already returned home from South Africa with the glory of having been part of a side which had reached the pinnacle of women’s indoor cricket. Like the successful indoor tour of England that went before it, it was a heady experience. Albeit that Cooper had already come to the realisation – even prior to her retirement from the indoor game in late 2000 – that the dual versions of the sport were far from wholly complementary.”Although they’re supposed to be the same styles of game, the way that they’re played and the different sorts of physical demands that they make I found difficult to mix in with one another. Especially at the start and end of each season. The fact that I made the indoor side for Australia was great and I don’t take away from, or regret anything about, that. But indoor cricket changed my batting style too much and it took me too long to get back into the rhythm of outdoor cricket.”By this stage, there was also the completion of an Arts/Law degree at the Queensland University of Technology to consider – she is currently in her second last year of the combined degree – and a body to look after.”My body needed a break because I’d basically played cricket all year round for a number of years; although my determination was still there, I felt that physically I wouldn’t have been able to keep going at the level that I wanted to in the outdoor game.”In the end, nothing truly stoked Cooper’s competitive passions as much as the prospect of representing her country in the outdoor version of the game. Progress toward the ultimate realisation of that dream has been aided substantially by consistent form from the time of her National League debut for Queensland in 1997-98. And it was then fast-tracked following a brilliant 2000-01 season that was sensationally capped by an unbeaten 78 (from a mere sixty deliveries) in the opening match of a best-of-three finals series against competition powerhouse New South Wales.Now comes the prospect of an overseas campaign that will hold Cooper in its permanent thrall. Her opportunity arrives at an interesting point in Australian women’s cricket history, not only because this tour marks the first occasion on which the country’s men’s and women’s teams have simultaneously embarked on Ashes tours. It is also a visit which gives the Stars a chance of claiming, for the first time, the women’s Ashes trophy inaugurated at the time of the drawn series of 1998. And, tellingly, it will be their first international appearance since the dark day at Lincoln that essentially saw them surrender Australia’s longstanding mantle as the world’s most outstanding women’s team.”I can understand that there’s a bit of pressure there for us, especially for the experienced players in that they’ve become part of that legacy (of success) and don’t want to see that subside.”But I think that the team’s going to continue to be successful because of the quality of the people involved and the determination and drive that the side generates.”Personally, I’d love to be considered, potentially, as a long-term player for Australia and a long-term part of the side’s plans. But, for the moment, I just want to be picked in the eleven, to play to my potential, and to hopefully help the team win.”Exorcising a demon from the recent past will be a pre-occupation for many players on this tour. But it is wise to remember that the traditional touchstones of the Australian women’s cricket team’s success have been its outstanding skill, its masterful batting, and its mental and physical toughness. If Cooper’s emergence is anything by which to judge, there is no need to assume that the future will not be sunny.

Cricinfo New South Wales
Squad Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger (Cricket Australia contract), Nathan Bracken (CA), Mark Cameron, Beau Casson (CA), Stuart Clark (CA), Michael Clarke (CA), Burt Cockley, Ed Cowan, Scott Coyte, Peter Forrest, Brad Haddin (CA), Nathan Hauritz, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Phillip Hughes, Phil Jaques (CA), Simon Katich (capt) (CA), Usman Khawaja, Grant Lambert, Brett Lee (CA), Greg Mail, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith, Steven Smith, Dominic Thornely, David Warner.
Rookies Daniel Burns, James Crosthwaite, Scott Henry, Simon Keen, Joshua Lalor, Mitchell Starc.In: Peter Nevill (Victoria).Out: Aaron O’Brien (South Australia), Tom Cooper (South Australia), Craig Simmons (Western Australia), Matthew Nicholson (retired).Queensland
Squad Glen Batticciotto, Andy Bichel, Scott Brant, Ryan Broad, Lee Carseldine, Ben Cutting, Daniel Doran, Ryan Harris, Chris Hartley, Matthew Hayden (CA), James Hopes (CA), Nick Kruger, Ben Laughlin, Martin Love, Greg Moller, Ashley Noffke (CA), Aaron Nye, Clinton Perren, Nathan Reardon, Nathan Rimmington, Chris Simpson (capt), Grant Sullivan, Chris Swan, Andrew Symonds (CA), Shane Watson (CA).
