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Another serious blow has battered Zimbabwe cricket. Dave Houghton, coach at the CFX Academy, has responded to the ongoing situation in the country by resigning his job, and by the end of April he will have immigrated to England to take up a job there with television companies.Houghton was one of Zimbabwe’s greatest batsmen who might well have achieved the same sort of reputation that Andy Flower now holds in world cricket had Zimbabwe been admitted to the Test arena a few years earlier. He scored a century against India in Zimbabwe’s inaugural Test match and still holds the record for the country’s highest Test score, 266 against Sri Lanka, and shares one-day record with 142 against New Zealand in the World Cup of 1987/88.While still at his peak as a player, he was employed by Worcestershire as a coach, and then progressed to the position of Zimbabwe national team coach while still a player. He then became coach at the Academy, where he was held in high regard by the students; they will be shattered by his departure and it may well prove impossible to replace him adequately, especially in the current situation in the country.Zimbabwe cricket cannot afford to lose Dave Houghton. He could have given so much to the future of cricket in Zimbabwe. How many more invaluable cricket people will be lost before the current tragic situation in the country ends? So far the rest of the world has been of little help, and the response of the Australians by cancelling their tour has been an appalling blow to cricket in the country. Not to mention the apathy of the ICC in this situation. Is the cricketing world going to stand by and watch Zimbabwe cricket die – or even play their part in helping it to die?***This issue consists mainly of biographies, as there has been little action on the field. We feature Conan Brewer and Allan Mwayenga from the CFX Academy and updates of the biographies of Patrick Gada and Matabeleland players Ryan King and Clement Mahachi.

Victorian elite coaching co-ordinator Brian McFadyen will be switching to a new home within a month after winning appointment today as Tasmania’s new cricket coach.In a move that formally marks the end of Greg Shipperd’s 11-year reign at the helm of the Tasmanian team, McFadyen has been tied to a deal that will see him take over the post until at least the end of the 2004-05 season.”We are confident that, in Brian McFadyen, we have secured a coach who will take Tasmanian cricket forward and play a leadership role in developing the blueprint for the development of sport in the state,” said Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) Chairman, Denis Rogers, in announcing the decision at a press conference in Hobart this afternoon.”We believe Brian has the vision, coaching skills and leadership attributes to take the team and Tasmanian cricket to the next level,” he added.Shipperd had been considered an early favourite to retain the position on the back of a spectacular late season rally that saw the Tasmanians qualify for a berth in the 2001-02 Pura Cup Final.Added to his claims was the distinction of having guided the Tigers into three Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup finals matches in all; renowned skills as one of the most meticulously prepared coaches in Australia; and strong support from the state’s players which peaked at the Tigers’ end-of-season awards ceremony a fortnight ago when several key members of the squad spoke passionately in his defence.But McFadyen’s growing reputation as one of Australian cricket’s finest strategists; his tactical acumen; and his involvement in helping Victoria to reach two successive Pura Cup finals in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 ultimately swayed the decision in his favour.”I’m very excited about this opportunity,” said McFadyen this afternoon.”I’d like to help stimulate the playing group and like to see everybody really enjoying their cricket and maximising their own potential. If they can do that individually, and if we can do that collectively, we’ll have a lot of success.”It’s a very good group,” he added of the playing list that has made Tasmania one of the best-performed states in first-class competition over recent years.”It (contains) exciting talent with some younger guys coming through who have been most impressive.”There’s also certainly a foundation that’s already been laid by the second half of last season. I think the players will already all be very excited about what potentially lies ahead next year.”McFadyen’s coaching background most recently includes four years as an assistant with the Victorian state team but has extended to take in stewardship of the Victorian ACB Cup team, and a number of Victorian underage sides. He also operated as Australia’s assistant