AUSTRALIA - Manager: Mustafa Khan

GOOD SHOW PUT UP BY THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR WTXI

The match between Australia and Warwick Todd's XI has come to an end and it was really one of the most exciting matches Australia have taken part in.

It was the MCG where the pitch really played a crucial role all of a sudden. In the match against New Zealand the pitch was friendly to batsmen and was full of runs but this time round after a bit of shower before the match it changed completely. The weather was cloudy and the pitch itself had some good bounce.

Winning the toss again, Australia decided to bat. The decision was costly as the 1st Australian innings was not one to be proud of. The start was good as Taylor and Mark Waugh put on 50 but soon Waugh was dismissed after a quick 33. Darren Lehmann followed shortly. Lehmann's dismissal was a big blow as he was expected to score runs as he was doing from the start of the league. After lunch Taylor continued for a while but was soon out for 36 caught behind. It was a knock of defiance but it was not good enough. On pitch like this no one can play fast bowlers of the quality of Alderman and McDermott. The Australian tragedy continued when Alderman had Steve Waugh for just 10. Ricky Ponting was joined by Australian skipper Shane Warne. He was dropped in the 1st over he faced but could not capitalize. He was caught behind off McDermott for 7. The struggle continued as all rounder Michael Bevan again disappointed the team with the bat. Mustafa Khan commented about this saying "Michael is such a good player, I do not understand why he is struggling with the bat like this. We badly needed a good score from him. Hopefully he will do better next time." Ricky Ponting was still going strong, not being effected by the collapse at the other end. He reached a fine 50 and then changed gear and started to go after the bowling but he succeeded only to get to 63 before being caught behind. Hughes made short work of the tail. So like this Australia built a score of 183.

The Australians got a dream start with the ball as speedster Jason Gillespie taking 3 wickets in his 1st over and that also of 3 of the best in form players. Marsh, Jones and Wood. Border soon followed and Gillespie looked unstoppable. Star batsman Warwick Todd was the victim of Glenn McGrath. McGrath had him caught at slip by Warne. Ritchie was dropped twice by Elliott and Lehmann. Lehmann put down a sitter. Warne came on and finally had the man caught at slip by the dependable Mark Taylor. Bevan and Warne took out the tail and bowled Todd's XI out for just 155. The hero Gillespie came back with rather disappointing figures of 4-36 compared to the start he got. At one stage Todd's XI was 4-22. They recovered pretty well. The Australians had a lead of 28 runs.

Little did the Australians know about what was going to hit them. The bowlers made short work out of the strong batting lineup. Bundled them for a mere 109 and setting themselves an easy target of 138. The bowlers were impressive but the fielders did not give enough support. WTXI won by 6 wickets. The question is whether Australia should have fielded 1st. Captain Warne said "I don't really know. Maybe it would have been better but it is not relevant anymore. What has happened has happened and I am very happy about our bowling but very disappointed with our batting. The bad show in the second innings cost us the match and against Pakistan next week we will try and rectify that."

It will be interesting to see how the Aussies play in the subcontinent against Pakistan. The 1st time the two teams met the Pakistanis won.

ENGLAND - Manager: Dan Thomas

In their latest match against West Indies, England lost the plot for the 1st innings but recovered to totally dominate the 2nd innings and run out easy winners in the end by 357 runs.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Ambrose and Walsh soon had England in serious trouble. The fast bouncy pitch was ideal for the West Indies attack and Walsh and Ambrose the perfect bowlers to exploit the conditions as they reduced England to 5 for 2. A brief fight back followed with a 119 3rd wicket partnership between Stewart (62) and Hussain (52) but then in just 30 minutes in the afternoon session 5 wickets fell as England slumped to 137 for 7 and finally 194 all out just after tea.

After batting so poorly England needed to strike back early which Cork did to devestating effect in a 4 wicket opening burst but Murray with a fine 65* with support from the tail managed to get West Indies to within 3 runs of England. Cork ending the innings with 6 wickets.

After 2 low scoring innings England's 2nd innings was totally different. The pitch had lost some of its high bounce and was now looking like a batter's paradise. The England batsman took full advantage. After Atherton fell at 67 for 1 for 20 what followed was a glorious run feast as Stewart and Thorpe smashed the ball all around the park showing the West Indian attack no respect. When Stewart finally fell for 165 Hussain came and continued the job smashing a quick fire 82 whilst Thorpe remained unbeaten on 207 as England declared for 501 for 2 in just 119 overs. Walsh had the unremarkable figures of 0-138 in 35 overs.

