MELBOURNE: Australian pacer Jason Gillespie, whose World Cup agenda was aborted last month by a heel injury, is likely to be fit for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies. Team physiotherapist Errol Alcott believes the Test series start-date of April 10 in the Caribbean, gives Gillespie ample time to recover.

The injury is expected to take four to six weeks to heal and when the team leaves for the Caribbean on March 31 he would have already been sidelined for five weeks. Australian Cricket Board (ACB) doctor Trefor James looked at Gillespie’s last Friday and confirmed that the vastly improved fast bowler should not take beyond six weeks to recover. “If he progresses as we think he should, then he should come up trumps for the tour,” Alcott told reporters.

Alcott added that Gillespie’s injury could be related to an ongoing problem he has had since October 2002. Left-arm fast bowler Nathan Bracken replaced Gillespie in Australia’s World Cup squad. The Australians are scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean on April 2 for a four-Test series between April 10 and May 13, and seven One-Day Internationals from May 17 to June.

KINGSTOWN: Sri Lanka women’s cricket squad unleashed a battery of spinners on an unsuspecting St Vincent and the Grenadines to come away with a convincing 68-run victory in a warm-up match yesterday.

SCORES: Sri Lanka 199-9 (50 overs) vs St Vincent 131 (43.1 overs).

Both sides played 50 overs at the Arnos Vale Playing Field. Sri Lanka arrived in St Vincent on Monday to start their first ever Caribbean tour. The Sri Lankans, preparing to face the West Indies in a six-match one-day series beginning tomorrow, dismissed the home team for 131 in 43.1 overs in reply to their score of 199-9 in 50 overs. The Vincentians found the bowling of captain Suthershini Sivanatham too much as they lost their last eight wickets for 20 runs. Sivanatham, a tall offspinner, grabbed five for 20 in ten overs as she mesmerised the hosts with her clever flight and big turners.

Spin duo Rose Fernando (2-18) and Sasikala Siriwardene (2-33) also helped the Sri Lankans achieve victory. Captain Geneille Greaves and Dauphine Miller, both with 27, and Celina Fraser, with 25, were the best of the Vincentian batswomen. (AP)

Defending champions PowerGen Sports and arch-rivals FCB Clarke Road United are set for massive victories in the Carib Cup Group “D” third round matches which will be concluded today.

Despite a stroke-filled 64 (eleven 4s) by Rajesh Kesseur, the Syne Village-based “Power Boys” restricted Cosmos Sports Club to 150 for 8 off 30 overs at the Kumar Recreation Ground yesterday. Off-spinner Abzal Dean claimed three wickets for 17 runs and provided his team the opportunity to push for victory and advance to the quarter-finals. However, attractive batting by Gibran Mohammed 65 (eight 4s), Ryerson Bhagoo 42 (one 6, five 4s), Damodar Dasrat 41 (four 6s, three 4s off 11 balls) and Alon Mahabir 38 not out (four 4s) enabled Clarke Road to amass a formidable 261 for five wickets against visitors Mayo Sports at the Wilson Road Recreation Ground. Victory will allow them to advance.

