ENGLAND - Manager: Dan Thomas

England won a very low scoring match against Zimbabwe but not without a few scares in the batting department.

At the start of the game the pitch looked perfect with good bounce and little would suggest such a low scoring affair. Zimbabwe won the toss and with cloudy conditions sent England in. Stewart said later he would have elected to bat so was happy with the toss.

He was not so happy by lunch though as England slumped to 48-4. Scoring was very slow and the Zimbabwe bowlers very accurate. Aside from a 70 run partnership between Hussain and Ramps, at no other time did the English batsmen look in charge. They were dismissed for just 137.

The English score was put in context though when Gough and Cork set about restoring the damage. By stumps Zimbabwe were 47-4 and the next morning Gough and Cork finished the job as Zimbabwe slumped very badly to 70 all out. The innings lasted just 40 overs and only Gough and Cork bowled.

The English batsman found scoring difficult again in their 2nd innings. After the early loss of make-shift opener Smith, Athers and Thorpe played very well in a 101 run partnership to see England to 126-1. The loss of Thorpe started a steady stream of wickets as again the bowlers dominated.

Zimbabwe were faced with the unlikely task of scoring 304 runs to win the test. They tried hard but fell short as the wicket started to turn and Croft and Tufnell took 6 wickets between them. Wishart played a very fine innings of 68 not out but ran out of partners.

The surprise Man of the Match was Mbangwa of Zimbabwe who did bowl well in both innings but maybe it should have gone to Gough or Cork who bowled equally well and contributed a lot to England's victory.

Tufnell is unfortunately injured for the next match against Pakistan. This is a major blow as another low scoring match is anticipated and the loss of a major bowler will hurt. Salisbury is drafted in to replace Tufnell and the English management hope they can still beat Pakistan who with 40 bowling bonus points (the same as England) have shown themselves to be strong opposition and worthy of their 3rd place.

INDIA - Manager: Mat Kenneally

NEW ZEALAND - Manager: Ben Buchanan

New Zealand made it back to back wins for the first time this season and are now trying to make something of an otherwise uneventful season. The Kiwis are now thirty points in front of South Africa and only one point behind the West Indies, whom they beat in Round 11 by a comfortable 9 wickets.

Stephen Fleming once again won the toss and on an overcast day decided to send the opposition in. At lunch, the West Indies had amassed 117 for 3 in a pretty even first session. Adams and Chanderpaul continued on after lunch until Adams was eventually out for a well made 95. Chanderpaul's innings ended on 67 as the West Indies amassed 8/311 by the close of play. Their innings ended early on the second day at 320. Cairns had the best figures for New Zealand with 4/61 (26 overs).

The Kiwis got off to a good start losing their first wicket at 78. This brought captain Fleming to the crease to join Blair Pocock and the two murdered the attack with a stunning 255 run partnership. Fleming was eventually out for 144 while Pocock was out for 137. Horne put on a quick 44 towards the end of the New Zealand innings which closed at 532.

The West indies needed to produce something special to get themselves back into the game and they did with opener Williams smashing 156 and Chanderpaul completing a good double by hitting 106. The innings closed at 461 at the end of day 4. New Zealand required 250 in the day to win.

Howell and Pocock got them off to a good start reaching 0/93 at lunch and New Zealand had the game in control. Howell eventually went for 45 with the score on 131 which brought Fleming to the crease. After a minor hiccup where Fleming was dropped off the first and third balls he faced, the two once again smashed the West indies attack around the park reaching 1/179 by tea. They reached the target with 18 minutes remaining in the day with Man of the Match Pocock making it two centuries for the game, remaining unbeaten on 115. Fleming also made it a good game with 73*.

A nine wicket win gives the New Zealand confidence for the rest of the season knowing that they can win games. They travel to Zimbabwe next round knowing that they will regain key batsman McMillan for the clash. Horne will miss the next couple of matches because of injury.

PAKISTAN - Manager: Nathan Porter

Pakistan have secured their place at third on the table behind and will now face top of the table, and Warwick Todd Trophy holders, England. This will be an away match and on their not so bouncy pitches and overcast days we are hoping that God is on our side and we can cause an upset at the top of the table. England have been in great form all tournament and we respect them for what they are. Obviously the English manager has done a lot to turn England into a winning side, it is such a foreign concept, England winning a cricket game, and surely their fortune will run out soon.

SOUTH AFRICA - Manager: Steve Hill

SRI LANKA - Manager: Keith McLeod

Injury free and on top of the world. These are the words used by Sri Lankan manager Keith McLeod in describing the team's state of mind going into the must-win 12th round match against the West Indies this weekend. While perhaps exaggerating the Sri Lankan fortunes, nevertheless the Sri Lankans are looking a much-improved, and one might almost say professional, outfit in recent weeks. With 10 wicket victories over cellar dwellers South Africa and fellow middle-of-the-table inhabitants India, the Sri Lankans are a side who may cause problems even to those at the top of the table.

The Warwick Todd World Champs has evolved into a two horse race between the strong Warwick Todd side and the England team controlled by the inimitable Dan Thomas. Following in their wake, and closely contesting third through seventh place are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Australia and India. Following this group are three sides with much work to do for next season - the once-strong West Indians, minnows New Zealand, and, most surprising of all, the until-recently imposing South Africans. It now remains for one of the middle group to really impose itself on the other sides and rise out of the bunch. Time is swiftly running out for any team other than the current top two to make a bid for the title.

Realistically, the Sri Lankans should look to come away from the Caribbean with a win under their belts, and a convincing one at that, cementing their place in the middle of the table. Any less and the side and its supporters will certainly be more than disappointed.

