Dr Ali Bacher, executive director of the 2003 World Cup, has made an urgent and passionate call to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO Tim Lamb to announce a final decision on whether his team will play in Zimbabwe or not.Dr Bacher, as an ex-Test player and administrator, has requested that the England Board and players, in fairness to South Africa, Africa and the World Cup tournament make up their minds and commit themselves to either going to Zimbabwe or staying in South Africa."This has been going on since England were in Australia and still they are not able to come to any decisions. There are sponsors to cater for, there are spectators to advise, there are travel arrangements to be made and it is just not fair on any of these people to suspect of them to logistically organize a cricket match in one day", Dr Bacher stressed in a strongly-worded press conference at the Wanderers stadium.

Sri Lanka’s triumph in the 1996 World Cup brought back strong memoriesof the West Indian victories of 1975 and 1979. For one thing, SriLanka, co-hosts along with India and Pakistan, did not lose a singlegame, even if Australia and the West Indies had forfeited their gamesciting security concerns.

Secondly, the Sri Lankan approach to batting very much resembled theflamboyant Caribbean style. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya and RomeshKaluwitharana in particular made nonsense of restrictive bowlingtactics and field-placings in the first 15 overs, so the slog did notcommence from the 40th over but from the very first. The apotheosis ofthis innovative strategy came in their match against Kenya at Kandy,when the first 50 was notched up in an astonishing 3.2 overs, en routeto 398 for five – still the highest-ever total in a one-dayinternational.The sixth World Cup returned to the subcontinent, and this time theformat was changed as the competition had extended to 12 participatingteams. The nine Test-playing nations were joined by three associatemembers – the United Arab Emirates, Holland and Kenya – and the 12sides were placed into two groups.Pool A comprised Australia, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, India,Zimbabwe and Kenya, while Pool B was made up of South Africa,Pakistan, New Zealand, England, the UAE and Holland. The top fourteams in each group qualified for the knock-out quarter-finals.With Australia, the West Indies, India and Sri Lanka from Pool A andSouth Africa, England, New Zealand and Pakistan from Pool B making itto the last eight, it would appear that there were few upsets in thepreliminary stage, but in fact, there were some surprising results.Few, for example, would have expected Sri Lanka to top the group,although detractors would argue that they were helped by bothAustralia and the West Indies refusing to travel to Colombo after abomb-blast rocked the capital weeks before the start of thetournament. Considering the manner in which Sri Lanka played, however,a victory over both Australia and the West Indies could not be ruledout, and this argument received certification when Sri Lanka defeatedAustralia by seven wickets in the final at Lahore.In the three remaining group matches, Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe bysix wickets, India by the same margin and Kenya by 144 runs. By thistime, they had emerged as the team to beat, and there was no stoppingthem in the knock-out stage either. In the quarter-final they rompedto a five-wicket victory over England with 10 overs to spare, and inthe semifinal against India at Calcutta, they were well on top whenrioters disrupted proceedings by setting the stands afire and throwingobjects on the field.The circumstances were unfortunate, especially for a traditionallycricket-loving city, and match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the matchto Sri Lanka after they had led off by scoring 251 for eight in 50overs and India were tottering at 120 for eight in 34.1 overs. In thefinal, they capped a memorable tournament by coasting to victory overAustralia, making light of what seemed to be a challenging Australiantotal of 241 for seven by racing to victory with seven wickets andnearly four overs to spare.The speed at which the Sri Lankans made their runs was quiteastonishing. At the end of the tournament, four front-line batsmen hada strike rate of over 100. Kaluwitharana’s strike-rate was 140.38 per100 balls, Jayasuriya’s 131.54, Arjuna Ranatunga’s 114.76 and Aravindade Silva’s 107.69. De Silva was in splendid form, getting 448 runswith two hundreds and two fifties at an average of 89.60. He emulatedMohinder Amarnath by nabbing the Man of the Match awards in both thesemifinals and final.Jayasuriya scored 221 runs in swashbuckling fashion, demoralising thebowlers totally. He also picked up seven wickets and was adjudged asthe Player of the Tournament. Ranatunga (241) and polished left-handerAsanka Gurusinha (307) were the other batsmen who played a notablerole in the triumph. Such was the strength of the batting that theservices of Hashan Tillekeratne and Roshan Mahanama were hardlyrequired. The bowling mainly revolved round Chaminda Vaas and MuttiahMuralitharan, and the two did their job commendably.

