POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa, Feb 3 AAP – Steve Waugh’s absence is regrettable.He’s left the team without a motto.What is Ricky Ponting doing?Australia always had a motto when Waugh was captain.Most times, anyway. They were great.He came up with ‘No Regrets’ for the 1999 World Cup.Other expeditions were filed under catchy little phrases like ‘Never Satisfied’.Waugh spent an entire Ashes series mumbling “never satisfied, lads” from gully.And now?Nothing.A rumour spread this morning about the use of ‘No Excuses’.Perfect, perfect. Nods of approval everywhere.But then it was revealed ‘No Excuses’ was not the motto for this tour and even more alarmingly, there was to be no motto at all.Tragic.Australia needs a motto and it’s not too late to get one.The first game is still a week away.’No Excuses’ really would be would be perfect, reflecting the players’ belief that all things being equal, they should win this tournament.If they lose, they will have no-one to blame but themselves.No excuses.Going through unbeaten is not beyond the realms of possibility.They have wicket-taking and economical bowlers, run-hungry batsmen capable of dominating or dabbing, fieldsmen happy to throw themselves all over the place, a spinner who is out of this world, an aura of invincibility and an aggressive, progressive leader.Even if he can’t find a motto.South Africa has jumped on the motto bandwagon, adopting one that sounds vaguely familiar: `No Regrets’.Waugh should have put it under copyright.Surely the hosts could have been more imaginative.”Don’t Choke’ would have been good.Other nations are believed to be considering the following:India – No Quicks.Zimbabwe – No Matches.England – No Hope.New Zealand – Please, No.Sri Lanka – No Ball.

MELBOURNE, Feb 16 AAP – Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath believes team-mate Shane Warne brought his potential cricketing downfall upon himself and should have known the risks of taking a pill containing unknown substances.McGrath said the Australian team was always kept well-informed about drugs and that given his experience, Warne was naive about accepting a pill from his mother.As Warne awaits his hearing with the Australian Cricket Board’s anti-doping committee after testing positive to a banned diuretic, McGrath endorsed captain Ricky Ponting’s comments that Warne had acted without thinking.”As much as the boys are right behind Warney 100 per cent, for someone of his experience, he should have known the risks,” McGrath wrote in a News Limited column.”I’d have to agree Shane was a little naive not to get the tablet checked.McGrath said the Australian players were well aware of the penalties for taking banned substances and knew to thoroughly check anything they took.”Given what’s happened in the past with (state cricketers) Graeme Rummans and Duncan Spencer both being suspended (for banned substances), you should know the consequences of anything you are taking,” he said.”We talk about drugs before the start of every season and a guy from ASDA (Australian Sports Drug Agency) comes out and has a bit of a chat so it isn’t like we aren’t all well informed.”Getting things checked is just part and parcel of what we do.”At the end of the day and as much as the whole team is 100 per cent behind him, Shane has brought this on himself.”McGrath said Warne was lost for words when he told his team-mates he had tested positive and that the team was in “shock and huge disappointment” on receiving the news.Warne has been charged by the ACB with using a prohibited method and faces a possible two-year suspension if found guilty.His hearing will be held in Melbourne this week.

Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe:Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 73 runs to complete 9000 ODI runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 45 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 3 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket club
Marvan Atapattu (SL) needs 96 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Hashan Tillakaratne (SL) needs 117 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) need 19 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 174 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 5 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Aravinda De Silva (1028) needs 56 runs to become the second leading WorldCup run-getter, current second place record holder is Javed Miandad (1083)Australia v Kenya:Damien Martyn (AUS) needs 156 runs to complete 3000 ODI runs
Ricky Ponting (AUS) needs 165 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
Andy Symonds (AUS) needs 36 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Hitesh Modi (KEN) needs 147 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Ricky Ponting (AUS) needs 162 runs to complete 1000 World Cup runs
Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 14 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Darren Lehmann (AUS) needs 178 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Steve Tikolo (KEN) needs 38 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 67 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Kennedy Otieno (KEN) needs 89 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Ravindu Shah (KEN) needs 128 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 192 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Glenn McGrath (AUS) needs 9 wickets to join the 50 World Cup wicket-club
Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 7 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club

