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The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has announced that West End Redbacks recruit Andy Flower has chosen the Sturt District Cricket Club as his Grade club for season 2003-04.Signed to play with the West End Redbacks for the next three seasons, Flower chose Sturt primarily for its close proximity to Adelaide Oval.Flower is the first international player signed to the Redbacks since England’s Gladstone Small played for West Torrens in 1985-86, to play Grade cricket in South Australia.The Sturt District Cricket Club approached Flower earlier this year and anticipates that he will be involved in supporting junior programs at the club.Expected to arrive in Adelaide at the beginning of October, Flower should be available to play his first game for Sturt on October 11, with the possibility of playing 12 out of 25 days of Grade cricket with the club.Although not a part of Flower’s decision-making, Redbacks coach Wayne Phillips played cricket for the Sturt District Cricket Club for about 22 years.The SACA’s cricket operations manager, Harvey Jolly, said the decision by Flower would be a real boost to the club."Sturt are a mature cricket club, with an impressive history and an excellent development program in place. I’m sure the club will take this opportunity to ensure Andy’s presence around the club helps to boost the enthusiasm of its players, particularly its younger cricketers.""There is no doubt that Andy’s participation will see an overall boost to the Grade competition in South Australia, and we would also expect to see the interest level in the competition grow."

Hampshire start their 2002 County Championship First Division campaign with a visit to Canterbury on the 19th April, and their first home match is against Leicestershire on 24th April.India are the tourists this year with a proposed 3-day fixture on 20th July, but this is still to be confirmed.In the Norwich Union League, Hampshire again have one floodlit match at West End against Lancashire on Tuesday 23rd July, but they play three other day/night matches on the road, at Old Trafford, The Oval and Hove.All home matches to be played at The Hampshire Rose Bowl

Fri 19 Apr – Mon 22 Apr CCH1 Kent Canterbury (4 days)Wed 24 Apr – Sat 27 Apr CCH1 Leicestershire West End (4 days)Mon 29 Apr BHC Kent West End (1 day)Wed 1 May BHC Surrey AMP Oval (1 day)Fri 3 May BHC Sussex Hove (1 day)Sun 5 May BHC Essex Chelmsford (1 day)Mon 6 May BHC Middlesex West End (1 day)Wed 8 May to Sat 11 May CCH1 Kent West End (4 days)Sun 12 May NUL2 Gloucestershire West End (1 day)Wed 15 May to Sat 18 May CCH1 Warwickshire Edgbaston (4 days)Tue 21 May OR Wed 22 May BHC Quarter Final (1 day)Fri 24 May to Mon 27 May CCH1 Yorkshire Headingley (4 days)Wed 29 May CGT Kent CB Folkestone (1 day)Fri 31 May to Mon 3 Jun CCH1 Warwickshire West End (4 days)Tue 4 Jun NUL2 Middlesex Lord’s (1 day)Thu 6 Jun OR Fri 7 Jun BHC Semi-Final (1 day)Sun 9 Jun NUL2 Derbyshire West End (1 day)Wed 12 Jun to Sat 15 Jun CCH1 Somerset Bath (4 days)Sun 16 Jun NUL2 Surrey West End (1 day)Tue 18 Jun OR Wed 19 Jun * CGT Somerset Taunton (1 day)Sat 22 Jun BHC Final (1 day)Sat 23 Jun Prov India West End (1 day)Sun 24 Jun Prov West Indies ‘A’ West End (1 day)Tue 25 Jun to Thu 27 Jun UNI Loughborough UCCE West End (3 days)Wed 3 Jul to Sat 6 Jul CCH1 Sussex West End (4 days)Sun 7 Jul NUL2 Sussex West End (1 day)Wed 10 Jul to Sat 13 Jul CCH1 Leicestershire Leicester (4 days)Sun 14 Jul NUL2 Essex Southend (1 day)Tue 16 Jul OR Wed 17 Jul CGT Quarter-Final (1 day)Tue 18 Jul NUL2 Gloucestershire Cheltenham (1 day)Sat 20 Jul to Mon 22 Jul TOM India West End (3 days)(To be confirmed)Tue 23 Jul (Floodlit) NUL2 Lancashire West End (1 day)Thu 25 Jul to Sun 28 Jul CCH1 Lancashire West End (4 days)Wed 31 Jul OR Thu 1 Aug CGT Semi-Final (1 day)Sat 3 Aug NUL2 Derbyshire Derby (1 day)Sun 4 Aug NUL2 Northamptonshire Northampton (1 day)Tue 6 Aug (Floodlit) NUL2 Lancashire Old Trafford (1 day)Wed 7 Aug to Sat 10 Aug UTMS England v India West End (4 days)Thu 8 Aug to Sun 11 Aug CCH1 Lancashire Old Trafford (4 days)Wed 14 Aug to Sat 17 Aug CCH1 Somerset West End (4 days)Sun 18 Aug NUL2 Essex West End (1 day)Wed 21 Aug (Floodlit) NUL2 Surrey AMP Oval (1 day)Thu 22 Aug to Sun 25 Aug CCH1 Surrey AMP Oval (4 days)Tue 27 Aug to Fri 30 Aug CCH1 Yorkshire West End (4 days)Sat 31 Aug CGT Final (1 day)Sun 1 Sep OR Mon 2 Sep NUL2 Middlesex West End (1 day)Tue 3 Sep (Floodlit) NUL2 Sussex Hove (1 day)Thu 5 Sep to Sun 8 Sep CCH1 Sussex Hove (4 days)Wed 11 Sep to Sat 14 Sep CCH1 Surrey West End (4 days)Sun 22 Sep NUL2 Northamptonshire West End (1 day)KeyCCH1 County Championship Division 1NUL2 Norwich Union League Division 2BHC Benson & Hedges CupCGT Cheltenham & Gloucester TrophyUNI University Centre of Cricketing ExcellenceTOM Tourist MatchProv Provisional – TBCUTMS Under 19 Test Match* Dependant on winning v Kent CB on 29 May

