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Daniel Vettori’s distinguished Test career is not about to be “swept away”, in the words of his captain Brendon McCullum, but even as he returns to fitness New Zealand have accepted they must manage the later stages of his career with care after reluctantly ruling him out of the second Test against England at Headingley.Vettori was enthusiastic enough to jump on a plane and travel around the world to try to bail out New Zealand but not fit enough to play. He has sat on the bench throughout the 2013 IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore and now, eight months after his last New Zealand appearance at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, New Zealand are facing up to the fact that, at 34, his workload will never be the same again.”It’s something we’re going to have to discuss down the track,” McCullum admitted. “It’s going to be a rolling conversation that we need to have with Dan as to what he needs to prioritise with where he’s at in his career.”It would be nice to think that he’d be able to play every game in all three forms but it’s not realistic. I certainly see a place for him in the team. It would be silly for us to sweep away 112 Test matches, nearly 400 wickets and six Test centuries.”He jumped on a plane as soon as he got the phone call. He’s a great guy to have around, a tremendous player and he’s always keen to help out the NZ cricket team. But he didn’t scrub up that well today and the confidence to go into a five-day game with the workload he’s had was just a bridge too far.”It was a very rational decision from all of us on Dan. He wasn’t quite confident he’d be able to get through the entire five days and he didn’t want to let the team down.”McCullum was honest enough to admit that the wish to protect Vettori’s fitness for the Champions Trophy influenced their decision. When it comes to surviving a five-day Test, there is no substitute for match practice, especially if that substitute is in an inactive series at the IPL and a lifestyle based upon lightweight training sessions, internal flights and a room service menu.”I guess that was one of the things we looked at as well,” McCullum said. “In terms of his playing opportunity in this game, would we sacrifice the coming few weeks? That wasn’t the right thing for Dan or for us.”

ScorecardNamibia moved to second place in the T20 Quadrangular lead with a 45-run victory over Netherlands.Put in to bat, Namibia began well but lost regular wickets, with no batsman reaching a personal score of thirty. They were struggling at 98 for 5 in the 16th over, before a late charge by Sarel Burger and Jaen Kotze took them to 147 for 6.In reply, Netherlands were in trouble after the fast bowling pair of Hendrik Geldenhuys and Jason Davidson struck to claim five wickets for 12 runs in the space of three overs, leaving Netherlands reeling at 36 for 5. Davidson, who took two wickets in his second over finished with figures of 3 for 7 off four overs. Michael Rippon and Tom de Grooth tried to revive the innings with a 32-run stand but once they were dismissed, Netherlands folded for 102.

Sean Williams said his personal career-best score was the last thing on his mind after his match-winning unbeaten 78 that finished the six-wicket win for Zimbabwe and levelled the three-match ODI series in Bulawayo.He guided the chase from the moment he walked into the crease. It was 94 for 3 in the 18th over and Zimbabwe had just lost Vusimuzi Sibanda and Sikandar Raza in the space of five balls, after they had added 65 for the second wicket.Williams immediately got to work, adding 73 for the third wicket with his captain, before finishing the job with another 86 runs in an unbroken fourth wicket partnership with Malcolm Waller.”It obviously feels great reaching my highest score,” Williams said. “But it wasn’t on my mind. Obviously batting through the whole innings was on my mind, and winning the game.”It was tough to lose a few wickets but I kept my composure till the end. It was a fantastic batting deck. It was tough to bowl on this wicket.”Williams paced his innings perfectly, mixing a cautious approach with ones and twos. There enough boundaries in his innings too; most of them came just when the Bangladesh bowlers had got a hold over their scoring.He is one player whose record says much about Zimbabwe’s selection policy. He has played fleetingly, but apart from a few low scores, he has generally been a regular performer. Williams plays spin well, a strong attribute in this batting line-up.Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor was pleased to see Williams get to his 12th half-century, especially after he had been sidelined during the Test series after impressing in the West Indies. “It is really good to see guys like Sean, who have been out of the fold for long, to do well,” Taylor said. “We contributed as a group. I am very pleased to see guys putting their hands up and getting us over the line.”Taylor brushed aside any suggestion that the toss has become important, especially due to the 9am start. He said the pitch was a good for batting but the batsmen had to be careful in the first ten overs.”From my position behind the wicket, I could not see much seam movement,” he said. “There was a bit of swing early on and I guess you just had to see off the first ten overs. Otherwise the pitch was the same throughout the day. There was very little spin on offer. It was just a good batting track.”