coach during the recently-completed VB Series of one-day international matches against New Zealand and South Africa.As a player, he was a member of the South Australian and Victorian state squads and won the Bradman Medal as Adelaide’s best first grade cricketer in his role as a right arm paceman for Port Adelaide in 1990-91.Before injuries forced an early end to his career, he was additionally a member of Australia’s team at the Youth World Cup of 1988 and toured New Zealand with an Academy side two years later.The 33-year-old already shares connections with two of Tasmania’s most experienced players in Jamie Cox and David Saker.Along with Cox, he was included in the elite group of 16 cricketers handpicked as the first-ever inductees of the Academy back in 1988. His close bond with Saker meanwhile stems back to his intensive work with Victoria’s core group of fast bowlers early in his association with the Bushrangers.Shipperd, who is still in contention to complete an interchange with McFadyen by taking over as Victoria’s new coach, expressed disappointment at the outcome but wished his successor good fortune.”It has been a wonderful journey and honour to have played for, coached and (helped) administer Tasmanian (teams) for 14 seasons. I am satisfied that I have given my all to the challenges that were presented,” he said in a short statement released late this afternoon.”I am naturally disappointed at not retaining my post; however, I wish the new coach and especially the players great success in the future.”Over 30 applications in total were received for the position after the TCA acted more than three months ago to appoint a selection committee to review the Tigers’ coaching set-up.Aside from the claims of McFadyen and Shipperd, the committee also closely scrutinised the potential suitability of current Australian Cricket Academy mentor Wayne Phillips when the field narrowed to eight for the final round of interviews earlier this month.The five-man selection panel (consisting of TCA chief executive David Johnston, Australian Cricketers’ Association chief Tim May, legendary former Tasmanian and Australian player David Boon, and TCA Board members Geoff Rowlands and Tony Harrison) is also believed to have included former state captains Brian Davison and Roger Woolley among the group invited to the closing stages of the interview process.McFadyen, who had also been a frontrunner for head coaching positions in both Queensland and Victoria, was ultimately offered the position in the middle of last week.He will be formally relocating to Tasmania before the end of May.

Queensland has strengthened its chances of hosting a second Pura Cup Final in succession by coasting to an important outright victory over Western Australia in theteams’ match here at the ‘Gabba this afternoon. The eight wicket success, which arrived shortly after lunch on the third day, has allowed the Bulls – temporarily at least- to skip away to an eight point break at the top of the Cup table with just two rounds of matches left to play.After starting the day with a lead of 113 runs and with only three second innings wickets still in hand, the Warriors’ tailenders went out in an attempt to build acompetitive target for the Bulls to chase. However, the Western Australians added only another twenty-one runs. Paceman Andy Bichel claimed two of the final threewickets to fall, and returned the impressive figures of 5/74 in the process. Adam Dale (3/56) was the morning’s other Queensland wicket-taker.With only a small target to chase, Bulls openers’ Jimmy Maher (59) and Jerry Cassell (27) looked to wrap things up in quick time. In aggressive style, they posted aneighty-one run partnership prior to lunch before Cassell fell to the spin of Brad Oldroyd.Following the lunch break, Andrew Symonds was given a promotion in the batting line-up and came in at number three. The first and third balls of the first over afterlunch were sent sailing into the ‘Gabba grandstands off his bat; another three boundaries came from the next Oldroyd over; and then a further six was struck in thefollowing over to ensure that the Bulls’ win was secured the mere matter of twenty-five minutes after the resumption.Maher, while quite obviously scoring more slowly, continued to play well at the other end on his way to an impressive half century.Oldroyd had gone into lunch with the figures of 1/0. However, he might now wish that he had stayed in the dining room because, when he returned to the middle, theSymonds and Maher onslaught blew his figures out to 1/42 off the only five overs that he bowled for the match.Matthew Nicholson (1/25) eventually exacted a small measure when he claimed Maher’s wicket with only two runs required for victory.The winning runs were, however, duly polished off quickly to give the Bulls what is now an