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• Cronje says practice is in order

  Nelson Clare in Christchurch

  Hansie Cronje, South Africa's captain has admitted he was prepared to sacrifice a Test to give his top order batting practice following a second disappointing draw on the tour of New Zealand.

  ``In the bigger picture, if you look at a guy like Herschelle Gibbs, who scored a magnificent 200, then I think you can sacrifice one Test,'' Cronje said. ``Not that I'm saying we did, but we can sacrifice a Test just to get something like that going in our top six.''

  Gibbs, the first non-white South African to score a Test hundred, reached 211 not out at Lancaster Park as Cronje delayed a declaration in the rain-hit match, a decision that may have cost his team a win.

• Clifford Ratwatte, the uncle of Sri Lanka president Chandrika Kumaratunga, yesterday announced his candidacy for president of the country's cricket board and sparked a controversy since he is ineligible to stand.

  To become eligible, Ratwatte received an exemption by sports minister S B Dissaanayake from a rule barring those who had not played first-class cricket from seeking elected positions with the board. ``If elected I will take steps to remove that absurd requirement,'' Ratwatte said.

• Half-centuries by Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed lifted Pakistan to a 152-run victory against Bangladesh in a one-day international in Dhaka.

  One-day International (Dhaka)

  Pakistan 293-7 (50 overs, Saeed Anwar 64, Ijaz Ahmed 51, Inzaman-ul-Haq 70).

  Bangladesh 141 (40.5 overs). Pakistan won by 152 runs.