The West Indian batsman could not match up to the brilliance of England's and they capitulated meekly to 147 all out. Gough was the destroyer this time with 6 wickets. Only Murray who scored 40* and failed to be dismissed in the match could have any pride in his batting.

Unfortunately in taking the winning catch Stewart managed to sprain his ankle and will miss the next test. Rhodes is fully fit again so will take up duty behind the stumps and Smith is promoted into an opener. Zimbabwe will prove tough competition after winning against Pakistan who had been having a run of good results.

England were not the only team to be caught cold in the 1st innings. Warwick Todd's XI were dismissed for 155 to be 28 runs behind Australia but their bowlers made amends, dismissing Australia for just 109 at the 2nd attempt and winning comfortably by 6 wickets.

INDIA - Manager: Mat Kenneally

"India seem completely incapable of getting to the top four" said Sunil Gavaskar, bitterly disappointed with the sides humilating loss to Sri Lanka. Players Tendulkar and Srinath have been carrying the team with Dravid providing a support role. Anil Kumble and Harvinder Singh will be called on to put a big effort in this week if India are to continue their run for the top 4. The team has been changed with Prasad out with injury and Azharuddin chopped from the sqaud despite a handy forty. Ganguly will now captain the side with Jadeja as his deputy. Tendulkar was not offered either position. "He's [Tendulkar] playing well but I'd rather not take the risk of losing his form" said coach Mathew Kenneally on the change. Tendulkar will have a big job this week if India are to win as will Harvinder Singh who hasn't done enough for the squad as yet. India are desperate for a win and without Prasad and the axing of Azharuddin it seems out of their reach.

After a hectic week for Manager Mathew Kenneally India decided to settle down to work on their fielding. Azharuddin was a no show at training as he is trying to reassess his cricketing future. Sachin Tendulkar was one of the stars of the session taking some spectacular catches. Harvinder Singh is motivated to continue the road to success in test cricket and with Srinath and Ganguly encouraging him all the way. Prasad said "I hope he goes well but not too well - I want my spot back." In all India are very confident of getting back on track in the future week.

NEW ZEALAND - Manager: Ben Buchanan

NEW ZEALAND FINALLY PUTS FIRST WIN ON THE BOARD

New Zealand climbed off the bottom of the table today with their first win of the season against South Africa. Captain Stephen Fleming won the toss and on a good batting track decided to bat first. With the team back to full strength and playing the second bottom team this was the best chance the team had to notch a win up for some while.

Howell (10) and Spearman (69) got New Zealand off to a fair start before Howell was dismissed for 10. The surprise of the match was when the South African skipper gave the new ball to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher whose line and length medium pacers eventually dismissed Howell. At 1/100 New Zealand was going along steadily but a mini collapse saw them lose 4/40 and slump to 5/140. But Parore (40), Cairns (73) and Harris (26) made sure the team made a respectable score of 295.

Unfortunately New Zealand suffered a blow when Doull received a nasty blow on the hand from a Klusener delivery and was unable to take his place on the field.

Stephen Fleming pulled another surprise by giving Chris Harris the new ball along with O'Connor. South Africa got off to a good start racing to 70 before Vettori was brought into the attack and struck twice in 2 overs to remove Kallis and Ackerman. Steady partnerships followed and South Africa eventually passed the New Zealand total with 8 wickets down and were all out for 305, 10 runs ahead.

New Zealand's second innings started off badly with the loss of 3 wickets for 64. But that brought Nathan Astle to the crease who played one of the finest New Zealand innings of all time. He made 199* from 328 balls hitting 28 boundaries. Cruelly he ran out of partners one short of his double century. Other notable contributers were McMillan (54), Parore (52) and Harris (40). New Zealand's second innings closed at 449 leaving South Africa a daunting task of scoring 440 to win.

They made a good fist of it but fell 140 runs short being dismissed for 300. Andrew Hudson made a gallant 91 and Pollock 78, but it wasn't enough. Cairns finished with 4/49 (29 overs) and Vettori 3/60 (28 overs) Cairns and Vetorri both finished with 6 wickets for the match.

A much improved performance and New Zealand are now looking forward to meeting West Indies (3rd last) with a chance of moving past them with a win next week.

PAKISTAN - Manager: Nathan Porter

After spending numerous months without a manager Pakistan's position on the table has stayed steady with some good and some not so good results. Injuries have been kind to us and once again we will be able to field a strong team against the Aussies. The batting still appears to be the weak point of the Pakistani team, inconsistency and low scores the norm. The bowling however with the likes of Akram and Younis are destroying many highly rated batting teams, as the Aussies are about to experience.