If Sri Lanka topping their group was a major surprise, the singlebiggest shock was provided by Kenya. The African nation pulled offarguably the biggest upset in the competition’s history by defeatingthe West Indies by 73 runs. In the face of a Kenyan total of 166, theWest Indies collapsed dramatically for 93. Kenya, however, stillfinished at the bottom of the group; following Sri Lanka wereAustralia, India and the West Indies in that order.In group B, things moved more according to prediction. South Africawon all five matches to finish on top, taking heavy toll of thebowling of the two weak teams, the UAE and Holland, and notching uptotals of 300-plus each time. Against the UAE, Gary Kirsten notched up188 not out, still the highest score in the World Cup. Pakistan, NewZealand and England followed in that order.The highlight of the quarter-finals was a high-voltage encounter atBangalore between India and Pakistan. To the jubilation of the homecrowd, India won by 39 runs. There was a minor surprise when the WestIndies got the better of hotly fancied South Africa, who buckled underpressure to lose by 19 runs at Karachi. In-form Sri Lanka were toostrong for England at Faisalabad, while Australia overcame a gallantchallenge from New Zealand at Madras.In the penultimate round, the West Indies, after having things wellunder control, went down to Australia by five runs at Mohali. In theface of an Australian total of 207 for eight in 50 overs, the WestIndies seemed to be cruising home at 165 for two. But the last eightwickets fell in a heap, and the West Indies were all out for 202 inthe last over.In the other semifinal at Calcutta, India too were in a strongposition with a score of 98 for one in reply to Sri Lanka’s 251 foreight. Thereafter it was a veritable procession of wickets, andLloyd’s decision in awarding the match to Sri Lanka following theresultant disturbances was the right one.

While the Sri Lankans predictably garnered many of the individualhonours, a few other players too left their mark. Sachin Tendulkar wasthe leading run-getter, scoring 523 runs with two hundreds and threefifties. Mark Waugh was not far behind with 484 runs, in the processbecoming the first player to get three centuries in a single WorldCup. Saeed Anwar (329), Aamir Sohail (272), Hansie Cronje (276),Andrew Hudson (275), Gary Kirsten (391) and Brian Lara (269) wereothers to be among the runs.Batsmen generally called the shots on subcontinental wickets, butthere were a few bowlers like Roger Harper (12), Damien Fleming (12),Shane Warne (12), Waqar Younis (13) and Anil Kumble (15) who bravedadverse conditions and performed commendably. The tournament alsomarked the end of Javed Miandad’s distinguished career, making him theonly cricketer to play in all the first six World Cup competitions.

Pete Sanderson the Somerset Under 13’s coach has recently returned from the team’s tour to South Africa and has submitted the following report on the experience.’The trip, as you would expect, was a tremendous experience and the players who went will have learnt many lessons that will help them in the future.The main lessons that should be take from the tour are:

1. The discipline and concentration required bowling the ball repeatedly in the right area over after over.2. Having a fuller understanding of what advantages achieving No.1 gives individuals and the team:i Pressure on batsmanii Plan how to get wicketsiii.Set Fields to a strategy rather than trying to cover both sides on the pitch e.g. Somerset 5:4 split with fielders, S.A. 6:33. Fitness levels required to play cricket day after day in hot conditions. Naturally the South Africans looked more athletic, and this is not surprising when you see that their school day ends at 2.30pm and then it is sports everyday for those that desire to play.4. The ability to adapt to different areas of batting, this is shown particularly with their backfoot play where they force, cut and pull very aggressively and the use of feet when playing spin whether that be using the crease or moving down pitch.5. Mental approach to all matches and not looking for excuses and the easy way out. With the day/night match in the middle of the week this definitely had an effect on the two following performances, mental highlight and comprehensive win and energy wise later finish which had effect on preparation. The last performance lacked life and desire for most, we need more of the Tiger Woods mentality, who the day after finished his latest winning round after suffering from food poisoning.

