Alton will put themselves in an unassailable position at the top of Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 if they overcome their midweek SEC Cup semi-final defeat and beat Ventnor at the Jubilee Ground tomorrow, 1 o’clock.Undefeated in nine league outings, Alton are already 17 points clear of second-placed Ventnor and, if they beat the Islanders, they will be almost unstoppable as the championship run-in evolves.But Alton came a ten-wicket cropper against Bournemouth on Tuesday night and Ventnor are hoping to exploit any uncertainty that may have caused.Both sides are at full strength for Monday’s Daily Echo feature match.Third-placed Trojans, 19 points behind Ventnor, have Jamie Donaldson and Tim Felstead back for the potential home banker against Southsea at Stoneham Lane.Rowledge should be too strong for Bashley (Rydal) II, but soccer commitments at Havant & Waterlooville will probably mean Jimmy Taylor’s unavailability for Winchester KS against Leckford.It’s an important day at the foot of the table, with Flamingo hoping to impose a third successive defeat on New Milton at The Holt.South Wilts’ visit to Hambledon is all important, as is Waterlooville’s short trip to Portsmouth II, who are sliding into trouble.

St Cross Symondians will be remembering popular New Zealander Mark Parker at a special memorial cricket weekend in Winchester tomorrow (SUN) and Monday.Parker lost his life in the Bali bomb atrocity last October on his way home to Wellington after spending a third and very successful promotion season with St Cross when he was so tragically caught up in the horrific events that saw nearly 200 people killed.St Cross and their sister New Zealand club Onslow have initiated a Trust Fund in Mark’s memory.His father Murray and uncle John, both former New Zealand Test cricketers, will be at a Super 6’s tournament at the Royal Green Jackets Ground tomorrow, from 10am to 7.45pm.And at an all-day "England v New Zealand" match at Winchester College on Monday, 11am.Twelve teams, drawn from the Winchester area, visiting New Zealanders and other local clubs, will participate in the six-a-side tournament, after which there will be a grand sports auction.Several Wellington-based cricketers have flown across from New Zealand for Memorial weekend.BAT Sports opener Neal Parlane, Ben Jansen (Alton) and Rhys Morgan (St Cross) are playing in Monday’s `international’ match, which is being played on the main College ground.

Henry Olonga has been granted a five-year visa to remain in Britain. Olonga hit the headlines earlier this year when he and team-mate Andy Flower staged a protest against the Zimbabwe government during their first World Cup game. The players claimed they were mourning the “death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.Both players decided to retire from international cricket after the World Cup. Olonga, who said he was threatened by the ZImbabwean police, quit the country and moved to England, while Flower now divides his time between playingcounty cricket for Essex in England and in domestic cricket for South Australia.Olonga, who is a talented singer and is planning a musical career, is due to undergo knee surgery later this month and believes he may not play first-class cricket again. “I’ve torn about a square centimetre of cartilage which is floating around in my knee,” he told the BBC Sport website. “It’s got to be taken out and then they’ve got to find the source. The specialist reckons it’s from the back of my knee but he can’t say how bad the damage is until he goes in.”My knee is the latest in a whole string of injuries that have spanned mycareer. I’m 27 and I’m starting to feel 40.”Olonga worked as an analyst for Channel 4 in England last summer, and also joined the BBC’s Test Match Special radio commentary team during Zimbabwe’s tour. And he also played for Lashings, a Kent-based club side, which now employs him as a public-relations officer.Olonga and Flower were awarded life membership of MCC recebtly inrecognition of their stand against the regime of Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe.Olonga concluded: “I’m not sure if and when I’ll return to Zimbabwe. If thecurrent regime stays in power, then I’ve got no chance. If things were to change, it may well be that I won’t stay here all that time – but I will plan my life as if I’m going to be here for those five years.”I’m not going to make any predictions but where I end up staying andworking will be determined by the next moves I make in my career, whether it becricket or music. If it’s cricket, I may well go back. But if music takes a central role in my life, it’s unlikely I’ll go back to Zim.”

