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Jonny Bairstow goes into the opening warm-up game of England’s tour of South Africa, against an Invitational XI at Potchefstroom tomorrow, knowing that he is at last England’s first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket, having twice been handed the role mid-series following an incumbent’s loss of form.Bairstow, whom England’s coach Trevor Bayliss confirmed at the weekend would start the Boxing Day Test at Durban, inherited the gloves for the final Test of England’s tour of the UAE, at Sharjah last month, after Jos Buttler had mustered 430 runs at 23.88 in 12 previous Tests in 2015. And this time he believes he is ready to make the job his own, having originally been handed the role in invidious circumstances during England’s whitewash tour of Australia in 2013-14.On that occasion, again for a Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, he took over from Matt Prior with England in freefall, 3-0 down in the series and with the Ashes already gone, and he proved powerless to resist the tide with scores of 10, 21, 18 and 0 in a pair of crushing defeats.Bairstow believes, however, that he is stronger for that experience. Though he does not doubt that Buttler has the wherewithal to battle back into contention, not least after his eye-popping 46-ball hundred in the recent ODI series against Pakistan, the chance to start the series with the gloves, having already earned selection as a pure batsman since the midpoint of last summer’s Ashes, will help him to play a key part in what he terms a “massive” series.”There’s always healthy competition,” Bairstow told reporters in Potchefstroom. “Jos has played some fantastic stuff in one-day cricket and Test cricket so the competition for places is there but that will drive us on to become better players and better people.”You can never take anything for granted,” he added. “Every spot within the side has got to be treasured and every opportunity you get you’ve got to try and take. So from game to game you’re always wanting to do as well as you can and get a run.”Hopefully I’ll be able to secure that spot. I’ve only kept in three Test matches but it’s an exciting time for me personally. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and with that comes a lot of responsibility.”Looking back on his baptism of fire in the 2013-14 Ashes, Bairstow was phlegmatic about the experience, from a personal point of view as well as that of the overall team.”I think I’ve grown as a person over the last couple of years since the two Tests in Australia,” he said. “The position of the squad and the morale in the camp is completely different from what it was going into those Test matches in Melbourne and Sydney.”When you’re 3-0 down against an Australian side that’s flying it’s never going to be an easy Test. So there’s different circumstances that are around this group of players at the moment and it’s an exciting time to be involved in English cricket.”As if being a Test wicketkeeper-batsman is not an onerous task in itself, Bairstow will have to match the standards of arguably the best current allround cricketer in the world, following South Africa’s decision to hand AB de Villiers the wicketkeeping duties for the Durban Test, with Dane Vilas, who held the role during their recent 3-0 series loss in India, left out of the squad.It is not exactly an onerous task as far as de Villiers is concerned. He has performed the role in 23 of his 102 Tests, including as a 20-year-old way back in his debut series against England in 2004-05, while his Test average in those matches is a remarkable 58.26. Seven of his 21 Test hundreds have come while doubling up with the gloves, most recently against West Indies at Cape Town in January.”You want to do as well as you can against the best that you can,” Bairstow said. “Obviously comparing yourself to someone like AB is going to be a fantastic challenge and if you do come out being the better of the wicketkeeper-batsmen then I will have had a very good tour.”Having the confidence of the captain and coach going into the warm-up games and hopefully the first Test allows you to be relaxed and enjoy yourself,” he added. “That’s when I play my best cricket and hopefully I’ll be able to do that not only in the warm-up games but going into the series.”