Overall ViewAs with any trip to foreign lands there are highlights and a trip should not be judged on results but what the players have learnt. This may not become apparent until later in their cricketing futures.Having also taken an older group to Australia last year this was a definite benefit despite losing all the matches, with 3 players making trip back this winter to carry on their development, one of which was successful with England U-19s. I am not sure the benefits are as high at this age depending on the maturity of the individuals as the differential between it being a cricket tour and a holiday was at times difficult for the players to establish.From a competing perspective I thought we matched them individually but not as a team. Fortunately this is not a criteria for Somerset youth cricket as number one priority is developing players. In my opinion, this was purely due to the amount of time they have together as a team in matches and practice (including middle, net and drill work).This obviously develops their tactical awareness and a knowledge of what their role’s are within the team, this will be partly readdressed by an increase in our outdoor practice but this will be a drop in the ocean in comparison. The amount of possible outdoor work is limited due to the short intensive nature of our player’s summer programmes at the various levels.The day/night may have opened up ideas for using outdoor astro pitches for improved tactical work outside of the summer and fortunately for our best players the academy programme is heightening their tactical awareness but it is good to give them a better grounding before they get involved with this.There is a proposal for this to become an annual event. Even though it is obviously a tremendous experience I think if we are to continue coming on this trip we need to guarantee that it is self-financing and we would need to review the staffing arrangements particularly at this period in the season as well as looking at the overall benefit to players of this age group.Thanks Pete for sending this report and also for sending match reports back from South Africa.I am sure that web site readers will be keen to follow the way that the Under 13’s fare this coming season and also in the future.

New Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif praised his young charges after their second consecutive win in the four-nation Cheery Blossom Sharjah Cup.Pakistan now look certain finalists having accrued 11 points from two games after victories against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.Pakistan comfortably chased down their 224 run target against the Sri Lankans, winning with seven wickets and 2.4 overs to spare.”I am very pleased with the performance of Hafeez and Faisal as they stuck to the gameplan,” said Latif, speaking in Urdu afterwards.He expects his inexperienced side to improve: “This young side has come in from various places and have not played together much – their coordination will improve and we will avoid some of the mistakes that were made today.”His Sri Lankan counterpart, Sanath Jayasuriya, rued a weak batting display: “We needed to put more runs on the board.”But he hailed the performance of Kumar Sangakarra, who was adjudged the man of the match for his unbeaten 100 from 111 balls, his maiden ODI century.”It was very important that Kumar (Sangakkara) got runs and he batted really well today,” said Jayasuriya.Sangakkara, who was nearly dropped for the tournament after a lean World Cup, appeared grateful to be relieved of his wicket-keeping duties.”Batting and wicket-keeping are two very different jobs and, I suppose, mentally it is easier to just do one job.”

