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World Vision (Australia) have pledged $500,000 to Sri Lanka Cricket’s fundraising appeal called Cricket-Aid, which will provide emergency relief to 1000 tsunami victims in the short term and also house 200 families in four `Cricket Villages’ in the long term.World Vision, the ICC’s official charity for their tsunami appeal, was approached by Sri Lanka Cricket and agreed in principle to the donation pending the receipt of a full proposal. The funds are being raised from television rights, gate receipts and memorabilia sales.Cricket-Aid, supported by Sri Lanka’s cricketers, was launched on Wednesday by the cricket board with a $25,000 donation from the Emirates Cricket Board. The aim is to raise $2 million over the coming weeks.Relief camps are being set-up in Dambulla, Matara and Badulla to provide shelter to those displaced by the disaster. Plans are also underway for the development of four `Cricket Villages’ in Killinochi and Ampara in the east, Matara in the south and Kalutara in the west.But Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya have appealed for even more donations to help rebuild their devastated country. Muralitharan, who will make his comeback from shoulder surgery in the fundraising match at the MCG, told reporters on Sunday: “There are millions of people homeless. [Their homes] need rebuilding – that’s the most important thing. If they don’t have houses, they can’t live.”Jayasuriya lost his family home in Matara – one of the designated Cricket Villages – which is 60 miles south of Colombo. “People who were there at the market: most of them died,” he said. “The house, the walls have gone, inside things have gone. We will have to rebuild again. People have lost their houses, lost their loved ones. It’s a very sad thing for our country. We need help from the international community coming and giving choppers and getting the food to the people.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Another pulsating day ended with England in control of the third Test, although Australia fought back after being made to follow on shortly before lunch. Indeed, until Ricky Ponting was run out after tea, Australia were looking relatively untroubled, their battle to wipe off a first-innings deficit of 259 aided by the absence of Simon Jones with an ankle injury.But Ponting was soon followed by Damien Martyn, although Michael Clarke and Simon Katich avoided any further mishaps in the final hour. Australia hadn’t followed on for 17 years, but that moment came when Simon Jones finally removed a stubborn Brett Lee to claim his fifth wicket this innings, his fourth of the morning.Australia started the day in tatters, and they were further shredded by Jones who ripped through them in an action-packed 90 minutes that would give football a run for its money in the excitement stakes, and then some.But in this game, there was no half-time break for Australia who were relentlessly pursued by an England pack with an ebullient Jones at the helm. With the momentum with them, everything went their way – including Andrew Strauss’s wonder catch to remove Adam Gilchrist just as he was starting to fire. Gilchrist was Andrew Flintoff’s victim in a morning which otherwise belonged to Jones.He struck twice in two balls to rock Australia just as they were beginning to hit out, with Gilchrist and Simon Katich launching a daring counterattack in the first half hour, with an array of ambitious shots. Michael Vaughan turned to Jones hoping for some more of his first-over magic. And Jones did not disappoint: with just his second ball he conjured up Simon Katich’s wicket, who flashed a loose delivery to one of the two gullies. Shane Warne fell next ball, sending a leading edge to cover after being turned inside out.

Flintoff popped up for a quick cameo, helped by Strauss’s ace of a catch. With Gilchrist well set, something special was required to prise him out, and this arrived when he flashed hard to second slip where a diving acrobatic Strauss strained all his sinews and stretched out his left hand to cling on by his fingertips.Back to the main act and, for his next trick, Jones cleaned up Michael Kasprowicz with one which pitched on middle and swung away. Then came Lee’s assault – brief, but battling: he clattered 47 from 44 balls, including three sixes, as he and Shaun Tait put on 43 for the tenth wicket. But Jones had one last trick up his sleeve and he removed Lee at third man. After such a morning of ooh-and-aah inducing magic, England held all the aces.But a shell-shocked Australia pulled themselves together, with Langer and Hayden grinding out a gritty opening stand of 50, just their second half-century partnership this series. They played patiently and watchfully but after reaching 50 there was little time for celebration when Hayden flashed one off Flintoff – in the first over of a new spell – straight to Ashley Giles at gully. It was the only wicket to fall by tea in a period of consolidation for Australia. Hayden made 26.Flintoff could have had Langer, too, on 37 when the batsman flashed an edge hard to Strauss at second slip at chest height. But Strauss, who had already taken two decent catches, put down the sitter. It is so often the way.Langer went on to make 61 and his was a fighting knock, as he withstood a barrage from Steve Harmison in particular, who found swing and a troubling good length. His gutsy innings was played with courage with Australia firmly up against it. Shortly after tea, though, his battling stand came to an end when the ball brushed his glove and found Ian Bell at short leg off Ashley Giles.Ricky Ponting wasn’t for lying down, either, and he batted well with some convincing strokeplay and was in sight of his half-century when, on 48, he fell in the first over of another change in the bowling – although how he was out was not, perhaps, how England would have expected, as Damien Martyn pushed to cover and called for a quick single.

