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Today during the Pura cup game v NSW, veteran Western Warrior’s pace-man Jo Angel reached another career milestone when he brought up his 400th first class wicket for Western Australia.Angel reached the 400 wicket milestone when he took the second wicket of NSW’s 2nd innings, having Brad Haddin caught by Kade Harvey at cover.It is the second time in the past six days that Jo Angel has achieved a significant personal feat for his cricket career. Angel became the all time leading wicket-taker in Australian domestic limited overs cricket during Wednesday night’s ING cup game v the NSW Blues.Speaking on his 400th wicket Angel said, “When I first started playing for WA I never really looked too far down the track towards these sorts of things. I really just want to thank all the guys I’ve played with over the years. I’m also really grateful that I’ve been able to play for the Western Warriors at a time when we ve had a lot of team success”.Chief Executive Officer of the WACA Kath White said, “Jo Angel has been a tremendous player for WA over the past decade. He thoroughly deserves all his success because he is such a fantastic team player. Jo’s willingness to work hard and get the best results for the team makes him a tremendous role model to all young people, not just young cricketers. The WACA is very proud to call him our own”.In recognition of Angel’s rare achievement, Kath White and Western Power Managing Director David Eiszele will present Angel with a special cake in the WA rooms at the end of today’s Pura cup game v the NSW Blues.The next major milestone looming in Jo Angel’s career is Terry Alderman’s record of 384, for the most wickets taken for WA in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup competition.The next opportunity for Jo to break Alderman’s record is during the Western Warrior’s next 1st class game v the Victorian Bushrangers at the MCG, from Thursday 28 February to Sunday 3rd March 2002.In total, Jo Angel has taken 440 first class wickets since his first class debut v NSW at the WACA ground during the 1991-92 season. The total includestaking 400 first-class wickets for Western Australia. The difference in the total has come from taking 10 wickets for Australia, 3 wickets for Australia A and 27 wickets for the Young Australians.Jo is the second Western Australian to claim 400 wickets for WA, with Terry Alderman the leading wicket-taker with 433. Angel is the 6th bowler to claim 400 wickets for the one State. First-class career totals of other leading Western Australian bowlers include: Graham McKenzie 1219, Terry Alderman 956 and Dennis Lillee 882.

Wellington’s frustration increased twofold when the third day of its Shell Trophy match with Canterbury at the Basin Reserve went the way of the second – abandoned today without a ball being bowled.Showers of varying intensity crossed the Basin throughout the day, driven by a building southerly wind, till umpires Evan Watkin and Ian Shine ruled at 2.30pm that no play would be possible.Wellington considered itself in a strong position when it reached 314-4 by stumps on the first day, responding to Canterbury’s invitation to bat. But with only one full day remaining and with no provision to make up lost time, the chance of any meaningful result from this match seems to have been lost.Wellington’s best hope tomorrow, when conditions are expected to be cloudly but dry, seems to be to achieve a first innings result unless Canterbury is prepared to enter an accomodation involving the forfeiture of innings.Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson has been demonstrably eager over the past two days to take advantage of any break in the weather to advance his team’s position. But the covers have remained on the pitch since Monday night and the persistence of the rain has made further play impossible.Play resumes at 10.30am tomorrow with Roger Twose 27 not out and Chris Nevin two not out.

Leicestershire have signed Middlesex batsman Neil Dexter on a three-year contract.Dexter has had a solid Championship season for Middlesex as they push for runners-up spot in Division One of the Championship, although his impact in one-day cricket has been less apparent. He joins Leicestershire in search of the security of a long-term deal that Middlesex could not offer..Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, said: “I am delighted that Neil has secured a long term contract with a club that will guarantee him regular first eleven cricket. Neil is at an age and stage in his career where he needs to play regular first eleven cricket and have a prominent role in that side. Unfortunately Middlesex could not guarantee this moving forward, so I fully understand and respect Neil’s decision to look for a fresh challenge elsewhere.”Neil has been a much liked and respected member of the Middlesex CCC playing staff since his arrival from Kent in late 2008, and has produced many valuable performances for the club on the field. He also led us to Second Division success in 2011, something he should be extremely proud of.”Dexter, 31, started his county career at Kent and has scored 5,977 first-class runs at an average of 35.79 with a career best score of 163 not out. He has 1,913 List A career runs at 31.88 and has 1,497 runs in T20 cricket at a strike rate of 109.91.Wasim Khan, Leicestershire’s chief executive, said: “With a number of sides interested in securing Neil, we are delighted that he has decided to join us. He will give us both quality and experience with his proven track record in county cricket. Neil is also a good bowler and fielder who can fit into our side in all three formats.”