An emergency fund has been set up to help Yorkshire clubs afflicted by the “unprecedented” level of flooding that has ravaged the north of England.Following the severe Boxing Day floods across the region, the Yorkshire Cricket Board – in conjunction with the ECB – has set up an emergency fund to support clubs who are affected.The announcement comes as 500 soldiers have been called up to help with flood rescue across the north, the prime minister, David Cameron, has interrupted his Christmas break to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, and thousands have been made homeless.Yorkshire have acted rapidly to promise the worst-hit clubs will be supported, symptomatic of an increasingly communal approach that is at the heart of the resurgence which has brought two successive Championship wins.There are real fears that the damage is so extensive that clubs could go bankrupt unless they receive financial support.As the ECB draws up a detailed strategy to halt the decline in recreational cricket any loss of cricket grounds would have damaging consequencesOther northern counties have also been hit by the floods – Carlisle CC was one of the first to be badly affected earlier this month – but with the ECB essentially locked down for the festive season, the extent and levels of support remain unclear. Some information is available on the ECB website.The Yorkshire Cricket Board has asked for information to be sent to Andrew Watson, the board’s executive director. Details of the damage should include:

• What is insured (and has this been assessed)
• What is uninsured
• What is immediately resolvable
• What may be longer term (such as damage to playing surfaces)
• Cost estimates where available
• Photographs where available

Saltaire CC is another victim of the flooding•Bradford League

The first ball Virat Kohli faced in a tight and ultimately successful chase at SCG should have gone for four runs. Instead, the ball was called dead because it hit the spidercam on its way to the boundary. In the last Test that India had played at the SCG, Steven Smith dropped a sitter from KL Rahul because he was distracted by the spidercam. The ball might have even flicked the cable. India eventually won the fifth ODI, but who knows if Australia would have been held to a draw had Rahul not gone on to score a century in the Test last year?MS Dhoni, India’s limited-overs captain, has called for balance when it comes to intruding the field of play for TV gimmicks. He has also spoken about other gimmicks that have mushroomed with the advent of Twenty20. “I am quite a traditional guy,” Dhoni said. “I have always felt that… anything that disturbs the game of cricket I don’t like it. It all started right from the T20 where people would be like, ‘Why don’t you wear a mic?’, ‘Why don’t you wear a camera?'”I have always felt there is a need for balance. At the end of the day it is a spectator sport, people watching on television, but at the same time four runs can matter, especially when it is a close game. Those four runs can be crucial. Everyone gets penalised, why not have the same system for the spidercam? Say, ‘Okay if you get hit, 2000 dollars per hit.’ Let’s make it interesting.”People [broadcasters] are striving for more. When you have got out and walking off, the cameraman goes right under your face. The same way the spidercam is right next to you. You have seen players, they are like, ‘What is happening?’ It makes a lot of noise. At the end of the day it is also about the spectators. If spectators are not there, cricket won’t be played. It is a mix and match; 2000 dollars per hit is a good option.”During the Sydney Test last year, the camera was moved higher and away from the field of play rapidly after the incident. This time, though, the upper-cut from Kohli was not even a skier. Back then, a joint statement from Channel Nine and Cricket Australia said: “We have spoken about the matter involving spidercam and the dropped catch before lunch and it’s clear the ball did not hit the camera or its supporting wires. Captain Steve Smith was distracted by one of the wires in his eye line. Both CA and Nine will continue to work together on the use of spidercam in the broadcast coverage and will take on board any player feedback as necessary. As it stands, if any player has a concern about the placement of spidercam they can ask the umpires for it to be moved.”Dhoni’s larger point about the intrusion into the players’ space might hold some resonance too, especially shoving cameras up their faces when they have just got out or doing interviews just after their dismissals. Such interviews were the centre of conversation when, earlier in the Australian summer, Chris Gayle infamously made a female reporter uncomfortable in an interview as soon as he had walked off the field.