Australia's tour of Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Cricket Union hopes that Australia will reconsider their decision to cancel their upcoming tour due to safety concerns.

"We are obviously terribly disappointed," ZCU president Peter Chingoka said in reaction to the news.

"We received their media release this morning with a heavy heart.

"We hope there is still time to restore it," he added.

Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle said his players wanted nothing more than the chance to play Australia, but that he understood the Australian Cricket Board's concerns.

Australia's tour of South Africa

Third one-day international, Potchefstroom,
South Africa 259-7 (50 overs) v Australia 259-9 (50 overs).

Jimmy Maher and Nathan Hauritz put together an explosive last wicket partnership to take Australia to a tie in the third one-day international against South Africa at Potchefstroom.

It was the third match in the last three years between these two sides to finish with the scores level.

The 1999 World Cup semi-final and the third match of the 2000 indoor series in Melbourne were both equally thrilling.

Australia had been coasting to victory with Matthew Hayden and Darren Lehmann at the wicket.
Scorecard | Match report | Images

Hollioake's funeral

Former England Test and one-day international cricketer Ben Hollioake was cremated on Thursday, five days after he died in a car accident in Perth.

The private ceremony took place in Fremantle and followed Wednesday's funeral service, which was attended by over 250 people.

Adam Hollioake, another former England international, delivered an emotional tribute to his brother, describing Ben as a vibrant person.

"He was a beautiful work of art, a classic sculpture," he told mourners at the Catholic church. The 24-year-old died early on Saturday morning when his Porsche hit a brick wall as he and his girlfriend, who remains in a critical condition, were returning home after a family dinner.

Among mourners at the funeral were England Test captain Nasser Hussain and many of Hollioake's former Surrey teammates, including former England captain Alec Stewart.

Miscellaneous

New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has been forced to withdraw from becoming Nottinghamshire's overseas player this summer, because of his persistent injury problems.

Cairns was due to fulfil the first year of a two-year deal to play at Trent Bridge this season but has instead been booked in for surgery on his right knee.

It will rule him out of all cricket until the end of the year, having sustained the injury during the first Test against England in Christchurch a fortnight ago.

"I was given a choice of surgery or rest and rehabilitation," explained Cairns.

"On balance, I feel it's better to have the operation and recover over the winter with a definite goal of returning to play for New Zealand in next year's World Cup.

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The four non-Test-playing nations involved in next year's World Cup will be given a hand to prepare for their big day in a tournament in Namibia next month.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Six-Nations Challenge will take place in Namibian capital Windhoek from 5 to 15 April, the ICC confirmed on Tuesday.

Canada, Holland, and Namibia, who all qualified for the World Cup through last year's ICC Trophy for associate members, will all take part.

Joining them are Kenya, who have one-day international but not Test status, and A teams from Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

"The Challenge gives the qualifiers for next year's ICC Cricket World Cup an unprecedented opportunity to prepare for the biggest event of their cricket careers," ICC President Malcolm Gray said.

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