West Indies 299 for 1 (Gayle 184*, Sarwan 103*) trail South Africa 588 for 6 dec (Kallis 147, Prince 131, Smith 126, de Villiers 114) by 289 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Chris Gayle missed out in the last two Tests, but roared back to form with a stunning unbeaten 184 © Getty Images

In two years’ time, Test cricket at the Antigua Recreation Ground will be a thing of the past. A new all-seater stadium has been promised for the 2007 World Cup, and for bowlers the world over, its development cannot come quickly enough. Today was another day of unrelenting run-scoring, which once again featured two centurions and a record-breaking unbeaten double-hundred stand. The only difference this time was that, for the first time since the first Test in Guyana four long weeks ago, it was West Indies who made all the running.Until today, Chris Gayle’s return to West Indian colours had not been a happy one. After missing that first Test because of the contracts dispute, Gayle had amassed a sorry tally of 12 runs in four innings, and had been looking more out of sorts than at any time in his career. His response today, however, was just typical. After South Africa had declared on a modest 588 for 6, Gayle slammed 26 fours and three massive sixes from 257 balls, as he rampaged to a magnificent 184 not out, his seventh Test century in his 50th match.Gayle has long been capable of such feats of scoring. At The Oval last summer he cracked Matthew Hoggard for six fours in an over, en route to a stunning 79-ball hundred, and from the moment West Indies began their innings, he was in the mood for a confrontation. Shaun Pollock, who has missed South Africa’s last five Tests through injury, was clobbered for 14 runs in his comeback over, and Monde Zondeki’s first three-over spell went for 33, including a vast back-foot wallop for six over wide long-off. He brought his first fifty from 34 balls, his hundred from 96, and his 150 from 149. Had he not slowed significantly towards the close, he would have been on course for one of the fastest double-centuries of all time.Gayle’s partner throughout this frenzy was Ramnaresh Sarwan, who ticked along to a more conventional hundred, which he brought up in 222 balls, with 10 fours and two unexpected sixes from consecutive balls, as Graeme Smith’s part-time offspin was beaten out of the attack. South Africa did make one notable breakthrough, when Wavell Hinds fell to Makhaya Ntini’s first ball of the innings, but it was a false dawn, for no more wickets fell in the next 473 balls of the day.

Makhaya Ntini celebrates the first-ball wicket of Wavell Hinds. As false dawns go, it takes some beating © Getty Images

By lunch, West Indies (aka Gayle) had clobbered their way to 90 for 1 from 13 overs, and when Ntini’s fourth ball after the resumption was also crashed for six, it looked like more of the same would ensue. But Ntini and Pollock tightened their line admirably and while Gayle was forced to rein himself in a fraction, Sarwan was pinned on the shoulder by a sizzling bouncer from Ntini. Seven runs later he hooked and was dropped by Boeta Dippenaar at square leg.It was the introduction of Kallis that reignited Gayle’s run-spree. His very first delivery was dropped by Smith at slip, and went for four to boot, and Gayle followed up by slamming his third ball through mid-on for four. A scorching cover-drive off Zondeki carried him to 99, and the very next ball – his 96th – was tucked off his hips for the all-important single. It was the 50th century in 20 Tests in Antigua, a tally which tells its own story.South Africa’s only hope of stemming the tide was to turn to spin, and Boje embarked on an excellent restrictive spell that was only broken when Pollock allowed another four – from Gayle naturally – to pass through his legs. In Boje’s next over, he was driven and flicked for two more fours as Gayle brought up his 150 and the West Indian 200. Five overs and 25 runs later, Sarwan flicked Pollock off his pads to reach the first fifty of his innings, although by the end of the day, like the tortoise to Gayle’s hare, he was making up good ground.Gayle’s onslaught made South Africa’s efforts on the first two days seem utterly pedestrian, and even their greater urgency on the third morning paled in comparison. Both Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince fell in pursuit of quick runs – to end an all-time South African fifth-wicket record of 267 – as 63 more runs were added in 18 overs. By the declaration, Mark Boucher had scored the four runs he needed to become the third wicketkeeper – after Rod Marsh and Ian Healy – to reach the double of 3000 runs and 300 dismissals.There is absolutely no prospect of a result in this match, although with two days remaining, and licence to bat and bat and bat, the sky is the limit for the incumbent batsmen, if they can put their heads down tomorrow morning and start their innings afresh. As Brian Lara, looking on impatiently from the dressing-room, would testify, there are records to be had at this ground.