Ponting ran hard from the non-striker’s end, but the substitute Gary Pratt – on for the injured Simon Jones who had been taken to hospital – threw down the stumps from a tight angle. A frustrated Ponting stormed off and levelled some choice words at anyone and everyone in earshot.It was another huge wicket for England and they were to pick up another in Flintoff’s next over. Perhaps unsettled by the departure of Ponting, Martyn fished at a loose one outside his offstump and nibbled through to Geraint Jones. A miserable series for Martyn continued – and he can’t have been looking forward to facing Ponting in the dressing room after the run out – although he could not complain about this decision. It was a clear edge.England were looking for just one more wicket before the close to add the icing on a very sweet cake indeed. But it was butterfingers not buttercream that was to mark the last action of the day, when Geraint Jones missed an easy stumping off Michael Clarke with the batsman on 35. Clarke added four more before Australia unblinkingly took the light 20 minutes before the end.This could prove a costly miss with Australia 37 runs from wiping out their deficit and six wickets still in hand. England know they can never write Australia off, but they will be the happier of the two teams this evening.

Australia1st inningsMatthew Hayden lbw b Hoggard 7 (20 for 1)
Ricky Ponting lbw b S Jones 1 (21 for 2)
Damien Martyn lbw b Hoggard 1 (22 for 3)
Justin Langer c Bell b Hoggard 27 (58 for 4)
Michael Clarke lbw b Harmison 36 (99 for 5)
Simon Katich c Strauss b S Jones 45 (157 for 6)
Shane Warne c Bell b S Jones 0 (157 for 7)
Adam Gilchrist c Strauss b Flintoff 27 (163 for 8)
Michael Kasprowicz b S Jones 5 (175 for 9)
Brett Lee c Bell b S Jones 47 (218)
2nd innings
Matthew Hayden c Giles b Flintoff 26 (50 for 1)
Justin Langer c Bell b Giles 61 (129 for 2)
Ricky Ponting run out (sub G Pratt) 48 (155 for 3)
Damien Martyn c G Jones b Flintoff 13 (161 for 4)

Points TableDelhi 251 and 222 for 2 (Gambhir 126, Chopra 62*) beat Bengal 240 and 232 (Dasgupta 56, Shukla 51, Bhandari 5-61, Kunal 4-72) by 8 wickets
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Amit Bhandari and Gautam Gambhir combined to power Delhi to a superb win against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. Bhandari took 5 for 61 as Bengal, resuming at a comfortable 190 for 3, were shot out for 232, losing seven wickets in just 11.3 overs this morning. Delhi then raced to their target of 222 in less than 50 overs, with Gambhir, coming in at No. 3, blasting 126 off just 111 balls with 20 fours and a six. Aakash Chopra played the sheet-anchor’s role to perfection, scoring an unbeaten 62 and adding 170 for the second wicket with Gambhir. With this win, Delhi moved to second in Group A and significantly increased their chances of making it to the last four, while Bengal slumped to last place and were in danger of relegation.Mumbai 292 and 264 for 8 dec beat Karnataka 166 and 185 (Joshi 45*, Powar 5-84) by 205 runs
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Mumbai further consolidated their position at the top of Group A, beating Karnataka by a convincing 205-run margin at the Wankhede Stadium to register their fourth win in six games. Requiring an improbable 391 for victory after Mumbai declared at their overnight total of 264 for 8, Karnataka lost wickets at regular intervals and never had a chance. Sunil Joshi, Karnataka’s most successful bowler with nine wickets in the match, made a defiant unbeaten 45, but the rest of the batsmen crumbled against Mumbai’s spin duo of Ramesh Powar and Nilesh Kulkarni. Powar took five for 84 to add to the four wickets he took in the first innings, while Kulkarni’s three wickets gave him a match haul of eight.Uttar Pradesh 282 and 234 for 5 (Shamshad 78, Yadav 50) beat Maharashtra 394 and 119 by 5 wickets