Group A
Kerala chased down Delhi’s formidable total of 195 for 4 with six wickets in hand and two overs to spare in Indore. Rohan Prem, batting at No. 3 for Kerala, set the pace and stayed the course, finishing unbeaten on 92 off 51 balls. The propulsion at the finish was provided by Sachin Baby, who blitzed 48 off 19 balls. Every Delhi bowler conceded nine or more runs per over; four of the six used went at more than ten. Kerala’s efforts overshadowed that of Unmukt Chand, who had scored his maiden domestic T20 century to lead Delhi’s innings. Opening the batting, he made 105 off 67 balls and was dismissed off the penultimate delivery of the innings.A collective performance from their batsman helped Gujarat inch past Odisha by three wickets and two balls to spare. Chasing 152, Gujarat kept losing wickets regularly but they ensued the chase did not lose momentum completely. Niraj Patel top-scored with 40, and Rohit Dahiya was unbeaten on 14 when the winning runs were scored. Basant Mohanty took 3 for 27 for Odisha. Gujarat had dismissed the Odisha openers off successive deliveries to hinder their progress after they won the toss. The Odisha middle order made useful contributions, the highest of which was Govind Podder’s 40. Subhrajit Sahoo made 37 off 17 balls to prop up Odisha to 151 for 6.Group B
Sayan Mondal took 3 for 19 to set up Bengal’s four-run win against Baroda in Indore. Defending 149, Mondal dismissed three of the top five batsmen, and Baroda then slipped from 81 for 2 to 84 for 5. Sanjib Sanyal struck off successive deliveries to reduce Baroda to 124 for 7, and they eventually finished on 145 for 9. Bengal’s score had been set up by contributions of 48 and 50 from Shreevats Goswami and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who hit five sixes in his 23-ball innings.Karnataka‘s middle and lower-order batsmen chased 130 in the last over with two wickets to spare against Punjab. After their top three batsmen scored only 16 runs together, Manish Pandey (31) put on 25 with Stuart Binny (17) and 31 with CM Gautam (31). 75 for 5 when Pandey was dismissed, Gautam and Karun Nair (16) took them till 117 when they lost two wickets in two balls. Ultimately, Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun took them home.When Punjab had batted, Ravi Inder Singh fired at the top with 60 off 44 but he did not get any support. Only three other batsmen reached double figures as they lost their last seven wickets for 24 runs to be dismissed in 18.1 overs and Binny finished with 3 for 26.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsColin Ingram celebrated a second century in Bloemfontein•AFP

South Africa began their journey to the Champions Trophy with a leap – not just a step – as they overcame Pakistan with a polished all-round effort that was set up by their batsmen and finished off in the field. Importantly for them, the contributions came from quarters that have been areas of concern in the past.The middle order, and Colin Ingram in particular, played a meaningful part and a bowling attack without Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel functioned effectively. South Africa’s batsmen dealt with Pakistan’s quartet of spinners with ease while their seamers, led by Ryan McLaren and Rory Kleinveldt, shut the opposition out of the match.By contrast, Pakistan suffered because they fielded only two seamers and did not use Saeed Ajmal well enough, taking him off after he had made a breakthrough. The fifth and sixth bowlers, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, conceded 81 runs in 11 overs runs on a surface that did not aid turn, and against batsmen who were intent on proving their captain’s belief that they were capable of smothering the spin threat.

Smart stats

• Rory Kleinveldt finished with 4 for 22 off just 5.2 overs. This is the lowest number of overs bowled by a South African bowler in an innings while finishing with a four-wicket haul or more.

• The 125-run win is South Africa’s sixth by a margin of 100 or more runs against Pakistan. Four of these have come in home ODIs.

• South Africa’s total of 315 is their fourth-highest total against Pakistan and their second 300-plus score against them at home.

• Colin Ingram’s century is his second and the 14th overall by a South African batsman against Pakistan. Ingram’s previous century came in Abu Dhabi in 2010.

• Ingram’s hundred is his third in ODIs and second in Bloemfontein. He has scored 626 runs in 19 ODIs at an average of 44.71.

• The 120-run stand between Ingram and AB de Villiers is the third highest third-wicket stand for South Africa against Pakistan and their highest such stand against them at home. De Villiers has been involved in the top three stands.

• Shahid Afridi became the first batsman to pass the 300-sixes mark in ODIs. Afridi has now hit 301 sixes in 324 innings. Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 270 sixes.