Rookies Cameron Boyce, Michael Johnson, Alister McDermott, Dom O’Brien, Wade Townsend, Scott Walter, Worrin Williams.In: Ryan Harris (South Australia).Out: Mitchell Johnson (Western Australia), Michael Kasprowicz (retired), Jimmy Maher (retired).South Australia
Squad Cullen Bailey, Cameron Borgas, Daniel Christian, Mark Cleary, Tom Cooper, Mark Cosgrove, Dan Cullen, Callum Ferguson, Peter George, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger, Graham Manou (capt), Aaron O’Brien, Tom Plant, Gary Putland, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait (CA), Allan Wise, Younis Khan.
Rookies Jake Brown, Andy Delmont, Jason Donnelly, Jake Haberfield, Chadd Sayers, James Smith.In: Younis Khan (Pakistan), Allan Wise (Victoria), Michael Klinger (Victoria), Aaron O’Brien (New South Wales), Tom Cooper (New South Wales).Out: Ryan Harris (Queensland), Shane Deitz (Wellington), Darren Lehmann (retired), Matthew Elliott (retired), Jason Gillespie (retired).Tasmania
Squad Dane Anderson, George Bailey, Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, David Dawson, Gerard Denton, Michael Dighton, Mark Divin, Xavier Doherty, Alex Doolan, Chris Duval, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Ben Hilfenhaus (CA), Jason Krejza, Rhett Lockyear, Tim Macdonald, Daniel Marsh (capt), Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting (CA), Jeremy Smith.
Rookies James Faulkner, Wade Irvine, Brady Jones, John Rogers, Jonathan Wells.In: Gerard Denton (Victoria), John Rogers (ACT).Out: Damien Wright (Victoria), Michael Di Venuto (retired).

Victoria
Squad Aiden Blizzard, Adam Crosthwaite, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, John Hastings, Brad Hodge (CA), David Hussey (CA), Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Clinton McKay, Dirk Nannes, Darren Pattinson, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade, Cameron White (capt) (CA), Damien Wright.
Rookies Brett Forsyth, Steve Gilmour, Michael Hill, Jon Holland, Kumar Sarna.In: Chris Rogers (Western Australia), Damien Wright (Tasmania).Out: Michael Klinger (South Australia), Allan Wise (South Australia), Gerard Denton (Tasmania), Peter Nevill (New South Wales), Mick Lewis (retired).Western Australia
Squad David Bandy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Arron Crawford, Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Aaron Heal, Clint Heron, Michael Hussey (CA), Mitchell Johnson (CA), Matt Johnston, Trent Kelly, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh (CA), Marcus North (capt), Luke Pomersbach, Wes Robinson, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges (CA).
Rookies Nicholas Death, Michael Johnson, Josh Mangan, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Thompson, Christopher Wood.In: Mitchell Johnson (Queensland), Craig Simmons (New South Wales).Out: Chris Rogers (Victoria), Adam Gilchrist (retired), Justin Langer (retired), Brad Hogg (retired), Darren Wates (retired), Mathew Inness (retired).

ScorecardEngland dominated the first of three Twenty20s by thumping South Africa by 54 runs at Northampton on Friday. Charlotte Edwards’ 34-ball 45 helped give England the early momentum and her team-mates joined her in hitting out to boost the home side to 138 for 6. In reply, South Africa struggled from the off to seal the conclusion early on, though they didn’t fold entirely.Claire Taylor missed out with illness but England still cashed in, although Ebony Rainford-Brent registered a duck on debut, coming in for the last few balls of the first innings after Cri-Zelda Brits sent them in.South Africa soon slumped to 28 for 4, as Isa Guha, Katherine Brunt and Holly Colvin troubled them, but Brits and Susan Benade were able to add a respectable unbeaten 56. Brits will be happy with that kind of spirit – the England leg of this tour has been about fighting back.Benade was unbeaten on 34 from 41 balls, having earlier picked up 2 for 21, while Brits was unbeaten on 20. This was only the fourth Twenty20 for Brits’ side and South Africa will barely have time to pause for breath before returning to the County Ground on Saturday for a double-header after Wednesday’s opener was washed out.