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Zimbabwe’s captain, Heath Streak, will play against Sussexin the four-day tour match which starts at Hove tomorrow, after recoveringfrom a back injury that dogged him throughout last week’s game againstWorcestershire. Geoff Marsh, Zimbabwe’s coach, said that Streak wasespecially keen to play, given that this was the final warm-up match beforethe first Test, which starts at Lord’s next Thursday.With the exception of Douglas Hondo, who is being rested,Zimbabwe’s team is likely to be the Test side. Hondo’s replacement, MlulekiNkala, is playing his first match of the tour and is an outside bet forLord’s. Barney Rogers and Travis Friend also drop out of the side thatplayed in Worcester, with the allrounders Sean Ervine and Douglas Marilliertaking their places.At first glance, the team looks very short of specialistbatsmen, but their strength is in their allrounders. Raymond Price is theonly man not to have scored a century at first-class level, but even he hasseveral fifties to his name. The allrounders, in fact, have often donebetter than the specialist batsmen, and as Worcestershire discovered, thisteam cannot be counted out until the tenth wicket falls.Streak will probably nurse himself with the ball to ensurehe has no fitness problems before the Test, leaving most of the seam bowlingto Andy Blignaut, Sean Ervine and Nkala. Nkala was in such woeful form afew months ago that he was omitted from the World Cup squad, but hasimproved since then and will be keen to impress. Price will expect plenty ofwork with his left-arm spin, but Marillier’s offspin and Grant Flower’s slowleft-arm will probably also be used.Marsh believed the tie against Worcestershire had done the team a lot of good. “There was a lot of intensity and real pressure outthere,” he said. “Some practice games fade out and have little value, butthe pressure was on the team the whole time [at Worcester]. I think wedominated the match on the whole, although the result doesn’t show that. Itwas a good warm-up game.”Sussex, ironically, will be captained by former Zimbabweanbatsman, Murray Goodwin, who scored a magnificent 148 not out at TrentBridge in 2000 in Zimbabwe’s last Test against England. As is sadly thecase these days, Sussex will not be fielding a full-strength side,although they themselves could do with a boost after their heavy defeat byWarwickshire over the weekend. For Zimbabwe, there is little doubt thattheir main aim will be a morale-boosting win on the eve of the Lord’s Test.Zimbabwe 1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Mark Vermeulen, 3 Stuart Carlisle, 4 GrantFlower, 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Sean Ervine, 7 Douglas Marillier, 8 HeathStreak (capt), 9 Andy Blignaut, 10 Mluleki Nkala, 11 Raymond Price.

Just two days after the Delhi High Court allowed him to play domestic cricket again, Ajay Jadeja won two minor battles both on and off the field. Playing for Air Sahara in his comeback match in a local day-night tournament in New Delhi, Jadeja slammed 45 and a 78-ball 101 in consecutive games over the weekend.There was more good news for Jadeja today, when the Supreme Court declined the Indian board’s request to stay the High Court order and prevent Jadeja from appearing in any more domestic matches.The 1000 fans who turned up to watch Jadeja’s comeback were treated to some entertaining batting, as Jadeja belted eight fours and six sixes in his century on Sunday.Expectedly, Jadeja was pleased with his weekend’s effort. “It’s great to be back. I still dream of playing for India again. Cricket remains my first love. I just want to play.”Jadeja had been banned by the Indian board (BCCI) for five years for alleged links with bookmakers, but the decision was overturned by the Delhi High Court after Jadeja appealed against the ruling. The court, however, stated that Jadeja’s return to international cricket remained the prerogative of the BCCI and the selection committee. Despite an encouraging return, Jadeja is a long way from achieving that goal.

