England in New Zealand

First Test, Christchurch, day three:
England 228 all out & 468-6 declared; New Zealand 147 all out & 28-0 (10 overs, at close).

Graham Thorpe and Andrew Flintoff enjoyed a day to remember as England produced a devastating batting display.

But skipper Nasser Hussain's hopes of making inroads into New Zealand's top order were frustrated when the umpires called an early halt to play as the shadow of the main stand covered the square.

Thorpe made an unbeaten 200 containing four sixes and 28 fours after being dropped in the slips from the second ball he faced and Flintoff scored his maiden Test century as England declared with a massive lead of 549.

They shared a stand of 281, a sixth wicket record for England against any other side, bettering the 240 of Peter Parfitt and Barry Knight in Auckland in 1963.

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New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns will play the remainder of the first Test against England as a batsman only after injuring a tendon on his right knee.

Cairns took two wickets in the opening over of the Test on Wednesday but bowled with increasing discomfort throughout the remainder of the England first innings and during the first part of the second innings.

Team physiotherapist Dayle Shackel said today that Cairns had sustained a patella tendon injury on his right knee while fielding.

Australia in South Africa

Australia have named an unchanged team for the third and final Test starting here tonight (AEDT) while South African selectors have decided to use allrounder Andrew Hall in preference to Lance Klusener.

Both were included in the squad of 12 but after Hall passed a fitness test for a stiff back, selection convenor Rushdi Magiet said he would be in the XI.

"Hall has been picked as a bowling all-rounder and if we felt he could not give 100 percent with the ball we would not have considered him," Magiet said.

Fast bowler David Terbrugge will play his first Test since 1999 and Magiet said he would share the new ball with Makhaya Ntini.

Miscellaneous

Wasim Akram has said he still has something to offer despite missing out on selection for the Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka last week.

The veteran paceman has played only one ODI for Pakistan since January when he broke down during the first Test against Bangladesh.

But Wasim, who is the only man to have taken 400 wickets in both Tests and ODIs, is hoping for a return in the Sharjah series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in April.

"I have enough fire in the belly to carry on and would not confine (myself) to one form of the game because it would mean that I am not fit and not performing," Wasim said.

"It's a matter of personal satisfaction and I am satisfied that I can still contribute and once I realize I am not contributing I will quit," he added.

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New Zealand have urged the organisers of next year's World Cup to scrap a controversial bonus points system which could help determine final placings in the group stages of the competition.

The system was adopted by the International Cricket Council for use in one-day tournaments involving at least three teams.

But its use was questioned during the recent VB Series when New Zealand and South Africa contrived to prevent hosts Australia from qualifying for the final.

"The bonus point system can be manipulated and provide an incentive not to win an individual match," said John Reid, the operations manager of New Zealand Cricket.

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Pakistan intend to raise several contentious matters at the International Cricket Council (ICC) executive board meeting this weekend.

The Pakistan cricket chief Lt Gen Tauqir Zia confirmed that his board (PCB) would be seeking compensation after being forced to host their home series against the West Indies in neutral Sharjah.

The West Indies had been unwilling to play in Pakistan due to security concerns due to a tense military standoff between the hosts and neighbouring India.

"This (compensation issue) is one of our main proposals for the executive board meeting this weekend," Zia said.

"We will seek some compensation for the West Indies insisting on playing our home series in Sharjah."

The PCB claims that by being forced to host the series at a neutral venue it suffered losses from the sales of television rights and sponsorship deals.

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