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Rizwan Shamshad and Jyoti Prakash Yadav led Uttar Pradesh as they completed a superb come-from-behind win at Karad. Trailing by 112 runs in the first innings, UP bundled Maharashtra out for 119 in the second innings, and then confidently achieved the victory target of 232, losing only five wickets. Shamshad made 78 and Yadav struck 50, but the crucial partnership came between Shamshad and Anurag Shukla. The two added 114 for the fourth wicket, taking UP from a wobbly 92 for 3 to a safe 206 for 4. From there, it was a canter.Railways 263 and 270 for 4 dec (Pagnis 145, Bangar 51) beat Andhra Pradesh 202 and 198 (Varma 50, Jai P Yadav 4-38) by 133 runs
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Railways won their first Ranji game of the season, beating Andhra Pradesh by 133 runs at Anantapur. Amit Pagnis powered Railways’ second innings with a 175-ball 145, which allowed them to declare on 270 for 4 and give their bowlers enough time to take ten wickets. They managed that, thanks to Jai P Yadav, who took 4 for 38 as AP were bowled out for just 198. The win lifted Railways to fourth in Group A, while AP slid to sixth spot.Gujarat 353 and 124 for 1 (Joshipura 68*) drew with Madhya Pradesh 280 (Tomar 55*, Makda 5-69)
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Gujarat took the first-innings points after their match against Madhya Pradesh ended in a tame draw at Ahmedabad. Resuming at their overnight total of 242 for 7, MP were bowled out for 280, 73 short of Gujarat’s first-innings total. A Makda and Hitesh Majumdar shared nine wickets, with Makda taking a five-for. For MP, B Tomar battled bravely to score an unbeaten 55. With nothing at stake once the first-innings lead had been obtained, Gujarat eased to 124 for 1 in their second innings.
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Baroda completed a stunning fightback and enhanced their prospects of reaching the semi-final stage after a four-wicket win against Tamil Nadu at Vadodara. Having completed all their league games, Tamil Nadu will now await the results of the last league round. Chasing 272 for victory, Baroda were in a deep hole at 113 for 5 but Kiran Powar and Yusuf Pathan added 159 in an unbeaten seventh-wicket stand and sealed the win. Powar stroked 11 fours in his steady 90 while Yusuf, Irfan’s brother, cracked 81 in 124 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. For the second successive game Baroda came back from a low first-innings score to triumph in a thrilling chase. They take on Uttar Pradesh in the final league game, beginning on December 31, and need to win with a bonus point to ensure a place in the last four.
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Hyderabad’s 60-run win in a low-scoring scrap gave them a great chance of entering the semi-finals. Chasing 278 for victory, Punjab couldn’t manage sizeable partnerships as Gaurav Gupta, who made a solid 87, lost partners at regular intervals. Gupta was stranded on 87 when the last wicket fell. Narender Pal Singh, the medium pacer, snapped up four wickets while Inder Shekar Reddy, the left-arm spinner, picked up three. Earlier VRV Singh, Punjab’s 20-year-old fast bowler, completed a great match with six wickets in the second innings, and finished with 13 for 115 for the game. The Punjab batsmen, though, faltered in both innings and though they were still favourites to make it to the semi-finals, big wins for Baroda and Hyderabad in the final league game would snuff out their chances.