Summarised Scores.
Group “A”
At Honeymoon Park: MOOSAI’S156/8 (30 overs) vs QUEEN’S PARK
At Diego Martin: British American Aranguez 212 for 8 off 30 overs (Robert Brown 70,Yusuf Ramlogan 43;Denis Rampersad 3 for 9, Kapil Subran 3 for 45) vs Ceramic Merry Boys.
Group “B”
At Pierre Road: Texaco Police 190 for 8 (Robert Mahabir 90 not out; Anil Balliram 3 for 43, Imran Khan 2 for 24) vs Alescon Comet.
At Endeavour: Low Cost Munroe Road 123 all out in 29.1 overs (Aneil Rajah 51; Narine Roopnarine 3 for 13, Navin Ramlogan 2 for 26) vs S&J Endeavour Sports.
Group “C”
At Inshan Ali Park: CLICO Preysal 182 for 7 (Keith Arthurton 75; Aaron Ragoonath  40; Reyad Emrit 3 for 31, Derwin Christian 2 for 53, Devindra Krishna 2 for 31) vs Tile It Central Sports.
At Gilbert Park: Caroni Wanderers 212 for 8 (Ryan Sieuchan 69; Joel Pamphille 42 not out, Alvarado Bryce 32; Allan Ramroop 2 for 32, Gewan Sookdeo 2 for 50) vs Transbrokerage Couva Sports.
Group “D”
At Kumar Reacreation Ground: Cosmos Sports 150 for 8 (Rajersh Kesseur 64, R.Sanasie 26; Afzal Dean 3 for 17) vs Powergen Sports.
At Wilson Road: FCB Clarke Road 261 for 5 (Gibran Mohammed 65, Ryerson Bhagoo 42, Damodar Dasrat 41, Alon Mahabir 38 not out; Joseph George 2 for 54) vs Mayo Valley Boys.

SOUTH EAST Port-of-Spain (SEPoS) will begin their defence of the Boys and Girls Under-19 titles when the 2003 Berger Paints Secondary Schools Hockey League flicks off today.

The SEPoS boys outfit will meet St Anthony’s College in the first match of a double-header from 3 pm at the Princess Building Ground. And the SEPoS girls team will open their 2003 Group “A” campaign against Bishop’s Anstey at 4.15 pm. Another double-header is in store at the St Joseph’s Convent Ground, with Providence “A” team facing Holy Name Convent “B” squad in Group “A” girls action at 3 pm followed by the encounter between St Mary’s College and a combined Diego Martin Secondary/St George’s College lineup. The matches will revert to the grass fields in Princess Building Ground and St Joseph’s Convent Ground after the 2002 experiment which saw the teams playing at the Queen’s Park Oval car park.

Participating teams:
Boys: St Mary’s College, QRC, Fatima, St Anthony’s, South East Port-of-Spain, Diego Martin/St George’s combined.
Girls: Providence ‘A’, Holy Name ‘B’, Bishop Anstey, South East Port-of-Spain, Diego Martin/Corpus Christi combined (Group A); Providence ‘B’, Holy Name ‘A’, St Joseph’s Convent, St Augustine Girls (Group B).

Thursday’s Fixtures:
At St Joseph’s Convent Ground: Providence “B” vs SAGHS (Girls — 3 pm); Fatima vs QRC (Boys — 4.15 pm).
At Princess Building Ground: Holy Name “A” vs Diego Martin/Corpus Christi (Girls — 3 pm); CIC vs SEPoS (Boys — 4.15 pm).

Joe Public could not come away with desired impressive results but technical director Ron La Forest was still pleased with his team’s effort on their weekend tour of Grenada.

The Eastern Lions went down 2-0 to Grenada’s Under-23 team last Friday and then lost 2-1 to St Andrew’s Parish on Sunday. Joe Public fell  to goals by Chris Charles in the ninth minute and Kerry Bristow in the 41st in Friday’s encountner. Despite the loss, coach Ron La Forest wasn’t worried as he described the affair as just the right sort of warm-up for his club ahead of the 2003 Professional League season.

St Anthony’s College captain and National Under-23 defender Julius James, Under-23 midfielder Densil Theobald and former national Under-17 midfielder Ochieng Abosi, who skippered Joe Public in the match, were among those in the starting team. “It’s a young team in training and although they were lacking in penetration, it was a nice team effort,” said La Forest. “The build-up was slow and we allowed them (Grenada) too much time with the ball. The second half was more fast paced and better played. The team was a little too laid back and for Sunday’s match when we hoped to have that urgency and penetrative passes that we had in the second half of Friday’s match,” he added. Alvin Beharry was Public’s lone scorer in their defeat to the Parish champions.

PORT ELIZABETH: Australia came back from the dead yesterday to beat trans-Tasman neighbours New Zealand by 96 runs and maintain their unbeaten World Cup record.