How they were out

South AfricaJacques Kallis c Washington b Powell 147 (562 for 5)
Top-edged slog to deep mid-onAshwell Prince c Browne b Bravo 131 (563 for 6)
Misjudged cut off slower ball, scooped to keeperWest IndiesWavell Hinds c & b Ntini 0 (14 for 1)
Early on defensive push, taken one-handed in followthrough

Scotland overcame a major attack of nerves to seal their first National League win of the season against Warwickshire. Scotland were 70 for 1, chasing 114, when Heath Streak and Neil Carter ripped through the batting. They still needed six to win when the last pair came together, but Paul Hoffmann finished the match with a six over extra-cover. Hoffmann had earlier taken 3 for 19 as Scotland ran through Warwickshire in just 33 overs, with Dougie Brown top-scoring with 23 not out.Durham pulled off a thrilling one-run win against Kent at Tunbridge Wells, after the home side were cruising to victory. Set 189 to win, after a stuttering Durham batting effort, Kent were 170 for 3 after Andrew Hall and Matthew Walker added 97 for the third wicket. But the middle and lower order collapsed against the nagging accuracy of Ashley Noffke and Nathan Astle – Durham’s new overseas pair – and the tail could not scrambled the necessary runs.

Hashan Tillakaratne has been confirmed as Sri Lanka’s Test captain, while MarvanAtapattu will continue as the one-day skipper during England’s forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The decision to continue with the controversial split-leadership system was reached last week following discussions between the four-man selection committee and John Dyson, the new coach from Australia, and was ratified by Sri Lanka’s sports ministry today.The selectors wanted to give Tillakaratne, who is now 35, another chancedespite a disappointing start to his tenure, which included a drab drawnseries against New Zealand and a 1-0 loss in the West Indies.”Hashan has had only four Tests as captain and he has not performed all thatbadly,” said Lalith Kaluperuma, the chairman of selectors. “We will give himanother opportunity against England before reviewing the situation anddeciding whether we should continue with two captains.”Atapattu’s start also produced mixed results, as Sri Lanka bombed out of theBank Alfalah Cup against New Zealand and Pakistan, although he did lead Sri Lanka to a 2-1 win in the one-day series in the West Indies in June.There had been speculation that Sanath Jayasuriya, who resigned in Aprilafter four years at the helm, was being persuaded to return as captain. ButKaluperuma denied the option of Jayasuriya had even been discussed.The selectors will not pick the squad for the England series until after SriLanka A’s current tour of South Africa and Kenya, which continues until theend of October. In the meantime the national squad, which has started training, will include all the players from the West Indian tour.

Can Mark Sorell guide them to further dominance? © Getty Images

Mark Sorell, the South Australian high-performance co-ordinator, has been appointed as the new coach of the Australian women’s cricket team. Sorell takes over from Stephen Jenkin, who will finish his post early next month after four years in the role. Sorell’s first assignment will be to lead the side on their tour of Ireland and England in July and August, including the women’s Ashes series.A Cricket Australia level-three coach, Sorell has enjoyed a long career with the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) including as a coach and development officer, regional cricket manager and community cricket manager. After six years as coach of Glenelg District Cricket Club in the SACA Grade competition, Sorell led the state women’s cricket team, the South Australian Scorpions, in the Women’s National Cricket League from 2002 to 2004. Sorell will commence his role on 11 July.Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s general manager of cricket operations, said the direction of women’s cricket in Australia over the next four years was set to enter a new phase. “Our national women’s team has enjoyed tremendous success over the past few years, including our recent World Cup win in South Africa,” said Brown. “This was achieved under the guidance of a professional team management structure led by head coach Steve Jenkin. Steve has had a positive influence on the team and we congratulate and thank him for his dedication and support of women’s cricket.Commenting on his appointment, Sorell said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for me, and I am really looking forward to the chance to work with the Australian women’s team. It is an exciting time for the Australian women’s team having just won the World Cup, preparing to embark on an Ashes campaign and a host of young players coming through the system, so there is much to look forward to.”