Close Western Australia 6 for 562 dec and 5 for 244 (Langer 84, North 82*) lead Tasmania 5 for 384 dec (Dighton 101, Watson 139, Marsh 51*) by 422 runs
ScorecardThe run-fest continued at the Bellerive Oval, as 436 were scored for seven wickets on the third day of the Pura Cup match between Tasmania and Western Australia. Tasmania got 192 of those – doubling their overnight total – for the loss of just two wickets, allowing them to declare at 5 for 384, 178 adrift of WA’s first-innings total. By close of play, WA had stretched that lead to 422.Michael Dighton and Shane Watson, the unbeaten batsmen, were the stars for Tasmania. Both notched up hundreds, and put together 194 for the fourth wicket, bailing the team out from a tricky 87 for 3. Dighton made 101 before being trapped in front by Marcus North, the part-time offspinner, while Watson went on to score 139 from 193 balls.Justin Langer led Western Australia’s reply after Tasmania’s bold declaration, scoring 84 in quick time. North then came in and hammered a rapid 82 not out off just 84 balls, inclusive of 10 fours and two sixes, ensuring that WA had enough runs on the board to allow Langer the option of declaring at the overnight total and give his bowlers an entire day to take ten wickets.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, slammed the pitch at the Brabourne Stadium after his team folded for just 108 and lost to New Zealand by 87 runs, suggesting that the wicket was not up to the mark for an international tournament. “Batting second was very, very difficult,” he said. “It’s always tough to sit and moan about a wicket when you’ve lost, but in terms of an international tournament I don’t think the wicket was of a good standard today.”Interestingly it was Smith who won the toss and chose to put New Zealand in. He pointed to the much-talked-about dew factor when explaining this decision. “Last year we were here in November and there was a lot of dew,” he said. “Dew was a big factor. The wickets played quite well then. This wicket was going through the top, it was turning almost square.”Smith also suggested that his decision to put New Zealand in, one that backfired on him in the end, was based on what he saw of the early matches played in this tournament. “In the first two games the sides which batted first really struggled. In those games it seemed like the ball came on better in the second innings,” he said. “Today it was the total opposite. It just deteriorated from 10 overs onwards. The pitch broke up, the ball turned a hell of a lot.” He added that captains might need to assess things differently in the rest of the tournament. “We’re just going to have to read a pitch, go by the gut feeling on the day and stick by that. I don’t think the pitches are going to provide a 100 overs of good cricket.”When Smith was done criticising the pitch he trained his sights on the ICC for the scheduling of matches in this tournament. “It’s a bit tough to work that out. You have eight days to the next game and then two games in three days. It could have been spaced a lot better,” he said. “Who knows what the ICC’s thinking was when they scheduled the games this way. The gap gives us a chance to regroup but ideally we would have liked to be playing a lot sooner than we are.”When asked if his team’s shot selection could have been better, Smith said there was little wrong with the way his batsmen played. “I don’t think the shot selection was that bad. Some guys could have waited for the ball longer, others went after balls that were there to cut and ended up nicking.” he said. “When a wicket’s like this you end up changing your whole gameplan and end up missing out on something. I think our shot selection was fine, we just needed to grind a bit more.”In contrast, Stephen Fleming did not slam the pitch as Smith did. “Yes, the pitches are a bit different this time around, from what we usually experience in India. As the tournament progresses, it is going to be tough on the viewers and in this respect I can understand Graeme’s complaints. But our job is to play in whatever pitches given to us and play accordingly.” And he certainly adapted better than anyone else on the day.Fleming also conceded that he was not entirely sure that his team had enough runs on the board, but grew more comfortable after seeing how the pitch behaved as the second innings progressed. “I was afraid a bit as we lost nearly five overs in our innings,” he said. “We were aiming 220 to 230, which we thought was really competent in this pitch. It was a bit tough to concentrate as wickets were tumbling at regular intervals at the other end. Once we saw the ball stopping a bit off the wicket, we realised that we are in with a chance in this game.”

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The West Indians’ tour match against Border at East London ended in a drizzly draw after persistent rain, and a saturated outfield meant there was no play for the second consecutive day.It spoiled an interestingly poised match with the West Indians leading by 195 runs in their second innings. However, rain had the final say and Brian Lara and his team will now prepare for the Boxing Day Test at Durban.Day 2 Bulletin
Adam Sanford did his chances of a Test recall no harm after he took 5 for 58 to give the West Indians the advantage in their tour match against Border. After Border were dismissed for 251, a half-century from Ramnaresh Sarwan guided the West Indians to 168 for 3 at the close of the second day.Resuming on 68 for 2, Border made a quiet start before they lost three wickets for three runs as Sanford cut through their middle order. He trapped Steven Pope lbw for 28 and then dismissed Justin Kreusch and Laden Gamiet in the space of three balls.Piet Stydom and Abongile Sodumo steadied the innings with a stand of 81 before Strydom, who top-scored with 74, was one of Dave Mohammed victims. Mohammed, the wrist-spinner and late call-up to the squad, also impressed with 3 for 89 as the last four wickets fell in only six overs.Vasbert Drakes also grabbed a couple. He had both Burton de Wett and Abongile Sodumo caught as West Indies gained a first-innings lead of 27 runs.When the West Indians batted again Sarwan led the reply with 71 not out, batting for three-and-a-half hours. He started briskly, reaching his fifty from 55 balls, but thereafter chose to consolidate, the next 21 runs coming off 63 balls.But Wavell Hinds’ continuing poor form was a worry, managing 1 from 24 balls before he prodded at Tyron Henderson and was caught behind.