ScorecardThe West Indian tourists enjoyed a gentle warm-up match in preparation for the five-match ODI series, beating a rather disappointing Zimbabwe A side at Kwekwe Sports Club in the Midlands by seven wickets.The medium-pace of Wavell Hinds caused most of the damage after Zimbabwe decided to bat. Hinds took three quick wickets and played the major role in reducing Zimbabwe A to 96 for 5. Then came a face-saving stand of 90 between Barney Rogers and Alester Maregwede, the only two players who will have done much to enhance their reputations in the eyes of the national selectors. Chris Gayle bowled his offbreaks with skill at the death, and Zimbabwe A’s 239 for 8 was respectable but hardly challenging.Gayle fell to the persistent Gary Brent for a single in the second over of the innings, but this was to be the extent of Zimbabwe A’s success. Hinds and Shivnarine Chanderpaul both passed 60 before retiring to give Marlon Samuels and Ramnaresh Sarwan some batting practice, and they took the tourists home with almost 13 overs in hand. The runs always came at a good rate, but the crowd was disappointed not to see Brian Lara in action with the bat. Perhaps the man who might have benefited most from an innings was Ricky Powell, added to the party for the one-day series which starts at Bulawayo on Saturday.

Henry Olonga, the former Zimbabwe Test player, is unlikely to play first-class cricket again due to a knee injury. He recently underwent surgery and he today told the BBC Sport website: “I think I’m finished.”Since his retirement from international cricket earlier this year Olonga has been living in England and has been granted a five-year visa. However, he has no plans of playing county cricket, but is happy to make the odd appearance for Lashings, the Kent pub side, as well as the MCC. However, he hasn’t totally ruled out a return to Zimbabwe colours.”If Zimbabwe were to change, I might consider a comeback but I’ve still got to find the motivation and my biggest stumbling block at the moment is my fitness,” he said. “We’ll see how my knee progresses. It is pretty worn, just from the years of playing, so I’ll have to contend with that and whether I want to do further damage.”Olonga is now pursuing a career in music and he has also been vocal in his criticism of the political situation in Zimbabwe, and has urged England not to tour there next year.

As part of World AIDS Day 2003, cricket teams playing international matches on or around 1 December have committed to wearing red ribbons as a sign of support for the millions of people around the world living with HIV and AIDS.Teams participating in the following matches will be supporting the initiative:30 Nov – Zimbabwe v West Indies, One Day International match
1 Dec – Pakistan v New Zealand, One Day International match
2 Dec – Sri Lanka v England, Test matchWorld AIDS Day is commemorated around the globe on 1 December. It celebrates progress made in the battle against the epidemic — and brings into focus remaining challenges.This year’s World AIDS Day highlights `Live and Let Live’ — the theme of the World AIDS Campaign 2002 -2003. The campaign focuses on eliminating stigma and discrimination, the major obstacles to effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care.The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS and it unites people in the common fight against this disease.In September this year the International Cricket Council (ICC) entered into a strategic alliance with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to take up the fight against HIV/AIDS in cricket-playing countries.”The threat of HIV/AIDS in many of the countries in which cricket is played is acute and it is in keeping with the spirit of cricket that the ICC exercises this social responsibility,” said ICC President Ehsan Mani.Of the estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, over 12 million live in cricket playing countries. In India and South Africa alone, over 9 million people are living with HIV or AIDS.Despite the current low HIV prevalence in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the potential for HIV to spread is high if prevention efforts are not scaled up rapidly.In Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, current trends indicate a rise in sexually transmitted infections and unsafe sex, increasing the risk of HIV. In the cricket playing Caribbean countries (which play collectively as the West Indies), HIV is spreading rapidly.”By sporting the red ribbon, the cricket teams of England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies have shown solidarity with the millions of people affected by AIDS world wide. The ICC-UNAIDS campaign to run out AIDS will play a vital role in the fight against AIDS in cricket playing countries,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.The International Cricket Council and UNAIDS will also be auctioning a full set of ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 signed bats from 1 to 10 December 2003 on eBay.co.uk to raise funds for a HIV/AIDS project in India. Visit www.icc.cricket.org/unaids to find out more and place a bid.The partnership with UNAIDS is supported by all of the ICC’s Full Member countries. For more information about World AIDS Day visit www.unaids.org.ICC media contacts:

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s captain, believes one-day internationals should consider new rules and fresh ideas to maximise its interest and appeal.Talking ahead of Zimbabwe’s opening game of the VB Series against Australia at Sydney on Sunday, Streak said: “One-day cricket is a fantastic advert for the game, but there is a risk that unless a tight finish is involved, the game can be predictable for players and fans.”Spectators now have dozens of sports and entertainment to choose from on their TV screens, so cricket has to find a way of holding its own in a crowded market.”Streak had a few ideas of his own on how to shake things up a bit. “For example, as a captain, I’d support the idea of being able to change the current fielding restrictions from the first 15 overs of a match, when you have to have two catchers and only two fielders outside of the circle.”If I could use the 15 overs in blocks of, say, five overs each, it would allow me to experiment more with my bowlers and have new options to try in the field. That might help change the quiet period you often get in games between overs 16 and 40.”He also suggested the introduction of international Twenty20 cricket, the 20-over format introduced in England last season. “We saw the instant impact that Twenty20 cricket had in England when we toured there in the last northern summer,” he said. “Perhaps the ICC could experiment with an international version of Twenty20, which I think would pull in spectators and be an attractive formula for telecasters.”Streak, who has played 172 one-dayers for Zimbabwe, warned that the game needs to keep coming up with new ideas. “With 11 countries playing limited-overs internationals there is plenty of scope to experiment with some fresh thinking,” he said. “Cricket needs to find a way of keeping itself attractive and interesting. Test cricket should always be there as the purest form of the game, but one-day internationals provide the perfect opportunity for some creative thinking.”