For the first time in the history of Test cricket, two captains with surnames starting with the letter V wrote themselves onto the Lord’s honours boards on the same day, as Michael Vaughan and Daniel Vettori put the tedium of the past two days behind them with a pair of sparkling performances. Their efforts seem likely to be academic, given how much time in the match has been lost, but as a pointer for the remainder of the series, they were instructive nonetheless. England arrived at Lord’s with dominance aforethought but, not for the first time this year, they were forced to limit their ambitions because of the tenacity of their opponents.”It was a pleasing day’s cricket,” said Vettori, whose figures of 5 for 69 were his best against England. “I thought we’d played really well because most people predicted England would come out and dominate the day. I thought we didn’t start as well as we could, but from thereon in, particularly the way Chris Martin bowled, it set up a good day for us. For them to be only 40 in front, and both sides batted in completely contrasting conditions, is good reward for our day.”It was a Hamilton-lite performance from New Zealand. Just as they had done in the first Test of the previous series, the Kiwi bowlers operated with steady determination and under-rated skill, and a hint of assistance from the surface was all that was needed to squeeze the attacking intent out of England’s top-order. That they did so under clear blue skies, instead of the slate-grey mizzle that persuaded England to bowl first on winning the toss, was an added feather in their black caps. When Tim Ambrose fell first-ball to Vettori, England’s total of 208 for 6 was identical to that which New Zealand mustered on the truncated first day, which reinforced the notion that England’s bowlers had lacked ruthlessness in the formative stages of the game. By the close New Zealand’s openers, Aaron Redmond and Jamie How, had shown that they too can survive when the conditions are favourable, by wiping off the deficit in a 40-run stand.”We played good cricket and stuck at it, and we were on top for the majority of the day,” said Vettori. “If the day had gone to 2 for 250, they would have been able to dictate terms, but because we kept taking wickets it doesn’t allow teams to force the issue. The first session tomorrow is really important but so were the first 16 tonight. The way Aaron and Jamie handled it was particularly pleasing and a real confidence-boost for the dressing room. If they can go out there and do the same thing then it probably kills the game, because realistically the only way both teams can be brought into it is by us batting poorly.”In the circumstances, therefore, Vaughan’s hundred – though technically impeccable – was not the most pressurised he will ever make. But a score is a score nonetheless, and he seemed in a prickly mood as he reflected with satisfaction on his latest bout of doubt-answering. Displaying the same confidence in his own ability that had enabled him to weather England’s early jitters on the pitch, he revealed that the familiarity of Lord’s had instantly put his mind at rest. Today was his sixth hundred at the ground, which equals the record held by Graham Gooch, so it’s little wonder he feels so at home. “You walk in the dressing-room and see your name on the board five times it gives you a huge lift,” he said, “knowing that I’ve done it here before and certainly hope to do it here again.”Vaughan went on to dispel the notion that his hundred had been a long time coming – the Trent Bridge Test against India may have been 10 months ago, but only seven Tests have elapsed in that time. “People talk about form a lot,” he said. “I felt going into this game I was in good form in terms of rhythm if not in terms of runs scored. Some people find that very hard to understand, but I was very relaxed today and very disciplined for the first 30 runs. From then on I knew a hundred was there for the taking unless I made a mistake, and I didn’t make one.”He might not have had the chance to reach three figures, however, had it not been for the cool support of Stuart Broad at No. 8, whose maiden Test innings on home soil lived up to the billing that such luminaries as Duncan Fletcher have been giving him this week. For Vaughan it was a first opportunity to examine at close quarters the composure and technique of his young colleague, but it was his opposite number, Vettori, who knows best what is required at that pivotal position in the order.”He’s got a good solid technique and he looks like a batsman which is the biggest start,” said Vettori. “That’s what he does do well. When he comes to the crease he’s got a presence, because he looks like he knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows where his off stump is and he plays the short ball well. Couple that with his bowling, and it’s a nice package, particularly coming in at No. 8.”The day provided an entertaining joust between two sides who are better matched than their egos would have you believe, although Vettori admitted that he wouldn’t be taking any satisfaction from his personal performance until he has seen his side safely to the draw. New Zealand won in Hamilton two months ago because they didn’t relax their guard for an instant, but they lost the next two Tests because of two critical lapses in concentration. The second occurred when Ryan Sidebottom skittled them in the space of a session at Napier.”Sidebottom is always in the back of our heads,” said Vettori. “He’s bowled tremendously well for a long time, and they are going to be constant threats all day.” Vaughan, meanwhile, was cautiously optimistic about England’s prospects. “It’s going to take something special to force a victory,” he said, ” but last-day cricket can spring all kinds of funny things. I’d like to see the ball swing, but Monty [Panesar] bowled beautifully so could have a big part to play. We’ll have to get wickets in little clusters to get them under pressure, but we’ve certainly got the attack to cause a few problems tomorrow.”