Nuwan Kulasekara has replaced the injured Dhammika Prasad in Sri Lanka’s squad for the ODI series in New Zealand, which begins on December 26. Prasad had been ruled out of the entire tour when he sustained a back injury during the tour game against New Zealand’s Board President’s XI in Queenstown. The uncapped Vishwa Fernando had replaced Prasad in the Test squad, but for the ODIs the selectors chose to go with the experienced Kulasekara, who has 182 wickets from 168 ODIs.Kithuruwan Vithanage, currently in the Test squad, will remain in New Zealand for the ODIs as well, as a replacement for Kusal Perera, who was suspended following a positive test for a banned substance.Sri Lanka are also keeping a close eye on the fitness of their ODI pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, who is recovering from a knee injury picked up during the recent home series against West Indies. If Malinga fails to clear a fitness test ahead of the ODI series, the allrounder Thisara Perera will take his place in the squad.

Newcastle United journalist Charlie Bennett has given his reaction to the news that Adam Webster has now been ruled out for Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Lowdown: Good chance

Given the recent form of the two teams, and the fact that they are playing at home, the St. James’ Park faithful should feel as if they have a good chance of picking up all three points this afternoon.

Of course, it may come down to who is available for both sides, with Allan Saint-Maximin still a doubt for the hosts.

The Latest: Webster out

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, Graham Potter has revealed that Webster will definitely miss out.

Taking to Twitter, The Chronicle reporter Bennett has claimed that losing him is a ‘huge blow’ for the Seagulls.

The Verdict: Boost

The loss of Webster will no doubt have the opposite effect for the North East club and should give them a boost going into the clash.

The central defender has missed their last two fixtures in the Premier League, in which Potter’s men have lost both and conceded five in the process.

He can be a real threat in both boxes, already notching up two goals this season, while he ranks highly among his teammates in terms of aerial duels won, interceptions, clearances, blocks, passes and long balls per game (WhoScored).

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Nonetheless, the Tyneside outfit know how good he is and thus much of a loss he will be, having reportedly enquired over his potential signing in the January transfer window, so Chris Wood could be licking his lips looking at the Seagulls’ makeshift defence.

In other news, find out what ‘utterly heartless’ NUFC update has now left this talkSPORT journalist stunned here!