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith admits it will be difficult to fit Usman Khawaja into Australia’s limited-overs teams despite his dominant recent performances across all formats of the game.Khawaja’s unbeaten century in Adelaide on Thursday night, to guide the Sydney Thunder into their first Big Bash League final appearance, was the latest standout innings in a summer of many. Since a tour match against a New Zealand XI in Canberra in October his scores across all forms have been 111*, 21, 11, 174, 9*, 121, 109*, 144, 56, 62 and 104*.Smith spoke glowingly of the way Khawaja was playing, and noted that he had also improved greatly in terms of areas like fielding and running between the wickets, two skills considered even more pivotal in ODIs and Twenty20 matches than Tests. However he pointed to a strong and settled 50-over batting line-up as evidence that Khawaja will be difficult to accommodate, even in his current form.”He has certainly got the capabilities to be able to play for Australia in those formats,” Smith said. “It’s a very tough side to break into at the moment, we’re playing some very good cricket as it is, we’re up 4-0 in this series. I’m sure if he does get an opportunity he’ll take it with both hands.”I think he’s continually improving and working on those parts of the game. Fielding’s very important for an Australian team, we hold ourselves to very high standards and he works extremely hard on it, so hopefully he can continue getting better at it, but he’s going okay at the moment.”I thought he batted beautifully again last night, it was great to see him score another hundred and get another Sydney side into the Big Bash final. If he comes in and gets an opportunity, I’ll see where he’s best suited. I think the order’s pretty settled at the moment, so we’ll wait and see how that all pans out.”One circumstance that may allow Khawaja to squeeze into the Australian limited-overs batting order is a schedule that does not allow any room for a first-class warm-up fixture before the looming Test series in New Zealand. Cricket Australia have scheduled a Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Western Australia in Lincoln near Christchurch as a way of providing some preparation, however Khawaja’s status as a Queensland cricketer means his best avenue may be to play in the ODIs that precede the Tests.A fellow Queenslander, the opener Joe Burns, is in a similar predicament, and the team performance manager Pat Howard has suggested there is a possibility of changing the ODI squad with an eye towards the New Zealand Tests. Smith, however, appeared to need further convincing about this concept.”I’m not sure about that,” Smith said. “NSW and WA are playing a Shield game in New Zealand as well, so everyone’s been playing a lot of cricket, the conditions aren’t too dissimilar to what we get here if the wicket’s got a bit of grass on it, and guys are playing plenty of cricket, so I think we’ll be plenty prepared for that tour.”As far as I’m concerned I want to win every series we play. It’s another opportunity for guys to play away from home as well. We’ve been playing some very good cricket at home and I want to win another one-day series away. Its about having the best guys on deck to do that.”Nevertheless, Smith has already made one concession towards future assignments by promoting the allrounder Mitchell Marsh to bat at No. 3 against India at Manuka Oval in order to grant him time in the middle. Other such compromises may yet be required if the likes of Khawaja are to be given their best chance of succeeding in New Zealand, a series that offers Australia the chance of pouching the No. 1 Test ranking.”It was about giving Mitchell a bat,” Smith said of Marsh. “He hasn’t had much of a bat this summer, we’ve got some big series coming up in New Zealand, so I would’ve liked him to spend some time in the middle. For us going forward it’s just about trying to win games and it’s whatever the best line-up is to win a game.”Glenn Maxwell is a doubtful starter for Saturday’s final ODI due to knee soreness after he sustained a knock while batting in Canberra, meaning the selectors will have a choice between Scott Boland and Shaun Marsh for the final spot in the hosts’ XI.

Ben Stokes has urged his England team to unleash “the dog” in them to keep the Ashes alive ahead of a decisive third Test in Adelaide.Trailing 2-0 to Australia after two different but equally harrowing eight-wicket defeats, the England captain has lit a fire under his charges, urging them to show more fight ahead of what will be the biggest match of his tenure.Since taking over in the summer of 2022, Stokes has tended towards a more holistic approach, encouraging players to express themselves in ways they see fit. Now, in the City of Churches, he has called for something akin to Old Testament fury – to challenge Australia head-on in what will be a defining week for his tenure, and that of head coach Brendon McCullum.Asked how he would define that need for more “fight” after two meek Tests, Stokes insisted the word would show itself differently in each player. But the sentiment, he believed, was to look squarely back at Australia and not relent.”What it [fight] means to me could be completely different to someone else,” Stokes said. “It’s just trying to fight in every situation that you find yourself in and understanding the situation and what you feel is required for your team. Just look at your opposition every single time and show a bit of dog. That’s fight to me.”It comes a lot easier to me, it might be a lot harder for other people because of their personalities or whatever that may be. I’m not going to expect or ask a completely different character to me to carry on like me. That’s like asking me to carry on like someone like Jamie Smith, who’s a lot more laid back. It just wouldn’t work. However, you find the best way to find that mode that I’m talking about, that’s probably the best way to explain it.”It was a sentiment Stokes first put across with his own actions, after resuming his seventh-wicket stand with Will Jacks on the morning of the final day of the second Test. The pair’s 96 from 221 deliveries was a welcome show of resistance, even if it only delayed Australia’s win.”I could have gone out there on that morning session in Brisbane and nicked off first ball, but going out there with that mentality and that mindset is what fight is to me.”As long as you go out there and everyone is in that mindset around the situation and what is needed, you’re giving yourself the best possible chance if you’ve got a bit of dog in you.”Ahead of the final passage of the second Test at The Gabba, Stokes urged one last scrap. With Australia needing just 65 for victory, he knew the match was gone. But rather than lean on tropes – “I didn’t go out there and say the cliché thing of ‘you never know’ – he encouraged Jofra Archer to ramp it up to give the home batters something to think about as they left Brisbane.Related