Shoaib Akhtar has filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court seeking to overturn the original five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan board that was later reduced to 18 months by an appellate tribunal.Even though Shoaib’s ban was reduced after an appeal, he wasn’t happy with the tribunal’s decision. “I want to play for Pakistan as soon as possible,” Shoaib told PTI. “I was disappointed with the tribunal’s decision on my appeal.””We feel the decision of the PCB in the first place to ban him for five years was illegal and unjustified,” Abid Hasan Minto, Shoaib’s legal counsel, said. “We believe he is being prevented from playing cricket for his country by an illegal decision of the board. The ban itself is very harsh. We are contesting the entire ban.”The court, after hearing the appeal, summoned the Pakistan board to explain the ban. “The court heard the petition and has given an urgent notice to the respondent, the PCB, to appear before it on July 4,” PCB lawyer Taffazul Hussain Rizvi told AFP.Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan board chairman, had said Shoaib was free to appeal in court. “That is his decision to make,” Ashraf had said. “The tribunal’s verdict has nothing to do with the PCB. I can’t overturn the reduced ban on him. The decision made by Justice Aftab Farrukh is final and it can only be challenged in the court.”Shoaib was banned for five years in April by a disciplinary committee of the PCB for violating the players’ code of conduct after he was charged with publicly criticising the board for offering him a retainership instead of a contract. The ban prevented him from playing in the IPL until it was suspended for one month which facilitated Shoaib’s participation in the Twenty20 tournament.Shoaib appealed against the five-year ban and it was reduced to 18 months along with a fine of Rs 7 million (approximately $105,000) by a PCB-appointed appellate tribunal, headed by Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, on June 14.

All eyes were on how the Rose Bowl wicket would play on Hampshire’s first return there since losing points two weeks previously, but there were no hidden fears as a good days cricket in good weather in front of a good crowd alleyed any doubts.Losing the toss at the Rose Bowl has become a bad habit for Hampshire captains, Robin Smith back after a bout of chicken pox made it 5 tosses from six attempts that have gone against the home county, and not surprisingly Jamie Cox chose to bat first.Somerset made a slow start with Cox managing 30 runs by the lunch interval, and after the cloud cover had gone and the promised sunshine arrived, the innings picked up tempo. Parsons and Turner made painstaking half centuries before Richard Johnson hit an exhillerating 61 in just 37 balls, with 2 sixes and 9 fours.Alan Mullally was the pick of the bowlers taking four wickets, whilst Shaun Udal did most of the spade work, being rewarded with three wickets, on a pitch that showed signs of turn early on.At the close Hampshire had safely negotiated 5 overs (3 from Caddick) but we suppose the most relieved man of the day would have been Head Groundsman Nigel Gray.