• The number of overs faced by Pakistan (36.2) is the joint fourth lowest for a completed innings against South Africa. The lowest is 25 overs in Mohali in 2006.

The Pakistan quicks had started well as both Junaid Khan and Umar Gul found early seam movement. Gul repeatedly beat Graeme Smith’s bat with deliveries that moved away. Even Hashim Amla, who opened the boundary count with a gorgeous coax through the covers, did not find the going easy. He inside-edged Junaid for four early on and went on to do it twice more in a somewhat charmed stint, which also included him being dropped on 15.The openers chose to take the Powerplay as soon as it become available. Pakistan used it to introduce spin, which they continued with for 21 overs, but it only restricted South Africa for a while. They scored 29 runs in the Powerplay for the loss of Smith. AB de Villiers promoted himself to No. 3 and was joined by Colin Ingram after Amla had one too many dalliances with chance and was caught on the deep square-leg boundary.De Villiers and Ingram shared in the most important stand of the innings, with Ingram’s knock of greater importance as he tries to cement a spot in the starting XI. Ingram swept well and for the most part they accumulated runs quietly but quickly.De Villiers hit his first boundary after he had scored 37 runs but his search for singles was ceaseless. When he did find the rope, he did it a second time for good measure. He made room against Ajmal and lofted over extra cover for four to bring up his half-century and then pulled the next ball to bring up the century stand off 103 balls. It had swelled to 120 when Ajmal had the last laugh as de Villiers lobbed to short cover.Ingram took over and played his part in ending Afridi’s participation with the ball. His eighth and last over cost 21 runs; Ingram hit two out of five boundaries. Faf du Plessis was responsible for the other three. He put on 62 with Ingram before scooping to short fine leg.Although Farhaan Berhardien is not known as a hitter, he was sent in with four overs to go and hit the two sixes of the innings off consecutive balls. He sent Junaid Khan over long-on and midwicket and ensured Ingram, on 96, had strike in the last over.He needed only one delivery to stroke the ball through the covers and bring up a second century in Bloemfontein and a second against Pakistan. He also took South Africa to their third highest total at the ground, giving Pakistan a tough chase.Pakistan’s openers were challenged by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who found swing and induced an edge from Mohammed Hafeez that fell short of slip. He could have had Hafeez a second time when he got a leading edge to du Plessis, which popped out of his hands at gully.Kyle Abbott offered some relief by inviting the drive. Jamshed, however, was just getting into a higher gear when he chased a wide ball off Kleinveldt’s second over and was caught at first slip. Kleinveldt also got the timely breakthrough when he ran Hafeez out at the non-strikers’ end. Younis Khan had driven back at the bowler, who deflected the ball with the slightest touch of his ring finger.Pakistan needed a big stand but AB de Villiers did not let Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq settle with clever rotations of his bowlers. They posted 49 before Younis became Abbott’s first ODI wicket.McLaren ensured Pakistan could not claw their way back. He displayed excellent use of variation and the short ball had Misbah caught behind as he tried to pull one. At 135 for 5 in the 29th over, it was only a matter of time but Afridi lengthened it with some blows at the end. Three huge hits took his sixes tally to 301. He muscled his way to 34 before holing out to deep midwicket to give Kleinveldt career-best figures and South Africa a comprehensive win.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has tonight hosted theannual members Test Match dinner, which incorporated the presentation ofWisden’s Cricketers of the Year awards and the Spirit of Cricket award.Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (English edition) each year announces fiveCricketers of the Year. For 2002, Australian Test players JasonGillespie, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist, were among the recipients.The two other awards going to Andy Flower of Zimbabwe, and India’sV.V.S. Laxman, who did not attend the dinner.The Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack Australia each year announces anAustralian Cricketer of the Year and, in 2002, the award went to AdamGilchrist.The editor of the Australian edition of Wisden, Warwick Franks, attendedthe dinner to present the awards.In addition to the Cricketers of the Year, the gala dinner sawAustralian captain, Steve Waugh, presented with the Spirit of Cricketaward.The Spirit of Cricket award is given periodically by the MaryleboneCricket Club (MCC) to the player who best demonstrates a commitment tothe spirit of the game of cricket, as well as to the laws of the game.The award was presented by recent MCC President, and current Chairman ofthe MCC cricket committee, Ted Dexter.The SACA chief executive, Mike Deare, said the award presentationsreaffirmed that the Adelaide Test Match dinner is held in the highestregard by the world’s cricketing elite.”Having the MCC select the Adelaide Test Match dinner as the host venuefor these awards, is an enormous honour for the SACA and the State,”said Mr Deare.”Both the Cricketers of the Year and the Spirit of Cricket awards aretruly global and acknowledge the best cricketers in the world. We arevery proud to have played host to these presentations to our world-classcricketers.”