Never has a cricketer had so appropriate a surname. But let us understand that aright. Steve Waugh’s cricketing warfare has never been a matter of hatred, jingoism and senseless aggression, any more than a matter of chivalry, romance and the search for personal glory.No. Waugh’s wars have been about the most efficient possible means of despatching the enemy. They are about a clear understanding of the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses, and an equally uncluttered understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his own side. Sometimes the results are spectacular, but that is by the way. Spectacle is a by-product of a hard head, clear vision, an analytical mind and an impersonal lust for victory.Waugh wants to defeat you personally – but nothing personal, if you see what I mean. He has that air possessed by very few, even at the highest level of sport: that sense of vocation, that urge to beat not the opposition but the limitations of your self, your game, your world. There was something of that unearthly quality in Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian racing driver. Ellen MacArthur, the British sailor, has it too.Waugh has the gift of reducing complex matters to simple ones: he sees without prejudice how best to exploit the opposition’s weakness, how best to deploy his own strengths. The approach, cold-blooded, scientific, is that of a general, rather than a character in Sir Thomas Malory.Waugh has conducted his cricketing campaigns in a mood of dispassionate ferocity. He famously remarked that sledging was “mental disintegration”; but that is not so much the aim of Waugh’s sledging as of Waugh’s cricket. The batting, bowling and fielding of his teams have all had the aim of causing mental disintegration: a moment of uncertainty that leads to self-doubt that leads to defeat. Waugh always wants defeat to be personal and complete, the better to prey on the opposition mind.And in the process, he has transformed Test cricket. Over the past four years, his Australians played in a manner that was once unthinkable. A captain is usually assessed on the way he operates his bowlers and sets his field, for it is supposed to be the fielding captain who controls the tempo of a match. Waugh is, of course, spectacularly good at all that. But it is the way he manages his batting line-up that is revolutionary.In 1990, when there had been a long-running debate about intimidatory bowling, runs suddenly flowed in county cricket through a combination of flat pitches and a different type of ball. Simon Hughes, still operating as a bowler, asked the plaintive question: “What about intimidatory batting?” Under Waugh, Australia’s batting has become the most intimidating aspect of modern cricket. The Australian batsmen seek to frighten opponents every bit as much as the fast-bowling quartet of the 1980s West Indians. They all act the same way, and they’re all coming to get you.Waugh’s Australia bat with Waugh’s dispassionate ferocity. They bat as a team, with personal glory very much a secondary matter. And above all, they bat fast. In 2001, Australia scored at 3.77 runs an over: breathtakingly fast by traditional standards. In 2002, Australia scored their Test runs at a rate of 3.99 an over. Only once in history has a team scored faster through a whole year – in 1910, Australia scored their runs at 4.47 every six balls, and there were far fewer Tests then. By comparison, England’s run-rate in 2002 was 3.37 – and that was England’s fastest rate in almost a century. Other nations are following the Australian lead, but they’re not as good at it yet.South Africa, once dour, now bat at a significantly faster tempo: the first thing they did in 2003 was to score 445 in a day against Pakistan. The sea-change in Michael Vaughan of England over the past year was in tempo. Speed is not an accident. It is a tactic. It can’t be done without very good players, but it is not the direct result of having good players. It is the result of astute, logical, cold-blooded thought on the subject of how best to win a cricket match.We traditionally think of fast scoring as something dashing and devil-maycare: Jessop, Milburn, Botham. It was merry and jaunty and beery, the way you batted if you were a bit of a lad. Fast scoring was not altogether serious – it came in the drive-for-show category. Waugh’s Australians have put it into the putt-for-dough department. For them, fast scoring is not a bonnets-over-the-windmill slogfest: it is deadly serious. It is done first to undermine the opposing bowlers, and with them the rest of the fielding side. And then it gives Australia extra time in the quest for 20 wickets: a free session for your bowlers every innings. No wonder it took them only 11 playing days to win each of the last two Ashes series.Most non-Australian cricket followers would admit when pressed that they can’t always tell one Australian batsman from another. They all wear green helmets with the Australian coat of arms above the grille, they are all good, they are all vindictively aggressive towards anything loose, they are all hugely confident. They bat as a unit and there’s always another one waiting to destroy you. A bit like the film Zulu.The wicket-keeper scores even faster than the top six and the tail bat seriously, always an aspect of a consistently victorious side. And just as the West Indian bowling ground the opposition down, softened them up and destroyed their confidence, so the Australian batting does the same thing.The influence of one-day cricket is obvious, but it is not that the Australians bat in Test matches as if they were in a one-dayer. It is rather that the thought processes of one-day cricket – the need to capitalise on every error of the opposition, the presumption that you look to make runs off every ball – have been adapted to the Test context.Hit-and-giggle? Far from it. There is no suggestion that a wicket is any less valuable to an Australian than it was before: Sydney 2003 was the first time since England’s previous visit four years earlier that they had been bowled out twice in a home Test. But wickets are seen more as team than as individual possessions. Every batting tactic, including that of speed, must be adapted to the conditions. In knuckling-down conditions, Australian batsmen will knuckle down. But send them a bad ball at any time in any context and hear it thwack into the boundary board: first over of the day, last over of the day, just after a wicket, just before tea, 50 for three or 200 for nought – bam. And don’t even think about a night-watchman. When Andy Bichel was moved up to No. 3 at Sydney in January 2003, night-watchman was the word that sprang to some commentators’ lips, but what he was actually doing was the opposite – softening the new ball.It is not so much a tactic as an emphasis: when in doubt, attack. Not for fun – as a thought-out ploy. As a team policy. Speed is not self-indulgence but duty. The idea is to win every session of every Test match, and mostly that is what Australia have been doing. If things go amiss, there is always the captain to come in later in the order. The only disappointment in Waugh’s later career is that there have been so few occasions when he has been required to do his one-man rescue act.The tactic of speed has been enthralling, but Waugh did not do it to enthral. He did it to enslave. There was an awful lot of guff talked about “brighter cricket” in the 1960s: if that was brighter cricket, what would audiences of 40 years back have made of the Australian speed machine? Waugh doesn’t employ the tactic to make cricket brighter. But – and it is an aspect of his greatness – he didn’t allow his prejudice against mere entertainment to muddle his thinking. In its intention, the Australian stroke-making is as flamboyant as an atom bomb.The definitive treatise on warfare as a science of destruction rather than a chivalric art was written by Karl von Clausewitz in Napoleonic times. It is called On War. If a similarly hard-nosed book were to be written on cricket, the same title could be used. With a small adjustment to the spelling.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is threatening to sue the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its decision to withhold US$2.5 million in World Cup payments because of the NZC’s forfeiture of its game in Kenya.According to NZCity News, Martin Snedden, NZC’s CEO, has asked the ICC to make the payment, failing which he intends to take recourse to legal action.Snedden said that India, Sri Lanka and England are also suffering because of the claims that the Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), which represents the Wold Cup sponsors, has put forth. According to Snedden, the legal process begun by this could take up to a year to get resolved.