If you go down to the SCG on Saturday you’re sure of a big surprise (unless you’re already a women’s cricket follower). Because on show will be the Australian captain Karen Rolton, the vice-captain Lisa Sthalekar… in fact, most of the Australia players, who will be facing off in the state final, the highlight of the domestic season. And they’re promising exciting cricket.”The women’s game is changing now, you have to be stronger. Scores of 230, 240 aren’t going to really cut it, you have to keep striving to keep pushing for scores over 250,” says Sthalekar, the New South Wales Breakers captain who is aiming high against South Australia Scorpions, who are in their first final for a decade and hunting their first title since 1995.Rolton was playing then and is keen to win once more. “It’s been quite a while,” she smiles. “It would mean a lot to win, there’s been a lot of hard work over the years. It will be quite exciting, it will mean a great deal, and most of the girls haven’t been in a final so it’s all very exciting.”The Breakers, meanwhile, have been in every final for the last 11 years, winning nine of them. This year, they were defeated just once in the tournament, and are a well-oiled unit, beating the Scorpions twice in the opening round back in November at Bankstown Oval, by seven wickets and 25 runs. They secured a home final by coming top of the pile again.Despite sweeping all before them – their future looks bright too as they regularly scoop all the junior titles on offer, too – they remain motivated, focussed and committed. “There’s a culture of always winning and always striving to dominate but also raise the bar in women’s cricket,” says Sthalekar. “Our goal this year has been to play exciting cricket which we have done.”They’ve set the pace as the women’s game has developed well over the last few years, offering more entertainment in the form of hitting over the top and a few hostile bouncers – watch out for Ellyse Perry’s firebolts – alongside the usual skills of finesse.And a prediction for the weekend? Sthalekar believes that while the Scorpions have five match-winning players – Australia’s Rolton, Shelley Nitschke, Kris Britt and Emma Sampson, and England import Jenny Gunn (who actually plays for Sydney) – the Breakers will have the edge through strength in depth. “I was hoping we would meet them because I think they’re the two best teams. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us to get on top of them. I think we might have the depth and hopefully that will get us across the line. If we can stay with them ball-by-ball hopefully our talent will come across.””They may just have the edge,” Rolton concedes. “They’re a good all-round team and we’re developing into that, and our batters are on form. They’ve definitely got more experience but that doesn’t always mean a lot in the final. We’ve had our chances over the years and this is the best year we’ve had. We deserve to be there and we will give them a good run for their money.”Indeed, don’t write the Scorpions off. In Rolton they have the competition’s only centurion of the season, while Sampson is one of the fastest bowlers in the world. South Australia have maintained the side which beat Victoria in the last group round to seal their final spot, while adding Tegan McPharlin.The game, then, promises to be a tight one after some impressive showings from South Australia in their recent state matches, and they will be backed by a vocal band of loyal supporters. “It’s great,” says Rolton. “Our support is pretty good out of all the states. To get people over means a lot to us. It will be great to have some red tops on in the crowd, everyone appreciates the support.”Breakers head coach Richard Bates, in his first year in charge, said the team had prepared well. “The key has been making sure that the players are ready to go, mentally and physically, on Saturday morning and ready for the challenge,” he says. “It is going to be a terrific game. There are so many great players on both sides who are capable of match winning performances. No doubt it will be case of who puts their hand up when it matters and maybe who has a bit of luck too!”As for Scorpions’ preparations, “We’ve done nothing differently,” says Rolton. “The preparations have gone quite well. It’s been hard because last week was full-on, so we’ve had a bit of cricket. Everyone’s prepared well.”Get there if you can.New South Wales Lisa Sthalekar (capt), Alex Blackwell, Sarah Andrews, Charlotte Anneveld, Sarah Aley, Kate Blackwell, Leonie Coleman, Rene Farrell, Alyssa Healy, Lisa Kuschert, Ellyse Perry, Sharon Millanta, Leah Poulton.South Australia Julie Woerner, Karen Rolton (capt), Shelley Nitschke, Kris Britt, Leanne Davis, Jenny Gunn, Alicia Dean (wk), Cara Fiebig, Neisha Iles, Fiona McDonald, Stephanie Morrison, Emma Sampson, Tegan McPharlin.