Vaughan: ‘One-day cricket is a totally different concept and the history suggests that these games don’t have any impact on the five-day game’ © Getty Images

Michael Vaughan admitted England were well below their best as they slumped to a crushing eight-wicket defeat at The Oval, to hand Australia the NatWest Challenge. England’s top order crumbled again and, despite Kevin Pietersen’s 74, they were never in the game once Adam Gilchrist cut loose en route to a destructive century.”We were under par with the bat but it nibbled about in the morning and we were about 60 short,” Vaughan said. “[A score of] 280-290 was about par on that sort of wicket and against a team like Australia you’re probably looking at beyond 300 to be really competitive. We were below standard, no excuses, it nibbled but we didn’t bat as well as we can do. Once you don’t get the total to put them under pressure you are always going to struggle, but Gilchrist came out and played fantastically.”Vaughan was adamant that the last two one-day defeats wouldn’t have any long-term effect on England heading in to the Ashes series. He believed the recent matches swung so much that it was hard to draw conclusions.”On Thursday, when we won at Headingley, everyone was saying the momentum was with England and I certainly didn’t believe that either,” he said. “I certainly don’t believe that the momentum has swung in Australia’s favour. One-day cricket is a totally different concept and the history suggests that these games don’t have any impact on the five-day game.”It’s just important that over the next week or so that we hit July 21 hard and make sure that we get our games and minds in order. That’s the biggest challenge of all for the summer and we’ve all been looking forward to it, and everyone’s been talking about it, so lets move our minds to that.”However, he has yet to be convinced by the new rule changes, despite Vikram Solanki’s half-century when he came in as a Supersub in place of Simon Jones. “The Powerplays work well, I’m a fan of them, but I’m a bit sceptical of the substitutions,” he said. “You get the advantage of winning the toss and then you have an extra batter to chase down the runs.”Ricky Ponting was understandably elated by Australia’s performance, especially after the tough start they have experienced to the tour. “That was very satisfying,” he said, “It’s the result of a lot of hard work, a lot of talking about our games, where we were going wrong and the finer aspects of things. We did that before the Lord’s game, we had a really good meeting and a really good training session and we’ve managed to bring all of that into these two games.”They were a couple of pretty comprehensive wins for us. Today was as close as it gets to perfect one-day cricket for us. The way we restricted them and then to peel the runs of with 16 overs left is a comprehensive win.”Like Vaughan, Ponting said he wouldn’t look too much into these results, but he clearly thought that the margin of victories gave his side an advantage. “I said before this series that I don’t read too much into the one-day game, but having said that a couple of weeks ago it didn’t look that bright for us,” he said. “But the pleasing thing for me and the team is how the players have really lifted in the big games when it has really mattered for us. I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve done in last couple of games after a very disappointing game at Headingley.”Adam Gilchrist, who had not scored an ODI hundred since January 2004, was just happy to see Australia home with his 121 from 101 balls. “It was very special for a lot a reasons, most importantly getting the job done for the team,” he said. “I haven’t often been there at the end of a run chase, haven’t often been there after 15 overs, so to be there at the end was uncharted waters. More importantly, the result showed great character.”

Division One

Andy Bichel made stunning start to his Hampshire season © Getty Images

Nic Pothas and Andy Bichel added a Hampshire record 257 for the eighth wicket as they staged a stunning comeback against Gloucestershire. Hampshire were in deep trouble at 81 for 7 with Steve Kirby and Jon Lewis tearing through the top order. But Bichel immediately put bat-to-ball, scoring a nearly a run-a-ball, while Pothas was no slouch. Bichel reached his ton from 104 balls and Pothas 165 as they hit 43 fours and three sixes between them. Their stand broke the pervious Hampshire record of 227, held by Kevan James and Tim Tremlett, from 1985. Malinga Bandara eventually wrapped up the innings but Bichel and James Bruce grabbed a wicket each before the close to leave Hampshire in a position they wouldn’t have dreamt of earlier in the day.Darren Stevens hit a career-best, unbeaten 173 to enable Kent to take control against Glamorgan. He received superb support from Andrew Hall, who reached his ton just before the close. The pair had come together with the innings at a crucial stage following a stand of 101 between Stevens and Justin Kemp. But Glamorgan’s attack couldn’t break the vital sixth wicket partnership and Stevens was at his attacking best as he stroked 26 boundaries. Kent’s innings had a rocky start, as they stuttered to 99 for 3, but Glamorgan couldn’t sustain the pressure and the innings quickly ran away from them.Surrey threw away a promising position to allow Sussex to take the opening day honours at Hove. Despite losing both openers early, Mark Ramprakash and Jon Batty pushed Surrey along to 157 for 3. Robin Martin-Jenkins then struck twice in an over to remove Batty and Alistair Brown and when Ramprakash fell for 97 the slide was well in motion. Azhar Mahmood prevented a total capitulation, striking 57 in 58 balls, and received some support from Mohammed Akram. The Sussex attack bowled as a unit with Mushtaq Ahmed and Luke Wright taking three apiece. Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson then gave Sussex a solid start with a stand of 67 but, Surrey at least had the boost of removing them both late in the day.Paul Weekes was at the centre of a Middlesex fightback as Warwickshire ended the day in trouble after being on the verge of dominance themselves. Makhaya Ntini struck with his first ball for Warwickshire but Ben Hutton and Owais Shah scored freely to take Middlesex to 117 for 1. That soon became 139 for 6 as Ntini struck two more blows before Weekes began his rescue act. Paul Trego, Chris Peploe and Melvyn Betts all offered solid support – Betts helped Weekes add 71 for the last wicket. Stuart Clark, the Australian paceman, then nipped out three wickets and Betts one in the 25 overs Warwickshire faced to leave the defending champions in trouble.