Hampshire made an amazing charge on the fourth day to achieve the task of taking 18 wickets, for an unlikely result after no play was possible on the third day. They achieved 17 – agonisingly close to a much needed victory. Despite taking 12 points from maximum bonus points and the draw, they languish at the bottom of the Frizzell Championship Division Two table, having drawn 5 and losing one. The weather has been unkind to Hampshire Cricket this season.Durham started the last day on 107 for 2 and comfortably advanced to 175 without further loss, until, shortly before lunch the innings was turned on its head by three wickets in one over from Alan Mullally. Mullally removed Gary Pratt lbw, bowled Nicky Peng second ball, and enticed Danny Law to edge to the wicket-keeper. When debutant James Lowe then fell lbw to Wasim Akram for 80, four wickets had tumbled for just 4 runs. 20 year old Lowe had batted patiently for his 80 runs, and proved that this was a young lad with a good future.Phil Mustard then became the second of the Pakistanis victims when he played back only to find his off-stump cart wheeling. Nicky Phillips then met the same fate as Durham were staring having to follow on. Ed Giddins took the last two wickets of the innings as Killeen was well caught by Will Kendall, then Deward Pretorius who had been batting with a runner was bowled.Following on, Durham lost both openers cheaply before tea, Jon Lewis edged Mascarenhas to Simon Katich at first-slip, and Lowe fended off Giddins for the first of Robin Smith’s four catches at forward short leg.Simon Katich then came into the act, his brand of slow left-hand chinamen bamboozled the Durham middle order, and Wasim Akram at the Pavilion end took the wicket of Law lbw, with an swinging yorker he has made his own.The visitors then rallied as the 8th wicket partnership survived 17 overs. Phil Mustard and Liam Plunkett held Hampshire at bay, as John Crawley swapped his batsmen around. Plunkett finally fell to another Wasim lbw. Phillips often a thorn in Hampshire’s side came to the crease, and with Killeen survived until with 9 balls remaining Kileen became Wasim’s 3rd wicket.Phillips was joined by Daward Pretorius who with a runner, battled hard to save the game, and most of the crowd were surprised to find that in the last hour there was time for another over, but despite Wasim at full pace, Phillips survived to end the match as a draw.

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Kent 101 for 2 trail Surrey 401 by 300 runs at The Oval
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Rob Ferley’s career-best figures of 4 for 76 weren’t enough to prevent Surrey taking control on the second day at The Oval. Surrey resumed on 245 for 3, and Mark Butcher fell early, caught behind for 144 off Ben Trott, before Alec Stewart followed swiftly for 1. But Ian Salisbury’s unbeaten 34 from 31 balls carried Surrey past 400. Kent soon lost David Fulton and Michael Carberry, but Andrew Symonds and Ed Smith were looking imposing at the crease, and by the close they had added an unbeaten 61 for the third wicket.Essex 178 for 7 trail Lancashire 218 by 40 runs at Chelmsford
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Nasser Hussain continued his return to form with a fluent 54 from 71 balls, and Andy Flower added 46, but Essex were made to struggle after dispatching Lancashire for 218 on the first day. Hussain and Flower resumed in the morning on a precarious 6 for 2, and at first made batting look pretty simple as they added 90 for the third wicket, with Sajid Mahmood conceding 67 from 10 overs. But Hussain was caught behind off Glenn Chapple, and Flower was trapped lbw by Carl Hooper, who bowled a tight 10-over spell of offspin. Lancashire were right back in the game by the close, as Ronnie Irani and James Middlebrook fell in quick succession just before the close.Leicestershire 215 for 3 trail Warwickshire 253 by 38 runs at Leicester