Scorecard

	Mohammad Kaif’s 80 ensured UP reached 188 © Cricinfo Ltd

Saurashtra’s new-ball bowlers Sandeep Jobanputra and Sandip Maniar were the stars with the ball as Uttar Pradesh were bundled for 188, but by stumps, one of them was batting and the other – the last man – was padded up, as UP had Saurashtra tottering at 116 for 8.On a day when eighteen wickets fell – including four occasions when two fell in the same over – Saurashtra will rue letting UP recover after having them at 69 for 7.Saurashtra’s decision to field seemed to have paid off, with Maniar using the early morning freshness and the life in the wicket intelligently. He struck with the first ball he bowled, as Rohit Prakash opened the face and edged to wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani. A loose drive from Suresh Raina resulted in another edge to Jogiyani, before Amir Khan, playing in the absence of Tanmay Srivastava, was done in by one that pitched on the stumps and moved away. The first three dismissals had all come in similar fashion – caught Jogiyani bowled Maniar – as UP were reeling at 15 for 3.Mohammad Kaif and Ravikant Shukla then put together a sensible partnership, lifting the total to 69 in quick time. Kaif got a reprieve on 20 when he drove uppishly to wide mid-on; Rakesh Dhurv was late in moving and only got his fingertips to the ball. Shukla scored 29 off 28 balls with six cleanly struck boundaries, before he was out shouldering arms to Jobanputra off the first over after drinks.Piyush Chawla, promoted to No. 6, was caught on the crease to his first ball and Rahat Elahi didn’t stay long, edging a widish delivery off Maniar to Jogiyani. Praveen Kumar hit two fours before missing one from Kanaiya Vaghela as UP were reduced to 110 for 7 five minutes before lunch.The Moti Bagh wicket has a reputation for assisting the bowlers in the first and third sessions, and the first day’s play followed the script, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, playing his third first-class match, hung around with Kaif after lunch. He stuck to his task of playing second fiddle to Kaif: his first run came off the 17th ball he faced, the second off 29th, and the third from the 38th. The two put together 28 runs as Saurashtra let the game drift, allowing Kaif to take singles even off the fifth or sixth ball of the over.Kaif top scored with 80, and the lack of a third seamer hurt Saurashtra as Jobanputra and Maniar operated for the majority of the innings. Kaif, the UP captain, finally fell to a good diving catch by Jaydev Shah, his Saurashtra counterpart. They were lucky to nail him immediately after he had been reprieved: off the previous ball, Firoze Bhambhania had spilled a chance at mid-off off Maniar. The eighth-wicket partnership cost Saurashtra 49 crucial runs, with Bhuvneshwar contributing 14. UP were finally dismissed for 188, with Bhuvneshwar unbeaten on 33. Maniar took 6 for 88 and Jobanputra 3 for 60.Saurashtra were on top after bowling out UP for a low score, but it was now their turn to struggle with the bat. Praveen and Sudeep Tyagi took three wickets each while Bhuvneshwar took two. Praveen struck first in the third over, when Kanaiya Vaghela edged one which moved away.Shitanshu Kotak, who had batted for 796 minutes without getting out against Mumbai in the previous match, spent only two minutes and two balls in the middle this time. He was superbly set up by Praveen: the first ball moved away, and Kotak let it pass, but the next one straightened and trapped him plumb in front. Sudeep Tyagi then scalped the big wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, who played on to one that was quicker and rose more than expected. Saurashtra were reeling at 7 for 3.Shah, who in a surprise move opened the innings and was the best batsman of the day, then began to rebuild the innings. He played with soft hands, and didn’t miss out on any scoring opportunity.With Jogiyani, Shah added 31 for the fourth wicket before Praveen struck again as Jogiyani missed an offcutter. Shah dominated another brief partnership but Bhuvneshwar took two in two to pull Saurashtra down again. Soon after Shah reached his half-century, Mohammad Kaif brought Tyagi back into the attack and he delivered, removing Shah and Kamlesh Makvana off successive balls. Jobanputra survived the hat-trick and hit a few lusty blows in an unbroken 29-run ninth-wicket stand with Dhurv, who was not out on 21 at the close.

Ryan Watson struck a fine hundred on his comeback on the first day of Scotland’s warm-up match against a UAE Development XI at Sharjah.Watson fractured his cheekbone when he top-edged an attempted hook in Scotland’s one-dayer against Bangladesh last December, but he showed no signs of trouble in his brisk hundred. “He wasn’t at his fluent best at the start,” Peter Drinnen, the Scotland coach, told , “but then he hit a pull shot from a short ball, which was a good sign, and he just took it from there.”He was ably supported by Fraser Watts (38) and Gavin Hamilton (28) before Craig Wright, the Scotland captain, joined him in a valuable partnership in the middle of the innings. Wright, who has recovered quickly from a virus picked up on the flight over, batted neatly for his 43 as Scotland were dismissed for 308.The UAE Development XI closed on 13 for 1 going into the second and final day. Scotland face UAE in the decisive Intercontinental Cup match on January 11.