Division Two

The bowlers held sway at Southend with Andre Adams leading the way for Essex before Mick Lewis fought back for Durham. Adams took 5 for 60, his best figures of the season, as Durham’s batsmen were guilty of wasting a number of good starts. Gordon Muchall and Dale Benkenstein both fell in the thirties and three wickets for Danish Kaneria meant Durham couldn’t register any batting points. But, Essex will have to battle to register many themselves after Lewis took four wickets. Alistair Cook held firm with 47 and he will be vital as on the second day as Essex search for a lead.Leicestershire’s attack fought back impressively to halt a threatening Lancashire innings. Iain Sutcliffe laid the foundations with an obdurate 93, adding 86 with Andrew Symonds. When both fell within a run of each other Leicestershire sensed their chance and grabbed it. Claude Henderson removed Paul Horton and Dominic Cork and after a few defiant blows the tail folded. Darren Maddy and Tom New safely negotiated the closing overs.

Chandrakant Pandit, the former Indian wicketkeeper and Ranji Trophy-winning Mumbai coach, has been appointed as the Maharashtra coach. Pandit, 43, played five Tests for India, and more recently led Mumbai to two consecutive Ranji Trophy triumphs in 2003 and 2004.Pandit’s appointment is part of Maharashtra’s revamp process as they gear up for the new season. Darren Holder, an Australian coach, was recently appointed as the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s (MCA) cricket director while speculation persits over several players, like Sairaj Bahutule and Nilesh Kulkarni, transfering to Maharashtra this season.According to Ajay Shirke, the president of the MCA, Pandit, along with Holder, would be responsible for the coaching of the senior and other teams of all age-groups of the region. Shirke also announced the appointment of Col PRV Nair as the administrative manager of the side.