eight point break over second-placed Victoria and a twelve point lead overthird-placed New South Wales.But, whilst the Queenslanders will likely head into their upcoming road trips to both South Australia and New South Wales brimming with confidence, their captainStuart Law warned that his side needs to guard against complacency.”The side is aware of the fact that a Final is possibly around the corner but it has been a long, hard season and we’ve worked hard to get in this position. It would be atragedy if we started having a hiccup now,” he said after play.”The hard work begins now for us, especially with these games in Sydney and Adelaide which are vitally important.””The match in Sydney will be (especially) tough. We have to dig deep there; the pitch will be a dust bowl and we have to be ready for it.”Warriors’ captain Tom Moody later refused to concede that his team (which is now as many as eighteen points behind today’s opponent) was out of the Pura Cuprace. But it was another disappointing day overall for the Warriors and for Moody himself given that it was his last-ever match in Brisbane.Western Australia’s double losses here this week – today’s heavy defeat was preceded by a 65 run drubbing in a Mercantile Mutual Cup match – could probably nothave come at a worse time, with the one-day Final approaching next weekend.Moody was adamant, however, that his team will have salved any mental and physical scars by the time that it takes the field in that match – against New South Walesin Perth on Sunday.”I don’t think it will affect our focus,” he argued.”Ideally, we came up here to get a roll in both the one-day and four day matches, and this may well come as a timely kick up the backside.””It lets us know where we stand: we have a lot of good players who we need to get going.”

He was only kidding.Australian captain Steve Waugh has reneged on his claim that England deserved favouritism for the upcoming Ashes series,saying a straight-faced “throwaway line” delivered at an official function yesterday should not have been taken as gospel.Waugh and his Australian one-day squad left Sydney today for Turkey, where visiting Gallipoli will be the highlight of atwo-day stopover en route to London.Strong in his belief that England – victorious in four straight series and leading Pakistan 1-0 in a two-Test series – is the genuinearticle for the first time in a long time, Waugh does not seriously think the old enemy deserves top billing.”It’s going to be a good contest and I believe we can win – I said otherwise yesterday but it was a bit of a throwaway line andyou guys took it nicely,” he said with a grin at Sydney Airport.”We’ve got the side, we’ve got the talent and we’ve got the experience, but England are going to be very tough, they play goodcricket and we can’t expect to cruise through the series.”If we’re not on our best behaviour on the field, so to speak, we’re going to get beaten.”Waugh will be awarded the world championship trophy before the first Test at Edgbaston on June 5 as reward for Australia’sunprecedented 16-match winning streak that ended in India.The first Test between England and Pakistan, won by an innings and nine runs by Nasser Hussain’s men, was the first clash ofthe fledgling ICC championship.Waugh said England was probably the third, fourth or fifth best Test nation in the world at the moment.”It’s hard to put a rating on anyone but they’re playing as good a cricket as anyone, they’ve won a lot of Test matches andthey’re on the verge of winning five series in a row, which is a significant achievement,” he said.”They’ll be trying to get a gauge off us.”If they beat us, they’ll probably think they’re No.1 or No.2 in the world.”Waugh labelled England as favourite for the five-Test series at the Ashes farewell luncheon at Darling Harbour ConventionCentre yesterday.Meanwhile, the Test players who aren’t part of the one-day squad leave for England on June 19 and were enormouslydisappointed to miss the trip to Gallipoli, which Waugh expected to be quite emotional.”It’s going to be a real learning experience,” he said.”I’d like to know more about what happened there and the people who fought for our country so this is an important part ofthat process.”It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and every Australian, if they can, should go there and have a look and learn about ourhistory.”It’s good for the team – a great bonding exercise, probably the best one we’ll ever be on.”Australia will play a one-day tournament against England and Pakistan throughout June before the real business of the Testsbegins at Edgbaston on July 5.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shane Watson was Man of the Match for his 41 not out and 2 for 29•Getty Images