WESTERN Australian fast-bowling legend Jo Angel will make his final appearance at the WACA Ground in this weekend’s Pura Cup match against NSW.With the Retravision Warriors unlikely to host the Pura Cup final WA will not play another first-class match at the WACA Ground this season.The entire Warriors squad will be at the WACA Ground to farewell Angel at 11.00am on Thursday morning and the Media are invited to Angel’s final Media conference.Angel is WA’s leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket. In 120 first-class matches for WA Angel has taken 480 wickets at an average of 25.14. In 104 Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup games he has taken 414 wickets at an average of 24.90.He has taken five wickets in an innings on 16 occasions and has once taken 10 wickets in a match.Angel is the second highest wicket-taker in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup history. Only legendary leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmet has taken more with 513 wickets, a record unlikely to ever be beaten.Angel and Grimmet are the only bowlers to take more than 400 wickets in the Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup.The WACA Ground has been a happy hunting ground for Angel. In 53 Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup matches here Angel has taken 248 wickets at an average of 22.94 with 10 five-wicket hauls.He recorded career-best figures of 6-35 against Queensland at the WACA Ground last season.Angel turns 36 in April and is in his 13th season with WA. The right-arm quick said his retirement has come about from wear and tear on his body.”It’s a case of the mind being willing and the body not being able to cope with the demands of professional cricket anymore,” he said.The WACA has dedicated the final home Pura Cup match of the season to Angel and will hold a lunch in his honour on Friday at the WACA ground. Many past WA greats are expected to attend.

After a few hours in hospital including some time on a drip, Matt Horne has been left to contemplate what might have been.Looking forward to continuing the form that catapulted him into the record books on Monday at Eden Park, and remind the national selectors what they are missing, Horne will instead sit out Auckland’s last round-robin State Championship match against Central Districts, starting today, because of a suspected viral infection.”I’m not enjoying it. I can’t sleep, can’t eat and I’m aching and constantly dehydrated,” said Horne. “I felt run down on Monday. My flatmate, who is a nurse, said I needed to get to hospital. You want to keep playing but your body says you can’t.”In Horne’s absence, Mark O’Donnell, Auckland’s coach, has recalled Sam Whiteman to the team for the match, in which Auckland must take the maximum eight points and hope results in other games go their way if they are to progress further.”We want to finish the season strongly,” said O’Donnell. “We have to worry about our game and not be too concerned about what’s happening elsewhere.”O’Donnell is looking to his four batsmen at the top of the order to score much-needed runs. “They haven’t been doing it this season,” he said. “It is a huge opportunity for players like Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Tim McIntosh and Rob Nicol to show they are capable of a big score.”Central Districts have the same 12 who lost in under three days, and by 231 runs, to Wellington in the last round. Wellington, at home to Otago, lead the championship race with 23 points – one ahead of Canterbury, who meet Northern Districts at Gisborne needing only two points to end Auckland’s slim hopes. Otago, on 19 points, could make the final if they beat Wellington outright and have other results go their way.ND have an added incentive: unless someone scores a century, they face the prospect of being the first ND team in 19 years to complete their first class programme without any player reaching three figures. They have kept the same 12, but have Jamie Lee on standby if Grant Robinson fails a fitness test.

Andrew Strauss, the Middlesex captain and opener, has been called up to the England Test squad in the Caribbean as cover for Mark Butcher, who injured his ankle in the first match of the tour, and Graham Thorpe, who has suffered a recurrence of his niggling back injury.It was a belated birthday present for Strauss, who turned 27 on Tuesday. He had been due to arrive with the England one-day team in April – he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Dambulla last November – but he will now join up with the Test squad on Sunday.”I’ve been in training and getting myself ready for the domestic season with Middlesex and also for the one-day series,” he told the BBC. “I’ve never been to the Caribbean before and I’m very much looking forward to getting out there and teaming up with the rest of the squad.”