A gritty left-hander he managed to halt the slide in concert with McMillian, whose more aggressive approach saw him take three leg-side fours in over off Andrew Flintoff. Harris last played a Test three years ago, but is averaging 95 in first-class domestic cricket. Apart from missing it completely, Astle could not have played it much better, though he looked dejected as he watched Graham Thorpe, diving full length to his left, to pluck the edge inches from the ground.At that point, New Zealand who need to win this Test, in order to share this series, found themselves 19-4 and relying on Chris Harris, one of three changes New Zealand have made for this Test. But if the wisdom of Fleming's decision to bat first was looking suspect, it was officially confirmed as bonkers when Caddick jagged one back between bat and pad sharply to flatten Lou Vincent's off-stump.Vincent has looked technically suspect all series, but even soft hands and an angled defensive bat cannot save you as Nathan Astle found out when Caddick got one to bounce steeply from a full length. It was such a good ball that even if he had managed to close the gap between bat and pad, he would have probably been lbw.With Matthew Hoggard removing the captain Stephen Fleming three overs later, caught at short-leg off bat and pad, it was clear that there was lavish movement in this pitch.
Swinging into the left-hander, it moved even more sharply off the pitch beating his defensive push to hit off-stump. A compact organised player, he could do little about the snorter that Caddick produced in his third over of the day. Taking 3-24 in his opening spell, he reached the magic figure in the final over before lunch, when he had Craig McMillian lbw for 41 to leave New Zealand 82-5 at lunch. Caddick, who began the match with 196 victims, quickly removed Mark Richardson, the home side's most consistent batsmen of the series. Andrew Caddick reached the milestone of 200 Test wickets in the first session of play in the final Test here early today, the ninth England bowler to achieve the feat.
the Olympic works are materialising according to the timetables.". And as recently as September, Oswald was warning of "alarming delays" before finally lauding Athens for getting on track."There are, of course, always some pending issues and some problems that surface on a daily basis and that is natural," said Tilemahos Hitiris, a government spokesman "In general terms... The former head of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, sharply lambasted Athens in 2000 for delays that put the games in jeopardy. Things have been so much worse that the latest woes seem less worrisome. The suit seeks to block the project because of fears it could even make traffic more congested in some areas.But for Athens' Olympic planners, it is all a matter of perspective. Proposals to reform Greece's nearly bankrupt pension system have effectively been put on hold until after the Olympics.The IOC will be briefed on other potential trouble spots, including Athens' struggle to find 60,000 Olympic volunteers and plans to place spectators in private homes because of a hotel room shortage.The IOC team also is likely to seek explanations over a legal challenge by the mayor of Athens to plans for a suburban light rail system, which is part of attempts to ease the city's chronic traffic chaos during the Games.
Work has yet to begin on the highly technical water courses, which normally go through months of fine-tuning before a major event.The government, meanwhile, is tiptoeing around any subject that could anger trade unions and further disrupt construction. But any more finds on the site could throw the project behind schedule.At the planned table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics centre in the suburb of Galatsi, where test events are planned for March 2004, construction has been slowed by unforeseen rock beds and the target date is in doubt.However, the biggest problems are likely to arise at the former international airport on the coast south of Athens.Planners shifted the canoe and kayak course to the former airfield last year after environmentalists and others protested against the original site north of Athens. Crews have uncovered ancient finds, including what archaeologists believe is a 2,500-year-old shrine to the love goddess Aphrodite.The discovery of what also served as a brothel is not expected to seriously slow the construction. "They have nothing to do with Greece's ability to stage the Olympic Games, rather the difficulty of doing so in the limited amount of time left before August 2004."Oswald has warned that Athens will be "racing against time right up to August 2004" and cannot afford any "unpleasant surprises" such as earthquakes, labour strikes or discovery of antiquities.But that is exactly what has happened at the planned Olympic equestrian centre in Marcopoulo, about nine miles south-east of central Athens.