WEST INDIES - Manager: Joshua Johnson

The absence of Ambrose in this week's match against New Zealand was clearly evident as the West Indies were thrashed in Auckland.

New Zealand won the toss and elected to send in the visitors. The West Indies played aggressively, but New Zealand continued to make regular breakthroughs and after the first day the score was 8/311. Only 9 more runs were amassed for the next two wickets and the West Indian side was all out for 320. Adams (95) led the scoring, with most of his assistance coming from Chanderpaul (67).

A 259 run second wicket partnership between Pocock and Fleming was amassed in reply, as the West Indian bowlers, in the absence of Ambrose, lacking the ability to break through the New Zealand batting line up. The home side eventually went on to be all out for 532, a first innings lead of 212.

In previous tests a first innings deficit of that magnitude usually precedes a dramatic West Indian collapse. This time centuries by Williams (156) and Chanderpaul (106) ensured a second innings chase for the New Zealand side. The West Indians eventually went on to make 461 runs, leaving exactly one day for New Zealand to score 250 runs and achieve victory. Things didn't start well for the West Indies with a 132 run opening partnership. Once again Pocock and Fleming combined in an unbeaten 118 run second wicket partnership to ensure victory at 5:42pm.

Fortunately for the West Indian side Ambrose has passed a fitness test and will be rushed back for this week's match against 4th placed Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, Williams has not passed the fitness test after making 156 in the New Zealand match and will be missing next week. Samuels returns to the side as an opener and Benjamin has been dropped to make room for Ambrose.

ZIMBABWE - Manager: Dave Hickey

Zimbabwe travelled to Lord's in Round 11, hopeful of springing an upset in their quest to win the Warwick Todd Trophy. On a typically cloudy English morning, Campbell won the toss and despite the pitch looking very good for batting, Streak convinced his captain to bowl first. By lunch this move had paid dividends with the competition front-runners clawing their way to 4/47 after earlier being 4/17. England's innings ended just after tea for 137, thanks largely to a 70 run partnership between Hussain and Ramprakash.

With just over a hour to bat, Zimbabwe could do no better than England and at stumps they had made 4/54. The next morning Gough and Cork were able to go through unchanged and they quickly took the remaining wickets to have Zimbabwe all out for 70.

England had taken an unlikely 67 run lead and when Atherton and Thorpe combined in a 101 run partnership, the England lead was almost 200 with nine wickets still standing. Zimbabwe then showed some more fighting spirit as Mbangwa dismissed both Thorpe and Atherton to trigger a collapse as England lost their last 9 wickets for 110 runs. The England lead of 303 was formidable but much less than it could have been. Zimbabwe got away to another poor start as Rennie went without scoring and Grant Flower faced 69 balls in compiling just six runs. The Zimbabwe middle order struggled to come to terms with the bowling before Wishart and Strang put together a solid partnership. Wishart then batted well with the tail before finally running out of partners with the score on 224. Zimbabwe finished up just 79 runs short of their target and they must have been wondering what might have been had their top order batted with the resolve of the tail.

Mpumelo Mbangwa was named Man of the Match and whilst this may have surprised England, there is no doubt that he was responsible for keeping Zimbabwe in the game with his penetrating bowling and his stubborn batting.

Zimbabwe have now dropped back to fifth place and next week they will host a rejuvenated New Zealand team. They will be very keen to end the Kiwis current winning run in order to consolidate a very keenly contested fourth place.

WARWICK TODD'S XI - Manager: Warwick Todd

Merv Hughes was both the hero and the villain in the Round 11 match against India. Big Merv rocketed to the top of the practical jokes list when he got Bill Lawry to come down to the dressing room balcony and declare the Todd XI 2nd innings closed, re-enacting his famous 1970/71 declaration when Rodney Marsh was on 92 and heading for a maiden Test century. This time Bill went much better, with Warwick Todd at the crease unbeaten on 197 and "Fat Cat" Ritchie unbeaten on 94, (after making 115 in the first innings). Todd was furious with Big Merv and despite his protests to the umpires the declaration stood. He stormed off the ground and destroyed three doors, two bats and several pigeons as he went looking for the culprits. Boonie put him out of his misery when he turned on the TV to reveal Bill interviewing Mahatma Cote in the Indian dressing room about India's chances. It soon became apparent that Big Merv had donned "Fat Cat's" Mahatma Cote costume and had been hiding out undetected in the visitor's dressing room. Todd and Ritchie were still furious but when Boonie convened an emergency players meeting, the vote was 14-2 that this was the best get of the season so far. However, with 7 weeks left, there is ample time for Todd to fight back and reclaim the title.

Meanwhile, out in the middle, Warwick Todd won the toss and elected to bat. They made a good start and then batted steadily and looked set to once again pass 400. However, they lost their way towards the end and had to settle for a score of 384.

India then batted and they eventually made 279, thanks largely to an innings of 95 from Tendulkar in a partnership of 134 with Jadeja.

The Todd XI led by 105 on the first innings and they made another steady start, with Wood making 56. Then followed the partnership of the match as Todd and Ritchie added 252 runs before the surprise declaration.

India now needed 504 to win and they were never in the hunt, especially when McDermott took two wickets in the first three overs to have India 2/1. Tendulkar again held the innings together with an innings of 104 as India made 285.

The win over India allowed the Todd XI to pull back another two points on England this round. Next week they travel to Durban to take on last-placed South Africa. They will again be hoping to pick up extra bonus points, as England will be playing third placed Pakistan. Warwick Todd will also be aware of Merv's popularity in South Afirca and he will no doubt be trying to organise something special.