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Only 34 overs were possible on the second day at Grace Road, but John Maunders and Darren Maddy enlivened the atmosphere by adding 156 for the second wicket in double-quick time, as Leicestershire approached first-innings parity with wickets in hand. Maunders eventually fell for 64, and Brad Hodge didn’t last long, but Maddy was still there at the close, on 88 not out.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire 80 for 8 trail Yorkshire 314 for 7 by 364 runs at Derby
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Craig White extended his overnight 102 to a superb 173 not out, as Yorkshire dominated on all fronts against Derbyshire. White’s principal ally was Steve Kirby, who hung around for almost an hour and a half to add 96 for the tenth wicket. Kirby then ripped the head off Derbyshire’s innings, removing Michael Di Venuto, Chris Bassano and Mohammad Kaif in quick succession. Dominic Hewson became the third duck of Derbyshire’s innings when he was caught by Stephen Fleming off Ryan Sidebottom, and Sidebottom had reduced Derbyshire to 55 for 8 with three more wickets, by the time Nathan Dumelow put in some much-needed resistance with an unbeaten 20 from 27 balls.Northamptonshire 163 for 9 lead Hampshire 125 by 38 runs at Northampton
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Dimitri Mascarenhas led Hampshire’s fightback with five wickets on a rain-affected day, to finish with 6 for 43. James Bruce added the scalp of Toby Bailey to his two wickets on the first evening, and Northants were indebted to a gritty 46 from Damian Wright, who clung on for an hour and a half. Rain had kept the teams off the pitch throughout the morning session, and it was Ben Phillips who kept Hampshire at bay in the final hour. His more-than-handy 30 from 37 balls inched Northants into the lead, and by the close they had a potentially vital 38-run advantage.Somerset 477 lead Gloucestershire 228 and 31 for 0 by 218 runs at Taunton
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Aaron Laraman’s maiden first-class century, and a career-best 76 from Nixon McLean, helped Somerset to take charge against their local rivals Gloucestershire. Somerset had been in some bother at 136 for 5 when Laraman came to the crease, but his 108-run partnership with Michael Burns turned the game around. Laraman started slowly, but having reached 59, he launched a savage assault on Ian Harvey, lamping him for 34 runs in 11 balls. McLean then took over the big-hitting duties, dominating their ninth-wicket stand of 108 with nine fours and four sixes. Gloucestershire reached the close without losing any second-innings wickets, but they have it all to do to escape with a draw.Durham 120 and 145 for 3 trail Worcestershire 218 and 198 by 153 runs at Worcester
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Fifteen more wickets fell on the second day, to add to the 18 on Wednesday, as Worcestershire and Durham fought towards a gripping finish on a treacherous pitch. By the close, Durham needed another 153 runs to record their third successive Championship win, but they had lost three important wickets. Despite conceding a hefty first innings deficit of 98 runs, Durham bounced back to dismiss Worcestershire for 198 in 51.5 overs. Liam Plunkett took 3 for 61 and was well backed up by Shoaib Akhtar, Steve Harmison and Nicky Phillips, who each took two apiece. Durham’s target of 297 looked pretty distant when Michael Gough and Martin Love fell in the same over to Matt Mason, but Jon Lewis and Gary Pratt added 67 for the third wicket to steady the nerves. Pratt was still there at the close, on 46, with Gordon Muchall not out on 10.Tour match
Nottinghamshire 265 for 3 v India A
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No play today due to rain.