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Archer subsequently bowled one of his fastest spells in an England shirt. And though he was subject to what Stokes describes as “unfair criticism” for summoning those speeds in a lost cause, Archer did exactly what his skipper asked of him.”That was one of those moments when I asked him to really turn it on because I needed that to be a marker for us to carry into Adelaide,” Stokes said. “I thought that that was a really, really important moment for us in the series.”Stokes doubled down on that message later that same day, stating in his post-match press conference that his dressing-room “isn’t a place for weak men”. It was a sentiment that percolated around the squad during their four-day break in Noosa, which Stokes facilitated with individual and group conversations. On Sunday, he reiterated that message to the whole squad in the Adelaide Oval away dressing-room, midway through England’s first training session ahead of the third Test.One of the key examples that Stokes brought up was the recent Test against India at Lord’s. After Zak Crawley’s time-wasting at the dregs of day three drew understandable ire from the visitors, led by their captain Shubman Gill, England decided to bite back. In doing so, they were able to push the game along to such an extent that they triumphed in an emotionally charged finale late on day five. Of course, England did not go on and win the series, as India responded emphatically with a valiant draw at Emirates Old Trafford and then a blockbuster win at the Kia Oval. The series was drawn 2-2, meaning that Stokes is still searching for his first victory as captain in a five-match series. Nevertheless, he pointed to Lord’s as an example of the dog that resides in this group that must be accessed.”That (Lord’s) is exactly what I’m on about. That was a moment where we all did that, we all noticed and we all identified that moment. And you’ve seen the way that team came out on that day.”We were probably in a situation where we would have to be absolutely perfect to win that game, and we were. And on the back of attitude, mentality towards that specific situation is what gave us the best chance of winning that game. That was spoken about, that India game, for the rest of this series.”I’ve done all the talking over the last two days that I needed to have done. All that stuff’s done now, so it’s about what gets seen out on the field in Adelaide this week.”Everyone’s very switched on for what needs to be done this week. Yeah, a few more expectations, I think, around the group, but everyone responded incredibly well to it. Because what other option do we have?”With Josh Tongue coming in for Gus Atkinson as the sole change to the previous XI, the opportunity is there for players to make up for their mistakes so far – particularly in the batting group, of which Stokes is a part. Beyond that half-century in his second innings at Brisbane, he has been found wanting as one of five of the top seven to average under 30 from four knocks so far.Stokes made his Test debut at Adelaide in 2013, where he showcased the mongrel that lies within in a clash with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, having over-stepped for what would have been his maiden Test wicket.Stokes has readily accessed that side to his personality throughout his career – at times, to a fault. But he admits his team of varying personalities have been too tentative in fully combating what Australia has thrown at them, on and off the field.After Mark Wood returned home on Saturday following a recurrence of an injury to his left knee, there are now just four players on the tour with previous experience of Ashes tours. While the squad was told what to expect when they arrived here, the reality has been far more confronting, both with the local media and the crowds.”Honestly I think so,” Stokes said, when asked if the players had been taken aback by the the scale of the noise during their month in the country so far. Now, he hopes they can use it to fuel a desperately needed comeback.”There’s been a lot of guys in the squad who have come out here to Australia for the first time, and I remember my first tour here; you try to imagine what it’s going to be like and you hear people talk. And when it does come around it’s like ‘wow’.”But now I feel everyone has experienced that, and probably at its highest level, so we all know what it’s going to be like. So for the next three games there isn’t going to be any of that ‘I didn’t expect this’ … ‘it’s the first time I’ve had this’.”Even the likes of Jamie Smith, the day he dropped that catch (in Brisbane), then the whole crowd was wailing at him every time he caught the ball. He now knows it.”Sometimes experiencing stuff like that for the first time, you’re not worrying about it. I think sometimes saying it with a little bit more emphasis and passion and attitude from myself can take lads to another level in terms of that side of things that they thought they could get to.”