SOUTH AFRICA - Manager: Steve Hill

SRI LANKA - Manager: Keith McLeod

The Sri Lankans made some small progress in their bid to finish well in the Warwick Todd World Championship. A competition in which, after making a bright start, they quickly faded and fell off the pace. With a well-earned win over India, the Sri Lankan season may very well be back on track.

Despite losing the toss and being put into the field, the Sri Lankans started the match well. On an excellent pitch, giving something to both the pace bowlers and the batsmen, it wasn't long before the first breakthrough came. With only 10 runs on the board, Indian opener Mongia was caught behind attempting to hook a short ball off Nuwan Zoysa. A faint top edge saw the Sri Lankan livewire keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana take an excellent catch leaping high in the air. India were further reeling at 22/3 after experienced paceman Chaminda Vaas cleaned out the castles of both Laxman and Jadeja.

Some semblance of control was regained by India with a substantial partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. It was hard slog from then on for the Sri Lankan bowlers, before finally dismissing India for 250.

Belying the significance of some recent fragility in the top order, the Sri Lankans methodically went about the work of acquiring a first innings lead. Three gritty partnerships and a quality century from opener Sanath Jayasuriya, and Sri Lanka went to tea on day two at 221 for 3. By stumps, the Sri Lankans had amassed 335 for 5 and were looking to really put the thumbscrews on heading into the third day.

With some significant late order partnerships, the Sri Lankans managed to amass a first innings total of 540, giving them a first innings lead of 290, and a seemingly unassailable advantage.

The Indians were looking for some solid batting in their second innings, and such did not appear to be forthcoming as Laxman was removed from the crease without a single run on the board, gaining himself a second ball duck. Luckily for the Indian cause, Rahul Dravid and Mongia were made of sterner stuff, and amassed a century partnership before Mongia played a Chaminda Vaas ball onto his stumps.

Another excellent partnership appeared in the offing as Rahul Dravid and Jadeja took the score up to 162 for two. An inspired spell by Muttiah Muralitharan did the damage for Sri Lanka however, as the diminutive off-spinner took a pair of wickets in as many balls, removing first Jadeja and then dangerman Tendulkar for a golden duck.

Despite a valiant 184 from Man of the Match Rahul Dravid, the Indians could only put 313 runs on the board, setting Sri Lanka 24 runs to win. These were quickly achieved by the Sri Lankan openers, winning in the last session of the fourth day, with ten wickets still in hand.

What remains to be seen is if the Sri Lankans can improve on their dismal home record this season and beat South Africa this weekend. It may appear to be a match in which Sri Lanka could take a win for granted, however "consistent" hasn't been an adjective to which the Sri Lankan team could have been ascribed during what has been a difficult season thus far.

WEST INDIES - Manager: Joshua Johnson

The West Indies failed in their attempt to win the coveted Warwick Todd Trophy this week. England won the toss and elected to bat on a mediocre pitch. This became evident immediately with the loss of two quick wickets before Stewart and Hussain steadied things a little bit. After Hussain was dismissed on 52 a collapse began and England were all out for a surprisingly low 194.

It looked as if the West Indies may have a chance to accrue a nice first innings lead, but Cork had other ideas. Cork took 6/62, with only Junior Murray managing to get into the runs (65*). The team was finally dismissed for 191, an innings deficit of 3 runs.

Any hope of quickly dismissing the English side was immediately dashed, as they took to the West Indian attack in a manner that has not really been seen in this competition thus far. The visitors managed to make 501 runs at the loss of only 2 wickets! A great 165 from Stewart and an unbeaten 207 from Thorpe providing the majority of the runs, although Hussain was at 82* when the declaration came. The hard work by Ambrose finally took its toll with the strike bowler having to leave the field late in the innings for some attention on his overworked shoulder.

With the West Indies requiring 504 runs for victory in just over two days, the odds of an English victory were quite high. As it turns out the West Indies did not disappoint, performing their now routine second innings collapse. Gough was the destroyer for England this time, taking 6/48. Once again the only resistance came from Junior Murray (40*) and Williams (49). The West Indies were eventually dismissed for a paltry 147 handing England the victory by a massive 357 runs.

It now seems that Ambrose will be rested for the next match due to some injury problems with his shoulder. Hooper joins the side in his place to act as another batsmen and Campbell returns from injury to replace Samuels in the opening spot.

ZIMBABWE - Manager: Dave Hickey

After returning to the winners list in recent weeks, it was an injury-ravaged Zimbabwe team which faced third placed Pakistan in Round 10. Manager Dave Hickey drafted off-spinner Andy Whittall and batsman Craig Wishart into the team for the injured Adam Huckle and Andy Flower, with Dave Houghton once again standing in with the gloves.