A maiden first-class century from Victorian David Hussey guided the Bushrangers to first innings points today and a shot at history in the Pura Cup match against Queensland at the Gabba.Victoria was in a commanding position at the end of the second day’s play with the Bushrangers at 6-351 in response to Queensland’s first innings effort of 277.Hussey, the younger brother of Western Australian batsman Mike Hussey, compiled a hard-hitting 106 off 140 balls which included 20 fours and a six before he was eventually caught behind by Bulls keeper Wade Seccombe off the bowling of Joe Dawes.The Bushrangers will be hoping to maintain their dominance tomorrow and secure Victoria’s first outright victory at the Gabba since 1983 when Ray Bright led the southern visitors to an all-too-rare win.Victoria’s previous outright success in Brisbane before the 1983 win came in February 1965.Hussey joined opener Jason Arnberger at the crease shortly after the lunch break with the Bushrangers’ run chase teetering on the brink at 4-143.They combined for a 120-run stand to dash Queensland’s hopes of claiming first-innings points.The Bulls were their own worst enemies as both Hussey and Arnberger were dropped off the bowling of Dawes during the second session of play.Arnberger was eventually dismissed for 89 when he was trapped lbw after shouldering arms to a Shane Jurgensen delivery but the damage was well and truly done.After passing Queensland’s score midway through the final session, Victoria pressed home its advantage with Jon Moss (33 not out) and captain Cameron White (25 not out) helping the Bushrangers build the leads to 74 runs.The Bulls were in with a chance of stealing first innings points earlier in the day after they snared wickets either side of the lunch break.Mitchell Johnson picked up the valuable scalp of Brad Hodge for 40 just before the break and Andrew McDonald’s departure soon after the resumption of play gave the Bulls a sniff.However, the initiative was snatched from their grasp by Hussey and Arnberger who played patiently but severely punished some wayward Queensland bowling.Hussey said he was not overly jubilant despite bringing up his maiden first-class ton.”I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t go on with it and got out straight after I got the hundred,” Hussey said.”It was good conditions for batting.”

Lucy Pearson today became only the second woman in the history of women’sTest cricket to take an eleven-wicket haul in a match, equalling a recordwhich has stood for 46 years.Pearson, who took 7-51 in the first innings, and 4-57 in the second, joinsthe Australian, Betty Wilson, who took eleven wickets in Adelaide in 1957against England. Pearson was named Player of The Match.The Ashes remain in Australia following the one Test win for the home sideat The Gabba last week, as the closely contested second Test ended in a drawtoday at The Bankstown Oval, Sydney.Australia regained the initiative following a strong opening two days fromEngland, with Lisa Sthalaker and Alex Blackwell putting on a fifth wicketworld record stand of 136, which was also held by Betty Wilson and V Battyfrom the 1957 series.Once Pearson bowled Blackwell, Edwards dismissed Julie Hayes with a directhit run-out and Claire Taylor caught Fitzpatrick from the bowling of herYorkshire namesake for 11. Sthalaker finished the innings on 121 not outand Australia declared on 259-7, a lead of 206.England made the worst possible start to the run chase, losing opener SarahCollyer for 3 trapped lbw by Emma Twining in the 4th over but Kathryn Lengand Charlotte Edwards began building a platform, reaching their 50partnership in the 29th over.England Head Coach, John Harmer, reflected that many positives have comefrom this tour, not least the return to fluent form of Edwards and Leng’sresilience in opening the batting.Australia struck back either side of tea interval, Leng lbw to centurionSthalaker for 28 and Thompson trapped the same way by Player of the Series,Cathryn Fitzpatrick for just 4; still 142 runs in arrears.Whilst Edwards remained at the crease, England always had a chance as theKent batter hit out with an array of shots, including twenty runs in threeovers, driving Twining sweetly through the on-side, sweeping Kris Britt andpulling Hayes in consecutive deliveries.Edwards was unfortunate to be given lbw to Fitzpatrick with the third ballof her third spell, to a delivery which climbed sharply and struck above thepad.When Fitzpatrick bowled the seventeen-year-old Lydia Greenway for 0, ClaireTaylor, who has found some real constituency in England’s middle order,settled nerves again. Taylor frustrated the Australia bowling attack in thelast Ashes Series, reaching 137 at Headingley to ensure they batted for asecond time, and here she added 21 not out to her 48 not out in the firstinnings.England’s batting has lost much of the vulnerability which the Australian’sexploited eighteen months ago, and despite losing Captain, Clare Connor, for0, Taylor and Newton ended the match unbeaten, with a deficit of 74 runs andthree wickets in hand.Reflecting on the Series, John Harmer said “we’ve come a long way togetheras a team on this tour, and I’m proud of everything the players haveachieved. When we arrived in New Zealand for the quadrangular series lastmonth, we were ranked 5th in the world and had already been written off inthe Ashes series. Now, we’re ranked at 3 in one-day cricket and havecompeted in every session of the Test matches.The players are starting to realise they’re really not that far away fromAustralia who are ranked number 1 and we’re closing the gap all the time.We have some genuine match winners in the side in addition to some youngtalent. We’ll look forward to facing South Africa this summer at home”.