Can Ganguly do a Hayden and revive his career? © Getty Images

As the dust settles on The Oval, ending the greatest series in recent memory, India will begin their two-Test series against Zimbabwe, starting at Bulawayo, with complacency their main concern. To expect a stiff challenge from a depleted Zimbabwe side – embroiled in a contract muddle with player unrest growing by the day – would be naïve. But history teaches India a few lessons and they will do well to remember that their record in Zimbabwe, in the four Tests, currently stands at 1-2.The last time India began a Test series in Zimbabwe, in June 2001, there was hope for the start of a new era. The mess caused by the match-fixing scandal was slowly being cleared; Sourav Ganguly had stamped his personality on the side with an aggressive blend of captaincy; Australia had been thwarted in one of the most memorable fightbacks of all time; and India had a golden chance to win their first series outside the subcontinent in 15 years.They overcame the challenge at Bulawayo but lost the plot in one manic session at Harare, collapsed from 197 for 3 to 234 all out, ended with a drawn series and were left to rue the what-might-have-beens. Four years on and India still haven’t won a series outside the subcontinent, Ganguly’s grasp on the captaincy weakens by the day and a side that once threatened to topple Australia from their perch now face grimmer realities.Ganguly, more than anyone else, will know the importance of this series. Since producing that grace-under-fire classic at the Gabba in December 2003, he has gone 18 innings without a century, been booed out of stadiums in India and often been reduced to a bumbling novice. With Heath Streak’s shin injury making him a doubtful starter, Ganguly will get a chance to face one of the weakest bowling attacks in history – Andy Blignaut, Blessing Mahwire, Keith Dabengwa and Prosper Utseya – and regain his confidence with a big score. India’s top three batsmen managed centuries in the tour game at Mutare and if this power-packed batting line-up gets its act together in this series, all sorts of batting records might be in danger.Zimbabwe are likely to hand debuts to Terrence Duffin, Sean Williams and Charles Coventry, all batsmen from Matabeleland, with the relatively experienced Brendon Taylor and Tatenda Taibu bolstering the middle order. Williams may sneak ahead of the out-of-form Hamilton Masakazda while Coventry may be thrown in at No.6. All the batsmen, though, will be wary of the curve and swing that Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan can manufacture and plonking their front foot down the crease and attempting to hit through the line could spell disaster. If they manage to survive that examination, they will probably need to contend with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh – a test that even the world’s best have flunked.All this, though, is just part of Zimbabwe’s problems. On Sunday, Zimbabwe’s professional cricketers issued a statement which slammed the conduct of the board, accusing it of being “at best incompetent, and at worst, a bully”, and calls for Zimbabwe’s relegation from the Test fold continue from various quarters. To play cricket under such a backdrop may prove too much for this inexperienced side and Bulawayo may well live up to its name of being a ‘place of slaughter’.Teams
Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Terence Duffin, 2 Sean Williams, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Tatenda Taibu (capt/wkt), 5 Dion Ebrahim, 6 Charles Coventry, 7 Heath Streak (vice-capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Prosper Utseya , 10 Blessing Mahwire, 11 Keith Dabengwa.India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Mohammad Kaif, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Courtney Walsh: ‘There was a lack of foresight and planning’ © Getty Images

Courtney Walsh, West Indian fast-bowling legend, has finally been approached by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to help reverse the continuing decline in fortunes of the team.Speaking to , Walsh said: “I have been asked to be on a committee to be headed by Sir Garry [Sobers] and it will also include among others Desmond Haynes for an input on what should be done before next year’s World Cup so we can get back to the golden days.”Walsh, the first man to break the 500-wicket barrier in Test cricket, laid the blame for the decline of West Indies cricket on poor planning and management.”There was definitely a lack of foresight and planning. There was also a lack of professionalism and the desire to win by the team,” said Walsh, who is being honored in Toronto by the Jamaican community for his contributions to West Indian cricket. “As you know, when cricket suffers the entire West Indies suffers. We have the talent and there is no reason for how poorly the team has performed in recent years.”While West Indies cricket fell rapidly from the heights of the glory days, Walsh didn’t see Australia’s loss in the Ashes as a beginning of a similar decline.Dubbing the Ashes series as “fantastic”, he said, “They are going through a transitional cycle and I think will rebound quickly. Apart from England, one must remember teams like India, Pakistan and South Africa are also on the rise after a few poor years. All credit to England as they performed as a team and ran out deserved winners. They are definitely on the rise as their players have improved their competitive skills.”Walsh, whose tally of 519 Test wickets was a world record, retired in 2001, after hurling down 30,019 balls during a 17-year stint with the national team.

Glenn McGrath: back to the top © Getty Images

Latest rankingsFollowing their demolition job against the World XI in Sydney, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne have taken over the top two spots in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings. Between them, the pair have now taken 1150 Test wickets, and have moved up a slot each from their previous ranking, with McGrath taking over from Muttiah Muralitharan as World No. 1.Warne, in second spot, is now on 874 points, his highest ranking since the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in December 1995 when he stood at 876. Those three are well clear of the chasing pack, but No. 4 on the list is closing fast, if his recent performances are anything to go by. Andrew Flintoff’s seven wickets for the World XI have lifted him to a career-best rating of 793, and he is now officially the leading allrounder in the world game, ahead of South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.Kallis remains the world No. 1 batsman, but Ricky Ponting has drawn level with Brian Lara in second spot, with Matthew Hayden returning to the top six following his resurgence of form in his last two Tests at The Oval and Sydney. Adam Gilchrist’s 94 against the World XI helps him move back up the rankings after a subdued Ashes series, and he now sits at No. 11 following a rise of three spots.The biggest mover in the bowling rankings has happened outside the top ten, with Stuart MacGill rising ten places to No. 20 on the list, following his nine-wicket haul at Sydney.