After New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond had produced his country’s best One-Day International figures of six for 23 to reduce the world champions to 84 for seven, Michael Bevan (56) and Andy Bichel (64) led a stirring fightback. The pair added 97 for the eighth wicket, an Australia World Cup record, to help their side to a final total of 208 for nine. Glenn McGrath (three for 29) then knocked the top off the New Zealand innings and Brett Lee returned for a second spell to remove top-scorer Stephen Fleming (48) and a shell-shocked lower order as New Zealand were dismissed for 112. Lee’s second spell was five for 11 in 4.1 overs, including five wickets for three runs in 15 balls as New Zealand lost their last five wickets for 10 runs.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said: “We’ve got a lot of very, very good players and we are a very good team. “And we back ourselves to get out of trouble in any situation as we did today. “Bevan and Bichel batted beautifully, then the bowling finished the job.” The win was Australia’s eighth in succession in the World Cup and their 14th in a row in all One-Day International cricket, extending their world record run. It also confirmed they will play their semi-final at the same venue next Tuesday. The defeat for New Zealand means they will have to beat India in their last Super Six match on Friday to secure a semi-final place of their own. That requirement looked highly unlikely, at least for much of the first half of the day, as Bond created havoc in the Australia top order. The former Christchurch policeman eclipsed the previous best figures by a New Zealand player in one-day cricket, the six for 25 taken by Scott Styris against the West Indies in Port- of-Spain in 2002. Bond combined pace and accuracy, starting Australia’s slide with an opening spell of three for 20 before he returned midway through the innings with a second burst of three wickets for four runs in four overs.

Bond bowled a full length and used helpful conditions expertly after Fleming had won the toss but Bichel and Bevan took advantage of the end of his spell to launch the recovery. The pair, who had steered Australia to victory over England at the same venue nine days earlier, passed Australia’s previous best eighth-wicket stands both in World Cups and against New Zealand and played with great common sense. Bichel’s score equalled the highest ever made by a number nine in one-day internationals and was his first international 50. It took 83 balls included four fours and a six from a delivery from Andre Adams that bounced twice. Bevan was his usual calm, unruffled self as he moved to his second 50 of the tournament in an innings that spanned 94 balls, and also included four fours and a six.

With Lee clubbing the last two balls of the innings for six to take the score past 200, Australia appeared to have a total to bowl at, something was shown all too clearly when they took the field. McGrath struck first, removing make-shift opener Daniel Vettori (10), Nathan Astle (0) and Styris (3) in his opening burst.

NGC/Express Secondary Schools Basketball Association semi-final action began in the Northern Conference at the St Paul Street Facility, Port-of-Spain, on Monday with a 66-53 victory for Excel Composite over St Mary’s College in an Under-15 clash of giants.

CIC’s Bevon Julien, who had a good season, was his team’s only hope, but his 18 points were not enough to take the squad to the finals, while Excel’s Curt Snagg top scored with 27 points. Excel’s Marcus Allert supported with 24 points, while Josimar Phillip contributed 15 to the winning total. CIC felt they got a raw deal from the officials and in the dying seconds refused to play as a protest. It was a day of do or die and the Under-17 teams of Fatima College and Malick Secondary played as such and at the half the score stood at 27-22 in Fatima’s favour. But Malick awoke in the late stages of the match to take a well earned 54-46 victory.

Akil Wharfe, with his creative game play and vision on the court, top-scored with 18 and along with Julius Sprott’s 14 and Dexter Holder’s 11 points, led Malick to victory. The efforts of Fatima’s Jason Sharpe and Akinola Simon who scored 13 and nine respectively were not enough to earn them a place in the finals but the match was well fought by both teams. The main event on the day was the Under-20 division clash between Tranquillity Secondary and Diego Martin Senior Secondary and the players did not disappoint their supporters. Diego Martin, the defending champions, may have been favoured to win the matchup and looked a winner at the end of the see-saw half as they led 30-29. But the aptly numbered No 23, Sherman Diaz took over the second half with constant probing dribbles, dunks and accurate shots, to top score with 25 points and lead Tranquil to a 73-60 win at the whistle.