Kevin Pietersen has arrived back in Britain following his dramatic resignation as England captain, as the dust begins to settle on a tumultuous 24 hours for English cricket.Pietersen was escorted by police through a scrum of photographers at Heathrow Airport on Thursday morning, and has less than a fortnight to digest the ramifications of his high-profile bust-up with England’s coach, Peter Moores, before England fly out to the Caribbean to begin their Test series against West Indies.Pietersen was forced to relinquish his post when an ECB report conducted by the director of cricket, Hugh Morris, made it clear that several senior members of the England dressing-room – among them Andrew Flintoff and the new captain, Andrew Strauss – did not support his actions.Aside from the unease about his attack on the coach, the players are believed to have found Pietersen tactically naïve in the field, particularly in the first Test at Chennai where India chased 387 for victory. Also, there are suggestions that he made too much personal capital out of England’s return to India following the Mumbai attacks, probably with a view to earning a lucrative contract in the IPL.England’s former coach, Duncan Fletcher, who is currently involved with the South African squad that last week inflicted Australia’s first home series defeat for 16 years, believes the revelations are hugely damaging to England ahead of a crucial Ashes summer, and has criticised the ECB for making the findings of their report public.”The ECB has exposed him somewhat by admitting that its research, whatever form it took, revealed a lack of support for Pietersen as captain,” wrote Fletcher in The Guardian. “That to me sounds like a huge problem in the making: will the dressing room divide into pro- and anti-KP camps? How will it gel? Will the new captain have the backing of all the senior players? It’s going to be a huge issue for the poor captain in the months ahead.”According to Pietersen’s friend and former captain, Michael Vaughan, however, all the fuss will be quickly forgotten if KP gets back to doing what he does best – scoring runs. “What Kevin has to do now is go to the West Indies and score a hundred in the first Test,” Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “England need Kevin to be challenging to be the No 1 batsman in the world.”Both Fletcher and Vaughan agree that Strauss is the right man to take over the role, and it is understood that he will be unveiled as captain for the ODI series in West Indies as well as the Tests at a press conference at Lord’s on Thursday afternoon. Fletcher, however, sounded a note of caution about the appointment.”Strauss was the only viable option, but he will need the support of all the other players, and he will need to be rated by the others as a cricketer too, which is crucial for any leader. There are egos in that dressing room who could cause more problems for the new captain. Not the least of the difficulties will be how to handle KP when he returns to the rank and file.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIndia spun a web around New Zealand, again•Associated Press

Only the combination of torrential rain and New Zealand’s best batting form of recent months could possibly thwart India’s thunderous march in the first of ten home Tests this season. When a second-session downpour ended play on the third day of the Test in Hyderabad, India had New Zealand following on in their second innings at 41 for 1. New Zealand were all out for 159 in their first innings, losing their last five batsmen before lunch.Only 38 overs could be bowled today, enough for India to seize control of this game. Play began late on the third day, due to the heavy rains that had beaten down on Hyderbad in the hours preceding the scheduled start time. India, though, made the most of the overs available to them, especially when they had before them the lower order of a team that had come into this series without a warm-up game.When play was called off an hour after lunch, New Zealand had put in a seemingly more thought-out second-innings batting performance, losing just the one wicket in18 overs. This, after a morning on which their bottom half had fallen over in just 19 in their first innings.India’s spinners picked up nine first innings wickets between them in the first gig, Ashwin finishing with 6 for 31. Both Ashwin and Ojha used the the dipping length of the floated, spinning ball, slow turn off the track and the uneven bounce on one side of the pitch to keep up their interrogation of New Zealand’s fortitude in adverse circumstances.Following on, with Ojha opening the bowling, the New Zealand openers batted like the better of the India middle order had. With circumspection, patience and certainity. Brendon McCullum was batting on 16 off 59 balls at stumps, after unluckily losing his partner Martin Guptill, ajudged lbw off Ojha for 16.Guptill, New Zealand’s in-form batsman on their last tour of the West Indies, had batted for almost an hour with McCullum and hit Ojha for two consecutive boundaries with the spin. He tried to nudge a third past the slip cordon only to nick to Virat Kohli at second slip, but he couldn’t seize the chance. Two overs later, Guptil padded up to Ojha, fullstretch to a ball that may have hit him in line with off stump. Replays indicated it was spinning away from the stumps. This has been the only piece of misfortune in New Zealand’s