Shane Watson has committed himself to Australia’s Test team for the long term and will rejoin the squad in India ahead of the fourth Test in Delhi. Watson was due to leave Sydney on Monday evening for the final Test of the series, which begins at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday, ending any further speculation about his plans after he flew out of Chandigarh last week for the birth of his son, Will, and said at the time he would weigh up his future while at home.Watson also said he had spoken a number of times over the past week to Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance, and said they were now “on the same page” after they exchanged words publicly last week. Howard is also expected to arrive in Delhi ahead of the fourth Test this week.When he left India having been told his wife Lee was likely to give birth earlier than expected, Watson said he would use his time at home to weigh up his cricket future and said that “there are a lot more important things in life”. At the time, Watson had just been ruled out of the third Test in Chandigarh as one of the four players who failed to complete a task set by the coach Mickey Arthur, and he declared the punishment “very harsh”.The issue was exacerbated when Howard said Watson was a team player “sometimes” and alluded to problems between Watson, the vice-captain, and Clarke. However, Watson and Clarke spoke on the phone when Watson arrived home and Clarke said the best-case scenario was Watson returning as vice-captain for the Delhi Test.Watson said Howard did not know him well, and after the public words from both sides Howard offered to fly to Sydney to speak to Watson face to face to iron out any problems between them. Watson said the pair had spoken over the past week and ironed out their differences.”I’ve had several constructive discussions with team management back in Mohali over the past few days,” Watson said. “We’ve spoken about how we are going to work together to move forward, as Australia attempts to climb back to the top of the ICC rankings. I’ve a burning ambition to be an Australian Test player for as long as I can be and help Australia win those big Test Series as well as the big ICC tournaments.”I have also had a number of chats with Pat Howard over the last week and we are both now on the same page and are really looking forward to working together to get Australia to be the best team in the world. I’m looking forward to getting around the boys again and concentrating on moving forward. I’m entirely committed to the team and being the best player I can be.”Watson’s return will create a selection issue after Steven Smith scored a highly impressive 92 in the first innings in Mohali and Phillip Hughes also fought through his spin problems to post 69 in the second innings. The possible permutations are further complicated by uncertainty over the fitness of the captain Michael Clarke, who struggled with back pain on the fourth day in Mohali and was hampered by the problem while batting on day five.Clarke has never missed a Test due to his ongoing back problems but the short turnaround between Tests will create a challenge for Australia’s medical staff to ensure he is available. The team travels from Chandigarh to Delhi on Tuesday and then has two days of training before the Delhi Test. It is not outside the realms of possibility that Watson, the vice-captain, could lead the team in Delhi, which would be a remarkable turnaround after his comments a week ago.Regardless of the off-field issues, Australia also need a major improvement from Watson with the bat after he scored 28, 17, 23 and 9 during the first two Tests. Since becoming vice-captain in 2011, Watson has averaged only 25.20 with the bat and has not scored a century.

Nathan Lyon, the Australia offspinner, believes Australia should field two spinners in the Test series against India, which begins in two weeks’ time. Lyon was one of eight members of the Australia Test squad who landed in Chennai on Thursday, to acclimatise ahead of the series.”I personally think so [that two spinners should play]. It’s going to be a big challenge for all of us in the different conditions over here,” Lyon said. “Hopefully there’ll be an opportunity where two spinners will be able to go out on the field together for Australia.”Lyon pointed to the success the English slow bowlers enjoyed in India last November-December as evidence that more spinners is a strategy that is likely to work. He took note of a few things that he would like to emulate, he said. “I certainly watched [Monty] Panesar and [Graeme] Swann. They bowled quite well. I did watch Swann very, very closely and I hope to take in a few things and put the same method into practice against India. And India, they even played four spinners in the last Test against England.”Both India and England had played at least two spinners in all four Tests of that series, with India playing only a single quick in the second and fourth matches. The wicket charts, expectedly, were dominated by the spinners: Swann and Panesar took 20 and 17 wickets respectively, comfortably ahead of the next highest for England – James Anderson with 12. For India, while Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin took 34 wickets between them, all their other bowlers combined tallied 17.Australia have a second spinner in left-armer Xavier Doherty, and spinning allrounders in Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. The squad also includes 19-year-old Western Australia left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, in a development capacity: he will bowl at the touring batsmen in the nets and is likely to play the first warm-up game. This abundance of spin options will create healthy competition, Lyon said. “It’s going to be a good challenge for all of us, and it’s going to be really good pushing each other along for spots in the first Test side.”Dennis Lillee, the former Australia fast bowler, is in Chennai too and will work with the Australian team, researching why several of their young fast bowlers seem to be breaking down. “I’ll be consulting when there are technical issues or injuries, but I’m not going to be travelling with the team,” Lillee told the . “I’m looking into a lot of things, certainly their training methods, but also technique. My focus is on fitness, strength, and flexibility. So there’s a lot I’ll be researching and thinking about.”Australia will play the first of two tour games from February 12, against the Indian Board President’s XI in Chennai. The first Test starts on Feburary 22, also in Chennai.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Angelo Mathews formed part of a tight Sri Lankan bowling unit at Adelaide Oval•Getty Images

Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford expected far better from his men after an abject display in the first ODI, and in Adelaide they duly delivered. A highly disciplined bowling ensemble laid bare Australian frailty against the seaming ball before Lahiru Thirimanne anchored a comfortable chase on a tacky pitch in the second match of the series at Adelaide Oval.The visitors lost Upul Tharanga in the first over of their chase but were largely untroubled thereafter, as the surface eased after earlier offering helpful seam movement for Sri Lanka’s bowlers. Thirimanne reached a deserved century by cutting Xavier Doherty backward of point for the winning runs with eight wickets and 59 balls to spare, having been accompanied for much of the pursuit by an uncharacteristically reserved Tillakaratne Dilshan.Particular praise was also due to Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews, who took the new balls and set Australia on the defensive by moving the ball just enough through the air and off the seam, while keeping the runs down. Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera then followed up with wickets of their own. Named in place of the injured Dinesh Chandimal, the debut gloveman Kushal Perera kept wicket neatly and held four catches.Besides their problems with seam friendly conditions reminiscent of England, Australia were discomforted further by Brad Haddin’s struggles with an apparent hamstring strain, which began to affect him during the latter stages of a rearguard innings of 50 and then forced a regular dialogue with the team physio Alex Kountouris in the early overs of the evening session.Eventually Haddin surrendered to the injury, leaving Phillip Hughes to take up duties as Australia’s makeshift gloveman for the second time this summer. The hosts can expect their team to be significantly reinforced when the national selector John Inverarity names the squad for the next two matches of the series, having started well in Melbourne but fallen away badly in Adelaide.After Tharanga’s early departure to a Clint McKay delivery angled across him, Dilshan and Thirimanne played with good sense and shot selection. Dilshan had one LBW appeal by Doherty referred to the third umpire, but the television evidence proved too marginal for an overturned verdict.

Smart stats

• Sri Lanka’s win is their 15th against Australia in ODIs played in Australia. Seven of their 15 wins have come in matches played since November 2010.

• The eight-wicket win is level with Sri Lanka’s best performance against Australia in ODI chases. Three of their four eight-wicket wins have come in ODIs in Australia.

• The number of balls remaining after the win (59) is the second-highest for Sri Lanka in ODIs against Australia played in Australia. The highest is 101 in Sydney in 2012.

• Lahiru Thirimanne’s century is only the fifth by a Sri Lankan batsman in a chase against Australia (second in Adelaide). Aravinda de Silva has scored two centuries in chases.

• The 137-run stand between Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan is the second-highest second-wicket partnership for Sri Lanka against Australia. The highest is 163 between Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara in Sydney in 2006.