Australia’s bowling coach Troy Cooley hopes the attack has received the “wake-up call we needed” before the team defends the World Cup. The fast men have fallen from dominators during the first half of the CB Series to a group that could not get a wicket in the opening match of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and failed to defend 336 in the second.Cooley will be part of the squad for the World Cup and he told the Sydney Morning Herald he would be addressing the series of problems before they left for the Caribbean. “We’ve got some work to do,” Cooley said. “Maybe it’s the wake-up call we needed.”This group of bowlers did a great job of hitting the right lines and building pressure in the first half of the one-day series. You don’t just lose that skill. We have to get back to what we do right, and find that right balance.”Australia have suffered from the ankle injury to Brett Lee on the eve of the series and Cooley said Shane Watson’s return and the battle for World Cup places were factors in their performances. “There was so much talk about the six fast bowlers battling for five spots to go to the World Cup,” Cooley told the paper. “These kind of issues can play on a player’s mind.”The sudden injury to Brett hasn’t helped things, and there’s also been the re-entry of Shane Watson and trying to get him some match practice before the World Cup. There are a lot of factors. It’s a combination of things we need to look at.”He agreed with John Buchanan that the bowlers were not “hitting their areas” like they did in the early stages of the CB Series. “There’s a danger sometimes that you can go in search of things that aren’t there, and I think we have to be mindful of that,” Cooley said. “You don’t go from being a good side one day to a bad side the next. It’s a matter of getting their minds right before the games.”

Mohammad Sami, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been called up to join the one-day squad as a replacement for Shoaib Akhtar, who has been ruled out of the five-match series against India due to an ankle injury. Sami will join the squad later today and will be available for selection for the last two games, on Thursday and Sunday.Sami played the first Test of the series against India, but was dropped after putting in a listless performance, conceding 67 from just 12 overs. Though his career one-day stats are impressive – 105 wickets in 74 ODIs at 28.43 – his recent form has been dismal: in his last 15 matches, Sami has managed just 12 wickets at an exorbitant average of 52, and an economy rate of more than five. With Pakistan’s back-up seamers – Mohammad Asif, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Umar Gul – performing well, Sami was forced into the sidelines. Shoaib’s injury offers him another opportunity to translate his undoubted potential into performance at the international level.

Chris Schofield, the former England and Lancashire legspinner, began his claim for unfair dismissal against his former club today, at an industrial tribunal in Manchester. Schofield was released by Lancashire at the end of the 2004 season after seven years at Old Trafford, and believes his chances of finding a new county were harmed by not being informed of the club’s decision until the end of the season.Schofield, 29, who was among the first batch of ECB central contracts in 2000 and played two Tests against Zimbabwe that summer, was not told until September 23 that he was not going to be retained by Lancashire.Under the terms of new contracts draw up between the ECB and the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) all counties are required to appraise their players at various stages throughout a season, discussing their progress and areas they may need to improve. This was brought in as a result of the Neil Burns and Carl Crowe case, when they took Leicestershire to court for unfair dismissal in 2002.Schofield’s tribunal heard that he was appraised during the first part of the 2004 season, but was not talked to again regarding Lancashire’s plans for him until the decision had been reached. reported that Mike Watkinson, the Lancashire cricket manager, said the decision not to retain Schofield had been “touch and go” and was not made until the first week of September, before being ratified by the club’s committee on September 6.Watkinson said that as Schofield was a player who relied on confidence he did not to tell him that he could be released at a stage when a series of good performances might have changed the decision, and because it was not in his or the team’s interest – who were battling to avoid relegation from Division One in the county championship.The claim from Schofield is that the late decision reduced his opportunities of finding another county, but Watkinson presented evidence that suggested other counties would not have signed him even if they known his availability. David Byas, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, who played with Schofield for one season at Lancashire, appeared as a witness and was one of those who claimed that earlier notification of Schofield’s situation would not have made a difference.During the 2004 season, Schofield only managed to take three championship wickets, although he had more success with the bat, making three half-centuries, including a career-best 99. But Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive, said Schofield would have been aware that his performances had not been good enough to warrant a new deal at the club long before the season ended.Schofield will give his evidence tomorrow morning when the hearing resumes.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has acted swiftly to ease concerns over safety reported among the Indian players, announcing that “presidential-level security” will be provided throughout the forthcoming series between the two old rivals.”We are aware of the concerns expressed by some of the Indian players. We are determined to provide presidential kind of security to the team once they land in Pakistan,” said a PCB spokesman. “We are in regular contact with Jagmohan Dalmiya [the Indian board president] over this delicate issue and other related matters.”The spokesman also looked to play down last week’s terrorist bomb attack in Karachi, which left 11 people injured. “It is unfortunate that it happened at a time when we are in the process of finalising details of the tour … but I am sure everything will be okay and trouble-free, and Karachi will host matches against India as planned.”The importance of adequate security was underlined by Rameez Raja, the PCB’s chief executive. “We are committed to provide the Indian team the best security,” he said, “and for that got the needed clearance and the advice from the interior ministry.”The Indian board has taken measures of its own, announcing that a special three-man team will travel to Pakistan in the coming weeks to oversee arrangements.