Former Otago batsman Richard Hoskin has been named a selector for the side.Hoskin, who played 80 games for Otago, has recently been appointed Southland Cricket’s executive officer. During his career he scored 3573 runs for the province at 27.06.Hoskin will join coach Glenn Turner and Mike Hesson on the panel. Otago’s chief executive Graeme Elliott said: “Richard had a lengthy first-class playing career which included three years as a player-selector. We are pleased that he has applied for the position.On the list of duties for the selectors is the selection of the State Otago Volts, the Otago second XI and the Otago Development team.

Division One:Yorkshire: 150 Kent: 151-3 Kent win by 7 wicketsSussex: 171 Notts: 114 Sussex win by 57 runsSurrey: 235-4 Berkshire: 167-8 (41 overs) Surrey win by 40 runs on D/L

Kent beat Yorkshire today to inflict the third defeat in four matches on the current Frizzell Women’s County Champions at Fitzwilliam, Cambridge, and launch a late assault on Yorkshire’s crown.Kent restricted Yorkshire to 150 all out in the forty-sixth over, with Charlotte Edwards leading the run-chase, scoring an unbeaten 85 from 110 balls, including fourteen 4s.For Yorkshire, England’s Clare Taylor bowled with familiar economy registering four maidens in her ten over spell and taking the valuable wicket of England and Kent youngster, Lydia Greenway for 0. But Kathryn Leng and Melissa Reynard proved expensive, and Edwards was fully in her stride by the later overs of the match.Yorkshire now find themselves in a relegation battle with Berkshire tomorrow, a huge turn around from last year when the teams finished first and second.Nottinghamshire were making good progress chasing Sussex’s total of 171, until Rosalie Birch came on to bowl and decimated the Nottinghamshire middle order, taking the wickets of Notts leading batters, Dawn Holden, Nicky Shaw and Jenny Gunn.Sussex made a good recovery, having been 18-2, as Caroline Atkins played a magnificent innings at the heart of the Sussex batting order, forming good partnerships with Alexia Walker and Rosalie Birch, to take Sussex to 171. Atkins was finally run out for 64.Dawn Holden made 41 before becoming the first of Birch’s victims, and once the partnership between her and Jane Smit had been broken, Notts found further middle order partnerships hard to form.If Sussex can beat Surrey tomorrow, they will secure the Championship in relative safety; if they lose they must rely on results from the Kent v Nottinghamshire game.Berkshire face relegation from Division One having lost to Surrey at C.U.Press Ground today. Berkshire have endured a difficult week, and Surrey, who were also in potential danger, managed to register their highest score of the week reaching 234-4.Surrey’s Australia international, Melanie Jones, scored 124 from 114 balls including ten fours and two sixes and shared a third wicket stand of 219 with England U19 wicket-keeper, Laura Joyce (84).England’s Claire Taylor showed some resistance in the Berkshire reply, reaching 57 from 59 balls, but was bowled by Charlotte Dickenson.Berkshire must beat Yorkshire tomorrow at Queen’s Ground to have any chance of retaining their place in the top flight, but Yorkshire also need a win to ensure their safety. The match, tipped by many at the start of the Championship to be the title decider, will now decide relegation.

Division TwoSomerset: 147 Staffordshire: 134-7 after 46ov Staffs won by 1 run on D/LLancashire: 289-3 Hertfordshire: 44 Lancs win by 245 runsMiddlesex: 173 Hampshire: 155 Middx won by 17 runs