BRISBANE, Oct 20 AAP – Jimmy Maher continued an impressive start to his captaincy career with Queensland as he hit a classy century against NSW in the ING Cup one-day match at the Gabba today.The Bulls reached 4-287 from their 50 overs, with Maher scoring 119 from 140 balls in his best performance since taking over the leadership from Stuart Law this season.With Lee Carseldine (59 from 64 balls) and Clinton Perren (52 not out from 46) compiling solid half-centuries, Queensland made the Blues sweat on another hot day in Brisbane.Australia A paceman Stuart Clark, playing his first match in four weeks, captured an excellent 3-31 from 10 overs to limit the damage for the Blues but there was trouble elsewhere.Leg-spinner Stuart MacGill (0-67 from nine) continued a miserable week in Brisbane when he was punished by the Bulls batsmen, conceding 11 runs from his fourth over and 16 from his ninth.Maher and Perren slapped him over the fence but MacGill wasn’t alone as Shawn Bradstreet (0-39 from five) and Dominic Thornely (0-39 from six) were also punished during a mediocre display from the Blues.Maher’s career tally moved past 2,500 runs for Queensland in domestic one-day matches when he put Thornely over the long-on fence in the 27th over.The Australian one-day batsman took advantage of a chance when he was just three after wicketkeeper Brad Haddin spilled a tough catch from the bowling of Clark.Maher and Carseldine recovered from the early loss of Martin Love (14 from 24) with a partnership of 127 from 138 balls before Perren and Brendan Nash (24 not out from 21 balls) added an unbeaten stand of 63 from just 47 balls.Queensland is seeking its first win of the season after losing last week’s opening clash to the Blues by 45 runs at North Sydney Oval.

So long as player power was confined to money matters, someone like me, a spectator who saw more of the game, supported it. But as with trade unions which interfere with management, player power must not be allowed to run the game.One after another, Australian players are issuing statements that they are not prepared to tour Pakistan. The latest is Mark Waugh who, probably will not even be selected.Mark Waugh may have other reasons for not visiting Pakistan. It was he and Shane Warne who opened the can of worms of match-fixing. Having accused Salim Malik of offering them a large sum of money for “throwing” a Test match, it transpired that both these players had been regularly receiving money from a bookie for providing him with information.The Australian Cricket Board had fined them but had kept this under wraps until a newspaper got hold of and published the story. Both Mark Waugh and Warne had refused to appear before Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim who had been asked by then BCCP to carry out an inquiry.I don’t really want to go over the tawdry match-fixing business but simply to put Mark Waugh’s statement in perspective. It is Australia’s tour of Pakistan later this year that is of concern to me.The tour is in jeopardy because of an unrelated bomb blast in a hotel adjoining the one where the New Zealand and Pakistan teams were staying and which led to the Karachi Test match being abandoned.Bomb blasts, unfortunately, have become a fairly common occurrence. This does not make them any less abhorrent. They can occur in London or New Delhi or any other country but when they occur in Pakistan, they somehow make Pakistan a volatile and unsafe country and cricket tours, somehow, appear to be the first casualty.India refusing to tour Pakistan is for reasons wholly political but the West Indies refusing to do so, for security reasons, was a bit too much and ultimately, the matches against them were played at a neutral venue, Sharjah.Now there is talk of the Australia series being played at a neutral venue and Tangiers, of all places, is being mentioned. The statements being issued by Australian players, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Warne constitute interference in administrative matters and their purpose is not only to bring pressure on the Australian Cricket Board but they serve to build-up public opinion against the tour. This is a case of the tail wagging the dog.When the ICC had given its blessings to the idea of neutral venues, I had warned that a terrible precedent would be set. And if players are allowed to decide which countries they will tour and which they won’t, it would be curtains for international cricket. The PCB is not saying much beyond that it is allowing the dust to settle.I have no doubt that the PCB is in touch with the ACB but something must be done to counter the adverse public opinion that is building up in Australia and Pakistan must put its case, not only to the ACB but to Australian media.We need to counter the statement being issued by certain Australian players, who, in case, must not be allowed to go public with their ill-informed views. There is still some time for the tour. Why are these players rushing