Diego Martin’s Atiba La Roche challenged Diaz in attack with 22 points and the speedy Sadiqi Guerra hit 18. Tranquil captain Vondelle Applewhite also scored 18 and Johnathan Weekes contributed 11 to the winning tally. Eastern Conference “semis” begin today with a girls clash betwween Toco Composite and Barataria Senior Comprehensive and an Under-20 matchup between the undefeated debutants Johnson’s Finishing School and St Augustine Senior Comprehensive at the Tacarigua Indoor Sports Arena.

LONDON: Paul Nicholls has had the Queen Mother Champion Chase as the target for Cenkos all season and the plan can come together perfectly at Cheltenham today.

He ran a storming race to be third in this last year and has looked a class act since, landing the big Queen Mother Celebration Chase at Sandown last April with consummate ease and then following up in similar fashion in the Tingle Creek, again at Sandown. Admittedly he was beaten pretty comfortably last time by stablemate Kadarann at Newbury but Nicholls had been at pains beforehand to stress that Cenkos would come on a huge amount for the run and could hardly conceal his delight afterwards at his effort. He can be expected to be at the top of his game today.

Keen Leader looks a star in the making will be a warm order in the Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Chase. He has got his act together since tipping up on his chase debut at this track and enjoyed a facile success at Ascot last time, thanks in no small part to the early departure in that race of Jair Du Cochet. Trainer Jonjo O’Neill regards him as potentially a Gold Cup horse and perhaps if his French rival had stood and Keen Leader had still beaten him easily, that is where he would have ended up this week.  Pizarro has to be of major interest in the opening Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle.

Edward O’Grady’s six-year-old, conqueror of Rhinestone Cowboy in last year’s bumper here, has really looked the part over hurdles and his only career defeat has come at the hands of the smart Solerina when his trainer’s runners were under a cloud. Korelo will bid to land a  ?60,000 bonus for connections in the Coral Cup. And there is every chance of Martin Pipe’s progressive gelding doing just that after he scored in the Imperial Cup at the weekend to set up the double. That was over an inadequate two miles, although the desperate ground thankfully saw his stamina come into play as he looked an unlikely scorer turning into the straight. Pipe has bagged the bonus twice before and jockey Tony McCoy thought Korelo was saving a bit at Sandown so perhaps he did not have as hard a race as it initially looked.  He will relish the extra five furlongs today. Ballinclay King loves Cheltenham and is the pick in the 53rd Year of The Mildmay Of Flete Challenge Cup.

His last three runs have been at Prestbury Park, resulting in a win, a third and a fourth.  He was given a confident ride last time off the pace but found himself with too much to do in a race won by Lady Cricket. But he has been dropped a pound as a result will meet his main rivals on better terms today. A more positive ride may reap handsome dividends because he does stay further than Wednesday’s 21 furlongs. Pipe has been making bullish noises about Stormez in the 133rd Year of the National Hunt Chase and it would be folly to ignore the Pond House maestro. His six-year-old will love the four-mile trip and has been in great form this season. The closing Weatherbys Champion Bumper can go the way of Bourbon Manhattan. He looked tremendous when winning at Newbury last time, cruising to the lead two out before quickening right away to defy a penalty for scoring at Taunton in great style.

SELECTIONS: CHELTENHAM: 2.00 Pizarro, 2.35 Keen Leader, 3.15 Cenkos, 4.00 KORELO (NAP), 4.35 Stormez, 5.10 Ballinclay King, 5.45 Bourbon Manhattan.
HUNTINGDON: 1.45 Brush A King, 2.20 Forest Tune, 3.00 Pertemps Cindrella, 3.40 Brown Teddy, 4.20 Fandango De chassy, 4.55 Indeed, 5.30 Ay Carumba.
DOUBLE: Korelo and Stormez.