Pakistan captain Wasim Akram won the toss and surprised no one with his decision to bat first. At lunch Pakistan had reached a comfortable 1/84, but after lunch in-form paceman Mpumelo Mbangwa ripped through the Pakistan top order and with good support from Strang and Whittall, Pakistan were reeling at 8/154 at tea. Zimbabwe only needed twenty minutes after tea to wrap up the tail and the Pakistan collapse was complete at 183. Andy Whittall took the bowling honours with 4/50, but it was Mbangwa (3/39) and Strang (2/56) who did the early good work.

The Zimbabwe openers had been struggling for form recently and with a little over an hour to play, they would have been keen to keep wickets in tact. This was not going to be an easy task against bowlers of the calibre of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram and sure enough in the third over Rennie was the victim of an unplayable yorker from Waqar. Goodwin and Flower then proceeded to see off the new ball attack and, in the shadows of stumps, Goodwin just got a touch on a big leg-break from Mushtaq Ahmed and Zimbabwe ended the day at 2/56.

On day two, Akram quickly removed nightwatchman Andy Whittall and play then turned into an arm wrestle as both sides struggled to get on top. In the end, solid tailend partnerships from Wishart and Streak and then Wishart and Mbangwa took Zimbabwe from a perilous 8/189 to a final score of 284, a more than handy lead of 101.

Zimbabwe now needed a big bowling effort to stay on top and Streak and Mbangwa claimed early wickets to have Pakistan in trouble at 2/15. Inzamam and Anwar staged something of a recovery until Inzamam's renowned running between the wickets resulted in Anwar being run out. Mohammad Wasim joined Inzamam and helped Pakistan to finally wipe off the deficit but quick wickets to Andy Whittall and Streak saw Pakistan slump to 5/118, a lead of just 17 runs. But once again Zimbabwe failed to deliver the knockout blow and some wayward bowling, coupled with determined tailend batting, allowed Pakistan to finally make 282 to give Zimbabwe a chase of 182 to win.

The innings got off to a terrible start with Rennie failing again. Flower and Goodwin again cobbled together a partnership before Waqar triggered a mini-collapse which caused Zimbabwe to falter, going from 2/93 to 5/119. However, Campbell and Guy Whittall showed strong resistance to guide Zimbabwe home to win by five wickets.

The win elevates Zimbabwe to fourth place on the ladder and even though their chances of catching the teams ahead are remote, manager Dave Hickey believes that Zimbabwe can still leave their mark on this series, starting with next week's Warwick Todd Trophy match against England.

"It's been a while since England had a tough game and I think that they are due for a loss. I think we are a very good chance" said Hickey. He expects to have Andy Flower back on deck for this important clash but it is likely that Andy Whittall will again fill in for Adam Huckle.

WARWICK TODD'S XI - Manager: Warwick Todd

"A fast game's a good game" said an elated Warwick Todd after his team had trounced the current Australian Test side by 6 wickets in just over two days. Todd's views on recent Australian selections have been well documented and with two victories over the official Test team, plus second place on the Championship table, it seems that Todd has plenty to back up his forthright views.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat. They made a good start to be 0/53 but the batting that followed could not handle the accurate bowling of Alderman and Hughes. Australia were disappointed to be bundled out for 183. With an hour to play (plus some overtime), Australia needed wickets and they got them through a very fired-up Gillespie. He knocked over Marsh and Jones in the first over and then added Wood with the first ball of his second over. The Todd XI were in big trouble at 3/3 but worse was to come when Gillespie snared Border to have the Todd XI 4/22. Todd and Ritchie survived until stumps to see the score through to 4/41.

The second day saw Todd depart in the second over before Ritchie and Matthews added a few runs but at 8/115 the innings was still in big trouble. Some resistance from McDermott and Alderman lifted the final score to 155.

With a small lead on the board Australia were keen to set a target but they lost Taylor in the first over before Lehmann and Ponting took the score to 2/72. An amazing spell of 16 overs from Matthews and Hughes saw Australia lose 8 wickets for just 37 runs and the match was as good as over.

Marsh and Wood again went early and Jones also did not stay long. However, Todd and Border defied the bowling to set up a well deserved victory.

Next week the Todd XI play India and they will be hoping for a return to their earlier batting form of 400 runs plus against a bowling side that has struggled to take wickets. With England remaining undefeated, every bonus point is going to count in the weeks ahead.