batting so far in this Test match. The situation they find themselves in has otherwise been of their own making.Ashwin had begun the second innings on a hat-trick, introduced only in the 18th over, the last before the downpour. Off the three balls he got in, McCullum spanked one tossed-up, outside-off delivery for his first boundary in 58 balls. It was an unusual kind of McCullum innings, but his approach was not a bad way to attempt to erase the memory of what New Zealand had managed in the previous two sessions.When play began today Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav opened the bowling in what appeared to be a warming-up formality. Yadav took the only New Zealand wicket that didn’t fall to a spinner, Kruger van Wyk leg before in the second over of the day. Yadav made use of the inconsistent bounce at one end, getting van Wyk while he was trying to execute the pull. He was struck above the pad, given out as he crouched – the ball would have hit the stumps as vanWyk is not the tallest of men.Doug Bracewell survived competently for four overs against the two-man seam attack. The eighth ball that he faced against Pragyan Ojha though, he was in knots, caught between the intent to charge and the necessity to defend. He still scored two with a lofted drive over cover. He followed up by stepping out again, but his heave missed the line completely as the ball looped away. Dhoni’s stumping splayed the wickets.If Ojha got his wicket in quick time, Ashwin, brought on in the 16th over of the morning, needed only three overs to get rid of the three remaining batsmen. Patel reached out for a drive, only to offer a low return-catch to Ashwin’s left. A ball turning in front of his bat got Trent Boult inside edging to shot leg Gambhir. The No. 11 Chris Martin did defend, but only got the thin air in front of his bat as Ashwin’s off-break cannoned into the stumps.All that stands between India and New Zealand and their varied hopes in this Test match, now, is the weather.

ScorecardJoe Burns made 116 for the Bulls•Getty Images

Twin centuries from Wade Townsend and Joe Burns gave Queensland first-innings points before Nathan Hauritz picked up two late wickets to give the Bulls hope of victory with one day to play against South Australia in Adelaide. At stumps, the Redbacks were 3 for 90, with Callum Ferguson on 9 and Travis Head yet to score, and their lead was 86 runs, and if Queensland could pick up some wickets early on the final day a result was not out of the question.South Australia lost Phillip Hughes for 8 before Michael Klinger and Sam Miller combined for a 69-run second-wicket stand that steadied the Redbacks. However, Hauritz got rid of both men late in the day, Klinger for 40 and Miller for 33, and it capped off a good day for the Bulls after they narrowly took the lead by passing South Australia’s first-innings total nine wickets down.Queensland began the day at 3 for 135, needing 403 to take first-innings points, and Townsend and Burns set about chipping away at that deficit. Burns brought up his fourth first-class century in his 20th match to confirm himself as one of Australian cricket’s most talented young batsmen, and he struck 17 fours and one six in his 116.Burns was eventually stumped by Tim Ludeman off the bowling of Daniel Christian, who also picked up Chris Hartley for a duck in his next over, but Townsend stuck around. His fifth first-class hundred was a slower affair than Burns’ ton and he was finally dismissed for 129 from 307 deliveries when he was trapped lbw by Nathan Lyon.A brisk half-century from the bowler Ben Cutting, who has already made a first-class hundred this year, got the Bulls to within one run of first-innings points when he was out for 62. But the last pair, Luke Feldman and Cameron Boyce, made sure the points belonged to Queensland, who then declared at 9 for 406, with a lead of four.

Three wickets by offspinner Geoff Love late on Thursday put Border in ahealthy position after the first day of a vital Super Eight encounteragainst one of the two sides still in a position to prevent them reaching athird successive Supersport Series final.Love knocked over Louis Koen, Jonathan Trott and Henry Davids, taking threefor 18 in 14 overs, to reduce the visitors to 87 for five by the close, inreply to Border’s 192.The last man who could seemingly make a difference between a first inningslead and a substantial deficit, Justin Ontong, was unbeaten on 29 overnight,although Boland don’t have too much batting to come.After the Winelanders had put the home side in to bat at Buffalo Park, whichhas seen its fair share of rain in the build-up to the encounter, nationaldiscard Henry Williams struck with telling effect, removing Craig Sugdenbefore a run had been scored and not conceding a run in his first fourovers, en route to a final analysis of five for 38.Andrew Pringle also weighed in with four for 49, although it was left-armerNeil Carter, who went for 31 in his first four overs, who struck possiblythe most telling blow, removing Border skipper Pieter Strydom for the homeside’s top score of 55, made off just 81 balls, with 10 fours.Twenty-three each from Vasbert Drakes and last man out Dumisa Makalimahelped carry Border past the 150 needed for a lone batting bonus point,though they fell short of a second. All in all, though, the home side willbe confident of a first innings lead if their bowlers get it right early onFriday.