to judgment?Steve Waugh has been sacked as Australia’s captain for the One-day Internationals. His captaincy of the Test team is hanging by a thread. Does he feel that his team will lose to Pakistan in Pakistan and in the process, he will lose the captaincy?We have had to hear, ad nauseum, about the flat tracks that visiting teams, particularly from England, must encounter in the subcontinent. What about the flat track at Lord’s on which the Test match against Sri Lanka was played?They don’t come any flatter unless we take into account the wicket at St. John’s at Antigua. The wicket at Lord’s fooled both teams, both went in with four seamers and left out the spinners.In fact, it was being mentioned by the commentators, Ian Botham and company that had England won the toss, it would have put Sri Lanka in. Just as well for England’s think-tank that Sri Lanka won the toss and batted.Sri Lanka piled on 555 and at that, some of their batsmen threw away their wickets including Sanath Jayasuriya who ran himself out foolishly. The Sri Lankans brought the sun with them and Lord’s was lit up. And we saw the Sri Lankan batsmen at their brilliant best and England without Darren Gough and more importantly Ashley Giles was stuck with four mediocre fast-medium trundlers.The Lord’s wicket which is seamer-friendly was never so flat and so batsman friendly though England had to follow-on, confirming that English cricket is not yet on an upswing.It is an insult to Sri Lankan cricket that this is the first ever Test series it is playing in England. Sri Lanka has been playing Test cricket since 1982 and yet never managed more than an one-off Test match in England.A tour of England is still considered important just a Wimbledon is important in the tennis circuit. I am not so sure that I approve of all the changes that have been made at Lord’s ever since I first went there in 1962.There is still something special about a Test match at Lord’s and as one enters the Grace Gates, one senses a kind of spirituality. Cricket crowds in England have changed but not the crowd at Lord’s.There are fewer yahoos and none of the drunken louts that one encounters on other grounds. Lord’s is still a social occasion and going to watch cricket at Lord’s has a snob value of which I approve.

By the end of the day on Friday, just 500 tickets for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trtophy match against Kent on August 1st remain unsold.The office at the County Ground will open on Saturday morning between 9am and 1pm for the sale of the remaining tickets, and Monday will be the last day that any unsold tickets can be purchased.On the day there will be no parking at all on the ground, but an additional 500 spaces are to be made available in Victoria Park which will be signposted from Junction 25 of the M5.

Australia has withdrawn from its scheduled tour of Zimbabwe.Citing safety and security concerns for the team and its management, theAustralian Cricket Board (ACB) had little choice but to accept the advice ofa number of government and non-government sources who had identified anincreasing risk for the Australian side.The postponement of the tour is the latest in an increasing number ofpolitical factors on the international cricket scene.Last year New Zealand postponed their October tour of Pakistan after theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the New Zealandwomen had their tour of India cancelled due to the inability of India toprovide security for the side while the Afghanistan conflict was takingplace.The last occasion an Australian side was unable to tour a country was duringthe 1996 World Cup when the team was unable to play scheduled games in SriLanka when player safety there could not be guaranteed.Australia’s position in Zimbabwe was the result of increasing unrest thereafter the recent election and the subsequent suspension of Zimbabwe from theCommonwealth.The chairman of the ACB, Bob Merriman said: “Given this situation, the ACBhas now advised the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) that the Australian cricketteam is unable to travel to Zimbabwe in the current climate but that we arevery keen to re-schedule the games in the next two years.”This is a decision that the ACB has deliberated on deeply and it isrecognised that it will impact most on the cricket community withinZimbabwe. This is something that is deeply regretted.”Nevertheless, the safety of the players and team management must takeprecedence and I hope that there are other initiatives that the ACB and theZCU can adopt that will provide much needed support to the game inZimbabwe.””Over the last week, the advice we have received from our own securityadvisors, the High Commissioner in Zimbabwe, the Department of ForeignAffairs and from other sources within the country has clearly indicated thatthe situation is worsening for Australians in particular and that there arenow real and unacceptable risks to our people should they travel toZimbabwe.”