Another fine all-round effort from Shane Watson steered Australia into the Super Eights as they claimed a Duckworth-Lewis victory over West Indies in Colombo. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels both scored quick half-centuries to put up a hefty score of 191 but a strong start from Australia, who reached 100 for 1, was enough to ensure they were ahead when the rain started bucketing down in the tenth over of the chase.On a day when South Africa and Sri Lanka’s match was reduced to an absurd seven-over-a-side battle, this game had all the ingredients for a thriller until the weather intervened. Australia were pursuing what would have been the fifth-highest successful run chase in T20 international history, while West Indies at the halfway mark appeared well-placed to open their campaign with a victory. They must now defeat Ireland on Monday to join Australia in the next stage.The second over of Australia’s innings set them on the path to victory as David Warner took 22 off Ravi Rampaul, including sixes from an upper cut and a pull, as well as two fours. Warner fell in the next over for 28, unhappy to be given out caught behind driving at Fidel Edwards, but he had given Australia the lightning start they needed in such a big chase. Michael Hussey came to the crease and crunched Darren Sammy over wide long-on for six, and then Watson took control.He was eased in thanks to a free-hit against Sunil Narine, which was duly slog-swept for six, and Marlon Samuels also felt the brunt of Watson’s force in an over that cost 22. It included consecutive sixes – the second a flat pull that fizzed through the hands of Dwayne Smith at deep midwicket and lobbed over the boundary, which could have turned out to be a costly drop. As it was, Watson moved on to 41 not out and Hussey was on 28 when the rain came, and Australia were well ahead on Duckworth-Lewis.It was a shame for West Indies that they didn’t get the full opportunity to defend their strong score, set up by Gayle and Samuels. But both men fell soon after reaching their half-centuries and Australia’s bowlers did just enough to keep their side in the match. Watson (2 for 29) picked up the key wicket of Gayle for 54, having dropped him on 4, and he also removed Kieron Pollard to help slow West Indies’ momentum towards the end of their innings.Things started well for Australia as Mitchell Starc struck in the second over, bowling Dwayne Smith for 2 with a wonderful inswinger that took the top of off stump. The next over was a maiden from Pat Cummins as Johnson Charles looked all at sea and struggled to lay bat on the swinging ball, and at 11 for 1 from three overs Australia were thrilled with the opening.But their plans started to fall apart in the fourth over when Gayle, who was yet to score a boundary, tried to launch Starc down the ground and succeeded only in skying a leading edge to third man, where Watson ran in and dropped a difficult chance while diving forward. Charles pummelled the next ball for six over wide long-on and Gayle wasn’t far behind him.Gayle found the boundary for the first time with a slice over point for four off Cummins and he took 18 off the over, with a couple more fours and a six pulled over square leg. In typical Gayle fashion he had allowed himself a few overs to acclimatise and then swiftly moved into top gear. He lost his partner Charles for 16 when Daniel Christian gained some extra bounce and the ball ricocheted off the glove and onto the stumps.But the runs kept coming for Gayle, who lifted Brad Hogg over long-on for six with a nonchalant push and then greeted the offspinner Glenn Maxwell with another six over long-on from his first ball. Seventeen came off that Maxwell over, the last four from an inside edge that whizzed past the leg stump and the wicketkeeper for four and gave Gayle his half-century from 26 balls.He eventually fell for 54 when a short of good length delivery from Watson seamed away and Gayle’s leading edge was caught by the bowler running into the off side. For a couple of overs the runs slowed, until Samuels found his touch. He launched a couple of sixes, one impressively over the off side from the bowling of Christian, and then cleared the boundary twice in two balls against Watson.Samuels’ half-century came from 31 balls but he didn’t add to his score, caught at long-on for 50 from the bowling of Hogg. Watson picked up Pollard for 10 and Bravo was bowled by Cummins for 27 but West Indies had enough depth to keep the runs coming, albeit not quite as quickly as they had earlier. Starc picked up two late wickets, including Sammy for 11, to finish with 3 for 35.In the end, the weather meant West Indies’ efforts were in vain. They entered the tournament as one of the favourites, and must now see off Ireland in order to progress to the Super Eights.Readers in the USA, Caribbean and South America can watch highlights of the match here.