When he first became a cameraman at CBC in the 1980s, Ryle Stuart hadno idea that his skills could provide him with the opportunity ofvisiting countries few would only dream of.From shooting football in community districts, he has gone to thestage where he is standing behind the camera at international cricketvenues in places like Eden Gardens in India and Lahore in Pakistan.The former seasoned St Catherine Division 1 cricketer has also visitedEngland, Sharjah, China, Kenya and Canada and between July andSeptember this year, he will be given the opportunity to travel to SriLanka.It’s great to experience the different cultures. Even within India,each city that you go to is different, he said.The experience that he will always cherish is the relationship hedeveloped with needy children in Pakistan last year.They spend most of their time on the streets in Karachi and Stuart wasso attracted to them that he would give them money to buy meals daily.Stuart is now a seasoned worker for Trans World International (TWI),the company which produces live telecasts for West Indies home series.It is a job that keeps him away from home for more than six months ayear during which he covers two major tours the Caribbean series andanother on the sub-continent.In between, there are a few minor assignments for the 38-year-old whohails from Three Houses, St Philip, a district he won’t trade foranywhere else.Stuart was first given the opportunity to work with TWI in 1991 whenhe was one of five representatives nominated by the CaribbeanBroadcasting Union. Five years later and more established in thefield, he opted to resign his job in the Pine.I had some problems with CBC. We weren’t on the same wavelength and Idecided to call it quits because I was guaranteed to get freelancework with TWI and subsequently Sky, he said.I haven’t regrettedleaving. I have moved on. There are countries that I would have dreamtof going to, but wouldn’t be in position to see them.As one who is passionate about his cricket, the former St Catherinecaptain was at home in a job in which his background as a playerhelped him tremendously behind the lens.The two go hand in hand. If you play cricket, being a photographer iseasier, he said. My job consists of following the ball. If a batsmanplays a shot, you know the angle at which to go.If you don’t understand and like the sport, you will have difficultyin following the ball.As a cameraman, too, one has to make sure the pictures areinteresting.There is a director and a producer, but you can’t depend on them allthe time, Stuart said. When things are slow, you’ve got to findthings. A director cannot stay inside the control room and see what isgoing on outside. You are his eyes. He depends on you, to see things.The cameraman therefore has to be on the lookout for things likesomeone in a comical hat or an old man in the pensive mood. Get thepicture? It’s a job which requires Stuart to stand on his feet formore than six hours daily. And he has to watch every single ball. Isit tougher physically or mentally? It is a combination of both. Ifyou’re not fit, you’re not going to last long and you will get tired,he said.In Test matches, there could be long, boring sessions and youhave still got to make the cricket more interesting colour-wise. Andthe hard work does not start at 10 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. The TWI teamleaves the hotel at 7:30 a.m. and when a match is finished, they spendhours packing up loads of equipment and miles of cable. Inevitably,Stuart misses home at times. He is someone who cannot do without hismother’s dumplings and he likes to be a fierce competitor for StCatherine on the field. In Pakistan and India, if you go into arestaurant and call for dumplings, the guys want to know what you aretalking about, he said. At first, he was reluctant to eat foods inthose places. Eating curries food is a no-no for me, he said. When Ifirst went to India and China, I spent 13 weeks feeding off a lot ofvegetables, sweet biscuits and coke. Since then, however, he has madefriends with a few chefs and gets meals prepared to suit him. Cricketin the middle is still a favourite of his in spite of his recentlimited chances. Whenever I get the opportunity, I try to play the oddfriendly game, he said. Every year I go to Pakistan or India, I wouldfind myself buying new gear, and I buy balls for St Catherine. I endup giving away the gear, because the most I would play is like a One-Day game or one three-day game and then I’m off to another country.Away from home, Stuart has a source of comfort. The TWI team is like afamily. When you get home after a tour, you realise that you miss theguys, he said. I’ve known these guys for more than 10 years. It islike part of family. On tour that has helped to keep you goingberserk.