New Zealand gave itself a boost yesterday when taking a 29-run win from Pakistan in their ICC Under-19 World Cup warm-up game at Lincoln.After all the frustrations with New Zealand’s poor summer weather, both sides were just happy to get some cricket.New Zealand batted first and scored 233/8 with Jesse Ryder scoring 74 off 67 balls as New Zealand scored 81/1 in the first 15 overs.In the next 24 overs, however, the side struggled while losing four wickets for 84, including two run outs. But then the lower-order responded by scoring 70 runs off the last 10 overs.Coach Mark Greatbatch said the side’s feeling before the game was that it should have been looking to score between 260/270 runs.While Pakistan opening batsman Salman Butt scored 56, his was the only innings that really troubled the New Zealand bowlers. The only other innings of consequence was 38 not out by No 9 batsman Arslan Mir as Pakistan were dismissed for 204 in 47.1 overs.Rob Nicol took three for 44 from his 10 overs, Ian Robertson two for 36 off 37 and Peter Borren one for 20 off 8.1 overs.

All things considered, South Africa could not have asked a great deal more of Shaun Pollock and his overhauled team than has been forthcoming in Sri Lanka over the past five to six weeks.The first post-Hansiegate tour has to be regarded as a success, – not an entirely unqualified success perhaps, but a campaign that produced more good than bad. At the risk of pre-empting history, South Africa’s 2000 tour of Sri Lanka is likely to prove a watershed moment as the game in this country grows into the millenium.The rain-ravaged third Test ended in a draw on Thursday, leaving the series tied at 1-1. A few weeks ago South Africa reached the final of the Singer Cup, but lost to Sri Lanka. On the face of it, these might seem average results, but they bear a closer look.The current rule of thumb for Test cricket is this: win your home series and do your damndest to avoid defeat when you travel. To this can be added the rider: especially when travelling to the sub-continent. With this in mind, South Africa have already had a terrific year, beating India in India and drawing with Sri Lanka. If you’d offered this to Australia at the start of the year, they’d have taken it.As far as the Singer Cup is concerned, South Africa beat Pakistan twice and lost three times to Sri Lanka. Given that the South Africans were coming off a winter break, these results are probably no better and no worse than might have been expected. Had the one-day tournament been played after the Test series, the outcome might well have been different.The tour also threw up two notable individual successes – Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje. Klusener has had an amazing 18 months with the bat. The seeds of his World Cup form last year were sewn in New Zealand, but now he has kicked up a level, adapting and adjusting his approach to Test match cricket on turning pitches against one of the world’s best spinners.Klusener’s secret, if it is one, is his simplicity: he blocks the good balls and hits the bad ones and when this approach is underpinned with complete self-belief, it can prove well nigh irresistible. Sri Lanka couldn’t work out a reliable method of dismissing him so they settled for trying to contain him. It was an admission that the South African had the wood on them but it served mainly only to persuade Klusener that he wasn’t ever going to get out.Batting at six, he organised the lower order to bat around him, convincing even the likes of Paul Adams and Nantie Hayward that it was worth their while to stick around for as long as they were able. All this, together with a new-found ability to bowl slowish off-cutters, made him South Africa’s man of the series.Boje, too, had a wonderful tour. After floating around the fringes of the side for the past four years, he finally established himself as the first-choice spinner, leapfrogging Paul Adams in the process. Boje bowled with control and intelligence and his progress since being brought into the squad for India as a late replacement for Adams gives South Africa a left-arm orthodox spinner able to tie up an end for hours.Adams, on the other hand, will be glad to see the last of Sri Lanka. Any number of explanations have been offered for his poor form on this tour – he had been out of cricket since January, the pitches were too slow for him, the batting never gave him big enough totals to bowl to and so on and so on. The truth is, though, that Sri Lanka targetted him and Adams was unable to find a counter.South Africa will clearly have to rethink Adams: how, where and when to use him. It is all very to argue that he is an attacking bowler, but that is to miss the point. In an attack that is usually likely to contain three or four attacking seamers, balance is provided by someone able to close up an end. Boje can do it. Adams, on all available evidence, can’t.The greatest strides forward, however, were taken by Pollock as the captain. There is still an argument that fast bowlers shouldn’t captain Test teams. History throws up very few bowlers who have successfully captained – either their bowling or their captaincy suffers. It is still to soon to see whether Pollock gets caught up in this double bind. Perhaps by the end of the coming domestic season a clearer assessment of his abilities will emerge.At the same time, though, he grew as a tactician and strategist by the day, almost by the session in some instances. More than this, he (and coaches Graham Ford and Corrie van Zyl), lifted the side back up again after the Singer Cup final and a dismal first Test. That took personality. There may be more to this particular management team than anyone had the right to expect.