They were not to be separated until only a further 34 runs were required. By that point Australia had lost Haddin and also the bowling of the debutant Kane Richardson, who followed up a first ball duck with the bat by suffering the ignominy of being drummed out of the bowling attack for repeatedly running on the pitch in his follow through. It is a problem that will require some technical work to correct.The first indication that Australia were not at their sharpest came in the opening over when Aaron Finch clipped the ball straight to square leg and set off for a single – Phillip Hughes would have been out by yards had the ball found stumps or wicketkeeper. Fortunate there, Finch was to be out for his second low score in as many matches and again fell to a tentative stroke, pushing Mathews to short cover after he had nudged Ajantha Mendis into the wicketkeeper’s gloves at the MCG.Hughes struggled to find the fluency he had managed while making a century on debut, and was pinned in front of the stumps by Kulasekara, wasting Australia’s only review on a ball that pitched in line and would have taken middle and off. David Hussey and George Bailey briefly steadied the innings in a stand of 39, but the stand-in captain’s fortunate stay, punctuated by numerous edges, was ended when he pulled Malinga to midwicket where Thirimanne held a decent catch.Steve Smith, brought in for Usman Khawaja, hinted at fluency during his brief stay but drove loosely at a Perera delivery that seamed back into him and was taken behind. To this point Hussey had looked the most composed of the batsmen, but his run out in another mix-up and a neat Mathews leg cutter to remove Glenn Maxwell, put Australia in deep trouble.Cutting and Haddin resisted for 15 overs and 57 runs, the former showing glimpses of the batting skill he had demonstrated for Queensland over the past two summers. Eventually Malinga’s pace and unique angle drew an edge from Cutting, and next ball his fellow debutant Richardson was flummoxed by a dipping slower ball and pinned LBW.Clint McKay averted the hat-trick but then fell victim to a decision overturned for reasons known only to the third umpire Richard Kettleborough, for replays showed no solid evidence of an edge behind from Perera’s bowling, and HotSpot was no more revealing.The last man Doherty’s arrival moved Haddin to swing a mighty six into the Members Stand. He picked out midwicket when trying to repeat the shot from Mendis, leaving the hosts with a sorry total that would quickly prove to be inadequate.

After the heartbreak of losing the Women’s World Twenty20 final to Australia you could forgive England spinner Holly Colvin for wanting to take some time away from the sport. But less than week after the four-run defeat in Colombo, Colvin packed her bags and headed off to Kenya to take on a very different kind of cricketing challenge.Colvin took two wickets before England Women failed to chase 143 against Australia but took her mind off the disappointment by joining a team of six other volunteers from all walks of life – including this journalist, a college student and a financial analyst – for a two-week trip with Cricket Without Boundaries (CWB), a UK charity using cricket to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.During an emotional and inspiring fortnight 56 new coaches were trained and more than 3,000 children took part in sessions from inner-city orphanages to schools in remote areas accessible only by four-wheel drive.”There were a lot of tears shed after the World T20 final defeat but coming to Kenya was the perfect distraction. It gave everything perspective and reminded me that it is only a game,” Colvin said. “Kenya was an incredible, humbling experience and one I will never forget. The people, the atmosphere, and seeing how much the children loved it was absolutely amazing.”Thousands of children were given their first taste of cricket in Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth-largest city, and the rural area of Laikipia – including 500 in one particularly epic session.”I think cricket can be a huge tool in educating people about HIV/AIDS,” Colvin said. “If you sit kids down and talk to them about it in a classroom it can go in one ear and out of the other. But to do it through cricket it really sticks in their minds.”CWB was founded in 2005 and first embarked on a seven-month trip coaching from Cairo to Cape Town. The charity works in partnership with the ICC’s Think Wise partnership, which has been run in collaboration with UNAIDS and UNICEF since 2003, who will use World Aids Day on December 1 to raise awareness around the cricketing world with players wearing red ribbons.CWB has delivered 37 projects in seven different African countries. Together with HIV/AIDS awareness, the project aims to empower women and promote equal opportunities, starting with boys and girls playing alongside each other. This brought Colvin one of her highlights of the trip, during the final of the schools festival in Nakuru.”This young girl called Faith clean bowled a boy twice her size and all her team-mates came rushing up to her,” Colvin said. “She wasn’t just a girl making up the team she was an integral part of it. She was respected by the boys in the team and they all just looked like they were in it together.”It reminded me of when I first started playing cricket. I was just one of the boys and treated like that, as equal. It was incredible to see that happen out in Kenya and I really think it would tackle some of the problems there.”CWB has also played a key role in supporting Cricket Kenya’s efforts to develop the game at grass roots level and has worked alongside ex-internationals Peter Ongondo and David Asiji. The charity may also have inspired a future Kenyan star. Quinta Aoko had never played cricket before CWB’s trip in 2011, but made her debut for the full women’s team earlier this year aged just 15.With the continuing commitment of volunteers, CWB wants to continue to inspire children to take up the sport and gain vital education of a disease that an estimated 1.5 million live with in Kenya alone. The charity is committed to delivering projects in at least five African countries on a twice-yearly basis and in 2013, they will be returning to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana and Cameroon.To find out more about the charity, including how to volunteer, visit www.cricketwithoutboundaries.com.