Staffordshire have beaten Somerset by just one run at Trinity Old Field with the result decided on Duckworth-Lewis. The Somerset pair of Hannah Lloyd and Laura Harper made a second wicket stand of 62 to leave Staffordshire chasing 147. Despite an early breakthrough from Lucy Pearson, who had Steph Davies trapped l.b.w in her third over, Harper’s 51 ensured a difficult target in overcast conditions.When the rain arrived there were four overs remaining, with three Staffs wickets in hand and bowlers Pearson (8*) and Pugh (0*) trying to make the required fourteen runs. At the end, Staffordshire secured the victory by the narrowest of margins, finishing on 134 after 46 overs.Lancashire have sustained their dominance of Division Two, with a massive 245 run win over relegation strugglers, Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire won the toss and elected to field, only to watch Lancashire amass the highest total of the week, scoring 289-3. Arran Thompson was not out on 99 at the end, with Rachel Walsh making 52 and Laura Newton 42. Thompson and Walsh reached 144 for the first wicket.Lancashire need just two bowlers, White and Debeer, to dismiss Hertfordshire for a meagre 44; White taking 6-16 and Debeer 4-27 in the fourteenth over.Lancashire face Staffordshire tomorrow to secure their place in Division One next year.Middlesex beat Hampshire by 18 runs in a mid-table clash at Queen’s College. The match was almost decided by Duckworth-Lewis, but Hampshire stayed on in drizzling rain in an attempt to secure the win. A Potgieter (Hampshire) scored 77 before being trapped lbw by Kelly Juster, who took 4-17 to ensure the Middlesex victory.

Division ThreeWarwickshire: 175-7 Cheshire: 105-6 Warks won by 24 runs on DLEssex: 189 Northants: 190-6 Northants won by 4 wicketsDurham: 147 Derbyshire: 147 Match tied

Nothing could separate Durham and Derbyshire, as both sides finished on 147 after fifty overs. The Derbyshire batters formed useful partnerships throughout their innings, whilst Durham were dependent on Kari Anderson to make the bulk of their runs, scoring 47.Northants registered their first win at the Frizzell Women’s County Championships today, having gained promotion to Division 3 last year via The Emerging Counties Championship.

The rhetoric was familiar, but after a less than impressive performance in the first Test at Darwin, Steve Waugh’s assertion that Australia would be looking to improve carried a little more weight than usual.”I think people expect Bangladesh to improve in the first Test, but I expect us to improve more," Waugh told reporters in Cairns ahead of the second Test which starts on Friday. “So we’ll be putting on a good show in this Test match, we’ll be going hard, we’ll be playing as tough, as competitively as we can be. There’s a chance we’ll bowl on that wicket. There’s a bit of grass there. We like to attack as a general rule and we’ve got some good bowlers. I don’t mind what we do at the toss but I expect us to go hard."The pitch is expected to be hard and fast, unlike the one at Darwin, and with tinges of green, Australia’s bowlers are sure to give Bangladesh’s batsmen a hard time. "I think that’s what they need," said Waugh. "You want to see your players put under the most possible pressure and see who puts their hand up and see who’s a Test match player and who isn’t a Test match player.”Tempo, poise, purpose, intensity, body language, patience and self-belief are words that they need to use and put into practice. They have talent in all areas of the game, which will develop as they acquire match practice in pressure situations.”Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s coach, welcomed the chance for his charges to be tested to the hilt. “Our objectives are still to strive as hard as you can to show that we can get through some tough periods, to actually bat a session as individual players, those are the things," he said. “The boys are very keen to play. You can see they are keen to show some fight and be very competitive. I can’t ask for much more than that.”

One of the things that Steve Waugh will long be famous for is his possibly apocryphal remark to Herschelle Gibbs in the 1999 World Cup that he (Gibbs) had just dropped the World Cup when he put down a simple catch off Waugh at square leg. Well, Sourav Ganguly has now revealed that Waugh tried the same tactic on Ganguly – and it backfired.In a forthcoming book called Ground Rules, excerpts from which were released in the Kolkata newspaper The Telegraph, Ganguly has written about how Waugh’s attempt at smart talk rebounded in the historic Kolkata Test of 2001.Describing the final day of that Test, Ganguly wrote: “Just before tea on the final day when they were only three wickets down, I dropped a sharp chance off Steve Waugh at backward short leg. Maybe if he had said nothing, the game would have drifted to a draw, the result that appeared to be its natural conclusion. But Waugh could not resist the chirp, ‘You just dropped the Test, mate.'”Sometimes sledging can work against you and, on this occasion, it had the effect of geeing up the Indians. Immediately after tea, Harbhajan Singh got Waugh out and Rahul Dravid gave him a sendoff from slip asking who had given away the Test match now.”Australia were 1-0 up before that Test; they ended up losing 1-2. So much for mental disintegration.