The Indian team might be a star-studded one, but John Wright, their coach, has warned that a lack of consistency could cost anyone his place.”We don’t want players to rest on their laurels," said Wright, speaking to the press at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. "You need to be performing consistently all the time, and it’s important for the players who are playing for India to know that young and keen and hungry players will try and force themselves into the top side."Wright’s words were directed in part at the members of the India A squad, currently at the Academy for an 18-day training camp under their newly appointed coach, Sandeep Patil. India A begin a tour of England on June 22, which could be a make-or-break tour for some of them.Wright said: “It is very good from my point of view because I get to work with some of the boys who might have an opportunity to force themselves into the top side. I am looking forward to it.”Both Wright and Patil will work at preparing the team for the six-week tour, but Wright was not apprehensive about dichotomies in coaching styles, pointing out that both he and Patil, after all, had a common goal. “I have played against him (Patil)," said Wright. "I admire him for the job he has done for the Kenyan team. It’s important that coaches learn from each other.”

Shane Warne, who is serving a year-long ban for drug use, is convinced that the time spent on the sidelines will help prolong his career. He tested positive for a banned diuretic in the build-up to the World Cup in February, and was sent home without playing a game.Speaking to BBC Online during a brief visit to Hampshire, whom he would have captained this summer but for the ban, he said, “I’m enjoying this break and it will probably help me play for longer. I’m the fittest I’ve ever been in my life. All the little niggles and shoulder problems have had 12 months to settle down.”Warne reckons he has another five years of cricket left in him, and sees the ban as no more than a temporary aberration. He did admit however that it hit him hard initially. “At the moment, I miss playing for Australia and representing my country,” he said. “But I know the time will come when hopefully I will be back out there. I see this as a hiccup, no more than a hiccup,” he added. Despite the ban, has been awarded a contract by the Australian Cricket Board.While Warne’s making the most of his enforced vacation, he insisted that motivation wouldn’t be a problem when he makes his way back next February. “Playing for Australia, you don’t need any motivation,” he said. “That’s motivation enough.”

National League Division TwoDivision Two Table Hampshire 216 for 8 (Kenway 78) beat Northamptonshire 162 (Mascarenhas 4 for 22, Udal 4 for 40) by 54 runs
ScorecardDimitri Mascarenhas and Shaun Udal took advantage of The Rose Bowl lights as Hampshire bowled out the league leaders Northamptonshire for a meagre 162 and won by a comfortable 54 runs.While the Northants bowlers struggled to extract life from the pitch, Mascarenhas darted the ball around at will, and took the two big wickets of Mike Hussey and Phil Jaques early on, both trapped lbw with the ball swinging in to their pads. That left Northants on a stuttering 19 for 3 and two more wickets from Mascarenhas sank them in to further trouble at 50 for 5.David Sales provided some resistance with 73 from 115 balls, but while his team-mates continued to perish at regular intervals, he was fighting a lost cause. He was eventually last man out, bowled by Udal, who wrapped up the tail with 4 for 40 as Northants crashed to 162.For Hampshire, Derek Kenway held the innings together with 78 from 112 balls, and put on 75 for the second wicket with James Hamblin, who scored 32. It was Hampshire’s seventh win of the season and pushed them up to third spot of the second division.

Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Sri Lanka’s legspinning allrounder, narrowlyescaped serious injury after a car accident on Saturday morning thatkilled a woman and critically injured her son.Lokuarachchi, who claims to have fallen asleep at the wheel, lost control of his car and ploughed it through a wall and into a house. He suffered minor shoulder injuries.”He knocked into a mother and son waiting at a bus stand at 4.20am on Saturday morning,” confirmed police spokesman Rienze Perera. “The mother later succumbed to her injuries in Ragama National Hospital while the son is still critically injured.”Lokuarachchi was arrested by the Kadawata police and examined by a medicalofficer who reported that he had not been under the influence of alcohol. Heappeared before a magistrate at 6pm the same day and was released on bail of 50,000 rupees (US$500).He will appear before court on August 29 charged with causing a fatalaccident.Lokuarachchi, 21, has played three Tests and five one-day internationals.